There is no doubt that Pep Guardiola is among top three managers in the world right now, and certainly among the top five on the eternal list. Apart from the many titles he won both as a player and a coach (which is also a rarity), his influence in the world of players and managers is also very big. There are countless ex-players and coaches who are naming the Spanish tactician as the man who ‘opened their eyes’ when it comes to understanding the world of football. But as any other person in the world, Guardiola has its flaws. He has certain way of dealing with players and certain rules which players have to tolerate, or they won’t be happy. There are countless examples of players who were not delighted with Guardiola and left him either disappointed or hurt. In a long line of those players currently Cole Palmer stood out.Palmer’s England call-up is a proof he was right to ditch Manchester City for ChelseaIn terms of comparing, he is Guardiola’s type – a young midfielder with understanding of the game, quick, clever, with an eye for the goal. He is like Phil Foden – an England player from The City Academy (a rare bread these days), who can play anywhere along the line, although he prefers the right flank. But, the Spainard also likes to ignore some players and prefer others and he also has a rule that a player who ‘suffers’ has to be quiet and wait for his chance, as many months (years) it takes. Some people, like Nathan Ake are like that, some like Cancelo or Palmer are not.Guardiola gives his definition of a ‘small club’Cole Plamer didn’t get enough chance over the years (he surely didn’t expect to start, but he didn’t play at all), and moved to Chelsea in a big money move. He currently tops the scorer list along with Erling Haaland, and ahead of today’s FA Cup semi-final game with the Blues, Guardiola had to address the issue. The Spaniard had to swallow his vanity just a bit and admit that he should have given the kid at least half and hour here and there.“Cole has been the decisive player, maybe of the season, in many aspects. He was asking for two seasons to leave and I said stay. He said he wanted to leave. What could we do? I said stay because Riyad Mahrez is gone but for two seasons he wanted to leave. He’s an exceptional player. I didn’t give the minutes that maybe he deserved and now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely. He’s a shy guy with a lot of potential. It is what it is. He’s playing fantastic so what can I say, the decision has been made for many reasons” explained Guardiola.”You cannot cook a good dish if you don’t spend time in the kitchen. So, take time.”Chelsea is certainly not a club that deserves such a good player, as their money spent and bad decisions in the transfer marker are yet to cost them, but they pulled the deal and coach Mauricio Pochettino is thrilled that young Palmer decided not to waste his career waiting for Guardiola to give him minutes on the pitch.“Manchester City kept winning. It’s the circumstances. Pep had players like Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva. If you are not able to live with that, if you want to play, come on, the club needs to make a decision. I understand completely the situation and Palmer found here a good place for him to play consistently. We are not playing for the things that Manchester City are playing for” said the Argentine expert.FA CUPSemifinalsSaturday19:15: (1.65) Man.City (4.00) Chelsea (5.20)Sunday17:30: (6.75) Coventry (4.40) Man.Utd. (1.48)***odds are subject to change***
