Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

[Blue_Lightsaber]

We can't even get close to commit the good old tactical fouls.

That's a really good point..

Who's committing the tactical fouls or trying to?

I seem to remember Bernardo, Nunes, Rico and Stones try to do it.

Not seen Foden, Gundo, Grealish, Gvardiol, Walker, Savinho do it once..

 

[Gabriel]

It's obvious in big games teams play us man to man so we bet on players who could beat their man.

Nunes, Doku, Savinho can do that..

But Philipps is the major disaster.
Rodri's ACL disaster ^2
Gundo struggling ^3
Kovacic injury ^4

I guess it's fitting we lost 0-4

We used to have a team of players who could keep possession indefinitely and shift teams around until we exhausted them and openings appeared. Now, we have team of players who have less patience and give possession away cheaply, especially across the front line. When we do that, we are going to do as much running as the ball and as much running as the opponent. Somewhere down the line somebody thought this was a good idea.

 

[Chak19]

That's a really good point..

Who's committing the tactical fouls or trying to?

I seem to remember Bernardo, Nunes, Rico and Stones try to do it.

Not seen Foden, Gundo, Grealish, Gvardiol, Walker, Savinho do it once..

I remember Bernardo a few times, that's it.

 

[Chak19]

We used to have a team of players who could keep possession indefinitely and shift teams around until we exhausted them and openings appeared. Now, we have team of players who have less patience and give possession away cheaply, especially across the front line. When we do that, we are going to do as much running as the ball and as much running as the opponent. Somewhere down the line somebody thought this was a good idea.

Our press has been garbage as well, we should just drop it.

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

I've got another question..

Ruben's been out injured for a while..

Is our defense totally shit without Ruben shouting at them and constantly telling them what to do??

I mean even tactical fouls.. instead there seems to be apathy and just quietly jogging back!

 

[Gabriel]

Our press has been garbage as well, we should just drop it.

I think we need to retain it, but we need to drill them into pressing as units especially the front three, and as a team. If one person takes it upon himself to press half-heartedly, then an opponent will be free and the rest have pointlessly wasted their energy. Sometimes sides play out of it under their own steam, Southampton in October, but, generally speaking, if they break the press, then it’s either down to someone not understanding their own angles/their teammates’ angles or not doing it with conviction.

 

[Chak19]

I think we need to retain it, but we need to drill them into pressing as units especially the front three, and as a team. If one person takes it upon himself to press half-heartedly, then an opponent will be free and the rest have pointlessly wasted their energy. Sometimes sides play out of it under their own steam, Southampton in October, but, generally speaking, if they break the press, then it’s either down to someone not understanding their own angles/their teammates’ angles or not doing it with conviction.

I don't think we can press with Haaland upfront, he just isn't built to press.

 

[nellyonthewing]

We used to have a team of players who could keep possession indefinitely and shift teams around until we exhausted them and openings appeared. Now, we have team of players who have less patience and give possession away cheaply, especially across the front line. When we do that, we are going to do as much running as the ball and as much running as the opponent. Somewhere down the line somebody thought this was a good idea.

The theory that we are the best run club with the best football brains is rapidly evaporating.

 

[Gigant]

First things first.

The culprits for all the trouble we're facing are the senile old man Tixi and Pep Guardiola himself, to the extent that he has had an influence. All the chaos began after winning the treble, with a disastrous transfer window (only one player brought in) and the contract extension for Walker, which is even worse. If we had any sense and luck, Walker would have been Bayern’s problem by now, not ours. Forget all his current shortcomings as a player—he’s a rarely unintelligent person, and that’s an even bigger problem than him losing his speed.

After the first two culprits, injuries come into play, which we can’t control, but we’re still back to those two because we have no backups.

The problems are so challenging that even if the club were ultra-active in the next two transfer windows (winter and summer), we still wouldn’t have a clear squad situation:

• Walker – Old, slow, the biggest defensive liability, opponents target him and exploit it to the maximum against us.
• Stones – Injury-prone, a player you simply can’t rely on.
• Gundogan – It’s pure luck that he has just one more year on his contract, and hopefully, he won’t be an issue next season. He’s old, slow, and a shadow of the player he used to be.
• Lewis – Probably the most overrated talent ever, and Pep has had many like him throughout his career: think of players like Rode, Gaudinho, Højbjerg, Krkić, Tello, Rafinha, Cuenca, etc. I actually think some of these players have had a more successful career than Lewis will ever have. Sorry, kid, but the maximum role he can realistically play is the one that Sergio Gomez had.
• Bernardo – He’s a dead player now. Many have already said everything that needs to be said about him here. He’s been unusable for 18 months, even though he’s not exactly old yet. The 30,000 minutes he’s played under Pep have taken their toll. He’s lost his speed, his sprint, his dribbling. He passes the ball backwards, has no crossing ability, his pressing is useless, and he loses the ball more than ever.

 

[M23 Citizen]

I’m just glad he’s signed for two years to add some stability. And the good thing about making signings is that a poor run of form or a season with no trophies usually makes a club burst into a Transfer Window with gusto, plus having a new DoF who will be hungry to get some good new players in… we’ll be back to our best next season, I have no doubt.

In the short to medium term, Pep just needs to work something out with what he’s got at his disposal and make sure we finish in the Top 4 come the end of the season.

I trust that he will work something out, he always does. Watching that documentary shows that he’s got the passion for it and marry that passion with his abilities as a coach, I’m certain positives will come out of this season in the end.

We will unlikely win the title with the midfield we’ve got. But Pep might have something that he figures out at some point that might surprise us.