Pep should be thankful it wasn’t a Mouldmaster
Talk about a balls-up.
Pep Guardiola’s criticism of the ball used in the Carabao Cup made plenty of headlines.
Not fit for top- level competition was the Manchester City boss’ take.
So scathing was Guardiola, he triggered a response from the ball’s makers, Mitre, and the EFL.
Both were cool, calm and collected in their response.
Fair play to them for that, because had I drafted it, the message would have been short and sharp – shut it, Pep! Honestly, what a load of rubbish. The ball used in the Carabao Cup is the same kind used in the Championship every single week – and I don’t recall any complaints up until Manchester City’s megastars had to contend with it.
Call me a cynic, but I reckon Pep’s complaint was less about the ball in question, and more about the fact his side needed a penalty shootout to scrape past Championship outfit, Wolves, in midweek. It was a deflection – plain and simple. And for me, it reflects poorly on the City gaffer.
All he had to do was praiseWolves for playing well on the night, getting stuck in, and making life difficult for his side.
That would have been the gracious thing to do.
Instead he made an excuse – and he didn’t half pick a flimsy one.
Let me tell you, today’s players and managers don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to complaining about footballs.
To be fair, neither did I when I was a kid – but that’s because I’d just taken a direct hit on the thigh from a Mitre Mouldmaster!
I bet if I had a look right now, the imprint would still be there!
Those things were brutal of a cold morning on the red blaize, and well worth complaining about.
Even the mention of the name brings me out in a cold sweat, and I bet I’m not alone.
I seemed to take a toe poke to the leg from two yards away in every single game back in those days.
Then, if you were unlucky enough to be in the goal, you were guaranteed a staved finger. It was absolutely brutal, thinking back on it. Playing with a Mouldmaster was like going to war!
But by the time I became a professional, the balls we were using were starting to resemble those of the modern variety.
Ipswich won the UEFA Cup in 1981 with a red and white ball, which I absolutely loved.
It seemed slicker and swerved better than others, a bit like the famous Adidas Tango, which was another favourite of mine.
But at the end of the day, a ball is a ball – and both teams have to use the same one.
In midweek, that meant Wolves and Manchester City both used Mitre’s Carabao Cup ball – but only one team made a fuss about it.
Perhaps, because Wolves use it every week in the Championship, they were more used to it. But that’s no excuse as far as I’m concerned. For Pep Guardiola to say the ball isn’t suitable for use in top competitions, when it has been tested and approved by FIFA for that exact purpose, is ludicrous.
Regardless of the ball, City should still beat Wolves comfortably.
That they didn’t is down to the Championship side’s good play and the Premier League titlechasers having an off day.
Pep should have acknowledged that. Instead he looked for an excuse.
Even the mention of the name can still bring me out in a cold sweat, and I bet I’m not alone