PEP GUARDIOLA has long been in a league of his own for setting football firsts — but this was one no one saw coming.
The sight of the Manchester City manager, a man hailed as the best in the world, talking lost dressing rooms.
Even more remarkable, he had raised the subject himself.
All of a sudden, even seven defeats in ten games for the four-time champions was knocked into a cocked hat. This was even more jaw-dropping.
Guardiola was addressing the worst run of his managerial career, and defiant that it has only given him a greater heart for the battle.
There is only one loss that would bring the serial-winning Spaniard to his knees — and it would not be on a pitch.
It is the moment Guardiola suspected his words were falling on deaf ears. When the players no longer saw him as a footballing Pied Piper. When the dressing room was no longer his.
Yet before City fans start calling the Samaritans, the Messiah has seen no hint of it yet.
But he admits that if he ever does, he will be out of the Etihad in the blink of an eye.
Guardiola insisted: “There is one thing when I would say, ‘Pep, you have to think about it’. And that’s when I lose the team.
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“When I feel they do not run. When everyone says the manager has lost the team and they don’t follow me.
“In that moment I will not be here for one more minute.
PEP GUARDIOLA admitted he is having sleepless nights as he endures his worst-ever spell as a manager.
Here are the three-time defending Premier League champions’ nightmare last 10 games…
Oct 30: Tottenham 2 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 2: Bournemouth 2 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 5: Sporting Lisbon 4 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 9: Brighton 2 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 23 – Man City 0 Tottenham 4 – DEFEAT
Nov 26: Man City 3 Feyenoord 3 – DRAW
Dec 1: Liverpool 2 Man City 0 – DEFEAT
Dec 4: Man City 3 Nottingham Forest – WIN
Dec 7: Crystal Palace 2 Man City 2 – DRAW
Dec 11: Juventus 2 Man City 0 – DEFEAT
TOTAL – WINS 1, DRAWS 2, DEFEATS 7
“But at the moment it is there and more than ever I am there — no doubt about that.”
Guardiola knows the incredible run of defeats — as many as City suffered in their previous 105 games — is not down to a lack of inspiration from the dugout.
It is down to a horrendous casualty list, the long-term loss of key figures — none more than Rodri — and a schedule that would put a pack mule on its back.
There is one thing when I would say, ‘Pep, you have to think about it’. And that’s when I lose the team.
Pep Guardiola
He added: “I don’t know what would have happened with all the players there… with Rodri there, with Phil Foden there, with Oscar Bobb there, with the four central defenders there. I don’t know what position we would be in.
“I can imagine what it would be but I cannot prove it, right? We’d be a better team, everybody knows, but the reality is the complete opposite.
“In the past maybe we would go the whole season and losing seven didn’t happen. But it’s football, it’s life.
“Tell me a month ago, when we were top of the league and unbeaten, we were going to lose seven and I’d say, ‘Are you crazy? It’s not going to happen to my team’.
“But it’s happened — and maybe we are going to lose more. And the reason why is the schedule.
“Rodri played 75 games last season. He won the Euros with Spain, got injured with Spain and came back. Do you feel he was fresh for this year? No.
“As strong as he is, he came back tired. But I needed him against Arsenal, even though he was not at the top.
“Normally when you have a game, the day after is recovery and the ones who didn’t play the day before train.
“But we have seven, eight or nine out. We’re not the best right now because we don’t have the players. We have made a lot of mistakes but we don’t have time. We have to practise, you have to know.
“To be a writer, it’s not necessary to read books, you have to practise to write a novel, unless you are William Shakespeare! After that, you don’t need anything.”
Yet for all the reasons, all the injuries, Guardiola needs no telling that ultimately the buck stops with him.
To be a writer, it’s not necessary to read books, you have to practise to write a novel, unless you are William Shakespeare! After that, you don’t need anything.
Pep Guardiola
And the bottom line is City have not been good enough.
Bragging rights from the Manchester derby would be a start, if little more than a sticking plaster on a gaping wound.
He admitted: “We don’t have a defence, my friends. We’ve lost too many games when this happened. All the criticisms and judging, it’s deserved.
“You can share opinions and listen to opinions but in the end it’s you that has to make them. It’s on me — that’s why I am well paid.
“If I don’t want that, all the comments after the games, I have to get another job — it’s not new.”
Fortunately for City, he has no intention of doing so just yet. At least that’s one bright spot, anyway.
A blockbuster night of boxing has concluded with stacked cards in Liverpool and Monte Carlo!
Natasha Jonas defeated Ivana Habazin on Merseyside, with Lauren Price and Viddal Riley both picked up KO wins earlier on in the huge Sky Sports bill.
But Cheavon Clarke suffered a shock loss in his quest for the vacant European cruiserweight title, being dropped en route to a points defeat to Leonardo Mosquea in DAZN‘s show in Monte Carlo.
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Follow ALL of the latest updates below…
SHAQUILLE O’Neal and Stephen A. Smith didn’t cover themselves in glory during a live TV challenge.
And fans predicted the rival basketball analysts could end up being “meme of the year.”
ESPN personality Smith joined the Inside the NBA crew on TNT Sports for a special showdown on Saturday.
Both networks were in Las Vegas, Nevada to broadcast the semifinals of the NBA Cup.
But before the action at T-Mobile Arena, Smith appeared on the TNT pregame show.
He was due to take on TNT star Kenny Smith in a free-throw competition before the first semifinal.
The contest took place in the plaza outside the arena in front of a live audience.
And Smith showed his prowess in beating the former NBA player over five free-throws.
Smith and Shaq then went head to head in a 3-point contest.
But both of them struggled to even hit the rim or backboard in a woeful display of shooting.
Smith ended up taking the honors on the rival show thanks to his free-throw shooting.
He was able to at least make a 3-pointer after a number of attempts.
Shaq’s co stars Smith, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson all struggled as well.
One fan said the show will be, “meme of the year.”
Another wrote, “They trying to miss?”
While a third posted, “The barrage of air balls had me weak.”
TNT broadcast the first semifinal of the NBA Cup Saturday afternoon.
The NBA Cup returned for a second season this year with the finals once again set to take place in Las Vegas.
The 30 teams were split into six groups of five teams each with games taking place on Tuesdays and Fridays from November 12 to December 3.
The six group winners and two best wild cards advance to a quarterfinals stage on December 10 and 11.
And the final four head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on December 14 and the final on December 17.
All games count towards the team’s regular-season record, apart from the championship game.
The Eastern Conference showdown between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks tipped off at 4.30 pm ET.
And ESPN took over for the later semifinal.
They showed the Houston Rockets take on Western Conference rivals the Oklahoma City Thunder.
TNT is in the last year of it’s NBA rights deal having lost out to Amazon Prime.
Inside The NBA struck a deal to save the show and be licensed to ESPN from next season.
The NBA Cup is in it’s second season and the final will be played Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
The championship game is live on ABC from 8.30 pm ET on Tuesday.
LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to glory in the inaugural tournament last season.
RUSSIAN troops withdraw from Syria yesterday — following the toppling of the regime of Vladimir Putin’s ally Bashar al-Assad.
Moscow ordered military units out from posts in the Alawite Mountains but reportedly plans to keep an airbase and naval facility manned.
Military sources said equipment and senior Syrian officers were also being evacuated.
Footage from Syria shows hordes of Putin’s troops fleeing the country in military trucks after a decade of bloodshed.
And satellite pics from a Russian airbase on the west coast reveals how Vlad’s men have been forced to take apart their attack helicopters and air defence units before leaving hot on Assad’s tail.
Bloodthirsty dictator President Bashar al-Assad was removed from power last week in an incredible 10-day blitz by rebel forces.
He fled to Russia – where longtime pal Putin gave him sanctuary – and where the twisted pair will now be licking their wounds after a double-pronged defeat.
Putin had sent his forces to Syria some nine years ago to help keep Assad in power during unrest in the country.
But on Friday footage captured by Channel 4 showed a long convoy of Russian military vehicles pouring down a road as they made their way quickly out of the country.
It is a great victory and a great joy
An onlooking Syrian
Dozens of troops were seen crammed inside army trucks flying the Russian flag.
Mad Vlad had sent the Russian military into Syria in 2015, with ground troops, fighter jets and ground weapons to aid Assad’s twisted regime.
Together are responsible for killing thousands of Syrians throughout the bloody Civil War that started in 2012.
A happy Syrian watching as Russian soldiers drove past told Channel 4: “It is a great victory and a great joy.
“[Russians] They killed us and destroyed us. Thank god.”
Meanwhile, the satellite pics captured by Maxar and Planet Labs show at least two Antonov AN-124s, one of the world’s largest cargo planes, at the Khmeimim air base.
The huge jets were stationed with their nose cones open – allowing for Vlad’s men to pile in dismantled army kit.
Three Il-76 transport aircraft, Russia’s workhorse heavy lifters, were also on the ground.
And three An-32s and one An-72, smaller models of transport aircraft, were visible in the satellite images.
An analyst at Maxar noted that a Ka-52 attack helicopter “was being dismantled and likely prepared for transport”.
Parts of an S-400 air defence unit were also seen breaking up for a return to Mother Russia.
Putin’s naval base at Tartous, Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, “remains largely unchanged”, Maxar added.
Moscow has backed Syria since the early days of the Cold War, recognising its independence in 1944 as Damascus sought to throw off French colonial rule.
The West long regarded Syria as a Soviet satellite.
The Kremlin has said its focus since Assad’s fall was to ensure the security of its military bases in Syria and of its diplomatic missions.
ASSAD’S rule over Syria ended in dramatic fashion after rebel forces stormed Damascus in a surprise offensive, forcing the dictator to flee to Russia.
His life took a dramatic turn in 1994 when his elder brother, Bassel, the family’s chosen heir, died in a car accident.
Bashar was abruptly recalled to Syria and groomed for power.
Initially, hope stirred for reform as Bashar promised modernisation, anti-corruption measures, and political openness.
But the so-called “Damascus Spring” was short-lived.
Within a year, Assad cracked down on dissenters, signalling the beginning of his authoritarian rule.
The Assad regime quickly devolved into a kleptocracy, with Assad and his extended family siphoning wealth while suppressing opposition.
The Syrian Civil War became a geopolitical quagmire.
Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, portrayed himself as a bulwark against terrorism while cynically releasing jihadist prisoners to bolster extremist factions.
This fuelled the rise of groups like ISIS, reshaping global terror.
The end of Assad’s reign came abruptly in December 2024, as rebel forces launched a lightning offensive, exploiting weakened Syrian defences.
Rebels captured Damascus in a lightning campaign, declaring the capital “free” and marking the end of years of brutal authoritarian rule.
With Russia mired in Ukraine and Iran preoccupied with regional conflicts, Assad’s regime was left vulnerable.
Rebels stormed Aleppo, marking a symbolic victory, and Assad fled Damascus.
Assad left aboard a military plane amid rumours of its crash before resurfacing in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin granted him asylum.
It comes as an apparent Russian conspiracy to distribute false news about an al-Assad ‘aircraft accident’ has been exposed.
The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security claimed on X that Russia “hid their trail” in assisting al-Assad’s escape by circulating fake claims that he died in a crash.
Meanwhile, opposition forces took control of key cities, toppled Assad’s statues, and announced plans for a transitional government.
The fall of Assad deals a blow to allies Russia and Iran, with both withdrawing assets from Syria.
HOLLYWOOD actor Jamie Foxx has been left injured after reportedly being involved in an altercation in a Beverly Hills restaurant.
The actor, who is known for his roles in films including Django Unchained and Baby Driver, has been left needing stitches following a fight that broke out at Mr Chow in Beverly Hills.
The 57-year-old actor is said to have had a glass thrown at him, before police were called.
The star was seen entering the restaurant on Friday night (13 December) alongside his daughters Corinne and Anelise Foxx, as well as his former partner Kristin Grannis.
A spokesperson for Foxx told Page Six that Jamie was at his birthday dinner “when someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth“.
They added: “The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcement’s hands.”
He’s said to have left the restaurant by the time law authorities arrived, but not received any medical attention at the scene.
The incident comes after last year Foxx suffered a major setback with his health, which saw him hospitalised in after suffering a mystery “medical complication“.
The star was hospitalised after a ‘bad headache’ in April 2023, with Jamie saying it had seen him go ‘to hell and back’.
The actor and comedian opened up about his health in his Netflix special, which saw him ‘open up old wounds’.
In October he told CBS Morning’s host Gayle King about his concerns of talking about his health diagnosis for his comedy stand up.
Called ‘What Happened Was’, it takes a deep dive into the actor’s recent health scare.
Speaking to Gayle backstage after wrapping up the recording of his show in Atlanta, the Collateral actor admitted to her that it was “an excruciating time to be able to open those wounds every single day for three nights”.
He added: “Usually, when you do a stand-up special, you go out for a year and work every nook and cranny, then you tape it.
“You don’t just show up in Atlanta and turn the camera. It was excruciating because the worry is what gets you.”
“We’ve got a great show in the room, but we don’t know what they may laugh or what they may not laugh at.”
“Any comedian will tell you that’s the thing, the worry is the thing.”
