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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is one of the managers who says he is upon the Johan Cryuff school of thought, but we want to take issue with that.

The legendary Dutch player and then manager ensured his sides played football in the ‘right way’.

Instead of booting the ball upfield with the first given opportunity, Cryuff was an advocate for playing the ball along the ground more often than not, a patient build-up.

The Johan Cryuff style of football is football’s equivalent to a conductor and his side were like an orchestra.

When they pass the football in rhythmic ways, an orchestra is a way I find it easiest to explain. Pep Guardiola’s sides over the years have done that, so yes it can be argued Pep is following the great man in this regard.

What Cryuff would also do is blood youngsters. Legends of previous generations have been influenced by the Dutch legend Johan Cryuff.

There are some people in the football community, (maybe the Millennium Babies, a bunch of amateurs) that think that Pep Guardiola is the second coming of the legend that was Cryuff.

Let’s clarify, the former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and current Man City manager is good, but there are some blots on the record.

City fans won’t like to hear this, but their manager is a chequebook manager. The Barcelona team that he inherited, which was seen as the dream team still was spent heavily on.

David Vila, Dani Alves and of course, Zlatan Ibrahimovic were signed for vast amounts of money. La Masia at that time was a thriving academy, did he surely need to spend that much?

Xavi and Iniesta were brought into the team by Louis Van Gaal, o and Lionel Messi, the man whom Pep seemed obsessed with, well that was Frank Rijkard who gave the Argentine his big break.

Do understand, that to belittle Pep’s accomplishments is not fair, but what also isn’t fair is to make this man a footballing Messiah.

Let’s look at the most recent examples here of why I feel that Pep although might have started in the Johan Cryuff, as a manager wouldn’t be able to do what Jose has done.

What did the Special One do? He won the Europa League and League Cup with one of the worst-ever Manchester United sides.

Jose won the treble with unfancied Inter, beating a much stronger opponent (on paper) in Barcelona on the way to winning the Champions League.

I would love to be proven wrong. Of course, Pep did win the title with Barcelona B, Again don’t doubt he’s a good manager, but I feel he’s lost the Cryuff methodology in doing it.

Manchester City, it appears in recent time have turned into Chelsea. If we take a look at England Under-21’s game against Luxembourg.

The Young Three Lions confidently won the game 3-0, and who were the scorers? Liam Delap, Callum Doyle and Cole Palmer.

There’s something that all three have in common, have you guessed it? That’s right all three have or still are on the Manchester City books.
So all have played for Man City and all three look uncertain about establishing a career at the Etihad Stadium.

The Cityzens have spent the best part of £1 billion in the Premier League era. The question I have is, why? Manchester City’s youth team is very impressive.

In the aforementioned England Under-21 game, six players have played or are still on Man City’s books in England’s starting 11.

This is good, but also not good as their route to making it higher is blocked. It was for Cole Palmer who could have filled the Mahrez/De Bruyne void.

But the powers that be at City, opted to do a Chelsea and sell a talented youngster off. Ironically in this case it would be The Blues who buy him.

Callum Doyle, Liam Delap, Cole Palmer, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and we nearly forgot to mention Nico Lewis who might be the next player to leave.

Lewis, when called upon has impressed, but still has limited game time. Pep Guardiola is a good manager of course he is.
Guardiola has signed Gvardiol, but he has two talented defenders in the academy.
Us sports writers and armchair fans will dare to question a three-time Champions League winner and one of Barcelona’s most successful managers. It’s our job to a point.

Being a youth team player in Manchester City’s academy doesn’t mean too much it seems as several talented players get moved on.

Goalkeeper James Trafford is another one, who’s now at Burnley. Trafford easily could be the air to the Ederson throne.

As for the way these things work, I criticise Pep Guardiola, he proves me wrong like he did last season and appears set to do this season too.

The man is a winner, but one challenge that’s left for him is to go out to Italy and do it. If he does it there, then I would have to eat my hat.
In Italy, the Catalan won’t have the near limitless pots of cash. That’s your next challenge Pep, Are you up for it?

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