Image: hm-photo via flickr
It’s fair to say that few football fans will be too sympathetic about Man City’s recent run of poor form (other than those in the blue half of Manchester, of course). Given how dominant the club have been in English football in recent years, your average Arsenal, Chelsea or Man United supporter won’t exactly be crying into their cornflakes after Pep Guardiola lost four games on the bounce for the first time in his career.
For City fans, there is very much a feeling that it’s far too early to panic. The club have been through periods of poor form on various occasions in recent years, only to come back stronger and win trophies. If you can’t have faith in a manager of Pep’s standing and expertise, who can you have faith in?
At the same time, a few doubts have materialised and there’s just a hint in some quarters that maybe the wheels are starting to come off. Let’s take a closer look at some of the factors that have influenced the four straight defeats and assess whether City fans really should start worrying. Let’s first refresh our memories of the four defeats in question.
Man City’s Recent Results
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 9th Nov | Brighton (Premier League) | 2-1 Loss |
| 5th Nov | Sporting CP (Champ’s League) | 4-1 Loss |
| 2nd Nov | Bournemouth (Premier League) | 2-1 Loss |
| 30th Oct | Tottenham (League Cup) | 2-1 Loss |
Injuries Playing a Part
Manchester City are blessed with a squad that’s packed with world-class football stars. Indeed, their linchpin Rodri was recently awarded the Ballon d’Or. Unfortunately, Rodri is injured and likely to be out for the rest of the season. Although he’s eyeing a late-season return, his ACL injury is not something to be rushed back from so we can’t see him featuring before the end of the current campaign.
We can confirm that Rodri has suffered a ligament injury to his right knee.
Everyone at the Club wishes him a speedy recovery 🩵
More information 👇
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 25, 2024
Others who’ve been missing but are at least on the way back include Ruben Dias, John Stones and Jack Grealish and there’s no doubt their absences have been felt, but it’s the loss of Rodri that has caused the most problems. The Spaniard’s unparalleled ability to marshal the midfield and link defence and attack has been one of the key reasons City have been so successful in recent times. If he is out for the remainder of the current campaign, Pep will have a gigantic hole to fill. He may dip into the transfer market in the January window to fill it if none of the current squad can do a similar job.
Is Time Catching Up with an Ageing Squad?
Speaking of the current squad, there are whispers that some of the players are starting to get a little long in the tooth. This can often be the case with successful sides when the manager doesn’t want to change a winning formula too much. This happened a couple of times at Manchester United under Alex Ferguson, only for the great manager to reinvigorate his squads with fresh blood before going again. Pep hasn’t really spent big in the last couple of seasons, probably with at least one eye on the club balancing their books.
The current squad is still obviously outstanding and better than most, but plenty of them are aged 30 or older: Ederson (and the two back-up keepers), Kyle Walker, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, İlkay Gündoğan, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. While Jack Grealish, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji are all 29 and Rodri’s 28.
Of course, City do have plenty of youngsters, not least Erling Haaland (aged 24), around whom any new squad would surely be constructed. Also, Phil Foden is 24, and Josko Gvardiol, Rico Lewis, Jeremy Doku and Savinho are younger still. But whether they will be able to push City towards Premier League and/or Champions League glory in the coming seasons is open to question. Keeping the services of Haaland will be key – and that could be complicated if City are hit with a big punishment after the conclusion of the current Premier League hearings.
Premier League Charges Taking a Toll?
As well as matters on the pitch, something that could be weighing heavy on the shoulders of players and coaching staff is taking place in the background (for now). Man City are facing over 100 charges from the Premier League in relation to the various financial rules top-flight clubs must follow. These include things like providing accurate financial information, including accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation. They must also comply with UEFA regulations including Financial Fair Play and the Premier League PSR rules. Man City are also accused of failure to cooperate with Premier League investigations.
Should the club be found guilty, they are likely to face a significant points reduction and possibly even demotion. Could the fear of these possible outcomes be hanging over the players and causing them to underperform? It’s certainly possible. However professional a player is, something as massive as their team getting demoted is bound to creep into their thoughts from time to time.
A Reminder of Man City’s Success Under Pep
Since Pep Guardiola was appointed as Man City’s boss in 2016, he’s won pretty much everything with the club. When it comes to Premier League titles, he’s bagged six of them (2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24), including four in a row. Add to that, two FA Cups (2018/19 and 2022/23), four League Cups (2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21), three Community Shields (2018, 2019, 2024), the Champions League (2022/23), the UEFA Super Cup (2023) and the Club World Cup (2023).
A manager of Guardiola’s quality, poise and experience is unlikely to be too flustered after the recent run of poor form. And there’s every chance he’ll be able to turn things around and get City competing for the Premier League title again by the end of the current campaign. Of course, he has no control over the outcome of the Premier League hearings and that could be the one thing that truly derails Man City’s dominance (you can’t win the Premier League if you’re playing in the Championship!). But given the quality in the squad – even without the injured Rodri – we wouldn’t be surprised to see City back at the top of the table come May.