Kevin De Bruyne has announced he will be leaving Manchester City after a glorious trophy filled time with the club. De Bruyne's announcement is hardly a surprise as there have been rumours for the past 18 months that he was looking for a career change. Fans have chanted his name in God-like fashion over the past decade and it seems inevitable that the club will make a statue of him. At his very best De Bruyne controlled the midfield and was untouchable. When he played it felt like the 3 points were City's before a ball was kicked. He also popped up scoring so many important goals and his assists became legendary. However it is hard to know what De Bruyne's legacy will be in 10 or 15 years time? City fans of course will only see De Bruyne as a legend but the wider football world? At his best De Bruyne was like Zinedine Zidane but Zidane is the player that kids still pretend to be in schools today 20 years after his retirement. There is a worry that while De Bruyne will not be forgotten his status may not be sealed as a legend world wide like it will in Manchester.
One of the problems of course is that every two summers we were reminded that if De Bruyne was not surrounded by great players as in his time for Belgium that he would be a face of disappointment. Zidane of course became a World Cup winner for France. Talking of international winners De Bruyne looked very special until Rodri joined City and went on to win the world player of the year and quickly win the Euro's with Spain. City have badly missed Rodri this season, his injury felt like a blow to football itself. Whilst in the corner of De Bruyne his body language has looked fatigued and possibly disinterested. His future looks set to be in America or Saudi Arabia on bigger wages that he receives now although his talent is not as good. The super players have become the super products and names sell tickets. De Bruyne's real legacy has been captured in the fans imaginations and can be replayed on youtube to hearts content. By far he has been one of the very best players of the last decade but City with a returning Rodri will not stand still and falter upon his exit.
Ivan Juric and Ruud Van Nistelrooy will be navigating their next jobs in the same boat. True for now only one of them in Juric has lost his job as Southampton's relegation was confirmed but one would think that Van Nistelrooy can't be too far behind. Both managers were brought in after previous sackings and so didn't start the season with their clubs but the return has been nothing short of appalling. Of course Leicester and Southampton were poor sides before either manager rocked up to their respective dug outs but history says when a new manager arrives teams improve. That trend seems to have changed with the exception this season of what David Moyes has done at Everton and club owners would surely have wished not to have signed Juric and Van Nistelrooy when the chance presented itself.
Juric lost 13 of his 16 games in charge resulting in a 12.5% win rate. Van Nistelrooy has overseen just 3 wins since the end of November and has a 15% win rate. Both of these records are brutal when you consider that manager's are routinely sacked with a 30% win rate. It's an interesting concept because one could still see a season where both clubs were relegated but to go down like this just screams poor team and poor management. Juric will perhaps bounce back in an Eastern European league but for Van Nistelrooy who is so young to managerial status this will feel like a punch in the face against a prime Mike Tyson. Juric may not care if he never manages in the Premier League again but for Van Nistelrooy England is a second home and he wants to manage in the top flight. One has to wonder if he will get that chance ever again? Respectively both clubs really should have won another 10 points at least. So the argument isn't to howl at their relegation, perhaps that was always on the cards, but both managers have not been able to improve their teams even by an inch and that is the most damning account of their respective projects.
The top four has been of such importance in Premier League football for decades because of Champions League qualification. This has been a season which perhaps has lacked excitement given that Liverpool have looked like champions since the end of last year and relegation looks settled with weeks to go, yet again we are witnessing the three clubs that came up to go down. Is that not as transparent as you can get that the shift in power with the amount of money going to top flight teams has created such a gap that newly promoted teams have no chance of staying up? It's a debate left for another day. Back to excitement though and what is left for us are places up for grabs for European football. For the Champions League we know that two places will be filled up by Liverpool and Arsenal. The other two places will be contested between 5 clubs with the points difference between 3rd and 7th at 6 points.
Nottingham Forest are incredibly in 3rd and everyone would love to see them qualify that would be a huge surprise. When they lost at the weekend to Aston Villa it suggested that the cracks were finally showing and that the two powerhouses in Chelsea and Manchester City would catch up, however both clubs could only draw their respective games and with a gap of four points Forest live to tell another tale. Newcastle are also right in the mix just four points behind Forest and with a game in hand. The race for 3rd and 4th could be one of the closest contested run-ins we have ever witnessed.
To Finish in the Top 4: Nottingham Forest 1.62, Manchester City 1.72, Chelsea 2.25, Newcastle 2.25, Aston Villa 15.00
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