What Do Manchester City Have To Change in 2017?

This is a guest post from Mark Truman.

Hopes were fairly high for the 2015/16 season for City fans, as the team finally reached the Champions League semi-finals, despite placing fourth in the Premier’s. However, Real’s tactics and stamina proved slightly superior and took the team, yet once again, in the finals, despite City’s prospect of seeing the finals for the first time ever.

The Real match drew attention to City from across the globe which hasn’t been felt for a while. Finally, there were Manchester city on their maiden voyage to the finals, turning punters from around Europe and Australia from Real and back to the underdog. And not only did football betting change, City’s prospect also drew casino players back to football, despite the offers or bonuses most online casinos offer.

And with Guardiola now coming to the team, bookies have made some serious predictions about City’s future. With such great odds, it seems that Manchester City is headed for success in the Premier League. If you feel so yourself, you can join in on the betting in any online casinos, some of which even let you get a bonus for free. Just check out any of the highly informative sites that are updated daily for any good offers.

But turning back to last season, the disappointment was far and large as the whole year didn’t prove to be as successful as most hoped it would. And with the preps for yet another season coming close, speculations about what went wrong and what gaps need to be mended are running wild, most focusing on Pellegrini’s mistakes and Guardiola’s role in fixing them, which according to both analysts and bookies is to be a very successful one.

Probably one of the biggest speculations from last year was that Pellegrini’s pending leave dropped player motivation, making them under-perform during the final matches of the season, a sad truth which was especially visible during the semi-final match with Real.

There has been plenty of criticism for Pellegrini during the past season, mostly involving his predictable defense tactics which were fresh and successful during his first year and a half, but proved stale ever since, keeping the team from moving higher. This, combined with the aging players who couldn’t keep up with the strength and force of other players from the top four, were seen as the biggest gaps in their road to success.

Well, with Guardiola in the picture City fans should definitely expect some serious changes, especially with his proven track-record of building teams and taking them to titles. Pep has a difficult job ahead, with fans not settling for anything less than the previous year, but only more.

As soon as he arrived, he wasted no time in showing that he wants a new force along with the old, who under his leadership can finally live up to their full potential, unlike during Pellegrini’s reign, with the hopes of finally fixing what has plagued the team for the past years – the defence.

If there’s anything to be agreed, it’s that City’s defense, together with the midfielders, were one of the biggest shortcomings during the whole season. During Pellegrini’s time, the back four was weak and seemed uncoordinated at times, a situation only worsened by the midfielders’ lack of protection of the defense line. What City needs is a fast ball handling and recovery from the midfielders, along with a tight defence to keep the field secure from the strong forwards they are about to face during next season.

It seems that Guardiola’s instincts said the same, as he immediately went player hunting to fortify his defence and midfielder lines, going after Stones, Laporte, and now fishing for Ter Stegen as well. So far, he had success securing the midfield on a reasonable budget, signing Gündoğan, Mooy, and the young Zinchenko.

Gündoğan, despite being very likely to miss the beginning of the season due to his injury, is just what City needs – a midfielder that’s great at possession, precise in passes, and gives maximum effort in ball recovery. And although both Mooy and Gündoğan are still a bit raw, they have a great development potential under Guardiola and his belief in them only inspires confidence that we are about to see potential improvements during next season.

Whatever the next move, one thing is for certain. City needs some fresh force to secure their back and Guardiola will definitely prove vital in signing great talent that can thrive under his instructions. With a solid team and the expertise of one of the most sought-after managers who’s definitely set on creating a better defence, Manchester City seem to be heading for a great year.