Is it time to panic yet?

[flb]

Agree completely, but some people still prefer to play the York Card as though that excuses the current drabness.

Its no excuse whatsoever.

There will be a few arses twitching at City if we dont qualify for the CL this season thats for sure.

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

Its no excuse whatsoever.

There will be a few arses twitching at City if we dont qualify for the CL this season thats for sure.

Somebody mentioned attendances a few days ago. If this season totally fizzles out on all fronts and we see a couple of sub 50,000 gates in the PL before the end of the season then big questions will be asked in Abu Dhabi. We got 51,527 v Watford just before Christmas which wasn't great.

I don't think it will come to that though. Whilst I'm finding a lot of this tippy tappy football both insipid and inappropriate for the PL with the current players we have available, I reckon we just might crack the CL this season. I don't think there is an outstanding team out there this year. Maybe its just wishful thinking? I dunno anymore but Liverpool and Chelsea won it with equally poor teams and its very much the last chance for this group of players.

 

[Benarbia]

As long as the Sheik and Pep don't
Go ahead panic away
This isn't Peps team

What's Pep got to panic about. He's on £15 million a year or whatever and about to sign an extension. I'd say he was pretty chilled

 

[heywoodbluesontour]

we betta fuckin believe it is

If we dont sign a whole new defence and bring hart back then we are doomed.

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

Its no excuse whatsoever.

There will be a few arses twitching at City if we dont qualify for the CL this season thats for sure.

The only impact it would have is on TV revenue and from actually being in the competition. It wont stop Pep strengthening the team where he needs to in the summer. Look at Chelsea, Liverpool who are benefitting from not being in Europe.

Actually dropping out the top four, and it being possible this year is the kick up the arse the club needed in terms of replacing our ageing players.

Obviously some people on this forum will have a nervous breakdown

 

[kaz7]

The only impact it would have is on TV revenue and from actually being in the competition. It wont stop Pep strengthening the team where he needs to in the summer. Look at Chelsea, Liverpool who are benefitting from not being in Europe.

Actually dropping out the top four, and it being possible this year is the kick up the arse the club needed in terms of replacing our ageing players.

Obviously some people on this forum will have a nervous breakdown

I've now come around to the way of thinking that this is going to be a big job for pep,we need to overhaul large parts of the team this summer,i wouldn't be bothered about no CL next year,a lot of blues would be more bothered about what rival fans and the media say though

 

[SPIDERBOY]

I've now come around to the way of thinking that this is going to be a big job for pep,we need to overhaul large parts of the team this summer,i wouldn't be bothered about no CL next year,a lot of blues would be more bothered about what rival fans and the media say though

Couldn't give a flying fuck me Karen what rivals and the media say.
I do however still want CL next season,and the players we have at this moment in time "should" be capable of achieving that,IMO.

 

[kaz7]

Couldn't give a flying fuck me Karen what rivals and the media say.
I do however still want CL next season,and the players we have at this moment in time "should" be capable of achieving that,IMO.

I want it as well if at all possible but i won't sweat it if not

 

[SPIDERBOY]

I want it as well if at all possible but i won't sweat it if not

Yeah sorry,agree with that,but we should be qualifying.

 

[flb]

The only impact it would have is on TV revenue and from actually being in the competition. It wont stop Pep strengthening the team where he needs to in the summer. Look at Chelsea, Liverpool who are benefitting from not being in Europe.

Actually dropping out the top four, and it being possible this year is the kick up the arse the club needed in terms of replacing our ageing players.

Obviously some people on this forum will have a nervous breakdown

Totally agree with you mate, Im sick and fucking tired of hearing about CL revenue-sometimes I wish we had no money to spend so the only option is to play some younger hungry players to show the powers that be that throwing money at it doesn't always work.

The whole game is fucking obsessed with money.

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

I've now come around to the way of thinking that this is going to be a big job for pep,we need to overhaul large parts of the team this summer,i wouldn't be bothered about no CL next year,a lot of blues would be more bothered about what rival fans and the media say though

Agree Karen but i dont buy into the media at all....it is just there to create drama and to bring in revenue itself. You only have to hear a certain radio station this week to understand what i mean.

We should qualify for the CL, but if we dont the club will back Pep regardless

 

[Dax777]

Couldn't give a flying fuck me Karen what rivals and the media say.
I do however still want CL next season,and the players we have at this moment in time "should" be capable of achieving that,IMO.

All the talk of Pep not having enough players sounds like garbage to me. FFS he spent over 100 million adding 6 players. Supposedly had a hand in Sterlin/DeBryune purchase too.

Thus, Sterling, DeBryune, Gundogan, Sane, Stones, Jesus, Nolito, Bravo, he has pretty much purchased players in every position barring fullback.

It's a bit of a false claim that he doesn't have his players. The 8 above plus Silva, Fernandihno and Yaya gives you 11 players he absolutely is comfortable with.

I'm having a hard time buying the "he needs his players" argument. If he needs to buy a completely new 11 to succeed, then what was the point? Surely Mourihno and a host of other average managers have shown the ability to do that.

I need improvement from what we have. Not excuses. Right now, I'm not very impressed at all by what I see. And even less so by the excuses. Especially coming from the same SWAT of fans who were dead certain Pelegrini was the problem. They were so sure any boffin (themselves included) should be doing better with what we had last year. If that is true, how can 180 million, 6 players and the best coach in the world be looking worse?

Leicester and Everton would have never put 4 past a Pelegrini team. Frankly no team in England would. Talk less 2 also ran teams.

This is bad. We need fewer excuses and more perfomances. I applaud beating a top 6 team, bit losing badly to a midtable teams and a relegation fighting team is deeply concerning.

And all the talk about "not having his players" is a little disingenuous. Simply put Pep Guardiola is underperforming and needs to improve and fast.

This is not good enough period!!! No buts!

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

Totally agree with you mate, Im sick and fucking tired of hearing about CL revenue-sometimes I wish we had no money to spend so the only option is to play some younger hungry players to show the powers that be that throwing money at it doesn't always work.

The whole game is fucking obsessed with money.

It's about image and perception as well though. Not being in CL is not good for the brand etc which like it or not is what we have.
Not just that but it puts huge pressure to get back in the year after

 

[gregblag]

All the talk of Pep not having enough players sounds like garbage to me. FFS he spent over 100 million adding 6 players. Supposedly had a hand in Sterlin/DeBryune purchase too.

Thus, Sterling, DeBryune, Gundogan, Sane, Stones, Jesus, Nolito, Bravo, he has pretty much purchased players in every position barring fullback.

It's a bit of a false claim that he doesn't have his players. The 8 above plus Silva, Fernandihno and Yaya gives you 11 players he absolutely is comfortable with.

I'm having a hard time buying the "he needs his players" argument. If he needs to buy a completely new 11 to succeed, then what was the point? Surely Mourihno and a host of other average managers have shown the ability to do that.

I need improvement from what we have. Not excuses. Right now, I'm not very impressed at all by what I see. And even less so by the excuses. Especially coming from the same SWAT of fans who were dead certain Pelegrini was the problem. They were so sure any boffin (themselves included) should be doing better with what we had last year. If that is true, how can 180 million, 6 players and the best coach in the world be looking worse?

.Leicester and Everton would have never put 4 past a Pelegrini team. Frankly no team in England would Talk less 2 also ran teams.

This is bad. We need fewer excuses and more perfomances. I applaud beating a top 6 team, bit losing badly to a midtable teams and a relegation fighting team is deeply concerning.

And all the talk about "not having his players" is a little disingenuous. Simply put Pep Guardiola is underperforming and needs to improve and fast.

This is not good enough period!!! No buts!

 

[Tom_mcfc]

I've now come around to the way of thinking that this is going to be a big job for pep,we need to overhaul large parts of the team this summer,i wouldn't be bothered about no CL next year,a lot of blues would be more bothered about what rival fans and the media say though

I don't think that's the case. Probably more that as a club we pushed and pushed, sacked a manager along the way to secure champions league football. We now, despite spending large amounts every summer, some Januarys and securing one of the best managers out there it isn't acceptable to not be in the top 4 for me. I can live without Champions League, I don't enjoy it that much but I am sure our owners and board will see it as a step backwards in becoming global. My worry would be then being in the Europa as I can't see us finishing as low as 7th. Whilst a few might be sensitive to what outsiders say it's the reasons above why it would bother me.

@Dax777 got it spot on when people use players and overhaul as excuses.

 

[casualdeyna]

Leicester and Everton would have never put 4 past a Pelegrini team. Frankly no team in England would. Talk less 2 also ran teams.

If you would've said a Mancini team I'd have agreed, but we were turned over plenty of times under Pellegrini.

I don't particularly disagree with the overall point you are making but Pellegrini had his time and couldn't even add up how many away goals we need to top a group, this slide began under his watch too.

Pep will come good, Pellegrini had his opportunity.

 

[gregblag]

If there is one thing I have learned in watching football in over 40 years it's that the vast majority of supporters know more about managing than actual managers who have spent their whole careers playing and managing. It's a really easy job if you never have to do it.

Ferguson, who United fans will tell you is the greatest ever (I don't agree but you can't argue that he wasn't one of the best), took four years to win his first trophy and seven years to win the league. This despite the fact he had the money to cherry pick any British or Irish player. In his 3rd season there was a banner up saying something like "3 years and the same old shit and same old excuses". One half season without a proper pre season is hardly clearing your throat.

Having said all that I hated Pellegrini's last season and didn't want to watch anymore. The lack of a plan was as bad as I can remember and I watched Malcolm Allison's return season which I rated as the worst ever. This season we are getting reasonable performances mixed in with a few poor performances. That doesn't even qualify as a bad season in my book.

A 0-4 scoreline tells you as much as 0-1 scoreline. It tells you who won and lost and not much else. One simple flaw at the back could be responsible, it could be being open when chasing the game, poor refereeing ( for example 4 offsides incorrectly given which I have seen happen) etc. etc. So Pellegrini didn't lose 0-4. Big deal. He never won against a top 6 team in his last season, got hammered home and away against Liverpool, hammered by Leicester at home, (we papered over the cracks against the weaker teams), never used youth in a meaningful way, played his favourites, allowed the squad to age, overplayed Yaya and Silva (who was carrying an injury).

Guardiola turned Barcelona into (arguably)the best team the world has ever seen and won an incredible sequence of trophies. Of course he's a fraud because he had the best players in the world to work with. No credit can be given to him for managing those players or bringing young players through so that they developed into the best in the world. I mean just look how Kinkladze turned City into world beaters, it didn't matter who was managing us.

That's like me saying I could be a world class conductor. I mean give me world class musicians and all I have to do is wave a baton about. Or I could be a jet airliner pilot. The automated systems do it all for you anyway. The fraud argument is put forward by those without competence, who cannot recognise competence and so cannot give credit to the truly competent.

Guardiola's system is based on Dutch total football. It depends on players understanding the principles involved, the creation of space during a game for example. That's dynamically understanding on the pitch what needs to be done in that instant. Those are the principles that Guardiola lived as a player. He wasn't physically capable of dominating a midfield but succeeded by his thought process, by understanding the game.

This is the opposite to the traditional English Tony Pulis hoof it, "get in there" style of football. Guardiola's system is the most difficult to implement and the most long term while the clogger style is the easiest and will bring the most immediate results.

Will Guardiola bring Manchester City success? That's an unknown. There are never any guarantees and trying his principles (the total football principles) and adapting them to the Premier League is a step into the unknown. Maybe the world of football has left total football behind. I don't think so but what's clear is that Guardiola will be given the maximum amount of support from the owner and exec's to give us the best possibility of success.

The best thing that can happen is that Guardiola succeeds despite the problems he is having at the moment. Anything else is a major setback and will put us back for years. So I reckon a bit of patience is in order, a lot more patience than having a go over a somewhat poor run over a quarter of a season.

 

[MarsLlama]

We're all entitled to our opinions, and my opinion is that anyone who genuinely thinks we should sack Pep at this stage is out of their minds.

 

[gregblag]

If there is one thing I have learned in watching football in over 40 years it's that the vast majority of supporters know more about managing than actual managers who have spent their whole careers playing and managing. It's a really easy job if you never have to do it.

Ferguson, who United fans will tell you is the greatest ever (I don't agree but you can't argue that he wasn't one of the best), took four years to win his first trophy and seven years to win the league. This despite the fact he had the money to cherry pick any British or Irish player. In his 3rd season there was a banner up saying something like "3 years and the same old shit and same old excuses". One half season without a proper pre season is hardly clearing your throat.

Having said all that I hated Pellegrini's last season and didn't want to watch anymore. The lack of a plan was as bad as I can remember and I watched Malcolm Allison's return season which I rated as the worst ever. This season we are getting reasonable performances mixed in with a few poor performances. That doesn't even qualify as a bad season in my book.

A 0-4 scoreline tells you as much as 0-1 scoreline. It tells you who won and lost and not much else. One simple flaw at the back could be responsible, it could be being open when chasing the game, poor refereeing ( for example 4 offsides incorrectly given which I have seen happen) etc. etc. So Pellegrini didn't lose 0-4. Big deal. He never won against a top 6 team in his last season, got hammered home and away against Liverpool, hammered by Leicester at home, (we papered over the cracks against the weaker teams), never used youth in a meaningful way, played his favourites, allowed the squad to age, overplayed Yaya and Silva (who was carrying an injury).

Guardiola turned Barcelona into (arguably)the best team the world has ever seen and won an incredible sequence of trophies. Of course he's a fraud because he had the best players in the world to work with. No credit can be given to him for managing those players or bringing young players through so that they developed into the best in the world. I mean just look how Kinkladze turned City into world beaters, it didn't matter who was managing us.

That's like me saying I could be a world class conductor. I mean give me world class musicians and all I have to do is wave a baton about. Or I could be a jet airliner pilot. The automated systems do it all for you anyway. The fraud argument is put forward by those without competence, who cannot recognise competence and so cannot give credit to the truly competent.

Guardiola's system is based on Dutch total football. It depends on players understanding the principles involved, the creation of space during a game for example. That's dynamically understanding on the pitch what needs to be done in that instant. Those are the principles that Guardiola lived as a player. He wasn't physically capable of dominating a midfield but succeeded by his thought process, by understanding the game.

This is the opposite to the traditional English Tony Pulis hoof it, "get in there" style of football. Guardiola's system is the most difficult to implement and the most long term while the clogger style is the easiest and will bring the most immediate results.

Will Guardiola bring Manchester City success? That's an unknown. There are never any guarantees and trying his principles (the total football principles) and adapting them to the Premier League is a step into the unknown. Maybe the world of football has left total football behind. I don't think so but what's clear is that Guardiola will be given the maximum amount of support from the owner and exec's to give us the best possibility of success.

The best thing that can happen is that Guardiola succeeds despite the problems he is having at the moment. Anything else is a major setback and will put us back for years. So I reckon a bit of patience is in order, a lot more patience than having a go over a somewhat poor run over a quarter of a season.

 

[gregblag]

My apologies, I said English football and used Tony Pulis as an example. Tony Pulis is, of course, Welsh.