The Domino Theory of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s Lost Season

It’s because there is not just one thing that has made the Premier League a lost season for Manchester City. It has been a series of things.

During the Cold War, American foreign policy makers suggested that if one Southeastern Asian country fell to communism, then one by one, like dominoes they would all fall.

Manchester City’s Premier League season has been a series of dominoes that have fallen one by one. Here are the series of dominoes that have fallen. The first started at the end of last season.

Vincent Kompany Retires from Manchester City

At the end of last season, the Blues long time captain and locker room leader played his last match for the club. Kompany, who had spent the last years battered by nagging injuries, was the undisputed emotional leader of the team. His presence, emotional intelligence, and leadership skills had been a vital contributor to City’s success in their recent title runs.

The Belgian always appeared to have a knack of saying and doing the right thing on and off the field to pick his team up. His departure left a hole in City’s backfield and an even bigger hole in player leadership. It appears unclear whether there is a leader on the pitch for the Blues and if there is, he is not at the same level as Kompany.

Manchester City Does Not Buy a Center Back

During the last summer transfer window, Manchester City did spend money. Notably, they spent $77 million on defensive mid-fielder Rodri and $71.5 million on right-back Joao Cancelo. The Blues have been defiant though leery of Financial Fair Play guidelines recently and as a result, they may not have spent the amount of money they would have liked.

However, they did not get another center back to replace Kompany leaving the squad thin as far as quality goes in that position. In Pep’s system, the backline must be solid as they are often left exposed on counters.

Leroy Sane Gets Injured

Sane had been rumored all summer to be transferred in a huge money move to Bayern Munich, in his native Germany. The deal never got done and I suspect that City and Bayern were several kilometers apart in terms of fees. However, it is still unclear how close this deal got to being over the line. Sane remained a Blue going into the Community Shield match against Liverpool.

The 23-year-old left-winger ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during this match. He went on to have surgery and has not been in another City clash this season. His loss for the majority of the season took away a significant goal threat.

Aymeric Laporte Gets Injured

On August 31st, center back Aymeric Laporte also suffered a significant knee injury that required surgery. He missed four and a half months and has recently returned for one league match on January 21st.

The loss of the 25-year-old Frenchman devastated the backline of Manchester City. Laporte had been a solid defender as well as a key player in the Blues ability to play balls from the back in conjunction with Guardiola’s scheme. He also was an offensive instigator that was always a threat in set-pieces.

Without Laporte in the lineup, the club has had to use multiple combinations to fill out in the back four, which has included playing players that were of low quality, took too many silly chances, or totally out of position. The unintended consequence of a make-shift backline was that City’s goalie, Ederson, has also had to take even riskier chances to ameliorate defensive errors.

This left the defending champions for the majority of the season with a thin low quality back four left vulnerable to inevitable counter-attacks.