FOREWORD BY NEDUM ONUOHA
The year is 2012. Manchester City have failed in an audacious attempt to appoint Pep Guardiola, the most sought-after manager in world football. They watch as he wins consecutive league titles with Bayern Munich instead.
The year is 2016. Guardiola has finally been courted by City. But his first season at the Etihad will be his first ever without a trophy. After drawing the first home game of his second season, he will shut himself away in the dressing room, inconsolable.
The year is 2018. Manchester City followed that fateful draw with eighteen wins in a row. They will win the Premier League with a record, rampant 100 points - a now legendary 'Centurion' season.
The year is 2023. Manchester City have just sealed an historic Treble by winning the Champions League in Istanbul, enhancing their legacy and Guardiola's. The world's most ambitious sporting project has come full circle and is ready to turn again.
Throughout this project, Chief Manchester City Writer at the Manchester Evening News, Simon Bajkowski, has been alongside the team. Complete with unrivalled insight and new interviews, this book is a study in high-performance sporting excellence and elite management. But more than that, it is a true insider's guide: to how Manchester City won an historic Treble in 2023, a record fourth consecutive Premier League win in 2024 and how a near-perfect footballing machine was built from the ground up. Prepare for The Blueprint: a remarkable yet controversial ride through a sporting dynasty. Simon Bajkowski joined the Sports Desk of the Manchester Evening News in 2013; in 2016, with the arrival of Pep Guardiola, he was assigned to all games - home and away - for Manchester City. In 2022, he was asked to become the Chief Manchester City writer - neatly coinciding with the clubs most successful season in football history. Simon has been alongside Pep Guardiola since his joining Manchester City. He has journeyed with the club almost as an insider, and as very much part of their modern, superclub iteration. The defining insider account of the Pep Guardiola era, the 2023 Treble and the future of the Manchester City footballing project Simon is the Manchester Evening News chief Manchester City correspondent. He has great access to the club, is experienced working across media and he has 50k dedicated Twitter followers. This book will publish in hardback for Christmas, emulating the success of the Newcastle United title, Here to Compete by Pete Graves, which is proving to be a popular gift for NUFC fans. Will include a foreword from an ex-player heavily associated with the club. This is a seriously underserved market and an author who seriously knows his audience.
