is pep off?

[Indianablue]

Couldn’t care less at this point.

Totally agree. It would actually be refreshing to have a change of style at the club, rather than the sideways passing 30 yards out that seems to happen every game without any real excitement. If Pep isn't giving at least a 2 year commitment then he should just go at the end of the season.

End of the week even

Before Brighton, preferably tomorrow so we can work on our defence

[PeterParker]

I want him to stay, I would love to, but it feels like we are in a wrong relationship at times when we are clinging.

We are constantly after him to stay, every two years this things happen. And most of the times he is letting things at the last minute. Surely, there are a lot of things us, fans, don't know and are behind the curtains, but I am tired of all this sucking.
I think we gave him everything that a club can give, more than Barcelona ever did. I understand you want something new, I get that, but if you commit, then either do it on a long run, or if not, maybe we go our separate ways.

[sheblue]

OK people might have been a bit emotional after a heavy defeat. But calling for him to go I do not agree.
We have been here before, experimenting, notably in November, and came through it. Yes he makes mistakes and he must be called out for them, but hes not 100% to blame for this slump. There are issues beyond the control of the very best managers.
Was it Peps fault we didn't make the signings that all city fans were crying out for last summer? Signings we badly need now, and I am not filled with confidence they will arrive in Jan either.
The uncertainty about Peps future doesn't help at the moment and that needs to be put to bed by the club, they are his employers and we need transparency.

[ayrshireblue]

I'm not calling for him to go, I'm urging him to make his intentions clear by either signing a new contract for a reasonable length of time or stating that he intends to go in the summer. Players need to know that it is in their best interests to buy into everything he asks them to do and that he is as committed as he need them to be. Pep is incredibly lucky to work for a club who give him everything he needs, he needs to realise that the club is bigger than him and if he can't commit to the relationship then the club will get someone else in who will.

[Mase]

I'm not calling for him to go, I'm urging him to make his intentions clear by either signing a new contract for a reasonable length of time or stating that he intends to go in the summer. Players need to know that it is in their best interests to buy into everything he asks them to do and that he is as committed as he need them to be. Pep is incredibly lucky to work for a club who give him everything he needs, he needs to realise that the club is bigger than him and if he can't commit to the relationship then the club will get someone else in who will.

Agree with this. I want to know what’s happening now rather than wanting him gone. If he STILL hasn’t made his mind up, then perhaps he actually has and we should move on?

[Scatman]

Whether he's decided, what he's done about it and who he's told - it's none of our business really is it? We're customers at the end of the day. We will find out what is happening when the powers that be deem it appropriate.

[ayrshireblue]

Whether he's decided, what he's done about it and who he's told - it's none of our business really is it? We're customers at the end of the day. We will find out what is happening when the powers that be deem it appropriate.

Surely the clubs supporters are more than just customers. They are the lifeblood of the club. If there hadn't been 30000 supporting us in Div 2 and Div 1 back in the day then there is no chance that we would have been bought over so you could argue that it's only because of the fans that the club is in the situation we are now in.

[Mase]

Whether he's decided, what he's done about it and who he's told - it's none of our business really is it? We're customers at the end of the day. We will find out what is happening when the powers that be deem it appropriate.

Surely the clubs supporters are more than just customers. They are the lifeblood of the club. If there hadn't been 30000 supporting us in Div 2 and Div 1 back in the day then there is no chance that we would have been bought over so you could argue that it's only because of the fans that the club is in the situation we are now in.

The “none of our business” is a horrible take Scatman.

[Bluemoon16]

I really don't understand what all this panic is about. As others have said we often have our usual blip this time of the year & on occasions we were even 8 points behind around this time and still went on to win the title. Mind you we are only two points behind in November & that's okay in my books considering our point patterns of the last few seasons. We'll continue to lose some points but so will our main competitors as playing the same 11/12 players throughout the season is not sustainable as we've seen in the last few years.

Now Pep has nothing to do with buying players. Yes he may identify some players somewhere & ask the board to buy, but at the end of the day it's not his call. Oscar Bobb was part of his plans this year & the young lad had a brilliant pre-season and short start of the season & would've been influential along with Rodri if it wasn't for their unfortunate injuries. Some people may want us to go out there and buy for the sake of buying, but not every player out there fulfils the criteria to be a City player & rightly so. In this hyper inflated market an unknown/average player may cost 50M without guarantees that they'll turn out just okay (we have/had a few of those) & this this where people need to sit back for a moment and reflect on that we have developed some of the best scouting networks in world football having identified, bought & further developed some of our key players over the years whilst they were still unknown to most people for a bargain price most of the time. We are also some of the highest earners from selling unknown academy kids for 15-25M that haven't played a minute of senior football in any elite competition.

Whilst these legal cases are still pending we can't just go out there & splash say 120M on Elmo or 200M on Vini Junior. Sorry City doesn't work that way anymore & the Hughes/Mancini era of overspending is long over.

City Football Club is the best run football club in the world & the envy of all competitors, hence all these legal challenges that were probably initiated by other rival clubs. But I'm grateful that our owners are on a different level than all the others & the success they brought to this club is as holistic as the definition of that word is concerned.

Pep is just part of the greater City story & the club is not dependent on him for continuity or success. City will continue to succeed with or without Pep & I couldn't care less if he stays or goes because I have absolute faith in the people that run this club.

This is just a blib that will pass & although we may win nothing by the end of the season - and that's okay, but I'm confident that we'll be back stronger with or without Pep.

[Scatman]

Whether he's decided, what he's done about it and who he's told - it's none of our business really is it? We're customers at the end of the day. We will find out what is happening when the powers that be deem it appropriate.

Surely the clubs supporters are more than just customers. They are the lifeblood of the club. If there hadn't been 30000 supporting us in Div 2 and Div 1 back in the day then there is no chance that we would have been bought over so you could argue that it's only because of the fans that the club is in the situation we are now in.

Then Abu Dhabi would have invested their money elsewhere. Remember we were on the brink of collapse in 2008. They didn't buy us because of the fans. They saw a good business opportunity and so far it's working for them. All clubs have fans. "None of our business" might be horrible but ultimately it's the truth. We don't get told anything and it's not for no reason.

[nottsblue]

I really don't understand what all this panic is about. As others have said we often have our usual blip this time of the year & on occasions we were even 8 points behind around this time and still went on to win the title. Mind you we are only two points behind in November & that's okay in my books considering our point patterns of the last few seasons. We'll continue to lose some points but so will our main competitors as playing the same 11/12 players throughout the season is not sustainable as we've seen in the last few years.

Now Pep has nothing to do with buying players. Yes he may identity some players somewhere & ask the board to buy, but at the end of the day it's not his call. Oscar Bobb was part of his plans this year & the young lad had a brilliant pre-season and short start of the season & would've been influential along with Rodri if it wasn't for their unfortunate injuries. Some people may want us to go out there and buy for the sake of buying, but not every player out there fulfils the criteria to be a City player & rightly so. In this hyper inflated market an unknown/average player may cost 50M without guarantees that they'll turn out just okay (we have/had a few of those) & this this where people need to sit back for a moment and reflect on that we have developed some of the best scouting networks in world football having identified, bought & further developed some of our key players over the years whilst they were still unknown to most people for a bargain price most of the time. We are also some of the highest earners from selling unknown academy kids for 15-25M that haven't played a minute of senior football in any elite competition.

Whilst these legal cases are still pending we can't just go out there & splash say 120M on Elmo or 200M on Vini Junior. Sorry City doesn't work that way anymore & the Hughes/Mancini era of overspending is long over.

City Football Club is the best run football club in the world & the envy of all competitors, hence all these legal challenges that were probably initiated by other rival clubs. But I'm grateful that our owners are on a different level than all the others & the success they brought to this club is as holistic as the definition of that word is concerned.

Pep is just part of the greater City story & the club is not dependent on him for continuity or success. City will continue to succeed with or without Pep & I couldn't care less if he stays or goes because I have absolute faith in the people that run this club.

This is just a blib that will pass & although we may win nothing by the end of the season - and that's okay, but I'm confident that we'll be back stronger with or without Pep.

Decent post my friend and it’s more or less my take on things.

[nottsblue]

Given the current situation around supposed injuries and Pep’s comments about some players not playing through the pain barrier lately, has he lost one or two players?

Not saying for a second it’s the dressing room, because it simply isn’t. But in a small tight knit squad like we have, one or two not pulling their weight can quickly become a problem

[Sparklehorse]

Will we ever see the likes of City the season before last ever again ?
That was such a season, beautiful, positive extraordinary football which was a joy to watch. We’ve since had 18 months of visible decline, the reasons for which are pretty obvious. So is Pep going to leave while this decline is in full swing or is he going to stay for a rebuild, I suspect the latter. I think he will stay for another two years so long as there isn’t a catastrophic legal punishment……I don’t think he will want to jump ship if there isn’t and genuinely believe his integrity will lead him to stay. In the meantime, I’ve been giving the current situation some serious thought and have concluded that the current decline might be the best thing to bring the club and its fans to its senses. Of course we would like to win every game and every trophy and I think because of our success we’ve lost sight of how difficult it is to win one trophy let alone three in one season. I’m actually looking forward to being uncertain of whether we’re going to win a game or not, it’s invigorating and makes the games more enjoyable. Brighton is going to be a really tough game and so it should be, but one thing is for fucking sure is that teams have sussed our tippy tappy approach so we have to figure out a different way and it’ll be fascinating by to see how it is addressed. When City are playing football I’m as transfixed now as I was when I was 5…..58 years ago.
I trust in Pep, I think he’s the best manager on the planet who has occasional hiccups and now he’s being questioned he’ll be desperate to prove himself once more.

[dick dastardley]

Pep needs to tell us what he's going to do, once that's sorted then club can plan on the next stage of squad development.
All this uncertainty (in the eyes of the fans) is unsettling, saying that pep may have already told the hierarchy just not the MSM and fans.
This 115 charges is another unsettling part of the jigsaw, this blip in form will end when injuries start to end.
This winter window could be pivotal in our season!!!

[Mase]

His closing line yesterday when he was asked, again, about his future was important. “…what’s best for Manchester City”.

Makes me think he’s off - he knows, the club knows, the players know. I also think someone has already been chosen and sounded out (Girona manager is my guess). It won’t be announced until it’s right for everyone though.

[Indianablue]

His closing line yesterday when he was asked, again, about his future was important. “…what’s best for Manchester City”.

Makes me think he’s off - he knows, the club knows, the players know. I also think someone has already been chosen and sounded out (Girona manager is my guess). It won’t be announced until it’s right for everyone though.

I'd say the right time was a few weeks ago before the players decided to down tools. They've stopped playing. They won't start playing again until a new manager is in place or Pep comes out and signs for another 2 years minimum. Some of our squad are clearly having beefs with him and this has infected the club

[zuricity]

His closing line yesterday when he was asked, again, about his future was important. “…what’s best for Manchester City”.

Makes me think he’s off - he knows, the club knows, the players know. I also think someone has already been chosen and sounded out (Girona manager is my guess). It won’t be announced until it’s right for everyone though.

I'd say the right time was a few weeks ago before the players decided to down tools. They've stopped playing. They won't start playing again until a new manager is in place or Pep comes out and signs for another 2 years minimum. Some of our squad are clearly having beefs with him and this has infected the club

Which players downed tools ? The ones that are injured or the youngsters getting a start because of so many injuries ?

We've just played four away games three long trips to London or the south coast and Lisbon.

[Mase]

His closing line yesterday when he was asked, again, about his future was important. “…what’s best for Manchester City”.

Makes me think he’s off - he knows, the club knows, the players know. I also think someone has already been chosen and sounded out (Girona manager is my guess). It won’t be announced until it’s right for everyone though.

I'd say the right time was a few weeks ago before the players decided to down tools. They've stopped playing. They won't start playing again until a new manager is in place or Pep comes out and signs for another 2 years minimum. Some of our squad are clearly having beefs with him and this has infected the club

Which players downed tools ? The ones that are injured or the youngsters getting a start because of so many injuries ?

We've just played four away games three long trips to London or the south coast and Lisbon.

The ones Pep literally said about?

[PeterParker]

Saw he looked mad a bit according to Romano.

Simple solution: extend

[zuricity]

His closing line yesterday when he was asked, again, about his future was important. “…what’s best for Manchester City”.

Makes me think he’s off - he knows, the club knows, the players know. I also think someone has already been chosen and sounded out (Girona manager is my guess). It won’t be announced until it’s right for everyone though.

I'd say the right time was a few weeks ago before the players decided to down tools. They've stopped playing. They won't start playing again until a new manager is in place or Pep comes out and signs for another 2 years minimum. Some of our squad are clearly having beefs with him and this has infected the club

Which players downed tools ? The ones that are injured or the youngsters getting a start because of so many injuries ?

We've just played four away games three long trips to London or the south coast and Lisbon.

The ones Pep literally said about?

Who did Pep talk about ?