What’s unsuitable with Manchester City?
I’ve a principle, though it will not be a lot appreciated by the house owners of the Emirati crew. The downside may very well be the coach, who the membership not too long ago signed to a two-year extension that, based mostly on the worth of his earlier contract, is probably going value greater than $50 million.
And Pep Guardiola earned it. In 9 seasons at Manchester City, he coached the crew to fifteen main trophies, together with six of the final seven English Premier League titles and a treble in 2022-23. His groups broke EPL information for consecutive titles received, most factors in a season, most wins in a season, most objectives in a season, largest title successful margin and greatest aim differential, amongst different issues.
Before that, Guardiola received two Champions League titles and a treble at Barcelona and three Bundesliga titles in as many seasons at Bayern Munich. He is, unquestionably, one of many biggest membership managers within the historical past of soccer.
But he might have overstayed his welcome in Manchester.
Guardiola, 53, has already coached greater than double the variety of matches in Manchester in comparison with his earlier stops. If he stays till the top of his extension – and he apparently has greater than 50 million the reason why he ought to – he can have spent 11 seasons on the membership in a league the place the common tenure of a supervisor is simply 787 days, in keeping with The Athletic.
Guardiola has already been with City longer than most Americans keep of their first marriage. And identical to in no-fault divorce, there isn’t any must assign blame when relationships turn out to be stale. However, we have to transfer ahead.
That’s the place City discover themselves having received simply as soon as of their final 11 video games in all competitions, the worst slip of Guardiola’s managerial profession. The newest defeat got here at dwelling within the Manchester Derby on Sunday, with City conceding two objectives within the ultimate two minutes of regular time in a 2-1 defeat that dropped them to fifth place within the EPL desk.
City haven’t completed exterior the highest 4 since 2010 and solely as soon as has a Guardiola-managed crew completed decrease than second place within the league in all places. The crew are conceding objectives at the next price (1.68 per sport in all competitions) than in any earlier season underneath Guardiola, with City’s 42 objectives conceded in 25 video games this yr matching the quantity they’ve conceded objectives in 61 video games in 2020. 21.
The metropolis has clearly misplaced its swagger. In the previous he was conceited and self-confident; now it’s shaken and in disarray.
So why is that this occurring?
It’s not sure why Guardiola all of a sudden forgot practice; Despite City’s difficulties, he stays one of many sport’s predominant tacticians. Injuries, nonetheless, took their toll, particularly in defence.
John Stones has performed simply 11 instances this season, two greater than Nathan Ake. And Kyle Walker, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne have all missed time via damage or sickness. Yet nobody has been missed greater than Rodri, the cornerstone of the crew’s midfield and up to date winner of the Ballon d’Or, who has been unavailable for the reason that finish of September resulting from an anterior cruciate ligament damage.
Manchester City supervisor Pep Guardiola, proper, leaves the pitch with Matheus Nunes after the match in opposition to Manchester United on December 15.
(Dave Thompson/Associated Press)
City had been eight video games unbeaten earlier than Rodri was injured; since then they’ve received solely seven instances in 17 matches.
Yet accidents, even devastating ones like Rodri’s, are a part of the sport and City have already overcome them prior to now. What is probably on the coronary heart of the crew’s sudden collapse this season is the truth that the connection between Guardiola and his gamers, like a foul first marriage, has grown stale.
Six of the crew’s predominant gamers are over 30 and all six, plus Foden, have been there since Guardiola’s second season in Manchester. They had been collectively for greater than 440 video games and 1000’s of practices, crew conferences and halftime talks.
There’s a very good likelihood that the whole lot Guardiola says is one thing they’ve heard earlier than. So even when they do not ignore it – consciously or unconsciously – the message would not resonate because it used to.
This just isn’t a brand new phenomenon. That’s why many nationwide crew coaches solely final one World Cup cycle and why the common tenure of a membership coach in Europe is simply 402 days, in keeping with the Switzerland-based International Center for Sports Studies. In South America there are 99 fewer.
Guardiola’s tenure at Manchester City, alternatively, is already the second longest within the membership’s historical past and greater than two years longer than that of every other present Premier League supervisor.
Familiarity may be a energy in some professions, however teaching just isn’t certainly one of them.
Consider Bob Bradley’s time with LAFC. In his first season, which ended with an MLS playoff look, gamers raved about his consideration to even the smallest particulars, together with how effectively they arrange their tables within the crew canteen. By his fourth season, the crew had a dropping file and gamers complained that Bradley was too demanding. So the crew changed him with the extra laid-back Steve Cherundolo and received the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup in Cherundolo’s first yr.
“Different affect, completely different voice. I believe it is a part of the method,” mentioned Ante Razov, assistant coach to each coaches.
I keep in mind the same lesson from a long time in the past. The day earlier than the late John Robinson coached USC to its third Rose Bowl in 4 years, I used to be despatched to cowl the Trojans’ ultimate observe. Just earlier than observe ended, the sphere gates opened and the USC marching band, led by the singing ladies, marched in taking part in the varsity’s combat track.
When a number of the nice gamers from previous USC groups all of a sudden emerged from the gathered crowd to provide rousing speeches, it was apparent that the crew’s latest gamers had been buzzing. But behind them a number of juniors and seniors sat on their helmets and chatted with one another, utterly ignoring the pep talks. When I requested why, a bored lineman mentioned “we have heard all this earlier than.”
Robinson by no means received one other Rose Bowl and left for the NFL three years later. The downside wasn’t the coach or the message, however the truth that the gamers had already heard all of it.
The similar might now be true in east Manchester.
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