It’s easy to get the impression that the City ship can be righted with relative ease.
“I don’t know what situation we would be in if it weren’t for the injuries, but I can imagine it,” Guardiola said. I can’t prove it, but everyone thinks we would be a better team.
The City manager also insists he has no regrets about signing a two-year contract extension last month after his team had just lost four games in a row.
He said: “I couldn’t sleep – even worse than I am now – if I thought I was leaving when the club was in this situation. Impossible.
“They can fire me, it can happen. But to leave now, in this position? No chance.
“There are many things we need to do; enter the market at the right time, maybe in the winter, maybe in another season, to expand the squad, to compete with each other, to make the players better.
“Nothing is forever. You have to be honest. If I lose and lose and lose, more and more, I finally say, ‘Guys, you need to find someone else to fix this.'”
For United, the problems are much more complex. “We have many problems,” says Amorim. “They [City] They are in a better place than we are.”
Manchester United have been soundly beaten on their last three visits to the Etihad Stadium and most neutrals will feel City have extra quality.
However, the city is not without worries. Guardiola’s long-time friend Txiki Begiristain is leaving in the summer and will be replaced by Sporting’s technical director Hugo Viana, which has led to a conflict with Amorim after years of working together.
More importantly, the end of their huge financial affair is drawing closer, which could create uncertainty in negotiations over transfer targets, even if City continue to insist they have done nothing wrong.
In the short term, if United win the derby, City will drop out of the top four.
Regardless of the result, United will remain in the bottom half of the table.
Title-wise, this is a virtually meaningless game compared to what came before. But given their wealth, illustrious past, and uncertainty about their future, that’s what makes this novel so fascinating.
