He’s a pioneer, a visionary and one of the greatest coaches the game has ever seen, but Pep Guardiola is going through the toughest period of his career right now.
With four consecutive Premier League titles in the bag, Manchester City began the 2024/25 campaign as hot favourites to make it five; and with a manager who has won 12 league titles across La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League no wonder. Some commentators in the UK media have recently said they thought a fall off would happen last season, after the Sky Blues had won three league titles on the bounce and the Champions League…but this SBOTOP writer didn’t!
And I have to say I’m amazed by the speed and ferocity of the collapse at the Etihad, as a defeat to Manchester United on Sunday was the eighth suffered by the Sky Blues in 11 games. Guardiola’s team sits in fifth place in the league table and nine points behind the leaders. The game isn’t up just yet and Manchester City typically get stronger in the second half of the season, but the problems they have had over the past two months inspire very little confidence.
League leaders Liverpool and title hopefuls Arsenal both dropped points over the weekend, which gave Guardiola’s men a great chance to reduce the gap to a more manageable size, but they failed spectacularly. Few fans expected the Manchester Derby to be a classic and, in honesty, it was a poor game; but City were coasting to a win, probing for a second goal after Josko Gvardiol had given them a first half lead. And with two minutes of normal time remaining the Red Devils had still failed to land a glove on their hosts and then…up stepped Amad Diallo, the 22 year old Ivorian, who showed the other 21 players what a superstar looks like. First he seized on a weak back-pass to win a penalty on 88 minutes which Bruno Fernandes converted and then, two minutes later he stunned the City crowd when he latched onto a lofted ball, lifted it over keeper Edison and slid the ball home from a tight angle.
The Red Devils fans were delirious but Guardiola was beyond bewildered as he stared in disbelief at what had just unfolded before his very eyes. But maybe he should be getting used to this feeling as, despite dominating possession for long periods of every game they play, City’s Premier League 2024 results have been simply dreadful.
Pep has been doing a lot of soul searching and, in the aftermath of the derby defeat he said: “”I’m the boss, I’m the manager, I have to find solutions but I don’t find solutions. This is a big club and when you lose eight something is wrong. I’m the manager and I’m not good enough, simple as that. I have to find a way to talk to them, to train them in the way we need to play, to press the way we need to press. I’m not good enough. I’m not doing well. That is the truth.”
These are tough times for Guardiola but what has gone wrong?
The Catalan coach has been the best exponent of quick passing movement from the back to the front, patience in building and over loading defences when his team smells blood. It’s irresistible when City are on song, as they have been for a decade but the fluency and swagger has gone.
The injury to defensive midfielder Rodri has undoubtedly made a huge impact. The Ballon D’Or winner has been the Sky Blues’ heartbeat and it is his strength which has allowed the creative players to thrive. But while a sidelined Rodri has hurt City, some other key players are showing signs of fatigue. Guardiola has added incrementally to his squad over the years but now many of the biggest players are ageing before our eyes. Kevin De Bruyne (33), Kyle Walker (34), Ilkay Gundogan (34), John Stones (30) and Bernardo Silva (30) will be immortalised in the Manchester City hall of fame but they all seem to have lost something, a yard of pace or the bite of hunger.
The next generation, led by Phil Foden and Rico Lewis, have the talent to succeed but they are not all yet at the level of their elders, and new wingers Jeremy Doku and Savinho are no where near at the level of champions.
The latest Premier League 2024 betting odds give City a less than ten per cent chance of defending their title, at around 15.00 as fourth favourites. I think that’s probably about right…but if I were a Liverpool fan, with City on a run of one win in 11, I’d really want to be more that nine points ahead.
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