Pep Guardiola - 2023/24

[freshie]

Anybody else feel there's been a sort of sea change in Pep over the last couple of seasons?
Let me explain. Look, we know that he grew up in the Barca family, he was trained there, he played there, he managed there in its greatest years. And he is Catalan born and bred.
You don't replace that.
But I've just felt that the pride he feels in his team (his various teams) and this club has grown and grown. It's something to do with the way he talks about us now, especially in press conferences. This really is his second family. He says “we” unthinkingly and it means everyone — backroom staff, owners, players, coaches, fans, and himself in the middle of all that. And although he was very glad to get the gig in 2016, relished the challenge of managing a club that he didn't honestly know a hell of a lot about, and clearly felt comfortable with ‘his people’ (Txiki and Ferran) round him from the start, I didn't quite feel it the way I do now.
I think the epic battles over several seasons with Liverpool have helped to forge that, as well.
Don't know. Maybe imagining things…

We all fell in love with this club. Why should Pep be any different?

 

[Vincennes Blue]

Anybody else feel there's been a sort of sea change in Pep over the last couple of seasons?
Let me explain. Look, we know that he grew up in the Barca family, he was trained there, he played there, he managed there in its greatest years. And he is Catalan born and bred.
You don't replace that.
But I've just felt that the pride he feels in his team (his various teams) and this club has grown and grown. It's something to do with the way he talks about us now, especially in press conferences. This really is his second family. He says “we” unthinkingly and it means everyone — backroom staff, owners, players, coaches, fans, and himself in the middle of all that. And although he was very glad to get the gig in 2016, relished the challenge of managing a club that he didn't honestly know a hell of a lot about, and clearly felt comfortable with ‘his people’ (Txiki and Ferran) round him from the start, I didn't quite feel it the way I do now.
I think the epic battles over several seasons with Liverpool have helped to forge that, as well.
Don't know. Maybe imagining things…

I couldn't agree more.

With us, he feels loved as well as respected.

When he was at Barca, he didn't get on at all with Sandro Rosell, the president who replaced Laporta, with whom he got on well. What's more, his relations with the players (notably Pique and Fabregas) had really deteriorated and he hadn't received the support of the club, which is one of the main reasons why he left.

When he was at Bayern, he had a huge clash with the club's long-standing physiotherapist, and was much criticized for the way he played. He wasn't too keen to stay.

With us, he's got it all: results, respect, complicity with the entire staff, authority over the players and the full support of the management. He'll never find a better setting than with us, and Guardiola is a secret ambitious who knows he'll be able to fulfill all his dreams and objectives with us.

 

[TrentGrisham]

Anybody else feel there's been a sort of sea change in Pep over the last couple of seasons?
Let me explain. Look, we know that he grew up in the Barca family, he was trained there, he played there, he managed there in its greatest years. And he is Catalan born and bred.
You don't replace that.
But I've just felt that the pride he feels in his team (his various teams) and this club has grown and grown. It's something to do with the way he talks about us now, especially in press conferences. This really is his second family. He says “we” unthinkingly and it means everyone — backroom staff, owners, players, coaches, fans, and himself in the middle of all that. And although he was very glad to get the gig in 2016, relished the challenge of managing a club that he didn't honestly know a hell of a lot about, and clearly felt comfortable with ‘his people’ (Txiki and Ferran) round him from the start, I didn't quite feel it the way I do now.
I think the epic battles over several seasons with Liverpool have helped to forge that, as well.
Don't know. Maybe imagining things…

You don't work at a club as long as he has without loving it. I'm sure the money is a nice incentive but I don't think Pep is thinking with his bank account when making decisions about his profession at this point in his life.

 

[01cravend]

Bernie was asked to cover every blade of grass so Rodri was left on his own most the time when Chelsea constantly overturned the ball... Was a poor set-up, needed more legs in midfield from the start.

 

[TrentGrisham]

Bernie was asked to cover every blade of grass so Rodri was left on his own most the time when Chelsea constantly overturned the ball... Was a poor set-up, needed more legs in midfield from the start.

Completely agree. He had as bad a night as the defense. I said it in the Rodri thread but he didn't adjust until he brought on Kovacic. Even then he was nowhere to be seen on their last goal in that half-space as Rodri couldn't even run at that point.

 

[Blu1]

Love him but poor set up today which didn’t help us. No need for doku & Alvarez. Replace one for jack or Kova for me & we win today

 

[Damanino]

he may have underestimated Chelsea and Pochettino.
we gave them a lot to worry but they gave us a lot as well tactically.

Rodri often was alone in a box of 4-5 Chelsea players in the middle. no wonder they often needed 1-2 passes to get to our box.

Bernardo was higher up on the left, Alvarez closer to Haaland than to Rodri.

also we couldnt control the game nowhere near as much through the middle as we did last season with a Rodri, Gundo, KDb midfield.

add to that that Chelsea was fresh with no midweek game and they raised their game too big time.

 

[city warrior]

Love him but poor set up today which didn’t help us. No need for doku & Alvarez. Replace one for jack or Kova for me & we win today

Jack was on the game for 45 min today. And the game was just as chaotic.

Honestly, I think Pep wanted this game today (weird, but that's the only explanation for leaving Rodri alone for 80 minutes today). He would never do it against Liverpool, but I think Pep thought that if we have a chaotic game, both our attackers and defenders are better than theirs and we will win in the exchange. It would have been true, but their defenders were really good today, and ours (except Akanji) were a mess.

 

[waspish]

Pep vs Poch for some reason his game is like krytonite to pep style but like Klopp! 100mph quick passing quick balls over the top down the line and players running through the middle!

 

[ninjamonkey]

All 3 games we've dropped points this season, he's made bafflingly shit tactical decisions and has often left it far too late to change something that clearly isn't working. Seeing as those tactical fuckups have generally been in midfield it would appear hes probably expected to get something different straight away from kovacic or nunes and in not trusting either of them right now is looking for a square peg to fill a round hole.

As much to blame as any player and needs to sort it. Do something similar against the dippers and we get rinsed.