Pep Guardiola’s team have ground down other title contenders in the past with their relentless winning streaks. But those days appear to have gone

• Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

This has been a strange season for Manchester City. Every now and then, they’ve threatened to produce the sort of run that used to define them. They won eight games in a row from the end of November to the end of December, then six in a row in February. At which point the tendency has been for a sort of mental muscle memory to kick in and to think that, even if they haven’t been playing that well, even if this doesn’t look like the City sides of old, this is the start of one of those relentless bouts of form that has ground down challengers in the past. After all, some of those past runs began uncertainly.

But this is a very different City. Even Pep Guardiola sounded bemused after Saturday’s draw with West Ham , noting how “in the past always we found the way to win this kind of game … this season, the fact that we didn’t score goals for the amount of chances, it’s punished us”. He seemingly had no explanation for that, muttering about the “unfairness” of the world that his side had not got the results he feels their football has deserved.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com , and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Pep Guardiola’s team have ground down other title contenders in the past with their relentless winning streaks. But those days appear to have gone

• Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

This has been a strange season for Manchester City. Every now and then, they’ve threatened to produce the sort of run that used to define them. They won eight games in a row from the end of November to the end of December, then six in a row in February. At which point the tendency has been for a sort of mental muscle memory to kick in and to think that, even if they haven’t been playing that well, even if this doesn’t look like the City sides of old, this is the start of one of those relentless bouts of form that has ground down challengers in the past. After all, some of those past runs began uncertainly.

But this is a very different City. Even Pep Guardiola sounded bemused after Saturday’s draw with West Ham , noting how “in the past always we found the way to win this kind of game … this season, the fact that we didn’t score goals for the amount of chances, it’s punished us”. He seemingly had no explanation for that, muttering about the “unfairness” of the world that his side had not got the results he feels their football has deserved.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com , and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Pep Guardiola’s team have ground down other title contenders in the past with their relentless winning streaks. But those days appear to have gone

• Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

This has been a strange season for Manchester City. Every now and then, they’ve threatened to produce the sort of run that used to define them. They won eight games in a row from the end of November to the end of December, then six in a row in February. At which point the tendency has been for a sort of mental muscle memory to kick in and to think that, even if they haven’t been playing that well, even if this doesn’t look like the City sides of old, this is the start of one of those relentless bouts of form that has ground down challengers in the past. After all, some of those past runs began uncertainly.

But this is a very different City. Even Pep Guardiola sounded bemused after Saturday’s draw with West Ham , noting how “in the past always we found the way to win this kind of game … this season, the fact that we didn’t score goals for the amount of chances, it’s punished us”. He seemingly had no explanation for that, muttering about the “unfairness” of the world that his side had not got the results he feels their football has deserved.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com , and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Pat McFadden unveils £1bn youth employment scheme and appeals for support from backbench MPs who rebelled over welfare last year

Labour MPs have no reason to oppose a fresh government attempt to overhaul the welfare system, the work and pensions secretary has said as he unveiled a £1bn youth employment scheme.

The announcement by Pat McFadden – who said the public wanted the system to promote work and “value for money” – is seen as a prelude to a renewed bid to reform the welfare system after plans by his predecessor, Liz Kendall, were blocked by a Labour backbench rebellion last year.

Pat McFadden unveils £1bn youth employment scheme and appeals for support from backbench MPs who rebelled over welfare last year

Labour MPs have no reason to oppose a fresh government attempt to overhaul the welfare system, the work and pensions secretary has said as he unveiled a £1bn youth employment scheme.

The announcement by Pat McFadden – who said the public wanted the system to promote work and “value for money” – is seen as a prelude to a renewed bid to reform the welfare system after plans by his predecessor, Liz Kendall, were blocked by a Labour backbench rebellion last year.

Pat McFadden unveils £1bn youth employment scheme and appeals for support from backbench MPs who rebelled over welfare last year

Labour MPs have no reason to oppose a fresh government attempt to overhaul the welfare system, the work and pensions secretary has said as he unveiled a £1bn youth employment scheme.

The announcement by Pat McFadden – who said the public wanted the system to promote work and “value for money” – is seen as a prelude to a renewed bid to reform the welfare system after plans by his predecessor, Liz Kendall, were blocked by a Labour backbench rebellion last year.

‘Kerry’s spoken verse needed 39 takes spread over several months because she’d had her tonsils out’

People never believe me that Kraftwerk created Atomic Kitten. In 1996, my band OMD released Walking on the Milky Way, which I thought was one of the best songs I’d ever written. But in the age of Britpop, we were perceived as an 80s synthpop band, past our sell-by date. Radio 2 wouldn’t play the song and Woolworths wouldn’t stock it. I thought: “I’m functioning with one arm tied behind my back.” So my friend Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk said: “Why don’t you create a girl band as a vehicle for your songs?”

‘Kerry’s spoken verse needed 39 takes spread over several months because she’d had her tonsils out’

People never believe me that Kraftwerk created Atomic Kitten. In 1996, my band OMD released Walking on the Milky Way, which I thought was one of the best songs I’d ever written. But in the age of Britpop, we were perceived as an 80s synthpop band, past our sell-by date. Radio 2 wouldn’t play the song and Woolworths wouldn’t stock it. I thought: “I’m functioning with one arm tied behind my back.” So my friend Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk said: “Why don’t you create a girl band as a vehicle for your songs?”

‘Kerry’s spoken verse needed 39 takes spread over several months because she’d had her tonsils out’

People never believe me that Kraftwerk created Atomic Kitten. In 1996, my band OMD released Walking on the Milky Way, which I thought was one of the best songs I’d ever written. But in the age of Britpop, we were perceived as an 80s synthpop band, past our sell-by date. Radio 2 wouldn’t play the song and Woolworths wouldn’t stock it. I thought: “I’m functioning with one arm tied behind my back.” So my friend Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk said: “Why don’t you create a girl band as a vehicle for your songs?”