Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

[Cambo]

Having had a bit of time to decompress, I'm quite excited to see how Pep turns things around.

I'll be here until my dying breath so I've got time to see us come back. A few transfer windows, some time for reflection and I think we will see Pep determined to fight back in the face of adversity.

As a fan that’s 50 in a couple of months, I too am excited to see how Pep and the club respond and rebuild for the next cycle.

That being said, I don’t think we should merely be waiting until the transfer windows.

Pep and the coaching staff get paid very well to coach and develop. Yes, we’ve had injuries. Yes we’ve achieved what’s never been achieved before. However I cannot understand the sheer stubbornness not to play some of the younger players who would bring far more urgency than the old players that he continues to play (currently).

We’ve also purchased quite a few expensive players over the last 3 years that really haven’t been any better (and in quite a few cases significantly worse) than talent we have sold from our academy for less. Palmer > Doku & Savio, Lavia > Phillips & Kova, Heck I’d even rather Tommy Doyle than those two (spent approx 70m vs 4m in sale), not to mention over 50M spent on Nunes. You then look at Rogers who tore us a new one yesterday.

 

[Tevez City]

 

[Goldust]

If he we don’t recruit well in January or if he don’t change tactics I don’t see him making the month out. Something smells really off, pushing lewis constantly in midfield is suicide at this level, one transition and play it wherever Lewis should be and attack the space that is pretty much all the opposition have to do. The substitutions are embarrassing. He’s been a great coach but how long does this go on, he’s making himself look a total prat. Injuries or not I have never seen such poor football at this level.

 

[bluegaz13]

I mentioned this in the match day thread…..amongst the many things we are lacking at the moment is creativity.

Unfortunately Pep is also lacking creativity…..he keeps picking the same plodding, ageing midfielders who unfortunately are not now good enough to win a single game never mind go on a long unbeaten run.

Gundogan and Bernardo are obviously out of form but are being flogged and played in virtually every game, with the same disappointing results.

But Pep will not change the way we play and keeps insisting on the inverted full back and high line and continually we get punished by the same one pass that bypasses our slow midfield to put a pacy forward through on goal.

Surely Wright, O‘Reilly or McAteer cannot be any worse than the midfield that has continually failed in this horrendous losing run we are on.

It’s two bad months in 9 years of Pep at City, so he still has plenty of credit in the bank, however he is as much to blame as the players who are performing so poorly at the at the moment and he shows no sign of being able to fix the problems.

Pep keeps mentioning the injuries but apart from Rodri, who of the injured players are going to make a real difference and turn this disaster around.

It really does rub salt in the wounds when we see Rogers and Palmer delivering some of the skills that we so badly lack…..two players that were possibly behind McAtee in the youth team.

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

It sorta feels like Pep is a great car mechanic but now the car needs a new transmission and Pep is still trying to fix it himself thinking he can.

The board needs to convince him the current transmission is dead and needs a replacement.. (new players) and then he can go again.

I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe Khaldoon should sack Txiki and Lillo, get Viana and maybe Xavi to help Pep and get some actual players to help Pep because after 2 months of this.. with the same players, no signings.. nothing will change.

If Pep doesn't like the call.. and he wants to walk.. that is that.. but this is a team and there's no I in team.

 

[Luddite_Blue]

Yes. The results and form are abysmal. Sometimes, we just need to step back a bit. Pep is definitely not above criticism. He's a stubborn SOB but I suppose he has every right to believe that his system, his methods and the way he wants to play is the correct one to perform at the highest level. After 8 years of playing his way, blowing it all up to play 2 banks of 4 and play on the counter isn't going to work. We just don't have the players to do that and we don't have time on the training pitch in between games to implement. Throwing the kids in at this time isn't right either, they need more protection. In hindsight he could've blooded more youngsters but I guess nobody could've anticpated these injuries.

We just have to ride this storm out, no matter how painful it is. We can all moan about his selections and tactics but at the minute his hands are greatly tied and we're having to make do with who is available.

A declining KDB and Rodri's injury has exposed this ageing squad and the amount of injuries has left it beyond threadbare. I think, the DOF and tehcnical team have tried to be too clever and attempted to get value for money with the recent signings. Kovacic, Nunes, Gundogan, Phillips, Savinho, Doku look to be poor signings at the moment. To be the best, we need to sign the best players.

Victory has defeated some of these players. They just don't give or can't find that extra 10% which is needed in most games. I can imagine that after 4 successive PLs, summoning that effort everytime must be difficult.

I have faith in Pep, his record is absurd and I trust things will improve soon

Post of the entire fucking thread

 

[JewelZee]

Pep already knows how good they are, he see them in training every day. If O'Reilly looks half as good in training as a senior player, why on earth would Pep play him over said senior player just because he could possibly develop into a decent PL player in 3 years? No manager with any ambition to win would do that.

So playing Walker and Gundo game after game even when it's evident they are no longer competitive at the Prem level is an indication of an ambition to win? Not for me...

 

[JewelZee]

It sorta feels like Pep is a great car mechanic but now the car needs a new transmission and Pep is still trying to fix it himself thinking he can.

The board needs to convince him the current transmission is dead and needs a replacement.. (new players) and then he can go again.

I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe Khaldoon should sack Txiki and Lillo, get Viana and maybe Xavi to help Pep and get some actual players to help Pep because after 2 months of this.. with the same players, no signings.. nothing will change.

If Pep doesn't like the call.. and he wants to walk.. that is that.. but this is a team and there's no I in team.

Great post...

 

[JewelZee]

Should tell you all you need to know about Simpsons current ability.

No it doesn't. It tells you Pep has a blind spot for his veterans and a big reluctance to trust a youngster unless it's his adopted son Rico...

 

[JewelZee]

Yeah today, sure. Would you give up the trophies they have won here too just so we could have played Rogers and Lavia in their place instead and having them in the squad today?

Gundo wasn't here last year and Jack contributed fuck all. Are you familiar with succession planning? C'mon guy...