Manchester City: Pep’s Midfield Dilemma

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has a lot of midfield players and is looking to bring in even more. How will they all fit in to his new look squad?

Ever gone into an ice cream shop and been awe-struck at the dozens of varieties on offer, only to experience that sense of overwhelming disappointment at having to make such a difficult and important decision between them? Oh, you could try to mix and match, but we all know that doesn’t work out the way you think it will when you cough up the £10 note to pay for your misplaced gluttony. The vanilla disappears, the coffee is too strong, the strawberry runs wild into everything else and why didn’t we just get the plain chocolate in the first place?

The existential dilemma that is the ice cream choice is likely what is swirling around in the head of newly crowned Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola, assuming anything is able to break through his cool exterior and ruffle his feathers. Not about ice cream, mind, but about midfielders. Pep loves midfielders, this is well known. It’s not unusual for Pep to play an entire team of midfielders and a goalkeeper. They just fit his passing, moving and most of all possession-based style of play better than any other.

When it comes to midfielders, Pep has hit the jackpot with Manchester City, even Ben & Jerry’s would be impressed. Let’s take a look at the flavors available for him to savor this summer, including wingers and new arrivals, so far he has the following available for the middle of the park – Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva, Nolito, Raheem Sterling, Fernando, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas.

Now let’s ignore the fact that potentially another transfer target and midfield player, Leroy Sane, could be in through the door by the before I’ve even finished this article. I think 11 players already in the first team squad, and in the running for a starting XI place, is probably enough for the following analysis. If and when we acquire Sane and, hopefully, Toni Kroos, then that only adds to Pep’s ultimate brain freeze, though you’d have to imagine we wouldn’t acquire either or both to bench them.

Regardless, that’s a lot of midfielders. Guardiola is well known as a bit of a tinker man, the kind of thing we all mocked Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool for back in the day, but with actual sustained success and results unparalleled in world football. Even still, I can’t imagine how he could find a way to fit all of those players into a final, rotating squad and keep everyone happy.

On top of that, your best team will ultimately pick itself eventually. For now, Pep is finding out for himself what works here, but just like in his stint with Bayern he will settle down and look to the reliable few that gel together the best. How often does anyone realistically see Pep rotating De Bruyne or Gundogan, for example? They are the chocolate, the reliable and beloved, the never fails to disappoint you and will always be as good as you think it will be choice. It’s just not going to happen.

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There’s much too to be said for Nolito, a player who Pep himself picked and brought to the club. It’s unlikely he did that just to side-line him and, regardless, Nolito walks into a slot in the left wing with only a disappointing Raheem Sterling as competition. There’s little to no chance of Nolito not finding himself the regular in the position while Sterling finds himself again.

That’s three locked in almost before we’ve started, and how many midfielders is he going to put out there? It’s unlikely Pep will take any tactical risks in his first two years, particularly as the players are adapting to his style of play. So we can discount a team of midfielders and suggest that, perhaps, as risky as things will get will be similar to what was done often at Bayern Munich – three across the back.

The flexibility of one less defender gave Pep the ability to sit with 3-4-1-2 at Bayern, but at Manchester City it could provide a different opportunity. It’s possible that he will play a 3-4-3 formation, as he also experimented with at Bayern, but it’s also equally possible that Aguero will sit alone up front, giving him a bit more wiggle room for fitting all the flavours into the cone.

That all said, let’s be realistic here, several players just aren’t going to make the cut. Where will Samir Nasri fit in the grand scheme of things? He’s certainly talented but his attitude and fitness levels have been found wanting in the past and Pep has already deciphered that. A situation could exist where Nasri plays central-midfield but it would require the sacrifice of one of Gundogan, Silva, Fernandinho De Bruyne, all four of whom you would imagine would be automatic first picks. Throw Kroos in there and Nasri may as well start updating his CV.

On top of that, for all the talk, I’m not sure how an aging Yaya Toure can play much of a role. Yes he has experience with Pep, he played at Barcelona during the famous 2011/2012 season alongside those guys Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets, who had about 70% match possession between them. Toure himself was no slouch and handled Pep’s tiki taka admirably, but was ultimately moved on, thank goodness, to Manchester City where he became the legend he is today.

Still, Yaya’s slowed considerably, perhaps having only a few years at most left in the tank, and I struggle to look at the team sheet and justify his regular inclusion, never mind his obscene wages. What once was pure, sweet chocolate chip has become the vanilla, getting lost in the midst of it all and no longer holding our attention quite the same.

Those are just two examples, but one must imagine there are some question marks over the heads of Navas, particularly if Sane comes on board, and Fernando for a regular slot in the line-up. With this in mind, it seems to me that decision time will come sooner rather than later for Pep as he seeks to build a winning machine for years to come. It’s not ideal, but sometimes you just have to pick what you want and let the others go or risk ending up sick of them all.