So this will be slightly off brand for me, but I want to talk about another club, although maybe tenuously linked to Manchester United.
Now Pep Guardiola often gets compared with the great Sir Alex Ferguson, with some suggesting he has surpassed the Glaswegian (probably due to a level of recency bias). I’m not going to take anything away from Pep’s achievements, he has won everything there is to win at a frankly ridiculous rate. Like other great foreign managers before him, he has left a tactical legacy in English football, that has changed the football landscape in this country.
However, there is one area where I think Pep has failed Manchester City and where he and Sir Alex differ greatly. Sir Alex always balanced current success with building for the future. He was not afraid to move on older declining players and trust in youth.
This season, looking at Man City they look like a team that has too many miles on the clock. Half a yard off in the legs and not as hungry in the mind. They’ve been bullied and pushed back, unlike they have in previous seasons.
Now this happens to every great team at some point. They don’t last forever and transitioning from one great team to the next great young team is never easy. Having a good balance of talented and hungry young players who are all ready to go at the same time is hard to manufacture and always requires a little luck.
Now looking around the English Premier League (EPL), we can find a plethora of highly talented young players who have been let go by Man City over the past 2-3 seasons. Players who in hindsight could be the difference between Man City fighting for top four this season or being able to challenge Liverpool FC for the title.
Cole Palmer, Morgan Rodgers and Liam Delap are there of the highest rated young English players in the EPL right now. All three were Man City players this time two years ago. And given City’s current form, all three could arguably be starting for City right now and they would be a better team for it.
Palmer and Rodgers starting ahead of Bernardo Silva and KdB would have sounded like blasphemy 18 months ago, yet right now they would bring much needed freshness, energy and athleticism that City are missing.
I won’t even try to suggest that Delap is a better goalscorer than Haaland, yet he is a more complete and well rounded player. Haaland is a freak of nature, much like the Mountain from Game of Thrones, he’s freakishly big and strong, and far faster than a man of his size has any right to be.
Yet unless you are playing quick transitional football where he can isolate defenders 1v1, he offers little in terms of creative or build up play. When the rest of the team is struggling, you need your CF to drop deep and make things happen. This is something Delap excels at and something that is a clear weakness to Haaland. At the very least, Delap would offer a great rotation option.
Beyond those three there are a few others City have let go in recent years who arguably would be starters right now. Frimpong would have been a great replacement for the recently departed Walker.
James Trafford is in phenomenal form, with the highest Save percentage in Europe, while also being excellent with the ball at his feet. He’d easily be giving Ederson a run for his money on current form.
While Romeo Lavia is probably the most similar young midfielder to Rodri, who due to his injuries is a massive loss to City. What a boon it would have been if they had Lavia to step in.
Imagine a Man City side with Palmer, Rodgers, Delap, Lavia, Trafford, and Frimpong joining Rico Lewis and Phil Foden. That was Man City’s chance of having their own version of the Class of 92.
A rare chance to bring through several high quality young players around the same time. Yet it’s an opportunity missed. A rare mistake from Pep, a lack of courage to clear the tried and trusted and to put his faith in youth.
A blot on his copybook, but a clear reason why in my view at least Sir Alex still has the edge over Pep. Trust in youth and managing a club with one eye firmly on the future and one on the present.
Written by Shappy March 20 2025 14:24:13
