Chris Sutton has now been speaking about Manchester City after Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
The 50-year-old made the comments when speaking on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast.
So, what did Chris Sutton say about Manchester City? Let’s take a look…
What Chris Sutton said about Manchester City
Well, the man from Nottingham specifically discussed Gary Neville’s suggestion that Manchester City have become complacent after last season’s treble win – a comment which seemed to irk Pep Guardiola.
Sutton called that “sensationalist journalism” from the Sky Sports pundit.
He also added that Manchester City’s standards have admittedly dropped a bit.
In full, Sutton said: “Luton can take heart and confidence from the way they have pushed big teams this season, but please, let’s not write Manchester City off. Let’s not have sensationalist journalism. I don’t know how he (Gary Neville) is even hinting about complacency at Manchester City. I don’t know how he can judge that.
“I don’t think they are complacent. I think their standards have slipped a little bit. If you look at the recent games where we’ll all suggesting they’re in a crisis, they’ve drawn with Chelsea away, Liverpool at home and Spurs at home, and they’ve lost to Aston Villa, who we’ve just been praising to high heaven, so we can’t look at it that way and then baseball bat Manchester City.”
Sutton – who heaped praise on Erling Haaland the other day – makes a fair point.
Sometimes, it is not a case of being in a crisis, but more that the opposition have been bang at it.
Manchester City have hardly performed terribly amid this recent winless run of four games in the Premier League, so it is now down to Guardiola to find new ways to break down opponents.
Txiki Begiristain could get busy in the transfer market
If Guardiola cannot turn things around during the festive period, then the Spaniard may even decide to spend in January.
In our view, Manchester City arguably underestimated just how big a loss Ilkay Gundogan would be – the Citizens are missing someone who can score vital goals from midfield like the German.
That is one profile Txiki Begiristain could target in January, while a left-back also seems to be on the wishlist.
Boca Juniors No.19 Valentin Barco appears to be the most likely to arrive in that department.
If results do not improve at the Etihad Stadium, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Manchester City get active in the market this winter.
