Guardiola has also experimented with Yaya Toure and Xabi Alonso as defenders in his time in Spain and Germany so it seems to be a relatively common trend.
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City are increasingly confident of signing John Stones from Everton in an anticipated pounds 50 million deal that would eclipse the record fee for an Englishman that the club paid Liverpool for Raheem Sterling last summer. And the strikers are going to score a lot of goals because we are going to create a lot of chances. “We are disappointed by what happened – we need to play games”, he said. “He just wants us to trust him, he wants to trust us and I think it’s the right way to start a relationship”.
At Barca he often used midfield players in the back four, most successfully Javier Mascherano, and has earmarked Fernandinho for similar treatment. “I would talk more about the quality and he likes players to be composed on the ball”. And now he is back on Barcelona’s radar, following an impressive season with Celta, with Luis Enrique looking to reunite with his former player.
City’s defensive reserves have come under sharp focus since skipper Vincent Kompany was ruled out of the early stages of the season with a thigh injury.
“I took the decision”. I have never believed I should pick the captain, because I am not in the locker room, not in the dressing room, I’m not in the meetings when they believe they have to change something. “They are comfortable with the challenge and they are trying to understand me and I am trying to understand them as soon as possible”. New manager Guardiola has got tough with his players, banning sugary drinks and pizza from the menu at their training complex to try to ensure they are in peak shape.
“I don’t think they will really understand the way it is because we’re here and the weather is really humid and hot so you can’t really train the way we trained for the last two weeks”, he added.
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Through Clichy’s comments, we get a window into Guardiola’s fabled managing style. “They are not fast enough, quick in the head enough and that’s why I want my players to be absolutely fit”. For me, weight is so, so important.
