Micah Richards has branded Pep Guardiola’s post-match interview following his side’s win over Tottenham “scathing” after the Manchester City boss took aim at his players and supporters.
Manchester City came from two goals down at half-time to win 4-2, although Guardiola was still unimpressed with his side’s performance after the final whistle.
Guardiola hit out at his players and specifically the club’s home support for their lack of “passion” and “fire” after seeing his side struggle once again in a Premier League game against what he perceived to be a rather weak Etihad .
Micah Richards has branded Pep Guardiola’s interview ‘bitter’ and suggested it shows a man at the edge of his prime
Asked about the merits of his interview and whether it was a tactic to try to galvanize the club and supporters who may be used to success, Richards said he had the air of a manager who had become frustrated with the lack of satisfaction of his achievements.
“It was scathing, wasn’t it? His interviews are usually very sarcastic, today he came out and … almost as if he was saying that he was fed up with the situation of producing something so good, but nobody seems to be happy,” he said.
“We talked about the level, the standards and the desire, not only of the players. When you start talking about the fans and stuff, it’s difficult.
Boss Pep Guardiola has failed to hide his anger towards Manchester City players and supporters
Manchester City staged a fantastic comeback to seal a 4-2 win over Tottenham
City players were booed at half-time after trailing 2-0 to Spurs at the Etihad Stadium
Tottenham scored two goals in quick succession to go into the break two goals clear – although City rallied
🗣 “Our fans are silent for 45 minutes. I want my fans back, not my guest fans, my guest fans are the best. But my fans are here.”
Pep Guardiola urges Manchester City fans to support the team throughout the match pic.twitter.com/WjPKiUJLnu
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 19, 2023
“When fans boo, it’s never acceptable. It’s like he took it personally. He is a top manager, he has done great things – four [Premier Leagues] in the last five. It’s like he’s at the end of his strength, and I’ve never seen him like that before.
Showing short shrift throughout – he would eventually walk out of an interview with Sky Sports’ Patrick Davidson – Guardiola said he wanted to see more “passion, fire and desire” from everyone involved at the club.
‘[We lacked] courage, passion, fire, desire to win from the first minute,” he said when asked what he wanted to see more of from his side. “It’s the same with the fans, they stay silent for 45 minutes. I want my fans back. The fans should shout. They booed because we were losing, not because we played badly. We played well. We were better. They were booing because we were losing, but maybe it’s like our team.
He described the second goal they conceded as “ridiculous”.
Jamie Carragher said Guardiola actually knew what he was doing with his rambunctious interview
Jamie Carragher, working alongside Richards on the night, said he disagreed and suggested Guardiola may be taking the long view with his post-match comments.
‘I do not agree. I think it was a brilliant interview,” he said. “As a manager, he hasn’t been in that position that often before where he feels he has to send a rocket at everybody.
“Not many managers can get away with criticizing their own supporters – Jurgen Klopp did in his early days at Liverpool. He’ll be fine, he’s God here for the fans and he’ll know it.
He went on to suggest that it was about motivating those at the club to push for another title – suggesting that perhaps other figures around Manchester City were happy with their success and that a belief had crept in that it wasn’t the end of the world , if they surrender the title this season.
“I think he knows that if something doesn’t change they’re not going to win the league,” he said.
“I think other people at the club might think it doesn’t matter, we’ve won so much. But he knows exactly what it takes to win. But I think if City lose tonight and Arsenal win on Sunday, I think the league is over,” Carragher added.
“I think there was no way City could come back with how they are playing compared to Arsenal. And I think he knows that. As he said in the interview, if we keep playing like this, we will lose more points. And that was a message to everyone around City – yes, there is a long way to go, we can still win the league, but we have to change and change quickly.”
Izzy Christiansen agreed with fellow Carragher – suggesting it was an effort to motivate his country and club to fight for the title
Izzy Christiansen agreed with Carragher, suggesting it was as much about “psychology” as his views on his team’s performance.
“It’s also about psychology. Not only has he sent a rocket to his team – he’s done it so subtly that he’s sprinkling little digs at Arsenal,” she suggested.
“Because he knows what he’s doing.” He did so in his pre-match press conference. He knows what he’s in for – he’s in a title fight and he knows it. I think he keeps dropping things to A) motivate the team, but he also does it to send a message to the rest of the league saying we know exactly what we’re here for and we’re going to put so much pressure on Arsenal because Arteta is his mate.
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