You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Duncan Castles
- Thread starter Ric
- Start date
Here we go:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1283011/sports
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have been overhyped. They are still good but not as good as we thought
“The greatest Premier League team ever."
“Manchester City can be the new ‘Invincibles’ and go on to win the quadruple.”
“Favourites to win the Champions League.”
One by one the hyperbolic predictions and praise surrounding Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been shown up as such. The dangers of anointing a group of players and the methods of the manager long before the point of a season when the most serious of silverware is handed out are now writ clear.
City have been exceptional, enthralling, energising, and — in the Premier League — remain on course to set a number of new high watermarks. However, in the last three matches, as the pressure intensified, they have crumbled and failed to live up to the hype.
Over the course of a week, a team physically and mentally tired by the demands of Guardiola’s domination football has exited the Champions League to a club that has only qualified for Europe’s premier competition twice in the past seven seasons. A manager who handicapped his team with his own tactical experimentation in the first leg was reduced to blaming referees for a 5-1 aggregate defeat. There was no mention of the fact City had a grand total of three shots on target.
Guardiola has been supported in a fashion never witnessed before in the sport. Such was Abu Dhabi’s desire to place the Spaniard in charge of their football team, City’s owner hired a chief executive and technical director who had worked with the Catalan at Barcelona, and who they believed could persuade him to come to the Premier League.
Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain started investing record transfer fees in players suited to Guardiola’s playing style such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling before they even had the coach’s signature on a hugely lucrative contract. They overhauled City’s youth system and constructed new training facilities with Guardiola in mind. And when he finally arrived at the club, Abu Dhabi bankrolled him with the largest investment in playing resources football has ever seen.
Guardiola is about to complete his second season in England. Over the course of those two years, the club has committed €586 million ($725 million) to transfer fees, according to CIES Football Observatory’s academic studies (over 53 percent more than their nearest domestic rival). Add City’s inflating wage bill to that recruitment budget and Guardiola has burned through over £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in just two campaigns.
The return on investment in terms of silverware amounts to one domestic title (albeit won in glorious fashion) and one League Cup. Like Bayern Munich before them, Abu Dhabi hired Guardiola to win the Champions League. Their return in that competition is a first knock-out round loss to AS Monaco and a quarter-final loss to Liverpool.
Quizzed on what has gone wrong for him in the European Cup since he quit Barcelona, Guardiola has taken varying public stances in recent days. One has been to revert to his belief that his possession-obsessed football works because it creates more chances than opponents. “Just try to analyze it game by game,” he said last night. “You see the statistics. OK, I’m sorry, we win this season in statistics.”
Another, following Saturday’s three-goal second-half capitulation to Manchester United in front of an expectant home crowd, was to admit to some soul searching. “I thought many times about that. I drop a lot of times Champions League games for 10, 15 minutes. Barcelona, 71 minutes, 0-0; 90, 3-0. It happened many times. Maybe it’s my fault. I have to think about it but I feel when you dominate and you create chances then you are more closer to winning the games.”
One of Guardiola’s many strengths as a football coach is his willingness to reflect on his weaknesses. One of Guardiola’s weaknesses as a football coach has been a refusal to moderate his core beliefs.
Will he ultimately succeed in using the vast financial and organizational advantage Abu Dhabi has provided him with to deliver City first European Cup? Will he even reach a Champions League final for the first time post-Barca? The answer may lie in whether that Guardiola strength can overcome that weakness.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1283011/sports
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have been overhyped. They are still good but not as good as we thought
- Spaniard's halo has slipped after three defeats in a week
- Abu Dhabi have backed Guardiola with unprecedented transfer spend
“The greatest Premier League team ever."
“Manchester City can be the new ‘Invincibles’ and go on to win the quadruple.”
“Favourites to win the Champions League.”
One by one the hyperbolic predictions and praise surrounding Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been shown up as such. The dangers of anointing a group of players and the methods of the manager long before the point of a season when the most serious of silverware is handed out are now writ clear.
City have been exceptional, enthralling, energising, and — in the Premier League — remain on course to set a number of new high watermarks. However, in the last three matches, as the pressure intensified, they have crumbled and failed to live up to the hype.
Over the course of a week, a team physically and mentally tired by the demands of Guardiola’s domination football has exited the Champions League to a club that has only qualified for Europe’s premier competition twice in the past seven seasons. A manager who handicapped his team with his own tactical experimentation in the first leg was reduced to blaming referees for a 5-1 aggregate defeat. There was no mention of the fact City had a grand total of three shots on target.
Guardiola has been supported in a fashion never witnessed before in the sport. Such was Abu Dhabi’s desire to place the Spaniard in charge of their football team, City’s owner hired a chief executive and technical director who had worked with the Catalan at Barcelona, and who they believed could persuade him to come to the Premier League.
Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain started investing record transfer fees in players suited to Guardiola’s playing style such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling before they even had the coach’s signature on a hugely lucrative contract. They overhauled City’s youth system and constructed new training facilities with Guardiola in mind. And when he finally arrived at the club, Abu Dhabi bankrolled him with the largest investment in playing resources football has ever seen.
Guardiola is about to complete his second season in England. Over the course of those two years, the club has committed €586 million ($725 million) to transfer fees, according to CIES Football Observatory’s academic studies (over 53 percent more than their nearest domestic rival). Add City’s inflating wage bill to that recruitment budget and Guardiola has burned through over £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in just two campaigns.
The return on investment in terms of silverware amounts to one domestic title (albeit won in glorious fashion) and one League Cup. Like Bayern Munich before them, Abu Dhabi hired Guardiola to win the Champions League. Their return in that competition is a first knock-out round loss to AS Monaco and a quarter-final loss to Liverpool.
Quizzed on what has gone wrong for him in the European Cup since he quit Barcelona, Guardiola has taken varying public stances in recent days. One has been to revert to his belief that his possession-obsessed football works because it creates more chances than opponents. “Just try to analyze it game by game,” he said last night. “You see the statistics. OK, I’m sorry, we win this season in statistics.”
Another, following Saturday’s three-goal second-half capitulation to Manchester United in front of an expectant home crowd, was to admit to some soul searching. “I thought many times about that. I drop a lot of times Champions League games for 10, 15 minutes. Barcelona, 71 minutes, 0-0; 90, 3-0. It happened many times. Maybe it’s my fault. I have to think about it but I feel when you dominate and you create chances then you are more closer to winning the games.”
One of Guardiola’s many strengths as a football coach is his willingness to reflect on his weaknesses. One of Guardiola’s weaknesses as a football coach has been a refusal to moderate his core beliefs.
Will he ultimately succeed in using the vast financial and organizational advantage Abu Dhabi has provided him with to deliver City first European Cup? Will he even reach a Champions League final for the first time post-Barca? The answer may lie in whether that Guardiola strength can overcome that weakness.
aguero93:20
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 21 Oct 2013
- Messages
- 90,262
- Location
- Hunting Cats.
- Team supported
- Some gobshites in day-glo green and black.
Someone should point out that he's used CIES' current valuation, which is much higher than the fees paid.Here we go:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1283011/sports
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have been overhyped. They are still good but not as good as we thought
“The best team in the world.”
- Spaniard's halo has slipped after three defeats in a week
- Abu Dhabi have backed Guardiola with unprecedented transfer spend
“The greatest Premier League team ever."
“Manchester City can be the new ‘Invincibles’ and go on to win the quadruple.”
“Favourites to win the Champions League.”
One by one the hyperbolic predictions and praise surrounding Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been shown up as such. The dangers of anointing a group of players and the methods of the manager long before the point of a season when the most serious of silverware is handed out are now writ clear.
City have been exceptional, enthralling, energising, and — in the Premier League — remain on course to set a number of new high watermarks. However, in the last three matches, as the pressure intensified, they have crumbled and failed to live up to the hype.
Over the course of a week, a team physically and mentally tired by the demands of Guardiola’s domination football has exited the Champions League to a club that has only qualified for Europe’s premier competition twice in the past seven seasons. A manager who handicapped his team with his own tactical experimentation in the first leg was reduced to blaming referees for a 5-1 aggregate defeat. There was no mention of the fact City had a grand total of three shots on target.
Guardiola has been supported in a fashion never witnessed before in the sport. Such was Abu Dhabi’s desire to place the Spaniard in charge of their football team, City’s owner hired a chief executive and technical director who had worked with the Catalan at Barcelona, and who they believed could persuade him to come to the Premier League.
Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain started investing record transfer fees in players suited to Guardiola’s playing style such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling before they even had the coach’s signature on a hugely lucrative contract. They overhauled City’s youth system and constructed new training facilities with Guardiola in mind. And when he finally arrived at the club, Abu Dhabi bankrolled him with the largest investment in playing resources football has ever seen.
Guardiola is about to complete his second season in England. Over the course of those two years, the club has committed €586 million ($725 million) to transfer fees, according to CIES Football Observatory’s academic studies (over 53 percent more than their nearest domestic rival). Add City’s inflating wage bill to that recruitment budget and Guardiola has burned through over £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in just two campaigns.
The return on investment in terms of silverware amounts to one domestic title (albeit won in glorious fashion) and one League Cup. Like Bayern Munich before them, Abu Dhabi hired Guardiola to win the Champions League. Their return in that competition is a first knock-out round loss to AS Monaco and a quarter-final loss to Liverpool.
Quizzed on what has gone wrong for him in the European Cup since he quit Barcelona, Guardiola has taken varying public stances in recent days. One has been to revert to his belief that his possession-obsessed football works because it creates more chances than opponents. “Just try to analyze it game by game,” he said last night. “You see the statistics. OK, I’m sorry, we win this season in statistics.”
Another, following Saturday’s three-goal second-half capitulation to Manchester United in front of an expectant home crowd, was to admit to some soul searching. “I thought many times about that. I drop a lot of times Champions League games for 10, 15 minutes. Barcelona, 71 minutes, 0-0; 90, 3-0. It happened many times. Maybe it’s my fault. I have to think about it but I feel when you dominate and you create chances then you are more closer to winning the games.”
One of Guardiola’s many strengths as a football coach is his willingness to reflect on his weaknesses. One of Guardiola’s weaknesses as a football coach has been a refusal to moderate his core beliefs.
Will he ultimately succeed in using the vast financial and organizational advantage Abu Dhabi has provided him with to deliver City first European Cup? Will he even reach a Champions League final for the first time post-Barca? The answer may lie in whether that Guardiola strength can overcome that weakness.
B
B
blueinsa
Guest
Here we go:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1283011/sports
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have been overhyped. They are still good but not as good as we thought
“The best team in the world.”
- Spaniard's halo has slipped after three defeats in a week
- Abu Dhabi have backed Guardiola with unprecedented transfer spend
“The greatest Premier League team ever."
“Manchester City can be the new ‘Invincibles’ and go on to win the quadruple.”
“Favourites to win the Champions League.”
One by one the hyperbolic predictions and praise surrounding Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been shown up as such. The dangers of anointing a group of players and the methods of the manager long before the point of a season when the most serious of silverware is handed out are now writ clear.
City have been exceptional, enthralling, energising, and — in the Premier League — remain on course to set a number of new high watermarks. However, in the last three matches, as the pressure intensified, they have crumbled and failed to live up to the hype.
Over the course of a week, a team physically and mentally tired by the demands of Guardiola’s domination football has exited the Champions League to a club that has only qualified for Europe’s premier competition twice in the past seven seasons. A manager who handicapped his team with his own tactical experimentation in the first leg was reduced to blaming referees for a 5-1 aggregate defeat. There was no mention of the fact City had a grand total of three shots on target.
Guardiola has been supported in a fashion never witnessed before in the sport. Such was Abu Dhabi’s desire to place the Spaniard in charge of their football team, City’s owner hired a chief executive and technical director who had worked with the Catalan at Barcelona, and who they believed could persuade him to come to the Premier League.
Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain started investing record transfer fees in players suited to Guardiola’s playing style such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling before they even had the coach’s signature on a hugely lucrative contract. They overhauled City’s youth system and constructed new training facilities with Guardiola in mind. And when he finally arrived at the club, Abu Dhabi bankrolled him with the largest investment in playing resources football has ever seen.
Guardiola is about to complete his second season in England. Over the course of those two years, the club has committed €586 million ($725 million) to transfer fees, according to CIES Football Observatory’s academic studies (over 53 percent more than their nearest domestic rival). Add City’s inflating wage bill to that recruitment budget and Guardiola has burned through over £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in just two campaigns.
The return on investment in terms of silverware amounts to one domestic title (albeit won in glorious fashion) and one League Cup. Like Bayern Munich before them, Abu Dhabi hired Guardiola to win the Champions League. Their return in that competition is a first knock-out round loss to AS Monaco and a quarter-final loss to Liverpool.
Quizzed on what has gone wrong for him in the European Cup since he quit Barcelona, Guardiola has taken varying public stances in recent days. One has been to revert to his belief that his possession-obsessed football works because it creates more chances than opponents. “Just try to analyze it game by game,” he said last night. “You see the statistics. OK, I’m sorry, we win this season in statistics.”
Another, following Saturday’s three-goal second-half capitulation to Manchester United in front of an expectant home crowd, was to admit to some soul searching. “I thought many times about that. I drop a lot of times Champions League games for 10, 15 minutes. Barcelona, 71 minutes, 0-0; 90, 3-0. It happened many times. Maybe it’s my fault. I have to think about it but I feel when you dominate and you create chances then you are more closer to winning the games.”
One of Guardiola’s many strengths as a football coach is his willingness to reflect on his weaknesses. One of Guardiola’s weaknesses as a football coach has been a refusal to moderate his core beliefs.
Will he ultimately succeed in using the vast financial and organizational advantage Abu Dhabi has provided him with to deliver City first European Cup? Will he even reach a Champions League final for the first time post-Barca? The answer may lie in whether that Guardiola strength can overcome that weakness.
Duncy baby......just let it go lol.
blue by birth
Well-Known Member
Castles is just like a turd that you can't seem to flush away.
He won't suddenly wake up and smell the coffee, because his head is so far up Pegs arse that his nostrils are filled with shit.
He's really a very bitter excuse for a human being.
Just in case he ever pops into Bluemoon...Castles you are a waste of oxygen and a sad C.unt.
He won't suddenly wake up and smell the coffee, because his head is so far up Pegs arse that his nostrils are filled with shit.
He's really a very bitter excuse for a human being.
Just in case he ever pops into Bluemoon...Castles you are a waste of oxygen and a sad C.unt.
dickie davies
Well-Known Member
When Mourinho leaves the swamp this winter, I wonder what Castles will do then besides crying into his Giggsy duvet
B
B
blueinsa
Guest
When Mourinho leaves the swamp this winter, I wonder what Castles will do then besides crying into his Giggsy duvet
He will literally just follow him to the new club, such is the obsession.
More of a stalker than a journalist im afraid is Duncan and its kind of creepy and sad that a grown man can think its normal behaviour.
goater555
Well-Known Member
Is this bald headed propaganda mouthpiece getting payed by Jose, or is it just some sick obsession? My daughter was never this close to Peppa fucking Pig. Hitler would have loved him.
MillionMilesAway
Well-Known Member
Someone should point out that he's used CIES' current valuation, which is much higher than the fees paid.
They have repeatedly. I find CIES to be attention grabbers and use interesting displays to mislead, and very interesting transfer fees.
By comparison, transfermarkt have this for 2016-2018:
City: gross €528m, net €398m
Utd: gross €349m, net €290m
So still €108m net difference (c. £90m), and a high percentage higher.
However, the glossed over detail are ibrahimovic being 'free', and also that Sanchez has no incoming fee listed as it was a 'swap'. Even re-quoting him at Mkhitaryan's value adds £35m/€42m to gross costs, making it about 20% higher gross spending.
Andrew___K
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 20 Aug 2016
- Messages
- 3,798
Sam Lee is giving him a good run for his money on twitter today.