"If Pep Guardiola was any other manager, the fans would be going bananas!"
Despite City returning to winning ways at home to Watford on Wednesday, the criticism of coach Pep Guardiola hasn't stopped, with Harry Redkapp the latest pundit to stick the boot in.
Pep Guardiola has been on the end of an increasing amount of criticism in the English media in recent days.
First it was Match of the Day pundits Robbie Savage and Richard Dunne who laid into the way Guardiola set up his Manchester City side following the 4-2 loss to Leicester on Saturday, describing the team as “terrible” and “a shambles”.
"Beyond deluded"
Then it was former Liverpool and Villa striker Stan Collymore who had a crack, calling the City coach “beyond deluded” in his column for the Daily Mirror after the Spaniard had led his side to almost three months without a home win.
However, despite stopping the rot with a 2-0 defeat of Watford at the Etihad on Wednesday night, the flow of condemnation coming Guardiola’s seemingly hasn’t ceased.
Harry Redknapp was the latest to stick the foot in on Thursday, writing in the London Evening Standard that “If Pep Guardiola was any other manager, the fans would be going bananas”.
"He is guilty of overcomplicating things"
“Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers around but he is guilty of overcomplicating things at Manchester City right now,” wrote Redknapp. “Some of his decisions lately have been really strange.
“Don’t get me wrong: I like Pep and his record speaks for itself but that doesn’t mean he isn’t prone to making mistakes like the rest of us. He started well at City but it feels like lately players are being used in the wrong positions.”
The former Spurs manager particularly highlighted Zabaleta as a player who isn’t being used correctly under Pep’s new system.
“Zabaleta is suddenly receiving balls in positions he isn’t used to, getting it with his back to the opposition like a midfielder. He hasn’t got the awareness to deal with that challenge.
"Decision to bomb out Joe Hart for Bravo will be questioned”
He also suggested that Guardiola’s decision to sign Claudio Bravo in place of Joe Hart could come back to bite him.
“Fair enough, City ground out a win against Watford last night and Claudio Bravo, who has come in for a lot of stick, pulled off a smart stop to deny Etienne Capoue. But if City continue to struggle, Pep’s decision to bomb out Joe Hart for Bravo will be questioned.”