A new era has commenced at Manchester City, following the departure of Pep Guardiola this summer, which concluded his highly successful ten-year tenure at the Etihad.
With Enzo Maresca stepping up to guide the squad into this next phase, former City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes that a primary objective will be to bring back the team’s intimidating reputation—an element that had started to diminish even under Guardiola over the last couple of years.
According to Hart, this crucial challenge is entirely separate from strategy and team selection; there was a time when City possessed a psychological edge that immediately put rivals on the defensive. Re-establishing that dominance, however, will be no simple task.
Joe Hart discusses City’s objective of rebuilding their intimidating reputation
“They have lost that psychological head start where they practically led by a goal before the match even kicked off,” Hart explained to FourFourTwo, describing how opponents used to feel disadvantaged before the whistle blew.
“During a certain period of Pep’s tenure, they reached the 100-point milestone, performing at an incredibly extraordinary level.”
That feeling of unavoidable victory was a signature trait under Guardiola, yet following their most recent league triumph in 2024, this mental edge has waned.
“Opposing teams don’t harbor the same level of dread now, but building that reputation requires patience,” Hart added. “It takes dedication, battling through fixtures, and enduring difficult spells. You have to work to establish that status again.”
Reflecting on the previous season, Hart finds several positives ahead of the new campaign, particularly as the club navigates the upcoming departure of a vital player like Rodri.
“The team coped relatively well whenever Rodri was unavailable,” Hart noted.
“Furthermore, I was quite impressed by their recruits—Gianluigi Donnarumma, Antoine Semenyo, Marc Guehi, and Rayan Cherki brought a wonderfully energetic presence.”
The ex-City goalkeeper was also highly complimentary of the performances shown by the team’s current goalkeeper.
“Ederson was an outstanding presence in goal for City, but the highest praise I can give Donnarumma is how seamlessly he established himself as the clear number one.
“The backline had complete faith in his positioning—they prevented opponents from cutting inside, confident that the full-backs could allow angled shots because they trusted him to handle them.”
