Manuel Pellegrini must go - and there's a perfect replacement for Manchester City

It is perfectly clear that Manchester City need to spend lots of money in the summer – is he the right person to entrust those resources to? I don't think so.

Clubs are looking for managers with charisma in the modern game. They need something about them. But Pellegrini hasn’t got those kind of qualities. He needs to keep winning games because as soon as he doesn’t, his lack of charisma is highlighted in his pre- and post-match interviews. City’s owners will want someone with some presence, but Pellegrini is just a nice guy.

Diego Simeone would be the best option for any club looking to make a change this summer. He is great at turning players around and dealing with big-time charlies: he did it as a player and he does it as a manager. He can deal with big egos and gets the best out of players, but signing a new contract at Atletico Madrid recently told you where his heart is and there is no chance of him coming.

Carlo Ancelotti would be a perfect choice though. Regardless of how this season ends at Real Madrid, he has a fantastic record. He has charisma. He did it as a player and as a manager and people who play under him, love him. He will be able to attract the right kind of players.

He should never have got the sack from Chelsea and has achieved everywhere he has been. He isn’t a guy who uses the hairdryer treatment but he is a great man-manager with a great sense of humour. He has presence. Unlike the man currently in charge.

Pellegrini says City need to make a big signing this summer but in fact they need to make more than just one. They need to start again from scratch. This team has had too long and has grown old and bloated.

They don’t have the necessary strength of character to win back-to-back titles and that is the true test of any great team. Gary Neville made the point last night but I’ve been saying it for ages: you have to do it back-to-back to be a great team.

Once is not enough. Throughout Pellegrini’s career in Europe he hasn’t managed to win back-to-back trophies and it says something about him as a manager, and his players at City. Maybe they think once is enough.

City have plugged away with the same players and as a result they haven’t reinvigorated the squad as they should have. That means they are going to have to spend again, and they need to appoint a manager who will bring in some young players and revitalise this stale squad.

They rested on their laurels, enjoyed last season’s success and forgot to move on. The mentality isn’t there. They have forgotten how to win things and you see the results of that today with City sitting in fourth place in the league. It’s a dismal defence of their title.

They’ve won five games in their last 15 in all competitions. Five! And they’ve lost seven in 14. They always talk a good game but the performances just aren’t materialising. I knew they’d lose at Selhurst Park on Monday night because they just aren’t up for the fight. They didn’t show up.

There’s been continuity in selection but too many of the players who have been indulged in this way haven’t contributed enough.

Someone like Jesus Navas has been a complete waste of money, a Spanish Theo Walcott, all pace and no end product. Plenty of people feared that would be the case when they signed him and he has been very poor.

As for Vincent Kompany, his slump in form has been as dramatic as City’s, if not more so. It’s all caught up with him. He has got to have a long, hard look at himself in the summer and come back and have the greatest pre-season of his life if he is to prove that he is worthy of another season in the Premier League.

If a new manager comes in he isn’t going to want to build a back four around Kompany. He gives away too many fouls, he gets too many bookings and red cards and it’s because he is being found out. He has poor body position, is poor positionally and lacks agility.

They are hugely over-reliant on Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero and haven’t got enough star players, especially in attack. In defence they keep messing about with the full-backs and the centre-halves aren’t much better. There’s big problems all over the pitch.

It’s time to clear the decks at Manchester City if they are to have any chance of challenging for the title next season, starting with the man in charge.