CITY Blues boss wondering what might have been
PEP Guardiola has been left to reflect on whether Vincent Kompany might have made the difference to City’s title bid.
The skipper has now played seven games on the bounce for the first time in more than two years.
And the Blues have lost just one of those seven games – the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal – and that has had Guardiola reflecting on what might have been.
“When I see the last eight games with Vincent, I wonder what would have happened,” said Guardiola after seeing another towering performance from the Belgian in the 3-1 win over West Brom on Tuesday night.
“How many times in long balls did he win the duels? He is a guy who, for the last two or three years, hasn’t been involved in the team as he was a long-time injured.
“When you compete against teams in the Premier League and the big clubs, you need your top players and Vincent is a top player to put pressure on the others.”
Kompany snuffed out the Baggies’ threat by bullying their target man, Salomon Rondon, out of the game, just as he did to Manolo Gabbiadini and Christian Benteke in previous games. With Kompany fighting to return to action – and even to save his career – and with summer bids for Aymeric Laporte and Leonardo Bonucci failing, Guardiola had to press left-back Aleks Kolarov into action in the middle. It worked for a while, but in bigger games it became apparent that he was not the long-term solution and he, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi all struggled at times during the season. “Most of the time we played with Kolarov, who was amazing as a central defender, but he is not a central defender,” said Guardiola. “He was amazing, especially against teams that defend deep, for the buildup, with his long passes and passes between the lines. “But we played just with John and Nico, and we needed Kompany to put pressure on the other ones. “They need to compete with each other, especially in the boxes.” Kompany’s career was on the line, but Guardiola has made it plain that he is now a central figure for next season, a player who brings experience and leadership on and off the field, as well as aerial power and the steel that City have often lacked. “We need this guy for those situations and, hopefully, next season we can improve and be close to the two teams above us,” said Guardiola. Kompany has steadied the ship to the extent that a team that was worried about making the top four Pep Guardiola when he returned to action last month now needs just a point to be sure – and a win at Watford on the last day to finish behind Chelsea and Spurs.
“Now, we can finish third and go directly into the Champions League again – we have to remember that Manchester City was for more than 30 years not playing in Europe, but for the past six years they have been there every year, and that means a lot,” said Guardiola.
“That is a step, and when you achieve a step, the next year will be easier.
“Next year we will improve as I know the players better and they know me better. And we are going to change something to be better.”