Pep Guardiola - 2025/26

alexmcity said:
18 months? Since late February, 2024? 7 number 10s?

When one needs to exaggerate to make a point, chances are he makes a shit point.

You are free to moan as much as you want. It's perfectly normal that we have had problems in the last 10 months or so. A significant part of the Treble team needs replacing, which is happening. Rebuilding means inconsistency. We'll have problems. It's not easy to build a new team. Ask Chelsea or United who have spent more than us.
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Screenshot_20250826-184838_Brave.jpg

Ask Foden, Marmoush, Cherki, Bobb, Bernardo, Gundogan, Reijnders, Echeverri & Mukasa which one of these circles they see as their ideal position on the pitch where they play their best football. Tell me at least 7 of that 9 don't pick that central circle behind the striker.

Don't make me spend the night scouring youtube for every goal we have conceded from a switched diagonal ball to an early cross behind our back 4 please.
 
Kippax Street 1880 said:
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Ask Foden, Marmoush, Cherki, Bobb, Bernardo, Gundogan, Reijnders, Echeverri & Mukasa which one of these circles they see as their ideal position on the pitch where they play their best football. Tell me at least 7 of that 9 don't pick that central circle behind the striker.

Don't make me spend the night scouring youtube for every goal we have conceded from a switched diagonal ball to an early cross behind our back 4 please.
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Bernardo, Gundogan, Reijnders don’t all 3 better 8s , Echeverri isn't with the squad, Mukasa is an EDS player, Cherki and Foden , Bobb and Marmoush can play anywhere in that 3 behind the striker. So your 7 for one position was complete bollocks.
 
Initially started this as a reply but my thoughts ran away with me so it's to nobody in particular



An 8 to me has the legs to cover both boxes and possess defensive qualities. 2025 Gundo and Bernardo can't do that anymore, Bernardo at a push, but teams with physical midfielders just swat him away nowadays. Reijnders, early days, but he ghosted in that deeper midfield role against Spurs compared to how effective he was playing further forward. Marmoush has been noticeably poorer off either flank. Foden, Bobb and Cherki can play all across the 3 in theory but we haven't seen much of Bobb and Cherki on the left at all and Foden hasn't played well there for years.

I don't see having to farm out a guy like Echeverri who is young talented and looked electric whenever he has got on the pitch for us because we don't have room for him as being indicative of excellent squad planning. Mukasa may be an EDS player but he's going to be a star and if he's not getting any chances he's going to be looking at Nwaneri at Arsenal and Nguohma at Liverpool and wondering if he's better served elsewhere.

Again this is hardly the end of the world and I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, the point is we're spending all this money creating this top heavy squad full of similar sorts of players while our right back options are Rico and Nunes and we're still stuck asking players like Gonzalez and Kovacic who have played in more advanced midfield roles their entire career to cover a Ballon D'or winner in the most important position in the system.

The way we set up has been worked out by most competent teams we face but we don't have the personnel available to play a different way and don't seem to be making any attempt to sign the sorts of players who could facilitate this.

The way I see this team setting up, unless we sign a couple of top class defenders with pace, or Rodri comes back and is amazingly back to his imperious best and can do the work of 3 men in the midfield like he was in 23/24, we're going to have to play 2 of Rodri, Nico G, Kovacic, Gundogan or Bernardo against the top half of the League. Haaland is a lock to start if fit. That leaves Doku, Savinho/His Replacement, Marmoush, Bobb, Cherki, Reijnders, Foden, Bobb. Which 5 of that 500 million plus worth of talent are we leaving on the bench picking splinters out of their arse? That's even if the best 3 of that bunch are even good enough to get us to where we want to be which is debatable at the moment.
 
Kippax Street 1880 said:
Initially started this as a reply but my thoughts ran away with me so it's to nobody in particular



An 8 to me has the legs to cover both boxes and possess defensive qualities. 2025 Gundo and Bernardo can't do that anymore, Bernardo at a push, but teams with physical midfielders just swat him away nowadays. Reijnders, early days, but he ghosted in that deeper midfield role against Spurs compared to how effective he was playing further forward. Marmoush has been noticeably poorer off either flank. Foden, Bobb and Cherki can play all across the 3 in theory but we haven't seen much of Bobb and Cherki on the left at all and Foden hasn't played well there for years.

I don't see having to farm out a guy like Echeverri who is young talented and looked electric whenever he has got on the pitch for us because we don't have room for him as being indicative of excellent squad planning. Mukasa may be an EDS player but he's going to be a star and if he's not getting any chances he's going to be looking at Nwaneri at Arsenal and Nguohma at Liverpool and wondering if he's better served elsewhere.

Again this is hardly the end of the world and I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, the point is we're spending all this money creating this top heavy squad full of similar sorts of players while our right back options are Rico and Nunes and we're still stuck asking players like Gonzalez and Kovacic who have played in more advanced midfield roles their entire career to cover a Ballon D'or winner in the most important position in the system.

The way we set up has been worked out by most competent teams we face but we don't have the personnel available to play a different way and don't seem to be making any attempt to sign the sorts of players who could facilitate this.

The way I see this team setting up, unless we sign a couple of top class defenders with pace, or Rodri comes back and is amazingly back to his imperious best and can do the work of 3 men in the midfield like he was in 23/24, we're going to have to play 2 of Rodri, Nico G, Kovacic, Gundogan or Bernardo against the top half of the League. Haaland is a lock to start if fit. That leaves Doku, Savinho/His Replacement, Marmoush, Bobb, Cherki, Reijnders, Foden, Bobb. Which 5 of that 500 million plus worth of talent are we leaving on the bench picking splinters out of their arse? That's even if the best 3 of that bunch are even good enough to get us to where we want to be which is debatable at the moment.
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Legit post...
 
Kippax Street 1880 said:
Initially started this as a reply but my thoughts ran away with me so it's to nobody in particular



An 8 to me has the legs to cover both boxes and possess defensive qualities. 2025 Gundo and Bernardo can't do that anymore, Bernardo at a push, but teams with physical midfielders just swat him away nowadays. Reijnders, early days, but he ghosted in that deeper midfield role against Spurs compared to how effective he was playing further forward. Marmoush has been noticeably poorer off either flank. Foden, Bobb and Cherki can play all across the 3 in theory but we haven't seen much of Bobb and Cherki on the left at all and Foden hasn't played well there for years.

I don't see having to farm out a guy like Echeverri who is young talented and looked electric whenever he has got on the pitch for us because we don't have room for him as being indicative of excellent squad planning. Mukasa may be an EDS player but he's going to be a star and if he's not getting any chances he's going to be looking at Nwaneri at Arsenal and Nguohma at Liverpool and wondering if he's better served elsewhere.

Again this is hardly the end of the world and I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, the point is we're spending all this money creating this top heavy squad full of similar sorts of players while our right back options are Rico and Nunes and we're still stuck asking players like Gonzalez and Kovacic who have played in more advanced midfield roles their entire career to cover a Ballon D'or winner in the most important position in the system.

The way we set up has been worked out by most competent teams we face but we don't have the personnel available to play a different way and don't seem to be making any attempt to sign the sorts of players who could facilitate this.

The way I see this team setting up, unless we sign a couple of top class defenders with pace, or Rodri comes back and is amazingly back to his imperious best and can do the work of 3 men in the midfield like he was in 23/24, we're going to have to play 2 of Rodri, Nico G, Kovacic, Gundogan or Bernardo against the top half of the League. Haaland is a lock to start if fit. That leaves Doku, Savinho/His Replacement, Marmoush, Bobb, Cherki, Reijnders, Foden, Bobb. Which 5 of that 500 million plus worth of talent are we leaving on the bench picking splinters out of their arse? That's even if the best 3 of that bunch are even good enough to get us to where we want to be which is debatable at the moment.
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A 3 5 2 would suit both Pep and Erling very well with Omar and Erling as the two tip of the spears.

But I haven't seen willingness from him to experiment. The 4-2-2-2 last season was the closest we got to it and even that worked better than the 4-3-3 Pep usually goes with.
 
Blue_Lightsaber said:
A 3 5 2 would suit both Pep and Erling very well with Omar and Erling as the two tip of the spears.

But I haven't seen willingness from him to experiment. The 4-2-2-2 last season was the closest we got to it and even that worked better than the 4-3-3 Pep usually goes with.
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I'd love to see us go to a back three since it makes sense with who we have. Gvardiol, Dias/Khusanov, Stones in the back with Stones stepping up next to Rodri in possession. Ait Nouri and Nunes out wide so they can provide width and keep the final third less congested. Then Reijnders with Foden or Cherki behind Marmoush and Haaland up top. Bring Bernardo, Gundo or Kova on if we're winning to kill the game with possession. If we need a goal, then drop one of the center backs for Doku or Savinho and go to a back 4.
 
pbueno16 said:
I'd love to see us go to a back three since it makes sense with who we have. Gvardiol, Dias/Khusanov, Stones in the back with Stones stepping up next to Rodri in possession. Ait Nouri and Nunes out wide so they can provide width and keep the final third less congested. Then Reijnders with Foden or Cherki behind Marmoush and Haaland up top. Bring Bernardo, Gundo or Kova on if we're winning to kill the game with possession. If we need a goal, then drop one of the center backs for Doku or Savinho and go to a back 4.
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Ever since I was a teenager in my head I’ve always liked a back 3 and wing backs and thought it was a great formation. However over the last 40 plus years I come to realise it very often doesn’t work and can hardly remember a top premier league team ever succeeding or winning a league with it. Not saying never because somebody will come up with an example (s). However since I reached 60 come to the conclusion it isn’t all that.
 
Do we think pep will change his playing style this season go more direct as we have quick players for transition play . Last season when we went direct if worked but pep just went back to what he knows .
 
blueparrot said:
Ever since I was a teenager in my head I’ve always liked a back 3 and wing backs and thought it was a great formation. However over the last 40 plus years I come to realise it very often doesn’t work and can hardly remember a top premier league team ever succeeding or winning a league with it. Not saying never because somebody will come up with an example (s). However since I reached 60 come to the conclusion it isn’t all that.
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Agreed, but we could play 352 vs teams like spurs, sit a bit deeper not inviting them and create space for the 2 upfront.

Why not have it in the locker for certain macthes??
 
Paul1970 said:
Do we think pep will change his playing style this season go more direct as we have quick players for transition play . Last season when we went direct if worked but pep just went back to what he knows .
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That’s the million dollar question. It worked against Juve then we reverted back and got knocked out quite embarrassingly. Who knows.
 
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