Manchester City under Pep Guardiola | Pep on City v Liverpool ref: "He likes to be special"

I don't understand..?

I was hoping he and Mourinho would revisit their rivalry and bring out the best in each other for years to come. I was looking forward to some epic battles.

But Im not sure he's got it in him to have a scrap for 4th place.



You don't think his Barcelona team was one of the best ever? I want to see the best players and managers in our League. Preferably at United but thats not always possible.

Yeah, that Barcelona team was one of the best ever. He had his stamp on it but he takes way too much credit for it from people like you for it. We'll see what he's really made of in these next 18 months.
 
I'm still not convinced about Guardiola as I think most managers could do well with the players he had. Look at Rodgers at Liverpool with Suarez. Managers such as Pochettino and Klopp are more impressive for building good teams from less than the world's best players.
Maybe he will change my mind and start to get City playing well, but if he does it by just buying Messi, etc. then I will still have mixed opinions about him.
 
I do wonder if he's genuinely a bit mentally weak, because it often comes across as some pseudo self-criticism which is an attempt to present himself as a genius who isn't understood.
 
He'll get it right eventually, but the talk of him winning the league every season, and winning stuff in Europe was jumping the shark.
 
The arrangement of quotes in the Jackson article are different to the BBC one. The BBC's article makes it sound a bit more normal.

"I don't understand the lack of respect for amazing players when people say they are not good enough for me," the Spanish manager said.

"Maybe the expectations about my coming here and the commentary on us winning 10 games in a row were exaggerated," he added.

"Maybe I'm not good enough for them."

Sounds like he's protecting the players more than anything else, but its a bad way to make the point because of the obvious headlines.
 
For all the hate Klopp gets on here thanks to all the things that come out of his mouth making anything but sense, that is what a manager is supposed to do. He's created a team bigger than the sum of its parts, working with players already there to raise their game.

Guardiola has failed in that respect. He shouldn't need a new bunch of 'his' players to look even half competent.
 
This is just him in defence mode.

He loves pulling out the "I've won everything at Barca and nearly everything with Bayern so clearly I am good enough but let's pretend I'm not so you feel sorry for me" card

He's under pressure and is fighting to his morals to adjust, he can't sign the players he wants to make a magic quick fix. Let's see how it plays out.

A nice home defeat to Tottenham will be a good start
 
Ah yes he managed the likes of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Henry, Robben, Eto'o and Ibrahimovic but apparently John Stones and Jesus Navas are too good for him.
 
The quotes obviously don't sound as if he actually believes he's not good enough or as if that's even the point.
Passive-aggressive reaction to the questions he was asked, protecting his players in public. Just poor journalism (and I actually like the Guardian) to come up with these headlines but I guess that's what people want.
 
Pep is a good manager but nothing special. His luster has been created at Barca with Messi/Xavi/Iniesta etc and at Bayern in a league that is a one horse race. It was pretty predictable that he would not be able to do the same in a competitive league where he didn't have players like Messi to win things.
 
The arrangement of quotes in the Jackson article are different to the BBC one. The BBC's article makes it sound a bit more normal.



Sounds like he's protecting the players more than anything else, but its a bad way to make the point because of the obvious headlines.

I take that to mean he's not good enough for the expectations the press put on him.
 
Pep is a good manager obviously but he is overated when he's given too much credit for the success he had at Barcelona and Bayern. Lets say Tottenham pulls city's pants down by three or four goals, where does he go from there? He looks depressed enough as it is but it could send him over the edge and i reckon he might even resign and probably retire. I'm probably dead wrong though.
 
City vs Spurs next. What result are we hoping for?

1-1 draw, with us beating Stoke to gain 2 points on each of them.

Pep coming out with these LVG-esque quotes are hilarious.

He's losing it.

van Gaal would never, I repeat never, have said anything suggesting that he wasn't good enough for us though.

But I agree, Guardiola is losing it.

I think it's actually possible that he's lost the dressing room.
 
Quotes are being construed to sound far worse than what he actually said. I have no doubt he's miserable and struggling in the EPL but someone who is as narcissistic as him (most good managers/coaches are) wouldn't say it seriously.
 
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People are being silly here, and the Guardian are being tabloid creeps. It was a graceful way of rejecting criticism of his players.
 
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Funny how any given manager makes any sort of sarcastic remark and all of a sudden "he's losing it"

Fact remains is all these guys are winners and you can actually see them bristle with irritation when any perceived criticism comes their way.

Don't think they're losing it and certainly not at this time of the season. Maybe with 4 games to go...
 
Surely he has to go if he finishes lower than pellegrini did last year.
Would you expect Mourinho to be sacked if he finishes sixth (a place lower than Van Gaal managed last season) and without a trophy?

I think both Manchester clubs see their managers as long term appointments.

The question is will Guardiola stick around if the season a complete failure? I don't know if he will considering some of the stuff he's coming out with in interviews.
 
Would you expect Mourinho to be sacked if he finishes sixth (a place lower than Van Gaal managed last season) and without a trophy?

I think both Manchester clubs see their managers as long term appointments.

The question is will Guardiola stick around if the season a complete failure? I don't know if he will considering some of the stuff he's coming out with in interviews.
Sorry worded it a bit wrong. I was trying to get at him leaving if he finishes lower due to his dented pride plus the backlash from their fan's. I think if he drops out of the champions league he will go. He may surprise us and turn it around though in his second season if he stays. I hope not!
 
I am not sure if Guardiola has already failed in England, but I was pretty sure that he would encounter problems from the moment he left us.

He is overrated, people expect miracles of him - funny thing is that he always said that himself - and he is one-dimensional. Of course, I have never seen a manager using his squad in a more flexible way than Guardiola did when he was in Munich but it was always the same basic approach, possesion football.You all know the problems of possesion football, thanks to LvG, which makes it rather obvious that Guardiola is just too unflexible without a genius like Messi who can create goals out of nothing with no space. But this is only his normal problem, when it comes to the prem., his problems get even bigger - you know, if you interprete the rules wider than in the rest of the world its more a problem for teams with a possesion approach than for managers like Klopp and teams like Liverpool.

I think his personality fits neither to England nor to Germany - i always thought he must think we are stupid. He trusts no one, that is why only blabla with zero information leaves his mouth.
 
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With how close 2nd and 6th are its too early to write off any of the teams.
 
I am not sure if Guardiola has already failed in England, but I was pretty sure that he would encounter problems from the moment he left us.

He is overrated, people expect miracles of him - funny thing is that he always said that himself - and he is one-dimensional. Of course, I have never seen a manager using his squad in a more flexible way than Guardiola did when he was in Munich but it was always the same basic approach, possesion football.You all know the problems of possesion football, thanks to LvG, which makes it rather obvious that Guardiola is just too unflexible without a genius like Messi who can create goals out of nothing with no space. But this is only his normal problem, when it comes to the prem., his problems get even bigger - you know, if you interprete the rules wider than in the rest of the world its more a problem for teams with a possesion approach than for managers like Klopp and teams like Liverpool.

I think his personality fits neither to England nor to Germany - i always thought he must think we are stupid. He trusts no one, that is why only blabla with zero information leaves his mouth.

I disagree with you. Every team that had consistent success in the last decade had a long-term philosophy ( I know you United fans can't hear the word but it is true nontheless). Guardiola has one too, and it has proven to be successful. On top of that , you need the right team in order to execute your philosophy. Sometimes you can't get the team because you lack the money, sometimes you have loads of money and still can't get it together because you buy the wrong players.

Every system has its flaws, that is sure. However, if you want to have long term success you need a long term vision, both for team managers but also for the squad.

Guardiola is in his first season, it obviously is not his team yet. It was the same with him at Bayern Munich in his first season. Barcelona does not count because the whole club is formed around Guardiola's football style. Or to say it right: Guardiola is a product of Barcelona itself. There he obviously did not need the same amount of time to fit in.
 
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Too early to judge now. Guardiola will always have the excuse that it's not a perfect Pep team though. As if other managers have the luxury of having near perfect teams frequently.
 
Diddums!

Could you imagine his reaction if City went through the ref decisions we've been through this season. He'd have lost all the hair on his beard too.

Yeah, you've sure had it tough.

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