If Rodri was fit we play Cherki. Reijnders, Silva & Savio only touch the pitch for 15 mins
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Pep Guardiola - 2025/26
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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.
My interpretation is that he is not confident in his squad yet.
eastmanc
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Agreed.
eastmanc
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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
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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
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.
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.
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.
Stones had Rodri and Gundo with him, he would've been useless as a lone DM in his prime let alone now.
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.
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
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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
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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.
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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
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How can it have reached it's ceiling when over half of it is a new team?
citytill1die84
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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.
How can we have reached the ceiling with this team when our current team is a huge core of young players and a few in their prime and a few older players to compliment them?
O’Reilly is 20 and never played in the first team before January this year, Gvardiol is 23, Nunes is new to his position and never played there before January this year, Nico is 23, Doku is 23, Foden is still growing as a leader, Cherki is 22 and has only started 5 games for the club so far, Haaland is still improving on many areas of his game and finishing, Khusanov is 20, Savinho is 22, Rodri is still recovering from his injury, Donnarumma and Reijnders have only just signed for us…
Lads under 24 haven’t reached their peak yet and have years of developing time ahead of them. New players haven’t all settled. As a unit, this team has only played together in 2025 and hasn’t built a true team unit together yet.
This team is at the start of its development.
We’ll see the ever more impressive Reis come into the fold (he’s starting to play really well for Girona), we’ll also make more new signings in January and the Summer. And this team will grow for a few years yet before it reaches its ceiling.
The ceiling for this team - when Haaland and Foden are 29, Gvardiol Nico and Doku are 27, Cherki and Savinho are 26, Khusanov and O’Reilly are 24 and Reis is 23, and we’ve made some more signings of players who are in that 24–30 age bracket at the same time these lads all reach it n’all (with the odd younger players and the odd older players to compliment them) - will be much higher than it could possibly be now.
That’s what our squad looked like in 2017-18 and 2018-19 (our best ever sides). We had a huge core of players who were aged 24-30, with the odd youngsters and the odd 30+ to complement them.
BedsBlue68
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Now you have seen the genius that is Pep Guardiola in action. Weekend - City are ripping Leeds apart, at half time he says to his players, careful they have Chelsea next who are close to us so we dont want to destroy their confidence so let them score a couple to build them back up and - Phil knock one in at the end so we get a win. And what happens, Leeds buoyed by the second half City gave them they hammer Chelsea.
A true football genius at work
A true football genius at work
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I think what it comes down to, is that Pep has to learn to coach a defence now. Sounds disparaging, but his way of defending has always been to make sure we keep the ball and don't let the opposition have it. That's no longer working, and is less possible with Donnarumma in goal than it was with Ederson. Every part of his plan has been about technical players demanding possession. Now when we do that it allows teams to sit in until we give the ball up.
If we aren't going that route any more then we need better pure defenders, plus tacklers in midfield. We're in a kind of halfway house at the moment and maybe there is a way for it to work, but out of possession we're too easy to play through and the defence gets little protection.
If we aren't going that route any more then we need better pure defenders, plus tacklers in midfield. We're in a kind of halfway house at the moment and maybe there is a way for it to work, but out of possession we're too easy to play through and the defence gets little protection.
Kinkybyname
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