Sunday, February 05, 2017

City play home to Swansea in less than half an hour with the probability that they will be in third place after the ensuing 90 minutes.

Pep Guardiola admits one mistake in his lineup card for the imminent match. Willy Caballero starts in place of Claudio Bravo.

He makes another by failing to start Kun Aguero in favor of Gabriel Jesus.

Claudio Bravo possesses the desideratum of playing the ball with his feet but not the quiddity of the position, keeping that ball out of the net. He is not as good as was Joe Hart who Pep let walk to Torino.

Pushing Aguero out, and that is what this is, make no mistake, Guardiola is pushing Sergio Aguero out of the club, is simply boneheaded. Aguero has proved his quality in the English game time and time and time again. Guardiola ought not be able to get away with it but if he wished to place Aguero in goal management would not have the guts to stop him, nor anything else Guardiola wants to do.

A great manager is one who, as it was said of the American football coach "Bear" Bryant, "can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n." By that standard Guardiola is no great manager. He knows not what to do with your'n, much less beat you with them, and he must have his'n.