Pep Guardiola - 2025/26

[Berti No Show]

Be careful what you wish for. Those calling for Pep to be pushed out will be the same ones crying when we’re scrapping for top four/six under whoever comes next. We’ve been unbelievably lucky to have him. He’s still squeezing every drop out of this squad with the players he has at his disposal.

Sometimes it’s not decline, it’s just that there’s a new, hungry force in the league. Our lads have been at the summit for five, even ten years in some cases. That kind of sustained dominance takes a toll mentally and physically on both players and manager.

Football is cyclical. No team stays on top forever. What I can’t stand is this knee jerk nonsense where a few draws suddenly mean Pep’s “lost it”. The man has won more than anyone else out there.
Question performances, fine. But questioning Pep Guardiola’s ability? Madness. Has so much credit in the bank.

Also we’re a squad absolutely riddled with bad luck right now. No fit defensive midfielder, no fit wingers, and several key players away at AFCON. The small squad everyone’s moaning about now is the same approach Pep used to deliver us all those trophies. You don’t get historic success without taking risks like he has done with the squad.

What’s laughable is that the moment things don’t go perfectly, some fans turn around and blame Pep for the very approach that delivered everything we’ve won. You can’t have it both ways.

What’s happened to society that no one’s allowed a rough patch anymore? A bad run, a dip in form, a few setbacks, and suddenly people are written off, slagged off on social media, questioned, discarded. There’s no patience, no perspective, just instant outrage and blame.

We’ve become a society obsessed with perfection and allergic to adversity. If things aren’t flawless every single week, someone has to be at fault. Someone has to go.
That mindset isn’t strength, it’s individual insecurity.

Success isn’t built on constant winning, it’s built on how you respond when things wobble. And right now, far too many people would rather tear down proven winners than stand by them through a difficult spell. We'll be back, I'm sure. Whether we will win the league or not - who knows?

Look at the positives, we are still unbeaten in our last 2, and that's a much bigger improvement on last season where we'd crumbled in both of those games under the same circumstances. It takes time.

 

[citytill1die84]

Let's face it, his best years are now behind us. No spark or intensity in this team anymore, and seemingly no plan to address that. We've had some amazing experiences between 2017 and 2023 but we desperately need fresh ideas.

Has Pep shagged your wife or something? You love to stick it in him don't you?

You're pathetic Colin.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Utter nonsense.

There’s not another manager in the land that would have us higher than where we are now. 2nd is pretty good for a team that was at the CWC and is going through a rebuild.

Put it this way, you’re not going to get anyone else turning O’Reilly and Nunes into full backs to cover for poor recruitment.

The main issues today were:

- Rodri got tired after 60 minutes but Nico was injured so not available to replace him.
- Doku wasn’t fit to start so we lacked true attacking width.
- This is also meant the likes of Foden and Cherki had to cover the flank and central position when going forward.
- Both our centre backs went off injured.

Also, I don’t want to be picky but we won a record 4th title in a row in 2024 :)

2024 was 2 seasons ago. Anyone thinking we're going to see another Centurions or Treble team is completely deluded.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Has Pep shagged your wife or something? You love to stick it in him don't you?

You're pathetic Colin.

I've said before that you can't stand still in this league and we have.

 

[pbueno16]

2024 was 2 seasons ago. Anyone thinking we're going to see another Centurions or Treble team is completely deluded.

Probably won’t get back to that level but you do realize that is an incredibly unrealistic bar to use right?

 

[meeesh]

Be careful what you wish for. Those calling for Pep to be pushed out will be the same ones crying when we’re scrapping for top four/six under whoever comes next. We’ve been unbelievably lucky to have him. He’s still squeezing every drop out of this squad with the players he has at his disposal.
Sometimes it’s not decline, it’s just that there’s a new, hungry force in the league. Our lads have been at the summit for five, even ten years in some cases. That kind of sustained dominance takes a toll mentally and physically on both players and manager.

Football is cyclical. No team stays on top forever. What I can’t stand is this knee jerk nonsense where a few draws suddenly mean Pep’s “lost it”. The man has won more than anyone else out there.
Question performances, fine. But questioning Pep Guardiola’s ability? Madness. Has so much credit in the bank.

The credit in the bank statement is easy to use, and no matter what happens from here on in it’ll still be in credit, but he’s not the same man this season, just like last, seems more angrier than ever,and some silly decisions in either selections or subs, would of been easier for him to go when we’d had a great season with a few trophies, and who knows, we still might yet this season, but fuck me he’s making it hard work for everyone and doesn’t trust very many of our recent incomings, fucking weird times

 

[HelloCity]

2024 was 2 seasons ago. Anyone thinking we're going to see another Centurions or Treble team is completely deluded.

Strange response.

Centurions has been done 1 time in over 100 years of English top flight football.

Treble has been done 2 times in the history of English football.

We’ll win the league again (the actual target) with Pep within the next couple of years. We’re rebuilding and have improved a lot since this time last season - as emphasised by our much improved points totals in both the league and Champions League.

 

[HelloCity]

Has Pep shagged your wife or something? You love to stick it in him don't you?

You're pathetic Colin.

It’s clearly for other ‘reasons’.

Unfortunately.

 

[Cobra]

He can’t control the injuries. We were without 8 first team players today

Chelsea were missing Sanchez, Fofana, Colwill, Cucarella, Caceido and Lavia. That’s 4 of their first choice back 5 and their best midfielder

 

[citytill1die84]

I've said before that you can't stand still in this league and we have.

Problem is players age and need replacing and finding the correct replacements are not always easy.

You seen how much money we have spent trying to build another squad? Not bad for standing still eh? Some players work some don't it's football. We're about to fix our RW problem with Semenyo again that's not a sign of standing still. We spent loads last winter to help achieve top 4 again we didn't stand still.

We're 18 months into an official rebuild, currently 2nd in the league behind the supposedly mighty worlds greatest Arsenal not bad I'd say.

 

[alexmcity]

are now saying things like "I expect quick results" which I have never said.

That's true. I meant quick improvements.

What do you mean under better performances, taking into account that we are the top scorers in the league and Arsenal are not the best team to watch (guess you agree with the latter)?

More GF, fewer GA, big wins ..? What are the objective criteria?

We are 2nd in the league (slightly closer to Arsenal than we were in 22/23) and 4th in the CL. It's obvious we are one of the top 6 teams in the world together with Arsenal, PSG, Bayern, Barcelona and Real. So, how much better could we have been with the best manager in the world (given the circumstances I mentioned above: injuries, new players, etc.)?

 

[Sky Blue]

Be careful what you wish for. Those calling for Pep to be pushed out will be the same ones crying when we’re scrapping for top four/six under whoever comes next. We’ve been unbelievably lucky to have him. He’s still squeezing every drop out of this squad with the players he has at his disposal.

Sometimes it’s not decline, it’s just that there’s a new, hungry force in the league. Our lads have been at the summit for five, even ten years in some cases. That kind of sustained dominance takes a toll mentally and physically on both players and manager.

Football is cyclical. No team stays on top forever. What I can’t stand is this knee jerk nonsense where a few draws suddenly mean Pep’s “lost it”. The man has won more than anyone else out there.
Question performances, fine. But questioning Pep Guardiola’s ability? Madness. Has so much credit in the bank.

Also we’re a squad absolutely riddled with bad luck right now. No fit defensive midfielder, no fit wingers, and several key players away at AFCON. The small squad everyone’s moaning about now is the same approach Pep used to deliver us all those trophies. You don’t get historic success without taking risks like he has done with the squad.

What’s laughable is that the moment things don’t go perfectly, some fans turn around and blame Pep for the very approach that delivered everything we’ve won. You can’t have it both ways.

Finally some sense in a sea of shite.

 

[alexmcity]

Be careful what you wish for. Those calling for Pep to be pushed out will be the same ones crying when we’re scrapping for top four/six under whoever comes next. We’ve been unbelievably lucky to have him. He’s still squeezing every drop out of this squad with the players he has at his disposal.

Sometimes it’s not decline, it’s just that there’s a new, hungry force in the league. Our lads have been at the summit for five, even ten years in some cases. That kind of sustained dominance takes a toll mentally and physically on both players and manager.

Football is cyclical. No team stays on top forever. What I can’t stand is this knee jerk nonsense where a few draws suddenly mean Pep’s “lost it”. The man has won more than anyone else out there.
Question performances, fine. But questioning Pep Guardiola’s ability? Madness. Has so much credit in the bank.

Also we’re a squad absolutely riddled with bad luck right now. No fit defensive midfielder, no fit wingers, and several key players away at AFCON. The small squad everyone’s moaning about now is the same approach Pep used to deliver us all those trophies. You don’t get historic success without taking risks like he has done with the squad.

What’s laughable is that the moment things don’t go perfectly, some fans turn around and blame Pep for the very approach that delivered everything we’ve won. You can’t have it both ways.

What’s happened to society that no one’s allowed a rough patch anymore? A bad run, a dip in form, a few setbacks, and suddenly people are written off, slagged off on social media, questioned, discarded. There’s no patience, no perspective, just instant outrage and blame.

We’ve become a society obsessed with perfection and allergic to adversity. If things aren’t flawless every single week, someone has to be at fault. Someone has to go.
That mindset isn’t strength, it’s individual insecurity.

Success isn’t built on constant winning, it’s built on how you respond when things wobble. And right now, far too many people would rather tear down proven winners than stand by them through a difficult spell. We'll be back, I'm sure. Whether we will win the league or not - who knows?

Look at the positives, we are still unbeaten in our last 2, and that's a much bigger improvement on last season where we'd crumbled in both of those games under the same circumstances. It takes time.

Spot on.

 

[CC1]

Chelsea were missing Sanchez, Fofana, Colwill, Cucarella, Caceido and Lavia. That’s 4 of their first choice back 5 and their best midfielder

Yep but we were better than them. We didn’t take our 25 chances. They had 2 & took one

 

[madloaf]

That's true. I meant quick improvements.

What do you mean under better performances, taking into account that we are the top scorers in the league and Arsenal are not the best team to watch (guess you agree with the latter)?

More GF, fewer GA, big wins ..? What are the objective criteria?

We are 2nd in the league (slightly closer to Arsenal than we were in 22/23) and 4th in the CL. It's obvious we are one of the top 6 teams in the world together with Arsenal, PSG, Bayern, Barcelona and Real. So, how much better could we have been with the best manager in the world (given the circumstances I mentioned above: injuries, new players, etc.)?

I don't know. I have only a subjective opinion on the football I watch, but if you're asking a hypothetical then we could have won everything and there is simply no counter argument to that.

It would seem, without me putting words in your mouth, that you believe that pep is our best root to "success". I am not as sure and am, once again, concerned about the walking football. I would love to be wrong as it means city are a success, although I'm not sure I'd want to win "boring". Call it a night? Agree to disagree?

 

[SaintColin]

The club already provided him with close to 1.5 Billion since his arrival.

I’m obviously talking about the last few years. Where the standard of recruitment has significantly dropped, but im sure you knew that. And I’m not even talking about amount money, I’m talking about the quality. “top players”. Otherwise Rodri and Haaland won’t be staying.

 

[Draikin]

Credit where it's due, expected a battle for top4 this season but we're way ahead of schedule

But Pep still refuse to acknowledge players aren't getting any rest thanks to FIFA/Uefa and he cannot field the same 11 during 2 months anymore

 

[alexmcity]

I don't know. I have only a subjective opinion on the football I watch, but if you're asking a hypothetical then we could have won everything and there is simply no counter argument to that.

It would seem, without me putting words in your mouth, that you believe that pep is our best root to "success". I am not as sure and am, once again, concerned about the walking football. I would love to be wrong as it means city are a success, although I'm not sure I'd want to win "boring". Call it a night? Agree to disagree?

That's pretty reasonable. But we don't play walking football, as we run the most in the league. It's Pep's way to manage the fitness of the team when we play every 3-4 days. Plus, it would be a miraculous feat to be the top scorers in the league while playing "the walking football".

I expect top, top performances in 2-3 months. Let's see what happens.

 

[.db.]

Don’t know why people are moaning about Pep at all.

His tactics meant we had about two dozen good opportunities in the game to make something happen and 23 times the players fucked it up with shit play, shit passes, shit crosses, wrong decisions, shit shots or no shot.

He can’t put his boots on and do it for them.

 

[uwerosler28]

Be careful what you wish for. Those calling for Pep to be pushed out will be the same ones crying when we’re scrapping for top four/six under whoever comes next. We’ve been unbelievably lucky to have him. He’s still squeezing every drop out of this squad with the players he has at his disposal.

Sometimes it’s not decline, it’s just that there’s a new, hungry force in the league. Our lads have been at the summit for five, even ten years in some cases. That kind of sustained dominance takes a toll mentally and physically on both players and manager.

Football is cyclical. No team stays on top forever. What I can’t stand is this knee jerk nonsense where a few draws suddenly mean Pep’s “lost it”. The man has won more than anyone else out there.
Question performances, fine. But questioning Pep Guardiola’s ability? Madness. Has so much credit in the bank.

Also we’re a squad absolutely riddled with bad luck right now. No fit defensive midfielder, no fit wingers, and several key players away at AFCON. The small squad everyone’s moaning about now is the same approach Pep used to deliver us all those trophies. You don’t get historic success without taking risks like he has done with the squad.

What’s laughable is that the moment things don’t go perfectly, some fans turn around and blame Pep for the very approach that delivered everything we’ve won. You can’t have it both ways.

What’s happened to society that no one’s allowed a rough patch anymore? A bad run, a dip in form, a few setbacks, and suddenly people are written off, slagged off on social media, questioned, discarded. There’s no patience, no perspective, just instant outrage and blame.

We’ve become a society obsessed with perfection and allergic to adversity. If things aren’t flawless every single week, someone has to be at fault. Someone has to go.
That mindset isn’t strength, it’s individual insecurity.

Success isn’t built on constant winning, it’s built on how you respond when things wobble. And right now, far too many people would rather tear down proven winners than stand by them through a difficult spell. We'll be back, I'm sure. Whether we will win the league or not - who knows?

Look at the positives, we are still unbeaten in our last 2, and that's a much bigger improvement on last season where we'd crumbled in both of those games under the same circumstances. It takes time.

Whilst this post is true in sentiment, its also unneeded not 1 person in the ground has ever questioned Pep so not sure why you feel the need to post it.