If Manchester City lose to Liverpool tomorrow then Pep Guardiola may have to do something he’s not really done before – rebuild.
Ever since he took charge of City, his teams have blended into another and slowly evolved. It led to the side which was good enough to conquer all at home and abroad by winning the Treble in 2023.
Of course, that team was starting to slowly change, too. But the removal of Rodri from it has led to a big crack in the foundations.
The Spanish midfielder will return next season but the loss of him this term has made City and Guardiola look beatable for arguably the first time since his first season at the club.
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Guardiola is a manager who likes to slowly change his squad rather than major overhauls. When his great Barcelona side needed a new defence to sit behind the brilliance of Lionel Messi, the Catalan great felt too exhausted to be the architect for that job.
At Bayern Munich, they needed change to become champions of Europe instead of just Germany but City offered him an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. But now after signing a new contract at City in the last fortnight, Guardiola has signalled he wants to stick around for another two years at least.
If City’s slump continues with a seventh game without a win tomorrow then one of the great managers may have to start the rebuild from Monday. That’s because their Premier League title race will be run and if they are to regain the crown next season the work will have to start immediately.
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Sir Alex Ferguson’s longevity and greatness was because he could build new great teams. He had his Double winners of 1994 and 1996 before then building the Treble conquerors of 1999. Then when that side started to age and move on, he went with the youth of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to spearhead the 2008 European kings.
Guardiola can do what Ferguson has done because there’s more than enough to work with still at City in Erling Haaland, a fit Rodri and Ruben Dias. Of course, if they win at Anfield then the gap to Liverpool will be just five points and Guardiola can leave the restructuring of this side for another few months.
Because they will still have a real chance of winning five in a row. But for the first time in a long time, you get the feeling this City side is vulnerable and the thought of them going on a 20-game run without defeat seems a little far fetched at the moment.
A victory at Liverpool would maybe paper over the cracks starting to show at City but keep them in contention for sure.
Defeat may bring the demolition and rebuild of this side by one of the game’s greatest managers.
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Manchester United have turned into ticket touts it seems. That’s because they’re openly selling tickets at higher than face value.
Their news this week that once games are at 97 per cent capacity then all remaining tickets will be £66 for every part of Old Trafford and age group is exactly how a tout operates. Demand high? Put up the price. So tickets that cost from £38 to £60 will now be £66 for punters who buy through the club’s website when season tickets are returned for individual games.
Whose decision was that? The Glazers or Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his merry band of men? If it is the latter then he is showing little regard for local supporters. The very supporters he tried to latch on to when buying his share of the club by claiming as a proud fan and Mancunian, he understood what they wanted.
Doesn’t look that way now. During COVID times, United had a banner covering empty seats at Old Trafford with a quote from Sir Matt Busby which read “Football is nothing without fans”.
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In turns out, Manchester United really believe football is nothing without fans as long as they’re coughing up more and more cash.
ONSIDE
Matheus Cunha. His performance last week at Fulham was electric.
OFFSIDE
Kylian Mbappe. Looked like a player who has lost something at Anfield this week.