Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has endured arguably the most difficult campaign of his managerial career
Pep Guardiola arrived in England as one of the best football bosses in the world when he joined Manchester City last summer.
The Catalan boss had enjoyed immense success at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Things have not quite gone to plan for Guardiola and his City team this season.
The Citizens are currently third in the Premier League table after a 2-1 win over Leicester on Saturday the men from Manchester look set to claim a Champions League spot this season.
Guardiola will learn from this season
This season has been a shock to the system of the all-conquering Guardiola, who has never struggled to win games in his management career. In fact, winning games, medals and trophies has come easily to the former Barcelona midfielder.
However, the Premier League is not La Liga or the Bundesliga. In those leagues, the likes of Barcelona and Bayern can hammer teams week-in-week-out, but the Premier League is a completely different animal.
Every team in the league has a chance of beating every other team. There are very few teams that will lie down and make it easy for even the best teams in the league.
The City boss experienced his biggest ever league defeat at Everton earlier this season, as the Citizens went down 4-0 at Goodison Park. The game just typified what can happen in the English top-flight if a team is not at the races.
Guardiola is a stubborn guy and will not adapt his football ideology. This is understandable considering the success he has enjoyed throughout his career. However, maybe now that Guardiola knows what to expect from the English top-flight.
City squad will be reshaped this summer
Manchester City have become one of the biggest spenders in the Premier League in recent years. The owners seem to be determined to turn Manchester City into a European superpower.
Appointing Guardiola was supposedly the first step to that domination. It has not quite worked out how anybody expected. The title challenge has not materialised, neither has a sustained challenge for the Champions League trophy.
This summer Guardiola will reshape his squad majorly. The likes of Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta, Willy Caballero, Jesus Navas, Bacary Sagna and Yaya Toure are all out-of-contract.
Zabaleta’s departure has already been confirmed. It seems unlikely that many of those out-of-contract players will be at the club next season. That means that Guardiola will be busy bringing in players that fit his style and ideology this summer.
A number of the City squad have proven they are not good enough to help the Citizens win the title. However, Guardiola does not have the best of records when it comes to the transfer market, but he does not have a terrible record either.
The signings of Brazilian starlet Gabriel Jesus and German winger Leroy Sane have both proven to be considerable successes this season. If the Catalan boss can make similar sorts of signings in other positions then no doubt City will enjoy a far more successful campaign.
Manchester City will be back next season
This season will have been a confusing one for City’s boss. His team were billed as strong title favourites along with city rivals Manchester United this season.
The Citizens will no doubt spend big money this summer, regroup and come back stronger next season. Even a great boss like Guardiola can learn and will always be learning about the game. The Catalan boss will have learned a lot from his debut campaign in English football.
Already the Citizens are favourites to win the Premier League title next season at odds of 9/4. It would be a major surprise if City were not among the leading contenders for the title next season.
The Manchester City job was always going to be Pep Guardiola’s biggest challenge. The former Barcelona boss now knows just how much of a challenge it really is and I am sure that City will thrive next season.
Will Pep Guardiola win the title with Manchester City next season?
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