Undermined - influenced.... PotAto potaato. Pellegrini walked into the City job with his eyes wide open. He had by far the best squad in the league, brought in some of his own players and may have had some bought for him that he didn't choose but accepted all the same.
All said and done and as with most other jobs in life, you play the hand you're dealt. Name me a manager who wouldn't accept what Pellegrini has had at City? He had a squad, coached and picked the players and decided upon the tactics, how he played the hand he was dealt was purely his choice as he wasn't a glove puppet with Txiki's hand up his arse.
The whole point of having a DoF is so that the club has continuity and isn't changing playing direction every time a new manager is appointed. That's Txiki's job and presumably Manuel was cool with it when he accepted the role otherwise why take it? Pellegrini had autonomy as coach and manager too because we were told our club's policy was to play 433 and in his very first game Manuel rocked up with his all out attacking 442.
Undermined, influenced, potAto, potaato; Pellegrini went out playing the hand he was dealt his way.
Undermind and influenced are totally different.
I can name you countless managers that wouldn't take the job under the same circumstances. Klopp, Simeone, Mourinho et al would not take a job they knew they were only in the job till Guardiola was available.
Do you honestly think Klopp would have taken the Liverpool job had he known Liverpool and Gerrard were already in discussions about Gerrard being given the job when his Galaxy contract finished. You know the answer.
Txiki decided against employing Mourinho in the past because he would have wanted too much power. Indicating that Mourinho wouldn't work under such circumstances.
I agree, we were told we were going to play 433. Yet we haven't signed any players to suit it. You don't spend £54 million for a out and out number 10 if you're going to play without a traditional number 10. Do you agree?
We were also told we would be playing a high pressing high line game. Pellegrini is often slated for his high line.
We were told by Txiki that the club at all levels would play in a certain way.
I imagine that is the high press, high line Barcelona system.
So who's to blame for the high line we play? You, nor I can say who is to blame with any certainty.
What I do know, at Villareal Pellegrini played a pretty deep lying defence with pacey attackers and a traditional No. 10. Riqualme at Villareal.
He had a dominating holding player in Senna and energic players supporting Senna.
At Malaga he sat deep with Lugano and Demichellis, had Toulalan in the Senna role. Saviola and latterly Isco in the 10.
So Pellegrini has his system, even at Madrid he complained about the Galactico system, comparing it to building an orchestra. He said he had ten guitarists and no pianists. He complained that they sold his pianists.
So he had a history of playing deep, a compact midfield with a ball playing ball winner. He's tried nothing of the sort at City except in the CL.
I wonder why? His idea or is he being influenced to play a certain way?
I like you have no idea.
However we have Begeristain publiclly stating we are building towards the Barcelona model, we are bringing in the architect of the Barcelona model to be employed by his former employers at Barcelona who helped create this model. Yet non of this influences our current manager? A manager employed to help implement this very model.
Are you sure?
Pellegrini, Sorriano, Begiristain & Pep. Who's the elephant in the room?
