Last week, Pep Guardiola met with Brian Barry-Murphy, the head coach of Manchester City’s academy, and Txiki Begiristain, the club’s sporting director, and took a bold stand.
For the Carabao Cup trip to Newcastle, City needed fresh bodies, and Guardiola had made public remarks about fielding a lineup of youth team players. He has called up youth when he needed to increase the number of players because he has done so in the past during the competition.
But this time, City concluded that no players were ready to assist the first team and that it would be ideal for their growth to continue at the under-21 level for the time being.
Such a choice would reflect poorly on a club’s academy, but considering how much tougher it is to break into the City first team than at other clubs, it was actually more of an acknowledgement of how the City Academy has been performing as expected in recent years.
Barry-Murphy’s most recent squad is more younger and less experienced as the majority of the under-21 team from last season moved on for big money or on loan. They could field a good team at Barnsley in the EFL Trophy instead of forcing them into a boiling pot like St James’ Park.
Regarding Guardiola’s remarks about the academy, Barry-Murphy tells MEN Sport, “I think it’s a fair assessment.” “Compared to where we were at this time last season, our players are certainly far further along in their development.
“We had athletes who had gone through the procedure once previously and were attempting it again. With the Youth League and EFL Trophy, the players we’re exposing right now are being pushed into the deep end and experiencing their first taste of Premier League 2 football. The most fascinating and satisfying aspect of their extremely demanding exam time is how they are adapting and getting better as they go. It’ll take some time.
Despite Guardiola’s determination to not primarily rely on the academy, striker Micah Hamilton, who was an unused replacement, did receive a surprise call-up at Newcastle.
Micah has likely been overlooked because of his lengthy injury, according to Barry-Murphy, who recently added him to the first team. “We believe he is getting back into shape and has a lot more mobility in him. If you watch him at his best, he’s really unique and has certain components of his game that are incredibly exciting. He can also get a lot fitter.
I tell him that he plays street football. Micah is similar to Oscar Bobb, who is an exhilarating player to watch since he can take off opponents one by one. One of the most thrilling aspects of any game is when a player can defeat another player one-on-one.
The new-look PL2 competition has had a mixed opening, but Barry-Murphy claims that the contentious new format is beginning to bear some fruit. City started off their Youth League campaign with a decisive 5-2 victory against Red Star, and in the EFL Trophy, they have a win (on penalties) and a loss against league opponents, so advancement to the knockout stages is still a possibility.
The transition from the PL2 to the EFL Trophy and subsequently the Youth League is when the season gets the most interesting, according to Barry-Murphy. “The contrast between the three is quite important, but it also serves as a good indicator for us of where our players stand in the program.
“I think the new PL2 format to be pretty fascinating. We’re facing opposition that we haven’t faced before. It was fairly competitive. This year’s group is substantially younger, which has presumably made them undergo a difficult test. The opposition’s range of skill is advantageous.
The group’s hardest Youth League test will be their upcoming trip to Leipzig, where City will play. They have lost twice and drawn once in their last three games, but one of those losses was to a top-tier League One team. The coaches acknowledge that it is more difficult to forecast Youth League matches, but they also see it as a chance to test their skills against the top teams on the continent as the ‘examinations’ continue with each match.
It seems like a challenging test; the difficulty level is never predictable. You must assume a high standard and know you won’t be let down, according to Barry-Murphy. “Only at the conclusion of the group stage can you determine how strong an opponent is. Form is hard to anticipate, and the Youth League is never easy. According to Leipzig’s model, a challenging game is to be expected.