Pep Guardiola - 2025/26

[blueparrot]

It's young I'll give you that. The exciting part we'll see.

I have seen.

 

[AK45]

Again, it's unreasonable to criticise a team winning a 4th consecutive league title (the only team ever to accomplish such an achievement.)

Commenting on our style of play is not unreasonable, especially if the following season it continues to drop. Our style isn't great at the moment, but if you are winning then it is a harder argument to have.

 

[Bluewonder]

Commenting on our style of play is not unreasonable, especially if the following season it continues to drop. Our style isn't great at the moment, but if you are winning then it is a harder argument to have.

As I said, the style was required due to the old midfield. It is improving again already. We are the league's top scorers this year, as we were in 23/24.

 

[vincent]

Didn't do a lot Saturday to suggest the corner has been turned at all. Starting line up was questionable .We've been carrying A couple of players for weeks yet they get an automatic start.( We all know who they are) Entertainment first half was low. Second half was much better and far more entertaining so 50/50 on the day. Would expect a team challenging for the title to win all their home games against middle to lower half teams. Bigger tests await.

Can you not see that Pep is trying to build a new team which will naturally take time and patience will be needed. It’s seems if we don’t win the league and play exciting football (like previous title winning teams) then some just want him gone. Very harsh imo.

 

[AK45]

As I said, the style was required due to the old midfield. It is improving again already. We are the league's top scorers this year, as we were in 23/24.

And Pep was the reason we had an old midfield, so he is then the reason we "had" to play so slow and boring last season. The original point was people claiming we are back and no issues off the back of a month and a half, but you couldn't say he could be done off the back of a shite year.

 

[Phil1]

Still lucky to have him after more than a decade. We do have some funny supporters amongst us.

 

[B\connellblue]

Can you not see that Pep is trying to build a new team which will naturally take time and patience will be needed. It’s seems if we don’t win the league and play exciting football (like previous title winning teams) then some just want him gone. Very harsh imo.

Of course I can see that and it's refreshing that we have got away from the boring backwards and sideways passing to an extent. It's still creeps in far too often for my liking and The likes of Dias sees far too much of the ball in an attacking sense. Annoyingly Players who's seem out of favour suddenly start every game despite doing little to deserve to.

 

[vincent]

Of course I can see that and it's refreshing that we have got away from the boring backwards and sideways passing to an extent. It's still creeps in far too often for my liking and The likes of Dias sees far too much of the ball in an attacking sense. Annoyingly Players who's seem out of favour suddenly start every game despite doing little to deserve to.

Fair enough. I get you have had enough and have wanted a change for some time.

 

[Bluewonder]

And Pep was the reason we had an old midfield, so he is then the reason we "had" to play so slow and boring last season. The original point was people claiming we are back and no issues off the back of a month and a half, but you couldn't say he could be done off the back of a shite year.

Yes, and that same reason was why we became the only team ever to win four in a row. You can't just look at last season in a vacuum.

 

[AK45]

Yes, and that same reason was why we became the only team ever to win four in a row. You can't just look at last season in a vacuum.

Well you can, you are only as good as the here and now surely? Last season was a worry, the style of play was crap, the standard of performances was crap and our results were then... crap. Being worried that he may have come to an end here (which happens for every single manager and it is about timing that exit best) isn't being unreasonable. As soon as he was staying and overseeing this rebuild then no worries and I hope he proves me wrong. Looking at a month and a half in a vacuum isn't enough evidence, yet.

 

[Phil1]

Being Pep Guardiola is enough evidence for me.

 

[eastmanc]

Can you not see that Pep is trying to build a new team which will naturally take time and patience will be needed. It’s seems if we don’t win the league and play exciting football (like previous title winning teams) then some just want him gone. Very harsh imo.

There isn't a lot of patience with a minority of City fans. To get rid of the greatest coach of all time would be self harming of the highest order. Crazy.

 

[Bluewonder]

Well you can, you are only as good as the here and now surely? Last season was a worry, the style of play was crap, the standard of performances was crap and our results were then... crap. Being worried that he may have come to an end here (which happens for every single manager and it is about timing that exit best) isn't being unreasonable. As soon as he was staying and overseeing this rebuild then no worries and I hope he proves me wrong. Looking at a month and a half in a vacuum isn't enough evidence, yet.

It's unreasonable to judge a guy with two trebles and 12 league titles on two months of bad results when we had 8 or 9 players injured for every game.

 

[pbueno16]

It's unreasonable to judge a guy with two trebles and 12 league titles on two months of bad results when we had 8 or 9 players injured for every game.

A lot of these players also are of a different type to what we usually associate with Pep. Khusanov, Marmoush, Cherki don't come off as Pep players to me so there is some adaptation of tactics to fit the players who've arrived and are available.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

It happens like clockwork every year. I went looking for a game from early in the 20/21 season a while back ti prove a point in some random argument. It was a game from before we turned things around and people were ready to throw him off a bridge.

Enjoy.

That thread is hilarious.

Look at this clown. So sure of himself as well.

Worst City team since Mark Hughes.
Worst managerial performance on a weekly basis from a City manager since Mark Hughes.
We are in huge trouble.

And then a few posts later we get "Rodri is the problem for me".

 

[Didsbury Dave]

There’s probably only 2 people on the planet who think Mahrez and Rodri should be starting games like that for us.

Shame those 2 people are Pep and Txiki

an overhaul is absolutely needed

this team is a busted flush.......it is too imbalanced and lightweight - with zero drive and fight

Compare Kompany, Yaya, Zabba, Prime Aguero and Ferna to what we have now -- they simply dont compare

Rodri is a consistent problem and the other option is no better
No let back for 3 seasons
B.Silva going backwards
Mahrez should be sold immediately

Our inverted wingers are a huge negative and our high fullbacks are not causing the opposition any issues BUT causing us all sorts of problems

Lots of possession and create very very little of note.

This was coming last season and now its well and truly imbedded .........it was constantly talked about in the sumer transfer threads that we needed more -we got the centre half but Torres hasnt replaced a peak Sane and wont, our midfield is wide open with Ferna now too old to start and leaving either an option fo GUndogan or Rodri (both who are shit)....an ageing Aguero not replaced and Mahrez stinking out the place nearly everytime he steps on the field

We won finish top 4 this season -not even close Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea ,Leicester all clearly better than us.

we are nearer to utd's level than we are to those 4

It's the total and utter certainty that they have in their shit opinions that is amazing. We finished 12 points clear of second place.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

Had big reservations about the way we were going earlier in the season but fair play to Pep he's made the changes we were all crying out for, especially dropping the defensive line and getting the ball forward quicker. Gvardiol returning has been huge for us. Donnarumma aswell.

 

[argyle]

It's the total and utter certainty that they have in their shit opinions that is amazing. We finished 12 points clear of second place.

....but he was so certain that we wouldn't finish top 4, not even close apparently!

The same posters saying Pep should be sacked in that thread, were the same wanting rid of him during this summer.

 

[ScottSinclair]

That thread is hilarious.

Look at this clown. So sure of himself as well.

And then a few posts later we get "Rodri is the problem for me".

Go back to November 2020 and all of that was true. Pep getting it right later doesn't change that fact, but is a huge reason why when we sunk to an even worse level around december last year I never thought Pep should go, unlike many on this forum. If you want to go scroll around for something a bit more recent I got asked what drugs I was on because I said that we aren't as bad as the majority would have us believe after the Brigthon loss and that we would come good this season. Because I was plain to see that we had made positive improvements compared to last season. No hindsight in the world can change the fact that in november 2020 or december 2024 there were no positivity at all. Proving a point is well and good, and quotikg old posts can be fun, especially when it is criticism about players. But you can't really take the feeling of how disjointed and shite we were out of context several years later to prove a point

Also a bit bad faith to lump in the "Rodri is the problem comment" like I was behind that as well. I defended Rodri in those days when half the forum called him Plodri. Because unlike our performances at the time it was easy to see that Rodri would improve

 

[alexmcity]

Go back to November 2020 and all of that was true. Pep getting it right later doesn't change that fact, but is a huge reason why when we sunk to an even worse level around december last year I never thought Pep should go, unlike many on this forum. If you want to go scroll around for something a bit more recent I got asked what drugs I was on because I said that we aren't as bad as the majority would have us believe after the Brigthon loss and that we would come good this season. Because I was plain to see that we had made positive improvements compared to last season. No hindsight in the world can change the fact that in november 2020 or december 2024 there were no positivity at all. Proving a point is well and good, and quotikg old posts can be fun, especially when it is criticism about players. But you can't really take the feeling of how disjointed and shite we were out of context several years later to prove a point

Fair play for getting a bit wiser, but there were people (like me) in November and December 2020 who were predicting a title win for us that season and also big things for Rodri. So, you were wrong in 2020. The ingredients for a big team were there: top players and the best manager.