This was always what stood out to me about Peps Barca. I remember saying back when Arsenal were being called Barca lite that the biggest difference (and difference maker) was that for Arsenal the sin was losing the ball, for Barca the sin was not doing everything in your power to try and retrieve it.
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I just donāt think people appreciate how great that side was and just how much of it was because of Pep.
Lol at anyone doubting Pep.
As mentioned above, he instilled the 6 second rule in to that Barcelona team, 6 seconds to win the ball back. His training methods are unique and his micro management is unreal. I know that method is not without risk and it has received criticism, iād imagine the older players may sometimes find it insulting. But most of the time it works. He has got the best out of many of those players. Iād say Sterling has probably benefitted from it the most. Has anyone seen that training ground video of him frantically walking Sterling through an attacking manoeuvre?
He even coaches the ball boys on how to throw the ball back!
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Sigh at people not realising that everyone acknowledges Pep is a great coach.
The criticism is merely of him needing a certain set of players to make it all work.
He does no miracle & is reliant on acquiring high quality players, but yes he does do a brilliant job with quality players & gets the absolute best out of them.
Why canāt we criticise him at all?
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What is wrong with a manager needing certain players for his philosophy to work?
I canāt even believe thatās a criticism being labelled at him. Virtually every top manager requires certain players to make it work.
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Which manager doesnāt need a certain set of players to make it all work? 
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I mean certain set of very expensive players.
It makes you question whether Pep is dominating the league by his football or by quality of his players.
Given the same set of players, almost every manager will win you trophies. What Pep does do better than most is getting these players to play at their best. In that respect he is superior.
But will he really dominate the league as much as he is doing now if everyone was on similar level.
Is it fair to compare other managers with him, when he has clear headways in terms of talents in his disposal.
City & Pep maybe have 200-300m worth more talents than next best team.
Itās like complementing a billionaire of purchasing a better yatch than a commoner.
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And he spends meaninglessly.
Why spends on Danilo when you already spent 50m on Walker & 40 odd on Mendy?
He is already hogging all the attackers & still wants Sanchez.
If limitless spending is allowed, every manager can win the league.
Give that squad to all the Top 6 teams and like last season, he will end up 3rd/4th yet again.
Pepās success is massively dependent on other teams not being on level playing field; and each time he has been challenged by team of similar quality he has been undone.
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So that team made up virtually of La Masia graduatesā¦ which one of those was expensive?
I mean Valdez, Puyol, Pique, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pedro, Cesc, Albaā¦
Only Alba, Pique and Cesc cost money and not a lot of it too.
And Alves didnāt cost a whole heap either.
And letās be honest that Bayern team was not anywhere near as expensively assembled as the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Manchester City.
This is the first time Pep has ever spent outrageous sums and thatās because heās a victim of the hyper inflation in Football. Thereās no difference between Pep spending Ā£50m on an England international with bags of top leve experience and in his prime - Kyle Walker today than an unproven teenage Luke Shaw going to United for nearly Ā£30m and becoming one of the most expensive defenders of all time a few seasons ago.
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This is beyond stupidity. He had a dip in Europe where he still made the semi finals every single season under Bayern and People wrote off his philosophy and style. Heās gone head to head with Ferguson, Mourinho, Allegri, Conte, Wenger and come out on top.
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Pep doesnt need expensive players, he needs good players that are intelligent and can do a job.
It just happens to be that the market has blown up so the only way to acquire these players is by paying over the odds.
Also theres a reason why only top clubs want him, he is great at his job. If you are great in your field of work, why would you demote yourself? Less money, less prestige and lesser quality of work. Same with any job. You wanna be the best then you stay at the top echelons as long as possible.
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That simply isnāt true.
Man City were only slightly ahead of us last season and the season before that, they were behind us, and the only first team regulars that Guardiola has bought, since he arrived, are Sane, Stones, Walker and Ederson.
Wenger, in the same period has bought Perez, Xhaka, Mustafa and Lacazette for similar money.
There arenāt any players in the Man City first team that we couldnāt have got, but we lack any ambition.
They have players like Delph, Walker, Ederson, Otamendi, Danilo, Sterling, Fernandinho, and none of these were out of our reach and none of them could be described as world class when they went there.
Guardiola came to the PL just over a season ago, and has transformed a group of players that had previously finished outside the top two in the two previous seasons, to the best team in Europe.
He has bought about four or five first team players, which is about the same as Wenger, and a lot less than other top clubs, and hasnāt had the advantage of being an experienced PL manager like Wenger and Mourinho.
Why are people playing down what he has achieved?
It is nonsense to say,āgiven the same set of players, almost every manager will win you trophies,ā because he has only bought a few players, and the ones he bought in werenāt world class, and even the previous Man City manager couldnāt manage a top two place, with almost the same group of players.
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Mancini won the league, peligrini win the league with city; so are they great managers or does money help.
Nobody is saying pep isnāt good; people are questioning will he be able to do that without being at the best teams with unlimited funds. Why is that so hard to accept?
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The people talking down Pep seem to mostly be those who defend Wenger most vociferously.
Interesting correlation.
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No just no we see correlation and causation.
Best teams lots of money. Why canāt we say well he is good but he needs a certain setting to be good?
Aussie does not defend wenger clearly you are wrong.
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Ye can say it but thereās zero evidence to back it up. Itās quite possible he does but as heās yet to work in a job without that setting we canāt say for certain that itās something he needs. We can say for certain that itās something he makes great us of.
PelegrĆni won the league with city, manici won the league with city; money helps because none of you would call them great.
This is the first time Pep is managing a team which was not mature enough to begin with. That said Cityās squad was still quite good enough.
And what the heck manā¦
Listing Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol in your list and asking who was expensive.
Having them in first place is a huge advantage.
Bayern team was also very mature & didnāt need as much work in terms of transfer. That team was young & just won treble with Huychenes(spelling)
Even this City team was good enough with Ageuro, Silva, Yaya Toure, and others.
People make it seem like he started with a crap team and needed massive investment.
None of those managers had playing talents simialr to Pepās.
Iām not impressed that Pep will win the leage. Iām impressed with how his team plays.
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