5 ways in which Guardiola has improved Manchester City

In January 2016, Manchester City had announced that after chasing and flirting for about 3 years, the object of their desire; Pep Guardiola had agreed to join the club as a replacement for Chilean Manuel Pellegrini.

In the two and half seasons since he has been in Manchester, Guardiola has completely changed the team from a band of players loosely put together at great cost, to an efficient, entertaining team that looks set to be at the top for a long time. The Spaniard has looked at home at the Etihad Stadium and looks set to stay there for a long time (something he has never done in his career).

The team’s effervescence, attitude and breathtaking football thrilled the Premier League last season and they have started the 2018/2019 season like a house on fire.

Here is a look at how Guardiola has gone about delivering on his remit of making the Citizens a powerhouse:

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#5 He has improved the players he met

Guardiola has made a lot of his players better with Sterling a prime example

When the Catalan genius took over at the Etihad in 2016, he met a huge problem. The City side he inherited was one that was in decline with the oldest average age (30.5) in the league.

While there were still talented players in the team, the lack of a defined style of play and the issues with age made them look hapless and undynamic in Pellegrini's last two seasons at the club.

Pep came in and has revitalized some players he met, and they have gone on to become important members of the team. Before Guardiola's arrival, Raheem Sterling had looked like a lost boy, David Silva no longer looked capable to delivering, Yaya Toure had slowed down badly, Nicolas Otamendi was a joke and Fabian Delph barely played for the team.

It took a while but last season, Sterling really took off to show why £50m was spent to get him in from Liverpool. Otamendi was voted as one of the best defenders in the league, Silva rediscovered the magic of old and has once again become Merlin. Meanwhile Delph became an auxiliary left back (due to Benjamin Mendy's injury) and did so well that he made England's World Cup squad.

#4 His ruthlessness in clearing the deadwood

Kolarov was one of the players Pep cleared out last season

In his very first season as coach of City, Guardiola noted just how much dross the team had. While football director Txiki Begiristain has done well since the Catalan manager arrived, the former Barcelona director made a lot of questionable buys during the Pellegrini era.

Guardiola tried to work with what he had in his first season while adding a bit of quality. He tried Aleksander Kolarov as a centre-back, gave game time to Fernando and tried to utilize Jesus Navas better as a right back but these players just couldn't deliver on what he and the team needed.

Showing the same ruthlessness he had when he became Barcelona manager and got rid of the likes of Ronaldinho, Deck, Samuel Eto'o, Guardiola started his 2nd season in Manchester like an avenging fury. Out went Willy Caballero, Bacary Sagna, Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Navas, Fernando among others.

The result was that in one transfer window, he reduced the team's average age (28.4 the previous season) and added quality young players (average age of 26.8) to the side. The Citizens side that won the league last season was a million years away from the 2016/2017 iteration as they were faster, fitter, more intelligent and executed the coach's instructions better.

#3 His man-management has been top-notch

Silva was a beneficiary of Pep's man-management

This is one of the areas that Guardiola has most improved the Manchester City side and it has shown in the results.

Before he came in, a lot of the current top players were playing way below their capacity and basically going through the motions. His work on the training ground and motivation (examples of which can be seen in the #AllOrNothing documentary) has helped the players and therefore, the team, play better.

A prime example is Raheem Sterling. Thanks to his "bold" decision to leave Liverpool and the manner in which he left, the Jamaican-born England star had been hounded by constant media negativity. His every performance for both club and country was dissected and analyzed to death.

The manager put his arm around the player and gave him the confidence boost needed. This resulted in Sterling delivering his best ever goals tally last season.

Despite having to deal with the premature birth of his son, thanks to Guardiola's clever management, David Silva still played a pivotal role last season for City.

Otamendi was another one who was struggling a lot before Guardiola came in. The Argentine had been imperious at Valencia and was brought to Manchester for £32m in 2015.

However, he struggled badly given the lack of a defined pattern of play and looked uncomfortable defensively. He struggled less in Guardiola's first season but was imperious last season, this saw him selected for the Premier League's Team of The Season.

#2 Installing a clearly defined style of play

Manchester City players have bought into Pep's tactics big-time

Perhaps the most important thing that Guardiola has done since he arrived in Manchester was properly defining things.

Like every other human being, players need a structure within which they can perform at their most optimum level. Already renowned for his emphasis on quick passing, intelligence, and control, he has brought his philosophy to bear on the team.

Derided by some rather unintelligent English pundits for his emphasis on a ball-playing goalkeeper, he has been justified. While the Claudio Bravo experiment was an absolute failure, the arrival of Ederson in his second season uplifted the team.

When John Stones came in for severe criticism for his errors at the back which led to lots of goals in the 2016/2017 season, his manager stuck to his guns and encouraged the Englishman to continue what he was doing. The result was a vastly improved 2017/2018 season for the former Everton player.

Every player in the Manchester City now understands clearly what the coach wants and their roles in the setup. Even a legendary striker like Sergio Aguero has had to adapt his style of play to fit in better and he has been rewarded by an amazing run of goal scoring under the former Bayern Munich manager.

#1 He has gotten transfers right

Buys like Mendy have taken City to a different level

The best thing that he has done since he has been at City, the transfer work under his watch has been largely flawless.

Unlike the mess at Old Trafford, players have been bought with a specific plan in mind. In his first season, John Stones, Nolito, Bravo, Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, and Gabriel Jesus (in January) were brought for £192m in to fix specific needs; Bravo was brought in to be a sweeper-keeper, Gundogan a creative presence, Jesus was supposed to complement Aguero and so on.

Ultimately, Nolito and Bravo proved to be disappointments as the title challenge faltered very early in Guardiola's first season. In his second season, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Mendy, Danilo, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte (January) were added for £285m and these players have helped in taking the team to its present level.

This season, only Riyad Mahrez was added for £60m as the sterling work over the last two seasons continued. Given the team's potent mix of youthful vigour and experience, Manchester City are well placed to continue taking care of business for the foreseeable future.