Man City pre-season plan could lead to radical tactical changes

Manchester City’s players have reached the midway point of their summer. Just under two weeks after being knocked out of the Club World Cup, they are just over two weeks away from returning to the Etihad Campus for pre-season.

Their early exit from the United States means they will get three weeks of training before their Premier League campaign begins. A friendly against City Football Group outfit Palermo in Sicily has already been arranged for that period.

The rest being afforded this group of players right now, and the three-week run-in to the new season, are seen as positives from that shock defeat to Al Hilal. That 4-3 reverse was alarming in that it exposed so many frailties from last season.

In the 5-2 win against Juventus, it had looked like City were very close to being back to their best. Maybe the positives after that victory were overplayed, in the same way the negatives after defeat to Al Hilal are now being overegged.

And in reality, it’s hardly surprising some of those issues resurfaced during the tournament. As keen as Pep Guardiola was to paint it as a new season and a new start, it was really an add-on to last season.

The players had a couple of weeks off and then around a week of training before the competition began. At that point, the schedule was dominated by games, travel, and recovery days. There was very little time to overhaul methods.

Instead, the three-week lead-up to the August 16 trip to Molineux will provide a blank canvas, and given the changes within Guardiola’s coaching staff this summer, what is painted will be fascinating to see.

The departures of Juanma Lillo, Inigo Dominguez and Carlos Vicens created vacancies and the opportunity for a refresh.

James French arrived as the new