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OMT The Mighty THFC vs Abu Dhabi City

alekaras said:
http://www.espn.com/soccer/manchest...man-city-spending-after-champions-league-exit

Guardiola defended a policy that has seen him spend some £450 million since becoming manager in 2016, but indicated that more would be needed.

"It is impossible to do that, to play the way we play, the results we achieved, without top players. It's impossible," he said.

"And today, the top players cost a lot of money. When you say: 'Pep, what you have done in Barcelona or Bayern Munich, is it possible to do that without those big players?' -- it's impossible, so be calm.

"We need money to buy and to play in that level all the time. Only I would say that all the teams around the world -- maybe in two years we spent more -- but over an average of five or 10 years a lot of teams spend a lot of money.

"To achieve these results you need this investment. If not you need miracles, and I am not able to do that."

Fixed it for him: "To achieve these results you need this investment. If not you need Pochettino, and I am not able to do that."
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So what I am wondering is if it’s all about the quality and volume of players why does anyone need Pep at all?
 
MKSpur said:
So what I am wondering is if it’s all about the quality and volume of players why does anyone need Pep at all?
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Exactly. The more damning statement was that to win with the team he has would require a miracle. As if he went out to a team that had outspent City by a wide margin.
 
MKSpur said:
So what I am wondering is if it’s all about the quality and volume of players why does anyone need Pep at all?
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It's a good point -- Luis Enrique won the treble with Barca. The current boss is going to win La Liga and they haven't lost a league game this season. They bombed out of Europe, but Guardiola had that happen to him too whilst at Barca -- nobody can win in Europe every year, though Real Madrid are trying! Bayern won more the season before he took charge of them (another treble winning team).

I think Guardiola's Barca team was better than the teams that followed, but I think Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol were at their peak then. He does get his teams playing in a very dominant style, but it's not necessary to play that way and win many games and trophies when you have the best players. Barca play with less possession now and did the same under Luis Enrique, they have still won everything. Messi is more important to Barca than Guardiola ever was.
 
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milo said:
It's a big game and we'll want to try and close them down to force errors at the back. I could see Lamela getting the nod over Son.
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I think he might, just because Son didn't play that well in the last two games against Chelsea and Stoke. Then bring Son back for the mid-week game v Brighton and let him play with a point to prove so that he makes the team for the semi-final against Utd.
 
the dza said:
It's a good point -- Luis Enrique won the treble with Barca. The current boss is going to win La Liga and they haven't lost a league game this season. They bombed out of Europe, but Guardiola had that happen to him too whilst at Barca -- nobody can win in Europe every year, though Real Madrid are trying! Bayern won more the season before he took charge of them (another treble winning team).

I think Guardiola's Barca team was better than the teams that followed, but I think Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol were at their peak then. He does get his teams playing in a very dominant style, but it's not necessary to play that way and win many games and trophies when you have the best players. Barca play with less possession now and did the same under Luis Enrique, they have still won everything. Messi is more important to Barca than Guardiola ever was.
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I really don't know where to stand on Guardiola. Yes, you could argue that my mother could probably have managed that Barca team to a cabinet full of trophies, never mind winning a few domestic trophies with Bayern Munich (but notably no CL). However, it is a bit more than just having the best players. Coaching them to play beautiful football is to be applauded -- compare the style of Emirates Marketing Project this year to Mourinho's first Chelsea side, or his current ManU team.

So perhaps he does deserve plaudits for what he's done this season, despite all the money Emirates Marketing Project have spent. For me it's always going to be a different achievement to what Poch has already done (i.e. even before winning any trophies)...lesser, maybe? Not sure. Definitely different, in the same way that getting Brighton & Hove Albion to the Prem is very different to establishing Spurs as CL regulars.
 
If it was that easy to manage the richest clubs then they'd never change manager as they'd always be successful
 
billyiddo said:
If it was that easy to manage the richest clubs then they'd never change manager as they'd always be successful
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I think the difficulty in managing is often off the field rather than on.

The pressure to succeed is massive, even with the most agreeable board it has to wear you down.

Then, obviously, there is the situations where most boards seem rather demanding and impatient - never appreciating there are only so many cups to win and many clubs capable of doing so...

Id say politics and pressure put away more managers than the actual football management side of things.

Look at Guardiola at Bayern, it became all about the CL, and one bit of bad luck can put you out - thats what it came down to.
 
the dza said:
I think he might, just because Son didn't play that well in the last two games against Chelsea and Stoke. Then bring Son back for the mid-week game v Brighton and let him play with a point to prove so that he makes the team for the semi-final against Utd.
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Can see the logic but Son has been great at Wembley this season so I think he may get the nod. Having said that, I wouldn't be totally surprised if he brought Toby back into the team and picked neither Lamela nor Son.
 
Jurgen the German said:
Can see the logic but Son has been great at Wembley this season so I think he may get the nod. Having said that, I wouldn't be totally surprised if he brought Toby back into the team and picked neither Lamela nor Son.
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He's resisted changing a system that is working well so far, I do not see that changing tomorrow. With regards to Lamela v Son, I think that the weaknesses of the opposition are probably more of a factor in selection than the venue.
 
What's with the odd kick off, by the way? Can't remember a late night Saturday kick off in the PL before.
 
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