Well done. That's a really fine post, elegantly written.
I have only one minor quibble (can you have a major quibble?). That's Guardiola. I agree - I have to agree - that he's never been tested without his chequebook. But he's still a fine coach and he had to work hard to make that team play in the way he wanted them to play. I think we should recognise his talent here. Klopp certainly does.
But this is the point about this club. The poison is so strong there that it has entered the veins of Guardiola too. The longer he manages this emirate, the less he relies on his coaching genius. As you say, his reflex now is the same as the owners'. To throw extraordinary amounts of money at a perceived problem and to win, not by seeking solutions on the training ground, but simply by pouring cash down the throat of the institution that was once known as Manchester City FC.
It would be silly of me to make out Guardiola is anything but a very good football manager. I'd not even try to do that in any serious conversation. How he would fare without a monster chequebook is anyone's guess though, and we'll probably never get to know the answer. Of course, he's worked hard to get those players playing to his requirements, and that's a talent in itself, so I'm not trying to disrespect him unjustly. As talented as he undoubtedly is, he still has the option to shell out what he wants on who he wants. If it works out, fine, but if not, he can just shell out again, and again and...
It's a bit like how you pay a quid to get three throws at the coconut. Thing is, Guardiola gets unlimited free goes until he gets a hit. Abu Dhabi brought him in specifically to make sure the sports wash gets as many goes at the CL as possible, and they provide him with the chequebook needed for that to happen. Both Abu Dhabi and him are now the perfect match in that they will both throw as much money at the coconut as is necessary to make it eventually fall. A good, talented manager no doubt at all, but I'd love to see just how good he really is, but we'll never get to see it because he only goes where the massive money is.
My comment about not actually needing to coach and build had the end of this season in mind. None of the talk from inside the Emptyhad or outside of it centred on Guardiola coaching his side to a better outcome next season. None of it was about what more he could get out of his players. All the talk has been about who they need to buy to 'close the gap' and retake the crown. That's all that's come out of their club, the media and their fanbase. Nothing in there about Guardiola regrouping his players and getting stuck in. It's all about if we buy this player and that player we'll be top dogs again. It's all about getting the chequebook out yet again and spend, spend, spend until they get a hit again. The money and risk for all this is inconsequential because it's peanuts to their sportswash paymasters. So Guardiola gets as many free goes at the coconut as he likes.
Guardiola seems to be cut from very different cloth than Klopp. Whereas Klopp is willing to test himself with real challenges, Guardiola seems to hide behind the chequebook and shun any real test of his talents. From his point of view he won't care, of course, and why should he? But from an outside perspective it's a bit of a shame that no one will ever know the true range of his qualities simply because the open chequebook means he's never really tested fully. Of course, he can buy good players and he can get them to play his way but, for me, a Klopp offers so much more than that. We know this to be true because Klopp has shown it and proved it beyond all doubt.
Our push for the title the season before last exposed real psychological frailties in Guardiola which have deepened over the course of the season just ended. This has hurt him and it's clearly hurt all involved with the sports wash. Their reaction, from owners, manager, fanbase and sympathetic media? Spend, spend, spend and spend again. To me, that says such a lot about all concerned. Liverpool lose in Kiev and all the talk is about how Klopp regroups, inspires and coaches his way through the heartbreak to go again the next season. Liverpool hit 97 points but miss out on the title to the sports wash by a point, and the talk is about how does Klopp motivate, galvanise and inspire more from his players in order to go again next time. This is the difference between how both managers and clubs are perceived. One is expected to coach and work their way out of problems, the other is expected to buy themselves out of problems and keep buying until it ultimately pays off.
