Guardiola and Pellegrini
Yes, the worst kept secret in football is finally out, and Manuel Pellegrini is leaving at the end of the season, to be replaced by Pep Guardiola. It was somewhat inevitable that Guardiola would go to the blue half of Manchester, since they have the most money, the best squad and arguably the most potential to win the Champions League in the Premier League, but it's a little bit of a surprise that City chose to announce it already. Still, their argument that they didn't want speculation going on over the next few months whilst Pellegrini fights on all four fronts is a valid one.
I'm not going to go into too much detail about whether or not I think this is a good move for City or not. Guardiola's pedigree, regardless of the infrastructure already in place at Bayern and Barca when he joined them, is undeniable, he's a winner. He's one of, if not the greatest managers of this generation, for me personally, only Mourinho is the manager still in the game who can compete with him. For City it's a no-brainer and as Pep wanted a new challenge in the Premier League and Wenger isn't leaving Arsenal any time soon, this decision for him was also an easy one.
As for Pellegrini, is removing him in the summer a fair and appropriate ending to his tenure as City manager? Honestly, there's no way of knowing until the end of the season. Pellegrini secured the League Cup and, crucially, the Premier League by the end of his first season in charge of City, but last season's attempts to add to that tally flatlined. Whilst I agree that one trophy-less season, even for a club of City's stature, shouldn't be enough to warrant a dismissal, it's hardly a shining endorsement of Pellegrini's tenure and not enough to warrant a vote of confidence when Pep Guardiola is available. That said, Pellegrini's time as City manager will be utterly defined by the next 4 months. They have a League Cup final against Liverpool, a relatively nice draw in the last 16 of the Champions League against Dynamo Kiev and a huge FA Cup game against Chelsea. But in truth, all three of those are almost inconsequential. City won't win the Champions League this season, although they can make significant progress in the competition, the League Cup would be a nice cherry on top of the cake but is not substantive enough to form a cake itself for a club of City's expectations, and the FA Cup is still a long way off. No, ultimately, where Pellegrini's tenure as City's manager will be judged is in the Premier League. Two titles in three years makes replacing him look very harsh, especially if he can add at least one cup competition to his tally. But back to back failures to win the title and suddenly, Guardiola coming in makes a lot of sense.
As crazy and maybe unfair as it seems, Pellegrini's reign as Manchester City manager may end up being judged entirely on one Premier League game against Arsenal. It's funny how these things work out.
Transfer News
Much like the weekend's FA Cup fixtures, the big news on Deadline Day is the lack of news. Admittedly there's a long way to go, but it looks pretty much as if none of the market's big players will be overly active. I'd be very surprised if when I finish work tonight, anyone out of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, United, City or Spurs had made a major signing. I could see Leicester bringing in someone, but most likely cover for a centre half rather than anything game-changing.
It looks as if the big players of the day will be Newcastle and Stoke. Stoke looking as if they've secured Porto midfielder Gianelli Imbula for £18m and Newcastle still desperately hunting Saido Berahino as well as their confirmed loan signing of Seydou Doumbia.
Doumbia is one I have mixed thoughts about. On the one hand, I think he's a good player, a decent striker with an excellent turn of pace and a good ability to put the ball in the back of the net, and especially on loan, he could prove an excellent signing for Newcastle.
But I'm also not necessarily sure that he's what Newcastle need right now. He's a short term panic option, a flair player who reminds me a lot of say Ayoze Perez. He's definitely going to bolster their attacking options, but is he really a significant improvement in an area of the pitch where Newcastle have a lot of decent but underwhelming options?
What Newcastle really need isn't necessarily another striker, although I wouldn't say no to more goals in their side. What the likes of Stoke, Palace, Watford and West Brom have showed is that goals don't keep you in the Premier League, a miserly defence does that. Simply put, Newcastle are painfully light defensively and in their central midfield. Rather than signing another attacking player on Deadline Day, they should be looking at adding some much needed steel to their central options. Jonjo Shelvey was an excellent signing, but they still desperately need a central defender and a left back, not to mention a defensive midfielder.
Another interesting potential deal is Dwight Gayle to Swansea. Swansea are a side struggling for goals and Gayle can really add something extra to their attacking line, but I'm not sure that Swansea fans would be clamoring for him as the saviour of their season.
Overall, it's been a rather underwhelming Deadline Day so far, but I'm sure that there'll be one or two interesting moves happening by close of play. And as ever, the Saido Berahino saga is going to be fascinating to follow.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Couts, Studge, Origi and Skrtel back in training. Boom.
- Konta's up to 28th in the world. And counting.
- Frank Bruno wants to box again. That's gonna end well...
- John Terry is officially leaving Chelsea. Good riddance.
- Less than a week until the Six Nations. Excited.
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