No matter how good Manuel Pellegrini is as a manager, Manchester City are setting him up for failure before he’s even been hired as the new boss. Today while on tour in the United States, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano said this:
“I think that next season is going to be much better. I am convinced about that. It doesn’t mean we are going to win one or two titles but in the grand scheme of things, if we look at the next five years and I could plan now, I would say I want to win five trophies in the next five years.
“That may mean we win no trophy one year and two in another but on average I want one title a year. That includes the Champions League, the Premier League or the FA Cup. Is it a realistic aim? I think it is, yes, but I am talking about five years.
“If next year we don’t win but progress our football and get to the semi-finals of the Champions League, finish second in the Premier League and lose the FA Cup final again that will be fine.
Should Manchester City have lofty ambitions? Certainly, but I wouldn’t be sharing those with the public. City, and Pellegrini, have a ton of work ahead of them, and their chief executive isn’t making it any easier.
Here are tonight’s Premier League news headlines:
- Manchester City tell Pellegrini to ‘win five trophies in five years’ — The Guardian
- England could be awarded five spots in the Champions League from 2015 — The Telegraph
- Alan Pardew faces sack unless Newcastle finish in top 10 next season — The Guardian
- Stoke reject a written transfer request from midfielder Steven Nzonzi — BBC Sport
- Manchester United refinance debt to cut interest costs by £10m a year — The Guardian
- Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley backs manager Alan Pardew to take club forward — Telegraph
- Government ready to hit football with bill to push through reforms — The Guardian
- Players face retrospective bans in Premier League trial by video next season — Telegraph
- Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata calls Jose Mourinho ‘one of the best’ — The Independent
- Tony Pulis has urged the club’s fans to get behind whoever succeeds him in the Britannia — Sky Sports
- The New York Yankees and Man City buy into U.S. soccer — Time
- Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini target of another bid by San Lorenzo — The Telegraph
- Thibaut Courtois eyes Chelsea breakthrough but Atletico want to keep him for another year — Standard
- EA set to support current-gen up to FIFA 18 ‘at the very least’ — FIFA Soccer Blog
- Roberto Martinez ‘swinging towards’ staying as Wigan manager, says Whelan — Telegraph
- Swansea City: No approach from Everton for Michael Laudrup — This Is South Wales
- Titus Bramble may be on his way from Sunderland to MLS — Pro Soccer Talk
- A pair of Champions League final tickets can cost up to £14,000 on black market — The Mail
The Nightly EPL is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s British newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly EPL on EPL Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.
