Pep Guardiola’s arrival at Manchester City come the start of the next season is one that’s been heavily pursued by the owners and the hype surrounding the Spaniard has been equally as heavy from the fans.However, the expectations for his first season in charge should be set a bit lower than their sky high position as any manager, no matter how good they are, needs some time to settle into a new club and a new league. And this is the Premier League we’re talking about, meaning the challenge that he is going to undertake is the most difficult he could’ve wished for.
As with every manager, Guardiola will feel that there some things that he needs to change about this City side when he gets there, i.e. buying new players. But, other than that, there are inevitably going to be some other changes surrounding the club. Well, what, you ask? Here are 5 things that needs to happen when he arrives at Manchester City:
- Shift Tactics – Pep is hopefully not stubborn enough to stick to his possession game in the Premier League. Because that is something that doesn’t work in this league unless you’ve got the quality of the Bayern’s and Barcelona’s in this world. And the last time I checked, City didn’t.
- Sell Yaya Toure – Okay, let me explain before you start plotting my murder. Yaya’s undoubtedly one of the best players in this world, but as he has aged, he’s proven that he is inconsistent in Europe, and often in the Premier League. I know that he, on his day, can maneuver this City team through any opposition, but, when it starts happening once every dozen games, he starts becoming a burden for the team, as on his off day, he contributes very little and is very lazy and looks like he’s unwilling to play.
- Buy a Superstar – Guardiola’s arrival will surely attract some major players in world football to the Etihad, and it’s actually more of a question of who rather than when and why. Rest assured, City will give him loads of cash to spend, as I’m sure they agreed upon, and he’s actually quite a good scout of players himself, as seen with the signing of Douglas Costa from Shakhtar at the beginning of the season.
- A New Left-back – Kolarov will do the job fine, but when it comes to making a difference in the big games, he will probably not make much of one. Full-backs are really important in the modern game, and more so in the brand of football that Guardiola likes to play with his teams. The left-back position of City is more volatile than the right flank, where they’ve got the ever exuberant Zabaleta marching up and down. There might be a chance that he takes Alaba with him from Bayern, or the other most suitable option would be Ricardo Rodriguez from VFL Wolfsburg.
- Bring through the Youth – It’s no secret that Manchester City have the best youth system in the country. This has seen some very prospective players get into the first team recently, e.g. Iheanacho, and many more will still remain genuine hopefuls of making that jump into the first team. There’s suggestions that the English Messi is even there in the shape of winger Patrick Roberts, who, if you haven’t seen him play, you must.
Guardiola will have the tough challenge that he was hopeful of when he made the decision to manage in the Premier League. Now, hopefully, the challenge will not get the better of the magisterial coach.
