Manchester City have been so successful over the past few seasons domestically with Pep Guardiola even admitting that he’s too demanding on his squad.
During a recent press conference, reported by the Mirror, the Catalan said:
“Sometimes I was wrong about my players, sometimes I want more and more of them, sometimes I am so demanding.”
Players will understand of course that if you want to be the best, then you have to play at the highest level week in and week out.
Not every player is able to perform under such pressure, and there’s one player in the City squad in particular that Guardiola has even suggested can’t do what’s needed to fit into his new system.
There are only nine games left of the current 2022/23 campaign, so it’s a foregone conclusion that Pep will only pick the players that are going to give his side the best opportunity to catch Premier League leaders, Arsenal.
There’s no room for rotation or sentiment because every point counts at this point, and as a result, there’s one player might not get another look in this season.
Kyle Walker has been a stalwart of Guardiola’s teams for some while, but a change in formation to three at the back has caused issues for the England right back it seems.
“He cannot do it. He will always have pace; Kyle at 60 years old will be the fastest player in this room. To play inside you have to have educated movements – he doesn’t have every one of the characteristics,” Guardiola said at his press conference ahead of City’s match at Southampton, detailed by 90Min.
“He has played as a full-back coming inside in the past with four at the back. He has done really well but this shape of three at the back and two in the middle, he cannot do it.”
From Walker’s point of view, he has to believe he can affect Pep’s thinking or else be banished to the sidelines until next season.