Jamie Carragher has claimed that Manchester City have a regular starter on their books who he thinks is not a “great player.”
Considering City won the treble last season, Pep Guardiola must be performing miracles if he is working with performers who cannot be classed as “great” players.
However, football is a game of opinions and especially around a European giant like Manchester City, the focus is expected to be constant.
Such relentless focus also leads to discourse around every aspect of the club, be it the players, the manager, the stadium and more.
Regardless of whether the Sky Blues win trophies galore in a season or not, several unpopular opinions about them are bound to come to light.
As is the case with every elite club, especially in the Premier League, as it is the most popular and the best league in the world.
Jamie Carragher’s comments also showcase just how the Manchester City players, especially those who start regularly are a victim of their standards.
Jamie Carragher now says Man City star is “not a great player”
After all, even if City are finally starting to click in their last three games, despite them not being at last season’s level as a team, they could become the first team in football history to win back-to-back trebles.
Of course, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have won it twice but not in successive campaigns.
But the fact that City are still in contention to make history once again just exhibits the quality of their players and Guardiola’s brilliance as a tactician and a man-manager.
However, what comes with the territory of being at the top is criticism, whether it be constructive, excessive or just unfair.
One imagines Kylian Mbappe will be facing tons of scrutiny after Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-2 defeat to Barcelona at home in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
While the superstars are praised left, right and centre, the opposite occurs when they have a day to forget or a rough patch.
Such is the case with Erling Haaland, as Jamie Carragher has questioned his quality as a player.
“He is a great goalscorer, he’s not a great player. I think sometimes there is a difference”, he said on The Overlap’s Stick To Football.
“The thing with [Erling] Haaland is that I don’t think he cares about the other stuff. There was a spell last season where Pep [Guardiola] was asking him to come deeper and get involved in midfield and he looked awkward. It just doesn’t suit him, I don’t think he wants to”, Carragher said about the £51 million man.
Such comments about Erling Haaland are baffling from Carragher
In our view, the comments from Jamie Carragher about Erling Haaland are unjustified.
Just because Haaland has plenty of room for improvement in his game does not take away from the fact that he is a brilliant player.
There might be players who are better all-rounders than Haaland but can they be as impactful as he is on the pitch?
The answer is a resounding no.
To also assume that Erling Haaland does not wish to drop deeper and get involved is unfair from Jamie Carragher, as he has done so on several instances since he joined Manchester City.
Also, on several occasions, when Haaland has dropped as deep as in midfield, he has looked excellent and in certain games, he has been sloppy.
Not every opinion surrounding the Norwegian has to be extreme.
