Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

[Mcfc1.9.8.0]

Remember when he got there and said to play his football he needed perfectly fit players ?
Got rid of Nasri who was in better shape than most of our 2024/2025 midfield

Now as soon as an injured senior player is back he's instantly playing 90mn per game, leaving fit players like Khusanov, Nunes, Gonzales on the bench

He’s told KDB he’s not wanted next year not good enough and has played him nearly every game

 

[lunebleu]

there’s actually nobody out there to take over that’s the worrying thing

Vinnie would be the most obvious choice for me.

 

[Dax777]

We created enough yesterday to win the game, for sure.
A small change to some key personnel will be the key.
Having Rodri as the spare man on the edge of the box rather than Akanji or Dias will be rather different.

We had a few half chances. Should we have scored? Sure. Bernie bought a penalty, Echeverri got one under pressure and Nico another.

Mostly half chances.

What you are describing here i understand. We are now a team who needs to have the absolute best players to have a chance.

Sadly, i too now agree.

 

[mexico1970]

Can all of our players be wrong?

Or is it Peps tactics?

 

[Damanino]

Pep is struggling a lot this season. he keeps changing line ups because nothing he does works for long enough. players for sure are confused. even if something works he makes sure to change it. they dont know if a bad performance gets them bench or or a good performance can get them extended period of playing.

80-90% of squad is in poor form or way below their previous best from that is down to the manager and the staff.

next season is huge we either go back to winning ways and good football or we need to look at replacements. not just about trophies, I can take another season without winning PL if we challenge for it, do 85 points or higher and play generally well exciting football. but not being at the races even risking being in top5 is not acceptable, wouldnt be acceptable for Bayern or Real either in their league.

the lack of hunger is clear, in hindsight it was monumental mistake not to invest big time in the summer, bring in some hungry players. hope it was a lesson we learn from but no guarantees.

he deserves one more go only because of the great success he did for us, but the thing I am worried about if he is so motivated to stick around for more and rebuild. this whole renewal looked off, also Khaldoon had to convince him to renew rather than him being adamant to stay for sure.

tactically a big reset is needed, teams find it easy to play against us while they suffer vs Liverpool. they used to suffer vs Pep's City too. its unreal how slow we look in all departments compared to current Barca or PSG. no tempo, no ideas, and mostly waiting on individual brilliance to help us out rather than team effort, team work.

 

[Dobsy]

there’s actually nobody out there to take over that’s the worrying thing

I'd take Glasner after yesterday

 

[BillyShears]

The truth is that he has made some mistakes - so what?
The truth is that the board have made some mistakes - so what?
The truth is that the players have made some mistakes - so what?
That board, those players, and this manager are centurions, treble winners, four-peat winners, fourmidables, record points and record goal scorers. How fickle we can be?

Clearly very fickle myopic entitled etc.

The biggest dichotomy in this thread is the same people who think the players are old and the recruitment needs to be drastic are saying Pep needs to go as if he isn’t hamstrung by the former.

 

[Gorbachev]

Can all of our players be wrong?

Or is it Peps tactics?

If you think a new coach is going to come in and turn that OAP midfield into a worthy one and all of a sudden turn bang average wingers in Doku and Savinho into Sterling and Sane, it ain't happening.

I think Pep has done miracles. Any other manager would have us closer to United.

The squad is rubbish, especially in midfield and attack, more so than some of this fanbase thinks.

It has no fullbacks, no worthy number 10, a GK who wants to be in Saudi, a POTY who has decided to have a season off for some reason, a Ballon D'or winning DM who got an ACL, no box to box midfielder, average wide players and a striker that has had to deal with scraps all season yet somehow has nearly 30 goals in all comps this season.

 

[RayCTID]

Pep is still a draw for the top players even if we did miss out for one season in the Champions League.

 

[Gorbachev]

Pep is still a draw for the top players even if we did miss out for one season in the Champions League.

This.

We ain't in the conversation for Wirtz if we didn't have Pep. No chance.

 

[mexico1970]

I think Pep has done miracles. Any other manager would have us closer to United.

Pep is the manager who built this shit, get out from under his skirt. He didn't inherit this side this IS his side.

It's HIS fault.

 

[Gorbachev]

Pep is the manager who built this shit, get out from under his skirt. He didn't inherit this side this IS his side.

It's HIS fault.

Where is Txiki in on this.

He is the sporting director. The man who's job is to look for the players to come into this team and recommend to Pep.

All I would say is be careful what you wish for. We lose Pep this summer and considering who is available this summer, we won't' challenge again for years.

Every manager will be a downgrade.

I would give him a new deal right now and build a team with the new DOF in Viana

 

[mexico1970]

Where is Txiki in on this.

He is the sporting director. The man who's job is to look for the players to come into this team and recommend to Pep.

All I would say is be careful what you wish for. We lose Pep this summer and considering who is available this summer, we won't' challenge again for years.

Every manager will be a downgrade.

I would give him a new deal right now and build a team with the new DOF in Viana

Stop giving Pep a free pass, this is HIS side.

Never you mind every manager would be a downgrade, if you can't criticise your own manager for having a shit season you've turned into footballs version of K-Pop.

I criticise him for his mediocrity, I am not a fan boy and I don't and never will do fucking K-Pop.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Clearly very fickle myopic entitled etc.

The biggest dichotomy in this thread is the same people who think the players are old and the recruitment needs to be drastic are saying Pep needs to go as if he isn’t hamstrung by the former.

There's no dichotomy there. There's a genuine question mark over whether he should be doing a rebuild if he's only going to be here another season. Plus he's spent a fair bit of money, doesn't use the players he's bought and insists on using ones who are clearly past their best or completely out of form.

 

[Gorbachev]

Stop giving Pep a free pass, this is HIS side.

Never you mind every manager would be a downgrade, if you can't criticise your own manager for having a shit season you've turned into footballs version of K-Pop.

I criticise him for his mediocrity, I am not a fan boy and I don't and never will do fucking K-Pop.

I agree with this mate.

However, I just think Pep should be given the benefit of the doubt going forward. It's one bad season.

This whole scenario reminds me of when some of the rags wanted Ferguson out in the early to mid-00s when they thought he lost his touch after few laden years after their treble and signed up a load of duds like Veron, Barthez, Taibi, Heinze, Quinton Fortune, Forlan, Djemba Djemba, Forlan, Carroll, Kleberson etc..

Their second half of the decade was decent.

Point being, Pep is still one of the best in the game. Let him build properly with a new DOF and see what happens.

Any manager we bring in is a downgrade.

 

[mexico1970]

I agree with this mate.

However, I just think Pep should be given the benefit of the doubt going forward. It's one bad season.

This whole scenario reminds me of when some of the rags wanted Ferguson out in the early to mid-00s when they thought he lost his touch after few laden years after their treble and signed up a load of duds like Veron, Barthez, Taibi, Heinze, Quinton Fortune, Forlan, Djemba Djemba, Forlan, Carroll, Kleberson etc..

Their second half of the decade was decent.

Point being, Pep is still one of the best in the game. Let him build properly with a new DOF and see what happens.

Any manager we bring in is a downgrade.

I would give him the benefit of the doubt mate, but with a rocket up his arse for not delivering.

It's not that we haven't won anything, hell we're used to that. It's the distance between us fans and the players and the way players have been bought that he wont play.

What was the point in buying them?

 

[oldius]

There's no dichotomy there. There's a genuine question mark over whether he should be doing a rebuild if he's only going to be here another season. Plus he's spent a fair bit of money, doesn't use the players he's bought and insists on using ones who are clearly past their best or completely out of form.

I think that's an issue of timing. If we bring young players in to a side with glaring openness, we rub the risk of shattering confidence and also turning fans, quickly, against those players. I genuinely feel that the end of this season cannot come quickly enough, and we go again.

 

[BillyShears]

There's no dichotomy there. There's a genuine question mark over whether he should be doing a rebuild if he's only going to be here another season. Plus he's spent a fair bit of money, doesn't use the players he's bought and insists on using ones who are clearly past their best or completely out of form.

There's no question mark for the decision makers at the club. He has never walked out on a contract and has a two year one ahead of him, which he requested and committed to. There's a reasonable explanation for why he hasn't used the new players as much as some would like (me included). Some people are so reactionary or so desperate to be edgy on the internet that they try really hard to be as myopic and narrow as possible in their thinking about Pep/City. We're going to be absolutely fine. A year from now this thread will be locked and the people who think Pep is finished/over the hill etc will be quiet.

 

[BillyShears]

I think that's an issue of timing. If we bring young players in to a side with glaring openness, we rub the risk of shattering confidence and also turning fans, quickly, against those players. I genuinely feel that the end of this season cannot come quickly enough, and we go again.

Timing and respect. As much as we all would have liked him to kill the players who have given so much to the club. He can’t and won’t. They are getting their farewell tour.

 

[Keeper!]

There's no question mark for the decision makers at the club. He has never walked out on a contract and has a two year one ahead of him, which he requested and committed to. There's a reasonable explanation for why he hasn't used the new players as much as some would like (me included). Some people are so reactionary or so desperate to be edgy on the internet that they try really hard to be as myopic and narrow as possible in their thinking about Pep/City. We're going to be absolutely fine. A year from now this thread will be locked and the people who think Pep is finished/over the hill etc will be quiet.

So what happens when we get no CL and get off to a bad start next season?

And for me that is a real possibility, this rebuild started 6 months ago and from what I am seeing is going nowhere fast, bizzare team selections, players like Nunes & Khusanov coming into the side, contributing greatly then disappearing.

Same boring, predictable football, possession for the sake of it and creating little or no chances.

Yes we have allowed our players to get old, yes we have had injuries but we still have an enormous talent pool at the club and should be performing better, I am not talking about chasing titles but simply going into games and challenging the opposition.