Is Pep the greatest manager of all time?

el3mel

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Not even a fool would think that. Indeed, they weren’t shite, but already great players.
And thanks to Guardiola they became some of the best ever players in their position in the entire football history. Wouldn't have achieved that without Pep.
 

Gehrman

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Fergie could be a lot less gentleman like on this occasion.

 

Gehrman

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If only Fergie had the knowledge of caf experts regarding Pep's credentials
Fergie knows he is a bald-fraud. He´s just being nice.

Edit: found out typing "Pep Guardiola is my idol" automatically translates to "Pep Guardiola is my idol".

FFS
 

NLunited

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I‘m hesitant to think he is the goat. His big game management is often not that good.

Also the fact that he has only worked at dominant clubs with matching playstyle/players for the most part.
 

united_99

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If only Fergie had the knowledge of caf experts regarding Pep's credentials
Tbf Fergie was rarely bitter about any manager/rival even in his active days. Neither did he have any complexes about anything. Unlike Jose, Benitez, and a few others he also didn’t copy paste his CV and trophy count every time someone questioned him in a press conference. He loved mind games, etc. but had no issues acknowledging other teams‘ achievements.
I also remember while 99% of United fans were having a meltdown of epic proportions after that night in Istanbul, he actually wrote a message to Benitez congratulating him on his tactical changes at half-time.
 

Red the Bear

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It is not the victories that make him great, it is the way he coaches. And transforms average players into much better players, again and again. His understanding of when to let players go (Sane, Cancelo etc) when others would not.

The way he challenges himself every season to do it differently, changing formations etc - I mean Stones in midfield WTF? I used to recall how bad he was, at centre half. No one talks about that now.

He is the modern day SAF, on steroids. SAF operated in a different era, apart from Wenger he did not really have that much of a competition, no one else was close to his level. And we were far more dominant financially as well. Jose came to the league towards the end of course.

Pep has had Klopp, Ten Hag, Tuchel, Poch, De Zerbi just to name a few. And he is operating in an era where it is more competitive, the players are fitter, more skilful, the skill gap between players in different clubs is smaller, tactical scrutiny is high with all the online analysis/media etc.

As unpalatable as that sounds, I think he is the greatest. Just.
Wenger, prime mou, prime Benitez, ancelloti , Mancini etc all of which he faced during the latter part of his career and most of whom enjoyed greater financial advantages.

It's surely a better line up of foes than pep's mou, klopp, conte and.... arteta.
 
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Gehrman

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Tbf Fergie was rarely bitter about any manager/rival even in his active days. Neither did he have any complexes about anything. Unlike Jose, Benitez, and a few others he also didn’t copy paste his CV and trophy count every time someone questioned him in a press conference. He loved mind games, etc. but had no issues acknowledging other teams‘ achievements.
I also remember while 99% of United fans were having a meltdown of epic proportions after that night in Istanbul, he actually wrote a message to Benitez congratulating him on his tactical changes at half-time.
Actually one of the great things about Fergie was that he wasnt Narcissistic or insecure about himself. Mourinho would talk about himself to no end. Fergie has had the stature as the greatest manager of all time for a very long time now yet he rarely ever bigged himself up or critized others to make himself look better.
 

CornishReds

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No he can't be as he's not finished his career personally domestically he will never surpass SAF this question can't be answered until he retires

I could see him winning a world Cup?
Would he of got england a world Cup I think so.
 

Norman Brownbutter

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No, hes made a career out of having the very best of talent available to him. He's never dont it with a bunch of nobodies. Dudes spent billions, 500 million on defenders alone. Let's see how good is with Aberdeen and then we can call him the greatest of all time.
 

united_99

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Wenger, prime mou, prime Benitez, ancelloti , Mancini etc all of which he faced during the latter part of his career and most of whom enjoyed greater financial advantages.

It's surely a better line up pf foes than pep's mou, klopp, conte and.... arteta.
He even included Poch and De Zerbi. Then you could as well include so many others, especially the likes of Keegan and Houllier (the latter actually won a few trophies with Liverpool).
 

Blood Mage

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He wasn't being that gracious towards Fergie when he bragged about destroying us in the CL finals, the bald cnut. Great manager though, certainly the greatest innovator the game has seen. He's pretty much invented the false nine and false full-back positions hasn't he?
 

adexkola

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Tbf Fergie was rarely bitter about any manager/rival even in his active days. Neither did he have any complexes about anything. Unlike Jose, Benitez, and a few others he also didn’t copy paste his CV and trophy count every time someone questioned him in a press conference. He loved mind games, etc. but had no issues acknowledging other teams‘ achievements.
I also remember while 99% of United fans were having a meltdown of epic proportions after that night in Istanbul, he actually wrote a message to Benitez congratulating him on his tactical changes at half-time.
The man was and is pure class.
 

Gehrman

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He wasn't being that gracious towards Fergie when he bragged about destroying us in the CL finals, the bald cnut. Great manager though, certainly the greatest innovator the game has seen. He's pretty much invented the false nine and false full-back positions hasn't he?
Cryuff and Michels invented the false nr. 9 o think.
 

stefan92

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Nope, it's been around for much longer.
Hungary's Hidegkuti was the most prominent early example I can think of, back in the 50s and the reason why it was called a miracle that Germany won the 1954 World Cup, as no one had figured out how to stop him and his team.
 

harms

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Didn't the Magyars play that system against England in the early 1950s?
Yeah, with Hidegkuti as a false 9 and it confused the heck out of the English. Also Austria used it with Sindelar in the 1930's apparently.
 

Dancfc

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No, hes made a career out of having the very best of talent available to him. He's never dont it with a bunch of nobodies. Dudes spent billions, 500 million on defenders alone. Let's see how good is with Aberdeen and then we can call him the greatest of all time.
There's not one industry on the planet where people would voluntarily demote themselves, it's utterly bizzare this fetish for Pep to do it to "prove himself".
 

Red the Bear

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He even included Poch and De Zerbi. Then you could as well include so many others, especially the likes of Keegan and Houllier (the latter actually won a few trophies with Liverpool).
I tried to not get as low as that considering houlier was never really in a title fight with us and keegan didn't achieve much in Europe but yeah the concept that pep has had it tough domestically is ridiculous, his only legit title races where everyone didn't roll over and to be fair he should get credit for were his first against mou and 2019/2022 against klopp and that's pretty much it.
 

Daydreamer

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There's not one industry on the planet where people would voluntarily demote themselves, it's utterly bizzare this fetish for Pep to do it to "prove himself".
It’s obvious why it’s brought up all the time around here, though. It’s doubly curious as Pep began his career at Barca B. He actually did what many are demanding he do. If you ace your apprenticeship, get promoted within that company and then have the most successful first year of anyone in your role in the history of your industry… you don’t look for second apprenticeship.

I’d actually say that doing so would be shirking a challenge. Like Mourinho said, the easiest thing for him to do would have been to bask in the glory of his CL win at Porto for a few years. He would have been treated like a king. Or, in terms of importance, “after God, me”, to quote the man himself.
 

Gehrman

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It’s obvious why it’s brought up all the time around here, though. It’s doubly curious as Pep began his career at Barca B. He actually did what many are demanding he do. If you ace your apprenticeship, get promoted within that company and then have the most successful first year of anyone in your role in the history of your industry… you don’t look for second apprenticeship.

I’d actually say that doing so would be shirking a challenge. Like Mourinho said, the easiest thing for him to do would have been to bask in the glory of his CL win at Porto for a few years. He would have been treated like a king. Or, in terms of importance, “after God, me”, to quote the man himself.
And then going to Chelsea being backed by a oil billionaire like no in history had at the time.
 
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Norman Brownbutter

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It’s obvious why it’s brought up all the time around here, though. It’s doubly curious as Pep began his career at Barca B. He actually did what many are demanding he do. If you ace your apprenticeship, get promoted within that company and then have the most successful first year of anyone in your role in the history of your industry… you don’t look for second apprenticeship.

I’d actually say that doing so would be shirking a challenge. Like Mourinho said, the easiest thing for him to do would have been to bask in the glory of his CL win at Porto for a few years. He would have been treated like a king. Or, in terms of importance, “after God, me”, to quote the man himself.
How is playing against other shit teams the same as taking Aberdeen to win the league against Rangers and Celtic, the two top teams in Scotland and beating Bayern and Real Madrid to win the cup winners cup?
 

Norman Brownbutter

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There's not one industry on the planet where people would voluntarily demote themselves, it's utterly bizzare this fetish for Pep to do it to "prove himself".
Theres the problem right there. You see it as a demotion instead of a challenge.
 

PepG

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How is playing against other shit teams the same as taking Aberdeen to win the league against Rangers and Celtic, the two top teams in Scotland and beating Bayern and Real Madrid to win the cup winners cup?
Because he played the way he wants to play on a shit grounds against a shit opponents with an average team..and guess what he still finished first haha
 

Gehrman

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Theres the problem right there. You see it as a demotion instead of a challenge.
Most managers and players dont want the underdog challenge if they hit the ground running. Cant blame Pep or Zidane for not proving themselves at Stoke.
 

crossy1686

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I think it’s undeniable at this point. What he’s won, the leagues he’s done it in, taking City to the treble from a club that has no winning mentality or culture of winning is impressive. Second career treble for him also.

Fergie was an absolute beast but he never won enough CL’s to be considered the greatest ever.
 

pcaming

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Of this generation quite clearly. It's hard to compare it to older generations as the factors involved are too drastic.
 

Mr.Fantastic

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He wasn't being that gracious towards Fergie when he bragged about destroying us in the CL finals, the bald cnut. Great manager though, certainly the greatest innovator the game has seen. He's pretty much invented the false nine and false full-back positions hasn't he?
His lineage also pretty much invented football in the ancient times. Hasn`t it?

Does this answer how stupid this entire narrative is? I mean, do people actually read about football and tactical concepts and who and when presented them, and their importance? Or it is just reading some twitter page echo-chambers, and then regurgitating that garbage to conform to the popular belief?
 

Gehrman

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I think it’s undeniable at this point. What he’s won, the leagues he’s done it in, taking City to the treble from a club that has no winning mentality or culture of winning is impressive. Second career treble for him also.

Fergie was an absolute beast but he never won enough CL’s to be considered the greatest ever.
Yeah im certain no high profile managers or players have ever called Fergie the greatest ever manager. Nor like finishing nr. 1 in rankings made by sports journalists.
 

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Dancfc

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Theres the problem right there. You see it as a demotion instead of a challenge.
Like I said, how many in any industry would do it? And the ironic thing is if he did do the overachieve with lesser resources he'd have got mocked for not winning anything, ala Pochettino at Spurs.

The only bit of "luck" he got was getting the Barca job so early and even that came through smashing it with the B team as @Daydreamer said, if he was just some chancer who fell into the right place at the right time due to his name he wouldn't have lasted long at Barca and he certainly wouldn't have got the jobs he got after.

Would he have been successful in a so called lesser job? Well I guess it depends on what you define as success, if you expect something ridiculous like him taking over Leyton Orient and winning the treble then ofcourse he would "fail" but (if he had to do this route to get a big job) could he have done a great job scaled for the budget and club size like Tuchel and Klopp both did at Mainz, Sarri did at Empoli, Pochettino did at Southampton/Spurs and De Zerbi is currently doing at Brighton to then get the attention of the big boys? Absolutely yes.
 
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mu4c_20le

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Could you please name examples of players or managers who voluntarily took a challenge similar to what you're suggesting? I mean from a position where they can have their pick.
Nagelsmann turning down Madrid and going to Leipzig instead.