Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

Status
Not open for further replies.
He's having a poor season, no doubts about that. For the first time this season I've felt like he doesn't have the answers, which is unsettling because he's always been the one to innovate. I'm a bit unsure as to whether he can adapt again & create another new team, but I'm 100% certain I wouldn't want anyone else at the head of any rebuild
 
Charlesfarsbar said:
I think it will help him having a younger squad

He seems to struggle with having to leave seasoned professionals out , which is why he never had to do this with a core of 18 players

The only players to miss out were kids , which he’s fine with

The issue will be getting young players of the requisite quality that will be first team ready

We’ve made a good start with this in January with Nico and Khusanov (maybe Reis)
Click to expand...
It’s much easier to rely on seasoned professionals, I guess, especially when they’ve been over the course and know what you want them to do. Even if we do find young players of the requisite quality, though, keeping them all in form will not be easy.

An important marker next season will be whether we can beat Arsenal/Liverpool. The rest of the sides are much of a muchness, but if we have a predominantly young team and manage to beat one of them early in the season, it’d be a huge fillip.
 
I
thegoatsthegoat said:
Spoilt, entitled, go the whole hog and complete the happy clapper bingo.

If you have read any other posts of mine you will have seen that yesterday I was fine with our performance, the heart and desire was there but the quality wasn't and we was beaten by the better team. That isn't demanding we win and be top every season is it, quite the opposite.

As you have shown in the Rico thread, you are a happy clapper who cannot see any criticism at the club, let me guess "let's not forget that in the nineties we was shite" Pep has been amazing for us, we won't win anything like we have again in my opinion. He, nearly alone deserves every single bit of credit for our success, but equally deserves to be questioned when he gets it wrong. Or is it just blind loyalty now? The man gets his name sung every game, banners made and supported through everything, even when he is calling us paying fans out for our attendance or noise levels. He gets that support no matter what, so on a City forum, during our worst season in a while, losing games more than we have in a very long time I think it is more than acceptable to ask questions from the best manager in the league. I don't think any of us could rest on past glories in our roles and take a year off and decline significantly. I don't want him gone either, just raising very fair questions. Yesterday was more like it, but still with a weird starting lineup and a boring slow build up to boot. I want to enjoy watching us again, that doesn't mean by winning, but by competing and being exciting to watch.
Click to expand...
I agree with all of this. Pep himself has said he refused the start of the rebuild in the summer. Surely he deserves some criticism for that.
 
alexmcity said:
Two things I don't understand. Grealish was good in midfield vs. Forest, one of our best games all season. Why did Pep give up on him in that CM role?

Nunes isn't a FB but due to his pace and athleticism he was doing better than Lewis. Nunes wasn't great vs. Arsenal, but he hasn't started a game since then, including vs. Orient... Even though Lewis is more likely to stay at the club, currently Nunes seems to be the better option, especially going forward. Maybe Pep wants to play only those who will stay next season, plus some oldies due to their status and absence of good alternatives.
Click to expand...

Agreed on Nunes. Pep seems to have his favourites who can make a lot more errors than others but get a lot more lee-way in their playing time. Nunes is on the other end of that spectrum in that he's punished. It's a shame because he was the only bright spark for a good month or so towards the end of last year.

On Grealish. Agreed again, to an extent - but he played there against Juventus away too I think and was wank. But it's baffling he hasn't been given another chance in there. Especially now we have a good foundation stone with Nico. He has to be a better option than Gundo.
 
skillman said:
Agreed on Nunes. Pep seems to have his favourites who can make a lot more errors than others but get a lot more lee-way in their playing time. Nunes is on the other end of that spectrum in that he's punished. It's a shame because he was the only bright spark for a good month or so towards the end of last year.

On Grealish. Agreed again, to an extent - but he played there against Juventus away too I think and was wank. But it's baffling he hasn't been given another chance in there. Especially now we have a good foundation stone with Nico. He has to be a better option than Gundo.
Click to expand...
It is quite unfair Nunes gets the stick while a good few others get the carrot for any level of performance, good or bad. In Grealish's case, the whole squad was slightly better than dogshit on average against Juve, so doesn't seem like a good example to shy away from playing him in the middle again. Even without Stones, which we most likely will be for the rest of the season, I'd rather see Grealish as an 8 than Gundo or Kova or as a 10 than de Bruyne or Foden.
 
Last edited:
Dazzle84 said:
He's having a poor season, no doubts about that. For the first time this season I've felt like he doesn't have the answers, which is unsettling because he's always been the one to innovate. I'm a bit unsure as to whether he can adapt again & create another new team, but I'm 100% certain I wouldn't want anyone else at the head of any rebuild
Click to expand...
He just can´t get out the mistakes team makes at the back almost every single game, thats killing us.
 
thegoatsthegoat said:
So many questions again. I don't think yesterday was too bad but the fact he started Lewis shown me again he is all over the shop.

KDB clearly cannot play at that level or intensity anymore.
Gvardiol is our only reliable defender and he is still thrown at left back every single week, whilst the centre of our defence has gaping holes in it
Same boring, slow build up which every single team has now worked out that all they have to do is simply stay in shape, we will have no penetration and then they can pick up the pieces once they win it back and attack quickly. Twice in the first 5 minutes Liverpool were attacking and we won it back and went to break quickly, seconds later we was at walking pace and passing backwards. Dull as dishwater to watch currently and I genuinely said it at the start of the season whilst we was topping the table. We are very boring to watch, others blamed the set up of the opposing sides when in reality we aren't adapting or being innovative to work around that obstacle.

This season has really shed light on some of Peps limitations. You cannot take away the amazing success he has brought us but it is time to think outside of the box. Throwing countless money at it can't be the only solution, he needs to show what a great coach he is, which this season he hasn't. That isn't winning everything every year but simply competing. It is a sorry state when we are going into games often and expecting to lose, that level of fall simply cannot happen.
Click to expand...
He knows what our struggles are. He even said a few weeks ago exactly what you’ve said, in that teams this season play reactively on the break with quick players and big fast players in midfield to break things up.

I honestly believe that he is persisting with our way of playing as an identity in the knowledge that we will be back with reinforcements in the summer.

I don’t doubt we’d win more points if we dropped back a little and played on the counter.

Rightly or wrongly that’s what I think he’s doing, he isn’t suddenly naive or bad at his job. He’s a stubborn old bastard.

Saying that, some of his team selections and substitutions absolutely baffle me.
 
thegoatsthegoat said:
Spoilt, entitled, go the whole hog and complete the happy clapper bingo.

If you have read any other posts of mine you will have seen that yesterday I was fine with our performance, the heart and desire was there but the quality wasn't and we was beaten by the better team. That isn't demanding we win and be top every season is it, quite the opposite.

As you have shown in the Rico thread, you are a happy clapper who cannot see any criticism at the club, let me guess "let's not forget that in the nineties we was shite" Pep has been amazing for us, we won't win anything like we have again in my opinion. He, nearly alone deserves every single bit of credit for our success, but equally deserves to be questioned when he gets it wrong. Or is it just blind loyalty now? The man gets his name sung every game, banners made and supported through everything, even when he is calling us paying fans out for our attendance or noise levels. He gets that support no matter what, so on a City forum, during our worst season in a while, losing games more than we have in a very long time I think it is more than acceptable to ask questions from the best manager in the league. I don't think any of us could rest on past glories in our roles and take a year off and decline significantly. I don't want him gone either, just raising very fair questions. Yesterday was more like it, but still with a weird starting lineup and a boring slow build up to boot. I want to enjoy watching us again, that doesn't mean by winning, but by competing and being exciting to watch.
Click to expand...
Nailed it!
 
dadnlad said:
Has he been sacked yet ? I've just seen a disgraceful video of him chatting with Salah surely that going to far after a defeat
Click to expand...
He's been doing this with opposing managers and players as long as he's been here, so why are you making a fuss out of it now?
 
Needs to have a clear out of some of the back room staff to get some young blood in. Including Set Piece Coach (if we even currently still have one)
 
thegoatsthegoat said:
Spoilt, entitled, go the whole hog and complete the happy clapper bingo.

If you have read any other posts of mine you will have seen that yesterday I was fine with our performance, the heart and desire was there but the quality wasn't and we was beaten by the better team. That isn't demanding we win and be top every season is it, quite the opposite.

As you have shown in the Rico thread, you are a happy clapper who cannot see any criticism at the club, let me guess "let's not forget that in the nineties we was shite" Pep has been amazing for us, we won't win anything like we have again in my opinion. He, nearly alone deserves every single bit of credit for our success, but equally deserves to be questioned when he gets it wrong. Or is it just blind loyalty now? The man gets his name sung every game, banners made and supported through everything, even when he is calling us paying fans out for our attendance or noise levels. He gets that support no matter what, so on a City forum, during our worst season in a while, losing games more than we have in a very long time I think it is more than acceptable to ask questions from the best manager in the league. I don't think any of us could rest on past glories in our roles and take a year off and decline significantly. I don't want him gone either, just raising very fair questions. Yesterday was more like it, but still with a weird starting lineup and a boring slow build up to boot. I want to enjoy watching us again, that doesn't mean by winning, but by competing and being exciting to watch.
Click to expand...
Good post. It’s been said before but too much completely revolves around Pep and everyone seems subservient to him.
Smacks a bit of Slur Alex - because when he goes the succession needs to be properly planned.
He’s the greatest manager we will ever have but that does not stop him making mistakes or being too stubborn.
For example Rico seems to belong to a Pep era which even he says is going to have to change
 
Stiff Little Wingers said:
Good post. It’s been said before but too much completely revolves around Pep and everyone seems subservient to him.
Smacks a bit of Slur Alex - because when he goes the succession needs to be properly planned.
He’s the greatest manager we will ever have but that does not stop him making mistakes or being too stubborn.
For example Rico seems to belong to a Pep era which even he says is going to have to change
Click to expand...
Well if Pep says he’s going to have to change, don’t you think the chances are he’ll build a new squad around those changes ?Whether that still involves an inverted full back ( I think it might) thats’s up to Pep, none of us can know what he is planning.
Just sit back and enjoy a new era developing.
 
blueparrot said:
Well if Pep says he’s going to have to change, don’t you think the chances are he’ll build a new squad around those changes ?Whether that still involves an inverted full back ( I think it might) thats’s up to Pep, none of us can know what he is planning.
Just sit back and enjoy a new era developing.
Click to expand...
Yes I will and it will be interesting as well as a real test for us.
What I'm more concerned with is if we can't get top 4/5 and get into CL then the rebuild is that much more difficult. Not impossible over course but harder.
 
I think Pep's had a serendipitous moment.

After that loss to Liverpool.. he saw how they have a very physical and compact defense with not much pressing like the days of Mane and Firmino.

And he's adopted that for our team because we have had shit pressing this season and it may take too much energy out of the players to maintain year in, year out.

Kudos to Pep for at least be willing to try a system that suits the players at hand!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Unread Posts

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

SIGN UP
Back
Top