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Manchester City wrapped up the 2020/21 season by winning the Premier League title for the third time under their current boss, Pep Guardiola. The Citizens got off to a rocky start, dropping to as low as 8th by the end of December. However, the Spaniard was able to turn his ship around and ended up winning the league by a whopping 12 points.
Even so, Guardiola's tactics were questioned at every crossroads possible. His failure to win the Champions League with Manchester City after spending over a billion euros has always drawn criticism towards his methods. One of those decisions was not acquiring an adequate replacement for Sergio Aguero and playing a combination of players in attack instead. Was this the reason behind City's troubles at the start of last season?
In the 13 years of his top-flight managerial career, Pep has been known to deploy a particular style of play. Inspired by Johan Cruyff's 'Total Football' ideology, the system used by Guardiola over the years has procured the name 'Positional Play'. Under this type of management, players are required to hone their actions according to the movement of their teammates as well as the positions of their opponents. To construct a mindset that enables such a playing style, Guardiola has introduced a peculiar way of dividing his training grounds.
Guardiola's unique tactics
His pitches are divided into 20 different sections. The catch here is that players are instructed to avoid forming certain kinds of structures. While no 3 players should form a horizontal line at any given time, no more than a single player should be in the same vertical line. This causes everyone on the pitch to be on the move constantly, covering spaces left behind by their teammates and being in control of their surroundings.
Another aspect of Guardiola's style of play is that when orchestrated properly, it results in the generation of possession diamonds or triangles. Meaning, the player in possession will always have at least 2 choices in close proximity to play the ball to. Of course, the limitations to one's passing options can only be governed by his vision but a formation like this will only make the job easier.
However, rotational play, sound ball control, and adept passing techniques are some of the traits a player needs to possess in order to prosper in a system like this. That is precisely why Guardiola is so picky when it comes to recruiting.
Last season we saw Guardiola use this system to its fullest at Manchester City. With Sergio Aguero making just 20 appearances in all competitions due to multiple injury concerns, Guardiola was forced to change formations throughout the season. Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and even Kevin De Bruyne were often stationed upfront as cover.
With the addition of Zinchenko on the left in place of an erratic Benjamin Mendy, his plan worked out even more smoothly. When asked to switch into midfield during play, the 24-year-old Ukrainian left-back proved to be much more comfortable and proficient. This facilitated Ilkay Gundogan to move ahead more often. As the wingers drew the defenders towards themselves, it enabled Gundogan to get into the box and score time and time again. However, during the latter stages of the 20/21 season, the Catalan chose Gabriel Jesus as his false-9 center forward.
Why the striker hunt?
So why are City pursuing Harry Kane? With Aguero now in Spain with Barcelona, City need a replacement upfront to match the Argentine's output. And luckily enough, Kane is an ideal substitute for Aguero.
His creative numbers were off-the-charts for a striker, providing a league-best 14 assists last season. The fact is that the England captain has always been good at innovating. Due to Mourinho's conservative approach, Kane's creative prowess was made more apparent as it allowed the 27-year-old attacker to sit deeper and wait for his teammates to make runs. This meant that Kane could now spot more runs and make more passes into the box, all the while doing what he does best: scoring goals. As a result, the Englishman turned into an actual number 10.
Even though Guardiola claimed that Manchester City don't have sufficient funds to recruit a star-striker, a bid close to €117m was registered by City for the services of Kane. Furthermore, the blue half of Manchester are one of the few clubs who have the financial might of landing this deal.
If not Kane, Guardiola's side can always enter the race for Erling Haaland's signature. The current occupant of the Golden Boy award, Haaland's current contract with Borussia Dortmund states that his release clause would be as low as €75m come next season. He has even been linked to the English giants in the past, but those rumors have turned cold at the time of writing.
So, in retrospect, Manchester City are self-sufficient as of now under Guardiola. With the Spanish manager extending his stay at the Etihad until 2023, it is safe to assume that there is still a lot left to see in City's Guardiola-era. The Sky Blues have already asserted dominance in England but have failed to replicate this success on a continental level.
However, a consistent, injury-free striker can definitely help cover the difference. Who the Citizens sign as their central attacker would define their trajectory under Guardiola's regime as both Kane and Haaland have the capabilities to take City to the next level.
