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Is Pep Guardiola’s new two-year contract a Manchester City masterstroke or an error in judgment? Two writers have their opinion.
For now at least Pep Guardiola’s future is assured.
The Manchester City manager has signed a new two-year contract that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2023.
It cannot be denied that Guardiola has brought spectacular success to City, but few would deny that there have been some worrying signs in the early stages of the 2020-21 season.
So is your new deal the right decision?
Guardiola has made history: they cannot risk him going elsewhere
By John Skilbeck
If City ever seriously considered a future without Guardiola, then a look across the city should have made them pause: If you have a proven winner, hold on to him for life.
Alex Ferguson’s much-feared retirement in 2013 gave Manchester United a headache for which they are still searching for a cure. Pfizer and Moderna would have struggled to find a remedy for the Red Devils, and City did not desperately want to find themselves in a spiral similar to the one that has essentially neutralized the threat from its neighbors.
Which brings us to Thursday’s statement that Guardiola remains blue for another two seasons, despite the fact that last season he failed to win either the Premier League or the Champions League.
That failure is a vague definition of what many would consider immense success: Runner-up in the Premier League, quarter-finals in Europe, and an EFL Cup win wouldn’t mean anything close to disappointment for most teams, but standards in the City they have gone through the roof. high.
Gone are the days of praying for a miracle under Frank Clark and Joe Royle, of the club falling in love with the diminishing charms of King Kev and Sven. It is A-list what the City wants and A-list they have it in all their ranks: in Guardiola they have a coach, a talisman, who they dare not lose.
Could you replace Pep?
Who would they target if Guardiola left? Mauricio Pochettino, who improved Tottenham without leading them to a trophy before losing all momentum? Sounds like a date at Old Trafford.
Julian Nagelsmann? Nuno Espirito Santo? Brendan Rodgers? Bookmakers have Patrick Vieira high on their list. Send a doctor; I’m convulsing here.
The city is still ready to conquer England and Europe under Guardiola, along with teammates Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano., and now the team has to go out and get it, this season and the next two.
Guardiola is untouchable? No but City is in the midst of the most successful era in its 140-year history. Why risk losing the man some consider the best coach in the world? Why risk someone else having it?
The city is declining and Guardiola does not stop it
By Joe Wright
“I have everything I could wish for,” Guardiola said. of his new two-year contract. If only the city could say the same.
Before someone collapses from righteous anger, no, I don’t think Guardiola did a bad job at City. No one who started watching football before 2019 could argue that way; even then, they were second and won the EFL Cup.
It needed an unprecedented level of transfer spending, but with Guardiola, City broke English football records, won a historic national treble and he played with a style unlike any other seen on those shores.
But he has not delivered the Champions League. It has not even reached the semifinals. And his team, slightly, gradually but irrefutably, is declining.
The proof was there in last season’s title delivery against Liverpool and it is there in this season’s numbers. They lost 5-2 at home to Leicester City, the first time in 686 games that a Guardiola team conceded five in a single game. They won just three of their seven league games.
Your Expected Goal Rating (xG), Compared to the Last Seasin, it has been reduced by almost half; his shots have been reduced by an average of five attempts per game. This is his worst start to the season in the league since 2008-09, and Guardiola’s lowest points (12) He returns after seven games in his 12 years as a manager.
Transition time in Etihad
City spent around £ 51 million on central defender Ruben Dias, but still does not seem impregnable; they also bolstered their defense by bringing in Nathan Ake from the relegated Bournemouth. David Silva has not been replaced, Sergio Agüero has only been in form for three games, and his win rate drops to just 40 percent when Rodri joins Ilkay Gundogan in midfield.
Those are more than minor concerns about the spine of Guardiola’s team and, while they have the financial clout to address them, there must come a time when the chiefs of the city wonder if the treasure chest should be left to another administrator.
If they don’t get their Premier League crown back, if they falter again in Europe, They may wonder if Guardiola is the right man to motivate these players or oversee another costly overhaul of the team. made much more difficult after the pandemic. Allowing their agreement to run out in June 2021 would have given all parties the option of a peaceful (and cheap) parting of roads; now, they must endorse him or fire him if things get ugly.
Maybe Guardiola win the Champions League. Perhaps even sign Lionel Messi, a move that could well have come true before the start of the season had the Argentine not agreed to terminate his contract with Barcelona. Or perhaps, for the first time at a club in his coaching career, he will outgrow his welcome.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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