Fans across England were left in shock when Pep Guardiola announced that his next destination was England and he was going to take charge of Manchester City. Most of the big clubs were working hard to sign the Spanish manager, however it was the revolution in the blue half of Manchester that interested him the most. He will be coming into a team that will be short of confidence after they surrender their title challenge very poorly last season to Leicester City. Although they did reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, their elimination exposed all the flaws that will need to be rectified by Guardiola.
Guardiola isn’t known to have too much patience with underperforming players therefore every player will be under pressure to put his best foot forward infront of the new manager. Guardiola is an excellent manager and has a CV few others can match in the world. He has highly successful during his time with Barcelona and Bayern Munich but Premier League will be a completely different prospect, especially given the fact that most of the top managers in the world will be competing against each for the first time next season. He will be against the likes of Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Arsene Wenger and Antonio Conte, therefore it will require a special effort from him if he is to end his first season in England with a trophy.
Bring The Club Together
There has been severe criticism of Manchester City over the last few months, after their disappointing performance last season. They scrapped into the top four and were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final after a very poor performance. City often look lost for ideas when things aren’t going their way, something Guardiola will pay close attention too. If he is going to challenge for the title next season, it is essential that he gets everyone at the club behind him, from the supporters to the players. He needs to get everyone believing again.
Vincent Kompany
There is nothing that Guardiola will want more than a fully-fit Vincent Kompany leading his team from the heart of City’s back four but with the Belgian going through a horrible injury run, it is difficult for any manager to completely rely on him. The manager must make a decision whether he wants to stick with Kompany or get someone in to replace the 30 year old. He is fast approaching the final phase of his career, therefore it will be a big call but one that needs to be made urgently before the next season kicks off.
Sort Out The Squad
There are question marks over the futures of a few players and, while contracts and transfers are not something that Guardiola bothers with too much, he will still have an impact on them. Doubts remain over the future of Aleksandar Kolarov, Eliaquim Mangala, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri. Even Wilfred Bony who moved from Swansea for £25m just 18 months ago looks to be heading out this summer. it is essential that Pep gets his squad ready before the season kicks off on August 13th otherwise the performance of these players might come to haunt him later on.