THERE is a defensive crisis at Manchester City; one so debilitating it could very conceivably cost them the title this season.
There is no getting around that. There is no point entrenching ourselves in tribalism and defiantly pointing out that since the collection of calamities at Norwich only one goal has been conceded in the last three games.
Goodison on Saturday was a high-wire act that necessitated good fortune and very good goalkeeping to successfully navigate and perhaps that in itself is not cause enough for alarm but the jittery uncertainty that accompanied every meaningful attack is. Even early on against Watford, there were worrying examples of disarray before the Hornets had their sting removed and with more clinical and cleverer Premier League sides lying in wait dropped points now look likely if De Bruyne and Co. temporarily turn mortal.
BREAKING: John Stones has been confirmed OUT with a muscle injury for up to 5 weeks.
City looking VERY thin at the back! pic.twitter.com/ScW9IMyKLa
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) September 17, 2019
It is of course hardly a surprise that City have reached this critical point. The decision not to replace Vincent Kompany was always one hell of a risk while a long-term injury to Aymeric Laporte would have been substantial even if they had. John Stones meanwhile is expected to return before the end of October but we’ve seen deadlines concerning his fitness get repeatedly pushed back before.
That leaves the Blues with Fernandinho who may yet enjoy a Mascherano-style reinvention as a centre-back but right now he is weighed down and distracted by the process: right now he needs a reliable rock to take care of business. Instead, he has the rush of blood to the head in human form that is Nicolas Otamendi, a player who has admittedly enjoyed sustained periods of excellence in the past but always when partnered alongside a steadying influence. As the ‘steadying influence,’ it’s a recipe for disaster.
Stones and Otamendi part 2 at Anfield btw. I'm genuinely fearing the scoreline pic.twitter.com/oGV1WM8dK9
— Synne (@synne_17) September 29, 2019
It’s a combination that concerns and more so amounts to a sticking plaster that will surely be ripped off at least once in the months to come should Stones’ fitness issues continue. (And with the razor-sharp margins that Liverpool are demanding a 2-2 here and a 1-1 there and the race is run).
Therefore an alternative must be sought and it lies in the promotion of an 18-year-old with precisely 27 minutes of league experience to his name. It is a ludicrous notion at first glance. It flies in the face of all logic. Thank goodness then that the teenager in question is absolutely exceptional.
Barcelona were mightily miffed when City swooped for Eric Garcia in 2017 and who could blame them given that he’d captained all the age groups through his La Masia education and was widely viewed as Gerard Pique’s successor. A series of imperious displays for the EDS led to an eye-catching pre-season the summer before last and finally came his ‘proper’ debut against Leicester in the EFL Cup last term where the young Catalan didn’t put a foot wrong. Three further appearances in the competition – including last week’s shut-out of Preston where Garcia was paired with Taylor Harwood-Bellis to offer an exciting glimpse into the team’s future – and a significant cameo v Watford sandwiched in between has seen him keep forwards of various ilk in his pocket, achieved with a composure and reading of danger that genuinely unnerves.
What a day to make my Premier League debut the lads played brilliant!! Thanks again for your incredible support! Now is time to focus on tuesday’s game against Preston pic.twitter.com/vpKUOEfXUX
— Eric Garcia Martret (@ericgm3) September 21, 2019
This is not a normal talent, and that is stated from someone who is usually extremely reluctant to place undue hyperbole on the young. Garcia strolls through games as if every aspect of it is under his control. He is measured, innately astute and as comfortable on the ball as he is highly efficient without it. He is proactive, always, but every action is executed with the same calmness as a defender who is not. In fact, the more you see of him the more you suspect Pep Guardiola has invested his wages in constructing a laboratory to make his perfect vision of what a centre-back should be.
“He resolves the situation by thinking. I like to work with smart people, intelligent people. He is one of them. I can count on him. He has shown me an incredible personality”. That’s what Guardiola said earlier this year and an anecdote that emerged after City’s mauling of Watford extended on this. Aware that his manager was unsure whether Flores would go with four or five at the back Garcia studied the opposition during their warm-up and provided him with the answer. It cannot be underestimated how much something like this impresses Guardiola
Pep on Eric Garcia:
"He’s a clever clever guy. He’s a guy who pays attention to absolutely everything. I had some doubts about how Watford would line-up today, four or five at the back, and after the warm-up today he told me he noticed it was four."
[via @SamLee] pic.twitter.com/l5roOraKRw
— Man City | Superbia (@SuperbiaProeIia) September 21, 2019
After another consummate performance in pre-season Guardiola said that his cornerstone-in-the-making “is 17 or 18 and played like he is 24 or 25” and if only he was because that brings us back to his stark inexperience and back to earth with a bump. He is 18. As brilliant as he is, he is 18.
Former pundit Alan Hansen was teased until retirement for famously saying of a rebooted Manchester United that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’. He was wrong; of course, he was, but not by much. That United side had three fledgeling stars in midfield and two at full-back, a role back then considered so peripheral that young central defenders would be deployed there to acclimatise.
SUBTITUTION:
Eric Garcia ➡️ Otamendi 63’
3 defensive changes from Pep for the first time at as City manager! pic.twitter.com/9Rp7GnXGjs
— City Chief (@City_Chief) September 21, 2019
Whereas the more accurate declaration would be to say you don’t win titles with kids at centre-back. The average age of the two most involved centre-backs from the last ten Premier League champions is 28.8. The youngest individual was John Stones in 2017/18 at a reasonably ripe 23.
It has not been done before then. That’s the crux of the matter. Then again, it would hardly be the first time Pep Guardiola has ripped up conventional thinking while his protégé’s ideal candidacy in every other way but age makes the impossible scenario seem possible.
When Eric Garcia came into the world Bob The Builder was number one in the UK charts. Now he stands as a potential solution to a crisis that threatens to derail a so far wondrous journey. Can he fix it? Yes, he can.
