When it comes to the number of your first team roster, the Manchester City manager has long held the view that less is more. The Premier League team has one of the smallest rosters in the league because it prefers depth in talent above depth in quantity.
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But a string of injuries to open the 2023–24 season, notably the protracted absence of talisman Kevin De Bruyne, may have exposed a weakness in Guardiola’s ambition to maintain a small, close-knit group of players.
Pep Guardiola has explained why, despite Manchester City’s injury woes this year, he prefers a small squad.
When it comes to the number of your first team roster, the Manchester City manager has long held the view that less is more. The Premier League team has one of the smallest rosters in the league because it prefers depth in talent above depth in quantity.
But a string of injuries to open the 2023–24 season, notably the protracted absence of talisman Kevin De Bruyne, may have exposed a weakness in Guardiola’s ambition to maintain a small, close-knit group of players.
In a recent press conference, the City manager gave an explanation of why, despite mounting anxiety over injured players, he will continue to work with a limited squad.
“I would like to have an academy that can give you players that you can rely on, that’s why I always have the feeling when you have a small squad,” Guardiola remarked.
“The Academy must have three, four, or five players who are good players in each position, not 80 players overall.
But what if you don’t have any wounds? 30 players are present. What plan do you have to deal with that? Listen, if you told me that you had 10 injuries at the beginning of the season, like Kevin (De Bruyne), I would say that I wanted 30 guys.
“But what if there are no accidents? To attempt to prevent it as much as possible, we have skilled physiotherapists, doctors, nutritionists, and everything else. Even from a club’s financial perspective, having 30 players is unrealistic.
“If you decide to do it, no problem. I don’t. I work with the players when I am at my best since I only live with myself.
“From my perspective, if you don’t have injuries it’s unsustainable financially for the clubs, more salaries, paying a lot, when the players don’t play maybe five, ten games,” he said.
Recently, the Blues were missing Jack Grealish, John Stones, and Mateo Kovacic due to a variety of injuries, which required Guardiola to spread his team quite thin given the growing number of fixtures.
Nevertheless, after winning seven of their first nine league games, City is currently second in the Premier League.
