Pep Guardiola finds himself in unfamiliar territory, 22 points adrift of an unbeaten Liverpool and further from the top of the table than he has been with any of his previous sides. City remain two points clear of third-placed Leicester and 14 points better off than fifth-placed Tottenham while they are still involved in three cup competitions. But Guardiola has never lost as many league games in a single season during his management career, and City’s latest setback at Tottenham leaves his side with an impossible margin to overcome.
The domestic treble winning coach is surely aware of his situation and what his side really needs but it appears the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach might be getting away easy. What are the excuses on the table for the City and Pep? It is quite obvious the club did not have the best summer in transfer market failing to replace influential captain and defense marshal – Vincent Kompany following his exit at the end of last season and the long term injury to Aymeric Laporte left the defending champions exposed at the back. The injury to the French player saw Guardiola convert ageless holding midfielder Fernandinho into a center back where he has outperformed both Nicolás Otamendi and John Stones combined and individually. In midfield current club captain – David Silva announced his decision to leave at the end of the campaign and his contribution has tailed off due to age and demands of total control football from the possession obsessed Guardiola. The Spanish World Cup winner’s missing guile hasn’t been replicated by namesake Bernardo Silva who is a different type of player leaving the heavy lifting for Kevin De Bruyne. Sergio Aguero has continued to deliver the goals in attack but the supporting cast – Raheem Sterling has gone off the boils while Riyad Mahrez has been too inconsistent and Leroy Sane out injured since August. The list of excuses seem long and genuine from a neutral point of view but then, if this situation were with another manager, would the critics hit hard on him or show similar level of comprehension?
It is not in doubt that Pep Guardiola is arguably the best of his generation with his footballing philosophy but then getting off lightly this season would seem unfair and partial. He deserves praises for his contribution but should be given sticks as well. A critical look at Manchester City’s penalty record suggests something is not right. Their miserable form from the penalty spot continued yesterday as Ilkay Gundogan had a shot saved in the Premier League defeat at Tottenham. It was City’s fourth missed penalty in their last six attempts in all competitions. The game was still goalless when City were awarded the spot kick, if it was converted, the game would have taken a different dimension and that has been the story for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola this season. The team doesn’t seem to have a first choice regular penalty kick taker judging from outside. We have seen Aguero, Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling all taken spot kicks this season and only Kun Aguero has a spotless conversion record. The Argentine striker was on the pitch when City had the penalty but he didn’t take it.
Let’s not forget the Mikel Arteta saga in December, his former assistant was poached by Arsenal leaving him to work with his right hand man. Pep has been in the business long before Arteta retired as a player and such disruption will affect planning, preparations but these are all part and parcel of the game and business. Željko Buvač, a former Liverpool assistant manager whom Jurgen Klopp labelled “the brain” in his coaching team, while describing himself as “the heart” walked out on the club in April 2018 when the Reds were at the business end of the Champions League. It didn’t derail Liverpool that much, they landed in Kyiv, playing in the 2018 Champions League final.
City are still playing sensational football at times and there is not a lot to be done in improving the team but their failings this seaosn should be highlighted. Manchester United with the quality or lack of quality in team finished second, 19 points behind City in the 2017-18 season and Jose Mourinho was thumped by the media. Let’s take a second to imagine it were Liverpool (current European and World Club champions) that had this massive deficit to cover up, would Klopp get away without problems? The gap between City and the leaders can still be reduced but it seem the media has a favorite manager and it has been lenient with criticism or reproach towards the Manchester City boss.
The Premier League is going on its first winter break soon after the next round of matches. City play West Ham next Sunday and then they will have a 12-day break where Guardiola can reinvigorate his team as they prepare for the final run-in of the season.
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