Guardiola to be found out in the premier league

mkrudden · January 23, 2017

mikeh72 said:
As people have pointed out though, Steve Claridge would have won everything with the greatest club side ever to play the game. I'd go as far as saying this job is his first real test as a manager. We'll just have to see how he pans out.

But the season before he became Barca boss they didn't win the league?

Billy Dean · January 23, 2017

mikeh72 said:
As people have pointed out though, Steve Claridge would have won everything with the greatest club side ever to play the game. I'd go as far as saying this job is his first real test as a manager. We'll just have to see how he pans out.

Do you think Barca would have been the greatest side ever to play the game if Steve Claridge had Puyol launching it long from back to front, with Thierry Henry looking for knock downs from Messi?

MikeH72 · January 23, 2017

Billy Dean said:
Do you think Barca would have been the greatest side ever to play the game if Steve Claridge had Puyol launching it long from back to front, with Thierry Henry looking for knock downs from Messi?

I don't think that would have happened mate, because the players would just have played how they wanted and continued to smack everyone, and Steve Claridge would have just gone "fair enough", and sat there and let them do it.

Mikey_Fitzgerald · January 23, 2017

mikeh72 said:
He's bought a goalkeeper that hasn't saved a shot for 180 minutes because he's dead good at pinging it out to the full backs. Conte is 10x the manager he is.

Conte has just worked out the best way to combat that style of play

Someone was bound to eventually

gonetomorrow · January 23, 2017

City need a new defence pronto. And Silva doesn't pose quite the same threat as he did. Or Aguero for that matter.

Billy Dean · January 23, 2017

mikeh72 said:
I don't think that would have happened mate, because the players would just have played how they wanted and continued to smack everyone, and Steve Claridge would have just gone "fair enough", and sat there and let them do it.

Like they did the year before Pep took over and won nothing?

MikeH72 · January 23, 2017

Billy Dean said:
Like they did the year before Pep took over and won nothing?

No mate, like they did after Pep left and they continued winning everything.

Billy Dean · January 23, 2017

mikeh72 said:
No mate, like they did after Pep left and they continued winning everything.

They didn't win the CL for 3 years after he left. They hadn't won if for 3 years when he joined.

MikeH72 · January 23, 2017

Billy Dean said:
They didn't win the CL for 3 years after he left. They hadn't won if for 3 years when he joined.

So they won it 3 years before he came, and 3 years after he left? So they've pretty much been one of the best teams in Europe for the past decade regardless of him being there?

Billy Dean · January 23, 2017

mikeh72 said:
So they won it 3 years before he came, and 3 years after he left? So they've pretty much been one of the best teams in Europe for the past decade regardless of him being there?

One of the best sides in Europe always but his Barca team was considered one of the best ever. Up there with the Dutch and Brazilian sides of the 70s

Walken · January 23, 2017

Mikey_Fitzgerald said:
Conte has just worked out the best way to combat that style of play

Someone was bound to eventually

He probably desearves a bit more credit for it than that though, even with that second hand wig look, making pep look the tit he is

rbm · January 23, 2017

mikeh72 said:
No mate, like they did after Pep left and they continued winning everything.

Exactly.

rbm · January 23, 2017

Billy Dean said:
One of the best sides in Europe always but his Barca team was considered one of the best ever. Up there with the Dutch and Brazilian sides of the 70s

But Billy that Barca side of Pep had the young and sensational ( literally sensationally good ) Messi aged about 22 to 24. Electrifying and better than he now is. Enrique does not have the young Messi running riot and practically unstoppable. He has the older slightly slower " super Xavi plus goals" that Messi has morphed into.

Just like Ajax had the young and sensationally good Cruyff.

macdog · January 24, 2017

Wasn't Pep going to turn Stones into the world-beater he could never become at Everton?

Billy Dean · January 24, 2017

rbm said:
But Billy that Barca side of Pep had the young and sensational ( literally sensationally good ) Messi aged about 22 to 24. Electrifying and better than he now is. Enrique does not have the young Messi running riot and practically unstoppable. He has the older slightly slower " super Xavi plus goals" that Messi has morphed into.

Just like Ajax had the young and sensationally good Cruyff.

Just like Ajax's coach at the time is remembered as one of the best ever despite the fact he had some of the best players in the world to work with.