Pep Guardiola has surprised ardent City fans every now and then ever since his arrival at the club. His strict and disciplined method was known beforehand by the people concerned but his insistence on following his methods unabashedly, irrespective of the peripheral repercussions they might have, has still been his stand-out feature till now.
Two of his decisions to have garnered the maximum coverage was his decision to omit City superstar Yaya Toure from the Champions League squad after freezing him out of the domestic scene and the other one was to send City legend Joe Hart out on loan to Torino after deeming him unfit for his playing philosophy.
While Hart is still plying his trade in Serie A with no City future in sight as yet, Yaya Toure has come back in the news. Apologising for the comments made by his agent and getting into shape finally saw him being drafted into the first team. Since then he has given two Man of the Match performances and there is now talk of even including him in the Champions League squad list which is submitted in January with changes. With the pundits exploring this view, Yaya came out and made his intentions and targets clear. He is up for the challenge and is determined to feature in the UCL this season.
While the thought of the experience and ability the Ivorian will add to the already talented squad does add to the excitement, the rules regarding the quota of players puts question marks over the viable nature of this development.
Considering all the rules are followed and based on the viability of the move let us take a brief look at the player who might be sacrificed to make way for Yaya.
Perhaps the player who might be feeling the heat at this moment, the City captain has been plagued by injuries again this season and there is a sense, despite the attachment with the player, the club might be looking at options elsewhere. With the Belgian expected to recover at the end of December at the earliest, there are doubts whether he can get back to full fitness in time to be selected for the squad.
Kompany’s uncertainty means it might turn out to be a suicidal move if his body system has another breakdown which would make it impossible to go back on the decision. But City’s lack of centre-back options and defence being their Achilles heel, this might conversely prove to be a bad decision. Otamendi, Stones and Kolarov (make-shift) are their only senior central defensive options at the moment. But Fernandinho can drop in at times while Bacary Sagna can also step-in.
Pep Guardiola’s penchant for utilising versatile players in various positions aligned with his ruthless nature while taking decisions for the betterment of the team might see Vincent Kompany being struck off the list.
