Manchester City lost their form and fitness last season but also saw their captain disappear in the middle of the campaign
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LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 17: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, reacts during the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on May 17, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola knows that he can be intense and demanding of his players. It why he gives them more time off than most coaches do in similar circumstances, happy for them to have as many breaks as possible as long as they give 100 per cent when they are around him.
Being on the wrong end of some famous duels with big personalities - Jose Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic spring to mind - has given the Manchester City manager an unfair reputation though for being more of a nerdy coach than a strong leader of men. In reality, any look behind the scenes of City's triumphs will show that the personal touch is one of Guardiola's biggest strengths.
A man who relies on expected goals as a central pillar of his strategy also leaves it to the experience of the players. He will give them everything they possibly need to win, but it is still on them to get over the line.
Those quirks are one of many necessary parts of winning, and how to make something very complicated look very simple. Guardiola has to play to his strengths, and let others play to theirs.
As part of not overreaching with players, the manager has needed strong captains. At City, he has been fortunate to have had a string of them, able to control the dressing room and step in when standards need lifting.
The leadership group has been a fundamental part of the success, but last season it got derailed badly. Rodri spent the year injured, Kevin De Bruyne missed the first chunk of the season but worst of all was captain Kyle Walker.
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Having led the team to a fourth consecutive Premier League in May and said he was willing to stay even if he didn't play every week, his form dropped off a cliff and amid personal issues that were regularly making newspaper front pages he stunned Guardiola by asking to leave in January. AC Milan offered an escape on loan, and City's manager couldn't bear to say his name for the rest of the campaign.
It's not hard to connect the lack of fight and motivation City suffered from last season with the dramatic collapse of the captains, not least the total disappearance of Walker. There were of course other factors, but this could not be ignored.
Guardiola added Erling Haaland to the group in the second half of the season to prop it up and knows as he lays out plans for the new campaign that it is a vital issue. The new players should help to improve the squad, but City have to get their captaincy calls right if they are to have the right atmosphere to challenge again.
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