Managers
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, head coach are six words to delight all City fans and make every Manchester United devotee shiver. How the Spaniard will revamp the side and City’s style of play is a must-watch next season and when he enters the City Football Academy on 1 July the fascination begins.
There is a valid question concerning how good Guardiola will be in the Premier League, arguably a far more demanding test than Spain, where he coached Barcelona, or Germany, where he is in charge of Bayern Munich.
At Barça, Guardiola’s was a gilded XI that contained Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Dani Alves, Pedro, Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets and was decorated by one of the greatest ever players in Lionel Messi. Without such talents at Bayern, Guardiola has failed to win the Champions League.
Manchester United
What to do with Louis van Gaal is at the heart of the club’s problems. Each time the Dutchman suffers a defeat the doubts regarding his abilities and future re-emerge. The latest came on Thursday at Old Trafford when Liverpool knocked United out of the Europa League. Part of the routine here is for Van Gaal to cuff away any questions about him staying into his final year and so it was again.
Each time United go on a mini-run, as they did when winning four games on the bounce before losing at West Bromwich Albion on 6 March, a sense mushrooms that Van Gaal could be granted the full run of his three-year contract.
If the Dutchman remains in charge in August expect the reaction to range from outrage (most fans) to puzzlement (the media). There promises to be little, if any, vocal support for him remaining. There is an ideal candidate out of work and who wants the job, but Ed Woodward has ignored José Mourinho, which is hardly helping the executive vice-chairman’s popularity. Woodward may yet call, however, and if he does, expect the Manchester football scene to be rather lively next season as this pair of alpha males are not overly keen on each other.
Verdict City have a considerable edge.
Squads
Manchester City
The powderpuff title challenge is the latest illustration of how age and attrition is catching up with the majority of the squad. Vincent Kompany, 29, Yaya Touré, 32, David Silva, 30, and even the 27-year-old Sergio Agüero have to manage various maladies and are seemingly unable to avoid injury. Kompany suffered his 14th calf injury in Tuesday’s goalless draw with Dynamo Kyiv and Guardiola has to think hard about whether the Belgian can be the emblem of his brave new City world.
Less acknowledged is the state of the strata of players below this elite band. Fernandinho, 30, Bacary Sagna, 33, Pablo Zabaleta, 31, Aleksandar Kolarov, 30, Gaël Clichy, 30, Martín Demichelis, 35, and Jesús Navas, 30, are all in the footballer’s decade of decline.
Joe Hart, 27, and Kevin De Bruyne, 24, are the club’s sole two high-end players who are young and do not have on-going injury concerns. Raheem Sterling, 21, is pushing to be considered in the bracket but is yet to fully convince. Fabian Delph, 24, Wilfried Bony, 27, and Fernando, 28, are squad players and Kelechi Iheanacho, 19, is enjoying a breakthrough season, but there is no question that the make-up of the playing personnel is Guardiola’s prime challenge.
Manchester United
Van Gaal has invested £250m-plus but the squad remains lop-sided. He states the emergence of young players will affect the summer transfer strategy. In February’s final week debuts were given to Donald Love, Joe Riley, Marcus Rashford, Tim Fosu-Mensah and James Weir, following Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Guillermo Varela earlier in the season. It is too soon to make definitive judgments but Borthwick-Jackson, Rashford, Fosu-Mensah and Varela appear early favourites to establish themselves as squad members, at least. To have four home-reared players emerge is a bonus, but gaping holes remain.
Anthony Martial is enjoying a fine first campaign, but as Wayne Rooney fades the Frenchman requires the support of a top-level striker. Morgan Schneiderlin has been given no real chance to establish himself by Van Gaal – he was again ignored against Liverpool – but another central midfielder is required. Bastian Schweinsteiger was thrown on at Anfield, but his fitness is suspect, while Michael Carrick is entering the winter of his career.
Finally, the ever-excellent David de Gea may depart for Real Madrid in the close season. If so, this will cause a headache for whoever is in charge.
Verdict Both clubs require major surgery.
Hierarchy
Manchester City
There is a desire at the City Football Academy to ensure that Guardiola’s arrival does not make the club too Spanish. The 45-year-old will join Txiki Begiristain, the sporting director, and the chief executive, Ferran Soriano, meaning the three most powerful men on the ground will be from Spain. The hope is that what has traditionally made City the club it is will not be diluted.
Away from the question of core identity, the club’s working structure has Begiristain as a layer of football expertise between Guardiola and the chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, which is designed to guard against the boom-and-bust nature of elite-level management. How Guardiola, who is considered a one-off football Einstein, fits into a committee model remains to be seen.
Manchester United
The Alex Ferguson-David Gill-Bobby Charlton axis that held power during a generation of success has been eased aside by Woodward, who is far more important than Van Gaal or any future manager. The Glazers are now reaping the riches they purchased the club for and Woodward is the lone executive responsible for this. His task of making the football side of his role slick remains a work in progress. The reluctance to sack Van Gaal has been a counterintuitive move. Whatever the motive, to ignore Mourinho is a powerplay and a clear illustration the owners fully trust Woodward.
Verdict Jury out on both clubs.
Finances
Manchester City
Manchester City have the richer owner in Sheikh Mansour, whose fortune is north of £20bn and with Financial Fair Play regulations relaxed there is more scope to invest. There is also the £265m received from a Chinese consortium that bought 13% of the City Football Group, a move sanctioned by the hierarchy to open up a front in a strategically key country. When the deal was announced al-Mubarak said it will “leverage the incredible potential that exists in China”.
The foray into China follows the acquisitions of New York City FC, a start-up Major League Soccer franchise, Melbourne City FC of Australia’s A-League and of a minority share in Yokohama F Marinos of the Japanese J-League. City own the most expensive domestic player in Raheem Sterling (£49m) and the second most expensive ever in Kevin De Bruyne (£55m). They boast considerable finance.
Manchester United
In the Glazer family the club do not have a benefactor with a personal fortune in the same league as Sheikh Mansour or one minded to invest it. The American’s operate an ownership model that is almost the opposite of City’s. This features a heavy leveraged debt – gradually being reduced – but draws an ever-bulging war-chest as United become a footballing Walmart, its dizzying number of sponsors ranging from manufacturers of crisps, beer, paint, tyres, food, footwear, watchmakers, banks, sports clothing, and mobile communications.
United’s has a worldwide reach the envy every club. Woodward continues to grow the business. United view City’s approach of having satellite clubs as a quasi-franchise model that weakens their rivals’ brand. United’s ploy is to engage myriad regional partners who pay a base fee – of, say, around £1m – to use the famous name to help promote their product. This is proving a cash-cow and when blue chip sponsors are factored in – the record £750m, 10-year Adidas kit-deal is the headline agreement – United will remain ahead of competitors even when the £5.14bn broadcast contract starts next season (apart from City who are the sole domestic outfit who can go toe-to-toe financially with United).
Verdict A draw
Youth academy
Manchester City
The £200m CFA and the decisions of former United luminaries Robin van Persie, Darren Fletcher and Phil Neville to send their sons to their alma mater’s great rival screech Manchester’s blue zone now attracts top local talent. While this trio are all younger juniors, further up the age scale Tosin Adarabioyo, 18, Angelino, 19, Cameron Humphreys-Grant, 17, Bersant Celina, 19, Brandon Barker, 19, Aleix García Serrano, 18, Manu García, 18, and David Faupala, 19, have made senior appearances this term.
But can they or any of hopeful in the ranks become an established first-team force? The last was Micah Richards, 11 years ago.
Manchester United
There are concerns that the club of Duncan Edwards, George Best and Ryan Giggs are being left behind as, unlike City, it boasts no bespoke stadium for juniors, as well as a staff of largely part-time scouts. The culture of promoting bright young things into the first XI is ingrained, though. The statistic that a home-reared footballer has been in every matchday squad since 1937 is evidence of this.
Nicky Butt is now in charge of the academy and Giggs, who may one day take the senior job, is another former Class of 92 member who understands what can happen when opportunity bangs for any youngster.
Verdict United trailing
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