i just don't see this Man City team could maintain what they've achieved for the past 2 years.
The problem is that I can. As long as Pep is there, I can.
People love to look at Guardiola's record and criticise him for only doing it with the biggest clubs, the best players and lots of money. It's a stupid criticism. Most jobs in life have different levels to them and these jobs are usually suited to different people. The CEO of a major bank is unlikely to know how to get the best out of a single branch and vice-versa, the successful branch/are manager is unlikely to do as good a job right at the top. It's about skill sets and finding the one for the right situation.
City have been spending for years, but how much have they ever looked like a club that could sustain success - let alone one that could sustain success to record breaking levels? Getting the very, very best out of the top tier of players is a skill many have proved not to have. Good old Hodgson certainly didn't have it and to some extent, neither did Brendan. Managers like Pulis, Alardyce and Hodgson are not bad managers (broadly speaking), they are simply good at a certain level. Some managers are escapologists. Some are great and motivating up and comers (which normally then falls away after a year or two) and some are equipped to manage at the top. VERY few are equipped to manage at the VERY top. Guardiola is.
He has a very specific and very successful way of playing. Yes he needs extremely talented players to execute it, but he does it better than most managers out there at doing that. That's why it's worrying. If he had less money and had to survive on maybe half a squad he didn't 100% like, or if City had the same group of players and some other coach? I'd not be concerned. I'd not believe they could repeat this. Unfortunately I think with Pep, they can.
I'm not saying we can't match them or even beat them (this is a post about them and not us), I think we can because we also have the right man for the situation.