"I would rather lose a tournament than break my word to a player"

Pellegrini is a man of honour who believes that a promise is a promise. I applaud his pricinciples. Sport is about winning but true sport is also about honour.

Pellegrini made a promise to Willy that as second choice keeper he would get the cup games and if he got us to the final, he would not suddenly get benched. Willy had kept his part of the deal.
 
Dax777 said:
There are threads prior to the game. It's not a jump on, nor is it a damning of those who saw different. It's just what some of us saw.

For what it's worth, the Chelsea game was a throw away game, a game that was lost long before any ball was kicked. And while he made errors he also saved a 2 point blank shots and a penalty. Poor game, but he showed character. The game was over when he went out and stopped a Pen. He has played well in many games for ( Not as good as Joe's best) but better than some of Joe's worst. So it was a negligible gamble to start with.

Binning him for poor performance in a game we purposely gave him no chance of success at, would have been callous at best. Character matters. I don't know why so many don't see this :(
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I was replying to someone that did he wasn't poor against Chelsea, that's bollocks
 
@dasein
Never wanted to jump on the bandwagon, I normally don't bother replying to a lot of negativity but I loved this quote from Pellegrini so wanted to defend it. Perhaps I'm in the minority but I stick to what I said. Our usually brilliant offside trap got badly exposed. We had a youngster in the back four and in that game the senior players were quite disappointing for me too. Ok the goal which went under him Willy could've done better, but Fernando was badly at fault too. The free kick going into his side is probably the worst one. But he saved a penalty and another great save close range denying Pedro. I admit I'm pretty kind to our players but no way in my mind was that result Willy's fault so not enough reason to deny his role as cup keeper.
 
Dax777 said:
There are threads prior to the game. It's not a jump on, nor is it a damning of those who saw different. It's just what some of us saw.

For what it's worth, the Chelsea game was a throw away game, a game that was lost long before any ball was kicked. And while he made errors he also saved a 2 point blank shots and a penalty. Poor game, but he showed character. The game was over when he went out and stopped a Pen. He has played well in many games for ( Not as good as Joe's best) but better than some of Joe's worst. So it was a negligible gamble to start with.

Binning him for poor performance in a game we purposely gave him no chance of success at, would have been callous at best. Character matters. I don't know why so many don't see this :(
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I was replying to someone that did he wasn't poor against Chelsea, that's bollocks
 
dasein said:
Are we all forgetting his performance against Chelsea because it is conveniant or something? He was dog shit against Chelsea, as piss poor a performance as I have seen in net for us, genuinely can't remember a worse game from any keeper. That's why me and many others didn't want to see his name in the starting 11. That said, yesterday he was magnificent, particularly loved his save from lalana's penalty.
It just seems that there is a massive bandwagon jumping on competition going on, or a prove you're a real city fan competition. Let's get real everyone.
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I would put that performance down (as i have said in a thread pre final) to everyone being a bit nervous and panicky,
due to the eleven that played at Chelsea. He wasn't the only player that was "shit" that day.
No. You get real. Not everyone is bandwagon jumping. Some of weren't bothered he was playing and hoped he had a good game.
Some us have a bit more substance, than you're shirt aargh.
 
Dhruv1 said:
@dasein
Never wanted to jump on the bandwagon, I normally don't bother replying to a lot of negativity but I loved this quote from Pellegrini so wanted to defend it. Perhaps I'm in the minority but I stick to what I said. Our usually brilliant offside trap got badly exposed. We had a youngster in the back four and in that game the senior players were quite disappointing for me too. Ok the goal which went under him Willy could've done better, but Fernando was badly at fault too. The free kick going into his side is probably the worst one. But he saved a penalty and another great save close range denying Pedro. I admit I'm pretty kind to our players but no way in my mind was that result Willy's fault so not enough reason to deny his role as cup keeper.
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Not negativity, he was great yesterday, but he was shite against Chelsea, on 2 occasions he moves away from the ball. You must have seen that?
 
Dhruv1 said:
@dasein
Never wanted to jump on the bandwagon, I normally don't bother replying to a lot of negativity but I loved this quote from Pellegrini so wanted to defend it. Perhaps I'm in the minority but I stick to what I said. Our usually brilliant offside trap got badly exposed. We had a youngster in the back four and in that game the senior players were quite disappointing for me too. Ok the goal which went under him Willy could've done better, but Fernando was badly at fault too. The free kick going into his side is probably the worst one. But he saved a penalty and another great save close range denying Pedro. I admit I'm pretty kind to our players but no way in my mind was that result Willy's fault so not enough reason to deny his role as cup keeper.
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"Usually brilliant offside trap" hmm. That's a stretch
 
Dribble said:
Yes in fact I am in charge and have been for 28 years. I like to lead by consensus but my colleagues understand that if I have a gut feeling about something and I act on my convictions, they always support me as they know I'll stand or fall by my decisions.

Also seeing as I don't 'understand leadership' perhaps you can enlighten me?
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Which is exactly what Manuel did yesterday. And yet you want to criticise him for it on the day he won yet another trophy.. ?
 
@dasein I meant others' negativity too btw.
I'm not sure which 2 occasions you mean, I have said myself he has some terrible mistakes in him, but can't accept he was shite.
You don't think we catch teams offside a lot, like yesterday? Agree to disagree I suppose.
 
Dax777 said:
Again, I think this is a gross misunderstanding of the situation. It's my contention that as part of City's recruitment policies, they generally promise a starting goalie somewhere else, the backup role at City with the perk of getting to play in the 2 smaller cups, and also be an insurance policy if our Starter gets injured.

This is great long-term thinking and an opportunity to guarantee great backups for our Starting keeper ( who almost always will be someone who is hard to beat out by an outsider). 2nd, promising the smaller cups also serves a second purpose of keeping the backup goalie sharp and ready to step in if the starter gets injured. 3rd. It hlgives the starter an opportunity to rest during the season and not have to play every game.

There is nothing about this policy, that does not in the long run, put City First. It is only when you view it from a narrow 90 minute lense ( which a lot of our fans and good for nothing media types who just want to stare shit) that one can end up concluding differently than Pellars did.

Unstated but implied in Pellars comments are the following: ' because it is what's best for our club'.

That is, it is better for our club to stand on principle and lose, than it would be to win but lose our character. If Hart had been brought in and won, how does the club then attract the next young up and coming superstar goalie, when he knows the minute a trophy is in view, we'll dump him for Joe in net.

Why would a young stud want that? He'd rather go get weekly game time at a midtable club instead. And that's why sticking with this principle counts for more than just the win. It sends a message. Here at City we will win, we will win a lot, and we will win on principle. Come join the party, you won't be disappointed.

That's why it would have been better for Pellars to lose the Cup, than renege on a club position. It is in the clubs interest as much as Pellars to stand on principle. Even if this wasn't apparent to fans, the look on Willy's face and the passion he exuded throughout the game should have made that clear.
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Not being rude but I stopped reading at 'It is my contention'.

I'm sure your post is long on thought and an impassioned plea for understanding Manuel's reason for playing Willy. But again, you completely miss my point so let me reiterate it for you. I had no problem with Willy playing yesterday unlike many others. What I found strange was a manager who would rather lose a tournament than break his word to a player that come what may, he would play.

Essentially it would have been OK for hundreds of thousands of fans to be left bitterly disappointed by defeat as long as Manuel felt comfortable that he'd kept his word to a player? Sorry, but what's happened to 'for the greater good of the many over the one?'

Also Manuel's 'would rather lose' statement seems to be totally at odds with our owners who stated last summer another trophyless season would not be tolerated. I think you should direct your post to them if they're interested.
 
Dribble said:
What I found strange was a manager who would rather lose a tournament than break his word to a player.
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I think people are missing the point. This wasn't actually a real choice between winning or keeping his word - this was a hypothetical comment made in hindsight to maximise the impact of the victory and the decision he made.

Pellegrini got the decision right, and he's taken advantage of it to strengthen his position in the eyes of his players.

That's what good managers do.

I've been critical at times but on this occasion he's been very shrewd indeed.
 
Zin 'messiah' Zimmer said:
An excellent post, if not a little harsh on dibble... I'd say the pride element you allude to, in us all, stays true in one form or other...

I agree 100% regarding manuel, I found myself doubting his abilities over the last 3/4 months, to the extent it becomes a crusade to shoot him down at every opportunity.. He's undoubtedly a brilliant manager, his cv speaks for itself, but the thing that really shines through and been paramount from day dot?? His ability to command respect without having to bite back at his snipers, the epitome of class and could teach a few, including myself, a lesson in humility....

Go and bring the title home manuel!!!
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Very well said, Zin.
 
Dribble said:
Not being rude but I stopped reading at 'It is my contention'.

I'm sure your poposts long on thought and an impassioned plea for understanding Manuel's reason for playing Willy. But again, you completely miss my point so let me reiterate it for you. I had no problem with Willy playing yesterday unlike many others. What I found strange was a manager who would rather lose a tournament than break his word to a player that come what may, he would play.

Essentially it would have been OK for hundreds of thousands of fans to be left bitterly disappointed by defeat as long as Manuel felt comfortable that he'd kept his word to a player? Sorry, but what's happened to 'for the greater good of the many over the one?'

Also Manuel's 'would rather lose' statement seems to be totally at odds with our owners who stated last summer another trophyless season would not be tolerated. I think you should direct your post to them if they're interested.
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I see you didn't read my post, it is understandable, it was long. But here it is on short:

Pellars statement wasn't just about him, it was about the club! Implied by his ' I'd rather lose the Cup, than go back on my word' was the addition "because it is what's best for the club."

How I came to that conclusion is what's in the response that was to long. I wouldn't bore you with that. You can refer to it if you see fit.
 
This is a great quote, it sums MP up.

Ten years down the line MP will be remembered as the man who brought stability to a rapidly expanding club, and put the block in place for the greatest era of the clubs history.
 
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