Guest Article – Pep Guardiola Is Not A Fraud

It’s time for another guest article now and it’s time to hand out a Real Football Man debut cap as Efana Usua takes his writing bow – you can follow Efana on Twitter here . For his debut Efana has written a piece on Pep Guardiola, is he a fraud? Efana does not seem to think so as you can see in his piece below

Football is about winning and when you don’t people start talking, regardless of history. Manchester City’s round of 16 defeat to the French goal machines Monaco has got people talking. The entertaining Champions league tie which ended 6-6 was a game for the neutrals but much has to be said about the poor defending of Manchester City which is generally attributed to the fault of the manager Guardiola.

Guardiola who boasts a CV most managers can only dream of is always going to get the stick when his teams do not deliver as expected. Although his team has been brilliant at times many fans have always been out for him since his days in Spain and Germany, as some will never accept him as a top manager as they don’t feel he really had serious competition in La Liga and the Bundesliga .

Most people try to undermine his work by pointing out the strength of the previous teams he managed as the reason for his managerial success, and the problems he is currently facing with his new team will continue to buttress the point of those naysayers. A popular word or nickname for him “Fraudiola” is now the new item in the lips of people who aren’t necessarily fans of the former Spanish international.

Frankly Guardiola is not a fraud as his track record speaks well for him. There are several factors that point this out as well too. Firstly, the English Premier League is a fiercely competitive league. This a league that boasts of 5 managers who have won domestic league titles in major European countries. Manchester City is a team of ageing stars and while Guardiola has made some mistakes, this City team is going to struggle to adapt to his style of play as it’s very demanding and players close to their thirties are always going to find it difficult to learn new footballing ideas .Secondly the players Guardiola worked with at Bayern and Barcelona had more technical l skills and were more used to the style of football he preferred.

This Manchester City team under another manager with a more conventional style, might be able to put up a title fight but they would still struggle as much as they are right now. Given Guardiola’s demands for perfection and the intensity of his new environment, his players might need more time to adjust but still he’s no fraud and given time he’s going to come good.

Thanks Efana for your words, an interesting piece. Do you agree? Let me know in the comments below

If you would like to give a view from your club on a weekly basis then please get in touch – you can email me at – realfootballmanwordpress@gmail.com