Pep Guardiola’s magic is not gone but Manchester City will have to consider a change next season if things don’t improve.
That’s according to Jamie Carragher, who has criticised the squad building at Manchester City in an interview with SportBILD today.
Manchester City are currently going through their worst season since 2015/16, sitting fifth in the Premier League 20 points behind leaders Liverpool and out of the Champions League.
They have lost eight games already in the league this season as injuries, particularly the season-ending one to Rodri, have taken their toll.
Questions are being raised about Guardiola, who signed a two-year extension in November, and whether he can lead the rebuild which appears to be on the way.
Carragher is confident that he will be given the chance to do so and that the magic isn’t gone, but Manchester City will need to make a decision if next season isn’t different.
“Guardiola’s magic is not gone, but the magic of this squad is definitely gone,” he said.
“Manchester City should now give this great coach time to fix it. City are at the end of a cycle. Maybe you could say that (change manager) next season if things continue to go so poorly.
“With the quality of the squad and the high spending, City cannot afford two bad seasons. They have made mistakes and maybe some players are tired of listening to Guardiola. That’s normal when a coach has been there for so long. So, they need new, fresh players. Pep shouldn’t leave City.”
The belief is that Manchester City will spend big again in the summer after a busy January transfer window signing the likes of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.
They are all seen as signings for the future, with an acceptance that the business done last summer was not good enough.
Gaps have certainly emerged this season as injuries have hit, with the lack of a replacement for Rodri the clear issue but also the lack of options in defence. Money is now being spent to rectify that, but Carragher believes mistakes have also been made with the signings they have done in recent years.
“They put the squad together wrongly,” he added.
“It is normal for the big teams to drop a bit, but this is a big drop that no one expected. They have made poor plans for the future: in recent years they have brought in players who have not made it.
“Then they signed players who were not ready – like Kalvin Phillips and Matheus Nunes. Since they did not cut it in midfield, City brought in Ilkay Gündogan and Mateo Kovacic. You still have Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and the injured Rodri. The planning in midfield was simply wrong.”
