Guardiola cannot be blamed if he were to walk from his City reign

Things are going from bad to worse at Manchester City.

No confidence. No mental strength. No ability to hold out for victories. No desire. No legs. And, dare I say it, no passion.

They are all things you would expect from a side that has achieved everything during Pep Guardiola's tenure, and while some believe that is the exact reason why we are seeing such a downfall, I would argue that should never be the case.

These are basic fundamentals of a club proven capable of winning over and over again, and it is beyond unacceptable to lose that within the space of two months.

In fact, Guardiola has been hugely let down by those he calls 'friends' in senior positions at City through a lack of satisfactory recruitment, and should they not invest at the first opportunity to rebuild in 2025, it would be the most disrespectful act they could hand the Premier League's only unsackable coach.

The genius of the Catalan has made up for corners cut in recruitment throughout his tenure, when we reflect on the days of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph coached into full-back roles in 2017-18, or the days of the false nine when City turned down the opportunity to replace Sergio Aguero in the market.

Now we are staring down that same barrel. For all Guardiola has brought this club in terms of unprecedented success, the finest football we have ever seen and the financial rewards of that story for Manchester City globally, this hierarchical structure must show him the respect that deserves and invest in our coach once more.

A failure to do so could set this club back years.

This is not a case of being in a Premier League title chase any more - that left the possibilities of this squad weeks ago. This is a chase for Champions League football.

Guardiola might be unsackable, and rightly so given his success at City, but who could blame him from walking away next summer should he feel he is not being backed in the market by those who have previously tested his genius coaching capabilities to the max?

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