'Pep' Guardiola sack watch

Wheato said:
I think his goose is cooked.

All his core players are either past 30 or close to it. They can't run around like they used to, and they get injured more often. When you have a team like this, you need young blood coming through, and the ones coming through aren't very good. Rico Lewis, McAtee, Oscar Bob and Salvinho. Even the subs bench, with Nunes and Kovacic, they aint gonna turn a game around.

Apart from Rodri, Foden, Haaland, Diaz and Doku. The rest are either on the turn or average at best.

The decision to sell Palmer and Alvarez will bite them on the arse big time. Especially when they inevitably end up with a transfer embargo, and Rico Lewis, Bob and McAtee are the only options, because all the veterans are injured.

Oh, and "Taxi for Haaland" coming soon.
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Doku himself is average.

But what about Dias, Rodri (back next season), Akanji , Ake and Ederson (not old for a keeper)? Nunes was also highly rated - Pep just doesn’t play him.

City still have a brilliant squad. If Pep can’t win the league with this lot despite getting gifts from management like Haaland to break the leagues then it’s on him.
 
DarkLord1984 said:
As much as I absolutely cannot stand the guy and wish him to fail professionally, I do hope that if his mental health is as poor as it appears, he does get the help he needs.

I honestly think he did not do the right thing by signing that extension.
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I guess that's the difference between him and someone like Klopp. Klopp probably realised that chasing a trophy was probably not as important in the grand scheme of things than putting up his feet and enjoying life.

I guess the irony is that Klopp could have probably won it this year. Guardiola just outlasted him.
 
Cloud7 said:
If I recall correctly, did he not leave Barcelona after 3-4 years because he said that's how long he feels he can work in a job before he needs a break himself? Perhaps it's something he recognized within himself, something that could probably affect his mental health. That was at Barcelona, his boyhood club in his home. If a job like that could cause burnout then any job could.

He has since then been at City for almost double that time. Perhaps it really has caused some issues with burnout. He should not have signed that contract extension. I can't help but think that he signed that extension due to external pressure from somewhere. A great football manager though he is, Pep is just that, a manager, who is employed by a very rich nation state who have shown that they are willing to take on the league itself. It's not hard to imagine that they could have applied pressure somehow to force him to sign on further.

Perhaps he is trying to go the Mourinho route and get himself sacked?

Either way, something is not right with Pep recently.
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Pep:
"We cannot compare the pressure we have in England and Spain in my experience. It’s a thousand times higher and tougher there in Spain than here," Guardiola said at a press conference on Tuesday

"Here for the managers is a real place to be. Obviously, there are a lot of games and six press conferences a week and a game every three days. But the pressure you feel in Barcelona is not comparable to another club. I understand completely."

(Question about Xavi stepping down as head coach for Barcelona)

I would imagine his response is a bit biased both because of solidarity to Xavi and also because it's true on a personal level adding layers of pressure on himself supporting Barcelona.
Anyways, losing 5 in a row and drawing the 6th after being 3-0 up will make people like Pep go apeshit. I'm sure he would pull his hair out, if he had any left.
 
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Needham said:
Nope. SAF would have recognized his brilliance and decided to give the bullshit a swerve. He basically did that with Mourinho who he knew to be a peaking, young upstart doomed to succeed. Wenger was different: less young, less stable, and managing a genuine football giant, unlike Chelsea and City.
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I see what you're saying, but SAF also had an ability to sniff out weaknesses in other managers e.g. Keegan. I think Fergie would have sensed Pep's weaknesses and exploited them.

We all saw just how much Jose managed to get under Pep's skin when he was at Madrid.
 
DarkLord1984 said:
I see what you're saying, but SAF also had an ability to sniff out weaknesses in other managers e.g. Keegan. I think Fergie would have sensed Pep's weaknesses and exploited them.

We all saw just how much Jose managed to get under Pep's skin when he was at Madrid.
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Yeah but who won that one? Plus the dynamic is different when you're across the hall from each other, which both sharing one city would have amounted to. Sure Fergie would have charmed him with his cellar rather than antagonize and rage at. Remember Pep bested Utd twice in the biggest game there is and SAF didn't even waste his breath trying with the mind games.
 
Needham said:
Yeah but who won that one? Plus the dynamic is different when you're across the hall from each other, which both sharing one city would have amounted to. Sure Fergie would have charmed him with his cellar rather than antagonize and rage at. Remember Pep bested Utd twice in the biggest game there is and SAF didn't even waste his breath trying with the mind games.
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They both lost.
 
Looks like they are downing tools.

Anyone else think the penalties are soon approaching?
 
ETH without Rodri. Except ETH didn’t go 6 games without a win
 
TheNewEra said:
Yeah that's pretty insane considering the focus on mental health these days.

The fact he comes out with he wants to harm himself, at a 'big' club, the modern eras greatest manager saying that is baffling.

Despite how he is feeling, you dont joke about that.
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100% this. Dark humour among friends can be fine, but to joke(?) about wanting to self harm due to the situation is unhinged behaviour. He either needs help or he’s just a prick. I know he’s the latter anyway, but could still be former on top.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer team.
 
Hernandez - BFA said:
100% this. Dark humour among friends can be fine, but to joke(?) about wanting to self harm due to the situation is unhinged behaviour. He either needs help or he’s just a prick. I know he’s the latter anyway, but could still be former on top.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer team.
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Agreed. Not something to joke about.
 
My guess is he’s completely burnt out and told his state emperors as much. But they showered him with more money than ever and he signed a new contract anyway. It’s beautiful to watch it all implode, long may it continue.
 
He needs to get out of that job ffs, he’s clearly unstable and he definitely wasn’t this way when he first joined.

Why on earth did he sign that contract :lol:

You have to wonder if the mental affect of 115 is part of this collapse. Whether they get punished or not, there’s no chance the entire club aren’t thinking about what could happen. The players don’t know whether they will be playing in the Championship next season etc. it’s bound to have an affect on performance.
 
That pic, jaysus he looks bad!

Think he needs a break from the game, he shouldn't have signed the contract extension
 
I mean, considering how much he uncontrollably twitches and generally behaves during the match am only amazed he hasn't done this before.

He will be fine, but if you ever doubted there is an outgoing crisis in City, there you go. And this ain't helping, players are probably looking at him and also thinking wtf..
 
Addicts can suffer from formication, Itching and scratching all the time. Last week it was his balls last night his face. He looks like he's on his way to a breakdown.
 
Marcelinho87 said:
I don't think he's joking, I think he's a mentally unstable guy.

His mannerisms etc aren't that of a sound of mind person.
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I was going to make the same point. He has been unhinged for more than a decade, it's generally subtle but sometimes it's way too obvious.
 
What pisses me off is that if Pep's time in the Premier League is really coming to an end, we're not in a position to take him down ourselves.
Instead, it's Liverpool setting the standard.
 
Chicharo said:
What pisses me off is that if Pep's time in the Premier League is really coming to an end, we're not in a position to take him down ourselves.
Instead, it's Liverpool setting the standard.
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Arsenal are the biggest jokers here. Lost out to City two seasons in a row and as soon as City drop off, so do they. Hoping they can still find a way to challenge Liverpool.
 
Not so easy with a couple injuries is it? Barely faced any adversity and his team have fallen apart.
 
Cloud7 said:
If I recall correctly, did he not leave Barcelona after 3-4 years because he said that's how long he feels he can work in a job before he needs a break himself? Perhaps it's something he recognized within himself, something that could probably affect his mental health. That was at Barcelona, his boyhood club in his home. If a job like that could cause burnout then any job could.

He has since then been at City for almost double that time. Perhaps it really has caused some issues with burnout. He should not have signed that contract extension. I can't help but think that he signed that extension due to external pressure from somewhere. A great football manager though he is, Pep is just that, a manager, who is employed by a very rich nation state who have shown that they are willing to take on the league itself. It's not hard to imagine that they could have applied pressure somehow to force him to sign on further.

Perhaps he is trying to go the Mourinho route and get himself sacked?

Either way, something is not right with Pep recently.
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Wise words
 
Woodzy said:
He needs to get out of that job ffs, he’s clearly unstable and he definitely wasn’t this way when he first joined.

Why on earth did he sign that contract:lol:

You have to wonder if the mental affect of 115 is part of this collapse. Whether they get punished or not, there’s no chance the entire club aren’t thinking about what could happen. The players don’t know whether they will be playing in the Championship next season etc. it’s bound to have an affect on performance.
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A suitcase full of money, a property portfolio anywhere in the world, a golf course in Abu Dhabi, a football club gifted to his brother....I can think of many reasons why he would stay on.
 
Oscar Bonavena said:
Pep can't handle adversity. He's had everything handed to him on a plate since becoming a manager. The best players, the richest clubs, clubs that ride roughshod over financial rules, you name it.

This is pretty much the first losing steak he's had as a manager in his career and he's scratching the face off himself!
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Exactly. Someone said its not a laughing matter, I thought it was bloody hilarious.
 
bgoodall said:
This should be a bigger story. If it was Ten Hag the media would discuss it ad nauseam.
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Pep has a lot of runway, probably more than any manager in the modern era owing to the success he has had, and the media love-in that started as soon as he took the Barca job.

In all honesty, he can lose 9 on the bounce in the league and still keep his job.
 
I mean, he's just won 4 in a row, including a treble.

Still comfortable in the league (top 4 especially)....and some people are asking why his job isn't under threat/under more media scrutiny? :lol:

Sure, there are lots of external factors etc. and this, for some reason, doesn't come across as just a usual "dip in motivation levels" (players are also getting older)...but the guy's as secure as any manager out there, and rightfully so.

I suppose there were those "sack fergie, sell giggs" types out there, so they do exist.
 
HappyCamper said:
Pep:
"We cannot compare the pressure we have in England and Spain in my experience. It’s a thousand times higher and tougher there in Spain than here," Guardiola said at a press conference on Tuesday

"Here for the managers is a real place to be. Obviously, there are a lot of games and six press conferences a week and a game every three days. But the pressure you feel in Barcelona is not comparable to another club. I understand completely."

(Question about Xavi stepping down as head coach for Barcelona)

I would imagine his response is a bit biased both because of solidarity to Xavi and also because it's true on a personal level adding layers of pressure on himself supporting Barcelona.
Anyways, losing 5 in a row and drawing the 6th after being 3-0 up will make people like Pep go apeshit. I'm sure he would pull his hair out, if he had any left.
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Of course there is less pressure here. He is managing Man City. He could lose every year, and there still wont be any pressure on him. Let him manage United for 3 months see him lose his eyebrows.
 
It's fascinating to watch.

It's the first proper crisis that he's ever had to deal with as a manager and he's struggling badly. This is a man who in his very first job as a senior teams manager walked into a club that had Messi and Eto'o and Henry and Xavi and Iniesta and Puyol in the squad. Not bad for your first job that.

All he's ever known is the absolute perfect situation for himself, the best players and/or the most money always. Even when they'd win 25 in a row he still seemed twitchy and weird on the touchline and interviews so it's no surprise he seems even more manic now they're losing every week.
 
Ish said:
I mean, he's just won 4 in a row, including a treble.

Still comfortable in the league (top 4 especially)....and some people are asking why his job isn't under threat/under more media scrutiny?
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The thing is its easy to laugh at them... they haven't won in 6 and lost 5 but are 2nd in the PL and will probably qualify for the next round of CL..

Pep's job will never be under question for various reasons:
1. Having what he has over the years, he has enough credit in the bank to not get the pressure
2. If City finish outside top 4 one season, if he feels its too big of a job, he would walk before they can be lingering in 5th/6th.
 
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