Is the Premier League easier or are City/Pep this good?

[little.triangles]

City's planning is top notch and I won't be surprised if they already have a plan for Pep's exit. Its a well oiled machine and unfortunately can't see anyone getting close to them for at least a decade.

I remember people saying that about United, especially after our 4-1 win in Moyes' first league match.

I know that sounds ridiculous in hindsight - the problems with United's structure were always apparent - but great managers have a big impact on their teams.

Who do City replace Pep with? He and Klopp are the best around, and then there is a big drop in quality. The players at the club are used to the best, and when they come across somebody inferior, they may not hit their past levels. Perhaps the longer a manager stays at a club, the longer it takes to adjust to a new manager/s.

 

[kunal18]

City's transfer business for the last decade since 2010 has been spot on.
David Silva
Sergio Aguero
Yaya Toure
Kevin De Bruyne
Bernardo Silva
Ikay Gundogan
Gabriel Jesus
Raheem Sterling
Erling Haaland
are all world class to name a few
If we compare it with ours, Van Persie for a couple of seasons was world class, but that's it.
Rest has been average to shit.
Its pretty easy to figure out why they've been so successful, they just sign better players than the rest.

 

[Hawks2008]

Both of these things are true. City are that good but the quality of defending in this league is very overrated.

 

[MexicanCowboy]

City's transfer business for the last decade since 2010 has been spot on.
David Silva
Sergio Aguero
Yaya Toure
Kevin De Bruyne
Bernardo Silva
Ikay Gundogan
Gabriel Jesus
Raheem Sterling
Erling Haaland
are all world class to name a few
If we compare it with ours, Van Persie for a couple of seasons was world class, but that's it.
Rest has been average to shit.
Its pretty easy to figure out why they've been so successful, they just sign better players than the rest.

Txiki Beristain is not praised enough. He got us the likes of Deco, Eto'o, Abidal, Dani Alves, Henry, Márquez, etc. To complement our homegrown talents. Losing him to City was almost as bad as Losing Pep himself. But that's what happens for voting stupid presidents like Rosell and Bartomeu.

 

[cpresc]

Total opposite. The league has never been tougher top to bottom. The managers are better overall, the players are better overall, pretty much everything. Its just the financial resources of the PL up and down the table versus the rest of the footballing world.

City and Liverpool of the last couple years stack up well with any top two of any era in the PL. You could maybe argue the 3rd and 4th best teams haven't been as strong as 3rd and 4th of the mid 2000s, but 5th down its better. The midtable and lower table teams today would absolutely wipe the floor with the midtable and lower table teams of those days.

just to be clear, you think that Norwich City were better than Arsenal, Chelsea and we are today?

 

[DJ_21]

City are turning this league into a farmers league. I don’t even know how anyone stops them.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

City are turning this league into a farmers league. I don’t even know how anyone stops them.

Newcastle will rival them a decade from now.

 

[ForeverRed1]

City are turning this league into a farmers league. I don’t even know how anyone stops them.

pep leaves.

 

[Borys]

Pep is just that good. This city side is getting close to prime Barca, although that team has significantly better players. And Messi.

 

[Isotope]

City are turning this league into a farmers league. I don’t even know how anyone stops them.

Thank god for them in the last decade. The alternative is pretty bad.

 

[The Boy]

today’s smaller teams are too polite to dare try to unsettle the superior opposition.

Stopped reading at this little gem

 

[erikcred]

Thank god for them in the last decade. The alternative is pretty bad.

The alternative would be 2 more titles for us and no 10 year title drought.

 

[Telsim]

City and Pep are just that good. They are well on their way to be the strongest PL side ever. Unlimited money and perfect setup does that. These two factors can keep them going for a long time. Once Pep leaves they will seek the next best manager and prepare everything to him. No one else can challenge them except maybe Newcastle but that's not going to happen anytime soon. They've turned the PL into the Bundesliga. It's boring.

 

[ashleynhemmp]

Total opposite. The league has never been tougher top to bottom. The managers are better overall, the players are better overall, pretty much everything. Its just the financial resources of the PL up and down the table versus the rest of the footballing world.

City and Liverpool of the last couple years stack up well with any top two of any era in the PL. You could maybe argue the 3rd and 4th best teams haven't been as strong as 3rd and 4th of the mid 2000s, but 5th down its better. The midtable and lower table teams today would absolutely wipe the floor with the midtable and lower table teams of those days.

 

[Matthew84!]

Overreaction slightly, remember Liverpool scored 9 at the weekend, both clubs have only just come up, City always score lots against poor opposition because they keep the ball until everyone falls asleep.

 

[Zen86]

The league is just less competitive than it used to be. Yes all the clubs have more money now and yes that’s led to more international players accumulating in the league, but the gulf between the top and the bottom has never been bigger in terms of financial resources. Newcastle will be joining City in blowing teams away in the near future, doesn’t make for good competition.

 

[DJ_21]

Thank god for them in the last decade. The alternative is pretty bad.

Ye much rather them then the scousers but I’d rather the league be more competitive in general.

 

[DJ_21]

The league is just less competitive than it used to be. Yes all the clubs have more money now and yes that’s led to more international players accumulating in the league, but the gulf between the top and the bottom has never been bigger in terms of financial resources. Newcastle will be joining City in blowing teams away in the near future, doesn’t make for good competition.

You also need a top manager who can sign the right players and get the best from a team. Only time will tell if Eddie Howe will be that man for Newcastle. What comes with a shed load of money is pressure… that could be the difference between succeeding and failing. If you fail with all that money then your sacked.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Completely disagree. The league conforms to the big teams now by trying to play out from the back with terrible footballers, playing to City and Liverpool’s strengths. Arsenal got rattled by the likes of Stoke, Bolton and Blackburn bombarding them with crosses, diagonals and long throws - today’s smaller teams are too polite to dare try to unsettle the superior opposition.

it’s also glaringly obvious elite doping capacity sets them apart. With City it’s more subtle due to the quality of the players at Pep’s disposal, but Liverpool are a load of turbo-charged bums - Big Sam’s Bolton had more legit quality.

If Pep was so good he wouldn’t need £60m players in most positions. People seem to lose track of the fact practically every player he buys is exceptional at their previous clubs too, hence their pricetags. Wenger and Ferguson polished both diamonds and turds to facilitate their success.

Great point this, and one often overlooked. This is why Pep comes out after smashing the likes of Bournemouth 18-0 on aggregate and praises Eddie Howe for being a great a coach with no sense of irony.
citys second goal last night, dean henderson trying to play chipped passes to his centre backs, the absolute nonsense of it. There’s a huge lack of variety amongst the lesser teams in this league and is exactly why City and Liverpool games can become formulaic. The fact city have struggled most against Palace out of the mid table teams says a lot. A throwback team with a coach who actually changes his tactics based on the opponent. Vieira now and Hodgson before..

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Obscene wealth, a well run club and good managers - this combination cannot be stopped unless replicated elsewhere. So unless Chelsea gets their act together or Newcastle rise, nobody is stopping City. It's not merely Pep but all of the above. Pep likes to play down the money angle but it's the truth. City had a fine foundation in the Mancini era, then got a great manager and continued to spend boatloads of money as there are no consequences to bad spending foe them.

We don't count as we aren't owned by the Glazers, who are incomprehensible incompetent owners.

 

[Jev]

City are just by far the best Premier League side ever. The level of the Premier League is better than before, the TV money means the bottom and mid-table teams can buy players for 50 million or more and handpick the best players from the sub-top teams in Spain, Italy and Germany, something that never happened before.

 

[Zen86]

You also need a top manager who can sign the right players and get the best from a team. Only time will tell if Eddie Howe will be that man for Newcastle. What comes with a shed load of money is pressure… that could be the difference between succeeding and failing. If you fail with all that money then your sacked.

The thing is these clubs operate on a whole different scale to any other historically. As other people have mentioned, they’re machines backed by states and used as vehicles for other purposes. Failure isn’t an option, behind the team and manager is an army of other staff.

If people think City are going to fade away after Pep they’re deluded. They might hit a bump as the team transitions, but they will hire the next best manager and back him with an entire new team if they have to, because they can.

 

[Suv666]

I remember people saying that about United, especially after our 4-1 win in Moyes' first league match.

I know that sounds ridiculous in hindsight - the problems with United's structure were always apparent - but great managers have a big impact on their teams.

Who do City replace Pep with? He and Klopp are the best around, and then there is a big drop in quality. The players at the club are used to the best, and when they come across somebody inferior, they may not hit their past levels. Perhaps the longer a manager stays at a club, the longer it takes to adjust to a new manager/s.

Any half decent manager will be a success at City. City's backroom staff is light years ahead of us.

We fell apart because Fergie held us together and was the DOF + CEO and manager in one. That's not the case with City. They are a proper, efficient business enterprise with streamlined operations.
Its not anarchy and mayhem like OT.

 

[ThierryHenry14]

As long as Manchester is blue I am happy. If they win the CL that is icing on the cake.

 

[CloneMC16]

I think the Premier League is better than it's ever been. Most of the league are quite wealthy and that has helped them to recruit as well as they have. Apart from the bottom couple teams, the rest are well capable of giving the bigger boys a game. A lot of the managers are pretty good. It's not like how it used to be. The same merry-go-round of average managers managing the same teams in the mid to bottom of the table.

I definitely believe that Pep being so good is why City keep winning the league. Liverpool have run them close, and they did win one, but City have been a step above. Both City and Liverpool over the last couple years are two of the best teams of the PL era. It helps massively that City have money to burn, but you still need a world class manager to get the best out of them. This City teams scores more and concedes less than pretty much any team ever has at the top level.

When Pep leaves, I think that'll give everybody else a much better chance of winning the PL. Whoever they get to replace Pep is a big downgrade. They'll obvious still be a great team, but I don't think they'll be as consistently good without him. City were nowhere near this good before Pep.

 

[Andersonson]

We really, really don't. And you'll never see the real, uncooked figures.

It's actually amazing how wilfully blind people have become to their shenanigans and completely overlook what Pep's resources provide him over the competition.

Look at the net spend for the last 10 years, and look at our salaries compared to theirs... And if you have any proof other than your conspiracy show me anything about uncooked figures. It's ok to be jealous, but stop with making stuff up.

 

[cyberman]

City who struggled to win two games after going two goals down in them? That City?
Edit they went 2 goals down in 3 of their last 6!

 

[Fortitude]

Look at the net spend for the last 10 years, and look at our salaries compared to theirs... And if you have any proof other than your conspiracy show me anything about uncooked figures. It's ok to be jealous, but stop with making stuff up.

Have you actually had your head in the sand? Or are you saying you believe that the declared figures are what gets paid there...?

There isn't even a hint of jealousy towards City - if you're owned and backed by a nation, everything that is and will happen is par for the course. The exact same will happen with Newcastle. I won't be in awe then, either.

 

[Nickelodeon]

The factors which contribute to their dominance:

• Pep is an all time great manager
• He was backed by infinite resources and a structure which is conducive in doing the right deals at the right time
• They can pay insane amount of salaries to players (on and off the record)

This has set them on this path for their success. And unfortunately for rivals, they have created a big club like structure now where they don't even need to outspend everyone to get their signings. Their discards (Zinchenko, Jesus, Sterling) can bring enough moolah to fund new purchases. Ultimately, I think this cycle will end with Pep leaving. When that happens is anyone's guess. But with Pep there, they aren't finishing below 2nd. You can hope they keep screwing themselves in CL but on paper, they will remain one of the contenders.

 

[Revan]

City and Pep might be the best league team/manager ever. Making the league look weak in comparison despite that it is the strongest it has ever been. Their reign (might) end only when Pep leaves.

Great that City sucks in UCL and have no confidence in that competition.

 

[charlenefan]

League has become weaker in comparison to mid 2000s. Barring Liverpool don't think any other side are that good.

Disagree there's no easy away games now whereas in the mid 2000's trips to the likes of Charlton and Wigan where an almost guaranteed 3 points

The fact teams are better and City are still getting 90+ points a season is incredible

 

[Red the Bear]

What did Liverpool win to put them in that group and who dominated that era in Europe?

Arsenal were done winning trophies by 06.

They won the ucl in 2005 and made the final in 2007, also the English teams made up 3 of the four available spots in the semi finals from 2006 to 2008 for 3 consecutively years so better than anything we've had now.

 

[Scroto Baggins]

One of the best managers in world football and a bottomless pit of money. City and Pep are that good.

I recall looking at their bench a season or two ago and thinking those players walk in to just about every other team.

 

[Skills]

Guardiola is that good

 

[Dannn411]

More money than any team on the planet, a very strong executive and operations team (probably the best in world football) and the best manager on the planet.

 

[Zen86]

Crazy arrogance from some in here. The 2000s were full of rubbish teams and dinosaur managers, whereas now everything is much more sophisticated and masterful.

Also a bit of irony to say games were easier in the 2000s, when it's actually in the present when you have one or two teams blowing away the competition with 90 point seasons and bagging a ton of goals against the mid to lower teams. Just because PL teams generally have more money and expensive players now, doesn't mean they're better. See us as a shining example of that.

 

[Fortitude]

Completely disagree. The league conforms to the big teams now by trying to play out from the back with terrible footballers, playing to City and Liverpool’s strengths. Arsenal got rattled by the likes of Stoke, Bolton and Blackburn bombarding them with crosses, diagonals and long throws - today’s smaller teams are too polite to dare try to unsettle the superior opposition.

it’s also glaringly obvious elite doping capacity sets them apart. With City it’s more subtle due to the quality of the players at Pep’s disposal, but Liverpool are a load of turbo-charged bums - Big Sam’s Bolton had more legit quality.

If Pep was so good he wouldn’t need £60m players in most positions. People seem to lose track of the fact practically every player he buys is exceptional at their previous clubs too, hence their pricetags. Wenger and Ferguson polished both diamonds and turds to facilitate their success.

Great point this, and one often overlooked. This is why Pep comes out after smashing the likes of Bournemouth 18-0 on aggregate and praises Eddie Howe for being a great a coach with no sense of irony.
citys second goal last night, dean henderson trying to play chipped passes to his centre backs, the absolute nonsense of it. There’s a huge lack of variety amongst the lesser teams in this league and is exactly why City and Liverpool games can become formulaic. The fact city have struggled most against Palace out of the mid table teams says a lot. A throwback team with a coach who actually changes his tactics based on the opponent. Vieira now and Hodgson before..

Points that should be heeded. The lesser teams offer themselves up as fodder trying to outplay those right at the top, which is the antithesis of playing to their own strengths and seeking out the most effective ways to unsettle opposition they rarely have a hope of beating conventionally.

 

[Mogget]

Points that should be heeded. The lesser teams offer themselves up as fodder trying to outplay those right at the top, which is the antithesis of playing to their own strengths and seeking out the most effective ways to unsettle opposition they rarely have a hope of beating conventionally.

Brighton have beaten Arsenal, Spurs, and United away from home in the past year.

Palace have beaten Spurs, City, Arsenal, and United in the past year.

Southampton have beaten Arsenal, Spurs, and Chelsea in the past year.

Brentford have beaten Arsenal, Chelsea, and United in the past year.

Do people in here not actually watch football anymore?

 

[horsechoker]

City are turning this league into a farmers league. I don’t even know how anyone stops them.

How do you stop a farmer?

Locusts

Release a load of locusts at the Etihad and see if they are able to cope

 

[FootballHQ]

Man. City do this in the CL aswell btw.

6-3 win v Leipzig, 5-1 away to Club Brugge in the group stage then 5-0 away to Sporting Clube in last 16 then finally they stuck 4 past Real Madrid in the first leg and could've easily score 6-7 that night.

Real Madrid then did a superb defensive job on Liverpool in the final so yes City are just that good at either playing through lines with De Bruyne or endlessly cutting the ball back from byline for attackers to tap in.