If Pep Guardiola’s influence on football tactics involves the false nine and the idea of perpetual possession, his recent contribution to the game’s lexicon is somewhat odder.
On Thursday, after coming from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 4-2, he branded Manchester City the “happy flowers team”. The implication was that City were fair-weather footballers, lacking the requisite resolve. The explanation was that the architect of tiki-taka wanted more traditional qualities: passion, fire, desire.
