Football journalist David Ornstein has been sharing his thoughts on Pep Guardiola and his recent new contract at Manchester City.
This comes after Ornstein recently co-hosted the latest episode of The Athletic’s Ornstein & Chapman Podcast where he discussed a number of talking points concerning a variety of Premier League clubs.
On the topic of Guardiola’s new deal at City, keeping him on as manager at the club until 2023, Ornstein had this to say on the matter.
He said: “If you step back and look at it from a wider perspective, I am somewhat surprised. He hadn’t managed for this long at any club in his career. It’s clear that City are in need of quite significant rejuvenation to get the team to where they want to be and where he wants them to be, to be really vying for the top honours.
“I don’t know if there’s some sort of break clause in this contract, there have been reports saying it’s one year with an option of an extra 12 months, and it will be very interesting to see if Pep goes right the way through, or whether this was an agreement that was based more on convenience and keeping the relationship going so you don’t have to factor in the other scenario, which is life after Pep.”
Guardiola was appointed as City’s manager in July 2016 and has since gone on to take charge of 246 matches with the club in which they have won 181, drawn 28 and lost 37 games across all competitions.
According to the official City website, Guardiola has “had a transformational effect on the club’s playing style and has guided the team to eight major trophies, setting a series of significant records along the way.”
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TIF Thoughts on David Ornstein’s comments on Guardiola and his new City deal…
Given how the Spaniard has won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two Community Shields and three Carabao Cups with City, it comes as no surprise to us that the Citizens offered Guardiola a new deal at the Etihad Stadium.
And with City currently sitting in 13th place in the Premier League table after winning three, drawing three and losing two of their eight league games so far this season, although it’s easy to see why Ornstein said there needs to be a “significant rejuvenation” within the playing squad at the Etihad Stadium, it is also understandable as to why the club have continued to back their current coach to turn things around himself.