Manchester City: Pep Guardiola not planning changes despite five successive defeats
Although Guardiola won 18 trophies in eight full seasons at City, he often reminded reporters at media conferences that if he failed to deliver results, he, like other managers, risked losing his job.
At times, Guardiola felt as if his words were meant to motivate him.
He did so again on Monday as we continue to look for solutions to Manchester City’s dip in form.
Guardiola’s behavior suggests that much of his mind is in pursuit of this goal.
Guardiola was a little out of breath as he arrived at a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Dutch side Feyenoord. It felt like he really didn’t want to be there.
But sometimes, a small trigger can change his mood.
Guardiola’s initial response was brief when asked if he was considering fundamental changes to his approach – a change that he clearly would not implement.
“Why?” he asked. It was because of five consecutive defeats that there was a response.
So Guardiola explains why that won’t happen.
At this time, the best thing to do is to sit down and wait for him to finish. There was no pause to allow any intervention.
The single response lasted seven seconds, less than three minutes.
In short, Guardiola said he has too many injured players. He needs some of those guys back and then those guys need to get back into shape. He said that, good or bad, nothing lasts forever and this period will eventually pass. While the 4-0 loss to Tottenham looked bad, his team had 26 shots on goal and based on their xG, they should have won. This fact, he argued, requires less change, not more change.
The devastation caused by the injury was then explained. No Rodri. There was no chance of selecting centre-back Manuel Akanji or John Stones as holding midfielder, with Ruben Dias trailing behind. The task therefore fell to Ilkay Gundogan, who, Guardiola observed, “is our best player for being able to run into the (opponent’s) penalty area” rather than City’s own.
“It’s not because they are weak, lazy or don’t want to,” Guardiola concluded. “What we have to do is create more and give in less.”
Sounds simple – but there are uncertainties.
Guardiola can’t be sure what will happen next because he has never had to get out of this situation before. He may have bigger, more personal issues to deal with at the club, but in terms of actually winning football games, he’s in uncharted territory.
The media isn’t quite sure how to handle this issue because, for the most part, they’ve been used to telling stories about how good Guardiola and his team are in six of the past seven seasons.
No one wants to say they’re as bad as United, as recent history suggests City can go on a long winning streak that will help them clinch another title, no matter how unlikely it may seem at the moment.
On paper, Feyenoord at home is exactly the kind of game they need right now.
City have only lost once in their previous seven games against Dutch sides, against Ajax in Amsterdam in 2012. In 2017, Guardiola’s team faced Feyenoord twice, defeating Feyenoord 4-0 away and 1-0 at home, and finally qualified from the group. The Champions League stage matches have been confirmed.
With Sunday’s Premier League trip to Liverpool looming, six consecutive defeats is almost unthinkable. But Guardiola is not looking too far ahead.
“One day we’ll win a game and our minds will be clear,” he said. “I’m hoping for Tuesday, and if not, it’s Sunday. If not, it’s next.”
The pressure is not yet on Guardiola. But he did need a positive outcome to lessen the burden he’d put on himself.
