The Catalan manager chose to operate without a traditional striker a couple of seasons ago, but he now employs a more classic setup at the Etihad Stadium.
Last year, a panel of former BT Sport personalities praised Pep Guardiola for reshaping English football. Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, and Glen Hoddle applauded the Manchester City boss for guiding the nation to embrace Continental ideas, noting that since the Spaniard arrived in England in 2016 he helped shift the football culture toward a more positive, modern approach.
“Now we have adopted that European way of playing and our ideas about football,” Ferdinand remarked. “Being in and around the academies, the training is very different to when we were growing up, when it was all shouting and dragging people left and right. Today it’s very much Guardiola’s influence, shaping how players evolve in training and in matches.” Hoddle added: “We were stuck in the 4-4-2 mindset in the 1970s and 1980s.”
Guardiola has downplayed the notion that his presence alone changed English football, insisting that he did not intend to overhaul the national game. “I haven’t changed anything at all. Every coach has his own ideas, to be honest I haven’t changed anything,” he stated last May.
Yet he has acknowledged that English football has left a mark on him and that he has absorbed plenty from his adopted homeland. “Of course this has changed me. I have met new players, new styles, new coaches, new ways of dealing with the media, with my players. Every coach is a better coach than he was at the beginning.”
In the previous season, Guardiola revisited a tactic associated with Tony Pulis, often seen as his philosophical opposite, by using four central defenders in certain fixtures and converting Nathan Aké and Manuel Akanji into wing-backs. This season he has revisited another older concept: operating in a 4-4-2 formation, a sign of how traditional English football appeared to drift at times, now reinterpreted through Guardiola’s methods and system design.
Nevertheless, every tactical innovation from Guardiola is the result of careful consideration and planning. The core objective behind his latest approach is straightforward: to balance the needs of two world-class forwards, Erling Haaland and Julián Álvarez, while maintaining control of the game, preserving width, and ensuring compactness when out of possession. This approach allows the team to press effectively, switch play quickly, and create dangerous overloads in midfield and attack.
The shift reflects a broader trend among elite clubs to blend the best of European football philosophies with local tactical sensibilities. Guardiola’s teams have long been associated with intense pressing, positional play, and dynamic rotation of roles. By integrating four at the back, double-pivot or staggered midfield lines, and two agile attackers who can drop, drift, or lead the line, Manchester City has sought to remain unpredictable and difficult to defend against while preserving a high defensive standard.
Analysts note that the English game has become more versatile, with coaches drawing on ideas from across Europe to suit different types of players and league dynamics. Guardiola’s experience, built in a range of European leagues and competitions, has encouraged English clubs to experiment with formations, training methods, and data-informed decision making. This cross-pollination has contributed to a richer tactical landscape, even for a club that already emphasizes technical excellence and smart game management.
Within Manchester City, the emphasis remains on coherence—how every component of the team fits together. Guardiola’s philosophy centers on how to maximize the strengths of his forwards, ensure orderly transitions, and maintain a flexible defensive shape. The result is a version of the game that supports rapid ball movement, clever positioning, and relentless pursuit of the ball after losing possession. It is this framework that allows Haaland and Álvarez to operate with the confidence that teammates will create the spaces and the chances they require.
Ultimately, Guardiola’s influence extends beyond tactics. His approach has shaped training culture, media relations, and the day-to-day development of players on the club’s books. In a league famous for its pace and physicality, his method demonstrates how thoughtful evolution—rooted in a clear vision—can redefine expectations and raise standards across a league over time.