Surely though if you haven’t got someone to play the Stones role just play a midfielder in there and have Akanji at the back where he might have been useful in stopping their counters with his pace. Didn’t seem to help at all him playing out of position.
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Pep Guardiola - 2023/24
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Middedon
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I do also wish the kinds of questions you’re asking, the media would ask. Not that Pep would layout the whole vision but it might help get some additional insight! Instead we are treated to questions about Kalvin Phillips weight, a year after it is relevant!Valid points, like everything there's always extremes I guess. I feel with Akanji that's where Pep should do what he does best and adapt the system to the players rather than forcing Akanji in that role. Having said that though he clearly feels he can play it so it isn't forcing anything in his eyes. Players probably show things in training that don't always translate in games and I think his stubbornness/confidence in his players stops him changing it as soon as he should sometimes. I also don't mind certain amounts of it in the early season for the overall education of the player (I think Gvardiol will benefit in the long run from this role for example) but we're at the crunch point in a season now where we can't afford these more experimental roles over a run of games if they aren't showing promise.
vanchi
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stones is ready to play 2 games a week, so pep is doing the akanji midfield thing because he wants to.Surely though if you haven’t got someone to play the Stones role just play a midfielder in there and have Akanji at the back where he might have been useful in stopping their counters with his pace. Didn’t seem to help at all him playing out of position.
You have no idea if stones is ready to play 2 games a week. Past evidence says he’s probably not.stones is ready to play 2 games a week, so pep is doing the akanji midfield thing because he wants to.
I doubt he does anything because he just feels like it.
Disrespectful as fuck.
What makes Pep "the best" is he fucks up a lot less than other managers...but he still fucks some things up...What do Pep's critics think when they moan about his decisions?
Most of them realise he's the best or one of the best managers. Yet they think they know better than him whether he should play X, Y and Z (insert names of less popular players). How come?
Guess their theory is that Pep is a genius at finding winning formulas, but doesn't stick with them sufficiently long and tinkers to the detriment of the team (and the psychological well-being of fans). That is, he has character flaws, which make him a tinker man making avoidable mistakes.
For instance: What's the point of playing Gvardiol at LB? What's the point of playing Alvarez when you have both KDB and Foden to choose from? What's the point of playing Doku who dribbles, loses the ball, and repeat? What's the point of Akanji in midfield? Etc.
Well, this theory of Pep's flaws doesn't strike me as plausible. It's natural to asume Pep sees both the big picture and details much better than any fan. He is a top manager because there are good reasons behind his decisions. He wouldn't be so successful if personal quirks affected his decision making. Any of his less popular choices is motivated by things some of us don't understand sufficiently well. Pep wouldn't be Pep if he wasn't seeing things fans couldn't see or understand. Remember the time many on here thought Gundo and Rodri weren't good enough and Pep was stubborn and foolish to play them together?
Middedon
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I also think sometimes shit happens and the players have an uncharacteristic mistake or the opposing team has their best game ever…and thus even though it doesn’t work, it still may be worth trying again in his mind!What makes Pep "the best" is he fucks up a lot less than other managers...but he still fucks some things up...
meeesh
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Surely though if you haven’t got someone to play the Stones role just play a midfielder in there and have Akanji at the back where he might have been useful in stopping their counters with his pace. Didn’t seem to help at all him playing out of position.
He adores Akanji, absolutely loves him, not saying more or equal as any of the others, but when available Akanji is the first name on the sheet,(not Ederson as he tried to joke the other week, it's Akanji), the dilemma (s) though are this, he's not as good as the other CB's we have at the club, so trying to shoehorn him into the role that Stones has been asked to do at times, and it ain't working there neither, but call it being stubborn, but Pep will keep trying it till it does work, as he always gets his way with things and wins out everytime.
Time will tell
The point is that fans don't have enough information and understanding of the game to be certain (!) that a given decision is a mistake. Many of those questioning Pep about his decisions when and where to play some (less popular) players (talk as if they) are certain he is wrong and is hampering our campaign with those decisions.
Take the Bernardo/Alvarez example. We don't have enough info whether Bernardo was fit/fresh enough to start the game. We don't have enough info why Pep opted for Alvarez. Given his ability to manage outstanding squads and talents, he is likely to have good reasons to go with Alvarez. We don't have enough understanding of Pep's reasoning behind the roles he gives to players, say, why Akanji is in midfield. Etc.
Personally, I think Pep might have been wrong to start Lewis at Arsenal and Villa. But I can't be certain, for I don't know the context and many other things.
I genuinely still don’t know what the point of this is. If it’s that Pep is a better tactician and has access to more information than anyone else on earth then it’s pretty much a given.
If we’re saying no one can then criticise his decisions in case there’s some issue/consideration we aren’t aware of then it would be a pretty weird world we’re living in.
Anyway.
I think the point is there’s a reason he does what he does and it’s not for shits and giggles like some posters would have you believe.I genuinely still don’t know what the point of this is. If it’s that Pep is a better tactician and has access to more information than anyone else on earth then it’s pretty much a given.
If we’re saying no one can then criticise his decisions in case there’s some issue/consideration we aren’t aware of then it would be a pretty weird world we’re living in.
Anyway.
When they don’t pan out it opens him up for criticism.
That’s fine but I like to look at the bigger picture and accept everything he does is geared towards a 65+ game season and bad results in isolation will always happen.
He’s the best we’ve ever had or will ever have and I’m not willing to dig him out when things don’t work out because it happens so little.
Not having if that was a final or title decider Stones and Bernado would have been on the bench. Obviously with a lot of games coming up he’s trying to manage people’s fitness. Just saying Akanji would have been more useful at the back against their pace. Would have meant leaving Alvarez out again though to get a proper central midfielder in.stones is ready to play 2 games a week, so pep is doing the akanji midfield thing because he wants to.
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