Pep's assistant | Juanma Lillo

[citizen_maine]

This is the crux of the problem for me - my fear is he does not challenge Pep's ideas enough and bring his own ideas to the table, the way Arteta & Maresca did. It's only a theory that he doesn't challenge Pep, but Pep definitely needs more than just a 'mate' and a yes man in the seat next to him.

Arteta & Maresca being aspiring managers themselves did the role of challenging Pep on his ideas & tactics (and would form their own personal coaching bonds with the players, much has been written about this - Lillo being unable to speak English is surely limited in this regard?)

Where is this fear coming from? He's a very experienced manager. Why do you fear he isn't challenging Pep but less experienced managers like Arteta & Maresca would/did?

 

[moomba]

Ok as I said, I'll agree to disagree, but if the performance & trajectory of the team over an extended period can't be attributed in any way to the assistant manager then we might as well get rid of the position altogether.

You could make the same argument that Lillo is responsible for our successes as well.

 

[kunaguero10]

Did you read the rest of my argument though?

We still want Pep to not burn himself out emotionally. So it's not a case of Lillo out, would anyone else say he's kind of got the Brian Kidd role or is that off the mark? He was never meant to be relied on so heavily is the point, much like Gundo and Kova coincidentally.

Bringing in some assistant coaches, I'm not against that at all, I think there might be something to that. If the coaching assistant pool has been allowed to dwindle down to just Lillo(it was never just Arteta or just Masesca supporting Pep), it feels like that was a deliberate move ie Pep was expecting this to be his last season. We should have addressed it as soon as he gave his decision to extend. Maybe they did get on it straight away but have struggled to find anyone suitable, who's willing to make the switch before Jan?

I got your point yes - if Lillo is there as the supportive companion, a la the Brian Kidd role, great, but across the coaching staff there needs to be enough resistance to Pep's ideas, and alternative perspectives to ensure Pep can arrive at the best decisions, not just get blinded by his own ideas and fixations on certain tactics.

For instance - the inverted fullback thing has CLEARLY backfired and led to us conceding on many occasions - surely it's the assistant manager(s) job to be challenging Pep on that idea to help him see there are certain times to abandon that philosophy (they may be doing this and Pep is sticking to it anyway, it's just an example. The hesitancy around substitutions is another such area.)

I'm currently reading the new Pep Revolution book which is great for insight into how Arteta, Maresca, Torrent etc would formulate their own ideas and bring them to Pep, often challenging Pep's own instincts, to help him arrive at the best decisions. My question is is Lillo (or other assistants) doing enough of this? It's just a question, not a guilty verdict of him.

My main concern re Lillo is his inability to speak with the non-Spanish speaking players

 

[kunaguero10]

You're right that there may be areas that can be improved on, but you don't know if he is one of them.
He may be the best possible assistant that Pep could have.
He may not be
We don't know
We may consider the limitations of his inability to speak English is worth it for what he brings to the table
We don't know

Correct, this is a forum for discussion though, not just the stating of absolute truths

 

[Gordyola]

This is the crux of the problem for me - my fear is he does not challenge Pep's ideas enough and bring his own ideas to the table, the way Arteta & Maresca did. It's only a theory that he doesn't challenge Pep, but Pep definitely needs more than just a 'mate' and a yes man in the seat next to him.

Arteta & Maresca being aspiring managers themselves did the role of challenging Pep on his ideas & tactics (and would form their own personal coaching bonds with the players, much has been written about this - Lillo being unable to speak English is surely limited in this regard?)

If you read Marti Perarnau’s latest book on Pep’s time at City you wouldn’t be saying that He and Juanma have lots of arguments about football getting quite heated at times but they never fall out it’s purely on a professional basis they remain firm friends and confidants After home games they are there to the early hours over at the CFA until Pep goes home Juanma has a room at the CFA as he is normally first in Pep will arrive around 10am if Pep gets in early he’s says he doing
a Juanma

 

[eyalluvitt]

“Puedes decirle a Ferguson que me encantaría si los vencemos”

 

[Gordyola]

I got your point yes - if Lillo is there as the supportive companion, a la the Brian Kidd role, great, but across the coaching staff there needs to be enough resistance to Pep's ideas, and alternative perspectives to ensure Pep can arrive at the best decisions, not just get blinded by his own ideas and fixations on certain tactics.

For instance - the inverted fullback thing has CLEARLY backfired and led to us conceding on many occasions - surely it's the assistant manager(s) job to be challenging Pep on that idea to help him see there are certain times to abandon that philosophy (they may be doing this and Pep is sticking to it anyway, it's just an example. The hesitancy around substitutions is another such area.)

I'm currently reading the new Pep Revolution book which is great for insight into how Arteta, Maresca, Torrent etc would formulate their own ideas and bring them to Pep, often challenging Pep's own instincts, to help him arrive at the best decisions. My question is is Lillo (or other assistants) doing enough of this? It's just a question, not a guilty verdict of him.

My main concern re Lillo is his inability to speak with the non-Spanish speaking players

Definitely not in the kiddo role he has lots of influence the players love him and I’m sure his football English is good enough to get over what he saying. Have you got to the chapter where Marti describes the arguments Pep and Juanma have about football?

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

What’s Sammy Lee up to these days?

If he’s busy, what about Mike Bassett’s number 2?

 

[Father Paul]

I got your point yes - if Lillo is there as the supportive companion, a la the Brian Kidd role, great, but across the coaching staff there needs to be enough resistance to Pep's ideas, and alternative perspectives to ensure Pep can arrive at the best decisions, not just get blinded by his own ideas and fixations on certain tactics.

For instance - the inverted fullback thing has CLEARLY backfired and led to us conceding on many occasions - surely it's the assistant manager(s) job to be challenging Pep on that idea to help him see there are certain times to abandon that philosophy (they may be doing this and Pep is sticking to it anyway, it's just an example. The hesitancy around substitutions is another such area.)

I'm currently reading the new Pep Revolution book which is great for insight into how Arteta, Maresca, Torrent etc would formulate their own ideas and bring them to Pep, often challenging Pep's own instincts, to help him arrive at the best decisions. My question is is Lillo (or other assistants) doing enough of this? It's just a question, not a guilty verdict of him.

My main concern re Lillo is his inability to speak with the non-Spanish speaking players

Imagine Walker and Lillo on the tear?

 

[C90]

Enough is enough, time to get BFS Allardici in as motivational coach. 4-4-2 and a pint of wine at half-time should sort these carthorses out.