Pep's contract situation

[Centurions]

Not much exciting about taking 40 passes (half of them Backwards) to get to a position where one would have sufficed.

Ahh, that easy is it. Have you considered applying for the job yourself?

 

[Saddleworth2]

A lot of it is that other teams have now had years to analyse our patterns of play and it’s very rare that we are going to be battering teams regularly. Pep is still the best around though and I love our style of play and I do actually find games more intriguing and how we have to adapt mid game to win them.

Yes, I understand and watching chess can be fun too. I have never seen a team dominate like we do now. Unfortunately, its possible to dominate and lose which is so frustrating mentally. Much harder to swallow than a end to end game where both teams want to play. So I guess I enjoy the wins just a little less and feel the losses more. He is still the best manager in the world and I will be extremely sad when he finally leaves. I just hope to hell, for him and the team, they get the CL monkey off their back before he does.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Not much exciting about taking 40 passes (half of them Backwards) to get to a position where one would have sufficed.

Have you considered supporting Liverpool? They’re very good at the long ball game.

 

[blueparrot]

Not much exciting about taking 40 passes (half of them Backwards) to get to a position where one would have sufficed.

No there wouldn’t be, luckily I haven’t seen that. The games I go to it seems to be very good progressive football, most times with a few goals and a win.

 

[KS55]

I think some people are missing the point. I don’t know any City fan that wants Pep to go. But…

Sir Alex Ferguson (The Scum)
Sir Matt Busby (The Scum)
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
Brian Clough (Forest)

Just off the top of my head who stayed too long and the clubs suffered after they left.

To be clear though, I don’t think it’s an issue in our case as we were successful before Pep cam along. Txiki, Ferran and Khaldoun are just as important so we’ll be fine. When Pep’s had his fill, he’ll work with them on his successor much as he did in Munich. One more contract please.

You can add a certain Les McDowell to that list. An innovative coach (the Revie plan) who stayed too long and City went to shit.

 

[Brewster's millions]

I can (a bit). Think back to the Arsenal away game where Sane ripped them to bits and we scored that goal with about 30 passes. Look at the speed of pass and contrast it with most of our games now. I haven't done any study but it feels like we are so much slower. Not all of that is down to low blocks as we have always had to cope with them. I do prefer fast and precise football and I feel we used to play that more.
I am enjoying the football less but that doesn't mean I want him to leave.

I think 17-18 will prove to be the absolute pinnacle of Guardiola’s time here from an aesthetic perspective, and even if we were to win the Champions League before he leaves, I can’t see him getting the team back to that standard of football week in, week out.

Part of the change since is likely intentional on Guardiola’s behalf and we undoubtedly currently play a lot slower than we did in 17-18, with the enjoyment diminishing in turn from my perspective. This season has been a disappointment so far and there are a number of developments which are quite hard to fathom at the moment, not least sticking Bernado out wide for big chunks of the game.

However I think the biggest factor behind the slower pace of play is simply the players involved. The 17-18 midfield of Fernandinho, Dave and KDB was truly exceptional and probably the best any of us will ever see. I rate Rodri very highly but he’s far less dynamic than Fernandinho, and the 17-18 version of KDB was more mobile as well. David Silva was simply the best player I’ve ever seen at City - on a totally different level to Bernado if we’re being honest - and was arguably the best in the world at finding space, turning and playing short passes in behind a defence. All of this set things up perfectly for our pace on the wings and allowed us to get behind defences even when they parked the bus.

Fernandinho and Silva leaving was of course unavoidable, but losing Sane and effectively replacing him with Mahrez was a big downgrade and we’re crying out for more pace on the wings. We have different players now and so, regrettably, we play differently.

The key question for me is whether Guardiola actually wants to buy the type of players that can get us closer to where we were in 17-18 - essentially whether he’s ready to commit to building a new midfield and attack over the next 2/3 seasons - and if he’s not, will he get the best out of the players we have at the moment?

 

[B\connellblue]

No there wouldn’t be, luckily I haven’t seen that. The games I go to it seems to be very good progressive football, most times with a few goals and a win.

It's progrssive until it gets close to the 18 yard box and then the constant recycling starts. A Lack of real pace is evident as we seldom attack the Fullback chosing instead to pass it backwards . If Kev doesnt unlock the defense we have a problem in that no one else seems to have his vision or ability.

 

[Saddleworth2]

I think 17-18 will prove to be the absolute pinnacle of Guardiola’s time here from an aesthetic perspective, and even if we were to win the Champions League before he leaves, I can’t see him getting the team back to that standard of football week in, week out.

Part of the change since is likely intentional on Guardiola’s behalf and we undoubtedly currently play a lot slower than we did in 17-18, with the enjoyment diminishing in turn from my perspective. This season has been a disappointment so far and there are a number of developments which are quite hard to fathom at the moment, not least sticking Bernado out wide for big chunks of the game.

However I think the biggest factor behind the slower pace of play is simply the players involved. The 17-18 midfield of Fernandinho, Dave and KDB was truly exceptional and probably the best any of us will ever see. I rate Rodri very highly but he’s far less dynamic than Fernandinho, and the 17-18 version of KDB was more mobile as well. David Silva was simply the best player I’ve ever seen at City - on a totally different level to Bernado if we’re being honest - and was arguably the best in the world at finding space, turning and playing short passes in behind a defence. All of this set things up perfectly for our pace on the wings and allowed us to get behind defences even when they parked the bus.

Fernandinho and Silva leaving was of course unavoidable, but losing Sane and effectively replacing him with Mahrez was a big downgrade and we’re crying out for more pace on the wings. We have different players now and so, regrettably, we play differently.

The key question for me is whether Guardiola actually wants to buy the type of players that can get us closer to where we were in 17-18 - essentially whether he’s ready to commit to building a new midfield and attack over the next 2/3 seasons - and if he’s not, will he get the best out of the players we have at the moment?

Thats a really good post mate. It is down to Pep and the players we have. I think that Pep has continued to develop his thinking and now he is trying to hone how we dominate a game. Domination of a game does not rely on speed it relies on total control of the ball. He is prioritising possession of the ball and that inevitably results in slowing of the ball, less risk in our passing and the opposition inexorably being forced back into a low block. The other difference of course is Haaland who is funnily enough, perfect for a team that likes to play on the break. I think we will continue to develop this season. We might win nothing but I still think Pep has at least a couple of years of unfinished business with him.

 

[blueparrot]

It's progrssive until it gets close to the 18 yard box and then the constant recycling starts. A Lack of real pace is evident as we seldom attack the Fullback chosing instead to pass it backwards . If Kev doesnt unlock the defense we have a problem in that no one else seems to have his vision or ability.

That happens when they run into a packed defence with players doubling up on the gaps, we move that defence from one side to the other until a gap or overload happens. There’s a reason we are top scorers and thats because the way we play against deep lying 6 or 7 man defences is, in my opinion, and the opinion of probably the best coach in the game the most effective way of doing it.
I’m not sure where these gaps are that you see that the players don’t are.
Yes KDB can whip a ball into spaces if the defenders are pulled out by our passing and movement, but I couldn’t name another player in football that can do that, and it’s our passing that pulls them out of position. Which is why he’s considered the best attacking midfielder in europe.

 

[Sir peace frog]

Has Pep been down to Cheetham Hill on the QT, the counterfeit capital of Britain?

Limited edition Pep 5 stripes.

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haha pep 5 stripes.

dsquared2 trainers probably cost a few hundred quid