Pep Guardiola - 2019/20 Performances

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He’s off his fucking head is Pep. What other manager would play two midfielders at centre half the next game after our worst home performance under him when we have Stones, Garcia and Harwood-Bellis in the squad?

Great call yesterday and it’s something that might revolutionise football with midfielders playing at the back. We won that game yesterday (and Redknapp and Morrison didn’t pick up on it for Sky), because these two pushed into midfield when we had possession which pushed our midfield up into the Palace third and when Palace has possession we didn’t give them any space to do anything because at any one time we had 9 payers within a ten metre pitch wide line of the ball.
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
He’s off his fucking head is Pep. What other manager would play two midfielders at centre half the next game after our worst home performance under him when we have Stones, Garcia and Harwood-Bellis in the squad?

Great call yesterday and it’s something that might revolutionise football with midfielders playing at the back. We won that game yesterday (and Redknapp and Morrison didn’t pick up on it for Sky), because these two pushed into midfield when we had possession which pushed our midfield up into the Palace third and when Palace has possession we didn’t give them any space to do anything because at any one time we had 9 payers within a ten metre pitch wide line of the ball.
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Franco Baresi was a midfielder. Terry and Ferdinand were midfielders. Vincent Kompany was primarily a midfielder when Mancini converted him. Harry Maguire was a midfielder. Conor Coady was a midfielder. Carragher was a midfielder. Ledley King was a midfielder. Phil Jagielka was a midfielder. United played Fletcher and Carrick at centreback together. Trent Alexander-Arnold was a midfielder til Klopp reinvented him.....but Pep created the concept, obviously.......(when his 3 senior centrebacks were injured/not match fit)

I had a chat with one of the coaches running a course I was on a few years back, who’d coached Michael Dawson when he was a forward/midfielder in Forest’s academy. I asked him about the fact that so many of England’s defenders in recent times (Terry, Cole, Ferdinand etc) all took the step back into defence late in their development, and did it ultimately mean that kids who actually begin as default defenders in the academy game end up less likely to make it as a result; he agreed that was probably the case.

I think it’s changing slightly now though, with the academy focus on every player - defenders included - having a default passing competence embedded into their game from being babies; THB and Garcia can pass the ball through the lines better than Lindelof and Maguire.
 
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Franco Baresi was a midfielder. Terry and Ferdinand were midfielders. Vincent Kompany was primarily a midfielder when Mancini converted him. Harry Maguire was a midfielder. Conor Coady was a midfielder. Carragher was a midfielder. Ledley King was a midfielder. Phil Jagielka was a midfielder. United played Fletcher and Carrick at centreback together. Trent Alexander-Arnold was a midfielder til Klopp reinvented him.....but Pep created the concept, obviously.......(when his 3 senior centrebacks were injured/not match fit)

I had a chat with one of the coaches running a course I was on a few years back, who’d coached Michael Dawson when he was a forward/midfielder in Forest’s academy. I asked him about the fact that so many of England’s defenders in recent times (Terry, Cole, Ferdinand etc) all took the step back into defence late in their development, and did it ultimately mean that kids who actually begin as default defenders in the academy game end up less likely to make it as a result; he agreed that was probably the case.

I think it’s changing slightly now though, with the academy focus on every player - defenders included - having a default passing competence embedded into their game from being babies; THB and Garcia can pass the ball through the lines better than Lindelof and Maguire.
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Interesting, didn’t know most of them started as midfielders (knew about Kompany, obviously, and Jagielka).

Makes you think that over the years youth players who are defenders might actually play there because they’re not great footballers, maybe they’re bigger than the other kids so just get put at the back and are dominant over their contemporaries. But by the time it’s time to make the step up to the big time, and everyone else has caught up with their height, the option to move better footballers back to defence is a better option.

I know that’s a thing that happens in rugby but across the teams to the detriment of the development of the smaller, more skilful, better players. The bigger lads get picked for the rugby teams and great talent is lost to the sport as smaller lads play another sport instead.

Obviously with the different way football is played that’s not the issue but the big lads who aren’t as good who’ve just been dominant get found out by the time they’re 16.
 
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how was kompany a midfielder? he wanted to play there yeah but thats about it. when he moved from hamburg to us, one of the reasons was him wanting to play in midfield but that didnt last long. he played cb at anderlecht and hamburg.
 
... said:
Franco Baresi was a midfielder. Terry and Ferdinand were midfielders. Vincent Kompany was primarily a midfielder when Mancini converted him. Harry Maguire was a midfielder. Conor Coady was a midfielder. Carragher was a midfielder. Ledley King was a midfielder. Phil Jagielka was a midfielder. United played Fletcher and Carrick at centreback together. Trent Alexander-Arnold was a midfielder til Klopp reinvented him.....but Pep created the concept, obviously.......(when his 3 senior centrebacks were injured/not match fit)

I had a chat with one of the coaches running a course I was on a few years back, who’d coached Michael Dawson when he was a forward/midfielder in Forest’s academy. I asked him about the fact that so many of England’s defenders in recent times (Terry, Cole, Ferdinand etc) all took the step back into defence late in their development, and did it ultimately mean that kids who actually begin as default defenders in the academy game end up less likely to make it as a result; he agreed that was probably the case.

I think it’s changing slightly now though, with the academy focus on every player - defenders included - having a default passing competence embedded into their game from being babies; THB and Garcia can pass the ball through the lines better than Lindelof and Maguire.
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There's a bit of a difference though. Plenty of players start their career in one position and then realise they're more effective elsewhere. What we're talking about with Pep is taking someone who's already world class in one position and converting them to CB. And just for the record, he hasn't actually done this yet at City. A couple of games where we have horrible injuries isn't evidence that Fernandinho is now a defender. What he's shown us over the years is his ability to find fairly long term tactical solutions to injury problems. Playing Delph at LB and winning the league with 100 points, for example.

With Carragher, I associate him more as a RB who got converted to play in the middle though.
 
Football is all about opinions. The guy sat next to me at the Etihad drones on week after week about David Silva being our best ever player. I keep my mouth shut, but he wouldn't make my top 20. I long to see Phil Foden given a regular start, in Merlin's place, as I feel he has the stardust to propel us past a formidable Liverpool team this season. I find it bizarre that Pep praises Phil so much, yet gives him so few minutes. Deep down I hope that Foden's incredible potential may be the one thing that makes Pep extend his stay with us.
 
Starr Gate Blue said:
Football is all about opinions. The guy sat next to me at the Etihad drones on week after week about David Silva being our best ever player. I keep my mouth shut, but he wouldn't make my top 20. I long to see Phil Foden given a regular start, in Merlin's place, as I feel he has the stardust to propel us past a formidable Liverpool team this season. I find it bizarre that Pep praises Phil so much, yet gives him so few minutes. Deep down I hope that Foden's incredible potential may be the one thing that makes Pep extend his stay with us.
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David Silva is probably in most eyes in the top 20 players to ever play in the PL,never mind just City,it is probably wise you keeping your mouth shut to the guy at side of you really
 
The big test for him this season is the Champions League, and in particular how he approaches the away game. He hasn't won an away leg beyond the last 16 since 2011, and it's what cost us in each of his last three attempts so far. Last season he was too cautious against Spurs. Looking at the other groups, we could end up with potentially one of, Barcelona, Inter, Dortmund, Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus, Athletico, or Napoli in the next round. I do wonder if the criticism he's got from not winning the CL with Bayern has unnerved him some what, and made him overthink these games. I'm confident we'll get back in the title race, and on the domestic front, but it's the CL where I don't fancy our chances, our success in this will depend on what lessons Pep has learned from our exits to Monaco, Liverpool and Spurs.
 
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