Football Extra: A decade of humble pie – thanks Pep

Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City could be an even bigger story when you step back from the current celebrations in the capital.

There were poignant moments aplenty at the Etihad because most would agree that he has not only been fantastically successful, he has also changed the culture of football more than any other single person in the history of the Premier League.

Of course, the legacy has to include the fact that he had an incredible war chest and there will be running complaints about the 115 outstanding charges concerning alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Even so, you must admit that he not only brought many fantastic players and gave them the perfect stage on which to perform, he made most of these greats even better players after they arrived. He also pushed English football forward, not that it was still in the dark ages, but it had to keep up with the changing styles in the game. He made sure it did that.

I clearly recall one live away game on TV soon after he arrived. The on-screen pundits were ripping into his style for passing it out from the back and losing the ball.

Not only was I screaming at the TV that "you haven't a clue, you sounded like dinosaurs, they need to learn how to do this, it's the future". I then wrote that week that they would all eat their words.

I admit I have enjoyed a decade of that humble pie being consumed almost as much as the football that has been served up.

Goodbye Pep, it's been a blast.

Mo Salah and Andy Roberston departed Anfield after both had become Liverpool legends, albeit in very different ways. Does that outshine Bernardo Silva and John Stones departures from Man City? I wouldn't even dip a toe in that discussion, except to say each will be missed.

However, as with most former players of a certain vintage, the in-game guards of honour at City, though poignant, meaningful and certainly well meant, didn't strike quite the right chord for me. You start that and it never ends, the argument of who should and shouldn't get this honour gets very messy very quickly.

What if the opposition players don't want to join in if a player is beloved of their side but not as popular elsewhere? It is a nice touch that doesn't sit well in the customs and history of the game.

The number of new or nearly new managers who will be at Premier League clubs in August feels unprecedented. Michael Carrrick at Manchester United and Roberto de Zerbi at Spurs are 'nearly new' but Manchester City, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, possibly Fulham and maybe even Newcastle at a push will each have very different looking benches.

Each one of these is a huge story on its own but Andoni Iraola deserves a special mention. To take Bournemouth to sixth place, at a club with a ground capacity of just over 11,000, after losing a multitude of top players is beyond incredible. In many campaigns it would get you manager of the year award.

That field includes Pep Guardiola, not only the best coach in the business, among the greatest of all time. There is Mikel Arteta who could bring home a league and Champions League double and Regis le Bris who has turned Sunderland from Premier League minnows to seventh in the table, astonishing.

Yet, Iraola's success still looks impressive in comparison. I hope he gets the job he deserves next season; in fact I am sure he will.

I hate ending the season on a downer, but we need to consider which club has had the most awful campaign, considering their resources and history. It can't be Burnley or Wolves; they are with all due respect 'yo-yo' clubs. Spurs can obviously try to claim the booby prize not only for abject performances but a lack of spirit for large parts of the campaign.

West Ham take the official prize as they have been relegated, but the post-Christmas reawakening under Nuno means that there will be great hope they can bounce straight back up. Though the manager will get some abuse from a section of angry fans, their ire should be and generally has been aimed higher up in the West Ham food chain.

For pure underperformance at vast expense with some incredible talent available, Newcastle get a shout but Chelsea must also be well in the frame for the wooden spoon. Tenth in the league is beyond the pale with the one possible hope remaining.

Hopefully Xabi Alonso might be a Chelsea manager at last allowed to do his job without constant controlling by a group that have got rid of a host of top football people.

They have done this with a total lack of the ability, or personal insight, to see where the real problem lay all along.

This is my full column from this week's BBC Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive editions straight to your inbox, head this way to subscribe.