Sunday 1 January 2017 19:29, UK
Pep Guardiola's start at Man City has been "disappointing" with little changing from last season, according to the Sunday Supplement panel.
The Catalan joined the club in the summer to a great fanfare after success with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but after a decent start, his side slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on New Year's Eve.
They lag four points behind the Reds in second and ten behind Chelsea in top spot, with the Daily Mirror's John Cross less than impressed by the superstar boss.
"I'm really taken aback and hugely disappointed in Man City and Pep Guardiola," he told the Sunday Supplement.
"There have been good performances but there has been a lack of consistency. There has also been a lack of a Guardiola authority and what seems to be a plan.
"Has he really taken it forward that much? I glanced at the table after the game last night compared to where they were last season under Manuel Pellegrini and it was remarkably similar within three points.
"You looked at that game last night and I thought they looked lethargic, there wasn't a lot of fight in it. The spectacular players they are supposed to have didn't really have an impact.
"Is that team drastically different? Who are the signings he has made who have really made an impact? They spent a lot of money on John Stones who looked a little bit better last night, Ilkay Gundogan is injured but really are we that much further forward?
"I think he put reputation on the line by taking Joe Hart out and putting Claudio Bravo in. Look at him as a goalkeeper, does he command the box? Does he make game-changing saves? He has lost games for them.
"You've got to improve the squad and Guardiola has worsened the squad in my view by taking out Hart and putting in Bravo but it is much beyond that. We would have expected to see a little bit more passion and a little bit more consistency.
"I think there are too many people in our business who say 'oh but he's a genius, he's brilliant, it's a privilege to have him here.' It isn't a privilege to have him here unless he's making an impact I don't think, and at the moment it is all too similar."
Jonathan Northcroft was slightly more lenient towards Guardiola and believes he should revert to his previous tactics to improve Man City's performances.
"I'm ready to give him a bit of time. I totally agree that the impact has been disappointing. It has been surprisingly meagre," the Sunday Times correspondent told the Sky Sports programme.
"When you think about their beginning with ten consecutive wins and doing things on the pitch we haven't seen before in English football in terms of the full-backs coming into midfield and the possession game was fantastic. I don't know why he has gone away from that.
"Now they're back to playing in the Pellegrini way with a flat back four, playing deep, he might as well play Hart instead of Bravo. The possession game isn't as different or spectacular as it was, he's playing a lot safer.
"It looks like the confidence has been knocked almost by his baptism in English football. He's almost gone away from some of these ideas, but if he's going to succeed, it's going to have to be through his ideas.
"I'm ready to give him more time because of how brilliant he has been elsewhere and great these ideas have been but at the moment, he is drifting back towards a very Pellegrini style of Man City."
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