Published: Monday, 23 December 2024
Once is a mistake. Twice is a decision. Any more than that has no chance of being forgiven. So said the Brazilian lyricist and novelist Paulo Coelho.
I wonder what he would make of this? How many mistakes can you spot here? Brahim Diaz Madrid. Morgan Rogers Villa. Cole Palmer Chelsea. Sancho Chelsea. Romeo Lavia Chelsea. Tosin Chelsea. Ko Itakura Gladbach. Pedro Porro Spurs. Douglas Luiz Juve. Rory Delap Ipswich. Felix Nmecha Dortmund. Quite a list isn’t it?
I’m sure you’re ahead of me and have worked out what they have in common? Let me tell you if not - in his eight years at City Guardiola has sold them all.
Staggering isn’t it? Look. I get it. Every coach has dropped a bollock and let someone leave whose gone on to have a career. Every coach except Fergie that is - but come on. That’s a barrel full of bollocks dropped.
No wonder people are beginning to wake up to what’s happened at City. It was fine when things were going well. There was only me questioning Guardiola and his methods. Now - with City falling apart - there’s a few more starting to.
James Gheerbrant wrote a terrific piece in The Times last Friday making much the same point as I am - adding that City’s usual starting X1 right now has an average age of 28 1/2 making them, most weekends, the fourth oldest team in the league.
What I find even more incredible is the line I heard at a recent Guardiola press conference. It went something like this ‘after eight years of constant success I knew there would be a drop off’. Really? Well why didn’t you do something about it sooner?
The re-build should’ve started 18 months ago. And don’t tell me I’m being smart after the event. How many times did we watch Fergie realise big players were on the cusp of losing their power - so he got rid of them? Remember - 13 titles in 27 seasons. Never - ever were United scrambling around in seventh with a record of four points from 24 available. If they didn’t finish top they generally finished second.
Can you recall Fergie letting a player leave who went on to have a career elsewhere? A proper career that is. Only Beckham. None of the rest did.
His judgement was spot on. He knew. Never did I hear him saying like ‘everyone knows how good Morgan is’. Yea? Well why isn’t he playing for City now? Why isn’t Cole Palmer?
Add it all up. It’s millions of pounds worth of talent that’s been allowed to walk away from the Etihad. What’s Julian Alvarez doing in Madrid? I can only think Guardiola’s daughter wanted to go back to Spain last summer.
If the City managers’ name was - let’s say Mancini - with a record of four points from 24 and list of mishaps like the one above, he’d already have been shown the door. If Guardiola wins the title from the position City are in now I’ll accept he’s a genius. If not - can we all start asking a few more questions?
A point at title chasing Arsenal. And a point from the next game against title chasing Chelsea - I’d say that was pretty good going. The trouble is Everton did it without taking a shot at goal at Arsenal and mis-firing badly v Chelsea.
Sean Dyche should get top marks for taking something from both games - but Everton are seriously boring.
I said it last week. I’ll say it again. Can we please give Postacoglou a break? Did anyone notice three of his regular back four were missing v Liverpool. Oh - and his first choice keeper. Not once did I hear him make an excuse for the defeat nor list his injured players. City haven’t stopped whining about missing just one - Rodri, despite the fact they won six and drew one of their first seven games after his injury.
Liverpool were good though weren’t they? I’m more impressed every week.
If Amorim didn’t know what he’d taken on he does now. I couldn’t help think about Mike Keegan’s piece in The Mail a week last Thursday as I watched Bournemouth stroll to another win at OT. Keegan revealed the Qatari plan for taking over at United was called ‘Project Ruby’.
He wrote that Project Ruby would be revealed like this - Day One: announce takeover. Day Two: announce that all debt has been removed, that the club has been taken off the New York Stock Exchange and that it is no longer answerable to faraway stakeholders. Day Three: announce fully funded plans for a new stadium.
What’s happened in the year Sunny Jim has been involved?