Napoli (A) Post Match Thread

[lasereyes]

Not sure if this was posted before, but love this Barca guy!

 

[himalayan_blues]

Every title winning teams has used set piece as a attacking weapon. We are doing that as well so that is a major bonus for us this season. So more unpredictable.

 

[Dribble]

I read the bolded as "ALI the opposition has to do is cover up and be as solid as possible until the slugger hits the energy wall which inevitably happens."
..the great Mohammed Ali, that is

Yup, Ali's fight with Geroge Foreman was a great example of what we had to do early doors against Napoli & there was no shame in it either.

I'd rather us do what we did, than watch Moureen bore everyone to death with his pragmatic brand of hoofball. It's effective, but shit to watch & wouldn't compare to the feast of football both City & Napoli served up on Wednesday night.

 

[Dribble]

You are wrong with that. Bayern did a lot and broke a lot of their own rules to adjust to and to help Pep. That he had other means there and other possibilities - yes. But probably in both directions - positive and negative. It is not black and white. Pep knew that he had to adjust to the club - that is part of success, too - to not work against a club and the traditions and the fans. Like you have to adjust the tactics to the team and their strengths - not to try to fit players into a system that do not match. If you do you fail - one of the mistakes an Ancelotti did...

I am pretty sure that it has some advantages to work for City - but as much that there are some disadvantages, too.

The press is always something different. Pep is no press darling - he keeps them on distance.

He had a great time at Bayern - that is why he still has an appartment in Munich - and he still has very much friends there and is a close friend to Hoeneß. In a working relationship there is always highs and lows - you should know that from own experiences. But the way how Pep and Bayern parted should show you that it was very positive.





Some here think he wants to build himself a dynasty at City - but let's just wait some years. His main interest is the work on the pitch, the work with the players and to get them to play the way how he wants - not the surrounding. I do not even think that titles are that what is his main interest - even if that is the thing others are interested in most. That is not different from his time in Munich or his time in Barcelona. If he thinks that he cannot improve his players anymore etc. and he thinks they could get tired of his coaching - he might do the same like he did in Barcelona (after he thought that happened) or what he did in Munich (before that happened).

As you've been told, Pep left Barca because of the internal politics. The plan all along was for Pep to follow Soriano & Begiristain to City, but City winning the league title in 2012 in such dramatic fashion scuppered Pep's appointment.

Bayern was always rumoured to be just a staging post for Guardiola, just as Pellegrini was always rumoured to be a stop-gap until Pep's 3 year contract with Bayern was up.

Right now at City, he has Soriano, Begiristain, several of his old Barca coaches & back room staff with him. He has the financial backing, the infrastructure & is being allowed to build his team, his way with the players he wants.

This being the case, please tell me what any other club could offer Pep above what he has in place at City? He's said too many things about City being a 10 year project to catch up to Europe's elite teams, & him not being able to complete his project at City within his 3 year contract term for there not to be a long term dynastic plan in place.

I think you just have to accept that Guardiola came to Bayern & did his best during his 3 years there, but his final destination was always Manchester City.

I feel a few major things will happen at City over the next 12 months, so please stay in touch & let's revisit this conversation then. At this point, I believe you will get definitive answers to all your conjecture & opinions.

 

[Vic]

...

Having played a lot of football manager i always loved assymetric formations, personally i think it's the superior tactic when facing a stronger opponent to aim to overload a flank and potentially exploit the space created on the other side with cross passing. We might get more teams trying that on us in the future and it might be difficult to react fast enough to it.

Isn't there a button you can press to counteract it?

 

[Vic]

I understand Pep's German better than his English! Is it a "go native" thing, like Shteeve Maclaren speaking English with a Dutch accent? We mutter so Pep mutters!



And...

 

[Chippy_boy]

As you've been told, Pep left Barca because of the internal politics. The plan all along was for Pep to follow Soriano & Begiristain to City, but City winning the league title in 2012 in such dramatic fashion scuppered Pep's appointment.

Bayern was always rumoured to be just a staging post for Guardiola, just as Pellegrini was always rumoured to be a stop-gap until Pep's 3 year contract with Bayern was up.

Right now at City, he has Soriano, Begiristain, several of his old Barca coaches & back room staff with him. He has the financial backing, the infrastructure & is being allowed to build his team, his way with the players he wants.

This being the case, please tell me what any other club could offer Pep above what he has in place at City? He's said too many things about City being a 10 year project to catch up to Europe's elite teams, & him not being able to complete his project at City within his 3 year contract term for there not to be a long term dynastic plan in place.

I think you just have to accept that Guardiola came to Bayern & did his best during his 3 years there, but his final destination was always Manchester City.

I feel a few major things will happen at City over the next 12 months, so please stay in touch & let's revisit this conversation then. At this point, I believe you will get definitive answers to all your conjecture & opinions.

All sounds very plausible, apart from one small flaw.

If this is all true, why has no-one at the club, including Pep himself, ever said so? It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Why not say the plan is to be here for 10 years, but subject to results etc. Why sign only a 3 year contract?

I am not saying Pep will be gone in 18 months, but if it was all so nailed on as you suggest, I cannot imagine why the club would not have said so when he first signed for us.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Just like in 2012!!

Fuck me, we bloody nearly did though, didn't we <i.e. fuck it up>. Never lost at home all season, sweeping all before us aside, and then finding ourselves trailing with 5 minutes left, against a team in the bottom 4, themselves playing with only 10 men.

If that's not "typical city" I don't know what is!

What changed, of ciurse, was actually rescuing it.

 

[Bill]

This has always been an awful forum for welcoming opposition fans lol, they're normally chased out by the same three or four posters too. Mods don't give a shit either haha.

I think we have one West Ham, one Celtic, FcBarca, one brave United fan, and a Tottenham fan that occasionally pops up.

absolute shite.

dead simple. they behave we behave. members and mods.

 

[Dribble]

All sounds very plausible, apart from one small flaw.

If this is all true, why has no-one at the club, including Pep himself, ever said so? It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Why not say the plan is to be here for 10 years, but subject to results etc. Why sign only a 3 year contract?

I am not saying Pep will be gone in 18 months, but if it was all so nailed on as you suggest, I cannot imagine why the club would not have said so when he first signed for us.

If I were the person to make that decision at City, I wouldn't tell anyone anything about what our intentions were in detail, because to fore warn our opponents is to fore arm them.

BUT the major reason is that nothing is certain in football. We could offer Pep a 10 year contract today & it could all go horribly wrong tomorrow, so the sensible thing would be to agree any contract extensions in increments. This gives both the club & Pep security without slipping a noose around either parties neck.

If Pep's masterplan works well in the future, we'd be the most progressive football group on the planet & he'd be well on the way to cementing his status as one of the best managers in history, so why would he or the club want to change anything?