Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

Status
Not open for further replies.
I can’t believe Pep’s state of mind and abilities are being questioned. He had a few marks on his head and scratch on his nose that was already there before kick off.

As for his ability to manage this ‘crisis’, it is absolutely the case of having mental strength like we could never know to manage a club to the success he’s brought us consistently and constantly these last few seasons. To pull a team out of a slump will be fuck all compared to that.

Lots of drama within some of these posts.
 
John Wayne said:
Sorry, I don't know what you mean.
Click to expand...
My point is we'll recruit as necessary and I'm not disagreeing with you on some of the positions that you mention those which Pep will identify as insufficient. I think it's coincidental the numbers are similar. Some posters think 4-5 players are too many. I don't and possibly neither do you.
 
Roachy said:
My point is we'll recruit as necessary and I'm not disagreeing with you on some of the positions that you mention those which Pep will identify as insufficient. I think it's coincidental the numbers are similar. Some posters think 4-5 players are too many. I don't and possibly neither do you.
Click to expand...
Thanks for clarifying. Yeah, I'm with you on this one. I'm certainly thinking 5 players. Some are suggesting 8 or 9 but I do think that's excessive.
 
OrigamiNinja said:
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.
Click to expand...
I couldn't disagree with a word of it! There's no easy way back. It's like a complete blow out on a Formula 1 engine. Every internal piece is broken or fatigued to the point of no further use. Maybe, just maybe Foden, Dias and hopefully a fully recovered Rodri may have a future, but the rest are done. Our most important purchases now are proper defenders like a Kompany/Lescott, and a right back like Zabaleta, and anybody with half a brain, a left foot and a pair of boots to play left back.

Our midfield is like a care home 5 a side team. They are all geriatric or no taller than 5'6" and 10 stone wet. How we let Lavia and Luiz leave this club, knowing full well we had nobody who could tackle in midfield is beyond any sensible comprehension. We have to start being nasty and trying to win games 1-0. My biggest concern however, is we have institutionalised the whole club in both every age group, and even the women, to play this high line possession football, which has now resulted in us not having anyone in the academy that offers anything different.

I fear the solution is not more Pep, but a manager who can overhaul and organise a defence. It would be an Italian coach for me.
 
Scratches really arent anywhere near as bad as they appeared to be. Just a moment of frustration where hes sunk his fingers into his head, the marks will have vanished soon after, it's not really any different to one of us in the stands kicking the back of a seat or slamming it and there's no chance there's anybody who hasn't done that.

Knew there would be blow back on Peps attempt to make light of the scratches though. Having to clarify he wasn't making light of self harm is beyond tedious. Anybody that struggles to understand he was in no way making light of people who self harm has massive problems of their own.
 
Amazed the press has not claimed that it kicked off in the dressing room with Pep and the players.
 
Gabriel said:
Kovacic and Gvardiol I could understand, but Nunes, Doku and then Savinho meant we were tipping the scales the other way, especially when we also allowed Palmer and Alvarez to leave. From the midfield forward, we now only have Bernardo, Grealish, Gundogan, Rodri, Kovacic, and Bobb that I would say fit the typical Guardiola mould, three of whom are out. Playing the open way puts us on a level where we can be matched and beaten by almost all other League/Champions League teams, and we're unlikely ever to get by Real Madrid in spring if we've run ourselves into the ground in winter. Time to get back to signing players that give us control. Back to basics if you will...
Click to expand...
We’re looking boring and predictable when we’re not on our game, which is much of the time recently. Our build-ups are laborious and a lot of the short, sideways and backward, me-to-you passing is actually achieving little other than impressive sounding but meaningless stats. Too few players are willing to take a shot, let alone hit a fkn barn door. Key goals generally come from either the Viking or defenders. Otherwise the ball’s a hot potato in the last third.

Personally, I welcome Doku and Savinho for that rare touch of the unexpected, even accepting they have some deficiencies. Both are top prospects IMO and were worth signing.

Forget winning the CL again in the near future.

So, do we try to replicate the old style with our next signings or break the mould and evolve?
 
Trojan1962 said:
If we don’t get CL football next year we won’t get those players.
Click to expand...
If you don’t believe we’ll finish top 4, you might as well watch another sport.

Temporary crisis? Yes, but we are still fundamentally a very, very good side that’s made mistakes but had terrible luck with injuries.
 
sir baconface said:
We’re looking boring and predictable when we’re not on our game, which is much of the time recently. Our build-ups are laborious and a lot of the short, sideways and backward, me-to-you passing is actually achieving little other than impressive sounding but meaningless stats. Too few players are willing to take a shot, let alone hit a fkn barn door. Key goals generally come from either the Viking or defenders. Otherwise the ball’s a hot potato in the last third.

Personally, I welcome Doku and Savinho for that rare touch of the unexpected, even accepting they have some deficiencies. Both are top prospects IMO and were worth signing.

Forget winning the CL again in the near future.

So, do we try to replicate the old style with our next signings or break the mould and evolve?
Click to expand...
I would rather sign players to replicate the old style and at the same time have a couple of unpredictable elements. The night we destroyed Real Madrid we had the solid base and Bernardo, Grealish, and Gundogan retaining possession and de Bruyne and Haaland the unpredictable elements. We also had Mahrez, Alvarez, and Foden come off the bench. Now, the balance has swung too far in favour of the unpredictable elements. This change wasn’t by accident but it’s definitely accident prone.
 
ninjamonkey said:
Knew there would be blow back on Peps attempt to make light of the scratches though. Having to clarify he wasn't making light of self harm is beyond tedious. Anybody that struggles to understand he was in no way making light of people who self harm has massive problems of their own.
Click to expand...
Petty beyond belief isn't it. Wasn't his finest quote, but to suggest in any way he was making light of self harm is simply stupid
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top