Pep Guardiola has said farewell to Manchester City. Talk has now turned to how the club will fare without the legendary manager.
From returning club legends to a message from Neil Warnock, Guardiola’s farewell threw up more than its fair share of surprises but was a fitting way to say goodbye to one of the greatest managers the Premier League has ever seen.
With the ticker tape swept up and the bunting back in the cupboard, talk has already turned to the post Pep era. Enzo Maresca is set to replace Guardiola in the Etihad hotseat as he seeks to continue the incredible success of the past decade.
No United style drop off?
While City’s rivals are licking their lips in the hope of a United esque drop off following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, the set up at the Etihad should ensure no such prediction comes to pass. But the task of following a manager who delivered 20 trophies in 10 years cannot be underestimated.
Our City writers discussed the challenge facing Maresca on the Talking City podcast. Chief Manchester City writer Simon Bajkowski is confident there will be enough motivation in the squad to prove they are not reliant on Guardiola.
Haaland’s after party vow
“I think there’s going to be a sea change but Erling Haaland said at the after party, ‘We want to win the biggest titles and we didn’t win them this year, we want to fight for those titles’,” Bajkowski said.
“So the players that are still here will be determined to improve on last year.”
‘They don’t want to be seen as nothing without Pep’
“Everyone thinks there’s going to be a drop off after Pep, it would be weird if there wasn’t but you’ve got Enzo Maresca coming in who is determined there won’t be, and the players as well, they don’t want to be seen as players who are nothing without Pep.
“If we’re being honest, a lot of them want to win the World Cup and do as well as they can for their countries, but when they come back there will be a different level of motivation from them.”
The bottom line
The Guardiola era is over. The Maresca era is about to begin.
Rivals are hoping for collapse. The players are determined to prove otherwise.
Haaland wants the biggest titles. The squad wants to show they’re not nothing without Pep.
The motivation is different now. But it’s there. Burning. Waiting.
City’s post Pep future starts now. And the players are ready to write their own story.
