I AM

genuinely embarrassed for any club that can’t name a full complement of players for a game, like Manchester City at Burnley on Saturday.

Whether manager Pep Guardiola was trying to send a message to owner Sheikh Mansour that there is not enough money for players, I don’t know, but with all the TV money swilling around, not to mention City’s oil money, that should be impossible.

And what about this £300million academy that is producing teams that get into finals of competitions?

City can’t find a player to stick on the bench and hand a golden opporunity? What does that say to them? That they can’t get on the bench even when there is a space there?

A lot of people think I don’t like Guardiola but that is simply not the case.

But it is very hard to excuse any Premier League manager who fails to fill the bench.