Pep Guardiola: The End of Days

There are some signs beginning to emerge that Pep Guardiola may be approaching the end of his period in charge at Manchester City.

Guardiola has looked a somewhat forlorn figure on the touchline recently for Manchester City. Sure, his usual sartorial elegance is all there, despite the fact his fashion designer wife has moved back to Spain, but he has presented as a subdued character.

In recent games his usual cajoling and harrying on the sidelines appears reduced and instead he takes his seat in the dug out and the game washes past him. He patrols the touchline yet his previous levels of animation have faded.

It tends to take the intervention of his Assistant Mikel Arteta to shake him from his slumber and begin discussions of substitutions. Otherwise he seems lost in thought and strangely calm.

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This behaviour is all markedly different to the previous seasons where he has presented with the menace of a caged lion at all times. Questions have even been raised in Press Conferences concerning his current demeanour.

Guardiola has suggested the answer may be more mundane, and indeed the press carried the revelation last week that he had made a decision to alter his management style for this 4th season in charge in an attempt to keep his players on their collective toes.

The media suggested that the new Mr Nice Guy Pep approach was not working and after recent results he had resorted to his more direct usual approach to players. I am not sure of the truth of that but can see from my seat Pep has been more subdued this season.

I get that there are different methods to be employed to motivate elite athletes and that variety may be important but it does not feel as though this is what has been going on.

If you recall, right from the very beginning Pep said he would stay as long as the players were motivated by him. The fear is we are reaching the point where Pep may be transitioning out of our team.

The worry I have is that every time I watch him in a press conference or on the bench at the moment, that he presents as someone who has decided to leave a relationship but who has just not yet plucked up the courage to tell everyone. He seems absently wondering if this is the right moment to break the news or not.

So as fans we watch the behaviour of Pep with some attention, searching for tiny signs or indications of where the future may indeed lie. Rather than tiny signs, there are actually some loud klaxons going off with a subdued Pep, weighed down by the racism controversy of the Silva tweet, annoyed at the perceived lack of recognition for his efforts at City, and troubled by the motivations of his players.

These are all seeming like the four horsemen of the apocalypse heralding in the end of days! If i was a betting man I would place a bet on Guardiola not seeing out his contract and being gone by next Summer.

I just hope that City bosses can see all of this and do the smart thing – which is offer Pep a sabbatical if he wants to recharge his batteries and methods, and let Arteta and the existing staff remain in place to continue the project.

Either way, as a fan group we need to really prepare ourselves for the worst news because Guardiola will be on the move soon enough – either at the end of this season or next – and we  will all need to find a way of living with the aftermath.