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LONDON: Roberto Mancini was sacked as manager of Manchester City on Monday-- a year to the day after leading the club to the English Premier League title. City's shock FA Cup Final defeat by Wigan at Wembley on Saturday meant they ended this season without any silverware and strengthened rumours Mancini, who replaced Mark Hughes in 2009, was about to be dismissed. The club's Abu Dhabi-based owners confirmed Monday the end of the Italian manager's three-and-a-half years at Eastlands, with a City statement saying: "It is with regret that Manchester City Football Club announces that Roberto Mancini has been relieved of his duties as Manchester City manager. "This has been a difficult decision for the owner, chairman and board to make and it is the outcome of a planned end-of-season review process that has been brought forward in light of recent speculation and out of respect for Roberto and his extensive contributions to the football club. "Despite everyone's best efforts, the club has failed to achieve any of its stated targets this year, with the exception of qualification for next season's UEFA Champions League." "This, combined with an identified need to develop a holistic approach to all aspects of football at the club, has meant that the decision has been taken to find a new manager for the 2013-14 season and beyond." City's Champions League qualification has been overshadowed by the uninspiring nature of their title defence, with the club a distant second to already crowned English champions Manchester United and 13 points adrift of their local rivals. The 48-year-old Mancini's time at City saw the club win a first major trophy in 35 years with the 2011 FA Cup, while last season's Premier League title was their first top-flight crown since 1968 and saw the manager rewarded with a new five-year deal. "Roberto's record speaks for itself, he has clearly secured the love and respect of our fans," said City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. "He has done as he promised and delivered silverware and success." But City's second successive group stage exit in as many seasons from the lucrative and prestigious European Champions League appears to have weighed heavily against Mancini, for all that fans were chanting his name during the FA Cup Final at Wembley. Those shouts of support cut little ice with City owner Sheikh Mansour, clearly demanding more from a colossal investment in a club whose reported wage bill of

ESPN Latest : Mancini has lost control of Man City stars - report By ESPNsoccernet staff Manchester City's shock defeat against Wolves has left manager Roberto Mancini struggling to assert his authority over his expensively assembled squad, according to reports. The 2-1 loss at Molineux Stadium on Saturday means City have made a worse start than under predecessor Mark Hughes last season and has lead to speculation that Mancini is on the brink of losing his job. Emmanuel Adebayor's on-pitch row with Vincent Kompany has fuelled claims that the players are unhappy under the Italian manager, who has had a series of run ins with his players, including captain Carlos Tevez, since his arrival at Eastlands in December 2009. Despite being fourth in the league, the disjointed performances on the pitch have allegedly left City's players questioning the manager. "There is hardly a player in the dressing room who has any time for Mancini. The place is a complete mess," a City source is quoted as saying in The Sun. "There are times when he tries to be a hard man but no one takes any notice. "Team spirit is falling apart because there is no respect for the manager and some players are even guessing when he could go. They don't know who they want in, they just want Mancini out." Another source told The Sun: "The players don't like his confrontational style. "They're also baffled by him tactically - for example, they couldn't understand why he brought on defender Pablo Zabaleta for Emmanuel Adebayor instead of striker Jo at Wolves on Saturday." James Milner and Yaya Toure had a bust-up in the tunnel during last Sunday's 3-0 defeat by Arsenal and the latter's agent claims it was sparked due to a lack of winning mentality at City. I knew these days will come as too many stars in the team ........

YES! Just as most of us here had predicted, MH got the sack before the end of 2009. This is indeed a very eventful weekend with shock defeats for Pool and unexpectedly for Man U as well. Manchester misery as United crash, City axe Hughes LONDON (AFP) -