When Pep Guardiola took over at Manchester City the fans here at The Transfer Tavern and beyond thought they were a shoo-in for the title. With his remarkable record at Barcelona, and at Bayern Munich it seemed that he was the man to lead City to first place, especially after a sensational start to his reign.

But it didn’t take long for the most competitive league in the world to bring Pep crashing back down to Earth. Frailties in defence, long term injuries to key players, and the debate over who is their number one goalkeeper ensured that City would finish some way off eventual champions, Chelsea.

There has been some fantastic forward play from Pep’s boys, and with the speed and dynamism of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, Man City have some of the best attacking talent in the league.

So what does Guardiola need to change to mount a serious challenge both domestically and in Europe?  Click below to see what we think are the two biggest issues that Pep needs to sort out for next season…

Leaky Defence

Pep has even said that he doesn’t coach defending. So he needs experienced and world class defenders in his back line because it has been far too easy for teams to score against them. Vincent Kompany is world class but can he stay fit? John Stones has the potential but he’s still young. With aging full backs too slow, expensive recruits not performing, we can expect City to delve into the market with 3, even 4 new defensive players this summer.

Who is Pep’s number one?

Claudio Bravo has not won too many fans since his high profile move to replace England number one, Joe Hart. Indeed, too many costly errors has seen Willy Cabellero start a lot more games that he was expecting, and he hasn’t been the most convincing either.

Joe Hart probably doesn’t see his future at The Etihad Stadium so what is Guardiola to do? Whether he keeps the faith in Bravo, or spends big on a proven world class ‘keeper, he needs to make a statement of intent to put the fans at ease.

What do you think City fans? What issues do you think Pep needs to deal with to win the league next year?