Gary Neville has revealed he was inundated with messages about the downside of Pep Guardiola’s style of play following the Manchester derby.
United and City played out a goalless draw on Sunday, which was virtually highlight-free. While Guardiola’s approach has been lauded since he arrived in the Premier League almost a decade ago, it has led to some poor imitations from other sides across the game.
City have been tough to watch during a season in which the Premier League champions have failed to keep pace with Liverpool and Arsenal. Sky Sports pundit Neville would rather see teams forge their own identity and style of play instead of attempting to mimic Guardiola’s City.
“We’ve seen a lot of poor imitations of Pep’s style of play,” he said on the It’s Called Soccer show with Rebecca Lowe. “I feel quite strongly about that. Watching Pep’s teams at their best is an absolute thing of beauty, they’re unbelievable and incredible.
“But it’s hard work watching a team trying to play like him when they’re c**p at it, playing out from the back and losing it in central midfield. It’s like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ It looks awful. Where’s your own identity and purpose?”
Host Lowe said Guardiola’s way of playing had even reached her eight-year-old son’s youth team. “They’re not good enough,” she said, exasperated.
Neville then revealed the strong reaction he received to the derby. He said: “I don’t get many texts after games, generally, but I had more texts on Sunday after the game, people telling me it’s infecting youth football, about ‘where’s the spontaneity?’, ‘Where’s the excitement?’
“The amount of people… and these are people who are serious football fans, serious football people, coaches, ex-players, commentators texting me saying, ‘We’ve got to be careful’ because players are being micromanaged to within an inch of their lives, to the point where they’re frightened to take risks in matches.
“I’m not saying you throw the kitchen sink at it at 0-0 but there is an element of taking a risk to win a football match. We’re seeing more predictable play. Sunday was a massive disappointment.”
Fans of the Manchester clubs will be hoping for more excitement this weekend as City host Crystal Palace on Saturday while United visit Newcastle on Sunday.
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