Manuel Pellegrini (cont)

[BillyShears]

You must like placing big bets then mate! This time last year we were way off the pace and only really got our noses in front in the last six games if my memory serves me right, we hardly were ever top spot.

I remember the overriding opinion in October/early November of last season being that Pellegrini was naive and that his tactics might work in La Liga but he wasn't going to win the premier league using them.

Be gentle mate, I was having another one of my moments!

Moving forward to January can anybody see us making a signing of significance or will we just say fuck it and spend in the summer?

:)

I think if we don't get out of our CL group it's difficult to see us signing anyone. More likely any chance of activity will be if we do get through.

Still think next summer will be big in terms of our total outlay.

 

[chris85mcfc]

Yes mate, we were favs and everyones tip to win it, i had a very nice return in my betfair account on the last day of the season too
I honestly dont know anyone who thought we wouldnt win it, so i just found it strange that you said the complete opposite...

You must like placing big bets then mate! This time last year we were way off the pace and only really got our noses in front in the last six games if my memory serves me right, we hardly were ever top spot.

I remember the overriding opinion in October/early November of last season being that Pellegrini was naive and that his tactics might work in La Liga but he wasn't going to win the premier league using them.

I remember that period of time very well, and I had great pleasure in taming all the flappers and encouraging them to give him a chance as you could see the potential in the team, and a lot of them looked rather silly when we won the double

Fast forward a season and we look like we have the hangover of all hangovers, blame it on whatever you (not you personally) want, but the fact is he has struggled to motivate the team to reach the levels of last season, where as Mourinho has hit the ground running

The lack of motivation that I saw in the team against Moscow, when a win was vital, was quite damning for all to see, and those kind of performances are the ones that have seen me lose my faith in the manager

 

[flb]

Yes mate, we were favs and everyones tip to win it, i had a very nice return in my betfair account on the last day of the season too
I honestly dont know anyone who thought we wouldnt win it, so i just found it strange that you said the complete opposite...

You must like placing big bets then mate! This time last year we were way off the pace and only really got our noses in front in the last six games if my memory serves me right, we hardly were ever top spot.

You never said this time last year, but just for the record we were still 11/4 favs even after our bad start last season.....

Its amazing the role reversal with the bookies now Maureen has spent in the summer, there were plenty of pundits who were convinced he'd win it last season aswell, all his little pony shit didnt wash with me, fist pumping away at Liverpool in the Gerrard game, a lot of people caught a cold betting on Chelsea last season.

 

[flb]

I remember the overriding opinion in October/early November of last season being that Pellegrini was naive and that his tactics might work in La Liga but he wasn't going to win the premier league using them.

Be gentle mate, I was having another one of my moments!

Moving forward to January can anybody see us making a signing of significance or will we just say fuck it and spend in the summer?

:)

I think if we don't get out of our CL group it's difficult to see us signing anyone. More likely any chance of activity will be if we do get through.

Still think next summer will be big in terms of our total outlay.

Perhaps Txiki has Pep's little black book as we speak !

 

[bernabias home shirt]

You must like placing big bets then mate! This time last year we were way off the pace and only really got our noses in front in the last six games if my memory serves me right, we hardly were ever top spot.

You never said this time last year, but just for the record we were still 11/4 favs even after our bad start last season.....

Its amazing the role reversal with the bookies now Maureen has spent in the summer, there were plenty of pundits who were convinced he'd win it last season aswell, all his little pony shit didnt wash with me, fist pumping away at Liverpool in the Gerrard game, a lot of people caught a cold betting on Chelsea last season.

I said it at the weekend ive never in the history of prem league betting seen a team at 1/6 at the beginning of november, i was still betting on city when we started our comeback and went on a big winning run at some nice prices, i hope we can again but i honestly couldn't have a penny on us to win it now, we are abt 8/1 but tbh i'd turn my nose up at 33/1....

Then again we've come back from the dead twice :)

 

[Anonymous]

I remember Thomas Muller making a comment about Bayern players being on the deck chairs after seeing our team set up.

As you infer, nothing has changed and team performances have got worse.

You don't hold the manager accountable for that whereas I do.

So you're solely referring to the first game against Bayern ? It was embarrassing, and I said so on here, and was rebuked by posters in this thread too.

I still think it was embarrassing, however what he did was win the next 5 CL games, so no I don't see it as "nothing has changed", its quite clear it was put right, including the win in Munich.

What relevance (other than for comparison purposes) it is to how we've played in this season competition I don't know, but I'd suggest none at all.

I'm not trying to convince you he's the greatest manager that ever lived, just countering your points, I'm not especially attached to him, even though he did give me the best season I've ever watched last year, including the Champions League matches I attended. I equally wasn't attached to the previous manager either, but at the time said I thought it was handled badly, especially in the days leading up to a cup final, though I suspect we were dumped into that fiasco by another club, for reasons best known to themselves, as it had no significant impact on them, unless they wanted Pellegrini themselves.

If MP turns it round great, if we bumble along and qualify in 3rd for the CL, it will be regression, but good anyway as that is what we know we must achieve regardless, and I trust that we have the people in charge who will do what is necessary when the time comes, however that time is hopefully still some way off. If we miss 3rd then his number will be up, even if we win a cup (unless by some miracle its the CL).

I referred to other games and then responded about Bayern based on your post?

He put it right after one game.

BFS, Hughes, Pardew, Guardiola, Garcia and Slutski so far - how many more games before he puts it right this season?

According to his own quotes he's not planning on changing anything - is that putting it right?

Do you think more of the same is good enough, acceptable and will see him through to the end of the season?

I'm not entirely convinced it is.

 

[BillyShears]

You must like placing big bets then mate! This time last year we were way off the pace and only really got our noses in front in the last six games if my memory serves me right, we hardly were ever top spot.

I remember the overriding opinion in October/early November of last season being that Pellegrini was naive and that his tactics might work in La Liga but he wasn't going to win the premier league using them.

I remember that period of time very well, and I had great pleasure in taming all the flappers and encouraging them to give him a chance as you could see the potential in the team, and a lot of them looked rather silly when we won the double

Fast forward a season and we look like we have the hangover of all hangovers, blame it on whatever you (not you personally) want, but the fact is he has struggled to motivate the team to reach the levels of last season, where as Mourinho has hit the ground running

The lack of motivation that I saw in the team against Moscow, when a win was vital, was quite damning for all to see, and those kind of performances are the ones that have seen me lose my faith in the manager

You won't get any argument out of me with regards both motivation and performance against Spurs, 2nd half in Moscow, West Ham, the entire match against Moscow at the Etihad, and QPR. For a manager to oversee that kind of underperformance is scary, hence my posts in the immediate aftermath of QPR.

Having had a few days to reflect though I believe that Pellegrini is more than capable of arresting the slide. After all, he has all the raw materials and he has proven once already he can do it. I'm hoping that the break is as good for him as it is for the players.

In that sense I'm a bit like Bob K. I'm sanguine. He either fixes things and we get better and all is well again. Or things don't really improve leaving his position untenable. I've said numerous time it scares me the pool of candidates outside of Pep and Klopp who I think would be significantly better than MP, but at the same time I accept if he has to go because shit has fallen off a metaphorical cliff it won't really matter.

 

[Silva_Spell]

We had a similar start last season in terms of results, however the difference is that last season's poor early results were down to
a) A bedding in period for Pellegrini
b) Glaring individual errors, mainly from Hart.

This season the individual errors aren't the issue and Pellegrini has no excuse of getting used to the PL ((esp. away from home) or the players getting used to Pellegrini.

And even if it was a carbon copy of last year, knowing Chelsea would strengthen significantly, we were banking on the extra points as a result of the manager not needing to bed in. That's gone now.

We're capable of going on a huge winning streak but even should we do so it's going to be very tough. We really needed those extra points over last year.

Talk of Simeone doesn't make sense to me. 1) I'm not sure the squad we have is suitable for him, his tactic centred around a big no.9 and counter attacking football, and 2) It would mean no Pep in the near future and it's no secret Txiki/Ferran want him above all

 

[chris85mcfc]

I remember the overriding opinion in October/early November of last season being that Pellegrini was naive and that his tactics might work in La Liga but he wasn't going to win the premier league using them.

I remember that period of time very well, and I had great pleasure in taming all the flappers and encouraging them to give him a chance as you could see the potential in the team, and a lot of them looked rather silly when we won the double

Fast forward a season and we look like we have the hangover of all hangovers, blame it on whatever you (not you personally) want, but the fact is he has struggled to motivate the team to reach the levels of last season, where as Mourinho has hit the ground running

The lack of motivation that I saw in the team against Moscow, when a win was vital, was quite damning for all to see, and those kind of performances are the ones that have seen me lose my faith in the manager

You won't get any argument out of me with regards both motivation and performance against Spurs, 2nd half in Moscow, West Ham, the entire match against Moscow at the Etihad, and QPR. For a manager to oversee that kind of underperformance is scary, hence my posts in the immediate aftermath of QPR.

Having had a few days to reflect though I believe that Pellegrini is more than capable of arresting the slide. After all, he has all the raw materials and he has proven once already he can do it. I'm hoping that the break is as good for him as it is for the players.

In that sense I'm a bit like Bob K. I'm sanguine. He either fixes things and we get better and all is well again. Or things don't really improve leaving his position untenable. I've said numerous time it scares me the pool of candidates outside of Pep and Klopp who I think would be significantly better than MP, but at the same time I accept if he has to go because shit has fallen off a metaphorical cliff it won't really matter.

Totally agree with all of that

I think the international break could have just about saved him, especially as the media concentrates on England

Gives everyone a chance to refresh and come up with a monster plan to see us get going

It's a results business, and positive results will take a lot of pressure off his shoulders

 

[Damocles]

Just so we're clear. Who thinks a 3rd place finish and no trophy will get him sacked and who do those people propose the club approach to replace Pellegrini?

I think this all depends. I'd be willing to take a 3rd place spot and no trophy if I feel that the club has progressed in some way over this season. If we start picking up replacements for Lampard, Demichelis and Negredo from our EDS team and also allow Fernando and Mangala to bed in properly and start getting some form together, then I'd snatch the third place off of you tomorrow. I'd prefer that in front of another last minute title win to be honest as ashamed as I am to say that totally raggish comment.

I'm pretty comfortable with where we are in English football now. I don't think we need to win the league for the third out of four times to be seen as one of the contenders and the major players in the country. There are other priorities for us now and it is getting the squad together and start using our conveyor belt.

One of the reasons I warmed to Pellegrini is wholly because of this happy and calm atmosphere he brings to City when everybody around him is angry and flapping. With a man like him you would want to use his best attributes to our biggest advantage and seeing him blood a few young players into the squad, if only for 10 minutes at the end of a game, would be a major plus point in his column and might knock some of our more comfortable players out of their complacency