It’s probably the romanticism and the sense of tradition, the real meaning of English football, that sends Pep Guardiola weak at the knees whenever one of the old guard find themselves in his orbit.
Tony Pulis, Roy Hodgson, David Moyes, Sam Allardyce. Those with the long histories, that coaching style for which this country has always been identified. As the Manchester United terrace song does not go – they’ve seen it all, they’ve not won the lot.
He has though, and reveres these managers for what they have given to the Premier League but also their staying power as tacticians like himself arrive and ultimately improve the product. There is genuine affection. Some say it’s for the cameras but Guardiola has done it behind office doors on matchdays over a good Rioja. Pulis and men of his ilk appreciate that.
Neil Warnock’s one of those. Warnock was namechecked by Guardiola recently when saying his Cardiff City team were one of only two teams Manchester City had faced until this season who went man-for-man instead of sitting in, relying on counter-attacking.
Warnock tittered at that and, within a matter of weeks, was at the City Football Academy on Friday representing Sky Sports. An audience with Guardiola. Or an audience with Warnock, depending on how you interpret the chat between the pair of them – Warnock regaling tales of promotions at Notts County and Guardiola showing complete and utter deference to the man 18 years his senior.
It is one of Guardiola’s great qualities, this. The respect for his elders – inviting Warnock to watch training and lunch in the future, while also mischievously keen to point out that he is a generation younger – but also a deep respect for the game. For different styles, different attitudes. Showing great amusement at some dressing room antics Warnock once deployed before facing Jose Mourinho. To a degree, letting Warnock have his moment.
Pep Guardiola’s respect for opponents is proving to be a hindrance for Manchester City
Guardiola holds those with long histories in management, like Neil Warnock, in high regard
This respect makes Guardiola quite a good loser. Somebody who cannot abide it, of course, yet somebody who is – despite all outwardly facing maniacal tendencies – appreciative that the bloke in the other dugout might be decent as well.
In fact, he is often accused of going overboard in praise of opposition teams and in that chat with Warnock, talked up 17th-placed Wolves as proof that the division is of significantly higher quality than when he joined in 2016.
They discussed how he’d never ‘throw players under the bus’ after defeats, as easy and appealing as that might be at the time, and the dissection of City’s long-running problems have been characterised by age and injuries rather than some plainly evident dips in personal form.
He is a little different in the dressing room, as we all know, but does this season have a general acceptance that things are just not right. He mentioned hunger, wondering if that still exists after four in a row. He recognises that he has become ‘attached’ and has ‘affections’ for some players – the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva – and in doing so, likely admits that the rebuild has come too late.
And there is a general acceptance, as Guardiola has reiterated countless times since November, that the opposition ‘are better’ – noting the present rather than past tense – or how physically City are the worst in the league. He speaks the truth, which should be applauded and is, in its own way, a noble art. But there does lie a feeling that City – staff and players – have allowed that sentiment to manifest further.
Play well, yet the opposition are better. Too dangerous on transitions, too quick, too clinical. It certainly had that look on Sunday, when City were good for large spells, making it a game against the runaway champions elect, without truly believing that the two-goal deficit inflicted upon themselves could be vanquished.
Jeremy Doku dribbled past Trent Alexander-Arnold on more occasions in the first half than anybody has ever managed against one marker, much to the delight of the Etihad Stadium who are taking their small victories. A spectacle, electrifying and captivating.
End product though? Zero. Promise without delivery, enough to insist that change will come eventually – that City will be back – but not that it will be any time soon against the very best. Guardiola’s trying to cajole and inspire, man-management tactics that saw him leave the players to sort themselves out at half-time, but none of it is enough on the biggest stages at the moment.
Jeremy Doku frequently dribbled past Trent Alexander-Arnold but lacked end product
The image of Virgil van Dijk lapping up raucous acclaim could inspire City to respond
Hands behind back in the final stages, rain pouring, Guardiola stood waiting for the inevitable – a first Liverpool league win here during his nine-year tenure – and even primed to shake Arne Slot’s hand in surrender before Anthony Taylor’s final whistle. Really, it was a picture of an entire club and its fanbase patiently clock watching for next season.
City will make the top four or five, whatever is required to reach the Champions League, because their January recruitment strengthens them all over the pitch and performances have appeared more energetic. They’ve got a fairly favourable run-in, too.
But the 13-4 aggregate defeat in four matches against Arsenal, Real Madrid twice and now Liverpool, and the way in which those games have unfolded, suggests the acceptance is there, that they are subconsciously playing time. The last man to trudge off, De Bruyne, whose future is under question, puffed his cheeks and looked to the heavens under his heavy coat. Disappointment without anger. A few others ruefully motioned over to De Bruyne’s great mate, Virgil van Dijk, lapping raucous acclaim in front of the away end.
Accepting their lot now, City’s only goal can be to use that image of Van Dijk and dream of replicating it at Anfield in the spring of 2026.
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