Numerous influential observers have credited the Catalan, who has signed a two-year extension to his current City deal, for instigating a radical and positive sea change in the mindset of English football.
Henry Winter, the respected chief football writer of the Times, perhaps best epitomised the admiration and numerous plaudits that have come Pep’s way, hailing the City manager for helping inspire an enlightened era in our domestic game.
The brand of beautiful football overseen by Guardiola over the course of his Etihad reign to date has not only thrilled thousands of City fans but also seen the record books rewritten in a host of different ways.
CITY+ | SIGN UP TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Furthermore, it has also helped have a transformational effect on the way the game is played up and down the land.
If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then Guardiola’s guiding philosophy and compelling coaching template is now being replicated far and wide.
GUARDIOLA THE INSPIRATION
A generation of young coaches have taken their cue from the City manager’s visionary approach and sought to implement the central tenets underpinning his ideas as to how the game is played.
As a direct consequence, teams from all levels of the game - from the Premier League and beyond - have looked to embrace and adopt the graceful, aesthetic brand of attacking, possession-based football which is the hallmark of the City boss.
But arguably the most compelling argument as to the way Guardiola’s City reign to date has helped revolutionise and enhance the quality in the Premier League lies in the very facts and figures themselves.
Of course, the Premier League was already the most watched domestic top flight in world football when Pep moved to City.
However, by whatever compelling metric one chooses to measure his impact – be it either in accumulation of points, or the total number of goals scored - the statistics all point to the fact that Pep’s time so far in charge at City has served to propel standards across the Premier League.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE OFFICIAL MAN CITY PODCAST
Guardiola, of course, was the man who inspired our incredible Centurions side of 2017/18, a season which saw the true essence of his City coaching alchemy as we created history by becoming the first top-flight team in English history to record 100 points.
PEP’S QUEST FOR EXCELLENCE
In keeping with the fiercely competitive nature of the man – and his unquenchable desire for perpetual improvement and excellence – City and Pep then went even better the following season.
Our unforgettable 2018/19 Fourmidables campaign saw the Club record another incredible English first as City created history by securing all four domestic honours – the Premier League title, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Community Shield – in one season.
And our excellence on the pitch in that period has been replicated by the driving up in the fundamental barometers of footballing success.
In the four seasons prior to Pep’s arrival, between the 2012/13 and 2015/16 campaigns, the points average from the four title-winning sides – Manchester United, City, Chelsea and Leicester respectively – was 85.75, a more than impressive tally.
However, since Pep’s arrival in the summer of 2016, in the four subsequent seasons he has been in charge at City, the average number of points registered by the English champions has risen steeply to a staggering 95.75.
City, of course, reached the magical tally of 100 in the 2017/18 campaign but the title-winning tallies from the past two seasons – 98 during our 2018/19 successful title defence and Liverpool’s total of 99 in their success of last season - merely serve to further illustrate the sharp uptake in standards required to secure success in the wake of Guardiola’s immersion into the English game.
SHOP | OUR PUMA TRAINIG WEAR RANGE
Looking at the bigger picture and tracking the average points recorded by the champions in the decade up until Pep’s arrival, the marked difference with the period which has followed his arrival remains.
In the 10 seasons between 2006/07 and 2015/16, Manchester United were the only side to reach the 90 point mark – in 2008/09, with the points required to win the Premier League in that decade averaging out at 86.4 – still way below the benchmark average established since Pep’s arrival.
CITY’S GOALS STANDARD
The margin of difference between standards before Pep and since his move to the Etihad is even more stark when it comes to goals – the very currency of any side seeking silverware.
City have become synonymous for our predatory prowess since Guardiola took charge with Pep’s players demonstrating an insatiable hunger for goals.
And that is amply illustrated by the way the goal stats pile up overwhelmingly in Guardiola’s credit both from an internal and external measure.
Tracking the four seasons prior to Pep joining in 2016, City’s cumulative domestic average was 80.5
In sharp contrast, the first four seasons with Guardiola at the helm have seen City’s average number of Premier League goals per season spike to an incredible 95.75.
Likewise, the average number of goals scored by the champions in the four years preceding the Catalan’s move to England averages out at 82.25.
CITY+ FULL-MATCH REPLAYS | WATCH FULL-MATCH REPLAYS OF EVERY GAME THIS SEASON
The last four seasons have seen that tally jump sharply to 92.75 – another remarkable metric that swerves to further amplify the positive Guardiola effect.
Of course, the eight major trophies secured by Pep in his City reign so far stand as the ultimate testament to his remarkable work.
But the facts and figures preceding and during the Guardiola era make for fascinating and compelling reading as to his positive impact on our domestic game.
The only question now is that how much more City are capable of achieving with Pep’s future secured for the next two and a half years.
We can’t wait to find out!
Premier League points averages
Points average to win the Premier League in previous decade:
2006/07: Manchester United... 89
2007/08: Manchester United... 87
2008/09: Manchester United... 90
2009/10: Chelsea..................... 86
2010/11: Manchester United... 80
2011/12: Manchester City........ 89
2012/13: Manchester United... 89
2013/14: Manchester City........ 86
2014/15: Chelsea..................... 87
2015/16: Leicester City............ 81
Points average: 86.4
Points average to win the Premier League in the four years before Pep arrived:
2012/13: Manchester United... 89
2013/14: Manchester City....... 86
2014/15: Chelsea.................... 87
2015/16: Leicester City........... 81
Points average: 85.75
Points average to win the league during Pep’s four seasons:
2016/17: Chelsea...................... 93
2017/18: Manchester City........ 100
2018/19: Manchester City......... 98
2019/20: Liverpool.................... 99
Points average: 97.5
Premier League goal averages
Average number of goals scored by City in the Premier League in the last four seasons:
2016/17: 80
2017/18: 106
2018/19: 95
2019/20: 102
Goals average: 95.75
Average number of City goals scored in the four seasons before Pep arrived:
2012/13: 66
2013/14: 102
2014/15: 83
2015/16: 71
Goals average: 80.5
Average number of goals scored by Premier League champions in previous four seasons:
2012/13: Manchester United... 86
2013/14: Manchester City....... 102
2014/15: Chelsea..................... 73
2015/16: Leicester City............. 68
Goals average: 82.25
Average number of goals scored by Premier League champions in previous decade:
2015/16: Leicester City.............68
2014/15: Chelsea..................... 73
2013/14: Manchester City...... 102
2012/13: Manchester United... 86
2011/12: Manchester City....... 93
2010/11: Manchester United... 78
2009/10: Chelsea................... 103
2008/09: Manchester United... 68
2007/08: Manchester United... 80
2006/07: Manchester United... 83
Goals average: 83.4
