Pep Guardiola - 2025/26

[Lkzerinho]

In fairness, One of the areas where we the club has also messed up is allowing a ton of our analytics and scouting department to continue to get poached by rival clubs window after window and not attempt to keep some of these guys around. I don't think that is the only reason but it certainly has not helped.

Quite frankly if Omar does get the boot at United, I would bring him back in a heart beat, even for just a year to help us rebuild the scouting and analytics team here.

 

[JewelZee]

I see he no longer is wearing his wedding ring. He was as recently as the Liverpool post match press conference.

I remember when Tuchel was splitting from his missus he went thru the worst period of career. Chelsea went from CL champions and Prem contenders to irrelevant with Tuchel eventually being sacked.
Pep taking his ring off during the break then. Is it a coincidence that he's come back with a completely different vibe?

 

[JewelZee]

He produced a line up for a game that boggled the minds of EVERYONE that saw it 1:15 before kick-off, and which may well have completely changed the mindset and tactics of the opposition, which was missing key players.

Instead of facing the usual 4-5-1/5-4-1 at our place, with the threat of a counterattacking goal, we got a smothering high press that we appeared almost incapable of beating for long stretches.

We gave a team that should be in the Bottom 8 of the CL, the confidence to come out and go at us on our home turf, which is inexcusable…and would not have even been envisaged at Barcelona!

Just think what SHOULD have happened with the kind of team we SHOULD have put out and the result that everybody thought SHOULD have occurred…

We WOULD have been SECOND in the CL Table with 13 points, having dropped 2 points to a dodgy last minute penalty away in Monaco, while Leverkeusen WOULD be in the Bottom 8 with 5 points from 5 games.

We WOULD have needed only 1 more victory (or 3 draws) in the 3 remaining games to reach 16 points, which WOULD have been enough to be Top 8 last season and SHOULD be enough for the Top 8 this season.

Instead, we face Real Madrid (A), then Bodo/Glimt (A) North of the Arctic Circle, in January, on Astroturf, where they are no mugs, and then a final game at home against Galatasaray, which will be a homecoming for a few City players who will inevitably have done say in the outcome of both the game and whether we play 2 Knockout Games, when that game SHOULD have been a chance to rest some players!

In short, Pep has taken what SHOULD have been a cat bird seat for the next CL stage, and what WOULD have been a chance to both rest players in future games AND turned it into a desperate attempt to avoid TWO FIXTURES we don’t need and will require a full strength team!

Pep has, instead of securing CL status, created an almost perfectly stupid case of SHOULDA, WOULDA, COULDA and created drama the Club not only doesn’t need, but the players and fans don’t deserve! The Club is not his personal plaything, yet NO-ONE ELSE ON EARTH would have done what he did at ANY SERIOUS CLUB and been able to swat it away with “maybe I did too many changes.”

MAYBE?? Wake the fuck up, Pep, and stop trying to outthink everyone with crazy plans that rarely come off. It’s already cost us titles in years past and definitely cost the club AND THE FANS this week!

Great post!

 

[Fiftyyearsandcounting]

I expect Pep has been told the 115 business has gone against us.
All our best players will want to leave rather than play in League 2.
Pep picked the players he thinks will stay, to see how they perform.
I don't suppose he was too optimistic.
Needs to start now, scouting players from the Combined Counties League Premier Division North.

 

[B\connellblue]

I expect Pep has been told the 115 business has gone against us.
All our best players will want to leave rather than play in League 2.
Pep picked the players he thinks will stay, to see how they perform.
I don't suppose he was too optimistic.
Needs to start now, scouting players from the Combined Counties League Premier Division North.

Exactly . I expect there'll be lots of time for a bit of fishing. :)

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Well according to the 'tabloids' he's buying a mega Villa back in Barca, so maybe he will be off in 2026. Just wonder if the dreaded '115' has affected him & the club, particularly in buying top players instead of the dross we've bought recently.

I think the final divorce going through must have affected Pep. He has given everything to our club, possibly at the expense of his marriage.

 

[TonyBookEnd]

MAYBE?? Wake the fuck up, Pep, and stop trying to outthink everyone with crazy plans that rarely come off. It’s already cost us titles in years past and definitely cost the club AND THE FANS this week!

Maybe this is a tad kneejerk. This week is not a defining week

What titles has his thinking cost us but think what titles has his overthinking brought us? His crazy plans have made him arguably the greatest coach in history

 

[HelloCity]

Pep should have left after the 4 in a row I think. That was a natural endpoint, for him and the players, and the rebuild would have began with a new manager and a new DOF. Fully a new era.

That isnt to say pep is finished or I'm pep out or whatever. But I think that would have made sense as an exit point, and the rebuild would also have happened a year earlier in that scenario as Pep was the one who killed it in summer of 2024.

It doesn't really make sense to have pep here for the beginning of a new team and then have him duck out 1/2 years in to building it

I actually think last season and this season would have been A LOT worse without Pep.

I don’t think we’d have got CL football last season without him tbh.

 

[AshtonBlueMooner]

Trust in Pep.
He buggered up.
He owned it.
He’s a complex human being.
Sometimes I think he’s an absolute nutcase.
But he’s our nutcase.
He loves our club.
And what he needs now is our support.
Loud and proud.
Come on you blue boys, let’s smash Leeds on Saturday and get right behind Pep and the lads.
CTID

 

[normskih]

He produced a line up for a game that boggled the minds of EVERYONE that saw it 1:15 before kick-off, and which may well have completely changed the mindset and tactics of the opposition, which was missing key players.

Instead of facing the usual 4-5-1/5-4-1 at our place, with the threat of a counterattacking goal, we got a smothering high press that we appeared almost incapable of beating for long stretches.

We gave a team that should be in the Bottom 8 of the CL, the confidence to come out and go at us on our home turf, which is inexcusable…and would not have even been envisaged at Barcelona!

Just think what SHOULD have happened with the kind of team we SHOULD have put out and the result that everybody thought SHOULD have occurred…

We WOULD have been SECOND in the CL Table with 13 points, having dropped 2 points to a dodgy last minute penalty away in Monaco, while Leverkeusen WOULD be in the Bottom 8 with 5 points from 5 games.

We WOULD have needed only 1 more victory (or 3 draws) in the 3 remaining games to reach 16 points, which WOULD have been enough to be Top 8 last season and SHOULD be enough for the Top 8 this season.

Instead, we face Real Madrid (A), then Bodo/Glimt (A) North of the Arctic Circle, in January, on Astroturf, where they are no mugs, and then a final game at home against Galatasaray, which will be a homecoming for a few City players who will inevitably have done say in the outcome of both the game and whether we play 2 Knockout Games, when that game SHOULD have been a chance to rest some players!

In short, Pep has taken what SHOULD have been a cat bird seat for the next CL stage, and what WOULD have been a chance to both rest players in future games AND turned it into a desperate attempt to avoid TWO FIXTURES we don’t need and will require a full strength team!

Pep has, instead of securing CL status, created an almost perfectly stupid case of SHOULDA, WOULDA, COULDA and created drama the Club not only doesn’t need, but the players and fans don’t deserve! The Club is not his personal plaything, yet NO-ONE ELSE ON EARTH would have done what he did at ANY SERIOUS CLUB and been able to swat it away with “maybe I did too many changes.”

MAYBE?? Wake the fuck up, Pep, and stop trying to outthink everyone with crazy plans that rarely come off. It’s already cost us titles in years past and definitely cost the club AND THE FANS this week!

It cost us a Champions League Final win also.

 

[Sam69]

I'll criticize him when I think he makes bad choices, like any ordinary fan, but I would never, ever disrespect the GOAT. He loves the club and the city, he's got blue blood, and I hope he stays as long as possible, especially when I hear some idiots in the media pretending to care about Manchester City when deep down they know no one will ever do better than him. And as long as he's there, he's a threat to their beloved club because he remains the number one danger standing in their way.

 

[bluemoonandmore]

i just think the criticism for making so many changes is way over the top. The idea of not wearing out the starting eleven against Newcastle futher and making sure the rest of the squad gets minutes to get up to speed makes sense. The normal procedure would be to keep a core of players. It could have been for example Donnarumma, Dias, Nico G and Haaland. The 5 substitutes worked well enough and we had more than enough chances to get something out of the game. What hurt us was the 2 goals against and especially the second one (with Savinho late into the press and Ake loosing the heading duel). To get through the tight schedule ahead without slip ups (and injuries) is almost impossible and it is better to rotate plenty the way I see it.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Not obsessed mate. Just conjecture about what is happening in his life that may have an impact on his current performance. Now why don’t you keep your asinine comments to yourself.

How sad do you have to be to look for a stranger's wedding ring...?

Busy c***

 

[Pedestrian]

In fairness, One of the areas where we the club has also messed up is allowing a ton of our analytics and scouting department to continue to get poached by rival clubs window after window and not attempt to keep some of these guys around. I don't think that is the only reason but it certainly has not helped.

Quite frankly if Omar does get the boot at United, I would bring him back in a heart beat, even for just a year to help us rebuild the scouting and analytics team here.

Aye he’s done an excellent job with that lot….

 

[Paul1970]

View attachment 176044

How sad do you have to be to look for a stranger's wedding ring...?

Busy c***

agree

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Maybe this is a tad kneejerk. This week is not a defining week

What titles has his thinking cost us but think what titles has his overthinking brought us? His crazy plans have made him arguably the greatest coach in history

No, his good plans have created the best football Britain has ever seen, but his wild hares are plain old, OTT tinkering and overthinking. Sometimes, it’s about just putting the players out on the field and telling them to go and do what they do best!

 

[ChicagoBlue]

It cost us a Champions League Final win also.

Yep, covered it in the last sentence. He calls EVERY competition a title, as in FA Cup WINNER, Champion's League WINNER, Premier League WINNER.

 

[Blue2202]

i just think the criticism for making so many changes is way over the top. The idea of not wearing out the starting eleven against Newcastle futher and making sure the rest of the squad gets minutes to get up to speed makes sense. The normal procedure would be to keep a core of players. It could have been for example Donnarumma, Dias, Nico G and Haaland. The 5 substitutes worked well enough and we had more than enough chances to get something out of the game. What hurt us was the 2 goals against and especially the second one (with Savinho late into the press and Ake loosing the heading duel). To get through the tight schedule ahead without slip ups (and injuries) is almost impossible and it is better to rotate plenty the way I see it.

it’s not over the top at all, what he did was downright disrespectful and stunk of arrogance - it’s also added to a long list of many previously.

Year in year out managers from bigger clubs get criticised for making 7 or 8 changes in the domestic cups so I think its fair to call out 10 changes in the most elite club competition in world football.

How on earth could he think changing that many players with barely a single 90 minutes between them in the last 2 months would just have to turn up to beat a well drilled side?

Get the game won, make the necessary changes and then worry about the upcoming games. Not the other way around.

 

[citizen_maine]

it’s not over the top at all, what he did was downright disrespectful and stunk of arrogance - it’s also added to a long list of many previously.

Year in year out managers from bigger clubs get criticised for making 7 or 8 changes in the domestic cups so I think its fair to call out 10 changes in the most elite club competition in world football.

How on earth could he think changing that many players with barely a single 90 minutes between them in the last 2 months would just have to turn up to beat a well drilled side?

Get the game won, make the necessary changes and then worry about the upcoming games. Not the other way around.

So, basically, everybody does it

 

[come-on-barney]

I expect Pep has been told the 115 business has gone against us.
All our best players will want to leave rather than play in League 2.
Pep picked the players he thinks will stay, to see how they perform.
I don't suppose he was too optimistic.
Needs to start now, scouting players from the Combined Counties League Premier Division North.

Sounds exciting