Reflections on the past 7 years - foundations, hunger and regression

[gkmcfc]

Great post, I've often thought that we could and should have done better in the two seasons after we won the league, that we largely underachieved and that as a group of players they should be kicking themselves. This season despite making some decent signings we're not even on course to do as well as last season when we finished runners up. Ironically, though the club has never historically performed so consistently in terms of final placings at the end of a season over a number of years as we have in the last 4 or 5 seasons.
I've said for a few weeks now that we just don't seem to dominate possession as convincingly as we have done or control the game as we've become accustomed. When you consider our away form, our inability to win consecutive games and of course our performances against teams around us, we truly have regressed this season. Crazily we still have a chance even after last weeks defeat at the hands of Leicester. We need to pick up though and soon.

 

[bobom]

Ask yourselves: is there any other team in the Premier League that wouldn't have gladly taken where we currently are at the start of the season?

NO! ?

Regression? Chelsea's season is regression. ManU's season is regression. We've not set the world on fire, but we're 6 points off the top of the table with 13 to play. We're in a cup final, still in the other cup, and in the last stages of the CL.

If we didn't have the injuries we currently have I'd say we were in a great position. Without Kompany, Silva, de Bruyne, Nasri, Navas, Bony, Mangala it feels like a tough ask. Pellegrini's made some bad decisions, and our form is erratic.

But we need to do our job as fans and get behind the team and have a bit of faith.

 

[gkmcfc]

I still believe by the way but this league title is likely to be won with less than 80 points. We're still in the hunt, but only by virtue of the fact there isn't a stand out team this season. If we were performing to 2012 or 2014 levels there'd be daylight between us and Leicester and the rest by now..

 

[Chippy_boy]

Ask yourselves: is there any other team in the Premier League that wouldn't have gladly taken where we currently are at the start of the season?

NO! ?

Regression? Chelsea's season is regression. ManU's season is regression. We've not set the world on fire, but we're 6 points off the top of the table with 13 to play. We're in a cup final, still in the other cup, and in the last stages of the CL.

If we didn't have the injuries we currently have I'd say we were in a great position. Without Kompany, Silva, de Bruyne, Nasri, Navas, Bony, Mangala it feels like a tough ask. Pellegrini's made some bad decisions, and our form is erratic.

But we need to do our job as fans and get behind the team and have a bit of faith.

Good post, apart from the last 5 words. I don't get this "faith" thing. I can have "faith" that I am going to win Euromillions on Friday, but I am not going to.

 

[Saddleworth2]

I genuinely think, that since the takeover, our owners want our club to be the most successful in the world. From day 1 they have set out a comprehensive strategic plan to do just that. They have been patient and expected to take some years to achieve their goals. Their plan has been the very essence of holistic, taking in all elements of the club from its infrastructure, academy, commercial plan, inward investment to the first team squad. My overwhelming belief is that their plan is still on track and still progressing with some elements moving at different pace. Our academy is amongst the best in the world and we can realistically expect to be in the top three commercially successful football clubs in the world within the next couple of years.

However, I would argue that building city into the best footballing club in the world is the most difficult element of that plan and up to now, we have not had one of the key elements in place to achieve it - the coaching team. Bobby did a fantastic job of building a title winning squad that had a fantastic mentality. His inability to buy in to the footballing structure that we had put in place ultimately caused his frustrations to create divisions in the squad and ultimately cost him his job. Manuel did a great job of resolving those issues in his first season whilst bringing even more attacking flair. He has been the very model of a 'good company man' and from the start has represented himself and the owners brilliantly. At no time under Manuel's tenure though have we truly dominated, at times we have played the best football I have ever seen from city but those spells have been punctuated by poor runs and an increasing number of games this season when we are simply outplayed. Sometimes by inferior teams, playing smarter tactically than we are. Injuries have of course played a significant part but I have seen us outplayed and outworked too often this season. Ideally, the appointment of a new coach would take the squad to the next level each time and we would have seen incremental improvement evidenced from Hughes to Mancini ( we did) and then from Mancini to Pellegrini. In my view we have not seen evidence of improvement and increasingly this season, I think we have seen regression in results and performance. I will be absolutely delighted if we win anything this year, but based on what I am seeing on a weekly basis I am not expecting to. My reflection on both coaches is that they have both been successful to a point but footballing progress has been limited by their weaknesses. With Bobby, his inability to build a successful working relationship with Tixi. With Manuel, his deficiencies (IMO) as a coach and tactician. If we win nothing this year, history will definitely see that as a stall in our overall plan. So what legacy will Pep be left? Overall, I don't think our squad has been strengthened sufficiently to be able to claim progress. Whilst we have added new talent I would say only KDB is world class whilst the established spine of the team has declined through injury or age. So as well as Pep implementing his methods (which took most of the first season at Bayern) a strengthening of the squad by 5 or so players will be necessary.

So my conclusion is that overall the plan for city is on track. On the club side we are further ahead than I expected at this stage. On the footballing side we are a little behind in terms of our squad, performances and trophies won. What I do think is that the next three years is our opportunity to achieve domination in the Premier League and success in Europe. If is doesn't come in the next three years their are no guarantees that it every will as we will have the very best team in place to ensure footballing dominance. My overwhelming reflection on the last few years is admiration and gratitude to our owner and khaldoon. They have given us the best times and memories in our lives following city and I believe will continue to do so for many years to come. Their contribution to our great club has been beyond priceless. So we may well get stuffed again on Sunday,, but I will comfort myself with the big picture and the thought of things to come next season.

 

[supercity88]

Mancini was hugely backed financially. FFP loomed, the spending was restricted and he spat his dummy out because we didn’t go all out to sign RVP. He blamed that sole factor several times in his final season, rather than being happy with what was at the club and moving things forward. Whilst defensively we were solid in the league, we couldn’t break teams down. In the CL we were torn apart by teams we should have been competing with. Mancini, despite having the likes of Silva, Aguero and co couldn’t muster a side capable of breaking the opposition down.


In his defence we probably did need further investment and freshening up and the team was still young in terms of European experience.


I wouldn’t make arguments that Pellegrini has had it tough. Despite FFP we’ve still invested heavily but you’d argue that perhaps our signings have been much more hit and miss than those made in Mancini’s reign and the core players still remain largely those that won the league with Mancini. The likes of Sterling, Fernandinho, De Bruyne have been added and Navas deserves credit for his contributions. Delph is a possible long term signing, though the jury is out on that.


You’d have to say, despite the success of his first season, which took the core from Mancini’s side and added pace and power (which were lacking) turning us into the best we’ve been, potentially ever, but certainly since the Mercer era. Unfortunately Negredo’s form dropped and that didn’t work out and at times we’ve seen a return to that slow build up that lacks ideas. We’re also seeing the end of Yaya – he’s been key over the years. Kompany’s injuries haven’t helped but we’ve spent big and not really got any return on investment from Mangala and Otamendi yet. The fact Clichy, Kolarov, Sagna, Zabaleta are still our four full backs shows that we’re perhaps in bigger need of investment than ever. There are positions all over the pitch that need an injection of youth, pace, desire that is perhaps lacking in some of the older legs who have been there and done it. Competition for places is key and unfortunately with 4 competitions the players know they’ll get a game regardless.


I watched Peterborough v WBA last night (only the first half). The desire, the work rate, and actually the quality and technique of some of those Peterborough players puts our performance v Leicester in even more context. Possibly one of the worst performances I’ve seen from a City side in recent times. We were never in the game. Silva being repeatedly brushed off the ball. Yaya failing to impose himself on the game… to a non-football fan we’d have looked like the recently promoted side that were defying all odds. The game plan was lacking as well and in summary everything that could have gone wrong did. Poor choice of lineup, no system or game plan and poor performances from the players.


Pellegrini’s time is up. He’s failed to use the youth players that are available. They could have provided fresh hunger and desire in the side and have the quality despite what many say about being unable to rely on younger players.


In Pep comes a man that takes City to the very top. He gives us the pulling power to compete with Barca and Real. If a player thinks PSG and more cash or City and Pep, we win 9 times out of 10. The London factor and Chelsea and Arsenal is now going to have less impact because we’ll have Pep. Busquets and Neymar have both expressed their love of him and desire to potentially work with him (again in Busquets case). I’ve only excitement for the next part of this journey. What’s odd is despite our form, we’re in four competitions and I’ve got a weird feeling we’ll beat Spurs and also win at Stamford Bridge regardless of the side we put out…

 

[flb]

Mancini was hugely backed financially. FFP loomed, the spending was restricted and he spat his dummy out because we didn’t go all out to sign RVP. He blamed that sole factor several times in his final season, rather than being happy with what was at the club and moving things forward. Whilst defensively we were solid in the league, we couldn’t break teams down. In the CL we were torn apart by teams we should have been competing with. Mancini, despite having the likes of Silva, Aguero and co couldn’t muster a side capable of breaking the opposition down.


In his defence we probably did need further investment and freshening up and the team was still young in terms of European experience.


I wouldn’t make arguments that Pellegrini has had it tough. Despite FFP we’ve still invested heavily but you’d argue that perhaps our signings have been much more hit and miss than those made in Mancini’s reign and the core players still remain largely those that won the league with Mancini. The likes of Sterling, Fernandinho, De Bruyne have been added and Navas deserves credit for his contributions. Delph is a possible long term signing, though the jury is out on that.


You’d have to say, despite the success of his first season, which took the core from Mancini’s side and added pace and power (which were lacking) turning us into the best we’ve been, potentially ever, but certainly since the Mercer era. Unfortunately Negredo’s form dropped and that didn’t work out and at times we’ve seen a return to that slow build up that lacks ideas. We’re also seeing the end of Yaya – he’s been key over the years. Kompany’s injuries haven’t helped but we’ve spent big and not really got any return on investment from Mangala and Otamendi yet. The fact Clichy, Kolarov, Sagna, Zabaleta are still our four full backs shows that we’re perhaps in bigger need of investment than ever. There are positions all over the pitch that need an injection of youth, pace, desire that is perhaps lacking in some of the older legs who have been there and done it. Competition for places is key and unfortunately with 4 competitions the players know they’ll get a game regardless.


I watched Peterborough v WBA last night (only the first half). The desire, the work rate, and actually the quality and technique of some of those Peterborough players puts our performance v Leicester in even more context. Possibly one of the worst performances I’ve seen from a City side in recent times. We were never in the game. Silva being repeatedly brushed off the ball. Yaya failing to impose himself on the game… to a non-football fan we’d have looked like the recently promoted side that were defying all odds. The game plan was lacking as well and in summary everything that could have gone wrong did. Poor choice of lineup, no system or game plan and poor performances from the players.


Pellegrini’s time is up. He’s failed to use the youth players that are available. They could have provided fresh hunger and desire in the side and have the quality despite what many say about being unable to rely on younger players.


In Pep comes a man that takes City to the very top. He gives us the pulling power to compete with Barca and Real. If a player thinks PSG and more cash or City and Pep, we win 9 times out of 10. The London factor and Chelsea and Arsenal is now going to have less impact because we’ll have Pep. Busquets and Neymar have both expressed their love of him and desire to potentially work with him (again in Busquets case). I’ve only excitement for the next part of this journey. What’s odd is despite our form, we’re in four competitions and I’ve got a weird feeling we’ll beat Spurs and also win at Stamford Bridge regardless of the side we put out…

Got to be very careful we are not expecting too much out of Pep mate to be honest. The Euros are upon us in the summer and the Copa America so he has major disruptions to his pre season. Some on here think we are going to win the PL,CL in his first season.For me personally I just want to see the team evolve first with an injection of some of the good young youth players making there mark in the squad, i want to see hunger for the shirt instead of that fucking garbage that was served up at the weekend.

Me, I'm looking forward to his second and third seasons to when we will see what this club is all about, when the third season comes round it will who will be the manager next season all over again!

Lets hope he falls in love with City and English football and he pens a fresh three year deal, but reading various articles and books about him 4 seasons is the most he sticks around anywhere.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Got to be very careful we are not expecting too much out of Pep mate to be honest. The Euros are upon us in the summer and the Copa America so he has major disruptions to his pre season. Some on here think we are going to win the PL,CL in his first season.For me personally I just want to see the team evolve first with an injection of some of the good young youth players making there mark in the squad, i want to see hunger for the shirt instead of that fucking garbage that was served up at the weekend.

Me, I'm looking forward to his second and third seasons to when we will see what this club is all about, when the third season comes round it will who will be the manager next season all over again!

Lets hope he falls in love with City and English football and he pens a fresh three year deal, but reading various articles and books about him 4 seasons is the most he sticks around anywhere.

This is exactly how I feel re next season & Pep.

If he puts it all together in his first season, I'll be absolutely gobsmacked rather than impressed, due to the restrictions on time etc you mention, but I don't actually care, I'm just delighted that we are moving forward again & back on the track after a period of stagnation.

That first season was Pellegrini's great success as a manager imo & what he did there was very impressive, because we had just suffered a huge regression in Mancini's last season almost a state of depression, which Pellegrini turned into 100+ goals & two trophies. For that reason (& the impending Pep) I fully backed the decision to keep Pellegrini on for one more season, as it would be the first where he was truly able to sign big players pre season & really stamp his mark on the team. I realised quite early on that it was a mistake in respect of this season, but of course it's all part of the 'Pep' plan, so therefore isn't really a mistake, as he had to be kept on. But in reality, it's turned out Pellegrini isn't very good & that team was a combination of a new attacking spark & a rehash of Mancini's side from two seasons earlier & Mancini himself is little more than average when compared to genuine top managers.

Imo the reason it feels as if we have been standing still as a club, on the pitch, whilst going forward off it, is because that's exactly what has happened. The owner plus Mancini (& Hughes) brought in the players to create effectively a new entity in modern day English football. We got there & did it, but really compard to the ambition we have as a club, we had only managed to get one foot off the ground on the bottom rung of the ladder. Since then, we have changed our clothes, put on better boots & gloves, grabbed some fantastic tools, ropes pulleys & all kinds, to stop us falling & drag us up, but actually just hung onto the ladder for dear life, rather than moving up it to get the real job started.

People said the owner was here short term, but at City we are planning longer term than any other club probably in the history of football I think. I don't doubt that this has been a plan, to get Pep, since before Mancini left (does anyone doubt that ?). I think that the hope would have been that Pellegrini came in & progressed the football side of the club in the meantime, making us a better team on the pitch but also creating a bridge between the academy & the first team, off it. I suspect that the owner, chairman & football directors will be very disappointed by the way Pellegrini has ignored the latter in particular, but what can they do about it when they have a manager who is effectively unsackable due to his willing part in the overall plan ? And he may yet win several trophies this season, but still without actually progressing at all, from where we were in Mancini's title season. That side would beat this one actually.

But now this period is finally running its course, I think we have been very fortunate in the way it's panned out. For one, if Pep had taken over from Mancini, we would have been in the thick of ffp & Pep would have struggled to build a new team to his full ability during his 3 years (could that be the real reason why the talks were stopped ?) Two, Pellegrini is obviously not very good & yet we have won a title & are still in another title race. We are seeing now, that it could in fact have gone to pieces in his first season & left us having to sack an 'unsackable' manager & appoint someone else & then what if he struggled ? Three, although we have seen some very promising kids slip into obscurity or leave the club, the generations of academy players Pep will have access to, are better than the ones he would have had coming through 3 or 4 years ago & he, & they, are likely to benefit much more from each other. Four, Vieira is embarking on his career, & if he has 'it' we will know, by the time Pep finishes.

All in all, apart from the international crap getting in the way at the start, Pep coming to the club next season is almost perfect timing/planning & we have got away with a Mancini meltdown & 3 years of Pellegrini without too much damage being done.

We are about to get a firm grip on the ladder & truly start climbing up. For me personally, Pep coming to the club is not about instant world domination & Champions Leagues (although that may happen) it's about truly moving the club into the next phase & leaving a functioning system when he goes, which will last probably forever.

Four years from now, I think we will realise that the recent years of treading water, were well worth it.

 

[Saddleworth2]

This is exactly how I feel re next season & Pep.

If he puts it all together in his first season, I'll be absolutely gobsmacked rather than impressed, due to the restrictions on time etc you mention, but I don't actually care, I'm just delighted that we are moving forward again & back on the track after a period of stagnation.

That first season was Pellegrini's great success as a manager imo & what he did there was very impressive, because we had just suffered a huge regression in Mancini's last season almost a state of depression, which Pellegrini turned into 100+ goals & two trophies. For that reason (& the impending Pep) I fully backed the decision to keep Pellegrini on for one more season, as it would be the first where he was truly able to sign big players pre season & really stamp his mark on the team. I realised quite early on that it was a mistake in respect of this season, but of course it's all part of the 'Pep' plan, so therefore isn't really a mistake, as he had to be kept on. But in reality, it's turned out Pellegrini isn't very good & that team was a combination of a new attacking spark & a rehash of Mancini's side from two seasons earlier & Mancini himself is little more than average when compared to genuine top managers.

Imo the reason it feels as if we have been standing still as a club, on the pitch, whilst going forward off it, is because that's exactly what has happened. The owner plus Mancini (& Hughes) brought in the players to create effectively a new entity in modern day English football. We got there & did it, but really compard to the ambition we have as a club, we had only managed to get one foot off the ground on the bottom rung of the ladder. Since then, we have changed our clothes, put on better boots & gloves, grabbed some fantastic tools, ropes pulleys & all kinds, to stop us falling & drag us up, but actually just hung onto the ladder for dear life, rather than moving up it to get the real job started.

People said the owner was here short term, but at City we are planning longer term than any other club probably in the history of football I think. I don't doubt that this has been a plan, to get Pep, since before Mancini left (does anyone doubt that ?). I think that the hope would have been that Pellegrini came in & progressed the football side of the club in the meantime, making us a better team on the pitch but also creating a bridge between the academy & the first team, off it. I suspect that the owner, chairman & football directors will be very disappointed by the way Pellegrini has ignored the latter in particular, but what can they do about it when they have a manager who is effectively unsackable due to his willing part in the overall plan ? And he may yet win several trophies this season, but still without actually progressing at all, from where we were in Mancini's title season. That side would beat this one actually.

But now this period is finally running its course, I think we have been very fortunate in the way it's panned out. For one, if Pep had taken over from Mancini, we would have been in the thick of ffp & Pep would have struggled to build a new team to his full ability during his 3 years (could that be the real reason why the talks were stopped ?) Two, Pellegrini is obviously not very good & yet we have won a title & are still in another title race. We are seeing now, that it could in fact have gone to pieces in his first season & left us having to sack an 'unsackable' manager & appoint someone else & then what if he struggled ? Three, although we have seen some very promising kids slip into obscurity or leave the club, the generations of academy players Pep will have access to, are better than the ones he would have had coming through 3 or 4 years ago & he, & they, are likely to benefit much more from each other. Four, Vieira is embarking on his career, & if he has 'it' we will know, by the time Pep finishes.

All in all, apart from the international crap getting in the way at the start, Pep coming to the club next season is almost perfect timing/planning & we have got away with a Mancini meltdown & 3 years of Pellegrini without too much damage being done.

We are about to get a firm grip on the ladder & truly start climbing up. For me personally, Pep coming to the club is not about instant world domination & Champions Leagues (although that may happen) it's about truly moving the club into the next phase & leaving a functioning system when he goes, which will last probably forever.

Four years from now, I think we will realise that the recent years of treading water, were well worth it.

Exactly my views, just more articulate. Great post Nev.

 

[City_Sean]

We've missed some golden opportunities to add trophies, though every club will feel the same. With Pep I'm sure the hunger/desire will improve.

 

[twosips]

This is exactly how I feel re next season & Pep.

If he puts it all together in his first season, I'll be absolutely gobsmacked rather than impressed, due to the restrictions on time etc you mention, but I don't actually care, I'm just delighted that we are moving forward again & back on the track after a period of stagnation.

That first season was Pellegrini's great success as a manager imo & what he did there was very impressive, because we had just suffered a huge regression in Mancini's last season almost a state of depression, which Pellegrini turned into 100+ goals & two trophies. For that reason (& the impending Pep) I fully backed the decision to keep Pellegrini on for one more season, as it would be the first where he was truly able to sign big players pre season & really stamp his mark on the team. I realised quite early on that it was a mistake in respect of this season, but of course it's all part of the 'Pep' plan, so therefore isn't really a mistake, as he had to be kept on. But in reality, it's turned out Pellegrini isn't very good & that team was a combination of a new attacking spark & a rehash of Mancini's side from two seasons earlier & Mancini himself is little more than average when compared to genuine top managers.

Imo the reason it feels as if we have been standing still as a club, on the pitch, whilst going forward off it, is because that's exactly what has happened. The owner plus Mancini (& Hughes) brought in the players to create effectively a new entity in modern day English football. We got there & did it, but really compard to the ambition we have as a club, we had only managed to get one foot off the ground on the bottom rung of the ladder. Since then, we have changed our clothes, put on better boots & gloves, grabbed some fantastic tools, ropes pulleys & all kinds, to stop us falling & drag us up, but actually just hung onto the ladder for dear life, rather than moving up it to get the real job started.

People said the owner was here short term, but at City we are planning longer term than any other club probably in the history of football I think. I don't doubt that this has been a plan, to get Pep, since before Mancini left (does anyone doubt that ?). I think that the hope would have been that Pellegrini came in & progressed the football side of the club in the meantime, making us a better team on the pitch but also creating a bridge between the academy & the first team, off it. I suspect that the owner, chairman & football directors will be very disappointed by the way Pellegrini has ignored the latter in particular, but what can they do about it when they have a manager who is effectively unsackable due to his willing part in the overall plan ? And he may yet win several trophies this season, but still without actually progressing at all, from where we were in Mancini's title season. That side would beat this one actually.

But now this period is finally running its course, I think we have been very fortunate in the way it's panned out. For one, if Pep had taken over from Mancini, we would have been in the thick of ffp & Pep would have struggled to build a new team to his full ability during his 3 years (could that be the real reason why the talks were stopped ?) Two, Pellegrini is obviously not very good & yet we have won a title & are still in another title race. We are seeing now, that it could in fact have gone to pieces in his first season & left us having to sack an 'unsackable' manager & appoint someone else & then what if he struggled ? Three, although we have seen some very promising kids slip into obscurity or leave the club, the generations of academy players Pep will have access to, are better than the ones he would have had coming through 3 or 4 years ago & he, & they, are likely to benefit much more from each other. Four, Vieira is embarking on his career, & if he has 'it' we will know, by the time Pep finishes.

All in all, apart from the international crap getting in the way at the start, Pep coming to the club next season is almost perfect timing/planning & we have got away with a Mancini meltdown & 3 years of Pellegrini without too much damage being done.

We are about to get a firm grip on the ladder & truly start climbing up. For me personally, Pep coming to the club is not about instant world domination & Champions Leagues (although that may happen) it's about truly moving the club into the next phase & leaving a functioning system when he goes, which will last probably forever.

Four years from now, I think we will realise that the recent years of treading water, were well worth it.

Brilliant stuff that mate. Nail on the head.

 

[Father Paul]

I think the difference is that now we as fans EXPECT to win trophies, under Mancini we WANTED to win trophies. The last season under Mancini was horrendous, I think a lot of people look past that. I remember going to Sunderland away, being a goal down and putting Lescott on upfront in the last few minutes when we had forwards on the bench. Defensively he was good - but attack wise we were awful.

Pellegrini's first season was frighteningly good - scored over 100 goals, won league and cup double, got further than ever before in CL. Last season we hadn't invested in our squad well enough to keep us ahead of the pack and unfortunately Pellegrini isn't tactically astute enough to keep us at the top with a poor squad (Which someone like Ferguson did for United). This season, we're in a cup final that we have a very good chance of winning, we should get further than we ever have done in Europe, we've integrated more young players to the squad and we are still in with a good shout of winning the league - all whilst having our captain out for most of the season and other key injuries like Aguero, Silva, Zabaleta, Nasri etc.

In Mancini's last season, there were dressing room bust ups and rumours of unrest in the camp - since Pellegrini has arrived it's all been rosey on that front. He's set the stage for Pep's arrival and although the league might be won by an underdog this year, you look at us compared to United/Liverpool/Chelsea/Arsenal/Spurs and you have to admit, we are comfortably in the best position moving forward. That's just in terms of our squad/on the pitch.

Off it we have CFA, the stadium expansion, New York/Melbourne, FFP has all but been abolished, revenues are up (and still projected to rise) to the point where we are making a profit, the Chinese investment. We have come so far in the last 3 years and will keep on growing moving forward.

I can see the reasoning behind your post, but I get the impression that you're looking back to Mancini with rose tinted spectacles, mate.

I think both these posts are excellent with some valid albeit contrasting views expressed. It is possible to construct persuasive arguments for both side of the equation. It is probably best to wait another couple of months before a final assessment of the Peligrinni years is made. At present I am starting to believe in the regression thesis but in fairness the man deserves a chance which he most surely have in the coming weeks to prove otherwise.

 

[Walking on the blue moon]

Got to be very careful we are not expecting too much out of Pep mate to be honest. The Euros are upon us in the summer and the Copa America so he has major disruptions to his pre season. Some on here think we are going to win the PL,CL in his first season.For me personally I just want to see the team evolve first with an injection of some of the good young youth players making there mark in the squad, i want to see hunger for the shirt instead of that fucking garbage that was served up at the weekend.

Me, I'm looking forward to his second and third seasons to when we will see what this club is all about, when the third season comes round it will who will be the manager next season all over again!

Lets hope he falls in love with City and English football and he pens a fresh three year deal, but reading various articles and books about him 4 seasons is the most he sticks around anywhere.

Yes, well said!

 

[flb]

This is exactly how I feel re next season & Pep.

If he puts it all together in his first season, I'll be absolutely gobsmacked rather than impressed, due to the restrictions on time etc you mention, but I don't actually care, I'm just delighted that we are moving forward again & back on the track after a period of stagnation.

That first season was Pellegrini's great success as a manager imo & what he did there was very impressive, because we had just suffered a huge regression in Mancini's last season almost a state of depression, which Pellegrini turned into 100+ goals & two trophies. For that reason (& the impending Pep) I fully backed the decision to keep Pellegrini on for one more season, as it would be the first where he was truly able to sign big players pre season & really stamp his mark on the team. I realised quite early on that it was a mistake in respect of this season, but of course it's all part of the 'Pep' plan, so therefore isn't really a mistake, as he had to be kept on. But in reality, it's turned out Pellegrini isn't very good & that team was a combination of a new attacking spark & a rehash of Mancini's side from two seasons earlier & Mancini himself is little more than average when compared to genuine top managers.

Imo the reason it feels as if we have been standing still as a club, on the pitch, whilst going forward off it, is because that's exactly what has happened. The owner plus Mancini (& Hughes) brought in the players to create effectively a new entity in modern day English football. We got there & did it, but really compard to the ambition we have as a club, we had only managed to get one foot off the ground on the bottom rung of the ladder. Since then, we have changed our clothes, put on better boots & gloves, grabbed some fantastic tools, ropes pulleys & all kinds, to stop us falling & drag us up, but actually just hung onto the ladder for dear life, rather than moving up it to get the real job started.

People said the owner was here short term, but at City we are planning longer term than any other club probably in the history of football I think. I don't doubt that this has been a plan, to get Pep, since before Mancini left (does anyone doubt that ?). I think that the hope would have been that Pellegrini came in & progressed the football side of the club in the meantime, making us a better team on the pitch but also creating a bridge between the academy & the first team, off it. I suspect that the owner, chairman & football directors will be very disappointed by the way Pellegrini has ignored the latter in particular, but what can they do about it when they have a manager who is effectively unsackable due to his willing part in the overall plan ? And he may yet win several trophies this season, but still without actually progressing at all, from where we were in Mancini's title season. That side would beat this one actually.

But now this period is finally running its course, I think we have been very fortunate in the way it's panned out. For one, if Pep had taken over from Mancini, we would have been in the thick of ffp & Pep would have struggled to build a new team to his full ability during his 3 years (could that be the real reason why the talks were stopped ?) Two, Pellegrini is obviously not very good & yet we have won a title & are still in another title race. We are seeing now, that it could in fact have gone to pieces in his first season & left us having to sack an 'unsackable' manager & appoint someone else & then what if he struggled ? Three, although we have seen some very promising kids slip into obscurity or leave the club, the generations of academy players Pep will have access to, are better than the ones he would have had coming through 3 or 4 years ago & he, & they, are likely to benefit much more from each other. Four, Vieira is embarking on his career, & if he has 'it' we will know, by the time Pep finishes.

All in all, apart from the international crap getting in the way at the start, Pep coming to the club next season is almost perfect timing/planning & we have got away with a Mancini meltdown & 3 years of Pellegrini without too much damage being done.

We are about to get a firm grip on the ladder & truly start climbing up. For me personally, Pep coming to the club is not about instant world domination & Champions Leagues (although that may happen) it's about truly moving the club into the next phase & leaving a functioning system when he goes, which will last probably forever.

Four years from now, I think we will realise that the recent years of treading water, were well worth it.

Great post mate

 

[Walking on the blue moon]

This is exactly how I feel re next season & Pep.

If he puts it all together in his first season, I'll be absolutely gobsmacked rather than impressed, due to the restrictions on time etc you mention, but I don't actually care, I'm just delighted that we are moving forward again & back on the track after a period of stagnation.

That first season was Pellegrini's great success as a manager imo & what he did there was very impressive, because we had just suffered a huge regression in Mancini's last season almost a state of depression, which Pellegrini turned into 100+ goals & two trophies. For that reason (& the impending Pep) I fully backed the decision to keep Pellegrini on for one more season, as it would be the first where he was truly able to sign big players pre season & really stamp his mark on the team. I realised quite early on that it was a mistake in respect of this season, but of course it's all part of the 'Pep' plan, so therefore isn't really a mistake, as he had to be kept on. But in reality, it's turned out Pellegrini isn't very good & that team was a combination of a new attacking spark & a rehash of Mancini's side from two seasons earlier & Mancini himself is little more than average when compared to genuine top managers.

Imo the reason it feels as if we have been standing still as a club, on the pitch, whilst going forward off it, is because that's exactly what has happened. The owner plus Mancini (& Hughes) brought in the players to create effectively a new entity in modern day English football. We got there & did it, but really compard to the ambition we have as a club, we had only managed to get one foot off the ground on the bottom rung of the ladder. Since then, we have changed our clothes, put on better boots & gloves, grabbed some fantastic tools, ropes pulleys & all kinds, to stop us falling & drag us up, but actually just hung onto the ladder for dear life, rather than moving up it to get the real job started.

People said the owner was here short term, but at City we are planning longer term than any other club probably in the history of football I think. I don't doubt that this has been a plan, to get Pep, since before Mancini left (does anyone doubt that ?). I think that the hope would have been that Pellegrini came in & progressed the football side of the club in the meantime, making us a better team on the pitch but also creating a bridge between the academy & the first team, off it. I suspect that the owner, chairman & football directors will be very disappointed by the way Pellegrini has ignored the latter in particular, but what can they do about it when they have a manager who is effectively unsackable due to his willing part in the overall plan ? And he may yet win several trophies this season, but still without actually progressing at all, from where we were in Mancini's title season. That side would beat this one actually.

But now this period is finally running its course, I think we have been very fortunate in the way it's panned out. For one, if Pep had taken over from Mancini, we would have been in the thick of ffp & Pep would have struggled to build a new team to his full ability during his 3 years (could that be the real reason why the talks were stopped ?) Two, Pellegrini is obviously not very good & yet we have won a title & are still in another title race. We are seeing now, that it could in fact have gone to pieces in his first season & left us having to sack an 'unsackable' manager & appoint someone else & then what if he struggled ? Three, although we have seen some very promising kids slip into obscurity or leave the club, the generations of academy players Pep will have access to, are better than the ones he would have had coming through 3 or 4 years ago & he, & they, are likely to benefit much more from each other. Four, Vieira is embarking on his career, & if he has 'it' we will know, by the time Pep finishes.

All in all, apart from the international crap getting in the way at the start, Pep coming to the club next season is almost perfect timing/planning & we have got away with a Mancini meltdown & 3 years of Pellegrini without too much damage being done.

We are about to get a firm grip on the ladder & truly start climbing up. For me personally, Pep coming to the club is not about instant world domination & Champions Leagues (although that may happen) it's about truly moving the club into the next phase & leaving a functioning system when he goes, which will last probably forever.

Four years from now, I think we will realise that the recent years of treading water, were well worth it.

Very well-thought post! I really hope that by the end of Pep's contract, City will finally be recognised as a major force in world football. It will be an amazing day when the club's meticulous planning fulfils that ambition.

 

[lightning Rodri]

This is exactly how I feel re next season & Pep.

If he puts it all together in his first season, I'll be absolutely gobsmacked rather than impressed, due to the restrictions on time etc you mention, but I don't actually care, I'm just delighted that we are moving forward again & back on the track after a period of stagnation.

That first season was Pellegrini's great success as a manager imo & what he did there was very impressive, because we had just suffered a huge regression in Mancini's last season almost a state of depression, which Pellegrini turned into 100+ goals & two trophies. For that reason (& the impending Pep) I fully backed the decision to keep Pellegrini on for one more season, as it would be the first where he was truly able to sign big players pre season & really stamp his mark on the team. I realised quite early on that it was a mistake in respect of this season, but of course it's all part of the 'Pep' plan, so therefore isn't really a mistake, as he had to be kept on. But in reality, it's turned out Pellegrini isn't very good & that team was a combination of a new attacking spark & a rehash of Mancini's side from two seasons earlier & Mancini himself is little more than average when compared to genuine top managers.

Imo the reason it feels as if we have been standing still as a club, on the pitch, whilst going forward off it, is because that's exactly what has happened. The owner plus Mancini (& Hughes) brought in the players to create effectively a new entity in modern day English football. We got there & did it, but really compard to the ambition we have as a club, we had only managed to get one foot off the ground on the bottom rung of the ladder. Since then, we have changed our clothes, put on better boots & gloves, grabbed some fantastic tools, ropes pulleys & all kinds, to stop us falling & drag us up, but actually just hung onto the ladder for dear life, rather than moving up it to get the real job started.

People said the owner was here short term, but at City we are planning longer term than any other club probably in the history of football I think. I don't doubt that this has been a plan, to get Pep, since before Mancini left (does anyone doubt that ?). I think that the hope would have been that Pellegrini came in & progressed the football side of the club in the meantime, making us a better team on the pitch but also creating a bridge between the academy & the first team, off it. I suspect that the owner, chairman & football directors will be very disappointed by the way Pellegrini has ignored the latter in particular, but what can they do about it when they have a manager who is effectively unsackable due to his willing part in the overall plan ? And he may yet win several trophies this season, but still without actually progressing at all, from where we were in Mancini's title season. That side would beat this one actually.

But now this period is finally running its course, I think we have been very fortunate in the way it's panned out. For one, if Pep had taken over from Mancini, we would have been in the thick of ffp & Pep would have struggled to build a new team to his full ability during his 3 years (could that be the real reason why the talks were stopped ?) Two, Pellegrini is obviously not very good & yet we have won a title & are still in another title race. We are seeing now, that it could in fact have gone to pieces in his first season & left us having to sack an 'unsackable' manager & appoint someone else & then what if he struggled ? Three, although we have seen some very promising kids slip into obscurity or leave the club, the generations of academy players Pep will have access to, are better than the ones he would have had coming through 3 or 4 years ago & he, & they, are likely to benefit much more from each other. Four, Vieira is embarking on his career, & if he has 'it' we will know, by the time Pep finishes.

All in all, apart from the international crap getting in the way at the start, Pep coming to the club next season is almost perfect timing/planning & we have got away with a Mancini meltdown & 3 years of Pellegrini without too much damage being done.

We are about to get a firm grip on the ladder & truly start climbing up. For me personally, Pep coming to the club is not about instant world domination & Champions Leagues (although that may happen) it's about truly moving the club into the next phase & leaving a functioning system when he goes, which will last probably forever.

Four years from now, I think we will realise that the recent years of treading water, were well worth it.

Great post.
In short we are more looking forward to the legacy that Pep will leave behind than the actual trophy count next three years. Kind of what Cruyff did to Barca.

 

[TFC]

Four years from now, I think we will realise that the recent years of treading water, were well worth it.

This is the line of a great post that really stood out for me, completely agree.

 

[CelesteItis]

I wonder what's the definition of boring. Not wining trophies is boring?

While I agree that Mancio's side was the nucleus for Pellers' double, these three years were anything but boring. Have youse forgotten the highest scoring squad with a PL record? Joe's golden gloves?

Even this season the only boring things I find are Pellers look into the vaccum, Yaya's strolls and the 80 minutes fire drill.

Alrite, I'm a happy clapper, I'll fook off now this flapping forum. Cheers.

 

[cityboy1]

I wonder what's the definition of boring. Not wining trophies is boring?

While I agree that Mancio's side was the nucleus for Pellers' double, these three years were anything but boring. Have youse forgotten the highest scoring squad with a PL record? Joe's golden gloves?

Even this season the only boring things I find are Pellers look into the vaccum, Yaya's strolls and the 80 minutes fire drill.

Alrite, I'm a happy clapper, I'll fook off now this flapping forum. Cheers.

The first year some of the football was incredible but it did take a slip for us to win ;), however last season the football and the performances were poor and this season its more of the same tbh and compared to 2014 our football is boring now and has been for the past 18 months

 

[Danish Blue]

Progress rarely if ever happens in straight lines. The owners are trying to build a sustainable model in many different aspects and they are succeeding. There will be good and bad days on the pitch but I remained convinced they will succeed in building a dynasty.