A particularly cold winter is predicted in the United Kingdom which will serve to particularly test the temperament and physicality of current league leaders Manchester City.
Sir Alex Ferguson used to say that though the champion is crowned in May the title is decided in December and January. It’s hard to disagree with anything the former Manchester United manager had to say as his grip at least on the Premier League was so ironclad for so long. His tactical, motivational nous and more importantly his ability to adapt to different generations of the game means his ability as a manager will perhaps never be called into question.
What his sides always proved and what made them so fundamentally affective in the Premier League was that though they were often known for a buccaneering and attacking spirit they had a large spine of steel to carry them through the winter months. For every Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy, Hughes and Beckham there was a Keane, Vidic, Ferdinand and Scholes.
City though playing some of the best football ever played in Premier League competition have yet to be tested by that one defining thing about English football that makes it so difficult to adapt to. Winter. Winter in the Premier League is different from any other top league in Europe. Where other divisions often have a two-week break the Premier League picks up play.
Teams play every three days in truly difficult conditions. That’s why the phrase “can they do it in the rain at Stoke” is so common. Mario Balotelli decided he would never play in England after having played away at Newcastle. Winter is very real and very tough in the Premier League.
The reason why it will be even tougher for Guardiola’s perhaps historic squad is that this is a perhaps historic winter. With weather patterns predicted in the British Isles to plummet as far as -10C this will be a far from average winter for Guardiola to deal with. His style of football may not adapt to the conditions. It may but it also may not.
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In the end it is just weather but with over four inches of snow and blizzard conditions expected this winter is going to be the coldest and most inhospitable in 10 years supposedly. Particularly to be felt in northern cities like Manchester.
It is a very interesting combination of factors and seeing how City deals with it will be of particular interest this season.