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If your first paragraph is true then your 2nd paragraph makes a whole lot of sense because they would have to be pretty stupid to believe that a manager with a big check book has a great chance to be as successful and influentual as Pep was for Barca simply because they've played for the club previously.
Oh managers can definitely get it wrong whether they're past legends or not. Mourinho at United, Mourinho at Spurs.
I guess they've learned by now that it fails a whole lot more times than it succeeds given the fact that Lampard, Pirlo, Poch, Koeman, Arteta etc have taken their clubs backwards instead of forwards, while the guys who have managed United for the past 8 years surely have proven that having lots of money is far from a guarantee for success, trophies and setting records left and right.
Again managers can get it wrong and not everybody is cut out for it. I don't think anybody is saying Pep isn't a good manager. It's just whether he's a great manager that is up for debate. Given the squads he's had at his disposal and the money he has at City I think he's done well but as I've said, it has been repeated by managers who aren't seen as great.
The thing is that Pep isn't seen as one of the best managers in the world just because of his trophy haul, it's just as much about how he wins as how much he wins. He basically changed the game with Barcelona, he set some pretty crazy records at Bayern and City gave him free reign to restructure the way every team in the club plays football, which seems to have been a very good decision. I hate the way he took two CL's from us and his current success at City just as much as the next guy, but to say he's done nothing special or that other managers have done what he's done is pretty narrow minded imo.
I genuinely don't think you could play boring football with the players he has had. Barca were pretty exciting after he left too. City played great stuff under Pellegrini and Bayern were amazing before he took over. Didn't they trounce his Barcelona? Don't you agree that all of that is true? Managers do have some influence but if you put that 2011 Barca team out I reckon they'd still play some nice football.