The "Daily Telegraph" wrote an article about Manchester City's lineup and Guardiola's topic. Although Guardiola himself does not like the so-called "bloated" lineup, he has to admit that it has brought benefits. Although...
The "Daily Telegraph" wrote an article about Manchester City's lineup and Guardiola's topic. Although Guardiola himself does not like the so-called "bloated" lineup, he has to admit that it has brought benefits.
Although Guardiola has half-jokingly said that if the club insists on letting him manage a larger lineup, he will resign. But now it seems that this larger lineup may be a boon to Manchester City. Before the last game of the Premier League last season, Guardiola once said: "I told the club that I don't want this situation. I don't want five or six players to be idle. I will stay only when the team reduces the lineup, otherwise I may resign."
Guardiola also emphasized that he cannot train more than 24 players, and every time he selects players, four or five players must stay home because they have no chance to play. This is unacceptable to him. But now, Guardiola has not "got what he wanted". Manchester City's current 25-man lineup is the largest in his nine years of coaching.
But to his surprise, this depth of lineup actually stimulated the team's vitality. Guardiola no longer seems to be troubled by too many choices, but appears more calm. Against Bournemouth, players such as Bob and Husanov were not included in the game list, which shows that Guardiola is indeed temporarily discarding some players more frequently than before. But the Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund showed that the surplus in the squad brings many benefits.
Most coaches would envy Manchester City's bench, which is filled with high-level players, allowing Guardiola to have enough options to change the situation as the game against Dortmund enters the final stages. Seat B, Serki and Ruben Dias appeared one after another, followed by Malmouche and Ait Nouri.
At this time, people have almost forgotten Rodri, who is Manchester City's most important player after Haaland. Rodri wasn't even included in the matchday squad, making a brief appearance against Bournemouth, his first appearance in nearly a month.
There is a misunderstanding about "Guardian City" that he has always had a huge team. Not really, simply because nearly every player he can call upon is world class, or close to it. The club is also good at keeping most of its best players healthy and rotating the lineup appropriately to maintain balance.
But this was not the case last season. Injuries to key players severely affected the team's strength. The club's slow pace of reconstruction led to a decline in the status of many veterans, and the performance of many other players also experienced ups and downs. Those threats appear to be less of a threat this season, with Guardiola having at least two quality options in every position and more insurance if injuries arise.
This also means that Manchester City can afford Mamouch and Ait Nouri to participate in the African Cup of Nations. If City can go further in all four competitions, the team should have enough games to ensure that players eager to play get some opportunities.
Guardiola looked very distressed last season, and now he seems to be rejuvenated, perhaps because he feels that he has a truly competitive team that is getting better and better. Although Haaland is still irreplaceable and Foden is almost so, Manchester City is generally strong. For Guardiola, a larger lineup may be the answer to the problem.
