05 May 2022 14:20:21
Why can't Man City win the champs league?
14 years the owners have been in place now, apparently with the "best coach in the world" and the "greatest PL team ever" yet they can't beat an ageing one man Real madrid team while winning 5-3 with 5 mins to go?
Is it Pep that's the issue? Mentality of the players?
Man City can't be tired as they have a big enough squad to rotate 3 times over so what's your thoughts on why the choke every time?
05 May 2022 15:35:42
Parts of Pep's record would have gotten him the sack back in the day cos it would simply be impossible to fail this much, this lone (10 years or so now) at the biggest stage and not be held accountable back then. To me, Pep continues to "fail up" at this point in Europe. Sad. Oh wait, not really.
05 May 2022 15:41:01
I think we need to beat Real first before we start throwing stones on City’s short comings against an aging Real side.
05 May 2022 15:47:13
I think the bigger factor is Pep. There's just something about his tactics or coaching that leads to these epic collapses. Putting aside his tendency to overthink and 'surprise' the opposition, which tends to confuse his own players more, his teams are prone to conceding a glut of goals in rapid succession. This goes all the way back to his Bayern days, so it's not just a City mentality issue, but a Pep one. An explanation I've seen proposed is that he overcoaches his teams, and thus, when things don't go well, his players are unable to think for themselves and adapt quickly to staunch the bleeding.
I think there's also the inherent tactical issue of Pep teams. They push so many men forward with wingers and mezzalas high and wide, if you manage to get past the first wave of pressure and tactical fouling, you're left with an open and exposed defence, all of whom are better ball players than they are defenders. It's notable that practically all the teams that have dumped them out of the CL were lethal on the counterattack, from Mbappe's Monaco to Salah's first season with us to Tuchel's Chelsea. You can even see it in the Prem where Vardy has repeatedly torched them or when Adama Traore would show up for Nuno's Wolves.
I propose that poor recruitment has also hurt them a lot. Spending 100m on Grealish instead of a striker this season, not adequately replacing stalwarts like Silva, Aguero and Kompany (tbf they've rectified this by signing Dias a season late), unloading a small nation's GDP on fullbacks only to end up with just two reliable ones, it goes on and on and on.
05 May 2022 16:11:04
Why would they sack Pep when he keeps winning the league every year 🤔. I yes not like he goes trophyless.
05 May 2022 16:22:04
Zpecialone, the guy inherited literally the best team on the planet with that 12/ 13 Bayern team under the legendary Jupp Heynkes that won the treble and actually achieved the rare feat of making them worse than the state he found them at due to his galaxy brain farts, systems and tactics that got the players confused esp. on the CL stage. There's a reason the likes of Ribery, Thomas Muller, Felix Magath etc. were glad to see the back of him and his galaxy brain.
05 May 2022 16:41:38
It truly was a Pep masterclass at Bayern, Oli. He bolstered one of the best Bayern teams ever with the likes of Lewandowski and Thiago and still managed to screw the team over. Don't let the Pep acolytes hear you though, they'll no doubt point to his Bundesliga titles like they haven't comfortably won every single one since he left.
05 May 2022 16:45:25
Harry, glad you're back. How was the mourning session at the Etihad with your fellow City fans?
05 May 2022 17:18:45
Guess whose back back again Harry’s back tell a friend lol nice to see you Harry how’s another cl failure for your believes blues feeling this morning? Blue Thursday?
05 May 2022 18:56:44
Stop calling him Pep! 😂.
05 May 2022 22:12:22
Can we please stop call Real Madrid a one man team - they aren’t and if we treat them like we just have to show up and pick up the trophy we are in for a shock. Just saying.
05 May 2022 23:36:08
Very valid point WDW.