Now, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola looks like the Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus when Rome fell in AD 476.
Last weekend, Manchester City conceded two goals at the last moment in the Manchester Derby (also known as the Manchester Rivalry) and ultimately lost 2-1 to their arch-rivals Manchester United. Manchester City fans were almost silent inside the Etihad Stadium. No one is angry. They’ve seen nearly a decade of greatness under Guardiola, but the silence is frustrating. Absolutely no one saw this coming with just one win in the last 10 games.
Manchester City has won 6 of the last 7 Premier League titles and 8 of the last 13 Premier League titles.
A few months ago it became the only team in English football history to win four consecutive top-flight titles. The season before that, the team won the Treble (Premier League, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup trophies), becoming only the second team in English history to do so. Historically everything went well. What problems might arise?
Months passed and City was in tatters. The bad thing is. It has lost five of its last seven Premier League games. They have lost just 11 Premier League games in total over the past three seasons.
It feels like the beginning of the end of Guardiola’s incredible reign as Manchester City’s predatory, all-conquering emperor in the world’s most competitive league.
Can Manchester City escape this predicament?
Usually we would say yes. Given the quality of the players, the depth of the squad and the manager, after a slow start to the season, City usually improve in the second half and go on to win trophies.
But this feels different. The current signs are not good.
Manchester City playmaker Bernardo Silva berated his teammates for their decision-making late in the game against Manchester United last weekend.
“At this level, if it’s one or two games, you can say it’s lucky or unlucky, but if it’s ten games, it’s not that important,” Silva said. “There have been a lot of games recently. … We have to look at ourselves. It’s a decision you make. Today, in the last few minutes, we played like under-15 players and we paid the price.
That’s the crux of the matter. Guardiola’s philosophy of “Total Football” relies on taking risks in possession, moving players forward to gain numerical advantage in the final third, keeping possession and making the right decisions. But what happens if you don’t and drop the ball?
City always have Rodri, the defensive midfielder who was just voted the best player in the world, to fill in the gaps, plug holes, win the ball back and be the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card.
But Rodri suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arsenal in September. That’s when it all started. Rodri’s importance to City is obvious, but no one realized how much of an impact his injury would have as he has been almost a constant presence since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019.
City have tried their best to replace Rodri over the past few months, but Guardiola, usually a genius for solving problems with creative solutions, is now running out of options.
City’s only hope is to sign a talented defensive midfielder in the January transfer window to fill Rodri’s void. But that really only serves to paper over the cracks of an aging, injury-plagued team that has so many stars limping down the hill at the same time.
Has a rapid crash like this happened before?
We’ve seen this before in European football.
Manchester United’s storied side aged overnight and fell into disarray under Sir Alex Ferguson, who have not won the league since his departure in 2013. Nel Messi finally collapsed as he kept waving his jersey. Apart from one last sensational hurray when they won the Champions League in 2012, Chelsea’s star core eroded rapidly in 2011.
The only saving grace for City is that there is no clear contender to supplant its supremacy in English football. However.
Liverpool are in the early stages of a new project under new manager Arne Slott. Arsenal appear to have taken a step back this season. Chelsea’s talented young squad still needs a few years to reach its potential. Manchester United is once again undergoing a massive rebuild.
Despite their struggles this season, City remain within striking distance of the title and a win over Aston Villa and Liverpool’s loss to Tottenham this weekend would see them just six points adrift of the top spot.
But from better defense to finding Rodri’s replacement to keeping star players healthy, it has to put it all back together at the same time. Now. No more “under 15” decisions. This chaotic Premier League season has given Manchester City a chance to salvage their campaign.
Over the festive period, City could return to the title race with a favorable schedule before facing Chelsea and Arsenal in early 2025. Back to the championship game. The chances are slim.
What if Guardiola leaves and causes chaos?
Of course, Guardiola, who just signed a new contract until the summer of 2027, may leave this season.
He is under no pressure from his boss in Abu Dhabi. When Guardiola arrived in 2016, it was the missing piece of the jigsaw. Even if Manchester City falls out of the top six of the Premier League this season, they will support Guardiola to rebuild the team and advance again. If that’s what he wants.
But there’s a lot going on at Manchester City right now.
It has been accused of breaching 115 Premier League rules and hearings have been ongoing over the past few months, while City have been in meltdown on the pitch. The verdict is expected soon.
Guardiola has repeatedly stated that he will stay if Manchester City is severely punished or even relegated from the Premier League to the lower leagues of English football.
But no one considered that City would struggle to win a game and look so disorganized that Guardiola might not be up to the job. Not our words. his.
“I’m not good enough,” Guardiola said after the defeat to Manchester United. “I’m the boss, the manager, I have to find a solution and so far I haven’t.”
However, “so far” is the key word. It shows that Guardiola, one of the greatest and most successful coaches in football history, still believes he can turn things around.
But if things continue to deteriorate, Guardiola may decide to leave before his reputation is tarnished.
By then, City will be in disarray, with no clear successor and a group of extremely talented players recruited to play Guardiola’s way. Additionally, the team may be looking for a new head coach and rebuilding its aging squad, while uncertainty over its future remains due to alleged breaches of Premier League rules.
It was a shocking performance from one of the greatest teams in football history, but City fans do fear things could get worse. When a team starts falling apart like this, it happens very suddenly and there’s no quick fix.
It’s no secret that Manchester City fans have a pessimistic view of the team, a view that persists despite many wins in recent years. But if Guardiola leaves, City’s season is thrown into chaos on and off the pitch, and the hanging humor for which fans are famous will intensify. It may not mask the pain that is about to happen.
The next few weeks will be crucial in determining how Guardiola’s reign will end, both on and off the pitch. Whatever happens this season, when the dust settles, he and Manchester City can say “veni, vidi, vici” with great confidence.
Currently, one of football’s greatest dynasties is faltering.