Pep or the players?

[Original Dub]

Txiki is the biggest underachiever at the club and the owners aren't stupid. Maybe it's a case that they're lumped together as the one package.

I hope not because Soriano is doing a great job with the commercial side of things and this guy is making a bollox of the whole thing from where I'm sitting.

[sheblue]

Unless we have an exceptional summer of transfers we will not be in the running next season either.

This.

Trouble is, I'm just not feeling too optimistic at the moment about our prospects in the summer.

Cost, availability and competition from other sides will, I feel, weigh against us and I still feel there's a reluctance to start bringing in some of or youth players, so we might end up with the worst of all worlds.

Hope and pray I'm completely wrong.

we have been grossly mismanaged on the transfer front
a truly shocking state of affairs that is quite frankly embarrassing

I don't have much confidence in Txiki to deliver this summer when it comes to transfers. After his record in recent years, I wouldn't trust him with any more money.

Unfortunately it looks like we're stuck with him.

I wouldn't trust him with monopoly money.
But this aint no laughing matter. As good as Gabriel Jesus is he's not going to do it all on his own as some seem to believe.
This has to be done right or its trouble next season.

[kinkylola]

how long have we known that clichy isn't good enough? How long have we known that we get absolutely fucked by the refs?

Pep isn't innocent but some of you on here are smoking crack with the stuff you come out with. Reactionaries.

[brite blu sky]

boils down to 3 things for me.

Ageing and creaking squad in certain areas..

Pep not taking that into account enough and being pragmatic with what he had + some poor decisions eg. Joe

Clear and obvious institutional bias against City... each little harsh/ wrong decision adds up in the end.

would have been a different season imo if the last two were different in a positive way.

[Sparklehorse]

I think our season turned in the Chelsea game....KDB miss to go 2-0 up was the moment...and I don't think we've really recovered from that. The taking of a higher percentage of chances is what has been lacking this season for some strange reason.....we have played some beautiful football at times, but not enough. Too often we have stopped playing when we've taken the lead and not killed games off and made life easy like we have in the past. I think with just a little more confidence we would have been a lot lot closer.....as one of you said earlier in the thread..there is something wrong. I like Pep a lot, I certainly don't think he's arrogant, he comes across as quite humble to me. A believer in his ethos is what he has and good for him. I'm confident it will come good in the end.
It has been the most frustrating season for years for me...playing so, so we'll in so many games and not getting the points, Kompany has been the biggest miss, we are a different proposition when he's leading. Let's hope we get the rub of the green on Thursday and our Wednesday boys get some chances to shine over the next couple of years....that would please me more than anything !

[FA cup winners 2006]

I think Pep is challenging the players to see if they can play his systems and giving them a chance. He is not setting up to the current players strengths.

In the long run, I think this will pay off for us. Pep will now know who the weak players are and what he needs to replace them.

The full backs are a prime example. With most teams these are the least important positions and a lot of youth players cut there teeth in wide positions but in Pep's team they are crucial. They will either come into midfield and provide the base of attacks and the protection for the defense or they will push up out wide stretching defenses and creating room for our wide forwards. Our full backs are really no threat at the moment and so many attacks break down due to their lack of quality in the attacking half. Replacing them in the summer will be priority nr. 1

Obviously it is hard for the players if they are in a period of transition trying to come to terms with new roles and ways of thinking on the pitch and I think the likes of KDB, Gundogan, Sterling and Sane will benefit from a full pre-season with Pep but one thing that will be hard to change is the mentality of the players. Looking back at the 1st half of the Monaco game, the players did not look to be there mentally, simple passing were going astray, no one was making any sort of movement, the players looked shattered after 20 mins. in these moments we need experienced leaders who will show by example what needs to be done. I hope Pep will be targeting these types of mentally strong players to galvanise the team in these high intensity games

[Justified logic]

I thought a World class manager of Guardiola supposed calibre should be making a sum bigger than its parts. I am not stupid; I know he did not inherit the finished article when he joined us. I expected a learning curve, transition. Still it wasn’t like he was joining Middlesboro, or Watford ,we weren’t the finished article by a long shot, but we still had one of the best squads in the League, consistently finishing top 4.

You would have expected him to have surveyed our Squad on arrival, seen it obvious limitations, especially defensively and adapted accordingly. No not Pep, he says to himself this City side I have inherited with most players wrong side of 30 will have to play my fast, expansive style of football. I will not compromise my style for no man. It matters not, that most of them will be gone the end of this season. That was the first thing set alarm bells ringing. It was obvious he needed to be more pragmatic, yet his arrogance dictated otherwise.Hardly what you would excpect from a supposed World class manager

He has not improved us as a side in any department. Defensively we were already fragile prior to his arrival, thanks mainly to his DOF Spanish best buddy incompetence, so what does he go and do... he gets rid of Joe Hart for the Clown Bravo, and compounds our defensive problems. The goalkeeper he brought in has been a joke, yet he persisted, and persisted, to the detriment of the team to feed his ego. It went on for weeks, It would have been more humane to take Bravo out and shoot him than keep putting him in net. Pep over inflated ego wouldn’t allow him to do the right thing for City. This was very concerning. And in my opinion made this season the Train wreck it has become. I still don’t understand Bravo inclusion yesterday at Willy expense bearing in mind it could easily have gone to penalties.

You have Guardiola none existent in game management, both perplexing, and unfathomable. We used to take the piss out of Pellegrini for making substitutes late on. Guardiola is lucky to make any Subs before 80 + minutes. His substitutions certainly change games though, taking off Aguero then leaving us with no natural striker in a Cup semi was pure genius on his part yesterday.

I keep hearing next season will be different to this one. Pep will spend £500,000 000 and we will win the League. We will buy all the Barcelona players wrong side of 30 then the “ego” can call himself a genius once again.

What about this season ?,what have any of us seen this season from Guardiola that makes you think next season we will be ripping up Trees in England ?.From what I have seen his style is already stale and dated. A struggling Leicester, and the entire top 6,have already shown how easy it was to beat a side that just wants to pass you to death. Even Wenger who is stinking Arsenal out, knows how to get one over the Bald genius. The worst Arsenal side in years being beaten by all and sundry. We prefer to focus all our hatred towards referees, FA, UEFA,Media for our short comings, criticism of the Messiah is blasphemy. Dare I say it we are starting to sound like the Candle waivers.

You look at a side like Crystal Palace who were staring down the Barrel of relegation. They sack their manager, bring in Fat Sam then start beating the top 4 week in week out. We have a side full of internationals and can’t beat a top 6 side for Toffee. Something is seriously wrong with us.

Great post - and I'm not saying that just for the reprise of my would Fat Sam have done any better or worse with our squad this season? post; agree with all of that.