I think 17-18 will prove to be the absolute pinnacle of Guardiola’s time here from an aesthetic perspective, and even if we were to win the Champions League before he leaves, I can’t see him getting the team back to that standard of football week in, week out.
Part of the change since is likely intentional on Guardiola’s behalf and we undoubtedly currently play a lot slower than we did in 17-18, with the enjoyment diminishing in turn from my perspective. This season has been a disappointment so far and there are a number of developments which are quite hard to fathom at the moment, not least sticking Bernado out wide for big chunks of the game.
However I think the biggest factor behind the slower pace of play is simply the players involved. The 17-18 midfield of Fernandinho, Dave and KDB was truly exceptional and probably the best any of us will ever see. I rate Rodri very highly but he’s far less dynamic than Fernandinho, and the 17-18 version of KDB was more mobile as well. David Silva was simply the best player I’ve ever seen at City - on a totally different level to Bernado if we’re being honest - and was arguably the best in the world at finding space, turning and playing short passes in behind a defence. All of this set things up perfectly for our pace on the wings and allowed us to get behind defences even when they parked the bus.
Fernandinho and Silva leaving was of course unavoidable, but losing Sane and effectively replacing him with Mahrez was a big downgrade and we’re crying out for more pace on the wings. We have different players now and so, regrettably, we play differently.
The key question for me is whether Guardiola actually wants to buy the type of players that can get us closer to where we were in 17-18 - essentially whether he’s ready to commit to building a new midfield and attack over the next 2/3 seasons - and if he’s not, will he get the best out of the players we have at the moment?