Steve Nicol has claimed that Manchester City have a player who has been “bang average” this season.
In all fairness, certain City players have not been at their absolute best and perhaps that is the reason why they are sitting in third place in the Premier League table.
Then again, it is also important to remember that Pep Guardiola’s players are a victim of their astoundingly high standards.
As a result, even some of the best players in the world can be expected to have a drop-off in form as they are only human.
For instance, Chris Sutton believes Erling Haaland is not playing at the same level as he was last season.
But simultaneously, Haaland is the Premier League’s top goalscorer with 19 goals to his name, which goes to how pundits tend to be critical of them if their standards slip by even a minute margin.
However, such a microscope on their lows comes with the territory of being the top dogs of English football.
Steve Nicol says Manchester City star has been “bang average” this season
Especially after having won the treble, perhaps the expectation was for City and their players to even get better; which is rather unrealistic to think.
Even for elite players, they need a low point or two in their careers to help them push to become the best versions of themselves; as has been the case with John Stones and Jack Grealish over the years.
It is very rare, if not impossible that a player does not go through a patch where they are not operating at their best; unless the man in question is a certain Lionel Messi.
But of course, Messi has a case for being the best footballer in the history of the game, which is why he is not the finest example to point towards.
For the rest of the players, both nowadays and in the future, they are expected to have their fair share of ups and downs.
Ruben Dias is one of them, as Steve Nicol criticised the season he is having for Manchester City while referencing his side’s upcoming clash against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
“Ale’s [Ale Moreno] talking about [Ruben] Dias. Dias has not had a good season. Dias has been bang average. And so if he’s last man and [John] Stones is stuck in the middle of the park, then that’ll cause trouble”, he said about City’s number three [via ESPN FC].
“But I don’t think Pep [Guardiola] will change. He will go and play their best team. They will try to play the way they do and try and dominate the way they play.”
Ruben Dias hasn’t been at his best but that is harsh
In our view, it is harsh for Steve Nicol to arrive at such a conclusion about Ruben Dias.
Of course, at the start of the season, perhaps there was a drop in form from the Portuguese centre-back but the standard of his performances picked up dramatically since his side’s 4-4 draw against Chelsea in November.
Since then, perhaps the only real mistake Dias has made is for Edouard’s goal against Palace, as he was too late to spot his run.
While even making a few mistakes in a season is uncharacteristic for a player of Ruben Dias’, to simply describe his season as “bang average” is also an exaggeration from Steve Nicol.
