Pep Guardiola | Leaving City: Official

The problem for Pep is that this rebuild hasn't worked and it's going to take more than one summer to fix it. I really don't think couple of midfielders will make them favourites to win the league next season. The players they've brought are just not as good as the ones that were around for his peak times at the club. And I think this tactical shift he's made alongside Lijnders just hasn't worked. They're neither fish nor fowl, not as direct as Liverpool used to be (or even as direct as half the rest of the league), but without the suffocating possession that used to be the hallmark Pep’s teams.

If this was like 2019-20, when they had an off year but still had the core of a dominant team, then I could see him sticking around for one more push. But City need to buy with the next 3+ seasons in mind, and that probably isn't going to suit a manager looking to win and then get out.
 
I'm not sure where to find this and it might be totally wrong but it feels like Haaland always stops scoring at the end of the season when things get tough.

Might just be confirmation bias as it's happening currently
 
DJ_21 said:
With Messi Barcelona was a very different team. I’m not saying he won’t do great in the prem… I just think he’ll struggle as it’s a lot more competitive than what he’s use too.
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Surely still a competitive league? What other leagues are competitive? Many managers didnt win a treble with Messi.
 
C'est Moi Cantona said:
Exactly, Kompany is at far bigger club already, so not sure why people would assume he'd just come back to City at the click of their fingers.

I know a small number pretend, but I don't believe any of their former players post Oil money really give a toss about them, so the sentimental pull doesn't stack up either.
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Managing in the prem vs bundesliga though?
 
OverratedOpinion said:
I'm not sure where to find this and it might be totally wrong but it feels like Haaland always stops scoring at the end of the season when things get tough.

Might just be confirmation bias as it's happening currently
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Had a look and you're not far off.

22/23 he scored once in final 8 games. No goals in CL SF, final and FA Cup final.

23/24 he scored 9 goals in final 13 games. However four of those were in one game v Wolves. No goals in Real Madrid QFs and FA cup final.

Last season he picked up an injury in mid March and didn't return until start of May. Again no goals in an FA Cup final.

He's playing with something currently as missed a couple of games recently and was stretching out his groin at end of West Ham so not sure he'll even feature against Real Madrid and will probably switch his mind more towards getting 100% for World Cup soon.

Haaland's an exceptional goalscorer but I don't think he can drive a team to a league title like all of KDB, Mahrez, Aguero and Rodri more recently all used to do. He needs all elements of the team firing and that hasn't really happened for Man. City in last 18 months.
 
FootballHQ said:
Had a look and you're not far off.

22/23 he scored once in final 8 games. No goals in CL SF, final and FA Cup final.

23/24 he scored 9 goals in final 13 games. However four of those were in one game v Wolves. No goals in Real Madrid QFs and FA cup final.

Last season he picked up an injury in mid March and didn't return until start of May. Again no goals in an FA Cup final.

He's playing with something currently as missed a couple of games recently and was stretching out his groin at end of West Ham so not sure he'll even feature against Real Madrid and will probably switch his mind more towards getting 100% for World Cup soon.

Haaland's an exceptional goalscorer but I don't think he can drive a team to a league title like all of KDB, Mahrez, Aguero and Rodri more recently all used to do. He needs all elements of the team firing and that hasn't really happened for Man. City in last 18 months.
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Ah thanks for going and actually putting that together.

Probably more than I expected actually but yeah it does feel like he's not that player to step up and drive a team to trophies. Which is weird because that seems like his personality and he is definitely paid like it.

That doesn't help them.

I keep thinking that even though they got good money, selling Alvarez was a really, really big mistake.

Edit: and definitely with Aguero. Yesterday felt like a classic match where he would have scored a brace in the first 15 minutes then they would have just passed them to death calmly
 
OverratedOpinion said:
I'm not sure where to find this and it might be totally wrong but it feels like Haaland always stops scoring at the end of the season when things get tough.

Might just be confirmation bias as it's happening currently
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After Christmas. I'd love to see his stats first 19 games versus last 19 games season on season. I'd imagine he scores at least 70% of his goals before Christmas.
 
padr81 said:
After Christmas. I'd love to see his stats first 19 games versus last 19 games season on season. I'd imagine he scores at least 70% of his goals before Christmas.
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Only looking at the league:

25/26 - 19 before, 3 after
24/25 - 13 before, 9 after (missed a bunch of time in the spring with injury though)
23/24 - 14 before, 13 after
22/23 - 18 before, 18 after

Its actually pretty even other than this year. There are slightly fewer games before Christmas of course so you'd actually expect him to score more after, which he hasn't. But its not like he has been bad in the second half of the other seasons.
 
HTG said:
Sure. Because we let Kompany leave early to do City a favour. Who comes up with stuff like that and how does anybody believe this?
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Ogden was the one saying it. He’s not gospel, but he’s not a total BS merchant.

And for all Bayern are a bigger team, he spent a decade at City and has an actual statue at the ground. Not outlandish to think he might fancy managing them one day. Pretty sure his wife is English too, people often overlook family matters.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
Ogden was the one saying it. He’s not gospel, but he’s not a total BS merchant.

And for all Bayern are a bigger team, he spent a decade at City and has an actual statue at the ground. Not outlandish to think he might fancy managing them one day. Pretty sure his wife is English too, people often overlook family matters.
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It doesn’t matter. There is no reason at all for us to let him leave. Why in the world would we do that? City might very well want him for some point in the future. But the idea of us letting him leave just like that, is absurd.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
I'm not sure where to find this and it might be totally wrong but it feels like Haaland always stops scoring at the end of the season when things get tough.

Might just be confirmation bias as it's happening currently
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Not sure if he's injured but he looks disinterested. He's barely a threat
 
padr81 said:
After Christmas. I'd love to see his stats first 19 games versus last 19 games season on season. I'd imagine he scores at least 70% of his goals before Christmas.
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Where are you at with him?

I feel like my City mates are almost at the point they want rid

Haaland I mean
 
Lay said:
Not sure if he's injured but he looks disinterested. He's barely a threat
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That’s what happens when you decide to waste your career at a soulless nothing club. Nobody there cares about the club beyond their own paycheck.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
Ah thanks for going and actually putting that together.

Probably more than I expected actually but yeah it does feel like he's not that player to step up and drive a team to trophies. Which is weird because that seems like his personality and he is definitely paid like it.

That doesn't help them.

I keep thinking that even though they got good money, selling Alvarez was a really, really big mistake.

Edit: and definitely with Aguero. Yesterday felt like a classic match where he would have scored a brace in the first 15 minutes then they would have just passed them to death calmly
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I would say that if you have watched national football, he has been immense for Norway in the crucial games. Especially after Ødegaard was out injured, he took charge and drove the team forwards. He even participated much more in the build up and was surprisingly decisive with his passing.
 
Rossa said:
I would say that if you have watched national football, he has been immense for Norway in the crucial games. Especially after Ødegaard was out injured, he took charge and drove the team forwards. He even participated much more in the build up and was surprisingly decisive with his passing.
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Yeah fair play I don't watch much International football outside of tournaments. I would say I think it's quite a way off top level football for the most part though.

I just had a quick look and he has scored 3 goals against Italy in the last 5 years and then it's a lot of Kosovo, Maldova, Estonia, Armenia ect.

Still has to do the job of course but it's just quite a bit different from knockout rounds in the Champions League or big important Prem games.

Not even trying to knock him, just a feeling I have
 
City went through a period of 3-4 years where they either didn’t strengthen their squad or made weird signings. They are paying the price now.

I think recent recruitment is better though with Guehe; Semenyo and Cherki. But they are significantly behind Arsenal at the moment and will take several transfer windows of getting it behind before they can catch up. Pep is miles better than Arteta though.
 
HTG said:
It doesn’t matter. There is no reason at all for us to let him leave. Why in the world would we do that? City might very well want him for some point in the future. But the idea of us letting him leave just like that, is absurd.
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“Let him”. Are you new to football? If a manager wants to go, they go. Can’t handcuff them to the training pitch. You might piss and moan (and by you, I mean Hoeness) about and get as much compensation as you can, but if the desire to go is there, they’re gone.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
“Let him”. Are you new to football? If a manager wants to go, they go. Can’t handcuff them to the training pitch. You might piss and moan (and by you, I mean Hoeness) about and get as much compensation as you can, but if the desire to go is there, they’re gone.
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Sure. That’s for sure how this will go.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
Where are you at with him?

I feel like my City mates are almost at the point they want rid

Haaland I mean
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I don't want rid, when he's in form he's phenomenal but I do think he shouldn't be undroppable (also on Pep).
He's incapable of playing every game because of his size and playstyle. And those games where he's not at it we're playing with 10. Has to learn to manage himself better and not burn out by the turn of the year and Pep has to have the balls to rotate him.

We've dropped 4 points to the teams in 17th and 18th in the last 2 matches and a lot of it is because he's in the team even though woefully out of form. Add in the 2 points thrown away at Spurs where he was again anonymous and it's not unfair to say his poor form has ended our title challenge (not that we're near good enough to be in one).
 
Powderfinger said:
Only looking at the league:

25/26 - 19 before, 3 after
24/25 - 13 before, 9 after (missed a bunch of time in the spring with injury though)
23/24 - 14 before, 13 after
22/23 - 18 before, 18 after

Its actually pretty even other than this year. There are slightly fewer games before Christmas of course so you'd actually expect him to score more after, which he hasn't. But its not like he has been bad in the second half of the other seasons.
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Interesting. It feels like he always has a bad period just after Christmas but could be recency bias on my part.
 
padr81 said:
I don't want rid, when he's in form he's phenomenal but I do think he shouldn't be undroppable (also on Pep).
He's incapable of playing every game because of his size and playstyle. And those games where he's not at it we're playing with 10. Has to learn to manage himself better and not burn out by the turn of the year and Pep has to have the balls to rotate him.

We've dropped 4 points to the teams in 17th and 18th in the last 2 matches and a lot of it is because he's in the team even though woefully out of form. Add in the 2 points thrown away at Spurs where he was again anonymous and it's not unfair to say his poor form has ended our title challenge (not that we're near good enough to be in one).
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Before those 2 disastrous results the league title was in their hands (5 points behind with a game in hand and the game against Arsenal). Talk about bottling it.
 
quadrant said:
The problem for Pep is that this rebuild hasn't worked and it's going to take more than one summer to fix it. I really don't think couple of midfielders will make them favourites to win the league next season. The players they've brought are just not as good as the ones that were around for his peak times at the club. And I think this tactical shift he's made alongside Lijnders just hasn't worked. They're neither fish nor fowl, not as direct as Liverpool used to be (or even as direct as half the rest of the league), but without the suffocating possession that used to be the hallmark Pep’s teams.

If this was like 2019-20, when they had an off year but still had the core of a dominant team, then I could see him sticking around for one more push. But City need to buy with the next 3+ seasons in mind, and that probably isn't going to suit a manager looking to win and then get out.
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Yes i have to agree that the tactical shift that Guardiola did with bringing in the Klopps staff members hasnt worked out well YET.. Just few weeks ago Pep himself said that this current City team is still a work in progress, so whatever they win till the end of the season will be a bonus. To me that also answers the question of this thread - NO, Guardiola will not leave City before his contract ends, wich is June 2027..
 
City's next 5 games are going to be a major test of determination and endurance:
Real Madrid (H), CL
Arsenal (N), LC
Liverpool (H), FA
Chelsea (A), PL
Arsenal (H), PL
 
Pep's biggest test. What a unique situation ! I have not seen these types of fixtures for any team in a long time.

Context - Win all these matches as per the need and stay in the competition. Lose all, out of the quadruple.

Real Madrid - CL
Arsenal - EFL
Liverpool - FA Cup
Chelsea followed by Arsenal - Premier League

That's the next 5 games for City. Enjoy !
 
Longlivekeano said:
I’d love for Pep to leave Citeh and move over to United.
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I honestly don't think he'd have ever been that good for us, as he requires an unlimited transfer budget and/or the best players in the world to function, where as United have neither of those things.

Plus it is looking like he is starting to lose his edge these days.
 
DarkLord1984 said:
I honestly don't think he'd have ever been that good for us, as he requires an unlimited transfer budget and/or the best players in the world to function, where as United have neither of those things.

Plus it is looking like he is starting to lose his edge these days.
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We have spent a ridiculous amount post SAF, we've just spent it mostly on players not good enough.

We would have won heaps if he joined us instead of City. He made players like Leroy Sane, Sterling, Costa etc. among the best in the world in their positions.

I do agree now wouldn't be ideal though. It looks like he's just burnt out. Wouldn't be surprised if he takes a long break from the sport after City, or moves into international football. I also think the sport defaulting back to a more physical style has reduced the dominance of his style
 
Womp said:
We have spent a ridiculous amount post SAF, we've just spent it mostly on players not good enough.

We would have won heaps if he joined us instead of City. He made players like Leroy Sane, Sterling, Costa etc. among the best in the world in their positions.

I do agree now wouldn't be ideal though. It looks like he's just burnt out. Wouldn't be surprised if he takes a long break from the sport after City, or moves into international football. I also think the sport defaulting back to a more physical style has reduced the dominance of his style
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We have spent a ridiculous amount - but largely on the wrong players.

Mainly because we've had incompetent people such as Woodward deciding what players we would go for i.e. who would sell the most shirts.

There's no way someone like Guardiola would have coped with an absolute muppet like Woodward calling the shots as to who the club was going to buy.

And yes, he does look burnt out now and I think the game has moved on from his style.
 
I think my disappointment with Guardiola is not that he spent money at City. It's more that a whole apparatus was built for him years before he even took the job. City effectively transported the structure and some of the personnel behind his Barcelona success. I personally don't think it diminishes what he has achieved, but it does make me regret that we will never get to see how he would have done in the Premier League without that same support structure. Most managers don't have that luxury and have to do their best with the structure in which they are inserted. It would have been super interesting to see how he had done in a Klopp style situation where he had to adapt to the organism rather than having it adapt to him.
 
sprezza said:
I think my disappointment with Guardiola is not that he spent money at City. It's more that a whole apparatus was built for him years before he even took the job. City effectively transported the structure and some of the personnel behind his Barcelona success. I personally don't think it diminishes what he has achieved, but it does make me regret that we will never get to see how he would have done in the Premier League without that same support structure. Most managers don't have that luxury and have to do their best with the structure in which they are inserted. It would have been super interesting to see how he had done in a Klopp style situation where he had to adapt to the organism rather than having it adapt to him.
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I completely agree, they built the entire structure of the club around getting Pep, but what I find interesting is “what’s next?”.

Obviously hard to say given the unknown outcome of the charges, but what is the next phase of the plan? They won’t just chuck money at it, legitimately or otherwise, forever. They had a very clear, and very successful plan, but it’s in its dying days.
 
Guardiola has had a ferguson like career already and he is only 55 or something. By that i mean 15 of the big two trophies for guardiola and 18 for ferguson. Even without all the money he would surely have at least a mourinho/ancelotti like career in that he would reach 10 or 11 imo (and tjose two spent a lot of moneyas well). It would be interesting to see him where the teams are even in terms of players abilities and the clubs have similar financial clout though. Imo he wants to beat fergusons league record as quickly as possible and isn't interested in long term planning atm.
 
He screwed up. The first leg did the most damage and his team selection was stupid. They might have gone through, if they weren’t so open in the first leg.
 
Why did he take Haaland off? He eats up chances like Smarties. Even if there's a 4% chance of come back from 4-1 down, it's 4% more chance than if he isnt on the field.
 
FujiVice said:
Why did he take Haaland off? He eats up chances like Smarties. Even if there's a 4% chance of come back from 4-1 down, it's 4% more chance than if he isnt on the field.
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Games done and cup final at the weekend. Simple maths.
 
FujiVice said:
Why did he take Haaland off? He eats up chances like Smarties. Even if there's a 4% chance of come back from 4-1 down, it's 4% more chance than if he isnt on the field.
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Injured. Haaland is playing on a bad ankle for the last month.
 
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