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Pellegrini Thread
- Thread starter FantasyIreland
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City Raider
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His big test is still to come. Most of us expect Arsenal to fade away, Chelsea probably won't. Which means at some point he'll go head to head with Mourinho. At that point of the season, when the pressure's really on, a team looks to its manager for leadership. Anyone have any idea of how he is in these situations? I'd imagine he's fairly unflappable but you just know the media will stir the 'nearly man' tag.
City Raider said:His big test is still to come. Most of us expect Arsenal to fade away, Chelsea probably won't. Which means at some point he'll go head to head with Mourinho. At that point of the season, when the pressure's really on, a team looks to its manager for leadership. Anyone have any idea of how he is in these situations? I'd imagine he's fairly unflappable but you just know the media will stir the 'nearly man' tag.
I follow pellegrini from san lorenzo, river, villareal, malaga and now and I can said that the pressure its not an issue, all of their teams once are working, are unstoppable, some numbers:
San Lorenzo, most wins in a row in Argentina
Historic second place with Villareal
Points Record with Real Madrid
Best team under Barcelona and Madrid with Malaga in his first season (points)
Im just worried about two things, Chelsea game and leg definitions.
SrilankanBlue
Well-Known Member
City Raider said:His big test is still to come. Most of us expect Arsenal to fade away, Chelsea probably won't. Which means at some point he'll go head to head with Mourinho. At that point of the season, when the pressure's really on, a team looks to its manager for leadership. Anyone have any idea of how he is in these situations? I'd imagine he's fairly unflappable but you just know the media will stir the 'nearly man' tag.
Like Pellers has said on many occasions a manager does not know pressure until he manages either River Plate or Boca in a Superclasico, everything else pales in significance
Pellegrini would have never signed Balotelli. If he arrived at the club I think he would get rid of him. It didn't take Pelle long to get rid of Riquelme when he thought he was bigger than Villarreal.<br /><br />-- Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:58 am --<br /><br />jay_mcfc said:I think this is an interesting question but I don't want it to descend into a typical BM meltdown type of thing.
Anyone wonder what Pellegrini could do with Balotelli? I think if he was in this squad now playing under this manager the sky would be the limit for him. His last 12 months here were ruined by the lost respect between him and Mancini and in the end it was right to let him go. And although I'm not yearning for Balotelli and I'm not interested in him coming back but I do think this environment and this manager could get him playing at a level he wouldn't otherwise be playing at.
I also understand that part of the problem before was having four strikers of Tevez, Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli so for arguements sake let's say Tevez and Dzeko were sold so there were Negredo, Aguero and Mario.
Txiki and Pellegrini sign the players - end of. There is no they would sign a player if neither of them agreed they would improve the team. You only have to look at other clubs (i.e. Tottenham) who have took the technical director/manager route to see they get it all wrong in giving the director superiority over the manager in buying players.blue ranger said:ste.sully said:Pellegrini has been an absolute revelation. I think us City fans have been very modest about him compared with Mancini. He has even got Javi Garcia playing some decent football and making him contribute to the team which is an achievement in itself. Hopefully when we win a couple of trophies we will start chanting his name.tiptopcheshireblue said:Manuel has been excellent so far, seems to have adapted really well. Completely unflustered by Mourinho's attempted mind tricks, and has the team happy and motivated.
Keep up the good work, might end up being the finest of seasons.
I loved Mancini but I feel Pellegrini is 5x the manager Roberto ever was. It's the truth.
The best comparison I can make to back up my claim is that Roberto struggled to implement the 3-5-2 system badly at the start of last season in an attempt to make us an attacking team. It failed spectacularly.
Pellegrini has come in and simply bought two players we badly needed in Navas and Negredo at a cost of £30 million. More importantly he has improved Kolarov and told Zabaleta to keep bombing forward but maintain the 4-4-2 formation. That is all that was needed but Mancini was stumped.
This isn't a criticism of pellers - this season is the best football I've ever watched. But I'm not convinced he signed negredo and navas. I think we may have even signed a couple of players before he came in. But all the same they are all top players.
Just going back to the point about Pelle being under orders to play entertaining football. I did actually post on this in December (annoyingly, I can't find it now) and suggest that Pelle, towards the beginning of the season, had placed a greater priority on implementing this style than on winning games.
Anyway, Pelle himself, quoted in the MEN on 10 January, made this point that implementing a new style was a key objective in the early part of the season: “I remember that when we lost the first or two games away against Cardiff and against Aston Villa I repeated that we were going to continue playing the same way Maybe in that moment we could have had better scores if we changed everything or if we go and play against Cardiff and Aston Villa with 10 players defending. But I was absolutely sure. We lost those games but I think for the players it was very important to understand that I was not going to change because we lost because of a mistake or a set piece.” (See here - http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...manuel-pellegrinis-approach-summed-up-6496905)
Meanwhile, here's Pelle quoted in a piece by Paul Wilson in The Observer on 12 January: "I could have come to England [when I left Real Madrid], I had the option but I chose to stay in Spain. I chose Málaga because it was a challenge and I was very happy there but of course you cannot win the title with Málaga or Villarreal. It is impossible. But Manchester City can win a title in England. I am sure of that. And I am also sure they can win it playing attacking football, the way I always want my teams to play. The style of football has been the same at Villarreal, Real Madrid, Málaga and now Manchester City. That is why City came for me, I think. They wanted the team to play the way I wanted. That in turn made it easy for me, knowing that a club was looking to hire me. It was not my agent touting me, it was the other way around and that was a very important part of my decision." (See here - http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/11/manchester-city-manuel-pellegrini-big-club)
And here's what Pelle said before he was even appointed, according to the website socceramerica.com, in a radio interview with a Chilean broadcaster on 30 May last year: "We know where [Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain] came from [Barcelona] and we know perfectly what kind of approach they are interested in. We want to win and to entertain." In other words, Pelle knew what he was signing up to before his contract was finalised. (See here - http://www.socceramerica.com/article/51869/pellegrini-man-city-deal-close.html)
Ferran in his book 'Goal: The Ball Doesn't Go In By Chance' talks on page 65 about what he calls the "very important issue" in terms of clubs' prospects for growth: "What are football clubs' brands going to be saying to their potential fans"? And he notes that "To avoid your team's success being temporary, your brand's values must support your brand's content". He talks about style of football in this context, though it's about more than this as well and the whole 'Mes que un club' thing at Barca was driven by this objective. But earlier in the book (page 11) he talks about he and the rest of Laporta's team when they took over identifying that an overriding objective at Barca was "To win. A winning team would have to be built." However, he goes on to say this: "But it should also play good football in keeping with FC Barcelona's spectacular style". That style is part of the identity of the club which is bound in with the way its brand values are projected. I think we're looking at a similar kind of ambition at City now and that a key reason for Pellegrini having been recruited is that Soriano and Begiristain believe he's capable of winning in style.
[Incidentally, Ferran also states as the second key objective that: "The club, members and by extension the people of Catalonia would have to be well represented and have a good image". IMO anyone who understands anything about the post-2008 MCFC at all will know that this is of the utmost importance to the club's owner and the stakeholders back in Abu Dhabi. IMO this and the point regarding the style of play explain why Pellegrini is now our manager.]
Here's something interesting that Txiki had to say about a DoF's relationship with the team manager/head coach. From an interview with Guillem Balague in The Times, published on 24 April 2012: “It’s not enough to have a technical director who only deals with the academy and grassroots work; he’s also got to be able to influence the first team as well and be able to take the vision forward. It’s pointless having a technical director getting the grassroots football to go in one direction and develop a style of play if the first-team coach does not agree with those ideas.” (Unfortunately The Times site is behind a paywall, while the piece in question no longer seems to be on Balague's own personal site, but it was reproduced in full on this site when Txiki arrived at MCFC in October 2012: http://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=270192&start=180)
Finally, given that the success while Ferran and Txiki were at Barcelona was arguably about reinstating the blueprint initially laid down by Johann Cruyff and that Txiki (who played for six or seven years in Cruyff's team) was seen as unambiguously as a Cruyff man, here's an interesting quote from the legendary Dutchman himself: "Txiki did an awesome job at Barcelona, but it is impossible to copy Barcelona. Maybe in 10 years everyone will want to copy Manchester City's style. You'll have to see how Txiki works with [Mancini], all I know is that they want to strengthen their grassroots [development]." (See here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...tain-manchester-city/index.html#ixzz2qupzct2W.)
Moving on, there's another point that people haven't really mentioned much yet: in my view, at least, this is still a transitional season for us and, though things are going well for us now, next season we'll be even better. This is because (i) we'll hit the ground running whereas this season we tossed away a lot of cheap points away from home early on while we got used to the new style, and (ii) the squad will be decisively stronger because we'll bring in a couple of players to compete in the positions where currently we lack a bit of top-quality (note this phrase) strength in depth, namely CB, CM and arguably at least one FB.
And finally, just one point to remember for those who say that it isn't enough to play pretty football and score lots of goals - both Soriano and Pelle agree with you. Look at both their comments. The plan is for us to entrench our position as a dominant club in the PL and globally by playing wonderful football that wins things at the same time. We'll see in the next year or two whether Manuel has that in him, but I hope and believe he does.
Anyway, Pelle himself, quoted in the MEN on 10 January, made this point that implementing a new style was a key objective in the early part of the season: “I remember that when we lost the first or two games away against Cardiff and against Aston Villa I repeated that we were going to continue playing the same way Maybe in that moment we could have had better scores if we changed everything or if we go and play against Cardiff and Aston Villa with 10 players defending. But I was absolutely sure. We lost those games but I think for the players it was very important to understand that I was not going to change because we lost because of a mistake or a set piece.” (See here - http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...manuel-pellegrinis-approach-summed-up-6496905)
Meanwhile, here's Pelle quoted in a piece by Paul Wilson in The Observer on 12 January: "I could have come to England [when I left Real Madrid], I had the option but I chose to stay in Spain. I chose Málaga because it was a challenge and I was very happy there but of course you cannot win the title with Málaga or Villarreal. It is impossible. But Manchester City can win a title in England. I am sure of that. And I am also sure they can win it playing attacking football, the way I always want my teams to play. The style of football has been the same at Villarreal, Real Madrid, Málaga and now Manchester City. That is why City came for me, I think. They wanted the team to play the way I wanted. That in turn made it easy for me, knowing that a club was looking to hire me. It was not my agent touting me, it was the other way around and that was a very important part of my decision." (See here - http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/11/manchester-city-manuel-pellegrini-big-club)
And here's what Pelle said before he was even appointed, according to the website socceramerica.com, in a radio interview with a Chilean broadcaster on 30 May last year: "We know where [Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain] came from [Barcelona] and we know perfectly what kind of approach they are interested in. We want to win and to entertain." In other words, Pelle knew what he was signing up to before his contract was finalised. (See here - http://www.socceramerica.com/article/51869/pellegrini-man-city-deal-close.html)
Ferran in his book 'Goal: The Ball Doesn't Go In By Chance' talks on page 65 about what he calls the "very important issue" in terms of clubs' prospects for growth: "What are football clubs' brands going to be saying to their potential fans"? And he notes that "To avoid your team's success being temporary, your brand's values must support your brand's content". He talks about style of football in this context, though it's about more than this as well and the whole 'Mes que un club' thing at Barca was driven by this objective. But earlier in the book (page 11) he talks about he and the rest of Laporta's team when they took over identifying that an overriding objective at Barca was "To win. A winning team would have to be built." However, he goes on to say this: "But it should also play good football in keeping with FC Barcelona's spectacular style". That style is part of the identity of the club which is bound in with the way its brand values are projected. I think we're looking at a similar kind of ambition at City now and that a key reason for Pellegrini having been recruited is that Soriano and Begiristain believe he's capable of winning in style.
[Incidentally, Ferran also states as the second key objective that: "The club, members and by extension the people of Catalonia would have to be well represented and have a good image". IMO anyone who understands anything about the post-2008 MCFC at all will know that this is of the utmost importance to the club's owner and the stakeholders back in Abu Dhabi. IMO this and the point regarding the style of play explain why Pellegrini is now our manager.]
Here's something interesting that Txiki had to say about a DoF's relationship with the team manager/head coach. From an interview with Guillem Balague in The Times, published on 24 April 2012: “It’s not enough to have a technical director who only deals with the academy and grassroots work; he’s also got to be able to influence the first team as well and be able to take the vision forward. It’s pointless having a technical director getting the grassroots football to go in one direction and develop a style of play if the first-team coach does not agree with those ideas.” (Unfortunately The Times site is behind a paywall, while the piece in question no longer seems to be on Balague's own personal site, but it was reproduced in full on this site when Txiki arrived at MCFC in October 2012: http://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=270192&start=180)
Finally, given that the success while Ferran and Txiki were at Barcelona was arguably about reinstating the blueprint initially laid down by Johann Cruyff and that Txiki (who played for six or seven years in Cruyff's team) was seen as unambiguously as a Cruyff man, here's an interesting quote from the legendary Dutchman himself: "Txiki did an awesome job at Barcelona, but it is impossible to copy Barcelona. Maybe in 10 years everyone will want to copy Manchester City's style. You'll have to see how Txiki works with [Mancini], all I know is that they want to strengthen their grassroots [development]." (See here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...tain-manchester-city/index.html#ixzz2qupzct2W.)
Moving on, there's another point that people haven't really mentioned much yet: in my view, at least, this is still a transitional season for us and, though things are going well for us now, next season we'll be even better. This is because (i) we'll hit the ground running whereas this season we tossed away a lot of cheap points away from home early on while we got used to the new style, and (ii) the squad will be decisively stronger because we'll bring in a couple of players to compete in the positions where currently we lack a bit of top-quality (note this phrase) strength in depth, namely CB, CM and arguably at least one FB.
And finally, just one point to remember for those who say that it isn't enough to play pretty football and score lots of goals - both Soriano and Pelle agree with you. Look at both their comments. The plan is for us to entrench our position as a dominant club in the PL and globally by playing wonderful football that wins things at the same time. We'll see in the next year or two whether Manuel has that in him, but I hope and believe he does.
Ducado
Well-Known Member
I agree that this season is a transition season I always expected it
jollylescott
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Excellent analysis Petrusha.
In regard to this season being a transitional one, I think the evidence supports this. The team started slowly as they began to become accustomed to a different, more attacking approach. It feels like we have been playing catch up since those early losses, and that we have given the others about 9 points head start. If we don't take out the league, then I have no doubt we will hit the ground running next season as the City style is fully bedded in.
Of course a successful club must be successful at all levels. Ferran and Txiki have brought their visionary global approach to the club. Tom Glick is embedding the financial future, and our wonderful owner is working with the Manchester community to provide facilities which will be the envy of clubs around the world.
After watching the magnificent football the team is playing (and after watching Chelsea and the rags play out an ordinary game), I have no doubt we are the best team in the league. The extra quality that I like is that we play with integrity and character. We get on with the game, we accept the referees decision, and we respect our opponents. Pellegrini is critical to this. His approach will win many many friends in the football community.
Pellegrini, Txiki and Soriano are on the same page. Playing winning football, and doing so in style, is a fantastic objective.
We are privileged to be watching this transition.
In regard to this season being a transitional one, I think the evidence supports this. The team started slowly as they began to become accustomed to a different, more attacking approach. It feels like we have been playing catch up since those early losses, and that we have given the others about 9 points head start. If we don't take out the league, then I have no doubt we will hit the ground running next season as the City style is fully bedded in.
Of course a successful club must be successful at all levels. Ferran and Txiki have brought their visionary global approach to the club. Tom Glick is embedding the financial future, and our wonderful owner is working with the Manchester community to provide facilities which will be the envy of clubs around the world.
After watching the magnificent football the team is playing (and after watching Chelsea and the rags play out an ordinary game), I have no doubt we are the best team in the league. The extra quality that I like is that we play with integrity and character. We get on with the game, we accept the referees decision, and we respect our opponents. Pellegrini is critical to this. His approach will win many many friends in the football community.
Pellegrini, Txiki and Soriano are on the same page. Playing winning football, and doing so in style, is a fantastic objective.
We are privileged to be watching this transition.
toffee balls
Well-Known Member
City Raider said:His big test is still to come.Which means at some point he'll go head to head with Mourinho
2 weeks today
mike channon´s windmill
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Superb Petrusha
Detailed and very thoughtful insight into the new "holistic" philosophy of 21st century City
It really does look good
Detailed and very thoughtful insight into the new "holistic" philosophy of 21st century City
It really does look good
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