The Jist The Jist Of June | Page 14

season. decisions (or lack of) such as the failure to acquire credible fullbacks, squad inconsistency, and an over-reliance on style in crunch games hindered City immensely throughout the sea- son. But it is easy to forget that Guardiola is dealing with an aging squad with an average age of 28.9 years, many of whom have spent their entire careers playing a completely different footballing style to that of the Spaniard. This un- compromising change in style proved to wear out City’s aging side, causing their a mid- season slump in form that was bookmarked by dominance on At the end of the season Pep Guardiola had led Manchester City to a third-place finish, a last 16 champions league exit, and two unsuccessful domes- tic cup runs leaving Manches- ter City chairman, Khaldoon al- Mubarak with “nothing to cele- brate”. Having spent £180m, to improve an already strong squad, many have criticised Pep and deemed his first sea- son as a failure; the buzzword ‘fraud’ has been tossed about by fans and pundits alike. How- ever, in context, the Spaniard’s first season cannot be deemed a complete failure. Certainly, 14