Pep's Arrival

[Santiago. 1,500]

Can RDM continue to perform tactically and mentally and carry on future success? Is he a great manager, or a great motivator?

That is what is bugging Roman.

[robdog 2,084]

Even people saying RDM must stay, deep down in their hearts want Guardiola to join us.

Nope, you have Pep & his tiki-taki ball. RDM is CFC through & through. I like the fact that RDM & Newton played for the club first. No merc there. They were Blue before & they are blue now. So you can have Pep coach Palmeiras. Lord knows Big Phil ain't cutting it

[bababoom 4,478]

Even people saying RDM must stay, deep down in their hearts want Guardiola to join us.

I take it you want Guardiola as our new manager...?

[Shane 2,275]

Im not saying you have to like them but there is no escaping what Guardiola brought to Barcelona and football and, in that respect, you absolutely must acknowledge them.

IMO, He has made football boring, so I hold him for that.

When the chips we're down, he walked. That is a fact.

[Kostas 1,468]

Perhaps but given just how long he has admired Guardiola for, Id be fairly confident that he would last a little longer than 6 months.

Given how both Ancelotti and AVB were meant to be Roman's personal targets (and Ancelotti was one he was supposedly chasing for years) I wouldn't hold my breath.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

Given how both Ancelotti and AVB were meant to be Roman's personal targets (and Ancelotti was one he was supposedly chasing for years) I wouldn't hold my breath.

Ancelotti is not nor was ever meant to be a visionary, just a coach. AVB was supposed to be a visionary but he was hindered by both the squad being incapable of adapting to his style of play and his destructive relationships with some of the older players. With the players we are bringing in, a change of style shouldn't be as difficult this time around while Guardiola is experienced enough not to make the same mistakes as AVB.

[Henrique 9,133]

I take it you want Guardiola as our new manager...?

Who doesnt?

This forum is funny sometimes. Same people that months ago were backing AVB, saying he was good, hot, exuberant, young, full of talent and only time was needed, right now are saying we cant take Pepe because he is like AVB.

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

Who doesnt?

This forum is funny sometimes. Same people that months ago were backing AVB, saying he was good, hot, exuberant, young, full of talent and only time was needed, right now are saying we cant take Pepe because he is like AVB.

Some people don't get that Guardiola has far better man management skills than AVB and has experienced the ultimate pressure at Barcelona. His tika tika football is honestly some of the best football I've ever seen and the 5-0 thrashing of Barca was probably the closest to a perfect game I've ever seen. It's clear Abramovich isn't going to employ Di Matteo as 1st choice manager otherwise he would've done it already.

[Sheva. 5,373]

People don't get that Guardiola has far better man management skills than AVB

Not sure about that, when i think of Guardiola's man management, all i can think of is Ibra's comments about him.

"It started well but then Messi started to talk.

"He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed.

"So I asked for a meeting with Guardiola - for a discussion, not an argument. I said I was being used in the wrong way and that they shouldn’t have bought me if they wanted another type of player.

"I told him what a friend had said to me - 'you bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat'. The chat seemed to go well but then Guardiola started to freeze me out.

"I would walk into a room; he would leave. He would greet everyone by saying hello, but would ignore me.

"I had done a lot to adapt - the Barca players were like schoolboys, following the coach blindly, whereas I was used to asking 'why?' I like guys who run red lights, not pedantic and strict rules. So I tried to be overly nice, didn’t dare lose my temper.

[Shane 2,275]

Ancelotti is not nor was ever meant to be a visionary, just a coach. AVB was supposed to be a visionary but he was hindered by both the squad being incapable of adapting to his style of play and his destructive relationships with some of the older players. With the players we are bringing in, a change of style shouldn't be as difficult this time around while Guardiola is experienced enough not to make the same mistakes as AVB.

Your making him out to be some sort of man with super human powers. He inherited one of the best teams of all time and made them pass the ball to death, didn't have a plan b, and when RDM exposed this he walked.

[capriccioso 2,545]

No, he's no more proven in man management than AVB since virtually all his players loved him. Besides the Barcelona as a club are much more leaned towards supporting the manager, whereas for us for a long time, it's been the players, who have so far managed 2 sackings, and perhaps even contributed to Jose's. Makelele reckons Terry was being a douche about being rested and that was the straw that broke our Russian camel's back with regards to Jose.

[Henrique 9,133]

Not sure about that, when i think of Guardiola's man management, all i can think of is Ibra's comments about him.

lol

Ibra's comment...The guy is an arrogant, he was the only one to have problems with Guardiola, and thats was because he thought he was so good that Barcelona should change his formation just to suit his skills.

[Sheva. 5,373]

lol

Ibra's comment...The guy is an arrogant, he was the only one to have problems with Guardiola, and thats was because he thought he was so good that Barcelona should change his formation just to suit his skills.

Totally agree with that. But the problem is we have players like Ibra at Chelsea, players who have already previously gotten managers sacked.

[Kojo 4,676]

Who doesnt?

This forum is funny sometimes. Same people that months ago were backing AVB, saying he was good, hot, exuberant, young, full of talent and only time was needed, right now are saying we cant take Pepe because he is like AVB.

Pep is unproven, his buys for Barcelona wern't fantastic, that Ibrahimovic deal... what the fuck...

His decision making has been spot on, but look a football manager who knows how to play good attacking football and there's hundreds of them in the world, will do well with Barcelona, that's a fact. Pep wasn't wise against us, he just decided to keep playing the same way, even though we where down to 10 men, he didn't try to tire us out by playing wider, he just kept trying to go down the middle and it wasn't working, so he's no mastermind i'll tell you that.

I love his motivation with Barcelona, because he knows they are the best and he has the keep the faith and lets them do crazy things. Gary Neville done an amazing analysis on it, how Valdes gave the ball away to Benzema and they were 1-0 down in under a minute, from just a risky pass, and he kept doing it over and over again. Because Barca don't get put down by it, they keep the faith and pep likes them doing crazy things, because he knows they will still win, cause they still have strong mentallity.

Pep is a good manager, but you think he will walk into this team and make us play great football and we will be winning things, no he is unproven and i would rather give the job to RDM, who people just think was lucky. RDM also deserves a contract, he's unproven and probably more than Pep but he deserves it and he's also a Chelsea legend who can motivate these players.

[manpe 10,857]

Totally agree with that. But the problem is we have players like Ibra at Chelsea, players who have already previously gotten managers sacked.

Drogba is gone, Lampard has adapted well to the deeper role and shouldn't have many concerns. The only problem I can see is if he randomly decided to cut out Terry or play high line, which I doubt he would. Kalou and Malouda will be gone, at least one of them so I can't see them voicing concerns either, especially now that they're gonna be replaced by superior specimens. Sturridge might blab about his preferred position but I doubt anybody cares about his complaints.

I don't know, I think Guardiola would demand more respect than AVB did. AVB was an easy prey tbh. And all he essentially needs to do is yap with the players and explain his decisions. I think it was Lampard who hinted that he'd have been far more pleased if the team were winning while he was bench warming. So if he starts winning games right off the bat, then it should keep everyone happy. Robbie did the sensible thing, he relied on the old guard again, they reacted and started winning... everybody happy. With AVB there was a communication breakdown because they were losing games, playing bad and overlooking some players for unknown reasons. He also committed professional suicide by doing that in-depth interview where he compared Torres to Kezman and Sheva. He lost a lot of players' trust.

[Strike 6,965]

I'm really conflicted on how I feel about this. I think Di Matteo should get the job, but I have huge doubts over what he can actually achieve.

Deep down I might favor Pep coming here, but I'm not sure about that either. Di Matteo and/or Guardiola could be huge flops.

The risk of Guardiola getting it wrong is higher. di matteo knows the players and more importantly has shown his tactical shrewdness. our transfer activity so far has been encouraging and i have no doubts di matteo will incorporate marin, kdb and obviously hazard into the team. he has already established a formation and working tactic which will be even better with hazard on the wing rather than Kalou.

if guardiola comes in - we start from scratch. again.

[Hysteria 159]

If Guardiola gets here he doesnt use a style if we havent the correct players, unlike AVB. I would give Robbie a chance though.

[Henrique 9,133]

The risk of Guardiola getting it wrong is higher. di matteo knows the players and more importantly has shown his tactical shrewdness. our transfer activity so far has been encouraging and i have no doubts di matteo will incorporate marin, kdb and obviously hazard into the team. he has already established a formation and working tactic which will be even better with hazard on the wing rather than Kalou.

if guardiola comes in - we start from scratch. again.

I heard the same thing when we sacked AVB.

Starting from scratch is not that bad, after all.