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City's inordinate wealth blinds Pep Guardiola to financial reality for fans | Daniel Harris

After Pep Guardiola demonstrated a willingness to criticise Manchester City fans for failing to t...



Soccer

City's inordinate wealth blinds Pep Guardiola to financial reality for fans | Daniel Harris

After Pep Guardiola demonstrated a willingness to criticise Manchester City fans for failing to turn up at the Etihad Stadium for the club's routine defeat of Fulham in the FA Cup fourth-round, Daniel Harris was scathing in return on Monday's OTB AM

In a partially filled Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City despatched Fulham on a scoreline of 4-0 to reach the FA Cup fifth round.

"Today was not full," remarked Guardiola in the aftermath of a comfortably win, "I do not know why."

Ahead of City's League Cup semi-final second leg with Manchester United this week, the Spaniard explained that he hoped for fans would turn up as the club attempted to secure their place in a second successive final.

"Honestly, I thought he made a dickhead of himself," suggested journalist Daniel Harris on Monday's OTB AM.

"Pep Guardiola was complaining that City's ground is empty but it is expensive to watch football, and not everyone is as rich as him.

"People not coming to a game at a very busy time of the season, when you know what the score is going to be and that it is going to be pretty dull, should be easy for any sensitive person to understand."

Pep Guardiola Empty seats in the stadium during the FA Cup fourth-round match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.

Last season, Manchester City were triumphant on all three domestic fronts; winning the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup.

This time out it would appear the foremost of these competitions will be beyond them. As a result, the remaining two will are likely to be afforded greater importance by Guardiola.

In this latest miscalculation, however, Daniel Harris believes that the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager demonstrated a complete lack of empathy with the club's fans.

"He is an exceedingly self-obsessed narcissist," reckoned Harris. "He may also be a footballing genius and savant.

"But we see that he doesn't really get it and this is another example of the many things he doesn't seemingly get.

"In the same way that he appreciates human rights in Catalonia but not so much in Abu Dhabi - he just doesn't get it.

"He ought to get it because he is an intelligent man who can watch the television and read newspapers, but doesn't."

In a particularly fiery segment on Monday's OTB AM, you can read what Daniel Harris had to say of Jurgen Klopp's behaviour toward the FA Cup here.

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Barcelona Daniel Harris Manchester City Pep Guardiola