Just as the dust is settling on the Jose Mourinho vs Antonio Conte feud (for now) the Premier League has it's latest war of words. Step forward Pep Guardiola vs Gary Neville.
This little rift started last weekend after Pep only named six substitutes from a possible seven on his bench for Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Burnley. Pep claimed the club was going through an injury crisis and that he 'didn't have any more players'. Neville, never one to mince words, branded Pep's injury crisis claims as 'a joke'.
The ex-England coach reckons the last place on the bench should have went to a youth team player. On top of his "joke" comment Neville added:
If you’re the academy or reserve team manager at Manchester City, you must think: ‘I’m wasting my time'
Guardiola had mentioned that he didn't name any youth prospects on the bench as they played a game just 24 hours before on the Friday and that he didn't want to deprive any of the young players of game time.
A week later though the Manchester City manager seems to not be able to forget Neville's criticism and has taken fresh aim at him, focusing in on the ex-Manchester United defender's disastrous spell as Valencia manager back in 2016.
This guy, the pundit, he has to know my job is serious. It’s not a joke, never is it a joke. It’s so serious. And he should know that because he was a manager - for a short time.
The Catalan also refused to say if he would fail to select the maximum number of substitutes again in the coming weeks during these comments where he referred to Gary Neville as a "prestigious pundit".
Management is not a book where every time you do the same things, it’s not a book where you have to follow the rules. Sometimes I say: ‘OK, I take that decision.’ And of course the prestigious pundit can say whatever he wants. But I take the decisions.
We look forward to Mr. Neville's rebuttal.
