Benjamin Mendy is one of my favourite Manchester City players, he is also one of the best left-backs playing in the Premier League and yet his off-field antics, all of which have all been documented will, if he doesn’t buck up, change his attitude and concentrate on what he’s employed to do, including being well paid will eventually be his downfall.
As a Blue I can’t believe I have written the above sentence, nevertheless the evidence is in black and white. Or it will be once I’ve finished typing.
If you have been following what the press have been recently reporting you will have heard about Pep Guardiola and his (Pep’s) ‘behind the doors’ tantrums. By all accounts, he is not impressed with the 24-year-olds attitude, whether in training, his relationship with fellow players and staff, etc. Also, Pep is not exactly singing Mendy’s name from the top of the Campus rooftop either. Especially when he hears about what he does with his time away from the Etihad.
One could argue, what Benji does when he’s not on duty has nothing to do with the club.
That dear reader couldn’t be further from the truth. In other words, employee’s, from the bottom to the top of the MCFC pyramid, no matter their role can and will, if their decision making and then subsequent actions are illegal get them into trouble. Moreover, employees, similar to our workplace must act in a way to avoid embarrassment. In other words, breach club protocol aka rules.
The last thing the clubs hierarchy want is for anyone to bring the organisation into disrepute.
Examples of when Benjamin has pushed his luck.
You decide, once you read the following if, or importantly, when he may have brought shame on himself?
***Mendy had his driving license endorsed with 24 points, banned from driving on any UK or European public highway (road) for 12 months and fined more than £2,500 when on the 21st September at the Manchester Magistrates’ Court he admitted four charges of failing to identify the driver of a motor vehicle.
The offenses relate to four separate incidents of speeding involving Mendy’s Mercedes. The first incident occurred on February 8, the second February 9, and the third and fourth in the early hours of February 21.
***Two days after the Courts decision Mendy was part of an 80,000 Wembley Stadium crowd for the Anthony Joshua / Alexander Povetkin fight. In the end, Joshua maintained his status as IBF, WBO and WBA champion and our Benji was not going to miss out on some free publicity.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoC2lfLhHPj/
Nothing wrong with him enjoying himself. The thing is, he was three hours late the following morning for treatment in Manchester. Don’t forget; he had been sidelined with a so-called bruised fifth metatarsal on one of his feet.
Fuming Pep
If you want to cheer up pop along to Mendy’s Twitter and Instagram accounts and you’ll see why Guardiola was fuming and thought to be up in arms with the amount of attention Benji gives to his social media accounts.
Coming to a head
Reports suggest the City boss had a couple of ‘one-on-one’ meeting with Benji to question him, amongst other things about his dedication and professionalism. The conversation will, I doubt, never be made common knowledge.
Vs. Liverpool
Most were surprised to see Benjamin start, especially with what had occurred during the previous couple of weeks. He stayed on for the full 90 minutes and played as well as one could have expected. He received a yellow, but that is nothing compared to the bigger picture. In my opinion, if City had played a lesser team, Benji would not have been involved.
Good point taken yesterday at Anfield.. even if it could have been more. feels good to be back up & running 🦈🦈💪🏾 come on city !!! #sharkteam pic.twitter.com/peLs2UrAi0
— Benjamin Mendy (@benmendy23) October 8, 2018
Final thought
The France international has been a breath of fresh of air since his Monaco move, and I for one want him to succeed. However, we know what Pep had done with prima donnas in the past, primarily when he was the Barcelona boss – OUT they go without saying chao or adios.
I wonder if success has come too soon for Mendy to cope with, bearing in mind this summer’s World Cup winners medal and last season’s triumphant domestic victories with MCFC.