Mudryk ban to save Pep Guardiola from Man City sack?
Stop the press because there’s a one-in-10 chance Pep Guardiola will be the next manager out! But the good news is that Mykhaylo Mudryk is banned.
Pep talk
Manchester City have won just one of their last 11 games under Pep Guardiola; you might have heard.
Manchester City have won six of the last seven Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola; you might have heard.
When covering the first of those statements, you really should take into account the second; Guardiola being sacked by Manchester City is not a realistic option. He has said “they could sack me; that can happen”, but that’s basically because he would look like a right entitled prick if he said “they can’t sack ME”.
So here we come to the back page of the Daily Mirror (and the Daily Star, because that’s basically a carbon copy) with somehow the biggest story in sport:
‘PUT THE BOOT IN: Stunned Pep second favourite for sack as City crisis lurches from bad to worse.’
Nope. He’s not second favourite for the sack; he’s second favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his job. He’s quite clearly a hell of a lot more likely to resign than be sacked.
And he’s only second favourite rather than fourth because Gary O’Neil and Russell Martin have both been sacked this weekend. It’s a quirk. And it’s absolutely not a back-page story.
But the Mirror write: ‘Guardiola’s astonishing slump with Manchester City has got so bad that bookies are taking bets on him to get the boot.’
Pretty sure they would always take bets on the misnamed Sack Race market. And that particular market only needs a dozen bets – and two actual sackings – for the dial to shift. It’s largely a PR market and my word has Jeremy Cross happily taken the bait. William Hill must be chuffed.
‘BOOKIES THINK THE UNTHINKABLE’ say the Daily Star on their back page. Hmmm. Bookies ‘think’ nothing at all; they just adjust their odds while calculating a) bets placed and b) potential losses.
‘He is now just 9-1 to leave the Prem champs,’ it says here. So that’s a one-in-10 chance that he’s the next Premier League boss to leave. Stop the presses. Hold the back page.
Pesky fact: Manchester City are currently shorter odds to win the Champions League.
Almost as bad is the back page of the Daily Mail. Apparently, ‘MANCHESTER CITY’S players are firmly behind Pep Guardiola amid the club’s worst run of form for 18 years.’
Seriously, come back to us when they’re not firmly behind one of the best managers – if not the best – in Premier League history. He’s won six of the last seven titles, FFS.
You simply cannot treat a Manchester City crisis like a Manchester United crisis for as long as Pep Guardiola is in charge. Show some respect.
The only show in town
Some shameless click-grabbing from BirminghamLive:
Phil Foden speaks out on Man City and Pep Guardiola situation as he sends Aston Villa warning
And that ‘Aston Villa warning’ in full?
“In football there is always another opportunity to make it right.”
Woah there, fella. That’s fighting talk.
Mud sticks
Or at least there was only one show in town until news of the Mykhaylo Mudryk potential drugs ban broke.
You might think that Mudryk’s ban would have little to no relevance to the Manchester Evening News, but that would be incredibly naive.
Mykhailo Mudryk breaks silence as Chelsea star faces long ban in Man City title race
First, let’s wonder how Chelsea could possibly cope without Mudryk in any title race; he’s started one Premier League game and he was hauled off at half-time.
Second, ‘Man City title race’ is quite some stretch; Opta have calculated that City have a less than 2% chance of winning the Premier League this season. Chelsea were given a 5.5% chance, but that was before this devastating news broke.
But still, this is quite the boost for Manchester City. Or at least for the MEN.
