Pep (Sky Interview)

BJL_City said:
been thinking about this today and I find some similarities in the film Whiplash.

We have a highly determined, very focused, incredibly talented and demanding manager. He's cherry-picked his squad (orchestra) and he's done this because he wants them to play a very challenging style (piece of music). Each individual member brings their own talent, their own training and their own experiences which makes them suitable for the role. Now they get challenged by being in this environment and having to bring out another level of performance.

At the heart of that there is the drummer, or in our case, the man in possession. The drummer has to have the technical skills, and he has to work relentlessly to have the necessary technical skill and mentality to perform in the role. In rehearsal (training) they practice with the score, or in our case all the scenario and positional training, video reviews. They have to grasp their requirements, they have to understand exactly what's required (in the film there's a scene about rushing or dragging), and they need to be able to nail it under immense pressure.

Most teams would then take their score onto the stage and play it, fixated on doing certain things and not daring to do anything different. Pep's evolution takes this to another level. In our case, our team doesn't play one role, one instrument, each player adapts their role according to the rules and principles they've learned in training. They go out on the pitch without a score, instead ingrained in them is the fundamentals of how we want to play. From then on, they have to watch, or using the analogy, listen to the music. When their teammates are playing a particular tune, in a particular setup, they instinctively adapt to it and harmonise. It doesn't matter whose performing the role, what matters is that the team is so well drilled and familiar with it that they can each pick up each part and bring the piece together. This is where the drummer comes back in.

At the end of the film the drummer comes in and is trusted to essentially play blind, to listen to the piece and play a suitable rhythm. He struggles and falls on his face. In our case, the drummer is the man in possession, and he has to see what his teammates are doing and adapt to it, and adapt to it. If he's out of sync, or can't play what's required, we end up with Pep's first season. Those players get dispatched, especially if they aren't willing to graft. Now we're evolving to the point where they all instinctively play together, and it's a not a fixed tune or plan that Pep has set out, which is what Neville was trying to get at yesterday with his "how do you coach, what do you tell them to do" style questions, as if Walker is taught "well, when Raz is here, you must be there". No, Walker knows where to be based on where the team is, and adapts accordingly.

Our drummer has to match the team, and has to know and retain the basics. That's why Pep says he steps in to remind his players to do the basics, because otherwise the whole team falls apart, the training, learning, muscle memory is all dependent on the fundamental set of principles, these notes get played with this particular tempo, in this particular order. Then, when that all comes together we create our own melody, and as at the end of the film, on special occasions, the drummer can give us a virtuoso solo performance as Kevin likes to do and pull off something individually brilliant that allows us to reach a crescendo.

And that's for me what Neville last night failed to get. Pep gives them the basics, gives them the basis of what the team should do and when the team should do certain things, and what different parts of the team should do in various situations. He instills the work ethic, and puts the players under the pressure to prove they have the technical and mental capability to play in the team, especially as drummer. If they can't, they end up like Joe Hart. Then, they go out on the pitch and as that team, adapt to the game and pick up the various roles depending on the situation. In short, Pep gives them the tools and knowledge, but the team has to make the music. As Pep said, it's all about the quality of the players, something the pundits struggle to get. It was true in Whiplash, it's true for City.
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Best... IMDB review... Ever.
 
BJL_City said:
And that's for me what Neville last night failed to get. Pep gives them the basics, gives them the basis of what the team should do and when the team should do certain things, and what different parts of the team should do in various situations. He instills the work ethic, and puts the players under the pressure to prove they have the technical and mental capability to play in the team, especially as drummer. If they can't, they end up like Joe Hart. Then, they go out on the pitch and as that team, adapt to the game and pick up the various roles depending on the situation. In short, Pep gives them the tools and knowledge, but the team has to make the music. As Pep said, it's all about the quality of the players, something the pundits struggle to get. It was true in Whiplash, it's true for City.
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Nice take btw. Many who have admired Pep over the years have varying interpretations of just how his or Cruyff/Michel`s philosophy works, perhaps owing to my background in science I likened it to a hydra but I agree it was amusing to see just how little Neville (and others) fail to grasp it

I would have preferred encouraging Pep to talk tactics by bringing up particular scenarios and what discussions he had with the squad leading up to those moments or how he adjusts his team shape/attack during a tight match - but hey, this is a grand improvement over the inane questions he was on the receiving end of last season, like comparing KDB & Silva to Iniesta & Xavi
 
I really enjoyed it. I have read the two Ballague books which sets out his principles and some of his methods and gives a good understanding of Peps mercurial personality. You saw it in the documentary but he really didn't give much away that could be used against us. It was obvious Neville knew about Peps positional coaching, the different areas on the pitch, and tried hard to get him to be specific but failed. I did appreciate at least for once questions were about the football rather than the weekly crap he has to put up with in pressers. The gap between Pep and Nevilles insight into football tactics is even larger that that between the Centurions and his beloved Rags. Mind the Gap, Mind the Gap, Gary Neville.....
 
Saddleworth2 said:
I really enjoyed it. I have read the two Ballague books which sets out his principles and some of his methods and gives a good understanding of Peps mercurial personality. You saw it in the documentary but he really didn't give much away that could be used against us. It was obvious Neville knew about Peps positional coaching, the different areas on the pitch, and tried hard to get him to be specific but failed. I did appreciate at least for once questions were about the football rather than the weekly crap he has to put up with in pressers. The gap between Pep and Nevilles insight into football tactics is even larger that that between the Centurions and his beloved Rags. Mind the Gap, Mind the Gap, Gary Neville.....
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Definitely.

Neville comes off as a bright chap but he's not an innovator or creative in the game of football, that won't magically materialize. Pep is and has always been different, Cruyff picked up on this when he was 19 years of age - takes a genius to recognize it in another
 
fergal_oc said:
I’ve been eulogising pep in work today. Not because I love him (i do) but because he’s the ultimate leader and I was trying to explain ways which we could try and emulate what he has.

1) first and foremost, put the individuals first. Treat them like people, love and care for them
2) give them them something simple to guide every decsion and ask of them. 3/4 guiding principles max and repeat repeat repeat
3) don’t falter, stick to your principles and maintain your quality bar, never ever drop your bar. Be clear the consequences of not attaining it and be happy to part ways if someone isn’t fully bought in. If they are bought in but aren’t quite achieving, go to point 1
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One more thing: give them the responsibility to make their own decisions. Good leadership is essentially about making yourself redundant, rather than being indispensable.
 
Watched this last night and it was clear he's on another level than most. He went out of his way to repeatedly credit the players and reassert that it was their ability that was the most important factor. He has the same kind of aura that GPC had in making players be better than they are because if Pep believes in you it must be an amazing feeling.

He also seemed much more pragmatic than his reputation suggests with much of the player quality dictating how we play IE Delph can't play up and down the wing so he plays inside. The game moves around the players rather than the players around the game. It's a very delicate balance.

I'm sure there is much to the positional play that he didn't cover which Neville tried to get him to speak on but he also seemed to trust the players to make the decision on the pitch rather than it be fixed
 
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