There are levels to this thing called greatness and Pep Guardiola is at the absolute top of that list. This isn’t just down to the number of title wins scooped up over the years but more to do with the extent to his influence. (For the record, Guardiola is on the precipice of winning a record setting fourth EPL title in a row)
Notable names who have a really legitimate argument as the GOAT of coaches like Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho don’t have the kind of influence Pep has and has had on football since his ascension in the ranks.
Tiki-Taka reigned and influenced a ton as did the “False Number 9” movement; taking a cue from Spain’s brilliant title winning run in the 2012 European Championship, to the insistence on playing out from the back with emphasis on a ball-playing goalkeeper and central defenders.
So influential Pep’s latest tactical change is and has become that every club wants to play the Manchester City way.
This is why Pep is the GOAT in coaching because as great as the other managers are or were, they haven’t had this level of influence over the sport. While Rinus Michels’ influence is tremendous and Guardiola is an acolyte somewhat, the Dutch coach didn’t win as many trophies as Pep has in his career.
Run through the EPL teams and all but Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United and West Ham play the Pep Guardiola way wholly or have imbibed heavy doses of the Man City manager’s style in some parts of their system.
Crystal Palace played the anti-Pep way before Oliver Glasner moved to Selhurst Park and now look at those Eagles pass their way to score that crushing 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield. Even teams likely to be relegated-Burnley and Luton Town-also follow the Pep way though all evidence shows that a switch to a more conservative, counter attacking team is likely a better option to adopt.
Failure to do things the Pep way is virtually viewed as an aberration that needs to be stomped out as quickly as possible hence the reason behind David Moyes’ impending departure as West Ham United manager. There is nothing wrong with the Pep style but winning games could also be done in other ways and pushing out managers and players (more on that in a bit) isn’t the best way to deal with this issue.
David De Gea is without a job because of his reported reluctance to take a pay cut but the Spaniard is without a job mainly due to his discomfort with the ball at his feet and challenges he has contributing to attacks by playing out from the back. Aaron Ramsdale is another victim after getting his starting job at Arsenal taken up by David Raya who is better suited for this type of role.
At the start of his second run as West Ham manager, The Hammers hovered around the relegation zone. In the space of four seasons however, Moyes has guided West Ham to three European campaigns with at least a quarterfinal finish in each campaign. The crown jewel in his time at the London Stadium has to be West Ham’s capture of the UEFA Conference League title.
Strangely, with West Ham still in the hunt to lock down a spot for another European campaign, Moyes’ days as the team’s manager are counting down sharply with Spanish manager Julen Lopetegui named as his replacement.
With this change, Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus will play under his third club manager in little over a calendar year and that means another adjustment period that is sure to test the versatility of the former Ajax Amsterdam player.
The expectations for West Ham under Lopetegui’s influence are to stifle opponents deep in their halves and dominate possession but for that to happen, players have to run extra miles to close down spaces and make recovery runs to deal with teams that successfully bypass the press.
That isn’t necessarily great news for Kudus who has largely struggled with demanding defensive work thus far in his career and should make for an interesting case in the Lopetegui era in London about how he keeps up or improves his production while taking on extra defensive work.
In a vacuum, what Moyes has done with West Ham deserves commendation but since sports (beyond just football) is heavy on “copy-cating”, nothing operates in isolation. As such, Moyes’s run with The Hammers is largely underrated but since this is Guardiola’s World that all coaches live in, relying on counter attacks and set pieces to score goals like Moyes does with his teams, is frowned on.
Little wonder Moyes has been let go for a coach who has his team press high up the pitch, control large swathes of possession while building attacks from the backline.
Unfortunately, Moyes isn’t the only victim of the Guardiola craze that has gripped football since Gary O’Neil is another example despite saving AFC Bournemouth from relegation to end the 2022-2023 season in 15th place with 39 points-just a point shy of the magical point tally that guarantees safety in the English Premier League.
In the lead up to the start of this season, O’Neil was sacked and replaced with Andoni Iraola who is a self-professed surprise surprise Pep Guardiola acolyte. After a rocky start that had Bournemouth fail to win a game in its first nine league outings to record its highest point tally ever in the EPL shows Bournemouth’s gamble has paid off.
O’Neil hasn’t done badly either since joining Wolves after his dismissal as the Wolves are just two points and two spots behind Bournemouth despite his very late arrival at the club and Bournemouth having a quality well rounded roster than Wolves.
Even in Wolves case, O’Neil can’t get comfortable considering the club’s finances are in a bad place hence the team having patience and room to accommodate his style.
Lopetegui managed Wolves last season until he decided to walk out on the club due to insufficient funds to improve the club.
This indicates that should Wolves’ finances improve like West Ham with each and every win, they are likely to fall out of love with O’Neil’s throwback style just as The Hammers did to David Moyes.
Placing West Ham in constant European football conversation with a title to show for is something that was alien to the London club before David Moyes was named manager for the second time and with this sack, it looks like he has paid the price for turning the team into a success story.
However, beyond this natural incline to want more (which is honestly negligible in the context of this discussion), David Moyes has lost his job because of the Pep Guardiola effect.
