Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

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with CWC coming up our pre season schedule is bonkers and not ideal for getting ready for a very long season where players try to be careful due to the WC next summer. I remember in the treble season how off it was just before the Qatar WC mid season. players did not want to get injured luckily all clicked soon after the WC and most of the side went injury free mostly.

but now after a season where we looked fucking tired and slow already in October, this CWC will not allow players the much needed rest. then the rest will come after the CWC which should be the exact time for a sick hard pre season training working on fitness so we could move back to more pressing football with some new players instead of uncles not pressing, us losing every second ball etc.

lack of proper rest and preseason imo will be a source for more injuries next season. it could be different set of players next time, maybe Gvardiol ends like Ake this time, or Bernardo will suffer like etc.

squad needs to be fitter, if the plan is to get rid of injury prone ones to reduce squad number thats ok. Pep though might be thinking loaning out likes of Reis, Echeverri, Khus but keep onto Gundo, Stones, Ake...

while the extra money from CWC is great, the start of the PL season will not be ideal while rivals will be raring to go after a big rest for them. we do most of the resting when they will put in the hard work in pre season to bring them up to speed for the start.
 
With the levels and margins in Sports Science today, players are able to be better managed than ever before. The only spanner in those works are when injuries force a manager’s hand to either push a player into the danger zone or blood a player who would not otherwise play. This past season, there were so many injuries, Pep was forced to do both…but discovered two new full backs for use in a pinch or for certain formations for the future.
 
FromPollockToSilva said:
It’s happened once in the nine seasons he’s been here, so surely this season is the outlier and in general his method has been justified?
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But many of the team he inherited barely his first year won the first set added over a few seasons, we’ve dropped the ball for the last two seasons and also others have caught up, football has changed, a small squad against less intense pressing teams was fine now it’s not especially if you want to win everything. You risk burning out players again, maybe it’s acceptable to say win everything fir the next 6 years again have a bad season, rinse and repeat.
 
Damanino said:
with CWC coming up our pre season schedule is bonkers and not ideal for getting ready for a very long season where players try to be careful due to the WC next summer. I remember in the treble season how off it was just before the Qatar WC mid season. players did not want to get injured luckily all clicked soon after the WC and most of the side went injury free mostly.

but now after a season where we looked fucking tired and slow already in October, this CWC will not allow players the much needed rest. then the rest will come after the CWC which should be the exact time for a sick hard pre season training working on fitness so we could move back to more pressing football with some new players instead of uncles not pressing, us losing every second ball etc.

lack of proper rest and preseason imo will be a source for more injuries next season. it could be different set of players next time, maybe Gvardiol ends like Ake this time, or Bernardo will suffer like etc.

squad needs to be fitter, if the plan is to get rid of injury prone ones to reduce squad number thats ok. Pep though might be thinking loaning out likes of Reis, Echeverri, Khus but keep onto Gundo, Stones, Ake...

while the extra money from CWC is great, the start of the PL season will not be ideal while rivals will be raring to go after a big rest for them. we do most of the resting when they will put in the hard work in pre season to bring them up to speed for the start.
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Nobody should be leaving until we’ve exited the CWC, and the youngsters that have been sat on the bench should feature heavily, as should the likes of Gonzalez and Ake.

Completely agree on Gvardiol and Bernardo but would add Haaland to that group, too. These three have carried the team this season and need rest. All three are irreplaceable in our current state.

Last summer, we failed to attract the fitness coach from Real Madrid, Buenaventura, but with Alonso rumoured to be taking staff with him, it might be that other staff now become available.
 
Blue Maverick said:
But many of the team he inherited barely his first year won the first set added over a few seasons, we’ve dropped the ball for the last two seasons and also others have caught up, football has changed, a small squad against less intense pressing teams was fine now it’s not especially if you want to win everything. You risk burning out players again, maybe it’s acceptable to say win everything fir the next 6 years again have a bad season, rinse and repeat.
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Rather how I see it, though I’m sure the board will be demanding greater success in Europe. Our return there is below expecatation, and it’s not all down to misfortune.
 
oldius said:
The latter two are 22 and 20, and recognised as two of the most talented young wingers in the world game. Nunes is a decent squad player. I see one mistake, and there is not a club in the world that doesn't make them.
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Phillips is gash obviously
Nunes is improving and is worth continuing with imho
Doku and Savinho need to improve drastically

There must be a dearth of young wingers if they are currently in any way the bench mark.
 
hilts said:
Phillips is gash obviously
Nunes is improving and is worth continuing with imho
Doku and Savinho need to improve drastically

There must be a dearth of young wingers if they are currently in any way the bench mark.
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We have had a tough season. We don't need to be so hard on them but ignore the fact that it has been really hard for senior players too. Doku has world leading stats, and Savinho had 19 g/a in LaLiga at 19. Let's just get behind the two of them and I'm sure we will see them rise to great heights in a properly functioning team.
 
oldius said:
We have had a tough season. We don't need to be so hard on them but ignore the fact that it has been really hard for senior players too. Doku has world leading stats, and Savinho had 19 g/a in LaLiga at 19. Let's just get behind the two of them and I'm sure we will see them rise to great heights in a properly functioning team.
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I hope so mate

I'm ignoring the stat talk and get behind them cliche I'm in a good mood this morning.

A yellow card is warranted but a quick word in your shell like will suffice:-)
 
Sheikh rattle and roll said:
I’d sooner have a smaller squad but with more quality
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You say that but potentially 60 plus games a season - a small squad doesn't provide enough cover for key positions and no one can play 60 + competitive games a season at the top level, need 22 man squad if not 25. Manages have to be bullish and make tough decisions - it's part and parcel of a few million £ plus salary tbh
 
mattcity5 said:
But for me, the majority of that is down to the opposition. The Bournemouth game was fairly good, because they had a bit of a go and weren't just happy to stick everyone deep the whole match. It takes two to tango, as the saying goes.

I would never, ever, want to see us take on teams the way the majority of teams set up against us. Teams like Arsenal act like non-league underdogs because they haven't got the balls to take us on. And what makes it continue, is that their own fans accept it.

I know we have to do what we can whatever the opposition setup, and we could sometimes do more than we've seen, but it isn't just about us.
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Ill give Arteta some credit here, watch his teams closely, when against a deep block he does some clever things, he gets his team to drop deep as well and gets his full backs or CH 'try' a long raking 60 yard pass - often it gets cut out and the opposition gets giddy and attack Arsenal.....but...Arsenal are set up for this. and set up a good trap here, he has a low block set in anticipation, Arsenal win in it back as they have quality tacklers tbf, and they counter attack fast. The game is chess now, you sacrifice, possession, space etc, to lull in other teams. Tbh City don't do this, we jog forward with the ball v a low block, not that imaginative in that scenario. No way can you entice a team out of their compact shape. We need to think more!
 
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Tolmie scores said:
Ill give Arteta some credit here, watch his teams closely, when against a deep block he does some clever things, gets his team to drop deep as well and his full backs or CH 'try' a long raking 60 yard pass - often it gets cut out and the opposition get giddy and attack...but...Arsenal set up a good trap here, he has a low block set in anticipation, they win in it back, and they counter attack fast. The game is chess now, you sacrifice, possession, space etc, to lull in other teams. Tbh City don't do this, we jog forward with the ball v a low block, not that imaginative in that scenario. No way can you entice a team out of their compact shape. We need to think more!
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Good call, I'd not seen that.

I did think a few years back when teams started shutting up shop whether we'd be better off deliberately giving the ball away in some situations. Feels a bit daft, but I guess there are areas we'd be okay with losing the ball in and certain players it'd be ok to lose the ball to.

Found it!

1000034551.png
 
Tolmie scores said:
You say that but potentially 60 plus games a season - a small squad doesn't provide enough cover for key positions and no one can play 60 + competitive games a season at the top level, need 22 man squad if not 25. Manages have to be bullish and make tough decisions - it's part and parcel of a few million £ plus salary tbh
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I don’t think Pep has a problem being ruthless when required, I think the point he’s making is that large squads can lead to discontent in the ranks, which in turn is bad for squad morale and team spirit.

It could well be that Pep’s preference for a smaller squad has contributed to our success in previous years and that sooner or later we were always going to have a season where the policy backfired.
 
mattcity5 said:
Good call, I'd not seen that.

I did think a few years back when teams started shutting up shop whether we'd be better off deliberately giving the ball away in some situations. Feels a bit daft, but I guess there are areas we'd be okay with losing the ball in and certain players it'd be ok to lose the ball to.
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100% top teams aren't as worried about possession anymore, just about how they can prevent conceding and when they have it, how well they can create opportunities. this is what XG is all about really, and top sides do analyse XG in terms of how much they have the ball v XG. Its no good having 80% possession v a low block and no real clear cut chances. The cup final was a classic case. Palace didn't mind us having the ball all day, as their one nil lead was fairly easy to defend against 9penalty aside). If we were lulling them in, counterattcking, being more imaginative etc... different game. I love Pep but the game is def not about possession ...it is about control though but only in key moments (defending and going for goal)
 
Hgblue2 said:
I don’t think Pep has a problem being ruthless when required, I think the point he’s making is that large squads can lead to discontent in the ranks, which in turn is bad for squad morale and team spirit.

It could well be that Pep’s preference for a smaller squad has contributed to our success in previous years and that sooner or later we were always going to have a season where the policy backfired.
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The quality of the prem is better - hence the lower points from 2 - 10 and how close the points are. Similar to league tables in the 60's. If you want chumps league and prem, you play a lot of very tough matches, potentially 30 x prem games are tough now and maybe 10 x chumps league (tougher to really tough) The easier ones are naturally Bristol, Salford , Plymouth but statistically there's only 3 / 5 of those a season...across two cups. Solution? sack the domestic cups (we can't be arsed as a fan base anyway) and have 22 - 25 competitive players really. Of course there will be unhappy lads, but show me a manager who likes players coasting just for a pay check!! Manager's at the top level are paid a fortune, this is one key area they have to earn their corn.
 
mattcity5 said:
Good call, I'd not seen that.

I did think a few years back when teams started shutting up shop whether we'd be better off deliberately giving the ball away in some situations. Feels a bit daft, but I guess there are areas we'd be okay with losing the ball in and certain players it'd be ok to lose the ball to.

Found it!

View attachment 157450
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Watch other teams particularly Arsenal, they do this very well... My brother in law is an ST there, when Gabriel or Tierney or whoever tried a cross field 60 yarder(in some scenarios) he had people round him moaning, he always made a point of standing up and clapping as he knew what could happen as the oppos raced forward. You always do when you cut out a pass, you think you have the advantage as you imagine the oppos will be out of shape.... clever simle ploy...they even have players 'looking like they will support the raking pass...but in reality they are switched on to sprint back , get compact, and win it back when the oppo are all in Arsenals half.... clever tbf, simple but effective
 
mattcity5 said:
Good call, I'd not seen that.

I did think a few years back when teams started shutting up shop whether we'd be better off deliberately giving the ball away in some situations. Feels a bit daft, but I guess there are areas we'd be okay with losing the ball in and certain players it'd be ok to lose the ball to.

Found it!

View attachment 157450
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Yeh teams have been setting up this way for a few years now, we were able to overcome it due to the quality of the players we had. This season we've had to try do it with no Rodri, no peak KDB, no working Foden, & a misfiring Haaland, not to mention a defence that have all been injured at some point. All were crucial to breaking it down previously and how we defended against the counter attacks.

I don't think it's the system that needs changing that much, we just need the right personnel again.
 
Claytop said:
Yeh teams have been setting up this way for a few years now, we were able to overcome it due to the quality of the players we had. This season we've had to try do it with no Rodri, no peak KDB, no working Foden, & a misfiring Haaland, not to mention a defence that have all been injured at some point. All were crucial to breaking it down previously and how we defended against the counter attacks.

I don't think it's the system that needs changing that much, we just need the right personnel again.
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Pep isn’t paid enough to think of a new system.
For Kev’s leaving party he turned up on his bike, which he handed to a doorman: a clear sign of poverty.
 
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KS55 said:
Pep isn’t paid enough to think of a new system.
For Kev’s leaving party he turned up on his bike, which he handed to a doorman: a clear sign of poverty.
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I was told that he had to search for rubber bands to put round his ankles because he couldn't afford a pair of clips.
 
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