Chelsea in pole position for Guardiola

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

I agree we had but Barca team at that time still had a slight edge over us . They had the best team in the world. And for the Record Mancini had managed Fio and Lazio before Inter. What i'm saying is Mourinho and Mancini constructed their teams whereas Pep got the best players in the plate

Pep took a team of promising players and turned them into a worldclass team. They were already a good team but he took them to a whole other level.

You can have the best 11 players in the world but that doesn't mean a thing if you can't get them to play a system.

Team effort always beats individual brilliance.

[Backstreet09 499]

Pep took a team of promising players and turned them into a worldclass team. They were already a good team but he took them to a whole other level.

You can have the best 11 players in the world but that doesn't mean a thing if you can't get them to play a system.

Team effort always beats individual brilliance.

He made that system around Messi , if you dont have Messi , the system won't work . and if you dont have Xavi and Iniesta behind Messi , he wont get the chances to score . Plain and simple =P

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

Yes, Mourinho always made sure he had the best requirements at his new working place. He is no god, that's for sure. What happened in the summer transfer periods of 2006 and 2007 cost him his job and condemned us to the search of a new identity. He never achieved to transform a team. the signings of Ballack and Shevchenko were forced on him but we he made the best out of that and won two minor cups, only lost the league because of JTs and Robbens lengthy injuries and some bad luck. But then he blew it. We still had an epic squad entering the 2007/8 season, but we sold Robben and his replacement, Malouda did not really got familiar to the EPL soon enough, nonetheless he should have strengthened our strikeforce with some solid, proven epl class and width we were lacking then already. but he only bought squad player in Sidwell, Ben-haim and some other guys who all turned out to be shit, Claudio Pizarro who did not fit either and Juliano Beletti as a squad player instead of a proper replacement for Paulo Ferreira. Here he should have incented the transformation, he never really recognised anyone from the youth nor bought successors to Lampard or Drogba.

At Inter he just tinkered a bit with the class players he had, got the best out of them and set them perfectly up for that kind of astonishing defensive displays. At Real Madrid he again got one of the best squads ever and made them play successfull. Mourinho is brillant tactical wise and great with the players but transfers are not exactly his major strength and i do not know if he is the man to make our transition if Roman wants us to play Barca style.

Personally I would love him to return and make us the remake of our 2004-2006 team, but you do not get players like Makelele, Lampard and Drogba again, football has changed and so players have. The manager only can make the players fulfill their potential and catalyze that to success but when the board signs the players, it is more important they get their ideas started out and sign players that we need and that fit our system and the football we play.

I agree with you.

I think Mourinho's main strenght is that he can make a team rise above themselves. He's not a builder. He's an instant succes manager. He prefers experienced players, relies on their discipline and always tries to play direct counter attacking football.

That's not what we need. We need someone who can develop young promising players and implement players into a new system.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

He made that system around Messi , if you dont have Messi , the system won't work . and if you dont have Xavi and Iniesta behind Messi , he wont get the chances to score . Plain and simple =P

Yeah a very simplistic view of things.

Pep tweaked the system to play to the strenghts of his team. He helped Messi become the player he is today.

He was the one who started playing Messi on the false 9 position.

How come Spain won the EC and WC without Messi then ? Spain play the exact same way as Barcelona do.

Pep is a great manager and would be the best manager to have in our current situation.

[Backstreet09 499]

Yeah a very simplistic view of things.

Pep tweaked the system to play to the strenghts of his team. He helped Messi become the player he is today.

He was the one who started playing Messi on the false 9 position.

That's the point , any manager would had done the same .

[The Big Drog 1,110]

What are the Guarantees that he would make us invincible like Barca ? He's highly overrated imo , had the best players in his squad , and any other guy would have won the same titles .

There also used to be a facepalm smiley but I can't find that one, please imagine that I am facepalming while reading your message.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

Mourinho had won the leagues with Inter , Porto and Chelsea before , Mancini had won it with Inter before. And Barca Literally had the best players in his reign , Zlatan , Eto , Ronaldinho lol too many stars to mention

You do realise that by the end of Ibra's time at Barcelona he wasn't even the first choice striker? You also realise that when Guardiola became manager the Barcelona camp was split in two between Ronaldinho and Eto, Guardiola healed those divisions, got one more great season out of Eto (a gem of an example of top notch man management by the way) and sold Ronaldinho (an incredibly brave decision considering what Ronaldinho represented at Barcelona)

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

That's the point , any manager would had done the same .

That's BS.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

That's BS.

It's annoying when people who haven't the slightest clue about a topic comment about it with such authority. If he doesn't know what Guardiola brought to Barcelona then he isn't really worth talking to.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

It's annoying when people who haven't the slightest clue about a topic comment about it with such authority. If he doesn't know what Guardiola brought to Barcelona then he isn't really worth talking to.

Yeah it really is. Pointless discussing any further if his argument is "any manager would have done the same thing."

Pep is a great manager and deserves a lot more credit then he is getting.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

It's annoying when people who haven't the slightest clue about a topic comment about it with such authority. If he doesn't know what Guardiola brought to Barcelona then he isn't really worth talking to.

Man I swear you've explained the same sentiment time and time again, don't you get tired?! Hahaha,

I agree with your assessment of pep by the way, but for your own good I say save these last posts so you don't have to waste your time again and again. Haha

[The Big Drog 1,110]

Man I swear you've explained the same sentiment time and time again, don't you get tired?! Hahaha,

I agree with your assessment of pep by the way, but for your own good I say save these last posts so you don't have to waste your time again and again. Haha

lol I should just make it my sig and save us all the hassle.

[communicate 2,703]

I agree we had but Barca team at that time still had a slight edge over us . They had the best team in the world. And for the Record Mancini had managed Fio and Lazio before Inter. What i'm saying is Mourinho and Mancini constructed their teams whereas Pep got the best players in the plate

It does not matter who has the better team. My point is you cannot use "they have the best squad hence he is overrated"

[communicate 2,703]

He made that system around Messi , if you dont have Messi , the system won't work . and if you dont have Xavi and Iniesta behind Messi , he wont get the chances to score . Plain and simple =P

TBH changing his system to play around messi is a brilliant idea, you have a player who is that good in messi. why don't you want to bring the best out of him.

Pep is not perfect, last year everybody questioned his 3-4-3 system and the way he played fabregas as left winger. He also tried to get rid of etoo . He made some questionable signing. But in the end he won 3 la liga,2 ucl, 1 quintuple (I think there was one season where they won everything) but can he be successfully in Chelsea I honestly don't' know

[Backstreet09 499]

That pretty much sums up his whole Barca career

[Spike 12,049]

It's a stupid comic but the last two panels slayed me. So funny.

[Blue Gino 377]

Pep has way too much hair in the comic.

[Term-X 7,891]

"Victory gives you peace for 10 minutes, then it makes you stupid" - Pep Guardiola

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

"Everything starts with the ball and finishes with the ball"

[robdog 2,084]

well we can close this thread now after http://sports.yahoo.com/news/pep-guardiola-appointed-coach-bayern-161300150--sow.html;_ylt=AgPoRnwgFaAlqlogU5pMtlAmw7YF;_ylu=X3oDMTRwZnNvcjFoBG1pdANMSVNUUyBNaXhlZCBMaXN0IFNPQ0NFUiBIZWFkbGluZXMEcGtnAzVhMmM2YjJkLTQ1ZmEtMzJiOC1hOTViLTQ3NDE4ZThiMjljZARwb3MDNwRzZWMDTWVkaWFCTGlzdE1peGVkTFBDQVRlbXAEdmVyA2QxMTc4YjIxLTVmZmEtMTFlMi1iZjc3LTMzNDBmYWUwODcxMA--;_ylg=X3oDMTFwZW04YjhpBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANtb3JlfHNvY2NlcgRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3'>this development.