Just about everything Pep Guardiola has done as a manager has been a resounding success. Whether it be at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and now Manchester City, the Spaniard has sprinkled his stardust and won plenty of trophies.
City’s New Signings Being Backed to be a Success
If you believe the bookmakers, that success is expected to continue for Pep. After only winning the league last season and being minutes away from the Champions League final, his side is sure to have an extra level of determination and his new signings will certainly contribute to that. In the latest football odds, City are priced at 4/7 to defend the Premier League title, and they are 60/1 to win the quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, and EFL Cup – something Liverpool came close to achieving last year.
We are delighted to announce the signing of @Kalvinphillips on a six-year deal 🤩
Welcome, Kalvin! đź’™#ManCity pic.twitter.com/3fNJthPNIL
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 4, 2022
Most seasoned observers and pundits seem to expect City to be a success with their new signings. As a result, Pep’s team are being talked up by prominent football tipsters, and these football tips are made by industry experts and based on years of experience and statistics.
City are the most successful club in England over the past five years and are coached by one of the best managers in the industry. So it’s easy to see why they are favourites to win a fifth league title in six years. But what if things are all wrong?
When Pep Got Things Wrong
When you think of failures, there aren’t many for Pep. Generally, he succeeds. But one thing widely regarded as a mistake in Pep’s illustrious career was back in 2009 when he took Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan and added him to his all-conquering Barcelona team, with the highly talented Samuel Eto’o going the other way.
In two seasons at the Camp Nou, Zlatan failed to fit in, managing just 22 goals in 46 games. Zlatan just didn’t suit the system and struggled to make an impact in Spain.
Lukaku’s Return to Chelsea Shows What Can Go Wrong
Sometimes you just get a gut feeling though. Just because all the stats add up and a player looks the real deal, it doesn’t guarantee anything. For a perfect example, look at Chelsea’s signing of Romalu Lukaku last season.
If you followed the industry experts and pundits 12 months ago, you would have been expecting Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea to have a storming season. Look what happened instead.
Romelu Lukaku returns to Inter, here we go and confirmed! Full agreement now signed on loan deal until June 2023, €8 loan fee plus add-ons. ⚫️🔵 #CFC #Inter
▫️ Lukaku’s salary will be around €8m.
▫️ NO buy option or obligation clause.
▫️ Add-ons related to team performances. pic.twitter.com/3sEeQtfXs0
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 21, 2022
The experts talked up the transfer, telling us Lukaku was the real deal when he left Inter Milan to return to Chelsea. Alan Shearer even claimed it could be the signing that wins Chelsea the Premier League.
If a player doesn’t suit a system, then it won’t work out. The same thing could well happen at City this season. If the new players don’t fit into City’s style of play, they could well find themselves on the bench. But on the flip side, if they work out, it could be one of the best summer transfer windows ever for City.
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