Do Manchester City Have a Soft Centre?

No one likes a soft centre, so the fact Manchester City have acquired one fills many fans with dread.

There are moments this season where the current Manchester City side appears a pale imitation of what has gone before in the last 2 years. The two things look similar but the current incarnation is lighter weight, and slightly porous.

It is not as though something has happened to suddenly make every player drop their performance levels. There has been no significant change in manager or even systems, yet despite this the City side have the capacity to play like strangers.

There has been the addition of expensive new personnel to freshen up the squad, but rather than increasing the competitiveness of the players, the opposite would appear to have happened.

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Maybe, the fact players are no longer striving for the first titles in their career is a factor. Maybe if you are chasing something rather than just trying to hold onto it, then the feeling and application is different?

So attitudes may be a factor, but it is the drop in intensity which is the most worrying feature of this season. There is a solid obstacle due to an apparent inability to change the intensity during games.

Sometimes, like against Shakhtar there is a malaise which affects the players, sucking the life out of their performance, rendering their efforts hollow and listless. It can be like an infection spreading throughout the side, moving from player to player with every misplaced pass and every piece of lack of movement.

Ultimately though this is about our players. Last season a solid defence was mean spirited and gave away little, but this year there is a lack of belief in our own backline as though the players have read their own press.

In front of that defence was Fernandinho, patrolling the midfield and protecting the rest of our players. This year there is no Fernandinho in rile, so instead we have had to rely upon Rodrigo.

Rodri has had a mixed season so far. Strong and athletic, he has struggled at times though with positioning and movements. This has meant he has afforded less protection than we are used to. He will undoubtedly improve, but right now he would benefit from a change in formation and another defensive midfielder alongside him.

None of Gundogan, David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne are consistently capable of breaking up attacks, it is simply not part of their strongest game. So we are left with a lack of solidity in our spine, inviting opposition attacks.

This all means things are tough but at least there are some options for Guardiola. We can limp on and hope for change in the transfer window or we can redeploy our existing resources by changing our formation.

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As the Newcastle game approaches, this must represent an opportunity to experiment before our most difficult run of matches begins.

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