Manchester City fans should not worry about this week’s Jack Grealish and Phil Foden controversy casting a prolonged shadow over their season, according to former Blues defender Nedum Onuoha.
Foden and Grealish were the first two goalscorers in last week’s 7-0 demolition of Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium, meaning a few eyebrows were raised when both were benched for the 4-0 weekend triumph at Newcastle United.
After the latter game, Guardiola rejected the suggestion that his selection was one made with rotation in mind.
“Not rotation, no. I decided for this team because they deserved to play today, these guys and not the other ones,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“At Christmas time I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. And when off the pitch is not proper they are not going to play.”
When The Times and The Telegraph reported this week that Foden and Grealish had gone out to a nightclub after the Leeds game before reporting for a Wednesday recovery session in sub-standard condition, Guardiola’s post-match words at St James’ Park no longer seemed quite so cryptic.
Speaking to City Is Ours on Facebook Live, Onuoha suggested there would be an element of disappointment among Foden and Grealish’s colleagues but explained the strong leadership that has been a hallmark of Guardiola’s City reign ensures the matter will be quickly forgotten.
“I think the key bit here is that the punishment was brought down by the manager straight away,” he said. “As a consequence, there’s no sense it’s going to be accepted going forward.
“If they’re your teammates. you can be disappointed, but the fact is it’s been dealt with. The longer stuff goes without being dealt with, the worse a situation can be.
“As soon as you enter the realm of having double standards with management, you can never really bring that back.
“Pep has made it clear that it’s not right, it’s unacceptable and highlighted it with the whole team.”
The fact City were able to rumble on with an eighth successive Premier League win in Foden and Grealish’s absence - as Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling again made sure the goals were shared around - amounted to another show of strength from the Premier League leaders.
“It’s a shame they got dropped, but it also shows - compared to other teams who are decimated at the minute - you can still put Phil Foden and Jack Grealish on the bench and win 4-0 away from home in the Premier League,” Onuoha added.
“It’s another reminder for them, be on your best behaviour if you do want to play. You don’t even have to be selected and we can still win.”
City are due to be back in action at home to Leicester City on Boxing Day before heading to Brentford three days later and all eyes will be on Guardiola’s team selections.
Whether or not Foden and Grealish feature, there can be no doubt about who calls the shots over every aspect of life at the modern Manchester City.
