Berlusconi on Pep, Balotelli and City

[mancunial]

Berlusconi should not be coming out with these statements, especially the ballo one, he is not their player, to devalue by statement is industrial espionage? Think we 00cnut rio on the job

 

[inchy14]

I'd say he's dealing with it by looking like the Wild Man of Borneo in his press conferences, and behaving like him on the training ground ;-)

I think his three years at City are equivalent to 10 years at Inter (and that eez a record!) Seriously, Bob is looking shaky and it's understandable. The odds in the league are stacked against us and Stoke away in the Cup looks made for catastrophe. If would lose at Arsenal and Webb does his duty at the swamp I think his departure is inevitable. On the other hand, Billy could be right, Percy might swivel his kneecaps and maybe we'll sign Maroune and go unbeaten for the rest of the season.

I'd say you're right that this weekend it could be all over bar the shouting.

I actually fancy us to win at the Emirates. Whilst I've been heartened by the 442 of the last two games that Milner has given us, I'd say this is one for a 4231 comprising:

.......................Hart.........

Zab...........Kompany..........Lescott............Clichy

.......................Milner..........Barry..................

.......Tevez..................Silva...............Balotelli
...............................Dzeko.........................

I can't see we have much choice. I wouldn't want Garcia in the midfield against them, and can't see many other options with the available personnel.

Stop nicking my team from the Arsenal match thread, i posted that last night and am surprised it hasn't been pulled apart yet.... :0)

Tbh i think Garcia may become a decent option next season but i wouldn't want him anywhere near our first 11 on Sunday.

 

[daztrueblue91]

Seriously I Can't believe some of the comments I have read about Guardiola in this thread. Yes Pep has only managed Barca however he also turned them into the greatest club side ever.

Also when Pep announced that he was leaving Barca the players reaction said it all. Puyol and Xavi looked gutted and it showed the kind of relationship and loyalty he had from the players. Jose has a similar relationship with the Chelsea players. How many players would be gutted in Mancini went?

Also we have to look at the direction this club is going, we are aiming to produce world class academy products and who is better to be the manager of that than Pep. More importantly our manager needs to work hand in hand with this Txixi bloke and Pep and Txixi already have a good relationship.

However if Pep was to go elsewhere then we should keep Bobby. I do think that Mancini could also do well bringing on our academy. Look at the way Bobby treats Mario that shows that he will give time to player he feels have the potential to go far. Mancini was critical of Hart and Micah who have both improved under him.

IMO the main difference between Pep and Bobby is their man management. Bobby tends to have a Fergiscum like approach where it is my way or no way. Which is good when you are winning things or have the authority Fergie has. I think it is safe to say that Bobby will never have the authority Fergie has and I just worry that when we don't win anything for a season the players may turn on him. Where as I think Pep is the type of manager where the players would give that extra 10% to ensure he stays as manager.

To sum it up if we can get Pep then we should do it but if we can't keep Bobby for the rest of his contract.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

So 'Pep to City' now replaces 'Jose to City' which kind of makes a change as the 'Jose to City' has been running for 3 years now and was getting kind of old.

The thing I don't understand is if the appointment of the Barca duo heralds the arrival of Pep after his 1 year sabbatical why on earth did we offer Mancini a 5 year contract after Pep quit Barca and only weeks before we appointed the Barca duo?

But then I never knew why we offered Mancini a 3.5 year contract in the first place given Jose was already on his way to us back in 2010...

Very odd behaviour from the board

We put a six month "break" in Mancini's initial contract to allow for Mourinho, who then went to Madrid.

We've done this over and over again in the Mourinho thread. The board were always going to offer him a new deal in the summer after we'd won the league. I'm sure he'd have walked without one, and you can't have a manager in the last year of contract. Di MAtteo got a new deal at Chelsea, Mourinho got one at Real. All it means is that you are keeping them on on a new salary and with different severance terms.

I don't believe replacing Mancini with Pep was a foregone conclusion in the summer at all. But it looks a lot more likely given our performances this year.If he'd have done well in Europe I'm sure he wouldn't be under the pressure he's under.

 

[sir baconface]

So 'Pep to City' now replaces 'Jose to City' which kind of makes a change as the 'Jose to City' has been running for 3 years now and was getting kind of old.

The thing I don't understand is if the appointment of the Barca duo heralds the arrival of Pep after his 1 year sabbatical why on earth did we offer Mancini a 5 year contract after Pep quit Barca and only weeks before we appointed the Barca duo?

But then I never knew why we offered Mancini a 3.5 year contract in the first place given Jose was already on his way to us back in 2010...

Very odd behaviour from the board

Because Mancini was in a much, much stronger position then? Even if they had to buy out the rest of his contract in full it would probably cost less than the transfer fee for a moderate player. And we've paid a few of them without blinking.

Not saying they should do it; just answering your question.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I think his three years at City are equivalent to 10 years at Inter (and that eez a record!) Seriously, Bob is looking shaky and it's understandable. The odds in the league are stacked against us and Stoke away in the Cup looks made for catastrophe. If would lose at Arsenal and Webb does his duty at the swamp I think his departure is inevitable. On the other hand, Billy could be right, Percy might swivel his kneecaps and maybe we'll sign Maroune and go unbeaten for the rest of the season.

I'd say you're right that this weekend it could be all over bar the shouting.

I actually fancy us to win at the Emirates. Whilst I've been heartened by the 442 of the last two games that Milner has given us, I'd say this is one for a 4231 comprising:

.......................Hart.........

Zab...........Kompany..........Lescott............Clichy

.......................Milner..........Barry..................

.......Tevez..................Silva...............Balotelli
...............................Dzeko.........................

I can't see we have much choice. I wouldn't want Garcia in the midfield against them, and can't see many other options with the available personnel.

You might not want Garcia in there but I think you have to prepare for it.

I wouldn't be surprised if you're right. It's the only other option - same team as weekend, or with Balo in for Edin. Garcia's lack of mobility Makes me nervous for this game.

 

[Matt the Giant]

I quite like Mancini, and will forever remember him for what out club managed to achieve during his reign. But if Pep was available I'd choose him over Roberto in a heartbeat.
Guardiola, no doubt in my mind, is better equipped to make our squad perform better as a unit, and with only a few new signings he'd make our team one of the best in Europe within two years.
The chemistry between Ferran Txiki and Pep, our very own holy trinity, would be such a powerful weapon for us, and I would love to see it in action.

It all comes to down to hard facts, not personal affection: We can and should be better than what what Mancini has managed to accomplish these years.

 

[OxBlue]

He already has fallen off his trajectory ;-)

Never ever thought I'd hear you talking Jose up...Haha

I like to think I'm bright enough to be adaptable

I dont think there's a cat in hells chance our CEO will go for Mourinho in the event Bob gets peddled- they very publicly turned him down for the Barca job before they gave it Pep.

In Peps biography it talks about the boardroom decision to make him manager over Jose. Sorrano (?) was one of the key board members pushing for Jose over Pep, but was overruled by the others.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I like to think I'm bright enough to be adaptable

I dont think there's a cat in hells chance our CEO will go for Mourinho in the event Bob gets peddled- they very publicly turned him down for the Barca job before they gave it Pep.

In Peps biography it talks about the boardroom decision to make him manager over Jose. Sorrano (?) was one of the key board members pushing for Jose over Pep, but was overruled by the others.

This is why I retain hope that Mourinho is a possibility. I believe the decision was mainly about Mourinho's fit for Barca's culture, which is of course very different to ours.

 

[moomba]

In Peps biography it talks about the boardroom decision to make him manager over Jose. Sorrano (?) was one of the key board members pushing for Jose over Pep, but was overruled by the others.

FWIW, this is what Sorriano has said about it.

"I can confirm that we initially preferred Mourinho over Pep. Mourinho is a great coach who has enjoyed plenty of success. He had worked for Barcelona before, so he knew how we play. However, you just have to look at the way Inter and Real Madrid play to see that he has a different philosophy. That's why eventually we decided not to hire him."