Testing times for Guardiola

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Just over two months ago, many pundits, experts and fans including myself were prepared to hand Manchester City the Premier League title. Six wins from six, they looked to be an unstoppable force.

Now, things have changed dramatically. Team selection is being questioned, results are not coming and disciplinary problems rather than injuries are starting to derail their Premier League title bid.

Pep Guardiola is in his toughest period as a manager so far

Pep Guardiola (pictured) has had so much decorated success as a manager but arguably, this is his toughest test so far in his management career.

Defensive concerns

Rotation has become a crucial part of football in the last decade. It used to be a game about 11 players and three substitutes. Nowadays, a lot of the top teams want at least two top quality players in each position of the pitch.

That is all well and good but it can produce a lack of consistency in team selections and also cause unrest in the dressing room. Guardiola has shuffled the pack in recent weeks and it has left for a few heads to be scratched around the Etihad Stadium.

What is clear is Manchester City is struggling badly when it comes to a settled backline. Guardiola’s decision to shift Joe Hart out of the exit door before the summer transfer window was a sign of his uncompromising management. His replacement, Claudio Bravo hasn’t fully convinced everyone yet.

Bravo had a debut to forget at Old Trafford and although he has already developed a penalty-saving ability whilst in England, the Chilean hasn’t managed to install the confidence that the players infront of him need. He certainly doesn’t carry the vocal presence Hart had if a player made an error.

Vincent Kompany’s injury issues continue to be a major concern. It is almost a surprise now when the classy Belgian defender gets through a match completely unscathed. Kompany has had hamstring, thigh and groin trouble in the last 12 months that have kept him largely restricted to the treatment room at Eastlands. His presence is also badly missed.  In his absence, City doesn’t have any natural leaders at the back.

John Stones has got all the talent in the world but his decision-making is still all over the place. Stones has been brought up on the playing out of defence world. However, there is a time to do this and he has already been caught out on more than one occasion by this characteristic. Southampton and Borussia Mönchengladbach have scored goals this season where the young England central defender has made a costly mistake.

Aleksandar Kolarov is not a centre-back and whilst Guardiola was successful in converting the likes of Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso during his days as manager of Barcelona and FC Bayern München, this is already looking like a doomed experiment. The Serbian has always been better going forward and he has no outright speed. Chelsea exposed this twice at the weekend.

I’m afraid Nicolas Otamendi doesn’t cut it at this level for me too. He has now had 18 months in the English game and he is looking more Eliaquim Mangala/Stefan Savic than Vincent Kompany. Diego Costa is one of the strongest forwards in the Premier League but the way Otamendi allowed himself to be bullied on Saturday was startling. If you can’t sort out the physical elements of the game by now, a parting of the ways is inevitable.

Etihad woe

Guardiola has built his reputation on classy football but also ensuring his teams never lose or barely drop points on home soil. He suffered just two home defeats in three years as manager of FC Bayern München.

Manchester City have now not picked up a full maximum in the Premier League on their own backyard since routing AFC Bournemouth 4-0 in mid-September. Since then, Everton, Southampton and Middlesbrough have all stolen draws and Chelsea put in a counter-attacking masterclass at the weekend to inflict a 3-1 loss on the Citizens’.

These results have largely been down to a lack of finishing product. Maarten Stekelenburg saved two spot-kicks when Everton got their point in October in Manchester. At the weekend, Sergio Aguero and especially Kevin de Bruyne were guilty of missing golden chances.

De Bruyne’s miss when he somehow hit the crossbar from five yards out with the goal gaping could have put the game beyond Chelsea at 2-0. Instead, Costa equalised 120 seconds later and the rest was history. You got the sense of Guardiola’s frustration on the touchline of the missed chances. Was this because he doesn’t trust his defence? Was it because he could have scored that? Either way, De Bruyne might have the most assists in the Premier League this campaign with seven, but he will need to add more goals to his resume.

David Silva hasn’t scored a Premier League goal this year, Nolito has only shown the odd glimpse of his form when he was in Spain and you have to go back to January 2014 to find Jesus Navas’ last Premier League goal.

Now with upcoming suspensions to key players, Guardiola needs some of these stars to fill their Christmas stockings with goals.

Sergio’s suspension

The game at the Etihad at the weekend was sadly marred by ugly scenes just before the full-time whistle. Sergio Aguero’s X-rated lunge at David Luiz sparked a mass brawl between both sets of players and coaching staff.

Aguero got a deserved red card. He lost complete control of his temperament and Luiz was lucky that he didn’t suffer serious injury. Following an elbow incident with Winston Reid of West Ham United in August which led to a three-match ban, Aguero’s recklessness now means he has a four-game domestic ban looming.

After Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League group stage dead rubber with Celtic, the next game the Argentine ace can play is the showdown with Liverpool FC on New Years’ Eve. He now can play no part in City’s next four Premier League matches – away to Leicester City and Hull City and home encounters with Watford and Arsenal.

In the melee, Fernandinho clashed with Cesc Fabregas. Whilst the Spaniard’s cheeky slap was unnecessary, Fernandinho should be ashamed by his actions. He kept shoving Fabregas, getting his hands around his neck on a couple of occasions and then shoved him over the advertising hoardings. 

It was kind of thing you’d expect to see at a WWE bout, not a football match. The Brazilian is extremely lucky he only gets a three-match ban for his dismissal here. He should be getting double that because this is behaviour that has no place in the game at all.

Guardiola will now have damaging suspensions to cope with over the festive period. The double dismissal on Saturday takes the red card count for City upto five for the season. Fernandinho and Bravo have been sent off in Europe, whilst Nolito received his marching orders against AFC Bournemouth.

In Arsene Wenger’s first few seasons at Arsenal, it was the same story. It was cheap red cards and suspensions that harmed his team’s title tilts rather than a crippling injury list.

Either way, Guardiola will need someone to step up and be counted with Aguero’s impending absence.

Can City still win the Premier League?

Manchester City can still absolutely win the Premier League title. We’re not quite at the halfway mark of the season, so anything can happen. Chelsea’s victory over one of their main title rivals was a statement of intent but it doesn’t mean anything yet in terms of how decisive it will be.

Liverpool FC’s collapse at AFC Bournemouth on Sunday highlighted major cracks in their title bid. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are most definitely in the race too and both Alexis Sanchez and Harry Kane look in red-hot form ahead of the busiest period of the Premier League season.

Pep Guardiola is a born winner. He has proven this time and again in his management career and also in his playing days. However, this is probably the first time in his trophy-laden period as a manager where he is facing real tests of character. Manchester City’s progress over the next few weeks will be interesting to witness.