Henry Winter - Good read

by blueboy Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:57 am

It started with a back-heel from a centre back on the touchline. Passages of Manchester City’s acclaimed play against Stoke City, especially their end-to-end second goal involving that pass from Nicolás Otamendi and ultimately finished by Raheem Sterling, rival some of the most bewitching football seen on English soil in the past 50 years.
Only time and opponents’ responses will tell whether City can sustain this brilliance, and so deserve comparison to titans of previous generations, but the damage that they inflicted on Stoke on Saturday gave a thrilling signal of their individual and collective growth under Pep Guardiola.
Teams fear City now. It must be a nightmare for other managers, deciding how to set up against them. Be cautious, defend deep and in numbers, and they pass and move through you. Be bold, push up, attack, and they will pick you off with their pace and precision. They are the perfect swarm.
Yet when City were knocked out of the Champions League by Monaco in March, Guardiola was dismissed as “Fraudiola” on one radio phone-in. A month later, when City fell to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final, Guardiola endured further denigration, some of it tinged with local schadenfreude that the celebrated Spaniard was finding it hard in England. Headlines crowed about “Guardiola failing his English exam” and “Perfection is a distant dream for Guardiola”.
City’s powerbrokers, sensibly, stayed calm, ignored the howls of criticism, and let Guardiola carry on building his side, and inculcating his philosophy “to do things quick and simple”. He made Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva more robust competitors, making their technical abilities even more productive, as seen when De Bruyne nicked possession for two of City’s goals. Silva presses far more assiduously now.
Guardiola has often been derided as a coach who needs recourse to a handsome budget to succeed. He has spent heavily at City but he has also used that money effectively. Guardiola chooses and keeps those he knows he can develop. It’s not simply about being handed the golden ticket, the opportunity to work with the gifted, as at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City. It’s the impact that he has on them. Guardiola is a player-whisperer, a talent-enhancer, a value-improver.
Rather than complaining about the sums that Guardiola invests, his critics should ponder how much the players’ prices have risen through proximity to one of the most remarkable, inspiring coaches of the past two decades. Even without the inflationary Neymarnomics, most of Guardiola’s purchases would cost more now because he makes good players better.
Guardiola’s reputation, his mix of intensity and warmth, his encouragement and coaching all enrich players. Take the English first. Kyle Walker’s £54 million fee was questioned but full backs are so important in the modern game, whether supplying the width from deep, as wing backs, or almost as auxiliary wingers as Guardiola uses them.
Walker’s workload is formidable and he could tire, but he has three assists in seven games and is now being spoken of as one of the most accomplished right backs in Europe, not simply England. John Stones has taken time to settle but has been one of best defenders this season, living up to that £47 million price tag, confirming Guardiola’s belief in him.
Sterling arrived before Guardiola but was clearly part of the Pep project and is now blossoming, contributing six goals and two assists in 478 Premier League minutes this season — a fine return. That £44 million looks increasingly a good deal. Sterling’s decision-making has been upgraded by Guardiola. His finishing is markedly better. Gareth Southgate owes Guardiola. Even Fabian Delph is back in the England squad.
Ederson, who breathes confidence into the back line, has adapted to English football faster than anticipated — far better than Guardiola’s main dud, the £17 million Claudio Bravo (while £13 million Nolito didn’t work out) — and is worth more than the £35 million they paid Benfica. If Leroy Sané looks a steal at £37 million, Gabriel Jesus is daylight robbery at £27 million.
Walker is 27, hardly ancient, but it is the relative youth of others, Stones, 23, Sterling, 22, Ederson, 24, Sané, 21, Jesus, 20, that gives hope of significant foundations being laid or, at the very least, fabulous resale possibilities.
City have yet to see the best of Ilkay Gündogan (£20 million) or Benjamin Mendy (£52 million) but the few glimpses have highlighted their capabilities. Ditto Bernardo Silva (£43 million) from the bench and Danilo (£26.5 million). Of those Guardiola inherited, Otamendi looks slightly more reliable now if still short of the £30 million City gave Valencia but De Bruyne is worth double his fee of £55 million (given Neymarnomics), Fernandinho more than £30 million, David Silva double his £25 million and Sergio Agüero more than £38 million, even if he will turn 30 during the next summer transfer window.
Guardiola’s demands of Agüero, and the player’s ultra-professional response, benefit all parties, turning the Argentinian into a more rounded striker, capable of significant work outside the box. His six goals in 467 Premier League minutes this season show that Agüero is still doing what he does best, but three assists reflect his loyalty to the cause and the game plan (as many as in 2,407 minutes last season). If Agüero continues like this he will comfortably eclipse his best assist returns of eight in 2011-12 and 2014-15.
Team before self is the Guardiola way, and there is a humility in this fellowship of his. Guardiola’s choice of players reflects that; even Sterling is far removed from the public perception. There are good characters in Guardiola’s dressing room, as well as good players.
Commitment to the collective was seen most exhilaratingly in that City second. David Silva joined Delph in hunting possession after Darren Fletcher pinged a pass wide. Otamendi back-heeled the loose ball to Delph, who transferred it back to Ederson. On it went, quick and simple, Fernandinho, Stones and De Bruyne combining deep, inviting Stoke on, creating space.
Again, Guardiola’s ethos imbued them all, team before self, quick and simple, moving their number of touches in the league this season towards its tally of 7,023, way clear of second-placed Tottenham’s 6,373.
On the ball carried from Walker to De Bruyne to David Silva, back to Otamendi, left to Delph and on to David Silva again. Stoke were chasing shadows. After David Silva rolled the ball down the wing to Sané, City simply brandished another weapon, dribbling. Sané, looking for the ideal pass, twisted away from Stoke markers before picking out De Bruyne, who responded with that wonderful disguised pass for Sané to tee up Sterling. The goal celebration told its own story about the unity in Guardiola’s side with Sterling heading straight over to thank Sané.
City have to turn such bursts of beauty into trophies before they can be lauded as one of the great sides, and they face an immediate test against Napoli in the Champions League this evening, but they are striding elegantly in the right direction. If they continue, and produce this repeatedly, they will eventually be compared to the best seen in the past half-century, such as Chelsea when Frank Lampard shared a field with Didier Drogba, when Robert Pirès and Thierry Henry adorned Arsenal’s Invincibles or any of Sir Alex Ferguson’s legendary three sides: Eric Cantona and the Double-winners of 1993-94, the 1999 Treble-winners spiced with four superb strikers and the 2008 vintage of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez.
It started with a back-heel from a centre back on the touchline. Passages of Manchester City’s acclaimed play against Stoke City, especially their end-to-end second goal involving that pass from Nicolás Otamendi and ultimately finished by Raheem Sterling, rival some of the most bewitching football seen on English soil in the past 50 years.
Only time and opponents’ responses will tell whether City can sustain this brilliance, and so deserve comparison to titans of previous generations, but the damage that they inflicted on Stoke on Saturday gave a thrilling signal of their individual and collective growth under Pep Guardiola.

Teams fear City now. It must be a nightmare for other managers, deciding how to set up against them. Be cautious, defend deep and in numbers, and they pass and move through you. Be bold, push up, attack, and they will pick you off with their pace and precision. They are the perfect swarm.
Yet when City were knocked out of the Champions League by Monaco in March, Guardiola was dismissed as “Fraudiola” on one radio phone-in. A month later, when City fell to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final, Guardiola endured further denigration, some of it tinged with local schadenfreude that the celebrated Spaniard was finding it hard in England. Headlines crowed about “Guardiola failing his English exam” and “Perfection is a distant dream for Guardiola”.
City’s powerbrokers, sensibly, stayed calm, ignored the howls of criticism, and let Guardiola carry on building his side, and inculcating his philosophy “to do things quick and simple”. He made Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva more robust competitors, making their technical abilities even more productive, as seen when De Bruyne nicked possession for two of City’s goals. Silva presses far more assiduously now.

Guardiola has often been derided as a coach who needs recourse to a handsome budget to succeed. He has spent heavily at City but he has also used that money effectively. Guardiola chooses and keeps those he knows he can develop. It’s not simply about being handed the golden ticket, the opportunity to work with the gifted, as at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City. It’s the impact that he has on them. Guardiola is a player-whisperer, a talent-enhancer, a value-improver.

Guardiola may spend a lot on his players, but they increase in value under himPA
Rather than complaining about the sums that Guardiola invests, his critics should ponder how much the players’ prices have risen through proximity to one of the most remarkable, inspiring coaches of the past two decades. Even without the inflationary Neymarnomics, most of Guardiola’s purchases would cost more now because he makes good players better.
Guardiola’s reputation, his mix of intensity and warmth, his encouragement and coaching all enrich players. Take the English first. Kyle Walker’s £54 million fee was questioned but full backs are so important in the modern game, whether supplying the width from deep, as wing backs, or almost as auxiliary wingers as Guardiola uses them.

Walker’s workload is formidable and he could tire, but he has three assists in seven games and is now being spoken of as one of the most accomplished right backs in Europe, not simply England. John Stones has taken time to settle but has been one of best defenders this season, living up to that £47 million price tag, confirming Guardiola’s belief in him.
Sterling arrived before Guardiola but was clearly part of the Pep project and is now blossoming, contributing six goals and two assists in 478 Premier League minutes this season — a fine return. That £44 million looks increasingly a good deal. Sterling’s decision-making has been upgraded by Guardiola. His finishing is markedly better. Gareth Southgate owes Guardiola. Even Fabian Delph is back in the England squad.

Ederson, who breathes confidence into the back line, has adapted to English football faster than anticipated — far better than Guardiola’s main dud, the £17 million Claudio Bravo (while £13 million Nolito didn’t work out) — and is worth more than the £35 million they paid Benfica. If Leroy Sané looks a steal at £37 million, Gabriel Jesus is daylight robbery at £27 million.
Walker is 27, hardly ancient, but it is the relative youth of others, Stones, 23, Sterling, 22, Ederson, 24, Sané, 21, Jesus, 20, that gives hope of significant foundations being laid or, at the very least, fabulous resale possibilities.
City have yet to see the best of Ilkay Gündogan (£20 million) or Benjamin Mendy (£52 million) but the few glimpses have highlighted their capabilities. Ditto Bernardo Silva (£43 million) from the bench and Danilo (£26.5 million). Of those Guardiola inherited, Otamendi looks slightly more reliable now if still short of the £30 million City gave Valencia but De Bruyne is worth double his fee of £55 million (given Neymarnomics), Fernandinho more than £30 million, David Silva double his £25 million and Sergio Agüero more than £38 million, even if he will turn 30 during the next summer transfer window.

Guardiola’s demands of Agüero, and the player’s ultra-professional response, benefit all parties, turning the Argentinian into a more rounded striker, capable of significant work outside the box. His six goals in 467 Premier League minutes this season show that Agüero is still doing what he does best, but three assists reflect his loyalty to the cause and the game plan (as many as in 2,407 minutes last season). If Agüero continues like this he will comfortably eclipse his best assist returns of eight in 2011-12 and 2014-15.
Team before self is the Guardiola way, and there is a humility in this fellowship of his. Guardiola’s choice of players reflects that; even Sterling is far removed from the public perception. There are good characters in Guardiola’s dressing room, as well as good players.
Commitment to the collective was seen most exhilaratingly in that City second. David Silva joined Delph in hunting possession after Darren Fletcher pinged a pass wide. Otamendi back-heeled the loose ball to Delph, who transferred it back to Ederson. On it went, quick and simple, Fernandinho, Stones and De Bruyne combining deep, inviting Stoke on, creating space.
Again, Guardiola’s ethos imbued them all, team before self, quick and simple, moving their number of touches in the league this season towards its tally of 7,023, way clear of second-placed Tottenham’s 6,373.

On the ball carried from Walker to De Bruyne to David Silva, back to Otamendi, left to Delph and on to David Silva again. Stoke were chasing shadows. After David Silva rolled the ball down the wing to Sané, City simply brandished another weapon, dribbling. Sané, looking for the ideal pass, twisted away from Stoke markers before picking out De Bruyne, who responded with that wonderful disguised pass for Sané to tee up Sterling. The goal celebration told its own story about the unity in Guardiola’s side with Sterling heading straight over to thank Sané.
City have to turn such bursts of beauty into trophies before they can be lauded as one of the great sides, and they face an immediate test against Napoli in the Champions League this evening, but they are striding elegantly in the right direction. If they continue, and produce this repeatedly, they will eventually be compared to the best seen in the past half-century, such as Chelsea when Frank Lampard shared a field with Didier Drogba, when Robert Pirès and Thierry Henry adorned Arsenal’s Invincibles or any of Sir Alex Ferguson’s legendary three sides: Eric Cantona and the Double-winners of 1993-94, the 1999 Treble-winners spiced with four superb strikers and the 2008 vintage of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez.
Going back further in time, Kenny Dalglish’s irresistible Liverpool side of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley and John Aldridge of 1987-88 produced some magnificent displays, including a destruction of Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.
Dalglish graced the Liverpool team fully during some of their classic manifestations of the late 1970s and early 1980s. In terms of uplifting football the clock then has to be rewound to the United side of Best, Charlton and Law.
It is too early, too presumptuous, too disrespectful even to consider the proposition of likening City to them — that takes years — but, for now, their football should be celebrated and Guardiola’s genius applauded.