Pep Guardiola - 2025/26

[Alexia_Ko]

Bollocks ,none of the 3 goals they scored happen if Rodri is on the pitch, even a not fit Rodri , his positional sense puts him where need needs to be to stop those shots, and then Pep is lauded for a emphatic win away at a tough ground

If Rodri was fit we play Cherki. Reijnders, Silva & Savio only touch the pitch for 15 mins

 

[shemnel]

the one thing i will say for Pep this season, in comparison to any other, is that he is playing pretty much the same starting XI regularly, when possible (bar Cherki or Savinho). It seems to me there is less rotation game to game.

My interpretation is that he is not confident in his squad yet.

 

[eastmanc]

We’ve lost Ederson who was one of the key reasons why we were so dominant for years. The time was right for him to leave this summer, he didn’t look the same player for a year or so. But we replaced him with Donnarumma who is brilliant, just not a keeper who will transform us to being dominant again. That may be a bit harsh on Donnarumma, he hasn’t got a super team in front of him like Ederson had. Ederson was able to do his thing with the ball without worrying about facing shots on goal, we didn’t let teams have the ball. Ederson was the perfect keeper for the team we had.

Agreed.

 

[eastmanc]

Back to hoof ball and wingers dribbling into trouble!

Which is absolutely shite to watch. Possession or hoofing it, let me see what would I prefer to watch it's not hoof ball I will tell you that.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Haters gonna hate.
Who would the pep out mardarses in this thread want instead?
Won't get anyone better than Guardiola imho. If you are fucked off with the style we play now what are you going to be like when the new guy comes in and it doesn't happen?
Too many entitled fans. Yes have your opinions but our manager is the best in the business. Once he is gone that's it, it's back to basics.

Another of these ridiculous "But who?" comments. I'm sure Arsenal fans were saying the same about Wenger long after it was clear he'd reached his sell-by date.

Suppose Pep walks at the end of this season, next season, or even decides he's had enough before then? We've got to replace him at some point and, yes, there may not be anyone better. But that's something we'll need to live with because we'll have no choice. But we'll get someone decent; we won't be bringing Tony Pulis out of retirement

 

[Mr HJ]

Looking back at last nights game I can kind of understand what Pep was thinking bringing on John to try and shore up the midfield, problem is John is not the player he was 3 years ago and when Fulham started to transition with pace he was sadly too slow to deal with late runners. John in his pomp did a wonderful job keeping possession but looked lost as a makeshift holding player. Added to having no defensive help from either wide player we were in panic mode.

The second first sub on the other hand was a disaster but there has already been a lot of comments about that. Hopefully last nights final 20 mins will have shown Pep that some players are so woefully out of form that they should not be given the responsibility to help close out a match at 5-2 up!

Final comment is even the best manager in the world is constantly learning and I have hope Pep will find the right balance as I believe we have the players, it's all about trusting them in the right system. Cherki should have been first sub based on the Leeds game alone - he was by far the best sub and then only trusted right at the end. You cannot under estimate when Fulham were really going for it the little bit of tactical play that held the ball against 3 players then drew a foul to stop momentum.

Onto Sunderland with high hopes that a little tweak will be made.

 

[Ajm1985]

Bollocks ,none of the 3 goals they scored happen if Rodri is on the pitch, even a not fit Rodri , his positional sense puts him where need needs to be to stop those shots, and then Pep is lauded for a emphatic win away at a tough ground

That's a complete reach and regardless that wasn't my point. As I said, Rodri would have been bypassed by Fulham due to the half hearted press and passive midfield around him. Rodri wasn't fit against Arsenal and they played around him - fantastic positional sense or not, he's one man.

 

[Chak19]

Looking back at last nights game I can kind of understand what Pep was thinking bringing on John to try and shore up the midfield, problem is John is not the player he was 3 years ago and when Fulham started to transition with pace he was sadly too slow to deal with late runners. John in his pomp did a wonderful job keeping possession but looked lost as a makeshift holding player. Added to having no defensive help from either wide player we were in panic mode.

The second first sub on the other hand was a disaster but there has already been a lot of comments about that. Hopefully last nights final 20 mins will have shown Pep that some players are so woefully out of form that they should not be given the responsibility to help close out a match at 5-2 up!

Final comment is even the best manager in the world is constantly learning and I have hope Pep will find the right balance as I believe we have the players, it's all about trusting them in the right system. Cherki should have been first sub based on the Leeds game alone - he was by far the best sub and then only trusted right at the end. You cannot under estimate when Fulham were really going for it the little bit of tactical play that held the ball against 3 players then drew a foul to stop momentum.

Onto Sunderland with high hopes that a little tweak will be made.

Stones had Rodri and Gundo with him, he would've been useless as a lone DM in his prime let alone now.

 

[roach3]

THE GOAT.

New team, all learning the Pep way of playing which we all know takes time.

He deserves our full backing because he will get things rite and won't leave us until he does.

2nd in the league with a new team and players still learning.

Nice story but this team has a ceiling and I think we’ve reached it, there were certain passages of play last night that was reminiscent of our treble winning team
What this team doesn’t have is the ability
To not crumble and panic at the back once the pendulum swings to the opposition.
How many times did we see players just happy to hoof the ball anywhere from the
Defence gifting the ball back to Fulham
Time and time again.
There was a time where we would nullify an opposition attack and calmly play ourselves out of trouble not just boot it anywhere
Dias has been exposed badly these last few months, the guy for whatever reason can no longer defend.
My biggest worry is watching pep see all this unravel, in what world would you bring in savinho knowing how limited he is as a player, our last two windows have been shocking who’s fault is that?
Typical city we’ve missed you.

 

[Mr HJ]

Stones had Rodri and Gundo with him, he would've been useless as a lone DM in his prime let alone now.

Good point, it's all about midfield balance. Gundo was very good at always being in the right place and was very under rated. Rodri was/is key to all we do and him not being back so long after his initial injury is a big worry - he would transform any midfield unit.

 

[TonyBookEnd]

Another of these ridiculous "But who?" comments. I'm sure Arsenal fans were saying the same about Wenger long after it was clear he'd reached his sell-by date.

Suppose Pep walks at the end of this season, next season, or even decides he's had enough before then? We've got to replace him at some point and, yes, there may not be anyone better. But that's something we'll need to live with because we'll have no choice. But we'll get someone decent; we won't be bringing Tony Pulis out of retirement

I think the Wenger comparison is way off. Sure, it’s a warning worth keeping in mind, but I don’t believe Pep is anywhere near past his sell-by date.

Wenger won the title in 2003/04 and finished 2nd the following season, but over the next thirteen years he averaged 4th place. His high point in that stretch was finishing 2nd behind Leicester in 2015/16. That wasn’t a sudden drop-off, it was a long, slow decline. Part of his issue was that the advantages Wenger once had had evaporated. His deep knowledge of the French youth system wasn’t the edge it used to be, and the rest of the league had caught up with the sports-science and off-field preparation he pioneered. He also kept Pat Rice and much of his backroom staff far too long, whereas Ferguson regularly refreshed his coaching team to avoid staleness.

With Pep, maybe his tactical edge has narrowed because opponents have spent years studying and countering his ideas. But as I’ve said before, I don’t think we’ve given him the tools he needs. A great conductor can’t make a school band sound like the Berlin Philharmonic, and Pep can’t hit the same heights with an inferior squad.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I think the Wenger comparison is way off. Sure, it’s a warning worth keeping in mind, but I don’t believe Pep is anywhere near past his sell-by date.

Wenger won the title in 2003/04 and finished 2nd the following season, but over the next thirteen years he averaged 4th place. His high point in that stretch was finishing 2nd behind Leicester in 2015/16. That wasn’t a sudden drop-off, it was a long, slow decline. Part of his issue was that the advantages Wenger once had had evaporated. His deep knowledge of the French youth system wasn’t the edge it used to be, and the rest of the league had caught up with the sports-science and off-field preparation he pioneered. He also kept Pat Rice and much of his backroom staff far too long, whereas Ferguson regularly refreshed his coaching team to avoid staleness.

With Pep, maybe his tactical edge has narrowed because opponents have spent years studying and countering his ideas. But as I’ve said before, I don’t think we’ve given him the tools he needs. A great conductor can’t make a school band sound like the Berlin Philharmonic, and Pep can’t hit the same heights with an inferior squad.

I'm not comparing Pep directly to Wenger. I'm commenting about Arsenal fans who probably felt Wenger was still relevant when many outside the club thought he had reached the end of the line. As you say, it was a gradual decline and there were a number of factors contributing to that.

I also think there's some truth in the view that our recruitment hasn't helped him. Teams that have a high element of physicality, like Newcastle, make life difficult for us. But even Fulham, not noted for their physical approach, scored 4 against us. Leeds, who'd scored 11 in 12 games prior to Saturday found it easy to bag a couple and, had they not seemingly settled for that, might have had more.

I refuse to accept that the players we have, who we've presumably extensively scouted, aren't good enough to put in a tackle.

 

[JewelZee]

If Rodri was fit we play Cherki and Reijnders, Silva & Savio only touch the pitch for 15 mins

Can't underestimate Bernardo's contributions to this side this term. He's probably played a bit too much mainly due to Rodri's unavailability but ya can't be putting him in the same sentence as Savinho under any circumstance ever : )

 

[citytill1die84]

Nice story but this team has a ceiling and I think we’ve reached it, there were certain passages of play last night that was reminiscent of our treble winning team
What this team doesn’t have is the ability
To not crumble and panic at the back once the pendulum swings to the opposition.
How many times did we see players just happy to hoof the ball anywhere from the
Defence gifting the ball back to Fulham
Time and time again.
There was a time where we would nullify an opposition attack and calmly play ourselves out of trouble not just boot it anywhere
Dias has been exposed badly these last few months, the guy for whatever reason can no longer defend.
My biggest worry is watching pep see all this unravel, in what world would you bring in savinho knowing how limited he is as a player, our last two windows have been shocking who’s fault is that?
Typical city we’ve missed you.

How can it have reached it's ceiling when over half of it is a new team?

 

[citytill1die84]

Another of these ridiculous "But who?" comments. I'm sure Arsenal fans were saying the same about Wenger long after it was clear he'd reached his sell-by date.

Suppose Pep walks at the end of this season, next season, or even decides he's had enough before then? We've got to replace him at some point and, yes, there may not be anyone better. But that's something we'll need to live with because we'll have no choice. But we'll get someone decent; we won't be bringing Tony Pulis out of retirement

He's not wrong tho is he? Pep is still the absolute best in the business yet people want rid with nobody of any quality available LMFAO.

Who's decent that we can bring in? Klopp? Not happening.
Ancelotti? Not happening
Alonso? Not happening
Enrique? Ye can't see that happening either.
Inzaghi? Not suited to our nice personality, not happening.
Conte? Same as above.
Simeone? Again as above.
Kompany? Not yet

Doesn't leave much.

People need to be careful what they wish for. Also pretty sure Pep wouldn't just quit without giving the board and owners sufficient notice either.

We all know we have to replace him one day but that doesn't need to be now. Pep should be allowed time & money to rebuild and us fans should be 100% backing him not after getting rid.