Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

pressure is getting to him. all very strange with those head scratches in earlier game, bloody nose, now his eye, his marriage gone to shit, and the main thing I think he was gonna leave end of season as original plan and my theory is seeing its going bad, and also we lost Rodri, he even said in recent interview he couldnt forgive himself to leave us in this state maybe on back of a horrible season, he wants to leave on a high probably. but dont think that was plan A back in August.

also him saying it was him who said no to big transfers in the summer to have one last go with the squad. he was like I assume let the new manager bring in all the new faces next summer which now has been speed up in this window due to our brutal run and him deciding to stay so will overlook the rebuild.

but in he place of Txiki he should have said to Pep that the rebuild is urgent, and its better for the club to get some signings in summer 2024 more than just Savinho and Gundogan
but as Txiki was leaving himself probably didnt bother but he should have absolutely as its one thing Pep wants to go one more time with the old and tired squad without much reinforcement but its another thing that the club need to move forward and strengthen while you are ahead not when you fall behind or let rivals catch up which is what happened now
Shouldn’t have been his decision to make . You could see in that cup final the players where fucked and we only just got over the line in the title race yet he overruled probably everyone who knew a rebuild was needed .
 
Dax777:
What mistakes?
Many mistakes, the results in the last two months should tell you a lot. 1. Refusing to bring new players in the summer (for example to replace Alvarez or cover Rodri). 2. Playing the same style when you don't have qualified players. 3. Using Lewis as a defender when he is not capable of playing in this position. 4. A defensive line consisting of Nunes, Lewis and Akanji is a failure plan. 5. Insisting on playing Gundo and Bernardo when their contributions are not enough anymore.
 
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Pep is all about control but when you don't have control and another team is younger fitter faster against this old fucking geriatric team we get fcuked over and Brugge are younger fitter faster next week game we can easily lose!
 
Pep’s problem is that he likes a small squad and it’s absolutely fucked him this season, because 4 or 5 starters have hit the wall at the same time as he’s had anywhere from 3-10 injuries at the same time.

He feeds on positivity, drive, and trusting his 16 players. At times, many of them have been used when they were at 60-80%, and he hasn’t got away with it.

He sees the players every day, and he’s made the calculus that a trusted veteran at 60-80% is better than an untrusted and untested EDS Graduate at 200% fitness, but 50% tactical and technical nous.

It hasn’t worked and every bit of bad luck that could have happened has seemed to happen.

Against that “disastrous” background, we are 5th in the League and a home victory away from advancing in the CL!

We can all agree that the standards City have set were never going to be able to be maintained forever, but it seems like they didn’t dissipate slowly, they blew up in everyone’s faces over the course of 2 months, and they have undermined who we are today and what we can achieve with this group of players at this time.

Sadly, it looks like the end of the road for a group of these players we have all held in the highest esteem over the last few seasons, as they have reached the end of their top flight careers with City. However, and for whatever reasons, this season we did not do the usual “repair and replace” transfers that helped keep us at the zenith of world football, and while others improved, age and injuries have caught up with elements of the squad.

As it relates to Pep, I’ve mentioned before that I think he’s on the spectrum. As such, I think he has “tics” that sometimes bring that behavior to the fore. His scratching at his scalp, his constant (and rather disgusting) spitball, and his seemingly constant irritability with questions (which I’m sure we would all “enjoy”!). So, at times, even during games while on the sideline and after games while on the field, he has tendencies that look unseemly. Whether it is tugging at opposition players and sharing comments or berating his own players, it’s only his “genius” that allows him to get away with it. But, as with any genius, when their genius doesn’t produce results, it becomes a detractor, a distraction, and all a bit “too” quirky. And here we are!

Help is on the way, but one wonders just how bad things will get before it arrives.

It’s clear that we have defensive problems, most of which are not helped by Pep’s constant reshuffles. We saw one tonight, where, instead of bringing on Stones as a CB in a like for like swap, we removed Dias, brought on Lewis, putting him on at LB (he’s no LB) and moved Gvardiol into LCB (where he has almost zero experience at City)…and shipped 4 goals in under 30 mins!

But wait, THAT wasn’t even the problem!

The problem is that even though Pep has sought to shore up the middle of the park by switching to a 4-4-2, it has been so lightweight, so free of anyone who can put a foot in, win a header, win a 50-50, or even catch the opposition midfielder that has wandered into the half space behind him and us now overloading our defence.

Tonight, we subbed KDB and Kova at 60+ minutes. Their replacements? Gundo & McAtee. I would venture that both players have won less than 10 tackles between them this season. I’d also venture that they haven’t tracked a roving opposition midfielder into our box more than half a dozen times all season. And, don’t get me started on headers!

At the moment, we simply lack the personnel to trade like for like without a massive drop off in team set up or performance, and even players we all hoped could uphold some level of performance have been very disappointing this season. Some of that is down to injuries, some of it is down to Pep’s “circle of trust” being so tight, some of it is because Pep fucks around with player positions too much, and some of it is because even when he’s had the opportunity, he hasn’t helped cultivate much youth talent.

Lastly, I’m not exactly sure what Lillo does for Pep, but the more I see, the more I can only believe he is either an echo chamber telling Pep his ideas are great and to do whatever is on his mind OR he has no clue what we currently need and has nothing much to offer from his stress-free role as Pep’s listening board!

We have a litany of fans on here all pointing to the same problems that never seem to get addressed, yet the millionaire coaching staff seems oblivious to what we see.

I’m not saying we know everything that is going on behind the scenes, but we do know that WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY WITNESSING IS NOT THE ANSWER!

We are long past playing 4-5-1 when we get ahead in the second half. I thought losing 3 to Feyenoord at home, after being 3 up at home was going to be the low. I was wrong. Winning 2-0 away at PSG in such a key game, with 30 mins to go, and then making another 3 changes, shuffling the defence and midfield (again!), and then shipping 4 goals felt like a new low!

In Pep We Trust. Is that right? Have to admit I’m struggling with that a little bit at the moment. I feel like he’s making significant substitution errors as we struggle through this period, which have only exacerbated things at times. But, I haven’t won a damned thing of note in my football career, so what do I know?!

Come on, City!!!
Agree with a fair bit of that . However reading the Pep book , lilo is there because he challenges Pep and they have some big rows. In fact it seems Lilo is the one person that can make Pep change direction and often simplify things.
 
So Pep has said we aren't good against top opposition, why is that then Pep why is that. He's paid a fucking ridiculous annual salary to sort these things out, three months later we look further away than ever from sorting the problems
 
I still think Amorim was his replacement and when he signed for the rags Pep decided to stay, he looks like a broken man to me, the pressure at work, his divorce etc look at his eye, there something nit right, someone who lives with that much stress normally and then chuck in a bad divorce it’s nit going to end well.
 
I still think Amorim was his replacement and when he signed for the rags Pep decided to stay, he looks like a broken man to me, the pressure at work, his divorce etc look at his eye, there something nit right, someone who lives with that much stress normally and then chuck in a bad divorce it’s nit going to end well.
For what it's worth, I think you're right. And if that is the case he needs to leave with our blessings at the end of the season.

His personal life will absolutely be affecting things, and that's understandable. He's given us, as a fanbase, the greatest memories; and he owes us nothing.
 
Shouldn’t have been his decision to make . You could see in that cup final the players where fucked and we only just got over the line in the title race yet he overruled probably everyone who knew a rebuild was needed .
Not sure what " only just gettimg over the line in the title race " has got tp do with anything ?
Either you win the title or you don't... May 1968 we just won the league final day , recently 2012 just won the league final day more recently we have pipped Liverpool at last min..Does that ,mean we should have over hauled our squad accordingly ?
What do you mean ?

Having players who are knackered cannot be avoided ,most of our squad are elite players needed by their national teams in summer tournaments and then pre season tours.....that's modern football, and whoever you buy,if they are elite ,will face the same burn out problem ,imo.
 
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