Chris Sutton has offered another reason why some people call Manchester City ‘boring’ that is nothing to do with how the team play football under Pep Guardiola.
City wrapped up their season last weekend, as they unfortunately lost the FA Cup final to Manchester United on Saturday at Wembley.
City turned in a poor performance down in the capital. It meant they finished the season with ‘just’ the Premier League title, in addition to the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup, of course.
It has still been a very successful season, as it cannot have been easy for the players after coming down from the ultimate high of winning the Treble last term.
City were not at their best throughout 2023/24, but have still finished the season with a nice haul of silverware.
And pundit Chris Sutton believes that this has rival fans jealous…
Chris Sutton claims rival fans are simply just jealous of ‘boring’ Manchester City
It was frustrating to lose the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
But if anything, this will now serve as fuel for next season, and potentially prompt City officials to oversee a big summer in the transfer market.
It could be all change, as Pep Guardiola seeks another season of dominance.
But one thing that is not likely to change is the brand of football on show, given all the trophies it has brought to the club. Pep’s tiki-taka style has been highly successful, and is evidently extremely difficult to play against.
Some rivals fans like to brand City ‘boring’ because of this patient possession style.
But in the eyes of Sutton, those people are just jealous. He told the It’s All Kicking Off podcast: “I think what it is, is that people are bored of his Manchester City being so good. Not that their football is boring.
“You can’t and never could call Pep Guardiola’s football boring. The way his teams play. They will go down as one of the – and there’s a debate to be had – greatest Premier League teams. This team are up there, the way they pass the ball, their movement, how slick they are.
“I think people are more bored with Manchester City just cleaning up four Premier League titles in a row. They are just so good. People are bored of them winning, not of the way their team plays. Anyone who says that they are bored, well frankly they are just jealous.”
Back in February, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville also rejected the notion that City have a ‘boring’ style of play. He said: “I think to call City boring would be wrong, the football they play is outstanding, and I actually thought they were boring but since [Erling] Haaland has gone I think they are a little bit more imperfect and I like them a lot more with the four big defenders and Haaland up-front.”
City’s success must be hard to stomach for rivals
Sutton may well be right with his verdict about rival fans on City.
Arguably, had City not won as many trophies as they have, then there would not be as much chat about the team being ‘boring’.
It is an easy remark to make, that helps many to feel better about another team dominating.
Ultimately, the style of football that Pep has ushered in is one that yields lots of goals, lots of points and lots of trophies. City fans certainly do not consider it boring.