THINKING THINGS THROUGH

It's that time of the year again, when Pep Guardiola's brain cells begin to ricochet around inside his head. Big games are looming and, with their heavy-footed approach, the need to get things just right.

In European competition at least, this has led to some off-the-wall coaching decisions by the great man. The notion that perhaps he overthinks the big games has never quite gone away, despite a roll of honour as long as your arm. In the Champions League, at least, this is an argument that stands up to the closest scrutiny.

City have now reached three consecutive semi-finals under the Catalan, but failed to get that far in any of his first four seasons at the Etihad. This startling run of what seemed to be bad luck was not just that. It contained perplexing decisions that helped ease the club out of contention each time. There have been plenty of moments of outrageous ill fortune too, but the coach's willingness to change vital team characteristics for critical one-off games has backfired at the most inopportune occasions.

STUBBING YOUR TOE ON THE ROCK OF MONACO

In Guardiola's first season in charge the round of 16 exit to a surprisingly nimble Monaco contained no major changes. It was a period where Fernandinho had surfaced at right back a few times, but the coach made no significant changes to the line-up for the two Monaco games, rather Bernardo Silva introduced himself to Manchester as a will-o-the-wisp, all-purpose devil-maker down the right flank for the visitors, completely bamboozling the City rearguard in a magnificent first half showing in the first leg.

With City's defence at sixes and sevens, the French led 3-2. David Silva clawed back midfield supremacy in the second half and an albeit haphazard 5-3 win seemed good enough. As Daniel Taylor wrote in the Guardian, "Where do you even start with a match of this nature. It was a thrilling night full of mistakes..." 

This first leg had been reffed by Antonio Lahoz, soon to build himself a magnificent reputation amongst the City faithful, for puffed-out-chest, look-at-me-on-the-tv reffing. Here he booked Sergio Aguero for diving in the box when the Argentine was clearly fouled for a penalty. The ill-fortune did not seem to matter as City wracked up five goals, but they would pay for their openness in the 2nd leg in the Principality, where simple defeat to the season's surprise team of the tournament disproved the early feeling of joie de vivre and brought Guardiola's first doubts to the fore. 

The Catalan had never managed a side knocked out of the Champions League so early. Perhaps it was here, in the ashes of a goal-strewn pantomime against Monaco, that his approach to big knock-out games began to change. After all those slide rule, mathematically precise wins for Bayern and Barcelona, Carry On Manchester City was perhaps not what he had envisaged.  

LAHOZ AHOY

In 2017-18 all was running smoothly until City drew Liverpool in the quarters. The well-trodden path of what to do at Anfield rose menacingly infront of City's travelling party again. Guardiola was tempted and Guardiola succumbed to the temptation. New centre-back Aymeric Laporte came in at left back and looked like a centre-back playing left back throughout a miserably uncomfortable Anfield first leg. As we would see, a number of Guardiola's odd tactical decisions have also involved Ilkay Gundogan. Here, the clever midfield schemer was stuck out on the right side, largely ineffectual in a game won down the other side by Mohammad Salah's long-slow roasting of the cross-eyed Laporte.

With Leroy Sane pretty well shackled by Trent Alexander Arnold, City collapsed to a devastating defeat that proved beyond redemption in the second leg, once again decorated by the presence of Antonio Lahoz. 

2018-19: For the second consecutive season, City came up against English opposition in the quarter finals and once again fell flat on their faces, having had their legs tied together by their own coach. For the first leg in London, Guardiola "rested" Kevin de Bruyne of all people, left out Bernardo and gave Fabian Delph his second start of the season at left back. For the return leg, Gundogan was again handed an unfamiliar role, holding. Bad luck dominated, Aguero missing an early penalty in London and a nuclear grade second leg proving impossible to knock into shape. The 4-3 win was not enough with what had looked to be an extremely dramatic winner from Raheem Sterling ruled out with everyone curled up on the turf, emotionally drained. 

Having come unstuck against Liverpool and Spurs in super-charged all-English affairs where loss of control was perhaps inevitable, going out to Lyon the year after in a one-off game in Lisbon was unforgiveable. Guardiola changed things around to combat the threat that he saw from the then 7th-placed Ligue Un side. Again bad luck played its part, with Sterling's horrendous miss at 1-2, but in the end, City's cautious set-up - both Silvas again benched - was their downfall and Lyon went through 3-1.

"Malcolm Allison's Cowards of Europe speech would not go away. Worse still, in a new and ironic twist, City's final effort had made them look like the cowards. The enigma that is Manchester City was still succeeding in confounding the very best brains the sport had to offer...." from City in Europe, after City's exit at the hands of Lyon.

 

   

 

If Lyon was an unthinkable collapse, finally getting all the way to the Champions League final by studious use of Rodri and/or Fernandinho as the last man in midfield and then - for the first and only game that season - deciding to start v Chelsea with neither one nor the other was akin to a chef deciding to make a chocolate cake using only peanuts the day the king comes to dinner.

Once again, Gundogan -sitting in that massive hole left by Rodri's absence - was the man left holding the sticky spatula. On the biggest stage yet, City had sticky stuff on their chin.

Analyzing last season's semi final with Real Madrid is still likely to make anybody feel dizzy twelve months on. Loosening Real's grip on "their" trophy is akin to peeling a python off a pig. How they hung on in Manchester despite an onslaught that would have flattened most teams, is still a dark mystery. Having slunk out of the Etihad with a 4-3 defeat, Real were then two goals adrift on aggregate in Madrid with seconds remaining. No funny business from Guardiola this time, but plenty from Real, as they scored twice at the death, then finished a shell-shocked City off in extra time. 

There are signs that the Catalan has put an end to the tinkering for now. The sight of John Stones steaming through central midfield spraying cultured passes is still odd, but at least has become part of the fabric. Are there more surprises to spring on us all or has Guardiola finally landed on a system that should not, surely must not, be further tampered with in the pursuit of something intangible? 

We are about to find out.        

All the above matches are analysed in detail in City in Europe, as is the charge of over-thinking big games often levelled at Pep Guardiola. 

  

 

      

PIES IN THE SKY

🥮Many objects were thrown onto the pitch at Maine Road during its long and distinguished period as Manchester City's home. In times of despair, frustration and even celebration, it was not uncommon to launch a belonging or two towards the lush green turf. This correspondent lost his Pringle sweater in the mosh pit of the Kippax during the promotion celebrations against Charlton Athletic in 1985, although I don't remember it getting as far as the pitch on that occasion, as 47,000 went berserk at the at the time scalding denouement of promotion back to the top flight. 

How fully we celebrated small trifles in the 80s.

During that promotion run-in, there had been other occasions when it felt necessary to vent the spleen. At Notts County the week before, a variety of objects had been airborne, including most of the perimetre fencing separating City's 13,000-strong away following from the pitch. That some supporters then even reached the dressing rooms that day to give Billy McNeill's droopy and non-performing squad an impromptu team talk was hardly surprising.

There were a few things on the pitch by the end, including Notts County manager Jimmy Sirrell's loud hailer, used to inform the City support they were being thoroughly unreasonable. 

As City's promotion charge turned into a stumble, nerves had become more and more frayed.

It had all started to go pear-shaped the week before the ill-fated Notts County trip. A local derby against Oldham at Maine Road, tension levels through the old corrugated tin roof, atmosphere febrile and patience running as thin as a Jacob's water biscuit. 

Enter a stubborn and, on this occasion, distinctly spicy Oldham Athletic, intent on spoiling any hint of a party. City, ravaged by injuries and wracked with the usual existentialist self-doubt, set about the visitors with all they had, which in truth was Geoff Lomax and Kenny Clements.

Shortly before half time a crunching tackle from the aptly named Gary Hoolickin brought young stand-in Jamie Hoyland's afternoon (and season) to an abrupt end. With tempers rising Andy May stepped in to ask the referee, a certain Peter Willis, if he fancied taking control or not.

Take control he certainly did. Willis, an upright, balding policeman in real life, promptly sent May off for foul and abusive language and told Hoolickin he was a very bad boy and not to do that sort of thing again. As the stretcher carried Hoyland off, the Kippax erupted in a baying frenzy of anger, which had not nearly abated by the time Willis blew on his half time whistle.

As the teams reached the touchline to enter the tunnel, a fully formed meat and potato pie, standard issue concrete crust, came hurtling out of the genteel rows of the Main Stand and clocked Willis full on the bonce, a glorious moment of historical colour that has lived long and true in the memory for all who were present that day. Willis, with no hair for the crumbs to stick to, strode beneath the Main Stand, his mind bubbling, gravy dripping from his giant policeman ears. How could he wreak revenge on this dreadful city of Manchester, with its thousands of obsessive cave dwelling thugs.

Three weeks later, 400 miles south at Wembley, Willis became the first referee to send a player off in a Cup Final, Manchester United's Kevin Moran the unlucky recipient of  a familiar strain of over-excited officiating.