There are members on this forum who're like post forensics. We all see & sense things differently, so if there are any post forensics out there who'd like to check, they'll see my posts from a year ago where after never saying a negative word about Guardiola (CL final against Chelsea apart), my patience began to wear thin with him.
1. His failure to see our squad needed to evolve which he declined to do (his admission)
2. The annual "will he, won't he" extend his contract for another two years.
Everything I've highlighted today in isolation is barely worth mentioning. However, when strung together in a timeline, I'd be kidding myself not to think there's more going on behind the scenes than most people think.
There's not one thing I mentioned that's made up. Only one could be cast as speculation (today's tweet about Viana & summer transfer decisions), but when considered in the context of what else is going on at my club, I'm not going to stick my fingers in my ears, scrunch up my eyes & refuse to acknowledge the picture that's emerging once I've connected the dots.
I'm not one for CONspiracy theories or hyperbole, but I am a person who takes keen notice of patterns & frequencies, & in that respect my Spidey senses are tingling. I repeat, I get a deep deep sense that all isn't well behind the scenes at Manchester City regarding Pep Guardiola.
I can't recall a manager sacking his whole backroom team himself. If anyone else can, please tell me.
We all know Pep loves a small elite squad. He "jokingly" threatened to quit 6 months ago, unless his squad was drastically cut by the end of the summer window.
However, over the last 2 years, FOUR senior players have publicly stated their personal, & the players' preference for a large squad, the direct opposite of what Pep desires. As of the close of this window, we have that large squad. Whether by design or because we failed to move players on, it amounts to the same. This larger squad doesn't include Philips or Ortega.
Pep admitted it was his fault that we didn't start the rebuilding process last summer, after turning down the offer. Khaldoon could barely contain his annoyance that this contributed to last season's collapse. Now reconsider the tweet about Viana & our increased squad size.
I've outlined several other instances where like I said, in isolation, they probably don't mean a lot, but when added together in a timeline, it makes me sit up & take notice.
I hope for my sake I've got this all wrong, but rarely do I see so many separate instances, which when linked start to form a picture & this doesn't turn out to be wholly or partly the case.
I'm happy to wait & see. If Guardiola adapts his tactics & formations, & everything returns to what we've come to expect, or we can clearly see a transitional pathway toward that goal, I'll be more than happy to hold my hands up & say I got it all wrong.
The thing is, I had similar feelings about the following too:
Pellegrini
Kompany leaving & us not replacing him
Pep's line-up for the Chelsea CL final
The 115 being utter bullshit & at worst us being fined for non-compliance
More recently:
Grealish & his end of season 2022-23 drinking
Rodri fearing for his health
Rodri, Foden, Akanji & Bernardo saying they were physically & mentally drained & the players wanted a bigger squad
Pep pulling his "will he, won't he" extend 12 months ago, becoming draining
Pep admitting he declined to rebuild last summer
Khaldoon's rebuild comments
Pep's coaching staff being sacked
City ending the window with a fully stacked squad, albeit Pep wants a small one
Pep Lijnders demeanour since the CWC
Rodri's "kids" comments
Rodri's comments about sorting things on & off the field
Reports today that Viana was solely responsible for all transfers this summer (could be speculation)
My mind works logically & I can't help making connections. After connecting the dots & seeing the picture that emerged, I had exactly the same feelings for all the above.
We all want the same thing, & I'm absolutely desperate for Manchester City to turn things around. I've defended Pep to the hilt when he was called the "Bald Fraud" "Fraudiola" & other disparaging things on this very forum. However, last summer's "will he, won't he" extend his contract was the first time I began to doubt him during his ten year tenure.
I swear, I hope I've got all the above very very wrong. If I have, I'll be the first to say so come the end of the season.
