What’s the story?
Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has pinpointed Pep Guardiola’s struggle at Manchester City is down to the ageing squad he has at the Etihad.
City are out of the top four following their 4-0 defeat to Everton in their last league fixture. Giggs, who was one of the most successful players in the Premier League details the reason behind their struggle.
“It is not that I do not rate Guardiola as a manager - I have said on these pages before that his Barcelona teams inflicted on me some of the most humbling nights of my playing career,” Giggs wrote in his Telegraph column.
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“It is that when you have played in the Premier League for a long time, you get a feeling for the stage in life that a collective of players is at – who is peaking, who is declining, who is on the up - and I got a strong sense that City’s squad was too old.”
In case you didn’t know...
Guardiola is one of the most successful managers in the world football and is one of the very few managers in the job who is yet to face a sack at a club level (not managed at international level). Having played at Barcelona in the past, he managed the Catalan club for four years between 2008 to 2012.
In his debut season, he won the treble which saw him beat Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the Champions League final. He won his second treble and the Red Devils were once again the victims in the 2010-11 season.
The Catalan manager was also successful in his three years at Bayern Munich, where he managed to win the Bundesliga on three occasions, while adding two DFB-Pokal trophies to his name. In addition to this, he added one UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to the list of honours during his time with the Bavarians.
The heart of the matter
Guardiola took charge at the Etihad last summer and had a very good start to his life in England. However, things have not been the same since October as City have struggled in domestic competitions.
The current first choice full-backs at City are above the age of 30, while midfielder David Silva, Yay Toure and Fernandinho also in the same age group. Giggs believes this is the reason behind City’s struggle in the Premier League.
What’s next?
Guardiola needs to bring in fresh legs to his squad either in the ongoing January transfer window or wait until the end of the season. Failure of City to bring in reinforcements this month could see them lose a place in the top four.
Sportskeeda’s take
Guardiola needs to use his players’ strengths and play according to it, instead of his sticking to his philosophy. Sometimes, it can tire the players and during the long season, the fatigue could have an impact on the performance of the team.
