City's demise an 'abject surrender'

Abject surrender ... it hasn't been pretty for Manchester City. Source: Jon Super / AP

Leon Osman's pile-driver for Everton has accelerated Manchester City's "abject surrender" of their Barclays Premier League crown.

Their 2-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park has seen the champions slump 15 points adrift of their title rivals Manchester United.

Leon Osman's scorching strike, which you can watch at the top of the page, created the round's great highlight. But the latest loss has showcased City's capitulation. 

Notwithstanding the fact that Mancini has an embarrassment of offensive riches at his disposal, he has long bemoaned the club's failure to secure Robin van Persie over Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United, declaring that the striker would prove the difference in the race for the title. 

"He is the difference between us," Mancini moaned in December. 

He was at it again before the weekend's loss to Everton. This time, he rued his failure to add defensive cover. 

"Probably we made a mistake because when we knew of (Vincent Kompany's injury) problem we were four days to the close of the market.

"Probably then we should maybe have bought another defender. Also, last year he had this problem, for one month he didn't play. This is a big problem. For me we made a mistake in this case.

"We had a chance because we had one good defender but we didn't think that Vinny would stay out for 40-45 days."

The trouble for City is their championship-winning side have plateaued, while the club has failed to bring in players to keep them on their toes. 

In an exclusive interview with Fox Sports football, goalkeeper Joe Hart said his side's big guns had dropped the ball at key moments this term. 

"I don't think we've finished teams off this season like we did last season," Hart said. 

"Key players haven't always done the right things at the right time, myself included." 

But Bosnich, speaking on Fox Sports' program Sunday Shootout, said their failure to re-enforce their squad was a massive mistake, failing to re-energise and re-motivate a championship-winning side. 

"The Liverpool dynasty of 20 years used to ... win something, then add a few players. Manchester United have done it for the last few years," Bosnich said. 

"This has been an abject surrender. 

"15 points at this stage is a real embarrassment. 

"For a team of that type of riches should've added two or three quality players to put pressure on the players in that dressing room. They didn't - and look what happened. 

"I'm waiting to see whether Mancini will pay for this with his job. 

"The bottom line is the buck stops with the manager. If he wasn't happy with it (his ability to sign players), he should've resigned."

Mancini was so furious after the loss at Goodison Park that he sent assistant David Platt out to fulfill his media duties. 

But despite City all but conceding the crown, the usual platitudes are still being offered by Manchester United. 

"It is a big gap and we shouldn't let that change. We have the title in our hands," said defender Nemanja Vidic.

"What happened last season is the reason why sometimes you can feel the fans get nervous.

"But I don't think we should allow that to happen again. We can't allow that to happen again.

"But we still have some tough away games at places that are traditionally hard for us so nothing is finished yet."

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Debts highlight Liverpool demise

Kenny Dalglish ... Liverpool had to pay out the former manager to the tune of around $15m. Source: Jon Super / AAP

Liverpool owners have been hit by a set of "painful'' financial results that highlight the cost of investing heavily in players who have failed to re-establish the club as a force in England or Europe.

The debt at Liverpool was revealed on Monday to have risen by one-third to £87.2 million ($A130 million), while losses of £40.5 million ($A60 million) were accrued during the 2011-2012 season.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	28	23	2	3	37	71
2	Man City	27	16	8	3	26	56
3	Tottenham	28	16	6	6	16	54
4	Chelsea	28	15	7	6	26	52
5	Arsenal	28	13	8	7	21	47
6	Everton	28	11	12	5	9	45
7	Liverpool	28	11	9	8	19	42
8	Swansea	28	10	10	8	5	40
9	West Brom	28	12	4	12	1	40
10	Fulham	28	8	9	11	-5	33
11	Stoke	28	7	12	9	-7	33
12	West Ham	28	9	6	13	-9	33
13	Norwich	28	7	11	10	-18	32
14	Sunderland	28	7	9	12	-7	30
15	Newcastle	28	8	6	14	-11	30
16	Southampton	28	6	9	13	-12	27
17	Wigan	28	6	6	16	-22	24
18	Aston Villa	27	5	9	13	-26	24
19	Reading	28	5	8	15	-20	23
20	QPR	28	3	11	14	-23	20

"I take comfort in the fact that the work we have done, some of which costs us a lot of money in this period and beyond, looks pretty painful at the time,'' managing director Ian Ayre said.

"But as long as you invest in it and manage it in the right way, then hopefully it bears fruit as we go forward.''

There's little prospect of Liverpool reaping riches from the UEFA Champions League next season, however, as the team languishes in seventh place in the Barclays Premier League, outside the top four qualification places.

The downbeat financial results demonstrate the minimal impact of having reached two domestic finals last season and ending a six-year title drought by winning the League Cup.

The five-time European champions were strong performers in the Champions League before slumping out of the group stage in 2009.

It was the eighth-placed finish last season in a top-flight division the club has won 18 times - a haul only surpassed by Manchester United - that bit so hard on the Anfield balance sheets and led to Kenny Dalglish losing his job as manager, replaced by Brendan Rodgers.

The cost of firing Dalglish was included in £9.5 million ($A14 million) of "exceptional payments" during the 10 months to May 31, 2012 covered by these accounts.

Liverpool's losses of £40.5 million in the accounts covering a 10-month period were in line with the losses in the previous full year.

There was only a modest increase in turnover of £5 million ($A7.5 million) from the £184 million ($A273 million) reported for 2010-2011.

Man United's revenue by comparison in 2011-12 hit £320 million ($A476 million).

Ayre accepts the club must "mprove revenues and manage our cost base effectively''.

Owner John Henry's Fenway Sports Group, which rescued the club from fellow Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr in 2010, injected £46.8 million ($A70 million) into the club last season.

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