When they play, people don't watch.
Do you find Man City (and other Pep teams) boring?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
They block opponents so most of their games are over with the first goal, and that happens before min 15 in many cases so it's pointless to watch as a neutral.
I can't stand watching them over 10 mins.
If you are a fan is different because, at least for me, winning comes first, entertainment is optional, so I'd be happy to win everything no matter how.
I can't stand watching them over 10 mins.
If you are a fan is different because, at least for me, winning comes first, entertainment is optional, so I'd be happy to win everything no matter how.
Peps Barca were boring, city less so but the game itself is very boring typically.
Pep’s brand of football is boring, but the man collects gobs of trophies. They slaughter us on the pitch and that’s all that matters, but I find their style of play to be uninteresting to watch and their players lacking any real of depth of character. Apart from the Aguero goal they’re not much of a memory making machine.
Beyond the fact that it's played by our local rivals not much probably...
Nah, it's not really that. City are an absolute nothing club. I feel the same about them as I would if the sheikh had bought Bolton or Blackburn instead.
On the other hand, I fecking hate Liverpool, but have no problem admitting that they're a 10x better watch than City are.
Yes. As amazing as prime Barca were, I hated watching them with so much possession. Same goes for City, makes for a awful entertainment when they completely control a game without constantly pushing for goals
Yeah. Though no one this century has been as boring to watch as that Spain team that dominated.
Anybody who says that and supports another team is jealous. Its just sour grapes. If he was managing Utd to all these winning games and trophies we would all be over the moon with it.
No way. The level of detail and control they exhibit is a rarity and shows how good the players are with their manager. It is hard to do what they do, which leads to a level of respect for them.
What makes it boring are teams who don't have a legit threat against them whether head to head or counter. It is a free hit, so have a decent go, but only 5 or so PL teams really can hurt them at times throughout a match.
What makes it boring are teams who don't have a legit threat against them whether head to head or counter. It is a free hit, so have a decent go, but only 5 or so PL teams really can hurt them at times throughout a match.
I couldn't care less how we play, if we're winning, but if we played like that I'd accept we were boring, whilst still being very smug about the winning bit.
It’s catalogue football. Death by a thousand papercuts, overplaying and needless excessive passing with cynical fouls and a blank chequebook. There’s nothing exciting or competitive about the football he plays. If it doesn’t work he just throws money at his project until something sticks.
For a while I quite enjoyed Klopp getting the upper hand on him, until he threw some more money at his team.
I can never respect or enjoy the football that corporate soulless machine play.
For a while I quite enjoyed Klopp getting the upper hand on him, until he threw some more money at his team.
I can never respect or enjoy the football that corporate soulless machine play.
Nobody is saying City fans aren’t over the moon with it. The question was whether people find it boring, which it is most of the time.
I just can't, I'm not a manc so it's not like it bothers me in that way, but I used to hate Chelsea passionately as a kid because of bought success, and City hit the same spot but with added bonus annoying with their noisy neighbor antics...
That’s what happens in football though; in a similar vein people will try and talk down their players but then proclaim them brilliant and the best squad around when it’s time to try and talk down Guardiola’s achievements as a coach. Privately I think most fans wish it was their team playing that brand of football. And I can’t honestly get my head around people saying his Barcelona side were boring. I mean people really tuned into games featuring prime Messi, Iniesta and Xavi and felt bored? Seems mad.
But that’s football fans, there’s always an inherent bias. I know I and a multitude of friends were desperate to see Guardiola rock up at Old Trafford before he ended up going in the other direction. Of course they too have now changed their tune because of where he ended up. Incidentally it was the exact same story with Klopp.
True but I think most fans would love to beat their rival with a dodgy last minute penalty so fans are pretty awful.
Don't they make more of every type of pass? If you have 70% possession and have a midfielder in goals, the only way for the opposition to get the ball back is to press like Klopp and not every team can do that.
Pep's team are entertaining as much as anyone could be. I never understood the hatred that people had for Barcelona or Spain at their peak, not their fault that majority of the team facing them, countered them by parking the bus.
It's sterile domination. It obviously works and while we can't say it's ineffective (though I suppose the fact that every iteration of it has been predicated on having a combination or at least one of the very best players of all time, the greatest midfield units ever, or a wide gulf in resources over the competition, shouldn't be lost in the overall analysis), I personally am not a fan. The Spanish dominance of international and club football during that era was a bit of an eyesore for me, and if anything Pep has become more conservative in his formations and set ups since then.
Personally, Heynckes' Bayern team who absolutely twatted Barca had a more appealing style and had a season which hasn't been touched since. Maybe Barca's own treble a couple seasons' later could be in that conversation but I personally wouldn't put it there.
Personally, Heynckes' Bayern team who absolutely twatted Barca had a more appealing style and had a season which hasn't been touched since. Maybe Barca's own treble a couple seasons' later could be in that conversation but I personally wouldn't put it there.
I prefer Ole football where you never know whats going to happen in the next game.
Peps Barca was amazing. Peps city is boring.
100%. Didn't enjoy watching his peak Barca teams, aside from Messi's moments of individual brilliance.
It's because nobody likes City except their fans. There's plenty of people who aren't fans of clubs like United, Liverpool, Bayern, Barcelona etc. who still like these teams for their history, their status and the legendary players that put them on the map. Meanwhile, City's success is 100% purchased. It's as impressive an accomplishment as purchasing a full stamp collection and then bragging about your stamp collection. There's no honor whatsoever in being the arbitrary vessel of a cruel regime trying to whitewash their image of its many crimes against humanity by pumping money into a sports team, so the only aspect of City that is relevant to anybody is their results on the pitch. That's a boring football club. It doesn't help that they have a manager who has spent his entire career pursuing trophies through the path of least resistance, refusing to ever take on a challenging job. Pep and City are the perfect match.
Pep's teams can perfect how their own team play - resulting in a consistent 38 games a season.
However, Pep's teams can hardly adapt to change tactics to hold back an opponent due to their strict "playing a certain way" nature and their ability for a player to have a great individual game is not there.
This really effects them in the CL. That ability for a player to have a Roy Keane vs Juventus performance is much much lower at City. Can they play a Park Ji Sung vs Pirlo tactic in the CL?
I don't think so - and this is why Pep has still not won the CL outside of Barcelona- the team built for Total Football and his tactics.
However, Pep's teams can hardly adapt to change tactics to hold back an opponent due to their strict "playing a certain way" nature and their ability for a player to have a great individual game is not there.
This really effects them in the CL. That ability for a player to have a Roy Keane vs Juventus performance is much much lower at City. Can they play a Park Ji Sung vs Pirlo tactic in the CL?
I don't think so - and this is why Pep has still not won the CL outside of Barcelona- the team built for Total Football and his tactics.
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It’s only boring when you consider watching one team dominate the game is boring to watch.
But not in the sense of boring football demonstrated under LVG and Mourinho. I literally fall into sleep mid way through our games during those periods.
But not in the sense of boring football demonstrated under LVG and Mourinho. I literally fall into sleep mid way through our games during those periods.
I’ve said this for years, Klopp and Pep figured out a while back that players don’t get punished with cards nearly as much when fouling in the opposition half as opposed to defending their own. So these teams can do this extensive, aggressive press pinning teams deep because if a team actually manages to play through the first few defenders running at them like demons, then Fabinho/Rodri/Fernandinho etc will just foul the ball carrier and allow his team to get back into their defensive shape.
It’s a fecking joke and frustrating because it turns these games into a battle of fouls.
If you want entertainment go and watch clowns.- my favourite football quote.
Errors and drama make a match exciting. City just string sets of 12 to 18 passed together until they knock it in the net and then go again.
No drama, no errors, no fuss. Often not even at great speed nor seemingly with much effort.
That's why you think it's boring. As said above, if it was us it would be sublime.
No drama, no errors, no fuss. Often not even at great speed nor seemingly with much effort.
That's why you think it's boring. As said above, if it was us it would be sublime.
Do you find United hegemony in the 90s and early 00s boring?
Sure, wingplay and fast play, but there's nothing boring about winning. It's only boring because they have nothing to play and most of the time have sewn the leagues by game week 30, and that makes the whole league boring since there's nothing to play for the 2-4th position, a bit of drama around 4/5th but mostly the league would have been decided by game 30.
So yeah, it's boring as it is. There's no tight matches, there's no close matches like we had on 99 where we need to win on the last week, that title race make the whole match exciting.
Sure, wingplay and fast play, but there's nothing boring about winning. It's only boring because they have nothing to play and most of the time have sewn the leagues by game week 30, and that makes the whole league boring since there's nothing to play for the 2-4th position, a bit of drama around 4/5th but mostly the league would have been decided by game 30.
So yeah, it's boring as it is. There's no tight matches, there's no close matches like we had on 99 where we need to win on the last week, that title race make the whole match exciting.
I think what makes it so boring is the players never actually push themselves or seem to bust a bollock to get into goal scoring positions or attack, it’s just the same methodical passing and eventual goal.
And it’s not to say they can’t do it as DeBruyne has in the past or Leroy Sane but you can see that has stopped and even Sane sold and Grealish is suffering the same fate. No individualism at all or anything remotely off the cuff.
And it’s not to say they can’t do it as DeBruyne has in the past or Leroy Sane but you can see that has stopped and even Sane sold and Grealish is suffering the same fate. No individualism at all or anything remotely off the cuff.
For me the "perfect" football if there is one. Neat passing, tons of movement, get the ball to the byline, cutback and goal. Not the most beautiful or exciting though. Seeing their team play compared to us is like seeing another sport all together. Now im not here to suck City's cock but we are so far behind them these last few years. Hopefully our new manager can bring some playstyle to our bunch of disjointed individuals that we call "team"
So perfect they’ve failed to win CL at every attempt of asking because they don’t get the same protection from refs.
Once better teams match them and work them out they never seem to have the little something special to get over the line and you love to see it.
City's "problem" is when they're at their best, they completely throttle their opponents and turn it into a defense vs attack training match. They can dominate a 1-0 like no other team and if you're a neutral or are rooting against them, as I imagine most are here, it can be incredibly dispiriting to watch them slowly choke the life out of their opponents and the game as a result. Watching an exercise in futility is not entertaining, but this doesn't mean City themselves are boring. They play fantastic, controlled, intelligent, team football. I'm not saying this to have a go at City fans, but I think the atmosphere at their ground adds a feeling of sterility that their play doesn't deserve.
Liverpool on the other hand give you a chance or three, even if they end up slapping you in the end. So yeah, chaos is more entertaining than total domination, but you can't blame City for basically being too good at football. Or you can, up to you really.
Liverpool on the other hand give you a chance or three, even if they end up slapping you in the end. So yeah, chaos is more entertaining than total domination, but you can't blame City for basically being too good at football. Or you can, up to you really.
It's shocking that Man City can dominate without a good central striker. It's also shocking how almost every team just back away and let City win.
The whole city squad has very strong players. Too much emphasis is placed on KDB. The truth is most of the other players are almost as good as or equal to him. These include players like Mahrez, Sterling, Bernando Silva, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Foden. The defensive players like Dias, Laporte, Ederson and Walker are good as well. Cancelo is good in attacking.
I wonder who are City's scouts? They have been doing a very good job scouting for the right players.
The whole city squad has very strong players. Too much emphasis is placed on KDB. The truth is most of the other players are almost as good as or equal to him. These include players like Mahrez, Sterling, Bernando Silva, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Foden. The defensive players like Dias, Laporte, Ederson and Walker are good as well. Cancelo is good in attacking.
I wonder who are City's scouts? They have been doing a very good job scouting for the right players.
I'm pretty sure I made a thread on Pep being boring back in the early 2010s! Agree with most here. I'd love Pep "winning" if he managed United, but I'd still be bored. I just don't like football.
A Vidic vs Drogba battle over the sanitized nonsense we watch today for sure.
I used to watch all 10 EPL games a week back then, now I only watch United and maybe another game.
A Vidic vs Drogba battle over the sanitized nonsense we watch today for sure.
I used to watch all 10 EPL games a week back then, now I only watch United and maybe another game.
If City were really that good they would have won the CL by now, especially after dominating the Premier League.
That says two things to me, either the Premier League isnt as strong as they all say it (a 1/2 horse league just about every year now) or that City arent quite as good as we are all lead to believe. I believe the latter.
i dont want to bash Pep as he is quite entitled to picking his jobs, but hes never tested himself the way other managers have done (and been as successful).
Jose got a Porto side the Uefa and Champions League. Conte won titles at Juve Inter and Chelsea. Hansi Flick won the league and CL in the same season with Bayern. Pep has won titles every where he’s been able to spend, would be interesting for him to go to a small/poorer club and see him make a difference there.
Nope. It's methodical, it's precise with so much off the ball movement and teams attacking as a collective. I would not categorize that as boring at all. It's what we were hoping van Gaal could do.
Klopp's early seasons were interesting as heck. They haven't been that good to watch off late, but still, the speed with which they counter and punish you is ridiculous.
I actually find Tuchel's brand of football a bit more boring (Boring being a relative term here) than the above two.
Klopp's early seasons were interesting as heck. They haven't been that good to watch off late, but still, the speed with which they counter and punish you is ridiculous.
I actually find Tuchel's brand of football a bit more boring (Boring being a relative term here) than the above two.
Pep's football at its best is like watching a third rate Hollywood action. You already know the story, the outcome so despite how eye candy the CGIs you still can't find it exciting enough. Of course unless you're a City fan.
But it's very effective in a title run. Pep's style is very rigid. This helps his team to be extremely well organized with clear patterns of play. It also reduces the time his players need to think before the next action. Their attacking movements are extremely fast and precise after years of training and the gigantic amount of technical players they have. All that results in them being very very consistent especially against the smaller teams where they're vastly superior.
However against the better sides because of:
- their predictability
- they're not that superior anymore
So more than often they can't control the match, got exploited tactically, make more mistakes then got countered and lose. Pep knows this very well that's why he tends to change, tweak or employ complete new tactical systems in important matches. Sometime his new tactic worked but most of the time he shot himself in the foot and fecked up. That's why imo City will never win the CL unless they're incredibly lucky with their draws.
But it's very effective in a title run. Pep's style is very rigid. This helps his team to be extremely well organized with clear patterns of play. It also reduces the time his players need to think before the next action. Their attacking movements are extremely fast and precise after years of training and the gigantic amount of technical players they have. All that results in them being very very consistent especially against the smaller teams where they're vastly superior.
However against the better sides because of:
- their predictability
- they're not that superior anymore
So more than often they can't control the match, got exploited tactically, make more mistakes then got countered and lose. Pep knows this very well that's why he tends to change, tweak or employ complete new tactical systems in important matches. Sometime his new tactic worked but most of the time he shot himself in the foot and fecked up. That's why imo City will never win the CL unless they're incredibly lucky with their draws.
Bollocks is his city or barca side boring. They're so fecking good that everyone puts 11 behind the ball and then blame them for being boring. How about actually trying to go toe to toe with that barca side? Yeah, they'd spank you shitless so just put 11 behind the ball and then blame them for not bringing in the excitement.
It's a bit like Floyd Mayweather and boxing. As a casual observer who knows almost nothing about boxing, I think he's boring to watch.
When teams have a go at City, the games are not boring. City v Liverpool have made for some great games. When Villa took the game to City in the second half it was a thriller. When Arsenal took the game to City it was fascinating stuff. See the common denominator here?
Also, I cannot understand how a fan of tactics can find any Guardiola side boring. He's one of the best in the world at implementing his view of football on the pitch. So even when teams come against City with no ambition, the question in my mind is, "how will they break down this 747?" And it's fascinating how they move on and off the ball to drag defenders out of position, how they use the 3rd man, switch play, generate 1v1 or 2v1 situations...
Also, if you only find one version of football exciting (rah rah counter attacking high speed), then your view of football is pretty stunted. There are aspects of Klopp's football that fascinate me. I enjoy the brute nature of Sean Dyche's Burnley from time to time. There is all this football to see and enjoy, and you only have time for 90's United football? Ugh, how boring.
For those who find City boring, what teams in the Premier League actually excite you?
Also, I cannot understand how a fan of tactics can find any Guardiola side boring. He's one of the best in the world at implementing his view of football on the pitch. So even when teams come against City with no ambition, the question in my mind is, "how will they break down this 747?" And it's fascinating how they move on and off the ball to drag defenders out of position, how they use the 3rd man, switch play, generate 1v1 or 2v1 situations...
Also, if you only find one version of football exciting (rah rah counter attacking high speed), then your view of football is pretty stunted. There are aspects of Klopp's football that fascinate me. I enjoy the brute nature of Sean Dyche's Burnley from time to time. There is all this football to see and enjoy, and you only have time for 90's United football? Ugh, how boring.
For those who find City boring, what teams in the Premier League actually excite you?