'Pep' Guardiola sack watch
- Thread starter Classical Mechanic
- Start date
I'd agree with that, we don't create, KDB is too far forward to dominate the game (needs to play a little deeper) and the midfield is too slow. It obvious he does it to protect Rodri. We were playing the worst defence in the league today. A midfield of Gundogan, Bernardo and KDB was what he should have went for despite Bernardo's struggle. If he wants to play 4231 and not concede vs the big teams fair enough but at home to West Brom , its terrible decision making.
I think this will silence the "He should start Foden every game" crowd. Right now we're lacking a winger, think he should plump for Torres with Sterling cause Silva just doesn't score enough. Needs another goal threat besides Raheem whose really struggling.
They’d have to get a kind draw but they’d still mess that up, not sure how they’d navigate Bayern to be honest.
They are so heavily dependent on aguero and the problem is he is injury prone and has dropped a level or two over the past year than what he use to be.
How anyone can worry about this City team winning the CL is crazy, they're nowhere near good enough. It would take a real turn around in their from, which isn't impossible, but I can't see it.
Normally I would be ecstatic with this result (and Chelsea's) but I just can't muster the enthusiasm. Not only because we're playing shit too but I think I'm fatigued with all this football. I'm lethargic and lacklustre. Never realised it could affect fans this badly too. 
Pep and Klopp could suffer mentally this season in the long run. Jose and Ole have more of a chance than they realise.
Pep and Klopp could suffer mentally this season in the long run. Jose and Ole have more of a chance than they realise.
They had no width today and were congested in the centre. Mahrez is inconsistent but at least he offers width and is a good one on one dribbler.
Guys, come on.
This is a Man City team who just failed to beat West Brom at home, languishing outside the top 4 who have failed to win more than half of their PL games this season.
You’ve got city fans in here and on their forum constantly complaining about the slow ponderous football and poor results.
Man City were knocked out the CL by the 7th best team in France.
Man City lost NINE league games last season, more than us.
They’ve lost Silva, Kompany and Aguero has missed most of the year. Sterling and De Bruyne have dropped off a level.
I mean at this stage what needs to happen so that people are allowed to question and suggest city maybe aren’t as good anymore and look poor and that Pep is getting it wrong without being branded as “over reacting”. I dunno, maybe a 5-2 home defeat to Leicester or something ??
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Pundits refusal to criticise Pep? 
Their big players over the last decade have either left of over the hill. The new ones are simply not up to scratch.
He doesn't offer much width he's always cutting in. And even when he does that he's been shit. For the most part.
Of course City aren't as good, it's not a suggestion anymore, and pointing that out isn't overreacting. But in general City elicit tons of overreactions either way.
Pep himself has said that his methods and coaching have a finite lifespan. It seems like he's reached the end of his cycle at City. His Barcelona team were pretty flat in his last season there as well. Makes it all the more strange that he signed on for a contract extension. Even if he does get an all new team from their owners, will the same fire still be there in him?
Even if you never know what is behind this contract extension. Sometimes it is made strategically for media, fans and team. If he would not have extended (and before he did) the discussion was big about if he will extend or not...
Guardiola is done at City. Or hit a really bad patch. Probably the first one.
Why was he raging at the fourth official near the near of the final whistle? Was it because of the amount of time added? It really cracked me up watching that
Sterling, Bernardo, Rodri, Dias, Cancelo, Walker, Ederson, Sterling, Jesus, Gundogan, KDB. These are still quality players and also considered talented to be top player. In fact, majority those names would have got into our XI.
I can’t imagine how much money he would need to spend for his first league title if he never had Aguero, Fernandinho, KDB, Silva and Kompany. Those 5 players were his top 5 key players for his two PL title and none were his signings.
I can’t imagine how much money he would need to spend for his first league title if he never had Aguero, Fernandinho, KDB, Silva and Kompany. Those 5 players were his top 5 key players for his two PL title and none were his signings.
Their biggest issue IMO is the aging of Fernandinho. He was so good that they could play an extremely attacking 4-1-4-1 with KBD and Silva ahead of him and absolutely dominate games. He mopped everything up. Neither Rodri nor Gundogan can perform to that level, so they end up with this double pivot a lot. Rodri was supposed to be the answer to the Fernandinho problem but he just doesn’t have the constitution for the PL in the same way the Brazilian does. And he cost big, big money.
Aguero is obviously a huge loss for them, as he’s not just clinical but also does everything you’d want a striker to do while he has four AM’s buzzing around behind him. Jesus becomes just another fly buzzing around the shit without ever landing on it.
Sane is also a huge loss for them. He gave them true width and had a directness to his play that created much needed variation. They have too many creators now and not enough going for the jugular. A fully fit Agüero and Sane would transform this team.
They also used to get a lot from their fullbacks overlapping, but Walker has dropped off a level or two, and Mendy is a complete bust now. Cancelo and Zinchenko are pretty average. Their CB recruitment has been horrific for the money they’ve spent. Laporte, Stones, Dias, Ake for about 200M, and they look anything but solid.
I can easily see them signing Messi and Haaland in the summer, who would solve a lot of their problems; but they’ll still be on shaky ground if they can’t sign a world class DM. Partey would’ve been perfect for that team. Shockingly, after all the money they’ve spent on FB’s, they need at least one of those too.
Aguero is obviously a huge loss for them, as he’s not just clinical but also does everything you’d want a striker to do while he has four AM’s buzzing around behind him. Jesus becomes just another fly buzzing around the shit without ever landing on it.
Sane is also a huge loss for them. He gave them true width and had a directness to his play that created much needed variation. They have too many creators now and not enough going for the jugular. A fully fit Agüero and Sane would transform this team.
They also used to get a lot from their fullbacks overlapping, but Walker has dropped off a level or two, and Mendy is a complete bust now. Cancelo and Zinchenko are pretty average. Their CB recruitment has been horrific for the money they’ve spent. Laporte, Stones, Dias, Ake for about 200M, and they look anything but solid.
I can easily see them signing Messi and Haaland in the summer, who would solve a lot of their problems; but they’ll still be on shaky ground if they can’t sign a world class DM. Partey would’ve been perfect for that team. Shockingly, after all the money they’ve spent on FB’s, they need at least one of those too.
He got bored while winning things with Barca, and left his boyhood club after 4 years managing there. Now it's his 4th seasons at City. Hmm..
They are too technical with all their top technique based players. When the goals flow it's all nice and dandy. But when they don't it's constipated shit. Also they were braver in the past. Now seem to give oppositions too much respect and press less.
I don't know. Just can't see his friends firing him.
Cutting in doesn’t mean he doesn’t offer width. He’s an inverted winger. His starting position is usually very wide, as opposed to Sterling and Foden who stay centrally.
He was their best player in their previous home games against Burnley and Fulham because those teams sat in and congested the centre allowing Mahrez freedom out wide to do his thing.
Not replacing Kompany and Silva were a mistake. Yay Toure was also immense for them during their success. They lack leaders now. I don't recall Pep ever coming from behind to win or dominate the league again after losing the title. He always seem to leave a club at the peak of their most successful years so it will be interesting now to see if he can rebuild this City squad and win the title again. Makes me appreciate Sir Alex even more and what a colossal and generational manager he is to keep rebuilding so many title winning teams.
I'd have bet my house he'd have gone at the end of this season but now he's signed that new contract. Watching him flapping around in front of the fourth official last night just made me laugh, this guys built an average side and can't implement his style on them, it's as simple as that and as others have eluded he's not replaced quality like for like.
It happens to all great teams, we couldn't replace Scholes, Giggs, Keane, Rio and Vidic with the same quality and we've seen a decline. This is what makes Sir Alex's achievements and Liverpool's in the 70's and 80's so amazing, constantly rebuilding to Championship level is so difficult.
Maybe he will get sacked rather than walk away, he's taking a huge gamble on his reputation with this current squad. I'd have thought he'd have walked away and gone for the next available certain thing.
It happens to all great teams, we couldn't replace Scholes, Giggs, Keane, Rio and Vidic with the same quality and we've seen a decline. This is what makes Sir Alex's achievements and Liverpool's in the 70's and 80's so amazing, constantly rebuilding to Championship level is so difficult.
Maybe he will get sacked rather than walk away, he's taking a huge gamble on his reputation with this current squad. I'd have thought he'd have walked away and gone for the next available certain thing.
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You can't replace Silva. Did Barcelona replace Iniesta?
This season is Pep's attempt to adjust the team to compensate for losing such a talent. That's all you can do, adjust. The same way we didn't "replace" Keane, but adjusted to a different system successfully with Carrick.
So far Pep isn't doing a good job at that.
Is it too early to say pep is going the way of Arsene Wenger's late spell at arsenal of drifting into playing tidy possession football that lacks a proper end product to win trophies
Yes
They look bad this season but so does everyone else in honesty, Bayern, maybe Juve are the only teams looking like they have their act together. Would be sod's law they win it this year.
Watched the second half last night, only for De Bruyne's 2 brilliant crosses in injury time they'd have created next to nothing despite West Brom been unable to put 2 passes together for the last half hour.
Why is Laporte not playing?
Why is Laporte not playing?
In case his sideline breakdown hasn't been posted yet:
He looks burnt out to me. The eye for the player and the precision in his coaching is not quite there. Also a transitional period for the club and they need a shit tonne of new signings IMO but does he have the stomach for the rebuild?
Because he hasn't been great this season (made the error that led to Tottenham's first goal), and Stones has been better, and Dias has been excellent
Yup, been saying this for a while. Losing Toure, Kompany, Silva and with Aguero probably on the way down they have lost a lot quality and leadership. It is very similar to how we started losing these types of players around SAF's retirement.
Not only have the replacements not reached the same level of ability, they haven't the same mentality or experience of winning either. And just like us, there's very few players in the squad to keep that standard up when new players come in.
If he ever wanted to kill the 'Pep Guardiola is my idol' memes, then this is surely the season for it.
He has never won anything big under less than ideal circumstances. He still probably has the second best team in the league on paper, but it's clear that Liverpool is the better team. The distance down to Spurs, Chelsea and us is also smaller than previously. At the same time, no one seems to be great this year, so it may just come down to pure man management and tiny margins. This is truly shaping up to be a battle of coaches.
I don't think that many signings will happen, more likely 3 (LB, CM, ST). There are certain players he's obssessed with and never drops them so I don't think he'll move them now.
Feels like we haven't come from behind since QPR, read somewhere we haven't won a game we've been losing at half time in over 100 attempts.
Mourinho got 81 points and came second, followed by a sacking at 12 games and 20 points. Branded a Washed up manager.
Guardiola got 81 points and came second last season. Is now on 20 points from 12 games. Washed up manager?
Guardiola got 81 points and came second last season. Is now on 20 points from 12 games. Washed up manager?
The world of football has moved on from tiki-taka.
He looks a busted flush to me. I know we've said that before. But this time something looks different about the team on the pitch, not just pep himself.
It's well documented that he quit one of the greatest footballing teams of all time because he couldn't summon up the energy to motivate them any longer. He's very....intense is the only word I could use to describe him. And I truly thing there's a mix of him no longer being able to motivate the players and this has translated to the pitch, where the majority of his players cannot motivate themselves to play a high intensity press. Added to the fact that the core of his team was already there and he hasn't replaced them and I think we're seeing the wheels come off a bit. Take KDB out of that team and it doesn't have a chance in hell of coming second, let alone winning the league.
It's well documented that he quit one of the greatest footballing teams of all time because he couldn't summon up the energy to motivate them any longer. He's very....intense is the only word I could use to describe him. And I truly thing there's a mix of him no longer being able to motivate the players and this has translated to the pitch, where the majority of his players cannot motivate themselves to play a high intensity press. Added to the fact that the core of his team was already there and he hasn't replaced them and I think we're seeing the wheels come off a bit. Take KDB out of that team and it doesn't have a chance in hell of coming second, let alone winning the league.
I just don't understand why he got a new contract, there has to be some serious money being offered not only to him as wages but to spend on players.
City probably threw some money at him to stop him taking a rest.