There was a time when this was the mantra of every winger - 'get to the byline and cross it in' - and it was up to somebody else to make sure they were in the box.
There's no reason why it can't still work. The game is a simple one, people just want to make it sound complicated.
He wasn't the only problem, but he was the main one imo. It's as simple as this, it took 12 months to dismantle a good team and system that required evolution not revolution and I just pray it won't take Pep that long to reverse the damage done. Pep may be classed as the best living coach by some, but he's not God Almighty with magical powers, so the opportunistic digs are unnecessary imo.I think he's making a reasonable point in the sense he's saying people said Pellers was the problem, far less the players. We had a seriously good group of players and Pellers ought to be getting more from them. In that sense, he's right to say that now we have a manager who most regard as one of the very best, if not the best in football. Given that, we should be expecting him to prove the Pellegrini naysayers right and that a quality manager will do much better even with the players he had, let alone with new 'improved' players.
What's not being said is that Pellers did manage to win a league and two league cups, and that last season was truly an atypical one in which 'top teams' fell below par.
To my mind, he's only saying that all those who said 'anybody decent would walk the league' now have somebody decent - so let's see. It's a fair point.
Personally I think the game's a lot more complicated and it's never as easy as just having the best manager. Pep is not a guarantee of anything, and he himself readily admits that. We hope he's going to significantly improve us though - and thus increase our chances of success.
I agree with both additions. In retrospect, I'd also say that Navas showed that he can pick out a good cross when he has someone to target. And Nacho has started where he left off last season—I will be extremely disappointed if he is not the second/third striker in the league this season.Zaba looked sharper.
Yaya looked slimmer.
He wasn't the only problem, but he was the main one imo. It's as simple as this, it took 12 months to dismantle a good team and system that required evolution not revolution and I just pray it won't take Pep that long to reverse the damage done. Pep may be classed as the best living coach by some, but he's not God Almighty with magical powers, so the opportunistic digs are unnecessary imo.
Do you think if we have a fantastic season, he'll come back and post that perhaps he was wrong about his Manuel? Will he heck, he's just having a petty dig in the name of revenge, whilst forgetting all about what's best for the team he's supposed to support.
But as they say, 'The difficult takes time, the impossible takes just that little bit longer'. I'm willing to place my trust in Pep so we can finally continue our journey that was interrupted to the point of regression and I just wish that poster and his like could do the same. I won't be holding my breath though...........
Defensive errors were only through continued efforts to keep playing the ball. They could have hoofed clear every time but it doesn't get you anywhere. Eventually the passing and movement will become second nature.
He wasn't the only problem, but he was the main one imo. It's as simple as this, it took 12 months to dismantle a good team and system that required evolution not revolution and I just pray it won't take Pep that long to reverse the damage done. Pep may be classed as the best living coach by some, but he's not God Almighty with magical powers, so the opportunistic digs are unnecessary imo.
Do you think if we have a fantastic season, he'll come back and post that perhaps he was wrong about his Manuel? Will he heck, he's just having a petty dig in the name of revenge, whilst forgetting all about what's best for the team he's supposed to support.
But as they say, 'The difficult takes time, the impossible takes just that little bit longer'. I'm willing to place my trust in Pep so we can finally continue our journey that was interrupted to the point of regression and I just wish that poster and his like could do the same. I won't be holding my breath though...........
He wasn't the only problem, but he was the main one imo. It's as simple as this, it took 12 months to dismantle a good team and system that required evolution not revolution and I just pray it won't take Pep that long to reverse the damage done. Pep may be classed as the best living coach by some, but he's not God Almighty with magical powers, so the opportunistic digs are unnecessary imo.
Do you think if we have a fantastic season, he'll come back and post that perhaps he was wrong about his Manuel? Will he heck, he's just having a petty dig in the name of revenge, whilst forgetting all about what's best for the team he's supposed to support.
But as they say, 'The difficult takes time, the impossible takes just that little bit longer'. I'm willing to place my trust in Pep so we can finally continue our journey that was interrupted to the point of regression and I just wish that poster and his like could do the same. I won't be holding my breath though...........
Defensive errors were only through continued efforts to keep playing the ball. They could have hoofed clear every time but it doesn't get you anywhere. Eventually the passing and movement will become second nature.
Pitch looked weird though. The ball seemed to move slowly and heavily early on and a few bad touches/bobbles contributed to a number of bad moments.
Pep having to tell the players to go over to the fans at full time. Tossers.
Zaba looked sharper.
Yaya looked slimmer.
He's no fool but wtf was Kolarov playing at all let alone at CB - his only good qualities are in the attacking third, at least at full back he can show that side of his game. Would sooner see him gone, Angelino can't be any worse and will show a lot more energy.This totally
Important to keep a level on this, pre-season, nothing won or lost, Pep is no fool and we should absolute faith in him - roll on next week.
CTID
Just going to list the positives to be taken from the match:
- Sterling is looking hungry and more comfortable on the right
- Aguero is starting things off well and seems to be sharp
- Nolito appears to have the dribbling skills to give us that different look when needed
- Delph's workrate is second to none
- Plenty of younger players with something to contribute
No injuries on the day
I think Kolarov, Zabba & Silva are all off the pace & it will be interesting to see how much they can improve. All 3 were responsible for the first goal along with Hart. Slva not pressing & the other two just too slow. The 3rd even though it was a dogshit pass from Tosin, it would have been an easy recovery for any of the usual cbs maybe even Demichelis.
Kolarov Zabba & Silva all look like they have lost 2 yards of pace over the past year to me.
Yaya who has supposed to be past it, looks yards ahead of all 3 imo.
Obvously our defending was atrocious but at least Pep will have learnt a bit from that performance. Plus points are KDB looks like he's never been away and Kolarov will never play CB ever again.
Hopefully another week's training, different CBs and we will be OK next week.
Think Hart will start next week. It's too drastic to drop him at the start of the season. He's on borrowed time though.
posters on here need to calm down, its a pre season game....... id rather they make mistakes now then when we start. thought we had some good spells of posession and attack
Can anyone tell me why we had a DM and RB playing as CB's?
Where are Mangala, Otimendi and Denayer?
Fully agree with your excellent post.If (when) we have a fantastic season my friend I'll be too busy celebrating it to be bothered about resurrecting this thread.
And I fully expect we WILL have a fantastic season. I've said it consistently for the last 6 years at least. And been proven right every time (even last year we won a trophy and got to the last four of the worlds most prestigious club competition - that to me was still a fantastic season because, you know, as the song goes, I really WAS here when we were shit).
The point still stands though. It's impossible to square the circle of "Pellers was a **** because with this squad he should have won (even) more than he did" whilst seemingly at the same time saying "Pep will need lots of time to improve results because he's been bequeathed a shit squad and only been able to spend £100m+ on it".
3 trophies in 3 years with a shit manager. What's your expectation for the next 3 years with the best manager in the world?
I have full and complete faith in Pep's ability, to me it's not in question. Seemingly you and I agree in this.
I just happened to respect the last guy too. He gifted me and all of us the chance to see us win 3 trophies in 3 years and progress in the champs league. I don't give a fuck that he wasn't 'cool' or 'chic'. He managed my team, our team, to 3 unforgettable moments. How can any blue not love him?
You can still admire pep and respect Pellers achievements. The two things are not mutually exclusive. I suspect (obviously cannot prove it though) that if anybody asked Pep his views on Pellers ability the words "corpse", "****", "senile", "Audrey Roberts" would not form part of his opinion. Far from it.
And thank you @FanchesterCity , you express my points far better than I do (in your earlier post).