When the master tactician took to his throne in Manchester, football fans were left in a frenzy. His enormous reputation stemming from his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich had us all in anticipation, expecting nothing less than pure genius.
An initial six-game winning streak saw him live up to expectations. It even looked as though he could re-create the ten-game run he went on last season in Germany, their price for the league dropped to as short as 4/7, City fans were elated, neutrals were impressed and truthfully, we bought into the Pep hype.
However, as Tottenham Hotspur put an end to those dreams in October, quickly followed by a 4-0 drubbing at the Nou Camp and a loss to their local rivals in the League Cup, things have taken a downhill spiral for the boys in sky blue.
The Blues now sit in fourth – out to 9/2 to lift the Premier League trophy this year – after winning just four of their last 15 matches in all competitions. The reigning league champions put two goals past them in just five minutes, and were 3-0 up by the 20th. Jamie Vardy, who had been struggling for goals and hadn’t found the net since September 10th, put a hat-trick past Claudio Bravo.
In fact, as City went behind by four goals, it became the first time Guardiola had been 4-0 down at any points in a league game since he began his managerial career.
This, on the back of a draw against Celtic in the Champions League and a 3-1 battering from Chelsea at The Etihad has left football fans whispering that little word beginning with F… Fraud.
Though it’s difficult to brand a man with such a bursting trophy cabinet – one that includes two Champions Leagues, three La Liga and three Bundesliga titles – a fraud, it’s clear his introduction to the English top-flight has come as a bit of a shock.
Poor managerial decisions, like shipping Joe Hart out to Torino, are starting to come back to bite the Spaniard. And the pressure will only continue to mount with both Arsenal and Liverpool to face before the New Year.