In scenes that felt symbolic of the last fortnight at the Etihad Stadium, a huge lorry contracted to work on the site’s ongoing £300million redevelopment was impaled by an electronic bollard at about three o’clock on Friday afternoon.
Just stuck there in the car park, gallons of liquid leaking out of the bottom. Mercifully, the skewer puncturing the vehicle marginally evaded the fuel tank.
Almost exactly 24 hours earlier across Ashton New Road at the training ground, Manchester City bosses had been plugging any problems or uncertainty among their players.
Chief executive Ferran Soriano spoke to them as a collective, as he had with the Treble class of 2023 inside the first-team auditorium when the Premier League charges initially dropped. But it was the blunt, forthright message imparted by Enzo Maresca that had the squad sitting up and listening.
Maresca is forging a reputation as a strong communicator, as seen during his media duties before heading to Anfield, and there was one takeaway from his short private address.
‘Forget the noise,’ he told them. ‘We’re here to win a league. Let’s go and win the league.’
Man City boss Enzo Maresca has urged his side to win the Premier League despite the cloud hanging over the club after they were found guilty of breaching the top flight’s financial rules
City CEO Ferran Soriano spoke to the squad as a collective after they returned from the break
Maresca stalks a dressing room when he talks, repeats mantras over and over, louder and louder. City’s players are listening to him and following him and it is little wonder that one source talked about being ‘ready to go to war’ because that is exactly the tone their manager is taking, with a delivery to boot.
This is also where previous relationships with Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias come in handy, the pair of them at the club when Maresca was Pep Guardiola’s assistant.
Those two are said to have been the most vocal among the squad since the guilty verdict was released a week last Tuesday, calming influences as others rightly worried about the ramifications of such a one-sided result that has taken everybody at City aback.
There are staff who are struggling to put the pieces together of what has transpired, comparing the certainty with the independent commission’s findings and the certainty of their employers that they will prevail on appeal.
Debating the seismic judgment with the credibility they see in Soriano and the affection they have for chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. These are confusing times for those in the offices.
‘A perceived external threat can strengthen a sense of togetherness, creating a feeling that the team needs to prove people wrong,’ said Dr Nikita Rowley, sport psychologist at Coventry University.
‘It is a double-edged sword. If it creates defensiveness, resentment or a siege mentality, it could increase pressure and distract players. The key is whether that feeling translates into positive collective focus and cohesion, rather than a preoccupation with outside opinion.
‘Breaking things down into manageable, immediate goals helps bring attention back to the present. Strong leadership, consistent messaging and an environment where people feel supported can help maintain trust and stability.’
Maresca has confronted drama before, the ex-Juventus midfielder interviewed and subsequently cleared of betting on Serie A matches as part of the Calciopoli scandal when his former club were demoted to the second division. He can lean on that experience with his players, who are waiting to be led.
That even goes for the more senior heads, with Haaland taken off media duties while away with Norway the day after news broke of the guilty findings for fear he would become the club’s spokesman before an official judgment had been published.
Once the globetrotting striker sat down with Sky Sports in the days before boarding the bus for Merseyside – an interview that had been slated for weeks beforehand – there had been discussions between the broadcaster and City about what might be appropriate to ask and how that was framed.
Together with Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland has been a vocal and calming member of the squad
Similar took place with Norwegian powerhouse Viaplay and other television rights holders before a Friday press conference that surprisingly passed off without incident.
And there is an understandable feeling within the club that footballers – however decorated and however articulate they are – should not present the face of this.
In Maresca, like Guardiola before him, they possess somebody adept at navigating this situation. In a different way, with a smile and quick line rather than confrontation, but somebody they can rely on nevertheless.
Those similarities extend to how to manage the squad, with Haaland having spent a few days in Marbella playing golf after being given time away from international duty at the end of the Nations League window, with those not away with their countries – the suspended Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo – given breaks to travel too.
Semenyo is labelled ‘David Beckham’ this season by Haaland after stunning assists and got married during his time off.
Still smiling after the bombshell news and City will need to take that attitude with them on Sunday if they are to thrive in an environment that many will not have experienced before.
