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Manchester City: Is anyone safe from Pep Guardiola?

By Stephen Little

Aug 3, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola directs plays during Bayern Munich training in preparation for the 2014 MLS All Star Game at University of Portland Merlo Field. Mandatory Credit: Susan Ragan-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 3, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola directs plays during Bayern Munich training in preparation for the 2014 MLS All Star Game at University of Portland Merlo Field. Mandatory Credit: Susan Ragan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pep Guardiola is taking over as manager of Manchester City at the end of the year and it seems a major player clearout will be in order. Is anybody safe?

Is there anything a man dreads, by his very nature, than the two ubiquitous words “spring cleaning”? Ah, it sounds simple, your spouse just wants their living space to be neat and tidy, according to their seemingly arbitrary definition of the words (sweeping things under the fridge, alas, doesn’t qualify). In truth, what it actually means is that you’re going to spend months looking for just about every possession you have in just about every storage unit available. Nothing is safe, from your clothes to your personal treasures, either they are stashed or thrown out, there are few exceptions.

So it is for Manchester City with a rather large and looming spring cleaning, of sorts, on the deadline. Pep Guardiola will be taking over at the end of the season and surely the question on every player in the Sky Blue shirt’s minds is – are we safe? Already the signs indicate that, in fact, almost nobody could be. As reported by eatsleepsport.com, Manchester City could see themselves shedding their entire current back four from this season under Guardiola’s tenure:

"“It Is understood Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy and Pablo Zabaleta are all of out of contract next year, with no indications yet what incoming boss Pep Guardiola will decide.Along with left-back Aleksandar Kolarov, who is again attracting interest from Italy, the quartet are all into their 30s and high earners at the Etihad.It could well be that the Citizens will be forced to pay up the remainder of their dwindling deals if they are now considered surplus to requirements under the new manager.”"

Ignoring the vagueness of their source for this, it does actually make a bit of sense. City’s defence has been, frankly, abysmal this year, with stand-outs such as Sagna only being because they are only relatively not as dire as the rest of the pack. With skipper Vincent Kompany out injured, Manchester City’s back four have lurched from one howler to the next, haemorrhaging goals and losing games. If Pep wants to make his mark at the Etihad and, simultaneously, vastly improve their chances at contention, he would be wise to start at the back.

The report is also accurate in that Guardiola will likely favour building his team around youth and Manchester City’s stars are ageing before our eyes. Zabaleta is 31 and David Silva who, unfortunately, is suffering an ill-timed poor season, is 30. Neither are old by the standard metric, but Pep is anything but a standard manager. He demands success and will have every financial incentive to do what necessary to bring it.

With that all in mind, we can begin to understand how most in the line-up could be concerned whether they’ll be playing in sky blue next year.

So who all is safe? Well it’s fair enough to suggest that Pep probably won’t dispense of fan favourites and institutions at City like Joe Hart and Sergio Aguero. Hart has been solid all year, having been let down primarily by his hapless defenders. Kun is back to scoring goals for fun, even when we tank (like, say, against Leicester the other day) he still manages to nab one. Both have not shown any degrades in performance to justify not seeing them again next year and they continue to perform at the top of their level. It makes little sense for Guardiola to enrage and alienate the fanbase when he’s unlikely to get better for their respective positions.

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Similarly, there are reasons to expect that summer signings Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, 24 and 21 respectively, won’t be going anywhere. De Bruyne has been a revelation for City this year, proving his worth in front of goal and behind Aguero. Sterling is pacey and tricky, Pep’s favourite, and is young enough to be expected to improve further. No, Guardiola’s sights are set elsewhere.

With a top heavy team built around three or four players that could arguably be described as among the best in the league, the club is one bad injury bout away from a major slump. Meanwhile, players like Yaya Toure and Martin Demichelis aren’t getting younger, nor is their game getting any better. Perhaps the opposite.

I would expect some even beyond Hart, Aguero, De Bruyne and Sterling to remain. Say what you like about Silva and his poor campaign thus far, but he’s far too talented for that to be anything more than a blip on his overall radar. He could, justifiably, still have a place on Guardiola’s squad. There’s always the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Angelino waiting in the wings who will either be in a Manchester City shirt or playing for the EDS, but doubtful elsewhere.

Next: Manchester City - More Injuries, More Problems

Still, Pep is coming and he means business. His job is to bring success, not build it. He will want to turn things around in his first year and anything short of that won’t be acceptable. As Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City face perhaps their toughest challenge of the year against title rivals Spurs on Sunday, get a good look at the players, you may not see them again once this season is done. Nobody is safe.