Pep Guardiola - 2025/26

01cravend said:
The squad is solid.. we need to stop solely blaming the players for Peps regression.

Top 3 keeper in the world
Balon D'or midfielder
Top 3 striker in the world
The most coveted CB in Europe when we got him.
The CB next to him has been premier league player of the year.
An attacking midfielder with the same awards plus more
Serie A midfielder of the year
A striker out performing Harry Kane in the Bundesliga last season

Some fucking spine that.
Then add in the copius amount of young talent at the club mixed with plenty of been there done that experience and you've got yourself a squad most managers could ever dream of working with. Couple positions could be improved on/ironed out but this whole it needs constantly overhauling and throwing money at it until it basically works itself out is bollocks.

Pep has essentially rebuilt himself out of his identity. The final nail in that coffin, irrespective of how you rank them as keepers, was Eddie out and Donnarumma in. That football we've seen here before under him will not be seen again.

Goalkeeper being a major part of the press resistance... Gone
The highline get out of jail free card... can't tell where the only option stands in Peps plans...Gone
Ball playing CBs? Teams more than happy to let them have the ball now. Gone
Inverted fullbacks? Gone
Unpressable play dictators in the midfield.. Gone.
Goal scoring wingers? Gone
The ginger ace in the hole... Gone

Pepball.....Gone.. Like put in a rocket and fired into the sun gone.
What's left is imo a superb squad, its just not a Pep squad and I dont see him and his underlying philosophies ever getting a consistent tune out of it. And that's on him and those above..

Ask yourself this, do you dread to think where we'd be without Pep this season?... or is it Haaland?
Him and Rodri have carried Pep in the last few years.. it used to be the case of people would argue we're actually better team without Kev for example.. Because Pep's finely tuned machine would keep moving forward regardless of which cog was taken out. Now you remove one and the whole thing shits itself and falls apart. And it's like he lost his blueprint on how he put it all together.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure how right this is, but it’s a pretty cogent argument. I’ve been wondering after winning it all with players Pep and we all knew were aging, he simply didn’t have it in him to start again from scratch. Lots of great CEOs who build amazing companies can’t do it again after doing it once — they’re tired; it’s hard work; your family and personal life suffers, even if the money is amazing and the freedom to do things your way is available. But there isn’t anything better out there; you’re too young to retire but too competitive to stand aside, so you keep at it, like Captain Cook’s third journey (the one that killed him).
 
decmancity said:
The final decision on any player stops at Pep, end of. The bloke is fucking god within the walls of the CFA.

Pep isnt getting enough out of what we have, that team last night should have put in a better performance, simple. They looked like they had never played the game before, whose responsibility is that?

Either his methods are failing and the squad have stopped listening or we have a bigger issue that we don't know about.
Click to expand...
In fairness this is not really that surprising though. It doesn't matter how talented your team is, when you make 10 changes. There is bound to not be much chemistry and it eas always going to be clunky.


You wanted 4 changes at most.Then sun more of the backups in if you get a lead. This is such rudimentary stuff.

We were always going to lumver into a victory at best with that lineup.
 
He produced a line up for a game that boggled the minds of EVERYONE that saw it 1:15 before kick-off, and which may well have completely changed the mindset and tactics of the opposition, which was missing key players.

Instead of facing the usual 4-5-1/5-4-1 at our place, with the threat of a counterattacking goal, we got a smothering high press that we appeared almost incapable of beating for long stretches.

We gave a team that should be in the Bottom 8 of the CL, the confidence to come out and go at us on our home turf, which is inexcusable…and would not have even been envisaged at Barcelona!

Just think what SHOULD have happened with the kind of team we SHOULD have put out and the result that everybody thought SHOULD have occurred…

We WOULD have been SECOND in the CL Table with 13 points, having dropped 2 points to a dodgy last minute penalty away in Monaco, while Leverkeusen WOULD be in the Bottom 8 with 5 points from 5 games.

We WOULD have needed only 1 more victory (or 3 draws) in the 3 remaining games to reach 16 points, which WOULD have been enough to be Top 8 last season and SHOULD be enough for the Top 8 this season.

Instead, we face Real Madrid (A), then Bodo/Glimt (A) North of the Arctic Circle, in January, on Astroturf, where they are no mugs, and then a final game at home against Galatasaray, which will be a homecoming for a few City players who will inevitably have done say in the outcome of both the game and whether we play 2 Knockout Games, when that game SHOULD have been a chance to rest some players!

In short, Pep has taken what SHOULD have been a cat bird seat for the next CL stage, and what WOULD have been a chance to both rest players in future games AND turned it into a desperate attempt to avoid TWO FIXTURES we don’t need and will require a full strength team!

Pep has, instead of securing CL status, created an almost perfectly stupid case of SHOULDA, WOULDA, COULDA and created drama the Club not only doesn’t need, but the players and fans don’t deserve! The Club is not his personal plaything, yet NO-ONE ELSE ON EARTH would have done what he did at ANY SERIOUS CLUB and been able to swat it away with “maybe I did too many changes.”

MAYBE?? Wake the fuck up, Pep, and stop trying to outthink everyone with crazy plans that rarely come off. It’s already cost us titles in years past and definitely cost the club AND THE FANS this week!
 
ChicagoBlue said:
He produced a line up for a game that boggled the minds of EVERYONE that saw it 1:15 before kick-off, and which may well have completely changed the mindset and tactics of the opposition, which was missing key players.

Instead of facing the usual 4-5-1/5-4-1 at our place, with the threat of a counterattacking goal, we got a smothering high press that we appeared almost incapable of beating for long stretches.

We gave a team that should be in the Bottom 8 of the CL, the confidence to come out and go at us on our home turf, which is inexcusable…and would not have even been envisaged at Barcelona!

Just think what SHOULD have happened with the kind of team we SHOULD have put out and the result that everybody thought SHOULD have occurred…

We WOULD have been SECOND in the CL Table with 13 points, having dropped 2 points to a dodgy last minute penalty away in Monaco, while Leverkeusen WOULD be in the Bottom 8 with 5 points from 5 games.

We WOULD have needed only 1 more victory (or 3 draws) in the 3 remaining games to reach 16 points, which WOULD have been enough to be Top 8 last season and SHOULD be enough for the Top 8 this season.

Instead, we face Real Madrid (A), then Bodo/Glimt (A) North of the Arctic Circle, in January, on Astroturf, where they are no mugs, and then a final game at home against Galatasaray, which will be a homecoming for a few City players who will inevitably have done say in the outcome of both the game and whether we play 2 Knockout Games, when that game SHOULD have been a chance to rest some players!

In short, Pep has taken what SHOULD have been a cat bird seat for the next CL stage, and what WOULD have been a chance to both rest players in future games AND turned it into a desperate attempt to avoid TWO FIXTURES we don’t need and will require a full strength team!

Pep has, instead of securing CL status, created an almost perfectly stupid case of SHOULDA, WOULDA, COULDA and created drama the Club not only doesn’t need, but the players and fans don’t deserve! The Club is not his personal plaything, yet NO-ONE ELSE ON EARTH would have done what he did at ANY SERIOUS CLUB and been able to swat it away with “maybe I did too many changes.”

MAYBE?? Wake the fuck up, Pep, and stop trying to outthink everyone with crazy plans that rarely come off. It’s already cost us titles in years past and definitely cost the club AND THE FANS this week!
Click to expand...

The fact that we had a very decent fixture to go top of the CL table in a competition the manager has never ever gone lightly in, even in the old groups (bar dead rubbers), makes the line-up against Leverkusen all the more confusing/curious....
 
shemnel said:
The fact that we had a very decent fixture to go top of the CL table in a competition the manager has never ever gone lightly in, even in the old groups (bar dead rubbers), makes the line-up against Leverkusen all the more confusing/curious....
Click to expand...
Did he have a bet on?
Did the Sheikh?

It really does boggle the mind what he was thinking!
 
ChicagoBlue said:
Did he have a bet on?
Did the Sheikh?

It really does boggle the mind what he was thinking!
Click to expand...
I mean we could think of lots of reasons to try and 'justify' it, however far fetched (i, somewhat unwisely, surmised it might be a two fingers to the board re the state of the squad, but i've calmed down now), but Occam's Razor tells us he just made terrible judgement on the whole situation and probably thought we could get away with a draw at worst. This is worrying, the most likely reason he picked that team was a massive brain fart.
 
shemnel said:
I mean we could think of lots of reasons to try and 'justify' it, however far fetched (i, somewhat unwisely, surmised it might be a two fingers to the board re the state of the squad, but i've calmed down now), but Occam's Razor tells us he just made terrible judgement on the whole situation and probably thought we could get away with a draw at worst. This is worrying, the most likely reason he picked that team was a massive brain fart.
Click to expand...
Personally, I think he knew they had key players out, we are about to start the “game every midweek” phase of the season, and virtually all the players had been away on international duty, played on the weekend, and he wanted to give them a rest, AND he actually thought everyone in the First XI could do a job.

To be fair, he is right, they can…JUST NOT ALL ELEVEN OF THEM IN THE SAME TEAM AT THE SAME TIME!!! Sheesh!!

One would have thought sense would have prevailed and we’d have maybe given the FBs a break, maybe even the wingers, but at least leave the spine (+) in the First XI to give the reserves a structure to both fit into and rely on.

It was chutzpah, an inflated sense of self (and possibly who the players were), and disrespect for the opponent, in my book…and it got what it deserved, esp when he didn’t make good changes at the half and then waited until 62 mins to bring on attackers to, what exactly? Win the game from a losing position AGAIN?!
 
If you go through Peps history at City, there's always at least one game a season where he's done something utterly ridiculous and we've been shit. UCL Final in 2021 being an example. He's going to try outlandish things, and sometimes they're just not going to work. Making 10 changes for a UCL game being a great example.

It's not like it's just at City either. He did it at Barca against Chelsea in 2012 and Bayern against Real in 2014 just as 2 examples.

We need to beat Galatasaray at home and Bodo away to secure a top 8 finish. And that's on the assumption that we don't beat Real Madrid. Which is a long shot, but we have the talent to do so.

The idea that "Pep ball" is dead just because the squad is in a state of transition (how many players in the top 16 to 18 have less than a year here?) only carries weight if you believe we've played the exact same way for the last 9 years, which we absolutely have not.

There is no "Pep ball". There are concepts he tries to adhere to, but people want to act like he's Marcelo Bielsa where if plan A doesn't work, then you're just fucked.

Transition seasons look difficult. We've looked fantastic and we've looked clueless in the same season. We just absolutely rattled Dortmund 4-0 and then the backups looked terrible against Leverkusen and now people are jumping off the bridge.

I do think he's leaving either at the end of this year or 26/27, but I guarantee his relationship with the board means that if its this year or next, they'll know with plenty of time.

We got embarrassed by Southampton in the treble season in Jan. Let's at least get through January before we start begging Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis to steer the ship to safety.
 
lunebleu said:
Vinny is the main target I’m certain.Though they’ll have to pay hefty compensation to Bayern.
Click to expand...

Vinny isn't good enough - Burnley proved that. He's in the easiest job in German football.

The same noises were made about Patrick Vieira, who has since proved a number of times that he's not a coach.

No doubt Ilkay Gundogan will be the name on many lios, but once again, it won't happen.

There's more chance of Arteta coming back - not that I'd want him back - at least he'd play decent football.

Personally, I suspect that Enzo Maresca was identified to succeed and (imo) was perfect for the job. However, Pep extending put paid to that happening and he skipped off to Chelsea. Our loss, their long term gain.
 
jamielowndes said:
If you go through Peps history at City, there's always at least one game a season where he's done something utterly ridiculous and we've been shit. UCL Final in 2021 being an example. He's going to try outlandish things, and sometimes they're just not going to work. Making 10 changes for a UCL game being a great example.

It's not like it's just at City either. He did it at Barca against Chelsea in 2012 and Bayern against Real in 2014 just as 2 examples.

We need to beat Galatasaray at home and Bodo away to secure a top 8 finish. And that's on the assumption that we don't beat Real Madrid. Which is a long shot, but we have the talent to do so.

The idea that "Pep ball" is dead just because the squad is in a state of transition (how many players in the top 16 to 18 have less than a year here?) only carries weight if you believe we've played the exact same way for the last 9 years, which we absolutely have not.

There is no "Pep ball". There are concepts he tries to adhere to, but people want to act like he's Marcelo Bielsa where if plan A doesn't work, then you're just fucked.

Transition seasons look difficult. We've looked fantastic and we've looked clueless in the same season. We just absolutely rattled Dortmund 4-0 and then the backups looked terrible against Leverkusen and now people are jumping off the bridge.

I do think he's leaving either at the end of this year or 26/27, but I guarantee his relationship with the board means that if its this year or next, they'll know with plenty of time.

We got embarrassed by Southampton in the treble season in Jan. Let's at least get through January before we start begging Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis to steer the ship to safety.
Click to expand...
Fantastic post pep gambled at a time he could afford to gamble in order to give players a rest. We have another 3 games to guarantee top 8. 2 wins will do if that fails then we have a 2 game play off to go through so still plenty of chances and I still say if haaland rejinders ake take their chances we win that game as bad as we played!! People righting pep off!! Your having a laugh!! The games against dortmund Liverpool and even arsenal still show he's right at the top level whilst earning with a relatively new squad.
 
It’s not on Pep this, but rewatching some our performances even our wins and our players no matter how talented they are just forget / can’t do the basics at times. Passing , Pressing , duel winning and second balls

Newcastle and Villa did nothing special they just did the basics extremely well. Won their duels in midfield, completed their passes, took their chances. Won the second balls.
 
Pep should have left after the 4 in a row I think. That was a natural endpoint, for him and the players, and the rebuild would have began with a new manager and a new DOF. Fully a new era.

That isnt to say pep is finished or I'm pep out or whatever. But I think that would have made sense as an exit point, and the rebuild would also have happened a year earlier in that scenario as Pep was the one who killed it in summer of 2024.

It doesn't really make sense to have pep here for the beginning of a new team and then have him duck out 1/2 years in to building it
 
Saddleworth2 said:
His after match press conference was barely coherent (even for him). He was almost back to last season in terms of agitation and its such a change in demeanour from just a few weeks ago. Perhaps his divorce has hit him harder than we think. Hope not. We need him at his best.
Click to expand...
Well spotted. We'll never know, but that would be an explanation for the 10 changes. That move had zero logic, whatever way you look at it.

Must have been a purely emotional decision, and we know HOW emotional Pep is as a human. It shouldn't have happened on that level, the coaching staff and captains should have had an influence. It could also explain his over reactions in Newcastle. He must be in an exceptional personal situation.

Post Leverkusen he said "we won't talk much about it and move on".
I doubt that's the best idea not clarifying the situation with many sensitive players in our squad.

The message the B-team got was "you lot are not good enough to score and win at home vs a weakened Leverkusen side". That sits deep and leaves some scarves.

Hope the group of players is a strong team.
Pep must get back quickly being a strong leader, that's key.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top