Is Guardiola talk affecting Pellegrini?
Manchester City’s coach Manuel Pellegrini is the personification of cool manners when it comes to copping under the pressure of the game.
Even as Pep Guardiola talk is rife, the 62-year-old Chilean has betrayed no emotion that he is concerned. Once again, it is the media putting pressure on him.
Of course, chances that Guardiola is destined for City are high because of the two men at the helm of City. Chief executive Ferann Soriano and director of football Txiki Bigiristain held similar positions when Guardiola was at Barcelona. Pellegrini won the English Premier League and the League cup in his first season in 2014, but has since struggled, especially in the Champions League.
Owner Sheikh Mansour will be surprised if the two administrators fail to use their old connections to bring in Guardiola. But there are strong indications Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich is interested and is leaving no stone unturned to land the mercurial Guardiola.
Soriano and Txiki are great administrators in the manner they have kept pressure off Pellegrini at the moment by making no references to Guardiola. In fact, they even made Pellegrini sign a two-year contract last year to assure him of his future. But they know what they are doing. I like this Chilean.
The Emirates sponsored FA Cup may be in the third round at the moment, but it has already thrown in interesting matches for the weekend. In fact, five matches are pitting English Premier League teams against one another. Interesting matches include Arsenal versus Sunderland, Norwich versus Man City, Southampton versus Crystal Palace, Watford versus Newcastle on Saturday while on Sunday Leicester City versus Tottenham.
But Man United should not underrate Sheffield United because they are cup specialists with a penchant for unsettling EPL teams.
The EPL returns on Tuesday and Wednesday with very interesting matches. Some teams will repeat fixtures played elsewhere. For example, after slugging it out in the FA Cup on Sunday, Leicester and Tottenham meet again on Wednesday in the EPL.
Similarly after a war of attrition between City and Everton on the League Cup in which Everton won 2-1, they meet again in the EPL on Wednesday before playing again the following week in the second leg of the league Cup.
But game of the mid week will be between Arsenal and Liverpool on Wednesday.
Congratulations to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for winning the coveted CAF African player of the year. Congrats, too, to Tanzanian M’bwana Samata who won the CAF Africa Player of the Year award for locally-based players. This player single handedly destroyed Flames in the World Cup qualifiers in Dar.
Still waiting for a Malawian to make the shortlist.
