Coach Pep Guardiola (right) leaves his successor a squad of superstars at Man City who are in their prime - Photo: INDEPENDENT
The example given by the former Irish goalkeeper is Manchester United – a team that went 13 years without a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Lessons learned around Man City
What Given said also reflects the concerns of many Man City fans. In fact, they have an even more relevant example than Man United: Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp's departure. In his first season as manager at Anfield, Arne Slot led Liverpool to their 20th Premier League title.
But then in the following season, Arne Slot's true colors were revealed. When Salah and Van Dijk could no longer cope with the burden of age, the Dutch strategist showed that he was completely a novice compared to his renowned predecessor.
With no tactics, no strategy, no philosophy, and no player support, Slot resembled both Erik Ten Hag and Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. And until the end of the season, Slot's future at Liverpool remained uncertain.
Most Liverpool fans have to admit one thing: their beloved team has officially declined. Thanks to Salah's "final dance" last season, Liverpool barely managed to have one last explosive performance in the glorious era that Jurgen Klopp ushered in last season. Now, the Liverpool leadership is truly uncertain about the future.
This season they need to find a replacement for Salah, and a leader in center-back to replace Van Dijk. And they need to find many other good players to replace Diaz, Arnold, Robertson - something the team failed to do despite spending nearly half a billion euros last summer.
In moments like these, fans truly realize that money doesn't solve many of a team's problems. When Sir Alex Ferguson retired 13 years ago, he left Manchester United a "golden castle" in terms of finances and brand. Even when the "Red Devils" performed poorly for many consecutive years, they consistently led England in transfer spending.
But buying many players won't solve anything, as Man United are lost with managers who are all talk and no substance like Solskjaer, Ten Hag, Amorim...
What future awaits Man City?
So what about Man City? In theory, what manager Pep Guardiola left behind is enough to give his successor complete peace of mind for the next 2-3 years. Man City still possesses the most valuable squad in England at €1.3 billion, with an average age of 26.1 (the 6th youngest), and most of their key players are still quite young.
That includes Haaland - 25 years old, Semenyo - 26 years old, Doku - 23 years old, Cherki - 22 years old, Foden - 25 years old, O'Reilly - 21 years old, Gvardiol - 24 years old... A whole host of expensive superstars, some not even 27 years old. Currently, Man City only has two key players past their prime and likely to leave the club this summer: Bernardo Silva (already confirmed to leave) and Rodri.
So, are Man City worried? Absolutely. Less so than Liverpool, because their core squad is younger than when the great managers left. But looking at the example of Man United, no Man City fan can be completely optimistic.
The consolation for Man City fans is that Guardiola didn't leave because he reached retirement age, or because of controversy, or because of a new ambition. He left because he realized he was no longer suited to English football. Two consecutive setbacks in the last two years are proof of that.
Like Klopp, Pep's departure stemmed from a belief that he was no longer a good fit. But all good things must come to an end, and a timely decision could help Man City quickly regain momentum and reclaim the title from Arsenal next season.