What do u Cules think of Pep now?

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

free_cat wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote: "Fail": 2nd place in the prem, losing in the CL by an admonishing 6-6 score. Still in the FA cup semifinals.

Yeah, but I really thought he would win the premier league. He has a solid team, it doesn't look any worse than Chelsea's, but probably having CL is a handicap that shows a lot in the PL.

I didn't, a coach like Pep who instills a new style into a team will always struggle at first as they experiment. You won't see them perform consistently until the 2nd season, especially in a league as competitive as the EPL. Conte is rather the exception than the rule. I did expect City to be better at this stage, but then again their only competent midfielder is Silva and having a good midfield is a requirement for a Pep team.

Gundogan ?

Hmmm interesting again so many varied opinions

Its good to know then it seems a lot of ppl will be judging him next season and neither rate him atm as a god or fraud, which is both too extreme.

I always thought Man C has a better squad then Chelsea, but really probably pretty even (Man C aging and unbalanced maybe). With Conte really getting things spot on so fast, u could argue if Chelsea havent been so perfect this season, Man C might be well in the title race. If Gundogan and Jesus didnt get injured the team might be performing better. But u cant deny Pep made so many mistakes that made his team suicidal in too many games this season. He just hasnt been as good as expected Im sure its fair to say.

Anyway, football these days being so fast and Man C being a demanding club I think next season he really has to perform. Wont expect him to win the CL, but he needs to win the league, or come very close to both or either one.

guest7 wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

free_cat wrote:

Yeah, but I really thought he would win the premier league. He has a solid team, it doesn't look any worse than Chelsea's, but probably having CL is a handicap that shows a lot in the PL.

I didn't, a coach like Pep who instills a new style into a team will always struggle at first as they experiment. You won't see them perform consistently until the 2nd season, especially in a league as competitive as the EPL. Conte is rather the exception than the rule. I did expect City to be better at this stage, but then again their only competent midfielder is Silva and having a good midfield is a requirement for a Pep team.

Gundogan ?

Isn't he perpetually injured? I remember there was a month when everyone rated him again and then he got injured again. I can tell from watching whoscored that he only has 710 minutes played this season.

Hmmm interesting again so many varied opinions

Its good to know then it seems a lot of ppl will be judging him next season and neither rate him atm as a god or fraud, which is both too extreme.

I always thought Man C has a better squad then Chelsea, but really probably pretty even (Man C aging and unbalanced maybe). With Conte really getting things spot on so fast, u could argue if Chelsea havent been so perfect this season, Man C might be well in the title race. If Gundogan and Jesus didnt get injured the team might be performing better. But u cant deny Pep made so many mistakes that made his team suicidal in too many games this season. He just hasnt been as good as expected Im sure its fair to say.

Anyway, football these days being so fast and Man C being a demanding club I think next season he really has to perform. Wont expect him to win the CL but definitely needs to come much closer, and same for the league. Unless if he does to compensate like win a cup and make the team play very good football, etc.

What do guys​ think of Napoli midfield. Am pretty impressed, especially Diawara has been very good atleast when I have watched them.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

guest7 wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

I didn't, a coach like Pep who instills a new style into a team will always struggle at first as they experiment. You won't see them perform consistently until the 2nd season, especially in a league as competitive as the EPL. Conte is rather the exception than the rule. I did expect City to be better at this stage, but then again their only competent midfielder is Silva and having a good midfield is a requirement for a Pep team.

Gundogan ?

Isn't he perpetually injured? I remember there was a month when everyone rated him again and then he got injured again. I can tell from watching whoscored that he only has 710 minutes played this season.

I'll admit I haven't watched all of Manchester City's games but everytime I've seen him he has been bossing it. Yes he is injury prone, but he was man of the match vs Barcelona for example. He should still be rated high imo.

He's been basically injured since they played us and he's out for the season. So it's not like he's been playing and is a component in the over all set up. He was even injured when the season started.

Same goes for Fernandinho, who was playing great but then started getting injuries here and theres. That's a big reason as to why Yaya was even brought back in to the mix, when it was clear Pep didn't have him in his plans

To the original poster - Its unfortunate that you got such a negative initial reaction but I think this is a splendid topic for discussion and thanks to you for creating a thread on it.

Truth be told I haven't been that impressed with Pep ever since he left Barca. True he brought a certain style to the play but he lost some of his winning edge. Even Arsene Wenger brings style but who rates him as a top coach today? It could be argued that Bayern would have won those three Bundesligas even with Wenger as coach. I cannot recall a single time in Pep's Bayern tenure when he beat top quality opposition but maybe I am missing something. To be fair to him he faced top quality opposition very few times but as far as I can recall he came up short each and every time.

After saying all this I will add two counter points though. Take a closer look at some of those whom we call legendary coaches and see just how many years of theirs were really great. It seems to me that they had a peak few years and some very mediocre ones. Pep will forever be remembered in football history for what he did at Barca. However it's quite possible that he will never again see that kind of greatness just like Sacchi could never again reach the level of his first Milan.

Secondly how many great coaches are there today and do any of them tick all the corners. At this point in time I would probably put Antonio Conte right on top but even he could be accused of not making his team play flamboyantly.