Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

[Dax777]

Their is a snobbery in football and the way it should be played thats starts at u6 all the way up to elite professionalism and its become a stain.

My u10s lad was in a tourny yesterday, there was a team who had a coach telling at them for loose passes and insisted his lads ‘played out from the back’ even though they are no where near the level. They kept getting caught out, were getting upset. It wasnt an easy watch

There are a many ways to play football but unfortunately snobbery had taken over in what is the ‘right’ way

While i agree with you on the issue of snobbery, I think football at the youth level should focus primarily on skill and technique development. So i am with coaches who are trying to get their kids to familiarize themselves with technique improvement rather than looking for the best way to win a U12 match

You do kids a disservice when you focus on trying to win the match rather than using every opportunity as a developmental tool

Their football wont matter until U15 and by then you want to be technically and tactically proficient so you stand a chance of success.

It'd have meant fuck all that you won a bunch of U8 trophies booting the ball long.

 

[BillyShears]

All well and good until the top-level players we pursue (of which we need a few) chose a club competing in the Champions League over one potentially in the Europa League.

Champions League football is without doubt part of the pull to attract any player to sign, let alone players that could get into most teams in Europe.

We've not got many signings right for the last 5 years whilst being CL regulars and treble winners. I don't think its going to be made any easier if we miss out on CL football even if we do still have the money to spend.

City won't be interested in signing any players who say that coming is contingent on City finishing in the CL places this season. It's very clear that the team is being rebuilt for the next four or five years. Any player who isn't into that won't be considered a target.

The club have made two really bad signings in the last 5 years IMO, Nunes and Phillips. The rest of the business has been absolutely fine. People have become hysterical about recruitment because the team has gotten old. I'm happy to trust the people who have delivered the most successful club of the last decade in the premier league to do it again.

 

[HypnoticBlue]

I'm talking about his season overall. Who is he taking the piss out of exactly?!

How have people got to the stage where they're ready to throw in the towel on the greatest manager our club has ever had, by a fucking distance, over one bad season. A season we've still made a cup final and could qualify for the CL?

6 PL titles. 4 League Cups. 2 FA Cups. 1 x CL, Super Cup, Club World Cup. A domestic treble, 100pts, the treble. 4 league title in a row.

Some of the best football we will ever witness, or has ever been seen.

This season has been a disaster compared to the standards he has set.

A poor transfer window, a load of injuries including one to the best player in world football. There's a reason we've had to play this sterile, turgid football. It's a results business and it's brought improved results. The next step will be better performances and a more attractive style of play. There's no way Pep is enjoying what he's watching either.

It's fans who have lost the plot with their ridiculous expectations. He's delivered an English record 4 titles in a row, with a treble tucked in their for good measure and people are ready to bin him off because of one year they've not enjoyed watching us? Who do we bring in to bring the fun times back?

Nobody can deny Peps legendary status, I think he should really have won 2x more FA Cups and at least 1x more CL based on poor team selection for said finals.
But I think people are worried about the drop off not just from the team performances but also from Pep himself with odd selections from stubbornness as much as anything.
I agree that just wanting him gone at whatever cost would be brave/mad whichever, but there’s certainly been more worrying aspects than the last 2 performances and overall downward position this season.
If the officials/VAR had done the job they are supposed then we’d probably have ground out another trophy against Palace, and I truly believe City should be demanding an investigation into why Saturdays VAR cronies gave the decision they did- a replay or compensation maybe but it certainly needs to be looked into legally, don’t just take it on the chin.
If we manage to gain CL qualification there is slightly less pressure but something has to change, I think the CWC is a big hindrance we don’t need but the club are obviously invested in it.
Maybe Pep needs to take 6 months out to refresh if that’s even possible, but we love him and the club and just want the best to carry on ie. Keep winning because we are the best not entitlement.
From the the dark days of Div3 & Tuesday nights in Lincoln etc we have come a million miles, but we can see from the rags down the road that it’s not an easy road back if you drop off.

CTID

 

[thegoatsthegoat]

City won't be interested in signing any players who say that coming is contingent on City finishing in the CL places this season. It's very clear that the team is being rebuilt for the next four or five years. Any player who isn't into that won't be considered a target.

The club have made two really bad signings in the last 5 years IMO, Nunes and Phillips. The rest of the business has been absolutely fine. People have become hysterical about recruitment because the team has gotten old. I'm happy to trust the people who have delivered the most successful club of the last decade in the premier league to do it again.

Save some drugs for the rest of us mate

 

[BillyShears]

Save some drugs for the rest of us mate

There aren’t enough drugs in the world to cure people like you.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Think he’s backing Phil to show he has faith in him to overcome whatever mental-physical problems he has

If he's playing him in a Wembley final, it's obviously not a physical problem.

The lad needs a proper break, not bits and pieces.

 

[HypnoticBlue]

I wish he had said something along the lines of “we feel confident for tomorrow’s game providing we don’t get the same level of VAR as we did on Saturday”
Take the the fine and tell em to fuck off.

 

[Blue2202]

City won't be interested in signing any players who say that coming is contingent on City finishing in the CL places this season. It's very clear that the team is being rebuilt for the next four or five years. Any player who isn't into that won't be considered a target.

The club have made two really bad signings in the last 5 years IMO, Nunes and Phillips. The rest of the business has been absolutely fine. People have become hysterical about recruitment because the team has gotten old. I'm happy to trust the people who have delivered the most successful club of the last decade in the premier league to do it again.

How can you be so sure of that? I admire you remaining optimistic in the outcome of us not getting CL but I find it hard to believe it won't stunt us in one way or another. That's why it's such a prized competition in more than just a footballing sense.

With regards to truly bad signings maybe so with just Philips and Nunes, but my point is how many actual top level signings have we made aside from Haaland and maybe Dias in those 5 years? Most of them have been squad players or younger players with potential.

 

[Lavinda Past]

I'm talking about his season overall. Who is he taking the piss out of exactly?!

How have people got to the stage where they're ready to throw in the towel on the greatest manager our club has ever had, by a fucking distance, over one bad season. A season we've still made a cup final and could qualify for the CL?

6 PL titles. 4 League Cups. 2 FA Cups. 1 x CL, Super Cup, Club World Cup. A domestic treble, 100pts, the treble. 4 league title in a row.

Some of the best football we will ever witness, or has ever been seen.

This season has been a disaster compared to the standards he has set.

A poor transfer window, a load of injuries including one to the best player in world football. There's a reason we've had to play this sterile, turgid football. It's a results business and it's brought improved results. The next step will be better performances and a more attractive style of play. There's no way Pep is enjoying what he's watching either.

It's fans who have lost the plot with their ridiculous expectations. He's delivered an English record 4 titles in a row, with a treble tucked in their for good measure and people are ready to bin him off because of one year they've not enjoyed watching us? Who do we bring in to bring the fun times back?

You are aware that he's not immortal aren't you?

You seem to think he's going to stay with us forever. Stop clinging to straws. He's under a contract, and all good things come to an end, and his time at City will come soon.

In my opinion, he should have retired after the CL win.

 

[Brewster's millions]

You’re wrong. It’s remarkable how wrong you are and how much you’re sticking your chest out whilst being wrong.

Firstly, inform yourself on our PSR headroom. It’s very easy to do if you have a calculator and 15 minutes. Once you’ve done that consider how that headroom was created and what it means for the club’s capacity to rebuild the squad. Once you’ve done that factor in the players who will leave this summer and how that will impact our wage bill. Once you’ve done that have a look at the ownership’s record over a decade of investment in the playing squad.

Once you’ve done that you can come back and apologize to me. I’ll be right here.

Bloody hell. It gets more comical, but at the same time increasingly bizarre.

If you think that missing out on the CL and 30-40m in prize money won’t impact our revenue - which is what you’re arguing - then I’m very happy for you.

Presumably all of this makes tomorrow night irrelevant, given that there’s zero financial impact from not getting in the CL, and indeed that it wouldn’t impact what we can offer prospective transfer targets. Certainly takes the pressure off and maybe Pep will play the youth team for what is effectively a dead rubber.

 

[Bluesince1979]

While i agree with you on the issue of snobbery, I think football at the youth level should focus primarily on skill and technique development. So i am with coaches who are trying to get their kids to familiarize themselves with technique improvement rather than looking for the best way to win a U12 match

You do kids a disservice when you focus on trying to win the match rather than using every opportunity as a developmental tool

Their football wont matter until U15 and by then you want to be technically and tactically proficient so you stand a chance of success.

It'd have meant fuck all that you won a bunch of U8 trophies booting the ball long.

Of course. I didnt touch on any of what yiu said. But there is a definite snobbery

for example. In the tournament, a lad won the ball in defence , looked up, saw his team mate and pinged a lovely 25 yard pass over the defenders head , dropped at his mates feet who went on to score
Another parent shouted ,”this lot can only long ball it”

The pass was technically great, totally meant.

So i mean there are many ways to play football and this ‘long pass’ was as technically brilliant as playing out from the back

 

[Edghill OG]

I wish he had said something along the lines of “we feel confident for tomorrow’s game providing we don’t get the same level of VAR as we did on Saturday”
Take the the fine and tell em to fuck off.

I'd prefer it if he was a bit more specific.


'I dont think an ex-Bournemouth player is on the VAR tomorrow so we should be fine'.

'And the referee responsible for the worst bit of officiating that I've ever seen- who decided to take it upon himself to re-write the offside rule in the middle of a Manchester derby won't be anywhere near the place either so I'm far more at ease than I was on Saturday'.

 

[supercity88]

You are aware that he's not immortal aren't you?

You seem to think he's going to stay with us forever. Stop clinging to straws. He's under a contract, and all good things come to an end, and his time at City will come soon.

In my opinion, he should have retired after the CL win.

What are you talking about?! You're throwing the towel in on our greatest ever manager, who is still under contract with the club. I'm saying he's deserving of time because he's the fucking greatest we've ever had and likely ever will. If he'd have left after the treble we'd have experienced a worse season than this one last year and been even worse in this campaign. We certainly wouldn't have gone and won a 4th title in the row.

Thank fuck you don't make the decisions.

 

[supercity88]

Bloody hell. It gets more comical, but at the same time increasingly bizarre.

If you think that missing out on the CL and 30-40m in prize money won’t impact our revenue - which is what you’re arguing - then I’m very happy for you.

Presumably all of this makes tomorrow night irrelevant, given that there’s zero financial impact from not getting in the CL, and indeed that it wouldn’t impact what we can offer prospective transfer targets. Certainly takes the pressure off and maybe Pep will play the youth team for what is effectively a dead rubber.

He's arguing it won't impact our strategy going into the summer transfer window. We're getting a windfall from the CWC that wasn't expected, we're offloading players on big wages and we've made a lot of money in recent years through prize money and revenues. There's a hell of a lot still to work with. The CL revenue will have been expected, so would be a blow - but then FIFA announced the prize money for the CWC which I doubt the club would have anticipated being as substantial as it is. That means we're in an excellent position to carry out our business with or without CL football. I don't think a season out of the CL has impacted any club to the degree people seem to expect it will.

We've spent fuck all in recent seasons so there's cash there already.

 

[BillyShears]

If you think that missing out on the CL and 30-40m in prize money won’t impact our revenue - which is what you’re arguing - then I’m very happy for you.

Quite remarkable, and a little odd, that you’re still arguing about this.

If we miss out on the CL, our revenue (which includes the CWC money) will be reduced relative to a situation where we do qualify. Therefore we have less money available for transfers, less room for manoeuvre regarding PSR.

It really isn’t that difficult to understand.

So we've gone from we will have less money available for transfers to "won't impact our revenue", after I've line by line filleted the former statement which was clearly uninformed. You've just shown yourself up and shown yourself to be someone who is willing to argue in bad faith when they're wrong. Welcome to my ignore list.

 

[WallyA]

433 wide fullbacks, or 4222 wide fullbacks (although less likely to do this with Haaland).

Last 2 games we went to a back 3 for some reason and looked even worse than we have before.

Play Bernie, Kova, Gundogan, Nico G, Rodri all very deep in the middle.

Let Nunes and O Reilly make controlled runs down the wing.

Marmoush LW, RW seems more unsure with Foden out of form, but maybe Savio/Doku/Bobb.

 

[Brewster's millions]

He's arguing it won't impact our strategy going into the summer transfer window. We're getting a windfall from the CWC that wasn't expected, we're offloading players on big wages and we've made a lot of money in recent years through prize money and revenues. There's a hell of a lot still to work with. The CL revenue will have been expected, so would be a blow - but then FIFA announced the prize money for the CWC which I doubt the club would have anticipated being as substantial as it is. That means we're in an excellent position to carry out our business with or without CL football. I don't think a season out of the CL has impacted any club to the degree people seem to expect it will.

We've spent fuck all in recent seasons so there's cash there already.

No, he didn’t actually say that.

He took issue with my statement that missing out on the CL prize money would reduce our revenue, which it clearly would, so frankly whatever hissy fit he’s worked himself into is his problem and his problem alone.

 

[Lavinda Past]

No, he didn’t actually say that.

He took issue with my statement that missing out on the CL prize money would reduce our revenue, which it clearly would, so frankly whatever hissy fit he’s worked himself into is his problem and his problem alone.

Billy Shears would argue with an empty room.
He's supposedly been an ITK for years. His arguments tend to go all over the place. To be honest, it's best to just ignore him completely. He's probably got 90% of the membership on ignore anyway.

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

What are you talking about?! You're throwing the towel in on our greatest ever manager, who is still under contract with the club. I'm saying he's deserving of time because he's the fucking greatest we've ever had and likely ever will. If he'd have left after the treble we'd have experienced a worse season than this one last year and been even worse in this campaign. We certainly wouldn't have gone and won a 4th title in the row.

Thank fuck you don't make the decisions.

No one is throwing in the towel on Pep but you have to look at facts. Our football has been declining, he’s making decisions that are increasingly daft, the opposition is getting stronger and all managers have a shelf life.
So the club need to decide what to do. I see 3 options
1. Trust in and fully back Pep for his last 2 years. But then what happens? And what if our decline continues?
2. Keep Pep for at least 1 year whilst the next long term manager is brought in at some point
3. See if Pep might walk of his own accord or make a radical decision to bring his long term successor in much more quickly and as Billy Shears says it’s a 4-5 year rebuild potentially. Personally I don’t see it as anywhere near as long but would be at least 2 seasons

Whatever, in this day and age, CL is critical to long term success so tomorrow really is make or break. If we lose I think it’s EL and to make it worse we know the rags will get CL
So bloody do it tomorrow City

 

[bluegaz13]

Billy Shears would argue with an empty room.
He's supposedly been an ITK for years. His arguments tend to go all over the place. To be honest, it's best to just ignore him completely. He's probably got 90% of the membership on ignore anyway.

Haha….pot and kettle and all that :)