15/03/2018
One of the biggest changes in Pep
Guardiola's second season at Manchester
City compared to his first is the mentality of
his players. A year of working with the
coach and learning his methods has not
only given them the confidence to trust in
what the manager demands, but it's also
toughened them up when they really
needed it.
There were questions over whether
Guardiola could hack it in England last
season. As the team's form hit a dip after a
10-game winning start, the manager,
annoyed at consistently fielding questions
about whether he'd abandon his ideals and
switch to a more up-and-at-'em approach,
dug his heels in -- saying he'd "go home" if
his style didn't work.
After a 4-2 embarrassment at Leicester, the
knives were out when he said he didn't
"coach tackles," while a 4-0 defeat at Everton
later in the season had some suggesting
he should walk away with his tail between
his legs.
It took some time for the players to get used
to it. Now that they are, though, it has
resulted in City putting on performances
that have been mouth-wateringly good.
Barely a match has gone by this term
without a sublime goal, tapped in from close
range after a picturesque one or two-touch
passing move has ripped a tightly packed
defence to pieces.
Those questions about Guardiola's methods,
stemming from the inaccurate belief that the
English league is only winnable if there is a
rough-and-tumble element to a team, now
look daft. City are about to clinch one of the
most one-sided Premier League title races
ever and it's all down to their performances
-- it's not a "weak season" as some would
suggest.
If it was such a weak Premier League this
year, why did all five Champions League
entrants make it to the round of 16 with
relative ease and why is nobody else closer
to City, given they've all played the so-called
weak teams, too?
Outside City, few can really appreciate the
size of the task on Guardiola's hands. While
last season laid the foundations in terms of
his style, there were also mental barriers to
break and that's perhaps the manager's
bigger achievement in his stint at the Etihad
so far.
When Roberto Mancini took charge of the
club in 2009, he recognised that one of his
biggest tasks was convincing his players
that they were good enough to rub
shoulders with the best in the Premier
League. He had the foundations of a top
team, but they were lacking in both belief
and leadership.
The Italian is held up as one of the club's
greats because of the transformation he
oversaw. The idea that teams can just throw
money at a problem and it will be solved is
too simplistic. It was astute management
from Mancini that changed attitudes and the
investment that secured the top talent.
City were no longer afraid to go to the best
teams and attempt to impose their style.
They won on the big occasions and they
truly believed they were deserving of it,
which formed the backbone of the FA Cup
and title-winning teams.
To an extent, that still existed in the early
days of Manuel Pellegrini's reign. But the
points haul from City's top four rivals
tumbled and it was increasingly obvious
that there was a soft underbelly to the club's
displays -- perhaps best shown by the 3-1
loss to Leicester in the year the Foxes would
win the league.
It was obvious what Claudio Ranieri would
have his side do at the Etihad -- battle hard,
break quickly, and get Riyad Mahrez on the
ball to feed Jamie Vardy in behind. Yet City,
and Pellegrini, didn't seem to realise until it
was far too late and they were bullied for 90
minutes.
By the time Guardiola took charge, all of that
big-game mentality had been ebbed away
and City just weren't winning matches
against the top teams.
When Chelsea came to the Etihad at the
beginning of March this year, they were so
scared of what City could do to them that
they didn't even bother trying to compete in
the match. Fans would have expected
Guardiola to improve this team, especially
after how inconsistently they played last
season, but nobody could have foreseen the
improvements that have been made.
Not only is there now a mean streak -- City
are prepared to take a yellow card to stop a
counter-attack and they'll do the ugly stuff
when it's necessary -- but it's intertwined
with some of the most attractive, creative
football England has ever seen.
Even under Mancini, when the team last
showed a similar sort of mental strength,
City had their moments of weakness. It was
often at Stoke or Everton and the players
looked like they'd never score even if the
match went on all night.
The players are now so invested in
Guardiola's methods that, even when they
lose, they do it playing in the same way as
when they win. The psychological
toughness on show means City have often
won games in the tunnel.
It might be the football that's been wowing
the watching world this season, but it's
been the mentality change that has allowed
it all to happen.
