This. With those that miss out on the starting 12 you also get better versions of them. The two you don’t are probably Doku and Savio. It’s why I would not be averse selling both.
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Pep Guardiola - 2025/26
- Thread starter Blue_Lightsaber
- Start date
He's long since been a busted flush whose continued presence is now starting to stink the room out. He has ruined more players than he has ever improved! We have been left with a paceless and energy lacking squad, and the absolute dross which we now play is painful to watch.
The fact he hasn't been sacked shows you everything you need to now about how our club is currently run. Results are secondary, it is global presence and commercial revenue which are imperative, and whilst Guardiola continues to be a revered name, and the foreign cash continues to flow, then nothing will change.
The reality is, that your long standing loyal support is no longer important, and for those that still attend, of which a large proportion are now commercially harvested fans, you are nothing more that backdrop extras is the CFG commercial plan.
The fact he hasn't been sacked shows you everything you need to now about how our club is currently run. Results are secondary, it is global presence and commercial revenue which are imperative, and whilst Guardiola continues to be a revered name, and the foreign cash continues to flow, then nothing will change.
The reality is, that your long standing loyal support is no longer important, and for those that still attend, of which a large proportion are now commercially harvested fans, you are nothing more that backdrop extras is the CFG commercial plan.
Tevez City
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- 15,082
The club gave him more than half billion since winning the treble, yet he didn't recruit wisely.
For the record I’m not saying he should go right now, he has to finish the season, but I would expect the club to be working on the next manager being in place for the summer. Provide clarity for the players who are here and the ones who will need to be signed in the next two windows
brian the blue
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- 19 Jul 2009
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- 1,584
We’re 3 games into the season and our season is over already.
Genuinely never thought anything like this would happen under Pep, never mind after spending what we have in the last couple of years.
I feel like both Pep and the club are trapped. Both clearly have great respect for each other so Pep won’t walk and the club won’t sack him.
Genuinely never thought anything like this would happen under Pep, never mind after spending what we have in the last couple of years.
I feel like both Pep and the club are trapped. Both clearly have great respect for each other so Pep won’t walk and the club won’t sack him.
I Remember him saying about 3 years ago that when the players stopped listening to him he would go. He said he would know when it happened. I think things are changing and he’s not getting through to them anymore. Rodri said a few times in his interview how many things needed to improve - on and off the pitch
Pelegrinni
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We have previously gone three years between 2014 and 2018 without a title and yet, here we are today.Fuck sake. What relevance is that?
League is 100x harder than it ever was in that cunts career.
City go three years without a title and were bang in trouble
No team has a divine right to win the title.
supercity88
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- 9 Aug 2009
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- 15,688
A huge concern at the moment. I don't know if he's been too forgiving of the players at his disposal and felt his tactics weren't working, so has tried to change them and bring in coaches who can help or he's just failing to tell the board his players aren't good enough and to bring better ones in... not sure.
But ultimately we don't have the players to play the way he would typically want to. And the style of play is baffling which shows his messages aren't getting through. His substitutions are bizarre and our only answer to being behind in a game seems to be "throw Doku on". He's become reactive rather than proactive and players that perform poorly don't seem to get punished for it. I remember him dragging Foden off after one poor pass, despite an otherwise solid game. Sane got pulled for not pressing and for giving the ball away too many times. Now we see the same names playing week in week out despite being miles off it.
But ultimately we don't have the players to play the way he would typically want to. And the style of play is baffling which shows his messages aren't getting through. His substitutions are bizarre and our only answer to being behind in a game seems to be "throw Doku on". He's become reactive rather than proactive and players that perform poorly don't seem to get punished for it. I remember him dragging Foden off after one poor pass, despite an otherwise solid game. Sane got pulled for not pressing and for giving the ball away too many times. Now we see the same names playing week in week out despite being miles off it.
Pelegrinni
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- 25 May 2021
- Messages
- 711
- Team supported
- Manchester City
We were mid table around December of the 2021 season. Yet, we went on a run to win that title.Are you watching what’s happening on the pitch at the moment? It’s absolutely diabolical. With respect who cares what happened to Ferguson?
The context is completely different, pep has less than two years on his contract and likely won’t sign another, he doesn’t have the time for this to continue. If he had the clubs best interests at heart he’d be considering walking.
I don’t remember a drop off like this at any point since 2008, this is full scale regression undoing years of hard work to get us into a dominant position. It’s certainly not being fickle, it’s wanting the best for the club. Why would anyone be content with what’s we’re seeing now? You’re talking garbage.
BlueMoonz1977
Well-Known Member
Totally agree...it' hard for me to call it a mistake cos it got us the 4th title in a row, but what it did was hugely contribute to this situation we found ourselves in last season and right now to this dayLeaving now would be disastrous. He, Txiki and the players are responsible for this and he should see it out til the end of the season.
If we've improved great, if not he'll leave
It is possible that Pep would have bowed out if the squad was in better health at the end of that title winning season, but imo he believes he has to rectify the error of that decision.
Problem is, it means we still have players who need moving on, and the backline is too slow for the high line to be played in todays game. We have had to have an influx of inexperienced (PL) players to reboot the squad - some will be great, others wont
But what is the common denominator is that it is going to take time for this lot to gel and get up to the needed level, and then you have to factor in that this rebuild is far from complete
I have no problem with that, we cant win it every year, my only concern is that the PL is the best at being competitive - other managers adapt and set there teams up in terms of tactics etc (a lot more managers in the PL compared to other leagues around europe)
The onus now, is on both the club, and Pep to sort out the decision they chose and agreed on, to go one more year with the players already here who had won it all and ran through brick walls to do it
A huge concern at the moment. I don't know if he's been too forgiving of the players at his disposal and felt his tactics weren't working, so has tried to change them and bring in coaches who can help or he's just failing to tell the board his players aren't good enough and to bring better ones in... not sure.
But ultimately we don't have the players to play the way he would typically want to. And the style of play is baffling which shows his messages aren't getting through. His substitutions are bizarre and our only answer to being behind in a game seems to be "throw Doku on". He's become reactive rather than proactive and players that perform poorly don't seem to get punished for it. I remember him dragging Foden off after one poor pass, despite an otherwise solid game. Sane got pulled for not pressing and for giving the ball away too many times. Now we see the same names playing week in week out despite being miles off it.
No concern for me. Building a new team takes time.
Fans have unrealistic expectations. Replacing legendary players isn't easy. We have many new players and some coming back after bad injuries. It would be a miracle if we were playing much better, given also that we had a short pre-season. We'll improve, but it will take months. When things click, we'll be quite good.
Btw, I think Pep is making a mistake with Rico and O'Reilly. They may become top players but are not ready to play for a team that aims to win the biggest trophies. Gonzalez should be way ahead of O'Reilly as an option from the bench and Gundogan is still the better player.
Pep loves Rico but when things get serious he drops him. It happened in the previous 3 seasons and it is likely to happen again. Can anyone see Rico starting games for Liverpool, Arsenal or Real?
If we want to have more academy players on the pitch, then chances are we don't compete for the title. Pep is more willing to give chances to youngsters this season and that may be a mistake. Play your best available players.
I'm well aware of that, but what's your point exactly? Again the context from then to now was completely different.We were mid table around December of the 2021 season. Yet, we went on a run to win that title.
It has never been this bad under Pep before, he also has no track record of rebuilding a team in the way he has to right now.
Seems as though you're stuck using past instances to make points rather than actually focusing what's happening on the pitch right now in 2025, much like Pep in his refusal to change anything,
Columbia
Well-Known Member
W
With or without academy players we aren’t realistically competing for the title. Anyone who thinks we are is beyond deluded.No concern for me. Building a new team takes time.
Fans have unrealistic expectations. Replacing legendary players isn't easy. We have many new players and some coming back after bad injuries. It would be a miracle if we were playing much better, given also that we had a short pre-season. We'll improve, but it will take months. When things click, we'll be quite good.
Btw, I think Pep is making a mistake with Rico and O'Reilly. They may become top players but are not ready to play for a team that aims to win the biggest trophies. Gonzalez should be way ahead of O'Reilly as an option from the bench and Gundogan is still the better player.
Pep loves Rico but when things get serious he drops him. It happened in the previous 3 seasons and it is likely to happen again. Can anyone see Rico starting games for Liverpool, Arsenal or Real?
If we want to have more academy players on the pitch, then chances are we don't compete for the title. Pep is more willing to give chances to youngsters this season and that may be a mistake. Play your best available players.
It didn’t work yesterday with O’Riley in midfield but he probably did it as we were getting overrun again physically. It’s quite clear going off all the years of Pep that if he rated the senior player he’d have put him on ahead of a youngster.No concern for me. Building a new team takes time.
Fans have unrealistic expectations. Replacing legendary players isn't easy. We have many new players and some coming back after bad injuries. It would be a miracle if we were playing much better, given also that we had a short pre-season. We'll improve, but it will take months. When things click, we'll be quite good.
Btw, I think Pep is making a mistake with Rico and O'Reilly. They may become top players but are not ready to play for a team that aims to win the biggest trophies. Gonzalez should be way ahead of O'Reilly as an option from the bench and Gundogan is still the better player.
Pep loves Rico but when things get serious he drops him. It happened in the previous 3 seasons and it is likely to happen again. Can anyone see Rico starting games for Liverpool, Arsenal or Real?
If we want to have more academy players on the pitch, then chances are we don't compete for the title. Pep is more willing to give chances to youngsters this season and that may be a mistake. Play your best available players.
The problem with the rebuild is we’ve spent fortunes on far inferior players. It’s not as if we can see signs of progress. We needed a right back after the treble and even now after 100’s of millions spent we don’t have one at the club. We’ve bought a left back who’s no better defensively than Cancelo.
I'm well aware of that, but what's your point exactly? Again the context from then to now was completely different.
It has never been this bad under Pep before, he also has no track record of rebuilding a team in the way he has to right now.
Seems as though you're stuck using past instances to make points rather than actually focusing what's happening on the pitch right now in 2025, much like Pep in his refusal to change anything,
The context wasn't completely different, though. We had a relatively bad season in 19/20. Then David and Sane left. Aguero and Ferna stayed but were over the hill. Rodri was Plodri, Gundo was disliked for being too slow. We had a difficult start to the season and didn't look like being champions material at all. Pep was questioned. You can take a look at post-match threads from November or December, for instance the post-match thread vs WBA in December 2020 or Pep thread from that period. It was full with hysterical reactions.
Back then I was predicting that we were going to win the league. I was right. Now I predict that we'll have the best team in England in the 2nd half of the season. Whether that would be enough to compete for the title depends on how many points we dropped in the 1st half of the season. But before we improve, things are likely to look bad for the next 2 months or so.
BlueMoonz1977
Well-Known Member
Then we have to ask, is his desire actually still there, is he fully 100% committed to it or is it just a "favour" to repay the error of not rebuilding after the treble seasonA huge concern at the moment. I don't know if he's been too forgiving of the players at his disposal and felt his tactics weren't working, so has tried to change them and bring in coaches who can help or he's just failing to tell the board his players aren't good enough and to bring better ones in... not sure.
But ultimately we don't have the players to play the way he would typically want to. And the style of play is baffling which shows his messages aren't getting through. His substitutions are bizarre and our only answer to being behind in a game seems to be "throw Doku on". He's become reactive rather than proactive and players that perform poorly don't seem to get punished for it. I remember him dragging Foden off after one poor pass, despite an otherwise solid game. Sane got pulled for not pressing and for giving the ball away too many times. Now we see the same names playing week in week out despite being miles off it.
We were led to believe that one of the reasons Wirtz decided not to sign is that we couldnt guarantee Pep being around (if thats true i dont know)
But what it may seem to effect is other players the same way- the buy in is not 100% there surely if you know the manager wont be around much longer
It didn’t work yesterday with O’Riley in midfield but he probably did it as we were getting overrun again physically. It’s quite clear going off all the years of Pep that if he rated the senior player he’d have put him on ahead of a youngster.
The problem with the rebuild is we’ve spent fortunes on far inferior players. It’s not as if we can see signs of progress. We needed a right back after the treble and even now after 100’s of millions spent we don’t have one at the club. We’ve bought a left back who’s no better defensively than Cancelo.
Pep has decided to give more chances to youngsters and that may be a mistake.
Other managers may do better with younger players, but there's a reason why Pep has relied on expetienced players so far: they are more consistent. We didn't have youngsters in the Treble team, all starters were 26+, except for Haaland.
You simply dont know that though, its your opinion. It could just as easily continue to get worse.No concern for me. Building a new team takes time.
Fans have unrealistic expectations. Replacing legendary players isn't easy. We have many new players and some coming back after bad injuries. It would be a miracle if we were playing much better, given also that we had a short pre-season. We'll improve, but it will take months. When things click, we'll be quite good.
There has been absolutely nothing shown on the pitch to suggest that will be the case either. Pep also doesn't have the time for months of transition football (despite us not even being in a transition because he refuses to change) - what was the purpose of him signing an extra two years if his and the clubs aim wasn't to win or challenge?
With regard to 'unrealistic expectations' you mention, the only expectations of many on here is for us to see hunger and a desire from the team to win games and ultimately compete somewhere near the top of the league - that is not at all unrealistic. Seems as though you're trying to say we are exactly where we should be in a roundabout way which is nonsense.