Respect your opinion. Also agree that you were thinking aloud regarding certain things. Sorry if my post came across as strong.
The thing about a goalkeeper's distribution under a Pep Guardiola system is that although a keeper's pass may not be perfect, it has to provide a solution. Very important is the term "solution". The pass may be heavily hit or under hit, it may not go exactly to the intended player's feet, but it HAS to provide a solution. I am not a coach who can list out the many ways of providing solutions, but I think we can visualise the passes that the keeper is supposed to make to provide a solution to the opposition's tactics, pressing, movements etc. It is an extremely difficult skill to learn, especially when you are set in your ways. It requires particular intelligence to firstly, understand the situation, and then rigorous training to learn how and where to make the pass.
I know this. Pep knows this. And I have a feeling Hart knows this.
You mentioned Hart learning the kicking style of Pepe Reina - quick and flat. I haven't seen Hart make such passes. Pepe Reina came from La Masia Academy and I'm not sure Hart will ever be able to reproduce such technique. Again, this isn't a slight on Hart's ability. Just the observation that the outcome of training Hart (who is 30) would result in a not more than a pale imitation of what was originally intended.
I'm sure that Pep's decision hasn't been made solely on one half of a pre-season game with makeshift centre backs. Again the stats you show are insufficient in the sense that they only tell a part of the story. Hart might have made only 11 passes, 4 of which went long (2 which failed), but importantly, how many of those passes were really a solution?
I completely disagree about the part where you say that you'd keep Joe as the Number 2. I wouldn't. I have mentioned the reasons for that in my first reply to you. I just don't want the accompanying circus that will follow the goalkeeping situation. "Will Joe start over Bravo now that Bravo made an error in goal" are the headlines I dearly want to avoid at any cost. I would rather have clearly demarcated responsibilities for the two goalkeepers. That doesn't mean that I want the club to force Joe out of the club. If Joe says that he wants to fight for his place then I don't want him to leave. I just see that Hart staying will be an endeavour in vain. But it is better for everybody if he leaves. He gets to be a starter for a club and most likely performs well enough to remain England's No.1. City get along with their tutelage under Pep without any distractions. A win-win situation all round.
