David Jones

There would definitely be headlines.

And if either of you were in charge of those clubs, say, as of August, you would have generated 50 times the coverage that Pep Guardiola's appointment got.

He was revered as a footballer.

He was a local son.

They knew he supported the club.

He'd been the cerebral part of the Dream Team.

But it was, you know, there was a front page coverage in the papers, which are obsessed with football here.

And then inside there was a little bit of coverage and not much more.

It was felt to be underwhelming.

It was partly because of how degraded, how debauched the era had become under Frank Rijkaard.

I mean, Barcelona were literally appalling.

and they weren't training properly.

Either of you asked Heidegger-Johnson about the lack of intensity in training, which he complained about.

And therefore, there was this air in Catalonia of, well, here's a roll of the dice.

It wasn't, here comes the conquering saviour.

And you're right, one of the directors, Mark Inglis and Chicky Begiristain, who's always had faith in Guardiola,

went to Portugal secretly after a game against Seville, interviewed Jose Mourinho.

And Bergerestein himself told me Mourinho was brutally impressive.

PowerPoint demonstration, promising 4-3-3 football, like he had in his first year, year and a half at Chelsea with Duff and Robin wide at Drogba.

Promising front foot football.