Pep Guardiola - 2020/21 Performances

[wolviedinho]

Short memories in here. Pep stood up for us when every **** had the knife to our throat over FFP.

Poch? Wow he must have won a lot of trophies during his time away from the game.

The club have failed Pep in the market. It starts and ends with bad buys. Pep says it time and time again. He is only as good as his players. Currently apart from 5-6 players the rest have turned to shit.

You can’t win games with 3-4 players only turning up. You need 6-7 playing well. Forget the names and price tags we have bought players who are inferior to the legends.

 

[christened at st marks]

Short memories in here. Pep stood up for us when every **** had the knife to our throat over FFP.

Poch? Wow he must have won a lot of trophies during his time away from the game.

The club have failed Pep in the market. It starts and ends with bad buys. Pep says it time and time again. He is only as good as his players. Currently apart from 5-6 players the rest have turned to shit.

You can’t win games with 3-4 players only turning up. You need 6-7 playing well. Forget the names and price tags we have bought players who are inferior to the legends.

That's why he didn't pick Foden and Torres

 

[samarasra]

Short memories in here. Pep stood up for us when every **** had the knife to our throat over FFP.

Poch? Wow he must have won a lot of trophies during his time away from the game.

The club have failed Pep in the market. It starts and ends with bad buys. Pep says it time and time again. He is only as good as his players. Currently apart from 5-6 players the rest have turned to shit.

You can’t win games with 3-4 players only turning up. You need 6-7 playing well. Forget the names and price tags we have bought players who are inferior to the legends.

I agree with some of what you are saying. In recent seasons it has not been the club's policy to buy ready made legends. Yaya, Kompany, Sergio, Dave, Fernandinho or Kevin were not legends when City bought them by any means. They became legends over a period of years not on day one. The expectation now is to replace legends with players who are already of legendary calibre, where are they, like for like players, at their peak, are not on the market, Messi £1OO million at 33 years old ? Every club has to compete for "potentially legendary" quality players like Mbappe, Haaland at what price. £ 60 million + for a potential legend like Dias. Realistically £ 400 million wouldn't buy 5 potential legends who would give us 5 - 10 years service like the players they would replace. and one or two could miss vast chunks of seasons ,like Laporte or Kevin. I doubt Pep would agree to "bad buys" but all buys are not best judged after 1 or 2 seasons. I recall people here demanding Vincent be sold years after he came and years before he moved on, Silva was too small, Fernandinho too old at 28 when he arrived. We will have legends again, maybe not the ones we expect and maybe not 5/6 together but I doubt any will be legends when they are bought except maybe Messi if he comes.

 

[BLUE THUNDER]

Is it Pep’s fault Sterling missed an open goal from 2 yards against Lyon?
And Sterling missed a one on one soda v Leeds ?..and another against West Ham ?
He can only set the team up to win, at some point the players need to execute.
We’ve had clear chances to win all those games.
Our interrupted pre season and current injuries aren’t a factor ?
Some perspective please.
We have the best manager in the world, cut him a break re the above, change of luck and we win the league. 33 games to go FFS !
Appreciate what we have. And be careful what you wish for.

 

[samarasra]

I just don't know what will happen with Pep. I really hope he shakes off all the negativity that has crept into his demeanour and stays to rebuild the squad.

As fans all we want is to get behind a youthful rebuild. We shouldn't waste time and reminisce about those players who brought us the successes of the past 10 years, they have gone and leave us with great memories. Pep has to rely on the younger guns - I want to see Torres, Foden, Dias, Delap, Palmer and others given a chance to become mainstays of the side. I don't want to see the likes of Mahrez take a place and just selfishly go through the motions. Youth, pace & power is the answer and we have the players to do that now - so what if we get beaten a few times - I want to see us attack teams and frighten them to death. The PL has caught up with us and it's not cutting it having 70% possession and scoring just 1 or 2 goals.

I also think in todays market you cannot simply buy a team - kind of ironic that other teams fans and the media say that is what we have done yet forget that most other teams have actually not been shy on spending big as well. We don't hold any records for transfer fees, nor for salaries so in my opinion it's a myth we have solely bought our way to the top.

I want Pep to come out and say "enough of this negative mindset, I am going to build this young team and you try and stop us." I don't want to hear about too many games, too many injuries anymore. We need positivity Pep.

A lineup (without Jesus and now Sergio for a while) of Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Ake, Rodri, Kev, Foden, Bernardo, Torres & Sterling should be the first choice 11 - stick with them, tell them that they are the core and others - Delap, Palmer, Gundogan, Cancelo etc - have to push them to get a place. Once we have a fit forward to come in there is nothing sub par about our potential lineup.

Pep don't be stubborn, sign an extension, and say fuck em all, we are going to create something wonderful, just watch us take it to another level again. That is the Pep we know and love - in return we will put our arms round him and give him a hug - all we ask is reignite the fire and passion. There is no club in the world that would give you so much control. There is no club in the world with fans that have humour, passion and a quirky side that makes us uniquely Man City Fans - we are blue moon, let's go.

Oh and ps don't make Raheem skipper again he doesn't need additional worries to think of he just needs to play with freedom.

An excellent post imho, I agree from start to finish almost to a word or nine, the nine are, "so what if we get beaten a few times", I would happily take that to build a new squad. But look at the reaction when we lose or draw on here, it's like Liverpool after a 5-0 home defeat to Everton , reason gone out the door, mayhem, sackings all around. Maybe Pep's demeanor is a sign he reads post match comments, but no he looks too healthy. He doesn't like losing, the club doesn't like losing and it is not a popular concept on BM. How does he bridge the gap between today and future seasons, will he be allowed to step back and take "the pinch" Khaldoon referred to, on the field, it is not a happy position to be in, quadruples are extremely rare but anything less is failure, not just in the press but in the growing fan base. As you say the expectation is for carbon copy legends to bring instant success. I would like to see him him say "right fresh start, my team, if we have to lose now for longer term success too bad, let's see where we are in 2/3 years time", I trust he could do it but the pressure to see where we are in 2/3 days time is immense.

 

[samarasra]

Agreed talk about this squad and its depth is overrated.

Still relying on a 32 year old too injury prone now to win us games is clear indication how poor our recruitment has been.
We had to heavily rely on the soon retired Vinny to win us our last title.
Combined with Pep's situation ( he never managed a club this long in the past ).

Probably time to do a complete clean out and sever ties with the Spanish connection.

They are past their used by dates and can't get world class players in a City shirt which we need.

Ah ! the Spanish connection, the one that tried to stop us winning 4 Pl titles, FA & League Cups, got us banned from Europe, wouldn't allow us become Centurions banned quadruple and left us with Glazer like debts of £ 500 million and growing. That Spanish connection ?, great idea, when are you and your consortium of Manchester billionaires and investment managers making the takeover bid and can you guarantee another quadruple + CL before 2022 or will we have to wait 30 or 40 years for our next trophy, The Manchester Cup. The grass is always greener isn't, just not in Spain it seems.

 

[mancity1]

Ah ! the Spanish connection, the one that tried to stop us winning 4 Pl titles, FA & League Cups, got us banned from Europe, wouldn't allow us become Centurions banned quadruple and left us with Glazer like debts of £ 500 million and growing. That Spanish connection ?, great idea, when are you and your consortium of Manchester billionaires and investment managers making the takeover bid and can you guarantee another quadruple + CL before 2022 or will we have to wait 30 or 40 years for our next trophy, The Manchester Cup. The grass is always greener isn't, just not in Spain it seems.

I would be concerned if Pep's future is tied to those he has worked with in the past at Barcelona.

While he talks the good talk about how delighted he is with the squad we all know he knows the players we have are just not good enough to compete for the premiership least of all the Chumps League.

That is not a reflection on Pep but the performances week in week out are regressing , results are regressing and recruitment of the right players is central to that.

While opinions will always be divided their are many in the current squad that won't be part of our future success and rightfully so as they just are not up to it.

 

[VOOMER]

I agree with some of what you are saying. In recent seasons it has not been the club's policy to buy ready made legends. Yaya, Kompany, Sergio, Dave, Fernandinho or Kevin were not legends when City bought them by any means. They became legends over a period of years not on day one. The expectation now is to replace legends with players who are already of legendary calibre, where are they, like for like players, at their peak, are not on the market, Messi £1OO million at 33 years old ? Every club has to compete for "potentially legendary" quality players like Mbappe, Haaland at what price. £ 60 million + for a potential legend like Dias. Realistically £ 400 million wouldn't buy 5 potential legends who would give us 5 - 10 years service like the players they would replace. and one or two could miss vast chunks of seasons ,like Laporte or Kevin. I doubt Pep would agree to "bad buys" but all buys are not best judged after 1 or 2 seasons. I recall people here demanding Vincent be sold years after he came and years before he moved on, Silva was too small, Fernandinho too old at 28 when he arrived. We will have legends again, maybe not the ones we expect and maybe not 5/6 together but I doubt any will be legends when they are bought except maybe Messi

One of Pep's daughters went to Aquinas with my nephew. Her grandmother was not good for a while. She went back Catalan. Pep then looses his mum. He can't attend to all the needs of the family because of COVID. This isn't a matter of money, simply that things it could have been better.

 

[samarasra]

His first challenge as a manager - everywhere else and in his first 3/4 years here he’s had the best squad in the league, that should win by default. Now we’re in transition, and there are other good coaches with similar levels of talent at their disposal - the kind of competitive environment Mancini had to contend with - he’s being exposed.

Likely 2 titles in 5 years with the players he inherited/signed is substandard - we’d won 2 in the previous 5 as well.

It’s time for Khaldoon to scrap the faux-Barcelona project - Soriano and Txiki clearly got the jobs on the understanding they could facilitate Pep, Messi and European success, and have ultimately failed expensively. If we’d allowed Cook, Marwood and Mancini to continue their work with the same momentum they’d established, titlwe could have bagged 6/7we could have bagged 6/7 s in what’s been an underwhelming post-Ferguson Premier League era - even the 2012/13 title was given away due to players downing tools in the knowledge of Mancini’s pending departure.

Enter Pochettino.

I have enjoyed a few of your posts since you joined the forum last month but I have some questions on this one.
His first challenge as a manager - His first challenge and season as a manager at senior level was at Barcelona,winning La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champions League in 2008-2009, the first "treble" in Spanish football history at 37 years old with a squad including 11 academy players and having sold 2 of the previous manager's star players Deco & Ronaldinho. Would you not consider that a challenge, given he was appointed with no previous senior managerial experience.
Can you name any League Champions that have actually won a league because they had a squad "that should win by default." Even with Covid, Liverpool had to play the matches. I think generally football competitions are won or lost on the pitch not by default. Did City have the best squad in the league in Pep's first season at City ? really ?. The squad that won back to back PL titles, they are mostly gone so of course he is exposed, to the need to rebuild, but that is not what you mean is it. I guess 2 titles in 4 seasons is substandard in a competitive league when compared to 9 consecutive league titles achieved by Juventus, Celtic and Ludogorets but they don't play in the PL. so comparison is a bit dodgy.
"It’s time for Khaldoon to scrap the faux-Barcelona project" In the interest of clarity and in light of the comments of some of our fellow posters recently, is your issue with Barcelona, Spain or foreign management in general. Have Khaldoon or Sheikh Mansour "clearly" explained to you why Soriano and Txiki were hired, that they have failed, how expensively ?. or did you see that in some form of spiritual vision other fans were not party to. Do you know why Mancini was sacked, have you spoken to City employees (not players) who were glad to see him go at the time, how the atmosphere around the club changed when he went. Have you heard that players may have "downed tools" in the hope that he would go, not because he was going. You claim "we could have bagged 6/7 titles" if he stayed, "could have" has no place in football outside of pub talk, there is only winning, drawing or losing in reality, the "might have been " is the stuff of dreams. Did we lose the 12/13 FA Cup final to Wigan, was that one of the titles "we could have won". I assume you are aware that Marwood still works for the group. To avoid a deluge of abuse I was delighted with what Mancini did for City and I am forever grateful but given what the club have said officially and employees have said publically,in my presence, he left at the right time but it was a shame how it ended. As a matter of interest do you not think that the PL was underwhelming for many of the years when Ferguson reigned, you know buying opponents best players, berating officials, splashing the cash on record breaking signings, secret deals to hoover up the best youth players, financially a Top 1 rather than a Top 4 or 6, for what it is worth I thought a lot of it was boring, just like City winning 6/7 titles they "could have" would have been.
So to your final point: "Enter Pochettino:" to follow successful managers such as Mancini, Pellegrini and Pep at one of the world's top clubs with a huge financial investment at stake. His managerial CV. 1. Premier League Manager of the Month for 4 months between 2013 and 2017. 2. There is no 2. You said Pep had a challenge, how would you describe Poch's prospects. To be fair you share the hope of his arrival to save us from the depths that we seem to have sunk to, with some other posters. Maybe having been born in an Argentinian town called Murphy he will be blessed or cursed with the fabled luck of the Irish, he does appear to have the "gift of the gab" so he may have kissed the Blarney Stone. What did that do for him at Spurs, apart from the Llorente incident that knocked City out of the CL. to advance Spurs to a final City have yet to experience. But is that enough to toss everything we have achieved in the shredder. Is that thought not unlike City supporters begging Utd to keep Ole or Van Gaal or Mourinho or "the chosen one" for as long as possible to ensure they don't get back to their former self inflated pomp. It is amazing how your brief post contained so many thought provoking (some very dark) statements, a reasoned logical reply is anticipated.

 

[samarasra]

One of Pep's daughters went to Aquinas with my nephew. Her grandmother was not good for a while. She went back Catalan. Pep then looses his mum. He can't attend to all the needs of the family because of COVID. This isn't a matter of money, simply that things it could have been better.

I hope you have not misunderstood my response to another poster. I understand Pep's family situation in as much as he has spoken about. I did not criticise Pep or claim that it was a matter of money. My point was for the Club to replace established legends with players who are of similar calibre, at the time of purchase, is almost impossible financially and practically.

 

[Cambo]

Short memories in here. Pep stood up for us when every **** had the knife to our throat over FFP.

Poch? Wow he must have won a lot of trophies during his time away from the game.

The club have failed Pep in the market. It starts and ends with bad buys. Pep says it time and time again. He is only as good as his players. Currently apart from 5-6 players the rest have turned to shit.

You can’t win games with 3-4 players only turning up. You need 6-7 playing well. Forget the names and price tags we have bought players who are inferior to the legends.

With the players Pep has available to him do you think there are other managers that could have got better results so far this year? Last year? Pep is paid to manage the team. That extends to the way we set up and play. If players aren’t “turning up” in matches why is that?

Agree that players will miss opportunities, slip up etc. as they do in every team and that is not on the Manager. However continuing to play individuals and formations that result in poor performances and results - you have to question. And we can’t just say we have won x, y and z. Or throw another 100-200mln to get “his players”.

The criticism currently is we have opposition Managers, players and many fans that can see where we have limitations and failings but it seems Pep has not been willing to change/restructure to combat these.

Just because some are criticising should in no way diminish what he has achieved with City, but that’s looking back in the rear view mirror.

He has a challenge currently with the injuries (to key players) we have, a lack of pre-season and maybe some players that don’t fit the mould. A real test of his managerial ability.

I get the sense he (and the players bar one or two) is exhausted (understandable) and this will be his last year. All would have to at least acknowledge it’s a possibility (given his contract is up). I do feel that overall we (and Pep) have looked pretty lethargic and not really up for it yet. Overall Performance 6 out of 10.

 

[Txiki Txiki Bang Bang]

Short memories in here. Pep stood up for us when every **** had the knife to our throat over FFP.

Poch? Wow he must have won a lot of trophies during his time away from the game.

The club have failed Pep in the market. It starts and ends with bad buys. Pep says it time and time again. He is only as good as his players. Currently apart from 5-6 players the rest have turned to shit.

You can’t win games with 3-4 players only turning up. You need 6-7 playing well. Forget the names and price tags we have bought players who are inferior to the legends.

The club hasn't failed Pep. All signings were Pep's targets. He wanted Mendy, Stones, Jesus, Danilo, Cancelo, Laporte, Rodri, Ederson, Mahrez and he got them, I don't know how the club failed Pep. I just don't see it.

 

[balotellishaircut]

Is it Pep’s fault Sterling missed an open goal from 2 yards against Lyon?
And Sterling missed a one on one soda v Leeds ?..and another against West Ham ?
He can only set the team up to win, at some point the players need to execute.
We’ve had clear chances to win all those games.
Our interrupted pre season and current injuries aren’t a factor ?
Some perspective please.
We have the best manager in the world, cut him a break re the above, change of luck and we win the league. 33 games to go FFS !
Appreciate what we have. And be careful what you wish for.

I think most City fans including myself do appreciate what Pep has done, 17/18 and 18/19 seasons fantastic.

But you have to question the Lyon, Arsenal (semi final) and Leicester City games, and a few others.

For me since hes been here we havent looked like winning the Champions League.

His transfer buys have to be questioned as well, Rodri has no pace for a DM
Cancelo has been a major disappointment
Mendy has one good game, then 2 bad ones.
Thats 170m for them three alone #

Why cant he summarise up a Plan B for the team when things arent going to plan.

Weve already thrown away 4 pts against Leeds n West Ham, he needs to do better on the training pitch imo.

 

[wolviedinho]

The club hasn't failed Pep. All signings were Pep's targets. He wanted Mendy, Stones, Jesus, Danilo, Cancelo, Laporte, Rodri, Ederson, Mahrez and he got them, I don't know how the club failed Pep. I just don't see it.

The club hasn't failed Pep. All signings were Pep's targets. He wanted Mendy, Stones, Jesus, Danilo, Cancelo, Laporte, Rodri, Ederson, Mahrez and he got them, I don't know how the club failed Pep. I just don't see it.

The failure is rooted in the policy of not spending obscene amounts on any 1 player. This is the biggest change. We overpaid for years. Now we want to be accepted and seen as a club that is cautious and prudent in the market.

The players we are linked to are not the top tier. They are mostly good players with potential to be world class.

Scouting is a big Issue- for all the talent and resources we have it is not good enough.

Why are we after these types of players:

Maguire,Jorginho,Fred etc- financial reasons only stopped the buys. Also missing out on our first choice is a recurring theme. Bullet dodged? Yes but also no as look we have still bought a Jorginho in rodders and a Maguire in Dias.(actually think he is going to be class).

The boardroom strategy on transfers is underwhelming. We bought better when Txiki and soriano were not involved. The problems starts here. This is the area that needs changed the most. Maybe when Pep goes the change will start.

 

[Bluesince1979]

The failure is rooted in the policy of not spending obscene amounts on any 1 player. This is the biggest change. We overpaid for years. Now we want to be accepted and seen as a club that is cautious and prudent in the market.

The players we are linked to are not the top tier. They are mostly good players with potential to be world class.

Scouting is a big Issue- for all the talent and resources we have it is not good enough.

Why are we after these types of players:

Maguire,Jorginho,Fred etc- financial reasons only stopped the buys. Also missing out on our first choice is a recurring theme. Bullet dodged? Yes but also no as look we have still bought a Jorginho in rodders and a Maguire in Dias.(actually think he is going to be class).

The boardroom strategy on transfers is underwhelming. We bought better when Txiki and soriano were not involved. The problems starts here. This is the area that needs changed the most. Maybe when Pep goes the change will start.

Needs a change from the top. The barca model is outdated.

 

[mosssideblue]

I just don't know what will happen with Pep. I really hope he shakes off all the negativity that has crept into his demeanour and stays to rebuild the squad.

As fans all we want is to get behind a youthful rebuild. We shouldn't waste time and reminisce about those players who brought us the successes of the past 10 years, they have gone and leave us with great memories. Pep has to rely on the younger guns - I want to see Torres, Foden, Dias, Delap, Palmer and others given a chance to become mainstays of the side. I don't want to see the likes of Mahrez take a place and just selfishly go through the motions. Youth, pace & power is the answer and we have the players to do that now - so what if we get beaten a few times - I want to see us attack teams and frighten them to death. The PL has caught up with us and it's not cutting it having 70% possession and scoring just 1 or 2 goals.

I also think in todays market you cannot simply buy a team - kind of ironic that other teams fans and the media say that is what we have done yet forget that most other teams have actually not been shy on spending big as well. We don't hold any records for transfer fees, nor for salaries so in my opinion it's a myth we have solely bought our way to the top.

I want Pep to come out and say "enough of this negative mindset, I am going to build this young team and you try and stop us." I don't want to hear about too many games, too many injuries anymore. We need positivity Pep.

A lineup (without Jesus and now Sergio for a while) of Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Ake, Rodri, Kev, Foden, Bernardo, Torres & Sterling should be the first choice 11 - stick with them, tell them that they are the core and others - Delap, Palmer, Gundogan, Cancelo etc - have to push them to get a place. Once we have a fit forward to come in there is nothing sub par about our potential lineup.

Pep don't be stubborn, sign an extension, and say fuck em all, we are going to create something wonderful, just watch us take it to another level again. That is the Pep we know and love - in return we will put our arms round him and give him a hug - all we ask is reignite the fire and passion. There is no club in the world that would give you so much control. There is no club in the world with fans that have humour, passion and a quirky side that makes us uniquely Man City Fans - we are blue moon, let's go.

Oh and ps don't make Raheem skipper again he doesn't need additional worries to think of he just needs to play with freedom.

Do you seriously believe Pep would get praise in here should he do what you suggest and results don't go our way. Can you see posters saying, it's OK Pep, we can take defeat because you are transitioning towards a youthful set up. No, neither can I.

 

[Txiki Txiki Bang Bang]

The failure is rooted in the policy of not spending obscene amounts on any 1 player. This is the biggest change. We overpaid for years. Now we want to be accepted and seen as a club that is cautious and prudent in the market.

The players we are linked to are not the top tier. They are mostly good players with potential to be world class.

Scouting is a big Issue- for all the talent and resources we have it is not good enough.

Why are we after these types of players:

Maguire,Jorginho,Fred etc- financial reasons only stopped the buys. Also missing out on our first choice is a recurring theme. Bullet dodged? Yes but also no as look we have still bought a Jorginho in rodders and a Maguire in Dias.(actually think he is going to be class).

The boardroom strategy on transfers is underwhelming. We bought better when Txiki and soriano were not involved. The problems starts here. This is the area that needs changed the most. Maybe when Pep goes the change will start.

Do you think the club draws up the list of potential signings without Pep's approval? Pep got the players he wanted, Txiki is a business man, he does the signing alright BUT he has no say in who we sign. Pep identifies the target and Txiki goes after them. Pep has gotten about 98% of the players he wanted, the only one we couldn't snap up was Kroos and that was down to the player not wanting to come to City. Txiki has done exceptionally well for City, he is not a scout just the guy who signs the lines. Now Mancini on the other hand, that's a manager that didn't get the signings he wanted.

 

[bellsouth]

Gets a free pass from me this season as should all managers and players - it’s a farce really. However I’ll still moan about some things :)
For one, the obsession with playing wingers on their ‘wrong’ side. Two things about that I don’t like, first is the natural tendency to want to cut back on to the stronger foot which of course means stopping going forward and passing backwards, irritates me the number of times promising advanced positions end up playing all the way back to half way. The other point was highlighted yesterday glaringly and that’s Mahrez can’t shoot or control with his right foot (or at least is not confident enough to try) and Sterling can with his left so really good opportunities are wasted.

 

[sh249]

Just needs to:

- stop playing with ‚inverted‘ wingers coming inside all the time
- stop picking sides bereft of pace, energy and the ability/willingness to run off the ball
- stop packing the team with coasters (Garcia, Cancelo, Gundogan, Rodri, Mahrez ...) who are fine when the going is good, but lack the balls to push us on when up against it. Can get away with 1 or 2 in the side, but not 4 or 5.

Easy.

 

[wolviedinho]

Do you think the club draws up the list of potential signings without Pep's approval? Pep got the players he wanted, Txiki is a business man, he does the signing alright BUT he has no say in who we sign. Pep identifies the target and Txiki goes after them. Pep has gotten about 98% of the players he wanted, the only one we couldn't snap up was Kroos and that was down to the player not wanting to come to City. Txiki has done exceptionally well for City, he is not a scout just the guy who signs the lines. Now Mancini on the other hand, that's a manager that didn't get the signings he wanted.

Bobby Manc definitely got screwed on the transfer front.

The board which involves Soriano, Txiki and Pep among others decide the transfers. The point I am trying to make is that the players we have identified to replace our recent legends have not been good enough.

They are all to blame. If our standards are to be the best team in Europe then we have failed miserably. If our standards are to win the league again over the last 2 years we have failed miserably.

Either the standards need to change or we change the personal involved in transfers. The whole set up has stagnated.