Pep's Press Conferences - Watford (A) Post Match (Page 129)

[Proy]

Its his job to adapt, not for the english game to adapt to him.

And this is where there is going to be a very grey area.

I'm not yet convinced that Pep is fully convinced that it's him that must adapt.

He's a very continental type of Manager and watching him today, I think he's totally bemused by the way the game is played here. It goes against every piece of footballing grain he's ever been taught.

Honestly I think he came here believing that his style of football would work.

He's adapting because he's having to. Not because he wants to.

 

[Mancityus]

And this is where there is going to be a very grey area.

I'm not yet convinced that Pep is fully convinced that it's him that must adapt.

He's a very continental type of Manager and watching him today, I think he's totally bemused by the way the game is played here. It goes against every piece of footballing grain he's ever been taught.

Honestly I think he came here believing that his style of football would work.

He's adapting because he's having to. Not because he wants to.

Only bemusement or rather shock he is under is how corrupt the football is here with FA + media + referees controlling how select teams get the decisions regarding yellow/red cards or fouls. With the select teams still not performing up to expectations to maintain worldwide ratings and fan-base for revenue streams to continue flowing they have extended the calls to allow offisde goals for some of these teams.

Short term this farce will work but eventually PL will lose all credibility and will become one of those reality shows/competitions where everyone knows who the winner would be before any game is played.

 

[MCFC1993]

And this is where there is going to be a very grey area.

I'm not yet convinced that Pep is fully convinced that it's him that must adapt.

He's a very continental type of Manager and watching him today, I think he's totally bemused by the way the game is played here. It goes against every piece of footballing grain he's ever been taught.

Honestly I think he came here believing that his style of football would work.

He's adapting because he's having to. Not because he wants to.

I believe this bit is down to the quality of players he has available, not the league/culture/environment etc... Needs the summer transfer window to meet his vision.

 

[Proy]

Only bemusement or rather shock he is under is how corrupt the football is here with FA + media + referees controlling how select teams get the decisions regarding yellow/red cards or fouls. With the select teams still not performing up to expectations to maintain worldwide ratings and fan-base for revenue streams to continue flowing they have extended the calls to allow offisde goals for some of these teams.

Short term this farce will work but eventually PL will lose all credibility and will become one of those reality shows/competitions where everyone knows who the winner would be before any game is played.

We need to stop with the attempt to join the cartel and break it up instead.

 

[Proy]

I believe this bit is down to the quality of players he has available, not the league/culture/environment etc... Needs the summer transfer window to meet his vision.

I'm not too sure.

When I look at Silva/De Bruyne/Aguero/Fernandinho etc etc, you could add a couple more, there isn't a club team in the world that would say no to those players.

It really is remarkable that our core problem this season appears to be scoring goals.

I think the responsibility of that lies in the system not fitting into the league.

 

[MCFC1993]

I'm not too sure.

When I look at Silva/De Bruyne/Aguero/Fernandinho etc etc, you could add a couple more, there isn't a club team in the world that would say no to those players.

It really is remarkable that our core problem this season appears to be scoring goals.

I think the responsibility of that lies in the system not fitting into the league.

I get what your saying about those 4 and maybe include Yaya (for his technical ability) but the rest squad either doesn't have enough the technical aspect, are still relatively inexperience/young (Sane, Sterling, Stones) or are completely over the hill.

I think Pep could easy go out tomorrow and buy a new back 4, possibly another striker and a couple of midfielders.

In a couple of years time, how many will be here from the current squad?
I'll include the realistic ones that will probably still be here:
Bravo (Maybe)
Otamendi (Not so sure, squad player?)
Stones (Maybe)
Fernandinho (Maybe, squad player minimum)
Sterling
De Bruyne
Silva (Not so sure)
Aguero (Probably)
Sane (Not in the squad today but should start)
Kompany (Has a chance if he ever gets fit)
Iheanacho (Will be in the squad)
Gabriel Jesus

So that's 11-12 players out of a 23-25 man squad. So in the next couple of years we may need to turn over half a squad, so it's tough to judge the style yet.

I mean I guess we'll find out in 12-24 months time.

 

[IWasHere]

I'm not too sure.

When I look at Silva/De Bruyne/Aguero/Fernandinho etc etc, you could add a couple more, there isn't a club team in the world that would say no to those players.

It really is remarkable that our core problem this season appears to be scoring goals.

I think the responsibility of that lies in the system not fitting into the league.

I agree, but you also didn't mention any players from our defence for a reason. If you look at the games we've dropped points, its mostly due to defensive errors.

I know I'm going off topic but out of the top 6 teams we have the worst defence, Pep's done really well to get us where we are right now imo. This summer we need to invest in fullbacks and a centre back for us to see our full potential.

 

[CitizenTID]

I haven't really found time to watch Pep's interviews much this year so don't know if this has been building up but is this a clash of what he expects the press to ask vs. the British press culture? They always ask about the red, Pep said he didn't see it in the post-match but in the tunnel wouldn't give the guy the time of day with it, though he seemed to be venting frustrations about the press getting on Bravo's back. It's what they do to sell papers and the football press here are generally complete dullards. Fernandinho was a red, the high accumulation of reds this season are due to idiotic instances we don't usually have (Sergio, and Nolito's). I presume he's pissed off as the rags have got away with two footed tackles (e.g. Rojo) but that is normal inconsistency to be expected here and there (plus it's the rags). I just don't see any difference in reporter questions to warrant issue and fuel the responses on this thread about making it us vs. them. Pep's not the first to insinuate there are different rules for City, Kompany has talked bluntly about the governing bodies several times in the past but I haven't felt there's been an issue recently. Maybe it's frustration coming out that several of the players aren't able to play the football/tactics he wants reliably. Or maybe his system isn't slotting into the league's style here quite how he expected.

It's not the first time Pep has talked about the supporters needing to do more (I think it's at least the 3rd if you include him talking about CL attendance) - 1) I doubt he has any clue about the issues behind this, not at all helped by the club. 2) When compared to the league as a whole, he surely can't think we're behind others in this respect? Especially aways. 3) I know a lot of German teams have good atmosphere helped by the obvious differences, but compared to Barca especially and Bayern is it really at the point he needs to address it more than a couple times? I just sense disappointment in his voice when he talks about the fans but I doubt he's thought about why this is considering he's a newcomer to the league.

 

[Bluekiwi]

He did.

I have to say, though, I'm surprised by the lack of reaction to his point about the support. He was asked whether he felt it was good enough, and said no.

That is now the 2nd time he's called us out and is clearly something he isn't happy about.

I'm not sure at the moment whether it's a general displeasure or whether he felt he needed more support to fight the corrupt officiating.

The players, apparently, never clapped us at the end?

I couldn't see. I was to busy fighting my way through a stair scrum.

I watch the Bundesleague (sic) on TV and the atmosphere at every game I see is immense - Pep probably cannot understand why our atmosphere is so quiet in comparison.
And the noise from the German fans certainly inspires the players to give their all - that noise is what he wants in the Etihad.

 

[bluetonium]

Watched the post game press conference in full, not that any of the media outlets have picked up on it but it wasn't that much shorter than most, and he actually said quite a bit.

Anyone else pick up on Pep's response to begin asked a 'football' question? He seemed astounded that an English journo wanted to ask him about football rather than the referee, a players personal habits or some juicy gossip. What a sad state of affairs it is. I, like many others, am genuinely interested in hearing Pep's ideas, his philosophy, his thinking. Instead we miss out because the press are far more interested in sound bytes and stirring up crap. You literally have to wait for the Spanish press to get their allotted two questions maximum, before you get an intelligent question and response.

I fear Pep will get disillusioned sooner rather than later with the role of a Premier League manager purely because the coaching aspect of it is nowadays not even secondary. He wants to coach players a certain philosophy, and gets joy from seeing the football flow, not from answering daft questions or being baited into fines. That said, I also think he won't walk away from us without bringing success.

And anyone who thinks that the Premier League don't see themselves as special and on another level, and actually damaging our own game and reputation because of it, should consider the performance of the England team at the Euros and World Cups. We expect special treatment because we do play by our own rules. The glaring example to me was always Peter Crouch when he pulled on an England jersey - his gangly, elbow led charges on the keeper were never put up with on the International scene and he more often than not failed to make any impact other than gifting free kicks to the opposition. Another example is the treatment the FA give to English internationals - Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Alan Shearer, all excused at various points for unidentified reasons from very questionable actions.

We are the English Premier League and we are special, just look at how much money we bring in and how many people watch our league, so stop speaking of a hidden agenda and go and place your bets with one of our official sponsors, there's a good supporter.