THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER: ISSUE 18

Hello, and welcome to Issue 18 of the 93:20 Newsletter, the newsletter that has never experienced the good times.

Is it a curse? Or was it me changing my trainers and matchday jeans for this season that has ended City’s era of dominance? Answers on a postcard.

Anyway, it’s almost Christmas/Chanukah/festive season, so to hell with football results. Nevertheless, I am contractually obliged to talk about the beautiful game for this weekly edition, so I took a 90% look at Pep getting sacked, and 10% on a lovely bit of paranoia about City getting credit from certain areas of the media. Enjoy!

It’s been eight years since I last heard it said, and to be honest, I couldn’t possibly have imagined hearing it again.

Pep should go.

This is on him.

What is he playing at? (paraphrasing as this is a family blog).

He’s lost the plot.

Heat of the moment perhaps, understandably after another late collapse to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory in a Manchester derby, emotions will be running high. But there were quite a few happy to target their ire towards Pep as they slouched their way out of the Etihad on Sunday evening, as City slumped to 20^th in the form league since November 1st. Considering that form, it will surprise few that the mumblings were already there. Every manager has a shelf life, even the greatest. The question is, do Manchester City need a change on the bench, as well as on the pitch?

Spoiler alert, no. Not yet, that is for sure.

So how did we get to this point? We’ve all had a couple of months to work it out, and yet it still confuses the hell out of me. A drop off is fine in the scheme of things, it was inevitable at some point. But here we are, when you wonder how these ridiculously talented bunch of footballers have lost all confidence, their mentality shot, lost most of their fitness it seems too, and seem incapable of winning a football match. A team that recently hit the two-year mark undefeated at home (no, penalties do not count). A team that could go six months without losing a single match anywhere (no, penalties do not count). Now, history has been rewritten to the extent that you wonder how they ever won anything, considering how bad they are now perceived to be.

And that is on the players, and Pep, but to what extent?

Let’s cut to the chase. The root cause of all of this is a crippling injury crisis that has opened windows to other issues and precipitated everything that has followed. No one could have predicted this many injuries. Nevertheless, the club could have been better prepared. As always, nuance is key. It is hard to single out individual players for poor performances when there are so many in that bracket at the same time – that points to deeper-lying issues. Maybe this is simply the time where the intensity of Pep became too much, his demands, his eternal quest for perfection, that many players hit a wall simultaneously, in a modern world where a brutal schedule will probably destroy you even if the manager’s demands do not.

So where does the blame lie with Pep? He undoubtedly must shoulder some, because he has erred badly, and with hindsight, a wonderful thing, would surely have done things differently. Wouldn’t we all? He should have had the foresight that his preference for a small squad, that has many advantages and has served him well, could not align with the modern football schedule that may see City play ten Champions League games before the actual knock-out stage, and all in a season that is bookmarked by the ridiculous Club World Cup, which finishes five weeks before the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season. Pep knew the hole a Rodri injury would leave, yet was not fully prepared for it, though in his defence, his preferred option may well have been certain defenders who themselves got injured. Repeatedly. But even if Rodri had picked up a three-month injury, City’s season would still be in turmoil. Pep turned down players to maintain a small, tight squad, and is now paying the price. And now the whole football world knows City are rich, and desperate for players. On top of all this, Pep would rather flog seasoned, underperforming, mistake-ridden ageing professionals with lead in their boots than play a single youngster. Presumably because he trusts those that have been there and done it, even though they are no longer “doing it”. He’s waiting for corners to be turned that never arrive.

City’s recruitment has been bad, and the club has been sleep-walking into a crisis. But if it has been as bad as some have claimed, where was this outrage when the transfer window slammed shut at the end of August? Perhaps I missed it. Ilkay Gundogan left City as one of the club’s best performers, and then bossed it for Barcelona. Who knew that a player never reliant on speed would return a shadow of what he once was? But then who expected him to have to play every game? And if he hadn’t been signed, Txiki et all had no back-up, so the squad would have been even smaller. Recruitment has stood still, money has been wasted, and there seems to have been a policy for years now that Pep will sort it, don’t worry. That is not how recruitment should be done. Stockpiling cash and a cautious approach may be linked to certain charges, but City generally act as if it’s business as usual, and are super-bullish, so they have no excuses. Everyone knew more players were needed last summer, and Txiki has admitted that recruitment post-Treble was poor, so why did he repeat the same mistakes the following summer? Again, partly because Pep turned down signings, and we are seeing the consequences. The winner of the last four Premier Leagues has one striker in the squad, who is a pale shadow of his former self, having played every match. It’s amateurish in the extreme.

But if the answer to the question of why do City find themselves in this situation is that it's Pep that is the problem, in that many of the players are no longer playing for him, then the solution is not necessarily to get rid of Pep - it's to get rid of those players. Because the players in question may either need to go anyway, for various reasons, irrespective of the manager, and because Pep is more important than any one of them. New players are needed, that much is clear, and only if they fail to play for Pep can his position be seriously questioned. City need to be aggressive in the transfer market, after the horse has bolted, and then see what improvements Pep can bring. 

After all, would a new manager be any better? If we accept that many of the players have hit a brick wall, and some are declining anyway, then a change of personnel changes little. More cautious tactics, a fresh perspective, and a “lower high line” may all help, but ultimately it feels like a change right now would be papering over the cracks. If player recruitment is a necessity, then do that first, hope injuries ease off, and then we can reconvene and see where this team is at.

There are some excellent journalists on the City patch, but nationally we know just how low the bar has been set for much of our coverage. A lot of sack talk is white noise, as a lot of people have been waiting a long time for moments like this, ever since all their hopes were dashed after an underwhelming debut season for Pep in England. To state the obvious, Pep is not going to be sacked. If he leaves ahead of the end of his contract, it will be by mutual consent with his Spanish pals. He is proud enough to walk away before being sacked anyway, as no one has higher standards than him. The media can stir all they wish, and to be fair many journalists have been fair on this drop-off, but Pep is going nowhere, unless he decides otherwise.

The only question is whether he has the answers. I’ve seen it said a lot that Pep will sort it, he already does, but I am afraid that argument does not wash with me, as he has never had to sort anything like this. Truth is, he has no answers right now. He picks the same under-performing players, and the same match plays out week after week. So those new players we hope will arrive next month are key. Not just because of what they offer, but the effect they have on those already here – physically and psychologically.

In the here and now, a midweek break is to be welcomed, and some time on the training pitch after the players have had a couple of days off, as is normal procedure. I don’t feel it is negativity to state I have little confidence of avoiding defeat at Villa Park on Saturday, though City remain clear favourites with the bookies. The team is drifting, along with its manager. Never has a January transfer window, historically a period of little activity, been needed like this one is. But only once it closes shut, and the business part of the season approaches, can we truly assess where we are with Pep. And if you want the true answer to that, the best source will be the great man himself.

City Credit

We finish briefly in paranoia corner once more. This quick rant is triggered by none other than Jamie Carragher, who this week on Sky Sports listed his top ten forwards of the Premier League era. As you may be aware, there was no room for Harry Kane, but even more staggeringly, no Sergio Aguero either.

I don’t need to go through the list in detail. Or remind you how good one of the Premier League greats was. Though here’s a brief reminder anyway – he scored two goals on his debut from the bench, kept scoring, then won City the league with the most iconic moment in top flight football history (fact). That was just the start though, as you well know. The second highest goals per game in Premier League history, 0.01 behind Thierry Henry. Level with Harry Kane, for the record at 0.67, who as we know was also deemed not worthy of this ridiculous list, that once more over-elevates Dider Drogba and includes some players who straddle the definition of pure forwards. Aguero has the 5^th most Premier League goals of all time, five titles, adapted his game for the demanding Pep, scored many very heavy goals and I could of course go on for hours about him.

But why I felt the need to comment was more about that paranoia, which I think has some validity on this occasion. It is stating a simple fact that City have been the best English football team of the past decade. They have won the most, and more pertinently to this argument, produced the most legends and icons of the modern era, perhaps an inevitable consequence of being the best. From Yaya Toure to Vincent Kompany to David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and more, all topped off with a Ballon D’Or for Rodri, a player so good he eclipsed Fernandinho. And City have had the most iconic moments too, from the QPR game to Vinny’s rocket, the ridiculous comeback against Villa and so ona. And yet there still has to be a backlash of course, as this is evil City. We saw it with the departure of David Silva, when the grifter army went to work, questioning whether he was really all that. So Jamie Carragher is simply carrying on a proud tradition of not giving Manchester City the credit they, or more to the point, their iconic players, deserve, especially from those that happen to support certain teams, and I don’t need to tell you which. This is done either by devising your own criteria to suit your narrative, or simply ignoring the narrative and ploughing on regardless. I look forward to Vincent Kompany not making his list of top-ten defenders. Vidic would never score an own goal against Fulham, after all.

What We Have Been Up To This Week

The Review:- Blue Monday

Howard, Lloyd and Ahsan look back at the most demoralising defeat yet, as City hand the derby to United. All the usual talking points, and what must now happen.

The Market:- Episode 28

Ahsan and Lloyd deep dive on the January window and issues in the squad. A blockbuster show.

Tackled:- Episode 2

Howard and Ste take a whistle-stop tour around the footballing world.

What Is Coming Up

The Weekend Show

The usual bumper episode, looking at the week that was, and another tough weekend match.

All I Want For Christmas

Guests will touch on favourite childhood presents, first City kit, City over the festive period and lots more besides.

Plus, worrying news that Howard is preparing a Christmas day poem (unconfirmed).

If you are not a subscriber to our player shows, then enjoy some free samples of what we are about. Every show we do will have a 15 minutes sample on Soundcloud, along with a full, free weekly Friday show, jam- packed with content. Give it a try!

https://soundcloud.com/9320pod/tracks

Have a great Christmas everyone, make sure you eat far too much food, and as always, up the blues.