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[Albion] Oh Pep









BadFish

Huge Member
Oct 19, 2003
18,437
Has Pep been found out. Always had finances to buy the best players. FFP has caused city to cut their cloth. Their best players are the wrong side of 30. Personally I hope FFP results in their demise. They’ve had it good and their fans have been smug but it hasn’t been a level playing field.
I wonder if things aren't going well at the hearing and things are not well at the club.
 


Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
31,318
I don't know what is more surprising - losing at home to Spurs 0-4 across 90 mins, or letting a 3 goal lead over Feyenoord slip in 14 minutes.

And all in the space of 3 days!

I think chickens are coming home to roost here. 10 reasons off the top of my head:

1. Rodri's absence
2. The loss of Alvarez, Cancelo and some useful youngsters - Liam Delap, Harwood-Bellis
3. The loss of form of key players.
4. Manager fatigue.
5. Liverpool relentless.
6. The threat of a points deduction.
7. De Bruyne's injury woes.
8. The fact everyone knows they've cheated and they are a hated club.
9. Recruitment. It started going tits up with Kalvin Phillips. Kovacic not all that, Grealish a pale shadow of his Villa self, Gundogan not as influential as he was in his first stint.
10. The fans. There is a palpable sense of "WTF is going on?" - they don't seem to be able to deal with this.
 


















Klaas

I've changed this
Nov 1, 2017
2,674
Don't think it's fake, he probably has scratched his head and it'll mark especially when he often does it on touchline when things go wrong. He was joking with the comment "harm myself" which, isn't particularly wise (if actual comment is true)
Yeah, that's how I saw it. Probably accidentally scratched himself, then made a joke about it. Probably not very tasteful given his position in the public eye, but then again, stupid question too. Ask about football.
 




Nobby

Well-known member
Sep 29, 2007
2,906
Brilliant - hahahahahahahahaha
Couldn’t happen to a nicer club
Manager proving that he would be a failure if he ever had to manage a normal club
One that wasn’t the richest in the World and wasn’t able to pick the best players in the World.

No wonder he bit their hand off when they offered him an extra year.
 


HillBarnTillIDie

Active member
Jul 2, 2011
125
To be brutally honest, that pep bloke has had some of the best players in the world in every team hes been involved with. Even the bench (on paper) is better then most other teams starting lineup. Arguably, hes never had to really motivate players because of their strong self confidence and ability.

It’s no surprise that after a few losses, with confidence low, they’re struggling. It happens. A classic case of “the bigger you are, the harder you fall”.
 


dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
56,071
Burgess Hill
Don't think it's fake, he probably has scratched his head and it'll mark especially when he often does it on touchline when things go wrong. He was joking with the comment "harm myself" which, isn't particularly wise (if actual comment is true)
The marks on his head have definitely been photoshopped in the still imo, although there are a couple of very faint lines. Watch the video above.
 




BevBHA

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2017
2,578
I don't know what is more surprising - losing at home to Spurs 0-4 across 90 mins, or letting a 3 goal lead over Feyenoord slip in 14 minutes.

And all in the space of 3 days!

I think chickens are coming home to roost here. 10 reasons off the top of my head:

1. Rodri's absence
2. The loss of Alvarez, Cancelo and some useful youngsters - Liam Delap, Harwood-Bellis
3. The loss of form of key players.
4. Manager fatigue.
5. Liverpool relentless.
6. The threat of a points deduction.
7. De Bruyne's injury woes.
8. The fact everyone knows they've cheated and they are a hated club.
9. Recruitment. It started going tits up with Kalvin Phillips. Kovacic not all that, Grealish a pale shadow of his Villa self, Gundogan not as influential as he was in his first stint.
10. The fans. There is a palpable sense of "WTF is going on?" - they don't seem to be able to deal with this.
See also, 4 leagues in a row and multiple trophies so questions as to the players motivation, it can’t get any better than what they’ve achieved can it?

Agree regarding the young players, but for me the biggest mistake from a club that usually operates very smartly in the transfer market was the loss of Cole Palmer. He’s more than twice the player of Savinho, probably already better than Bernardo Silva and would definitely be starting week in, week out for them by now. I’d probably also add Leroy Sané into the mix aswell, he was fast and exciting and pure pace and power, which is everything they lack out wide currently.
 


Han Solo

Well-known member
May 25, 2024
2,986
As expected people are now popping up with the "is Pep any good?" question.

Quite literally EVERY manager on the planet who has had a career for 10+ years at some point or another had a spell where they lost a couple of games or didn't win for a while.

I wonder if things aren't going well at the hearing and things are not well at the club.
I don't think the players give a shit about that stuff as long as they get their money tbh. Doubt they even know how things are going. Phil Foden won't be home twisting and turning in bed about City having a fake sponsor.

Nah I think its down to a mix of injuries and saturation. They're all quite well fed with titles by now and it becomes more difficult each season you win to get the right energy.

Also they have consistently had one of the smallest squads in the league. 16-17 top class players and a handful of yoof.

They only need a few injuries until they're fielding players that aren't good enough at this level. Players like Simpson-Pusey and McAtee aren't the required level and the 13-14 established players that are still fit barely get any rest.

City has been playing Russian Roulette and this time they lost. When Rodri got injured it was immediately gg, imho. They literally don't have another defensive midfielder.
 


BadFish

Huge Member
Oct 19, 2003
18,437
As expected people are now popping up with the "is Pep any good?" question.

Quite literally EVERY manager on the planet who has had a career for 10+ years at some point or another had a spell where they lost a couple of games or didn't win for a while.


I don't think the players give a shit about that stuff as long as they get their money tbh. Doubt they even know how things are going. Phil Foden won't be home twisting and turning in bed about City having a fake sponsor.

Nah I think its down to a mix of injuries and saturation. They're all quite well fed with titles by now and it becomes more difficult each season you win to get the right energy.

Also they have consistently had one of the smallest squads in the league. 16-17 top class players and a handful of yoof.

They only need a few injuries until they're fielding players that aren't good enough at this level. Players like Simpson-Pusey and McAtee aren't the required level and the 13-14 established players that are still fit barely get any rest.

City has been playing Russian Roulette and this time they lost. When Rodri got injured it was immediately gg, imho. They literally don't have another defensive midfielder.
I disagree, well obviously Foden won't be thinking like that but disruption and disharmony do have an effect on the on pitch performances.

Tony Bloom is very aware of this and has various systems in place to make sure the club is running smoothly. The exception to this of course was the second half of last season when we experienced disharmony and we were poor on the pitch.

Not saying how big a factor this is but it is making me hopeful that they are going to experience some justice when the hearing finally finishes.
 


Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
56,733
Faversham




Han Solo

Well-known member
May 25, 2024
2,986
That someone wrong in the head.

:down:
Well.. it is a requirement if you want to be managing at this level. All of the managers at this level, even the "shite" ones, are compulsive perfectionists who want to climb out of their skin when things don't go well.
 


Terry Butcher Tribute Act

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2013
3,756
Who'd have thought even the great Pep Guardiola would struggle losing a few to injury and seeing his squad get old so having to pack the bench with youngsters. Hilarious.
 


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