Pep Guardiola has gone from rolling with the punches, to looking like someone on the brink of being knocked out for good.
Arguably the greatest manager of all time, reduced to rubble in the space of just two mad months that have left the footballing world in shock. Guardiola’s empire is burning to the ground in front of him.
And current evidence suggests there is nothing he can do to stop the inferno from raging in the blue half of Manchester. Three games without a win is a blip. Six without a win is a concern.
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But one win in 11 games in all competitions is a full blown crisis for someone who lives for trophies and perpetual success. When Guardiola’s side were thrashed 4-1 at Sporting Lisbon at the start of November, the Spaniard insisted he thrived on solving problems.
He vowed to come back stronger. But even the great Guardiola has been unable to come up with the answers.
(Image: Getty Images)
Since that lashing in Lisbon, City have been trounced at home by Tottenham, schooled by Liverpool at Anfield and now had their pockets picked by neighbours Manchester United at the Etihad.
This is a team which won the Champions League in 2023, and has claimed every Premier League title available this decade. City’s fall from grace, which has seen them hurtle over the edge of a cliff, is now one of the most incredible sporting narratives of recent times.
And it begs the question, where does it all leave Guardiola? Right now, he looks utterly lost and broken. Just last week he admitted he was not sleeping at night, or even eating properly.
(Image: Getty Images)
Guardiola’s life revolves around football, but the game is now damaging his health. While the situation is not helped by the fact his wife spends most of her time living back in Barcelona.
Let’s be honest. Having won an astonishing 18 trophies since taking charge in 2016, including a historic four titles on the spin, Guardiola remains unsackable. While Guardiola insists he would never consider walking out on his club in its darkest hour.
But how long do all parties concerned continue to sit back and watch the implosion wreak havoc around the place? Guardiola doesn’t just look beaten, he even sounds like someone ready to throw the towel in.
(Image: (Image: PA))
“I’m the boss and I’m not good enough, he said, “it’s a simple as that.” Where Guardiola is concerned, it’s obviously not as simple as this. The serial winner has more credit in the bank than Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos combined.
And perhaps this is now part of the problem, because City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak would rather walk over broken glass through the streets of Liverpool, than do the unthinkable, and hand Guardiola his P45.
But any other club on such a miserable run of results would part company with the manager responsible for them. Just like Wolves and Southampton did last weekend. But as English football knows only too well, City is not a normal football club.
And these times are definitely far from normal. But that’s the true beauty of the beautiful game. It has a reliable habit of reminding people they’re only human.