SO,WHAT’S EATING PEP GUARDIOLA?
City boss cuts an unhappy figure on the sidelines, sparking fears about his future and whether he has the energy to rebuild club again to overhaul Klopp
SHEIKH MANSOUR’S billions built a house called the Etihad to help lure Pep Guardiola to Manchester.
But almost four seasons later serious cracks are starting to appear inside the kingdom ruled from Abu Dhabi, but governed here by Guardiola.
Guardiola has spent so long looking down from the top of English football, enjoying the view.
With the exception of Liverpool, he has struggled to make out his rivals in the distance after winning five major trophies, including backto-back Premier League titles and a historic domestic Treble last season.
While the 2020 title is heading to Anfield, City remain in three cup competitions and could still go on to trouser another Treble.
There is no crisis at Manchester City, by any stretch of the imagination, despite what some people might claim.
But it is clear the balance of power in English football has shifted down the East Lancs Road to Merseyside, where Jurgen Klopp has built a formidable side.
Klopp has already tucked away the one trophy that continues to elude Guardiola at City in the shape of the Champions League – and is now set to dethrone the Spaniard as the king of domestic football, too.
Klopp’s remarkable team are now the point of reference in both English and European football and Guardiola finds himself sat in the shade looking up at someone else. He isn’t sitting comfortably, either. Not if his increasingly erratic and unpredictable behaviour of recent months is anything to go by.
While acting like Basil Fawlty on the touchline, Guardiola has also been moody and sullen, with a growing appetite for picking fights that can
– and should – be avoided.
“He could cause a scrap in an empty room”, was how one source close to Guardiola recently described his current state of mind.
Former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore and the City fans will relate to that.
His clash with the home support over empty seats at the Etihad showed naivety as well as niggle.
If he has a problem with supporters staying away, he should question why the club have increased the price of season tickets in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
City’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday was their sixth of the season.
Premier League: 2017–18, 2018–19 FA Cup: 2018–19
EFL Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19
FA Community Shield: 2018, 2019
Team Barcelona Bayern Munich Manchester City
From-to
1 July 2008-30 June 2012 26 June 2013-30 June 2016 1 July 2016-present
M 247 161 213 663
W 179 121 153 481
D 47 21 30 107
Guardiola is suffering a frustrating campaign – and his side now trail Liverpool at the top by a staggering 22 points.
He has failed to address the loss of defensive linchpin Vincent Kompany (left) last summer, while the problem of how to replace the club’s all-time leading goal-scorer Sergio Aguero (below) is starting to loom large.
But Guardiola’s biggest problem is how to rein in Liverpool and swing the pendulum back in City’s favour. On paper it looks an almighty challenge because he will know Klopp has moulded a team to last.
Despite denying reports he could take another sabbatical from football this summer, doubts remain about whether Guardiola has the stomach and drive to build again.
At Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he invested so much intensity into the roles he drove himself to exhaustion, so can he muster the energy to catch and overhaul Klopp? Sheikh Mansour’s biggest fear is when the time comes for Guardiola to hand back the keys.
Because, as their neighbours Manchester United have found after Sir Alex Ferguson, following greatness with greatness is nigh on impossible – no matter how rich you are. 21 19 30 75 72.5 75.2 71.8