It is a difficult time to be a football fan in Manchester. On the red side, United supporters are enduring what their manager, Rúben Amorim, has called “the worst team in the club’s history.” On the blue side, City fans are witnessing what may be the most dramatic fall from grace in recent footballing memory. While Amorim’s statement may not be statistically accurate, he’s not far off- the struggles of Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement have become an all-too-familiar narrative. However, the downfall of their once-dominant “noisy” neighbours is a phenomenon no one expected to unfold this drastically.
For an entire generation of football fans, Manchester City lifting the Premier League trophy has felt inevitable. Over the past five years, they have secured four consecutive league titles, a Champions League crown, and, most notably, a historic treble. Under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola, City have redefined success- not just in how they play, but in how they win. Yet, this season, it’s all gone horribly wrong. Their usual rhythm and dominance has disappeared, and they now find themselves scraping by both domestically and in Europe.
Fans and pundits alike have speculated about the reasons behind this decline, but two primary factors stand out: managerial fatigue and an aging squad.
Gone are the days when a manager would be at the helm of a club for decades. In the Premier League era, only Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger have served their clubs for over 20 years- outliers in a sport where managerial turnover is now the norm. Even Ferguson was a rare case, retiring in a title winning season. More commonly, we see legendary figures like Jürgen Klopp leaving a lasting impact despite being at the club for less than a decade. However, even the likes of Klopp had a season that put a stain on his legacy- and after managing Manchester City for 9 campaigns, Pep Guardiola is having one of those years.
Pep is a crazed, football obsessed figure- morning, noon, and night, his mind is occupied with playing out from the back and inverted fullbacks. He lives and breathes the game, and perhaps, that has become his undoing. Watching Guardiola in matches and press conferences this season has revealed an uncomfortable truth: he is tired. Very tired.
Compounding this issue is the decline of the players who were once his most trusted warriors. Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, and İlkay Gündoğan are all entering the twilight of their careers. Meanwhile, the younger core- Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Joško Gvardiol, Nathan Aké, and Manuel Akanji have all struggled to rise to the occasion. The most detrimental blow came at the beginning of the campaign with Rodri’s long-term injury, sidelining the Ballon d’Or-winning heartbeat of the team for the season. We have always championed Guardiola on his tactical creativity and ingenuity, but this is a problem even he seems too drained to solve.
There have been fleeting moments this season when City have resembled their former selves, but each glimpse of resurgence has been followed by regression. If they are to salvage any success from this campaign, Guardiola must not only convince his squad that the fight isn’t over- he must first convince himself to temper his own sky-high expectations.
