Pep Guardiola - 2023/24

[ChicagoBlue]

The “best team in the world” has got into the very bad, almost pathetic, habit of looking for the corner flag and/or looking scared shitless without the ball in the latter stages of games. “Disarray” is a good word to describe it!

At 2-0, looking tired and out of ideas after 75 minutes, City should have been making solid substitutions to stop Palace from mounting any kind of comeback.

Stones, Kovacic, Nunes and even Philips were all available to put some legs and a tackle (or yellow card, as needed) into the game to shut up shop.

The fact that we were even in that position after 75% possession speaks to the most significant problem we have…Stale, monotonous, readable, defendable possession that merely shuffles the ball from left to right to left to right and back again, with no penetration and very few players who represent any danger from the edge of the box!

 

[TrentGrisham]

The “best team in the world” has got into the very bad, almost pathetic, habit of looking for the corner flag and/or looking scared shitless without the ball in the latter stages of games. “Disarray” is a good word to describe it!

At 2-0, looking tired and out of ideas after 75 minutes, City should have been making solid substitutions to stop Palace from mounting any kind of comeback.

Stones, Kovacic, Nunes and even Philips were all available to put some legs and a tackle (or yellow card, as needed) into the game to shut up shop.

The fact that we were even in that position after 75% possession speaks to the most significant problem we have…Stale, monotonous, readable, defendable possession that merely shuffles the ball from left to right to left to right and back again, with no penetration and very few players who represent any danger from the edge of the box!

I can't remember what minute it was but Grealish taking it to the corner flag at Luton under the 90th minute was pretty damming.

As far as the changes, I completely agree. Bringing on Stones in the 93rd minute is/was almost comical. Recency bias may be blinding me here, but has Pep ever been a great in-game tactician for us? I feel like he's the very best at finding solutions on the training ground, but as far as adjusting on the fly/in-game, I tend to believe that's not his strongest point. It CERTAINLY hasn't been this season.

 

[clarion]

I believe Pep will find the way to get us out of this crisis. Having KDB out so far in this season, Rodri out for 4 games, Haaland now 2 is not easy to manage.

Without KDB we lack quick transition. Means we start slow passing around finding it difficult to score more goals. We score less loosing the points after conceding one or two goals.

From time to time Pep becomes his overthinking tool. And very often it is some young lad in the team. He either burns the player moving him on different positions or he speaks some shit about developing and gives the lad no minutes.

Having 3 midfielders paid 150mil on the bench and going into the last 25 minutes minutes against physical Palace without closing the game. And just after we failed to close the games in the last month…

And blaming players like ‘we are not able to close games’
No, Pep.
You are not able to close the games. It is your job.

 

[JewelZee]

I believe Pep will find the way to get us out of this crisis. Having KDB out so far in this season, Rodri out for 4 games, Haaland now 2 is not easy to manage.

Without KDB we lack quick transition. Means we start slow passing around finding it difficult to score more goals. We score less loosing the points after conceding one or two goals.

From time to time Pep becomes his overthinking tool. And very often it is some young lad in the team. He either burns the player moving him on different positions or he speaks some shit about developing and gives the lad no minutes.

Having 3 midfielders paid 150mil on the bench and going into the last 25 minutes minutes against physical Palace without closing the game. And just after we failed to close the games in the last month…

And blaming players like ‘we are not able to close games’
No, Pep.
You are not able to close the games. It is your job.

Let's call it what it is. Some members of this squad are underperforming and Pep is one of them, simple as...Pep gets a ton of credit for our successes and rightfully so, but right now we're a mess and that includes him. Will he get his head out of his ass in time and do what he does to get us going? Hopefully so, but can we please stop acting like that's guaranteed to happen. It works until it doesn't...

 

[nellyonthewing]

I think he’s stopped taking his medication..

 

[alexmcity]

There's a lot of politics around the team selection and many trade-offs, too. Pep got it right last season after the Lewis experiment, but he is getting it wrong now.

Walker and Gvardiol. Walker stayed because we promised him things, and we promised him things because we needed him around the team after losing Gundo. Pep knows Walker is painful to watch when trying to create things in attack, but decided the trade-off was worth it. It hasn't been so far.

Gvardiol. Firmly believe he will come good. But as a FB he isn't worth half of what we paid for him. What's more, it's not really obvious that he is doing better than Gomez.

Lewis. We are overdoing this academy stuff now. Mad to play Lewis in midfield when we have Bernardo, Kovacic and Nunes. This is a mistake from Pep.

Alvarez. Pep has overplayed him. He's gassed. It's not that Alvarez has played too many minutes per se, but that his style of intense pressing has tired him and he looks a shadow of the player he was. It's like Pep wanted to show him we need him here and will give him enough chances. We know big clubs are approaching him. Politics.

Those 4 players should get some rest when other players are available.

 

[alexmcity]

I think he’s stopped taking his medication..

?

 

[snorky]

Pack the sunscreen, Slaphead. :)

 

[Odd socks]

For me the one thing he's not worked out is the 10 at the back.
Everyone trying to play in the last 3rd is to congested, very often it's pass after pass untill it goes out of play for the throw in or corner.
More often than not we are getting mugged by players who wouldn't get in our squad but are still very good players having the freedom to run into so much space.
All our players are forced to turn back because there's nowhere to go.
Let the opposition come into the middle of the park and our defence can be defenders not wingers running their nuts off.
Very few defenders have lightening pace but catching attackers after giving them 20 yards head start doesn't give them a fair chance.
Ederson could have walked yesterday and it was down to him not having a defence because they were having to run 70 yards to get back to help.
Match of the day highlighted our positions yesterday and the 2 hugging the touchlines were out of the game leaving them 2 extras to defend.
For the greatest manager I have ever seen I look forward to seeing how he resolves this issue and I have no doubt he will.
Just remember if we are frustrated then don't think for one minute he isn't because he is obsessed with tactics and how it plays out.

 

[nellyonthewing]

For me the one thing he's not worked out is the 10 at the back.
Everyone trying to play in the last 3rd is to congested, very often it's pass after pass untill it goes out of play for the throw in or corner.
More often than not we are getting mugged by players who wouldn't get in our squad but are still very good players having the freedom to run into so much space.
All our players are forced to turn back because there's nowhere to go.
Let the opposition come into the middle of the park and our defence can be defenders not wingers running their nuts off.
Very few defenders have lightening pace but catching attackers after giving them 20 yards head start doesn't give them a fair chance.
Ederson could have walked yesterday and it was down to him not having a defence because they were having to run 70 yards to get back to help.
Match of the day highlighted our positions yesterday and the 2 hugging the touchlines were out of the game leaving them 2 extras to defend.
For the greatest manager I have ever seen I look forward to seeing how he resolves this issue and I have no doubt he will.
Just remember if we are frustrated then don't think for one minute he isn't because he is obsessed with tactics and how it plays out.

Good summary . I agree Pep will be racking his brain to find a fix but just sometimes the bleeding obvious is right in front of you.