I would hope he has a plan but how can he not be judged against the progress of others. He inherited a team that finished fourth, OK it needed some changes but he's spent over 350m so far, probably 450m by the end of the window. He needs to deliver this season, the pressure was off last year mainly because Manure were shit, they won't be as shit this season.
It took 3 years to completely dismantle the best team & strongest squad in the league, so I fail to understand why it will take less than 12 months to repair the damage & reverse the regression even if we have spent £350m.
FFP was extremely damaging for us & meant we had to mend & make do with a rapidly ageing squad. What Guardiola has done is to correct these glaring deficiencies within our squad & the lack of a left wing back last night proved we still have a lot more squad building to do, but there's still another consideration many seem to forget...... Our competitors.
Whilst we stalled because of FFP restrictions & regressed because of the previous managerial incumbent, our competitors caught us up & in some cases they surpassed us. Since Pep has been here, he has halted our decline & started the process of reversing the damage caused.
HOWEVER, as we have tried to do all of this, have our competitors just stood still waiting for us to catch up? Hell no. They've also been busy changing managers, spending vast sums on their squads & increasing stadium capacities etc, to maintain the advantage they gained during our stasis.
So whilst we have narrowed the gap, we still have a way to go, not least because of the huge shift in playing staff & philosophy. Kompany said in pre-season that Pep's influence only became really clear when the on loan players returned & were clueless as to what was needed from Pep.
Apparently only Nasri adapted quickly and the rest struggled. Kompany said this solidified the belief in the squad that we were heading in the right direction & progressing at a rate of knotts. BUT having said all this, have ManUre, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Spurs just left us to get on with our transformation unchallenged?
The huge changes this summer should finally prove the damage that has been done to our club, and it should also show the size of the task facing our new manager who is also having to adapt to the toughest league in the world.
Pep has a plan & that is clear to see, & as such he deserves time to affect his plan & should be afforded time from us. This is why for last season & this, all I want to see is a reversal of our decline & the advancement of our progress. This is why I believe we won't see the green shoots of recovery until next season & I believe it won't be until the season after, before we start to challenge in the Champions League. We just have to be realistic here. It may not be what many fans want to hear, but unfortunately it's the reality if our situation...