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A lively debate has erupted among Independent readers in response to chief football writer Miguel Delaney’s analysis of the game’s post-Guardiola era.
Opinions were divided over whether the game’s shift towards “duels, duels and duels” marks progress or regression.
Some argued that Pep Guardiola’s possession-based philosophy was always dependent on elite technical players, and that attempts to replicate it with lesser squads were doomed to fail.
They saw the Premier League’s return to more direct, physical football as inevitable – though one commenter called it a step backwards, praising Bournemouth’s fast, first-time passing as a more exciting evolution.
Others suggested Guardiola’s recent struggles are less about tactics and more about declining player quality. Several pointed out that he has only ever managed clubs with top-tier squads, unlike Mourinho or Ancelotti, who achieved success with underdogs.
A few defended Guardiola’s continued innovation, saying his willingness to adapt – even towards “Haalandball” – proves his tactical genius.
Most agreed on Guardiola’s lasting influence, noting that his ideas have become so embedded in modern football that even his supposed deviations continue to shape the game’s next tactical revolution.
Here’s what you had to say:
Guardiola style needs top players
For me, the Guardiola style worked only for teams that could afford the very best technical players – it was an indulgence.
You can play out from the back successfully only if your players are very good, though many teams with inferior players tried and failed. Clubs have belatedly realised this and now want to return to playing long to tall and strong players.
Perhaps, this way, the EPL will finally be won by an English manager. But I think that this is a regression. The most interesting side in the EPL last season was Bournemouth, because they can move the ball at speed with accurate first-time passes. This is the type of football that I want to see. It is successful too, and it is quite possible that Bournemouth could win the title.
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Success depends on players, not just tactics
Well, I think the nonsense here is that success is not just related to how you play tactically but also to the players you have. So, the fact that Manchester City is not performing as well as it used to may simply mean the quality of the team is objectively not what it used to be.
Another thing to consider is that Guardiola's tactics have so far been tested only in clubs which were objectively one of the best, if not the best, squad quality-wise at the time he managed them – Barcelona, Bayern, and finally City.
In other words, he never won anything with a club which was not considered a favourite or one of the top favourites. He never managed to do the kind of magic Mourinho, for example, did with Porto and Inter Milan when winning the Champions League and defeating Barcelona, managed by Guardiola, which was objectively a better club. Or Ancelotti, who won several Champions Leagues with also big clubs, but during seasons in which they did not have dominating squads and beat Guardiola in the Champions League semi-finals both in 2022 and 2024 when City had clearly the best team in Europe.
Pepball innovates but has limits
Guardiola has done what he always does, which is innovate.
First, buy the most lethally efficient striker ever but keep him on a leash, since even almost starved of service he still bangs in over 50 goals in his first season.
Secondly, win another title as said striker slows down a little bit (but not that much) but doesn't yet have the credit in the bank to tell his boss to do one.
Thirdly, get well and truly humiliated as Pepball falls apart and City are found out big time last season, as Kevin De Bruyne fails to function and team after team takes City to the cleaners.
Fourthly, give in to big Erling, who finally demands that people pass to him straight away and stop fannying around passing sideways for five minutes at a time.
The rest of the Premier League is following on as quickly as they can, with some teams better equipped than others to play Haalandball.
Lower leagues
If Pep's ideology really is dead, can someone please tell the plethora of managers of Scottish lower league diddy clubs who persist in replicating watching paint dry?
Reversion
‘Is this football's end of history moment?’ Sure is, if your history is limited to fifteen years only!
What we are seeing is a reversion to how football was previously played, before Pep came in and ruined it!
Back to end-to-end excitement of an open game, fast-paced counter-attacks, and occasionally going direct.
Guardiola’s legacy
Guardiola has changed football. And what is it – five acolytes of his now managing big clubs.
Compare to Klopp...
Remember him?
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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