Pep under pressure? Ten Hag has a new rival in the sack race
Robin Bairner
- 7 Dec 2023 01:00 CST
- 3 min read
Prior to Wednesday’s Premier League fixtures, all eyes were on Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, who seem to have an axe swinging over him at Old Trafford.
Two Scott McTominay goals, though, propelled Man Utd to a 2-1 victory over Chelsea that will surely keep any significant worries over his job away until Christmas.
On the other hand, Manchester City were dominated by Aston Villa, suffered a 1-0 defeat and now find themselves four matches without a win in the Premier League standings and just three points clear of their neighbours, who just a couple of weeks ago were thought to be in the midst of a disastrous season.
How quickly things can turn in football.
Could Guardiola be sucked into the race to become the second Premier League manager sacked following the departure of Sheffield United’s Paul Heckingbottom earlier this week?
Premier League Table: Top 8
| P | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 15 | 36 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 15 | 34 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 15 | 32 |
| 4 | Man City | 15 | 30 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 14 | 27 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 15 | 27 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 14 | 26 |
| 8 | Brighton | 15 | 25 |
A catalyst for change
No one is seriously expecting the Etihad club to part company with Pep, of course, but there is a sense that the European champions are at something of a crossroads in their project. Guardiola might even be regretting staying for so long.
He departed Barcelona and Bayern Munich when his sides were dominant, and while he initially cited tiredness for his reason for leaving Camp Nou when the club was in the midst of a golden age, he also indicated his belief that it is not healthy for a manager to stay put for too long.
The idea that Guardiola could spend eight years at a club, as he will do with City should he last the season, seemed unthinkable.
He has praised the relationship that he has with the people above him and the working conditions that he has.
“To be a manager for a long time you need to be so supported, the results help a lot, that is undeniable. In this world they sack you, they fire you, we know that,” Guardiola said in 2022.
“But part of that is at big clubs the part of the success of the manager is the chairman, sporting director especially and all the people here. It goes to the media, fans and players, there is stability. This is why I think only in a few clubs this can happen.”
Pep has the credit in the bank to ensure that, despite being just three points clear of Ten Hag’s Man Utd, he is not under any pressure yet, but this type of spell could be a catalyst for a long-awaited regime change at the Man City next summer.
