Photo from Freepik
Morning all.
Interesting comments from Pep Guardiola this morning as Sky Sports quote him as saying he’d quit Man City if his squad is too big.
”As a manager, I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six, stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club I don’t want that.”
Premier League clubs can name a 25 man squad. Under 21 players don’t contribute towards that number so next season, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri won’t take up a squad place, nor will Max Dowman should he be in Mikel Arteta’s plans.
According to Sky Sports, City currently have 28 players listed on their official site, five of whom arrived in January. They have four more players out on loan. Chelsea have a massive 31 senior players listed with a further 21 players out on loan. Wolves have a large squad too, with 30 listed and just behind them is Totts and Brighton with 29. Aston Villa, Liverpool, Everton and Nottingham Forest have 25 whilst Arsenal have 24, although on checking, just 22 are listed on the official website with a further 6 out on loan.
I totally understand what Guardiola means when he talks about numbers and if English football was only about English competitions then a smaller squad is likely to work but when one adds in European fixtures and international fixtures, then larger squads are a necessity in my opinion. But, it’s not just about numbers, it’s about quality.
We started the season not only with a small squad but with players like Zinchenko, Sterling, Tierney, Kiwior and Neto, all of whom Mikel Arteta has been reluctant to play, or at least that’s how it seems. Tomiyasu has been injured for most f the season so our squad was more like 16 than 22. Add in the injuries which have been constant since day one of the season and it’s staggering really to think we’re likely to finish second, let alone make it to a Champions League semi-final.
I don’t understand why Guardiola would moan and grown about having too many players, especially as those who arrived in January probably helped his side finish in the top four. I bet Mikel Arteta would love to have the kind of numbers and quality City have.
Another thing Guardiola said was that he’d rather use academy players should injuries be a problem which I can’t believe he means. Not wholeheartedly anyway because if he truly believed that, why make so many signings back in January? No one will convince me he didn’t agree with the decision.
When it comes to the number of injuries we’ve suffered this season, we top the table with a reported 27. City have had 18 according to PhysioRoom. I’m not sure Timber and Saliba are included in that number.
Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see if Guardiola quits after the summer transfer window closes because I doubt very much that he’ll have a small squad for next season. Hopefully, Arsenal won’t either..
Catch up in the comments.