Manchester City: Pep Guardiola’s strange plea for fans to attend

Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola made a strange plea for fans to attend their home game against Southampton, after some sections of the Etihad looked sparse, in their mid-week Champions League tie with RB Leipzig.

Guardiola’s comments follow at the Etihad having as many as 14,000 unsold tickets for their mid-week game and comments from rival fans, referring to the stadium as the ‘Emptyhad’.

"We need the people please. We will be tired. I invite all our people to come next Saturday, 3pm. Guardiola stated.(via Sky Sports)"

Guardiola’s comments have come across to fans as rather strange and do not sit well with a group of fans, who hit back at the comments, calling them ‘frustrating’.

Kevin Parker, general secretary of City’s official supporters’ club said that maybe Guardiola should stick to coaching.

"People refer to the Etihad as the ‘Emptyhad’. It’s a little bit of fun by the opposition supporters but there’s no justification for it.He is absolutely the best coach in the world but, in the nicest possible way, I think maybe he should stick to that.(via BBC Sport)"

City averaged 54,219 in 2019/20 when fans were last allowed into stadiums, and over 50,000 attended their Champions League game. City fan’s frustration is understandable as they continue to fill their stadium with a good crowd every week, primarily for Premier League games.

Despite the backlash, Guardiola refused to apologise for his comments.

The Cityzens will be hoping to move on from their form their PR confrontation as they return to league football. They will be looking to pick up three points as they chase the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the title race.

The next encounter comes when they host Southampton, who are still winless over four games played, at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday at 3 pm. Despite the opening day loss to Spurs, Pep’s men have been one of the best attacking teams in the Premier League.

Manchester City shares the top spot of most goals scored after four matchdays with neighbouring rivals United with 11 goals. Since recovering from the loss, they’ve not put a foot wrong and have won all of their last three games.