No. This is a wrong headed and ignores the reality of the game. There are no guarantees. The fans should be grateful with what they have.
I am a die-hard Liverpool fan who has followed the Reds since my elementary school days in the late 70s. I have witnessed my fair share of managerial greats and a far bigger litany of failures. I rejoiced with Bob Paisley, Kenny Dalglish and now Jurgen Klopp and looked on with envy at Alex Ferguson, José Mourinho (in his early EPL days not now at all) and Arsene Wenger. They were all incredible managers.
Pep Guardiola is a great manager as well. There is no two ways about it. His City side as much as it hurts me to say this - especially in light of the 2018/19 season - play attacking football of the highest standard and from a neutral perspective, must be a joy to watch.
Per Guardiola source: talksport
They make full use of the pitch, dominate possession and apply relentless pressure. It is no surprise that they regularly carve up teams with 3–0 and 4–0 scorelines having delivered over 300 EPL goals in the last three seasons. They are a powerhouse and have been so for most of Pep’s tenure.
Pep Guardiola boasts a winning percentage of 72.1% at City which is not too dissimilar to his record at Barcelona (72.47%) and Bayern Munich (75.16%). For comparison, even Alex Ferguson who is widely touted as the greatest manager in EPL history only managed a figure of 59.7% José Mourinho’s career average is 64.1%.
Pep has delivered silverware wherever he managed. His success at Barcelona and Bayern speak for themselves. At City he has adorned the trophy room with two EPL titles, one FA Cup and three League Cups. He is the only manager in English history to win the Domestic treble (League, FA Cup and League Cup in one season). This was accomplished in 2018/19. The City team of 2017/2018 still holds the record for the most league points ever won by an English team (albeit by only one over Liverpool’s 2019/20 vintage…damn you Burnley).
Now it is true that City have spent money in a way that has put most teams to shame (not to mention drunken sailors) but it still takes a great manager to weld together such high quality players into a formidable force. Football is a team sport and egos need to be kept in check. Guardiola has managed that. His predecessors Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini struggled in this regard even though each had some degree of success on the field.
Players like Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker and Phil Fodden have blossomed under Guardiola. The same is true of Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte.
Kevin De Bruyne…Probably the best Player in the League at this point in time
Source: Manchester City FC website
The chief knock against Pep is that he has only managed teams who are at or near the top of their respective leagues to begin with. He has never, so it goes, had to manage a Mainz as Jurgen Klopp once did or an Everton as Carlo Ancelotti is doing now. This is a legitimate criticism but it is partly unfair to Pep as we have no counter evidence to suggest one way or the other. The best that we can do is speculate.
Last season was a tough one for City. Jurgen Klopp’s masterclass in the EPL was most evident. The Reds burst out of the gates early and managed win after win to build up a formidable lead that they were never in danger of relinquishing. This was not a case of Guardiola’s failure but of Liverpool’s excellence (Number 19…woohoo).
In fact City’s league performance this season was actually very solid. They won 26 matches, outscored Liverpool in the goal department and finished with 81 points. This tally of games won and points achieved was actually better than Manchester United’s 98/99 treble Winning team that won 22 games in finishing as champions with 79 points.
Granted there was a drop off of 17 points for City from the previous season but a great deal of that can be explained by defensive deficiencies that Club are looking to address (they have started to do so with the Nathan Ake acquisition). The Vincent Kompany departure was a great loss.
Which brings us to the Lyon game?
People forget that the Champions League is a beast of a tournament to win especially if you don’t have the benefit of peak CR7 and Messi in your team. In the knockout stages you are up against the elite of the elite and margins are slim. There are no pushover matchups. Teams often play beyond themselves as Spurs did in beating City in 2019. Sometimes you just run into an attacking juggernaut as was the case when City faced Liverpool in 2018.
Picture source: The Rahnuma Daily
In one off or even Home and Leg ties teams often match up poorly with one another. Small moments can change games.
City should have beaten Lyon over the weekend. Guardiola had out managed Zidane’s Real Madrid over both legs of the previous round tie and I can see why City fans are frustrated. They should have brushed Lyon aside.
However the games are not played on paper. Lyon took their chances and buried them. City didn’t. Both Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus missed golden opportunities and in the Champions League in particular one cannot afford to let that happen. Poor finishing can be costly.
However one game does not make or break a manager, If City had converted their chances they would have likely won and the same fans that are calling for the head of the Catalan would be cheering him as a saviour.
While all of this makes for some fun Anti-City memes (of which I am guilty myself of enjoying) the Lyon result should not be taken as a guiding case to stir up voices for Guardiola’s dismissal.
On the other hand as a Liverpool fan maybe I shouldn’t interrupt my enemy when they are trying to destroy themselves.
Winning Percentage Sources:
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