Pep Guardiola looks on from the dugout
Pep Guardiola has seen his Manchester City side secure just one win in 11 matches
No other Premier League manager could have got away with what Pep Guardiola said after Manchester City’s late derby-day capitulation to Manchester United.
“Today we have to win. I’m the boss, I’m the manager and I’m not good enough,” he admitted. Not good enough? Imagine any other manager saying that and the alarm bells it would ring.
It is hard to think of high-flying Enzo Maresca getting away with it at Chelsea or Kieran McKenna, so admired at Ipswich Town. Even Arne Slot who has seamlessly succeeded Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool would have caused waves with that one.
Given the status he achieved at Anfield, Klopp is the nearest comparison to Guardiola. And rather like Klopp, when Guardiola does eventually leave City it will be to his timing.
In April 2022, Klopp signed a contract at Liverpool that took him to June 2026. So, obviously, it was assumed his future was secure.
Except in January this year a video dropped on social media, to everyone’s surprise, with Klopp announcing he would be going at the end of the season. There was no talk then of still having two years left on his contract and what Liverpool could do about it. It was done.
It will be the same with Guardiola when the time eventually comes. He will leave on his terms whatever the terms of his contract say. When that end comes there will have been a conversation with City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who he has a strong relationship with, and it will have been agreed between the pair of them.
Naturally City may try to persuade him to stay but they will respect his decision even if it goes against their own timeframe.
Contract a message to outside world
Understandably, Guardiola’s choice to sign up for two more years beyond this campaign was heralded by City as a major statement. The 53-year-old then added to that statement by declaring in an interview that City would be the last club he would ever manage.
The length of the contract was certainly significant. Guardiola had initially intended to sign just a 12-month deal, taking him up to a neat 10 years at City, but such was the crisis beginning to envelop the club, and which has since enveloped it, that he felt a duty to sign up for longer and oversee the rebuild.
It also came at a time when City felt under siege with the inquiry into their alleged fraudulent behaviour and those 115 charges that they deny underway and a bitter sponsorship (Associated Party Transaction) battle with the Premier League. And it is in Guardiola’s nature not only to be loyal but to rail against perceived injustice. He is a proud Catalan and he feels anti-establishment and that the establishment – the Premier League in this case – was out to get City.
So, in reality, that contract matters externally more than it does internally. It is a message to the outside world that Guardiola is not going to cut and run. We thought that related more to the charges, with him even stating he would stay if City were punished by relegation, but now it applies to a crisis of just one win in 11 matches.
Even so, Guardiola has gone from almost claiming he is relishing the challenge to admitting he is a little lost at what is going on. His desire to keep the focus and pressure on himself has even led to him oversharing: honesty is always admirable but he did not need to tell the world he is having trouble eating and sleeping. Yet Guardiola, for a manager who demands confidentiality, keeping things in-house, is remarkably open.
At the same time he continues to insist – despite saying he has not been “good” enough – that he is not only the right man for the job but, crucially, has the energy and drive to do it.
Burnout can also extend to players
There is always, with managers who work as intensely as Guardiola and Klopp, a danger of burnout. It was interesting how emotional Guardiola got when he discussed Klopp’s departure (although ironically he said that he would now sleep better). He knew how much their rivalry had taken out of them.
That burnout though can also extend to the players. There are only so many times they can go to the well with the same manager and what then must happen is either he goes or some of those players go. It is obvious now that City have delayed their required rebuild too long.
One of Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest strengths at United was to get his timing right to change his squad or refresh his coaching staff so he could continue evolving and reinventing himself. This is the challenge now for Guardiola.
With each passing week of poor results and performances though the spectre is raised that he might finally feel he has actually taken City as far as he can. At present that is not even being countenanced.
There is that widespread assumption that they will simply transform their fortunes and get back on track – and that remains logical – but the fact is they are getting worse rather than better at present.
A key indicator is looming in two weeks’ time: the January transfer window. Guardiola has been extremely co-operative in the past in not demanding signings but he expects decisive action next month to help shift the dynamic around his underperforming team. There must be one of two key arrivals to go straight into his XI.
If that happens it could make a decisive difference and any debate over Guardiola’s future, however tentative, will appear as absurd as it would have done not so long ago. If it does not happen he may not have the ammunition he needs to fight back and, who knows, his future may well be in play. Whatever his contract says. We know it will be his decision.
Join the conversation
The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy.