He had the cut on his nose before the match. He did an interview on Prime and it was there then.
The marks on his head will be a result of frustration, scratching, him being boiling hot and it looking a lot worse than it is. They’re probably not even there now.
As crazy as it sounds after winning 4-in-a-row, this is a huge refresh, arguably much bigger than at the end of 16/17. That’s why I said a few weeks ago, that Pep either really needed to commit (more than 12 month extension) or he should leave. Thankfully he opted for the former.We've fell off a cliff the past 6 weeks. Brentford and Fulham at home were a real slog as well that could easily been draws. I hope a few posters are now waking up and realising this isn't a 2 or 3 player refresh. The entire spine of the team needs replacing/ reinforcing coupled with a RB. Pep will know this now and sentiment needs putting aside with a few current players.
we will have real difficulty buying quality in the winter transfer window. Who is available? Who would want to come given the uncertainty?Pep is a tactical genius but he isn’t infallible. We all remember his 1st season here. He set his stall out to how he wanted us to play and quickly realised that he didn’t have the players to do it. He didn’t change his philosophy/tactics and his 1st season was a real slog. I feel like we are there again, the problem this time is, he has overseen the decline in the squad, he hasn’t inherited this like he did in 16/17.
We are consistently signing players who are worse than we already have. You don’t maintain/improve standards by doing this. In some cases it’s difficult/nigh on impossible…how do you replace a VK or a David Silva? However, it’s not just these legends.
We have gone from Sane to Sterling to Jack on the LW. Mahrez to half the squad on the RW. Walker/Cancelo to Rico at RB. We tried to improve the midfield with Philips and Nunes. It’s not rocket science that if you keep buying inferior players, whilst your best players simultaneously grow older, a decline occurs.
Pep either needs to change his theory (very unlikely) or he needs to demand that we cease shopping in the reduced aisle, because most of this current crop are either not up to it, or past it.
A lot of sense spoken.As crazy as it sounds after winning 4-in-a-row, this is a huge refresh, arguably much bigger than at the end of 16/17. That’s why I said a few weeks ago, that Pep either really needed to commit (more than 12 month extension) or he should leave. Thankfully he opted for the former.
I look at the squad and there are huge question marks…
GK - We are fine. I know some aren’t happy with Eddie but there’s hardly a huge line of top replacements available.
RB - Walker is past it and Rico isn’t good enough.
CB - The talent is there but fitness records are atrocious. No other side rotates CBs and gives them as much rest as we do and yet they’re still always injured. Big question marks over Stones and Ake.
LB - We still don’t really have one. Gvardiol (last month aside) has been really good but is his long-term future there?
CDM - We had the best in the world but what Rodri do we get back after a year out? Kovacic is a fine back up to the best in the world but he isn’t good enough to be 1st choice every week.
CM - KDB is out of contract, wrong side of 30 and always injured. Do you give someone £300k pw at his age, when he only plays half a season every year? Gundo is finished. Rico isn’t good enough. Nunes isn’t good enough. I do have faith that Foden will return to form but much of that will probably depend on what he has around him.
LW - Grealish doesnt produce enough. Doku has something but unless he can add consistency and G/A to his game he won’t be the answer.
RW - Savinho is probably the one that I have most hope for. Needs to work on his decision-making but I do think there is a player who has the potential to make it here. Bernie is done.
FW - We have the best striker in the world but zero back up. He can’t play every game.
If our CBs can’t stay fit and KDB leaves, I reckon we need a £300m spend this summer. Some will probably think I am being overly negative with some of my player assessments but if we are talking about title challenges, that’s where I am at.
Making all 3 changes at the same time was even worse.Making three changes with nearly half an hour to go was wrong.
Making all 3 changes at the same time was even worse.
If he'd have just 'dribbled' them in over 10 mins we'd have been more solid is the point i'm making.Pep was thinking of the players he subbed injury wise we can't afford them to get injured but in this situation maybe pep should of kept them on to at least the 85th min
This is pretty much how I see it. Seems that, post-treble, Pep has decided to torch the two main principles that brought us those successes - a proper, tight, compact defensive structure, and the emphasis on controlling the ball (and the game) through the likes of Gundogan, Grealish, Bernardo, Rodri, Stones …Many good points. For me, we have slowly been moving away from the 'tiki-taka' football that served us so well and towards a more open style. It makes games more open and creates more chances (unfortunately at both ends), but I'm just not convinced that the change sits well with Guardiola's principles. He cannot control the team if the team cannot control the ball. We end up doing more running, creating tiredness and injuries, and that then renders his small squad preference obsolete. For me, he needs to forget about trying to win with a different style and to return to his principles. That means better players but also better players who are fit for purpose.
Not that long ago, we could field a team where 7-9 players just did not give the ball away, and that then covered for players like de Bruyne, Foden, and Haaland. Nowadays, however, we might field only 2-3 players who can continually retain possession and the rest are much less reliable. The next signings will likely chart the direction of travel, but I know which way I'd like us to be headed.