Is Roberto Mancini Bluffing?

Manchester City’s victory over Chelsea today could just be the turning point in their season. After a start which saw the Eastlands club drop vital points away at Sunderland and at home to Blackburn Rovers, the victory today could go a long way in to inspiring belief amongst the blue half of Manchester.

But the victory comes just 24 hours after City boss Roberto Mancini claimed that the Premier League would be easily won by Chelsea. A statement which would have surely set alarm bells ringing amongst City’s ever demanding fans.

After the victory today Mancini still insisted that he couldn’t see his side challenging for the title: “I still think they will win it easily because I think they are the best team in the Premier League. Sometimes you might get a result like today. But they are the better team.”

Now either Mancini is been strikingly honest about his own squad, or he is attempting to lower expectations amongst the clubs fans. I have to feel, and hope, that he is attempting the later, because if he isn’t you have to think that his expectations do not match the clubs owners.

Surely a title challenge was the minimum expectation for Mancini this season?  Anything less and surely the club will be underachieving after the vast amounts of money they spent in the summer? If Mancini’s ambitions for this season are not the same as the clubs hierarchies than unfortunately I cannot see him lasting long.

But as I said, I do think this is all part of a master bluff from the Italian, I feel that his plan was to get lull the Chelsea players in a false sense of security about their chances of success at Eastlands. If this was his plan, then fair play to him because it worked perfectly.

But it does you thinking, what is a successful season for Mancini?