Manchester City are in the unusual position of having plenty of time off after their unexpected Club World Cup exit
Manchester City will return to training later this month after their Club World Cup exit
Manchester City will return to training later this month after their Club World Cup exit
It goes without saying that Manchester City would rather still be in the Club World Cup. Not least because it would mean they hadn't suffered an embarrassing exit at the hands of a Saudi team, and because the prize pot is so lucrative it looked like easy money in a favourable draw.
For Pep Guardiola and the players, there must be a feeling of regret at a missed opportunity. Having taken the competition seriously and cut short their summers for it, they then made headlines for the wrong reasons and were sent packing two weeks earlier than they wanted to be.
Rather than using the tournament to remind everyone they can still win major tournaments, the question marks are bigger than ever and the fault lines in their defence still loom large. The chance for momentum has been wasted.
And yet, for all City have thrived as a relentless winning machine - relishing the chance to go again and again and again without backing out of a challenge - the premature end to their Club World Cup journey may be the best thing that can happen to them. Having sacrificed their summers, the players have it back.
When they return, there will be no talk of player fatigue or what a disadvantage City are at in comparison to the clubs they are competing with. With seven weeks in front of them, the performance team were able to give the best balance of rest and preparation to get ready for the season without being dictated to by tournament obligations.
That would have been true for the Club World Cup, but has also been the case for pretty much every summer since 2017. City have usually had more players at international tournaments than any major club, which has hamstrung Guardiola for his pre-season plans.
On the odd years when that hasn't been the case, a global pandemic wiped out perfect preparations for one year and in 2019 a wild pre-season tour in Asia was far from ideal.
You have to go back all the way to 2017 for the last time City really got what they wanted from a team perspective over the summer. Most of the new signings were in place for the pre-season tour, the whole squad were on hand to welcome them, and the facilities in the US were excellent to allow for detailed training to be done for the year ahead.
It will have come in two chunks this year with a break between, but it still looks promising. There will be no need to bed the new signings in when they train at the City Football Academy later this month and there are already signs of progress with set-pieces with the Blues having worked on areas of the game where minor tweaks can bring major improvements.
Guardiola would still rather be in Orlando right now, preparing for a quarter-final. But the consolation may come when he reunites with his players to plot a route for adding to their prize money by winning trophies this season.
Kevin de Bruyne - special edition ON SALE NOW
Kevin de Bruyne is one of - if not the - greatest players to play for Manchester City.
He leaves the club having won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and a memorable Champions League victory!
To mark his amazing time at the Etihad Stadium, this special edition has been produced - KDB The King - to celebrate Kev's career with the Blues. We look back at his 10 best games in Blue, celebrate his title wins and hear from the City boss and a host of team-mates and football elite who give their views on what makes him so special.
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clickinghere to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Clickhere to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, includingSpotify andApple Podcasts, and you can also watch along onYouTube.