Weekly Why: Pep Guardiola, John Terry, Saido Berahino and Transfer Deadline Day
Welcome to Bleacher Report's Weekly Why, a place where we discuss world football's biggest questions that may go neglected and/or avoided. Ranging from the jovial to the melancholic, no subject matter is deemed off-limits.
Setting the Table
I've had several thoughts this week and couldn't settle on one definitive route—so I'm giving four issues a warranted glance in this Weekly Why offering. I'd assume normal proceedings will return next week, but I can't make any promises.
Enjoy the vignettes.
Why Wasn't Deadline Day More Fun?
When Newcastle United (Mike Ashley's club, you know the one) have the Premier League's best transfer window, and Ramires (the Brazilian midfielder, you know the one) was January's most expensive transaction—moving from Chelsea to China for £25 million—we have to ask what exactly's going on here.
According to BBC Sport, the 2016 January transfer window was the most lucrative in the last five years, where EPL clubs spent £175 million. Can anyone explain, then, why it felt like watching paint dry would've brought me more excitement than paying attention to the deadline day?
No disrespect to Giannelli Imbula, who looks an intriguing talent, but if £18.3 million to Stoke City (as documented by BBC Sport) is the best Premier League clubs can muster—especially given the grandiose nature of transfer speculation offered every December—it's time to scrap January transactions.
Not because it can't be useful, but because my emotions are tired of being trifled with.
We are promised everything but "Lionel Messi to Dagenham & Redbridge" every season and, on an annual basis, nothing close happens.
Maybe that's the inherent problem: When rumour is reported as fact—then doesn't transpire—objective business looks meagre by comparison. I suppose it's a matter of controlling our expectations.
Why Hold a Player Hostage?
Seven months ago, Saido Berahino was involved in the summer window's pre-eminent transfer saga. Reported by the MailOnline's Sami Mokbel and Laurie Whitwell, Tottenham Hotspur offered West Bromwich Albion £25 million for the young Englishman's services.
Keen on leaving the Hawthorns, Berahino was disgusted by West Brom's decision to keep him and suggested he would "never play for [chairman] Jeremy Peace." His Twitter outburst was obviously short-sighted and emotional, but I understood Berahino's frustration. The 22-year-old had an offer from one of England's biggest clubs and was snubbed his chance.
Simmering for seven months, January was another opportunity for the centre-forward to leave. According to the Daily Express' Charlie Phillippe, free-spending Newcastle United offered £24 million to West Bromwich Albion for Berahino, but the Baggies confusingly rejected the money.
It's all gotten a bit silly now.
We have a player who doesn't want to be there, a manager in Tony Pulis who's trying to move forward and a decent proposal (maybe £10 million over his actual value), yet all parties remain static.
I could be missing something, but this episode seems terribly daft from Albion—if not vindictive of a young man who challenged power in a moment of exasperation.
Why Dismiss a Club Legend?
Following Chelsea's 5-1 drubbing of MK Dons in the FA Cup, John Terry—in a peculiar fashion—announced he is leaving west London come season's end. It is a baffling proposition and boggles the mind.
Enduring their worst season since the 1990s, Chelsea have hovered above the relegation zone and sacked Jose Mourinho, but things have improved. Unbeaten in nine-straight matches under the stewardship of Guus Hiddink, the Blues have effectively corrected their nosedive. Terry's announcement, though, is a body blow.
Were Chelsea unwilling to give old and/or struggling players new contracts, then fine. Terry is 35 and his decline—while not massive—is being witnessed. That, however, isn't the case.
Ramires was given a new contract in October, he was sold last month. Branislav Ivanovic, by all relevant measurements, has been Chelsea's worst defender this season and received a one-year extension. So why is Terry—Stamford Bridge's "captain, leader, legend"—being allowed to walk, a la Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard?
Chelsea might be playing risk vs. reward, thinking they'd rather bail a season too soon than a season too late, but this neglects Terry's impressive body of work and their own supporters' wishes.
I can't make any logical sense of it.
Why Hire Next Season's Boss in February?
I thought Pep Guardiola learned last time not to accept a position before the season ended—but, alas.
When he signed midseason with Bayern Munich in January 2013, he had no clue his task was going to include winning a treble, but when Jupp Heynckes' 2012/13 side won three trophies, that changed the landscape of Guardiola's Bavarian tenure—those expectations probably have him leaving Germany altogether.
No doubt offered Manchester United and/or Chelsea, Guardiola settled on Manchester City as the club for his next project, per BBC Sport. Entering the most challenging proposition of his managerial career, the Spaniard's first job is praying Manchester City don't win a double or treble before his arrival.
The most appealing aspect of Guardiola's City move has nothing to do with him, but the man he's replacing.
I want to display half the class Manuel Pellegrini has shown during this process in all areas of my life. Likely fuming at the prospect of being replaced for the second time in his career for a "bigger name," the Chilean manager's demeanour throughout speculation and confirmation has been nothing short of exemplary.
I'm not a fan of City's, nor Guardiola's, tactical arrangement during this proceeding, but the person entitled to the most anger has been its shining, dignified star.
Last Weekly: Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and the Mystery of Denied Resignations | Why Not End Your Club's Misery Sooner?
*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.
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