Overview
It looked very rosy for the first few months under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Winning their first 10 games in all competitions, infusing an already impressive squad with quality players in Gundogan, Nolito and Claudio Bravo, as well as potential world beating young stars in Stones and Leroy Sane.
After years of pursuing the ‘Catalan Dream’, Manchester’s second club seemed to have finally made the definitive move to create a new gold standard in English football, and leave everyone else quacking in their wake.
Also Read: Guardiola pleased with City's approach at the back
Apparently, not everyone heard the memo. Celtic held them in the Champions League in quite bizarre fashion, before Spurs thoroughly outworked them at White Hart Lane. More defeats to Chelsea, Leicester and most recently, Liverpool, have left Guardiola fuming and bemused in equal measure. Even with the recent hiccups, City are exactly where we thought they would be: very much in the title race and through to the knockout stage in Europe.
Ground Reality
The good has been near sublime with City at times. de Bruyne and Silva are pulling the strings in whatever formation the Manchester City manager implements, and Aguero continues to score at a rate that has Alan Shearer sweating over his scoring record.
Wherever City do finish this season, it is very hard to envision them not being in the thick of it with their quality players at their peak, apart from the others who will continue to come in.
Something hard to envision that did happen this year, however, was the reintroduction of Yaya Toure, who seemed to pull himself out of the Guardiola graveyard to become an unlikely key player for the Citizens in order to keep the pace.
However, aside from Toure and the always erratic Raheem Sterling, no player seems to have improved significantly under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich man’s stewardship. This has continued to be the biggest flaw in the Guardiola project.
For all the money and the talent and the nouveau tactical twists implemented, without a leader like Vincent Kompany, putting in the dirty work and allowing the technical brilliance to flourish game after game, the team continues to stagger rather than soar. Guardiola’s naïve approach to some contests, like against Chelsea and Leicester City, where playing a high line with 3 at the back is near suicide, he did it anyway.
To put it bluntly, Bravo, Stones and Fernandinho in particular, need to play better. Whether it's comical gaffes or foolish sendings off, these players need a change in mentality as they hold the key to City’s prospects moving forward. Also, as unpopular as they may be to him, the full-back positions on the field have to be filled in some form or another and not just left vacant.
Also Read: Guardiola needs time to establish City among Europe's elite
Critiquing a great manager like Guardiola may seem foolish, but a lot is expected from a manager who built one of the best teams in the history of football, and the pressure and criticism is all but natural.
The Catalan manager needs to devote more time into coaching John Stones on how to cover the right side of defence, and Otamendi in holding a deeper position rather than trying to intercept every ball. This is the harsh reality of coaching young players or players with potential, over coaching world-class players in Puyol, Lahm and Neuer, who understood their roles perfectly.
Looking ahead to the second half of the season
It will be interesting to see what changes City might make in this transfer window and then throughout the year. Considering the current position in the league after the first half of the season, it is not out of the question to say that City will be on the outside looking in at the top 4 despite their outrageous talent.
The teams around them, except perhaps Arsenal, all seem to get getting stronger and growing as teams. It is crucial that Guardiola does the same so that his first season does not end in disappointment.
Funnily enough, I would give City an excellent chance in progressing further in the Champions League again. Their performance against Barcelona at home in the group stage was easily the best of the season. While they have to tidy up some loose ends, not least the result in the away game, they would be equal to if not favourites against all opposition at their best (maybe not Real).
