You're right in that all of this is relative. Me saying appalling is relative to knowing how good all of those players can be individually and collectively. My worry isn't the tempo, because ultimately we can't expect players to be running on 100% the way 2020 has been.
However on the flip side, precisely because we can't expect players to be at 100% we need Pep as a coach to be at 100%. He seems as miles off as the players are. I mean what possible explanation could there be for picking the same XI Wed/Sat when he has been bemoaning players fitness himself in every press conference? I don't see a SINGLE good reason for doing that. Yet he did it. For me that's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to decision making too. There are countless decisions he is making which are both counterintuitive and also seem to be counterproductive.
He also bemoans no longer being allowed 5 subs yet doesn’t even use the 3 he does have properly.
It’s becoming a more accepted opinion now but honestly Pep is done at City, it’s over. There were a few comments in some player interviews last season, one by KDB, where reading between the lines you could tell the feeling of bemusement at Pep’s decisions is firmly rooted within the players too. And once that sets in, times up I’m afraid. I love him, but not so blindly that I can’t see when it’s time for change. Signing a 1 year extension won’t alter our course, it would only extend it.I can't remember seeing a manager so paralysed by their own decisions as Pep is at times. If you are going to mix and match teams as often as he does, then you MUST have a plan for when things don't work. Lyon is a fantastic example of a game in which 20 minutes in (just like Saturday) the XI on the pitch were done. They had literally run out of ideas and the pattern of anaemic football was set.
For any manager to just sit there and repeatedly watch that without changing the shape of the game, especially a top manager, is criminal.
It’s becoming a more accepted opinion now but honestly Pep is done at City, it’s over. There were a few comments in some player interviews last season, one by KDB, where reading between the lines you could tell the feeling of bemusement at Pep’s decisions is firmly rooted within the players too. And once that sets in, times up I’m afraid. I love him, but not so blindly that I can’t see when it’s time for change. Signing a 1 year extension won’t alter our course, it would only extend it.
...puts razor blades back in the cabinet. PhewI don't think I'm ready to call time on Pep's City career but the signs are really bad right now. Something needs to change, but I'm not going to hold my breath it will.
Judging by the feeling right across the internet amongst Blues, it definitely looks like there are a lot of people who feel that Pep is underperforming as much as the players are and that uncertainty around his future isn't helping anyone.
I understand those people who think Pep is the best manager about, I feel the same. But five years into his tenure I'm also prepared to accept that managerial cycles can just come to an end. There's no shame in Pep/City deciding they both need a fresh start next season.
The beautiful thing about football is that there's always the next game, the next season, the next manager. Hope is always around the corner.
I understand what you are saying 100%.I would love him to sign again. He has produced the best football I have ever witnessed at my club and smashed records. We are a handful of games into the new season with a huge amount of illness and injury to contend with, in unique times. To witness the level of criticism of him and the direct targeting of players by a handful of posters makes me ashamed.