Why the Demise of Alvaro Negredo Cost Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City

If Manuel Pellegrini loses his job as Manchester City’s manager this summer, many will view it as a justifiable decision.

City have underperformed this season, with too many anaemic displays and defeats to lesser sides undermining their title defence. Level on points with Chelsea at the turn of the year, a dreadful run of results in 2015 saw their title chances fold and the future of their manager called into serious question.

For others, though, it will be a sign of the immediacy of football, with the Chilean a victim of the unreasonable thirst for success that permeates the game. Thus, defenders will point to the quality of his debut season, which yielded well over a century of goals and saw City win a double for only the second time in the club’s history.

Jon Super/Associated Press

There’s little doubt there’s been regression this season, but the brilliance of the football City managed for much of the last campaign is too often overlooked. December and January of that season, in particular, saw City produce a series of breathtaking performances, arguably some of the best since the inception of the Premier League.

At the heart of it was the partnership between Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo, the most natural and well-suited strike pair in City’s recent history. The strength of Negredo, which allowed him to bully defenders physically, as well as his touch, vision, awareness and appreciation of space, was the perfect foil for the more nimble, fleet-of-foot Aguero, whose finishing ability makes him one of the most feared marksmen in Europe. 

For five months, they were unplayable. From the end of August to the end of January, they managed 49 goals between them (23 for Negredo and 26 for Aguero)—a remarkable tally that defied the relatively short time they had to form an understanding.

It felt almost natural, a perfect fit between two very different types of player. It was something of a throwback, too—an old-fashioned two-pronged forward line comprising of one big man there to dominate defenders physically and one small man whose job was to explode into life once the ball had been won. In an era defined by teams led by lone strikers, this seemed bold and exciting, and City responded brilliantly.

They beat Manchester United 4-1, Norwich 7-0, CSKA Moscow 5-2, Tottenham 6-0 and Arsenal 6-3 as part of a 20-match unbeaten run, including 18 wins. Even under Roberto Mancini, where City’s football was lauded, they had never managed a sequence of results as impressive as that. This was a new level, and the understanding between City’s two in-form strikers was key to their success.

But it soon collapsed. A shoulder injury adversely affected Negredo, who, it was revealed later, was thought to be homesick and keen on a return to Spain. Aguero, too, suffered an injury, and between them they scored just two more goals before the season was out.

City managed to win the title, with the form of David Silva and the goals provided by Edin Dzeko filling the gap left by Negredo and Aguero. However, a feeling persists that City have never been quite as thrilling since their partnership ended. 

Negredo eventually returned to Spain, signing for Valencia in a season-long loan, with a permanent deal triggered in the summer built into the agreement. He's managed just six goals so far this season, looking unable to recreate the form he showed in his first five months as a City player. 

If Pellegrini is sacked this summer, perhaps his biggest regret will be the failure to have kept Negredo happy and at his best. Partnerships like the one he enjoyed with Aguero are rare, and City haven't looked quite as potent since it fell apart. 

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.