Pep Guardiola's reason for quitting rings alarm bells - now Man City must find new message
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If Pep Guardiola’s past comments are anything to go by, then his Manchester City exit may not be that far away. Nevermind, the contract extension that the king of the Etihad signed earlier this term, tying him to the club until 2027. Or the fact that this is very much a club built in his image, where he has enjoyed dominion during his entire tenure.
City won’t sack him. We know that. No matter how bad these next few months could get, they won’t bin the six-time Premier League winner. They think he’s the best manager in the world. Only in the past two months has that even looked in question. But ahead of the Boxing Day visit of Everton, City are a mess. And Guardiola, for once, doesn’t look like he can locate the answer - at least not yet.
Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa - particularly painful given the role Morgan Rogers, once a City youngster, played - meant Guardiola’s men suffered a ninth defeat in their past 12 matches. It is by an absolute distance the worst spell of the Catalan’s entire managerial career.
Questions have been asked about why. Guardiola himself points to the injury suffered by Rodri, leading to his prolonged absence, as key. But pulling out one wooden stick shouldn’t make the entire Jenga pile fall - especially not at this level. From the outside, the biggest issue looks like this side is old. Key players have been allowed to get old together - in Ilkay Gundogan they even brought one back - and some players who have been sold haven’t been adequately replaced, most notably Julian Alvarez; regardless of him wanting to go, losing a guy that gives you 19 goals last season and not getting in a replacement at all is going to be a problem.
