Pep Guardiola - 2024/25

[ChicagoBlue]

What that says to me is that Pep's old and used up tactics that have been passed by can still deliver as consistent results as these new teams that have left us in their wake. And that's while missing numerous key players and the team having clearly aged out.

And, I would agree you can beat the average team on a decent day, but looking at our results, would you say they’re reflective of a good team, or even good use of the resources available?

 

[Mancini’s Pastilles]

i've said it before,
i'll say it now
and i'll likely say it again...

rodri,
rodri
and rodri...

had he been fit things would've been much different this season.
last season when he didn't play we lost games.
his absence is the reason we're not at our best.

and that point will be proved when he returns.

So what youre saying is, we are a one man team?

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

And, I would agree you can beat the average team on a decent day, but looking at our results, would you say they’re reflective of a good team, or even good use of the resources available?

They're reflective of us being the 5th or 6th best team in the country.

And I truly don't think there is a coach that would have had us much higher based on this squad this season. And there's a hundred coaches that would have had us much, much lower.

 

[daztrueblue91]

They're reflective of us being the 5th or 6th best team in the country.

And I truly don't think there is a coach that would have had us much higher based on this squad this season. And there's a hundred coaches that would have had us much, much lower.

I have to disagree with this. I think there’s lots of managers who would have done better with this squad in the league and CL this season. I don’t think we would have challenged for the league but we’d certainly be 3rd or 4th and nailed on for CL football next season.

We’ve got some very good attacking talent in the likes of Grealish, Foden, Doku and Savinho and every single one of them have been underwhelming this season. Different managers would have set us up differently to get more out of them.

However, I believe stating this is the right answer to the wrong question. It’s not whether there’s a better manager than Pep based on this season, it’s whether there’s a better manager than Pep for next season.

It’s easy to compare other managers to Pep in his worst moment but everything we need for next season Pep has been there, done it and got the t-shirt.

He’s already built a squad and made it dominate English football. There’s no reason why he cannot do it again.

Not only is he the best possible candidate to take us forward, it would be appalling to get rid on him on the back of one relatively poor season. If we make top 5 and win the FA cup it will have been a decent season in my book.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

They're reflective of us being the 5th or 6th best team in the country.

And I truly don't think there is a coach that would have had us much higher based on this squad this season. And there's a hundred coaches that would have had us much, much lower.

Only a fool would argue that Pep is not a world class coach, but he’s made two sets of serious mistakes over the past year.

Firstly, he didn’t upgrade the squad last summer, when he should have been less emotional and more ruthless.

Secondly, during the season, he hasn’t adapted to the injuries and poor form by changing things (enough).

The one excellent thing he did was get some players in during January to help stop the bleeding.

 

[robbieh]

Newcastle are better than us. No shame if we finish below them an Liverpool and Arsenal. Villa have a decent team and an excellent manager
But frankly to finish below Forest and Chelsea too would be poor. In fact if he wasn't Pep, it would be a sackable offence.

 

[Tevez City]

Newcastle are better than us. No shame if we finish below them an Liverpool and Arsenal. Villa have a decent team and an excellent manager
But frankly to finish below Forest and Chelsea too would be poor. In fact if he wasn't Pep, it would be a sackable offence.

When you spend much more on transfer and salaries and you finish below them, there is shame and its called bad management.

 

[ashleycaulcott1]

Brining back Gundogan must be one of the biggest fuck ups he has made. On another note having limited tactical ability due to pure stubbornness relying on a philosophy which was massively helped by its leading conductor in Rodri is something that is royally fucking me off.

Slow sideways and backwards football has become way too predictable. Can have all the possession he wants. Fuck all end product and the mistakes this season have been off the chart.

 

[blueparrot]

Brining back Gundogan must be one of the biggest fuck ups he has made. On another note having limited tactical ability due to pure stubbornness relying on a philosophy which was massively helped by its leading conductor in Rodri is something that is royally fucking me off.

Slow sideways and backwards football has become way too predictable. Can have all the possession he wants. Fuck all end product and the mistakes this season have been off the chart.

Load of bollocks,limited tactical ability,yes that’ll be right, . See you next season when you can eat your words.

 

[ashleycaulcott1]

Load of bollocks,limited tactical ability,yes that’ll be right, . See you next season when you can eat your words.

So he hasn’t repeated the same bollox all season ? Must of imagined it. He plays the same system because it’s his philosophy and he's too stubborn to change it.

Look at his line up yesterday was too predictable.

 

[RodneyRodney]

The damage was done last summer when Pep, by his own admission, persuaded the club to go one more year with the old guard and postpone a rebuild.
A full time CEO would have spotted the flaw in this position, ie Pep would select them irrespective, and put a stop to it.
However we do not have a CEO now, we have a part time exec from CFG. Soriano spends much more time on that than on City.
We used to say we were the best run club in the Prem, but that is no longer true, CFG takes precedence. See ticket prices.
The honeymoon is over.

Post of the week

 

[Damanino]

DoF should have tried to override Pep's position 100% on giving the old guard one more go. especially if its true they flagged it that serious rebuild is needed only to be completely delayed by Pep.

thing is Txiki knew he is leaving while imo Pep was leaning towards leaving too. they didnt want to rebuild much as they didnt plan to be here at August 2025. had we not dropped so badly after October and dippers not performing so well above expectations with a kind of rookie manager in his debut season we would have been in a title race most likely maybe, especially if Rodri doesnt do his ACL.

its sadly being too comfortable. killer instinct lost in recruitment, and we got very comfortable. Real Madrid won CL and went out to get Mbappe. we won CL went for Nunes, Doku, Kovacic while missing out on Bellingham, Rice.
we sell Alvarez and be ok with it, no replacements. we bring back Gundo for fun.
Txiki 100% can be blamed here partially.

after 4 titles in a row and many players simply too old serious new energy was needed to be injected into the squad but Pep didnt want a rebuild job. and 4-5 months later all of a sudden he renews and says he will stay for a huge rebuild job. seems a bit odd.

the rebuild job is huge now due to not making the rebuild earlier also because we need to replace-upgrade some of the recent incoming players as well. we literally need both DoFs work overtime in the summer on both outgoings and incomings to sort this mess. Txiki wanted to ride into the sunset 30th of June but was made to stick extra 2 months as Viana flagged it he aint able to clean the mess himself and he needs help lol.

while last summer we sit back and did nothing pretty much apart from buying Savinho from Troyes which was planned long time ago and not much negotiating took place I guess with another CFG club lol, and brought back Gundogan after Barca decided to break up his contract and sold Alvarez and few youngsters.

 

[Ajm1985]

Brining back Gundogan must be one of the biggest fuck ups he has made. On another note having limited tactical ability due to pure stubbornness relying on a philosophy which was massively helped by its leading conductor in Rodri is something that is royally fucking me off.

Slow sideways and backwards football has become way too predictable. Can have all the possession he wants. Fuck all end product and the mistakes this season have been off the chart.

Limited tactical ability is a bit of a joke. I've been disappointed in Pep this season and believe he's it's his poorest for us but come on, let's not be revisionist - literally the greatest coach we could ever have and probably the best ever. A huge amount of his success has been due to his tactical ability - False 9s, inverting fullbacks, Stones into midfield, adapting midfielders into FBs etc. Rodri really accentuated the style but the philosophy brought Pep success in Barca, Bayern and with City prior to Rodri. Pep is revered amongst managers due to his tactics & strategy and it is daft to discount it.

Gundogan returning was opportunist & he fell into our lap - the mistake was really not getting adequate midfielders prior to signing him.

 

[KS55]

Limited tactical ability is a bit of a joke. I've been disappointed in Pep this season and believe he's it's his poorest for us but come on, let's not be revisionist - literally the greatest coach we could ever have and probably the best ever. A huge amount of his success has been due to his tactical ability - False 9s, inverting fullbacks, Stones into midfield, adapting midfielders into FBs etc. Rodri really accentuated the style but the philosophy brought Pep success in Barca, Bayern and with City prior to Rodri. Pep is revered amongst managers due to his tactics & strategy and it is daft to discount it.

Gundogan returning was opportunist & he fell into our lap - the mistake was really not getting adequate midfielders prior to signing him.

I think “limited tactical ability” refers to the squad we have and its limitations, not Pep personally.

 

[domalino]

I don’t even know where to start with this post other than state that I pretty much disagree with everything you’ve said.

For a start, do other sides in the PL or Europe not have top squads with the same ambitions as City?

The hardest thing to accomplish in football is sustained success at the top. There can only be one champion and Pep has been dominant in his time here.

The idea that Pep should have achieved 100 points, a domestic treble, Four-in-a-row, a proper treble as well as 6 PL titles in 8 years just shows why he is the best.

No other manager is held to the same level of scrutiny as him.

12 league titles in 15 seasons as a manager. No one else has ever come close.

 

[Crooked_rain]

i've said it before,
i'll say it now
and i'll likely say it again...

rodri,
rodri
and rodri...

had he been fit things would've been much different this season.
last season when he didn't play we lost games.
his absence is the reason we're not at our best.

and that point will be proved when he returns.

I disagree

We got over the line last season but the signs were there. Look at the goals we conceded last season, a lot of them were near identical, teams hitting us after losing position and we had too many slower players unable to prevent it. This season is a continuation of that but with an aging team another year older.

Even if Rodri played this season, he'd still be surrounded by Gundo, KDB, Bernado etc.. all who have seen better days.

We would still have no proper right back. Akanji, Ake and Stones would still be showing up with their laminated sick notes, leaving us light at the back.

Rodri is a huge miss, nobody is doubting that but the team needs a massive overhaul. I don't care how good he is, he can't carry players who no longer belong at this level.

 

[vmsuhail]

Now he’s got more mediocre players to work with, he’s going to finish in a mediocre position in the league. His entire career to this point has been impossible to properly judge, because managerial greatness is defined by overachievement, and he’s never had the capacity to do that with the default level of talent he’s always had.

Short memory there. Treble, 4-in-a-row, Centurions and then chasing a 97 point team and winning it are certainly over-achievements in my book.

 

[Paul1970]

Limited tactical ability is a bit of a joke. I've been disappointed in Pep this season and believe he's it's his poorest for us but come on, let's not be revisionist - literally the greatest coach we could ever have and probably the best ever. A huge amount of his success has been due to his tactical ability - False 9s, inverting fullbacks, Stones into midfield, adapting midfielders into FBs etc. Rodri really accentuated the style but the philosophy brought Pep success in Barca, Bayern and with City prior to Rodri. Pep is revered amongst managers due to his tactics & strategy and it is daft to discount it.

Gundogan returning was opportunist & he fell into our lap - the mistake was really not getting adequate midfielders prior to signing him.

Wish he’d fell on the floor now

 

[Paul1970]

I have to disagree with this. I think there’s lots of managers who would have done better with this squad in the league and CL this season. I don’t think we would have challenged for the league but we’d certainly be 3rd or 4th and nailed on for CL football next season.

We’ve got some very good attacking talent in the likes of Grealish, Foden, Doku and Savinho and every single one of them have been underwhelming this season. Different managers would have set us up differently to get more out of them.

However, I believe stating this is the right answer to the wrong question. It’s not whether there’s a better manager than Pep based on this season, it’s whether there’s a better manager than Pep for next season.

It’s easy to compare other managers to Pep in his worst moment but everything we need for next season Pep has been there, done it and got the t-shirt.

He’s already built a squad and made it dominate English football. There’s no reason why he cannot do it again.

Not only is he the best possible candidate to take us forward, it would be appalling to get rid on him on the back of one relatively poor season. If we make top 5 and win the FA cup it will have been a decent season in my book.

But he has to change his style now as he old possession football is gone especially with what we have this season and next . We have Haaland who needs service and he needs to run onto the ball . being passed though to him sane as Mamoush and we need quick direct fullbacks who transition fast . If pep changes his way and also his ego and stubbornness go then good for us but I feel we will see the same next season. And also I cannot belive that Nico g was not on that pitch when gundo and kova where stinking the midfield out alongside kdb and silva .

 

[normskih]

Newcastle are better than us. No shame if we finish below them an Liverpool and Arsenal. Villa have a decent team and an excellent manager
But frankly to finish below Forest and Chelsea too would be poor. In fact if he wasn't Pep, it would be a sackable offence.

To finish below anyone but l’pool and Arsenal this season will be a huge disappointed for me.