Redmond incident not an issue for rose-tinted Guardiola fans
On Wednesday night, for the second game in a row, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side
struck late to claim all three points against Southampton. However, it was the Spanish managers dealings after the match that caught the headlines. The City manager made a beeline for Southampton winger, Nathan Redmond, to express his own views on the winger’s performance. What was said exactly in this fifteen second conversation is unknown, with some tabloid newspapers trying to make the situation out as worse than it actually was. The main source of the truth has come from Nathan Redmond himself. He confessed on Twitter that Pep had merely told him that he could be playing a bit better in his role. Now in what world is Pep within his rights to do that? Yet it will no doubt be another thing that the rose-tinted Pep Guardiola fans will be keen to omit from their eulogies for the illustrious manager.
As I’ve never been involved in management, I obviously have not ever come close to the emotions that must go through a manager’s body throughout a game. Add to that the sheer relief and jubilation of scoring a 96th minute winner, I understand why people could do things they shouldn’t with all this adrenaline. Despite this, Guardiola is a clever man, a cunning man. He didn’t do anything outrageous, he didn’t do anything that was visually bad, yet, he played a sneaky and unnecessary card. His small chat with Redmond could well have had the right intentions. However, I feel that point of view is one that must only be found in those rose-tinted glasses that so many of his followers must wear. Others may argue that it wasn’t any big deal and why has there been any fuss about it? My counter-argument, if it was not a big deal, why was the conversation initiated in the first place? As much as people will try not to admit it, Guardiola has a whole agenda of his own.
When it comes to Premier League managers and one mentions the word ‘agenda’, only one man comes to mind. That man is José Mourinho. The Manchester United boss is a man who is seemingly constantly embroiled in controversy. The Portuguese native loves stirring the pot, with sly comments and questionable interviews at the top of this agenda. However, it is obvious that everyone realises the mind games Mourinho is looking to play, and therefore he receives plenty of blame for these antics. Now I would not be Mourinho’s biggest fan, in fact I’m not a believer in his techniques. His condescending approach to the media paired together with his pragmatic style for his teams on the pitch don’t leave him in the best light. However, I feel equally angered that Guardiola is allowed similar off the pitch antics, and yet he gets away with it.
This is not the first time Guardiola has done this after match ‘arm round the shoulder’ stunt. While in charge of Bayern Munich, he did this exact same feat to young player, Joshua Kimmich after finishing a game against Dortmund. Once might be acceptable, but to do the same ‘chat’ a second time, should not be tolerated. Despite this, Pep constantly gets away with situations like this, you might ask why? My belief is that he gets away with them because people deem him as a ‘connoisseur’ of the game. I agree that he gets his teams to play a lovely style of football, unlike Mourinho, yet that should not mean he gets any special treatment. There is no need to undermine Southampton Manager, Mauricio Pellegrino by telling Redmond what he expected. It is none of Guardiola’s business, and it should not be condoned or accepted.
Perhaps my reaction to this small altercation is bordering on over the top. Yet, I feel that Guardiola gets away with murder at times and sometimes it takes someone to point it out for people to realise. As much as I am a detester of Mourinho, I sometimes feel he is unfairly judged for his antics when every other Premier League manager gets up to the same ‘games’ off the pitch. Pep Guardiola is a superb manager, and possibly could be described as a connoisseur of the game, but there must be a line that even Pep must not cross. Yet, that is the line he crossed on Wednesday night. It’s time to take off those rose-tinted glasses, it’s time to see his faults in comparison to his strengths, that’s how we can finally see him in his real light.