Skoorb
Alert Team
Barring a calamitous and unprecedented turnaround on Wednesday evening at the Etihad, Manchester City FC should find their name typed on a piece of paper and locked up tight in one of those little footballs in a glass bowl in Lyon on Thursday morning. Holding a 5 goal lead from the away leg the Romanians would need to score six goals without reply to prevent Pep Guardiola's side from starting their Champions League campaign proper. This may be Manchester City we are talking about here but I doubt even some of the more inept sides we have seen over the decades could capitulate to that extent. Oh hang on, there was the bottom of the barrel scraping 8-1 away defeat to Middlesbrough under Sven Goran Erikkson.....
But no, no.......not these players. Not under this manager.
For the club is now a vastly different place than that dark day back in May 2008. In the space of three games we have glimpsed the promise that the appointment of Pep Guardiola can bring. We have witnessed players who were jaded, lethargic, demotivated and some apparently destined for the exit chute become re-focused, re-vitailsed and re-energised. We have seen the steel that lies beneath the softly spoken persona and we can be absolutely sure that under his watch there are no passengers. Everyone works hard. Everyone. No exceptions.
Three games, three victories, 11 goals scored, 4 penalties awarded, 2 missed, 2 goals conceded. There are sterner tests to come for sure but one of the standard, 'benchmark' tests for any manager - "can he get a result on a wet, windy afternoon at Stoke" - was passed at the weekend much to the chagrin of many in the media who are just waiting for the guy to fall on his face.
The next test in the league will be West Ham but before that Pep has the task of guiding his new squad through the entry gate into the group stage of the elite European competition. With every game we will learn a bit more about his thinking and in the fixture against Steaua he will have to consider whether he starts with a strong side and or rests some of his key personnel before the Premier League fixture. Those playing Be The Manager will face some tough choices trying to get inside his mind.
One certainty though is that Joe Hart is unlikely to feature except on the bench. Make no mistake, this is more than a purely footballing decision. When Guardiola became coach of the Barcelona first team in May 2008 there were a number of changes in personnel which followed including a number of senior players who might have thought they were untouchable. That Joe Hart does not seem to fit with Guardiola's vision of a goalkeeper fully integrated into the team rather than just as a shot stopper is, I am sure, only part of the story. A statement is being made and the new coach is demonstrating a steely consistency and a solid understanding of how football dressing rooms work. Along with Nasri & Toure, Hart is a senior member of the squad, a key voice in the dressing room and a possible influencer of others. With the footballing demands required of his keepers and by his own admission ("we are not an academy, we don't have time") he seems to have recognised that if he has benched Hart for these reasons he must make a change and will not countenance the potential for disruption that having a disaffected player in the squad might bring. Caballero's distribution at the weekend against Stoke did little to dispel the view that the die is cast. The justification given that he has had more pre-season time will start to wear a bit thin soon.....unless a new keeper arrives.
Guardiola is making a bold statement fully in line with his footballing principles but also with an eye on establishing his authority at the club, with the players and within the British footballing community. With negotiations seemingly well advanced to bring Bravo to the Etihad it would appear that England's current No 1 will be plying his trade elsewhere by the close of the transfer window. This is football.
In team news the usual suspects remain absent - Kompany and new boys Gundogan and Sane - but Sagna might well be available.....just to mess a bit further with the BTM crew :028:
As for Steaua......my main hope is that they don't take out any of our players in a fit of pique.
Once again my streak of monumental bad planning continues with Mrs Skoorb having elected to invite friends around for a BBQ on Wednesday evening. The fact that it is her birthday is a feeble excuse. Still - if we keep on winning I may have to forsake watching any live games as long as the results keep rolling in :026:
Come On City!!!
But no, no.......not these players. Not under this manager.
For the club is now a vastly different place than that dark day back in May 2008. In the space of three games we have glimpsed the promise that the appointment of Pep Guardiola can bring. We have witnessed players who were jaded, lethargic, demotivated and some apparently destined for the exit chute become re-focused, re-vitailsed and re-energised. We have seen the steel that lies beneath the softly spoken persona and we can be absolutely sure that under his watch there are no passengers. Everyone works hard. Everyone. No exceptions.
Three games, three victories, 11 goals scored, 4 penalties awarded, 2 missed, 2 goals conceded. There are sterner tests to come for sure but one of the standard, 'benchmark' tests for any manager - "can he get a result on a wet, windy afternoon at Stoke" - was passed at the weekend much to the chagrin of many in the media who are just waiting for the guy to fall on his face.
The next test in the league will be West Ham but before that Pep has the task of guiding his new squad through the entry gate into the group stage of the elite European competition. With every game we will learn a bit more about his thinking and in the fixture against Steaua he will have to consider whether he starts with a strong side and or rests some of his key personnel before the Premier League fixture. Those playing Be The Manager will face some tough choices trying to get inside his mind.
One certainty though is that Joe Hart is unlikely to feature except on the bench. Make no mistake, this is more than a purely footballing decision. When Guardiola became coach of the Barcelona first team in May 2008 there were a number of changes in personnel which followed including a number of senior players who might have thought they were untouchable. That Joe Hart does not seem to fit with Guardiola's vision of a goalkeeper fully integrated into the team rather than just as a shot stopper is, I am sure, only part of the story. A statement is being made and the new coach is demonstrating a steely consistency and a solid understanding of how football dressing rooms work. Along with Nasri & Toure, Hart is a senior member of the squad, a key voice in the dressing room and a possible influencer of others. With the footballing demands required of his keepers and by his own admission ("we are not an academy, we don't have time") he seems to have recognised that if he has benched Hart for these reasons he must make a change and will not countenance the potential for disruption that having a disaffected player in the squad might bring. Caballero's distribution at the weekend against Stoke did little to dispel the view that the die is cast. The justification given that he has had more pre-season time will start to wear a bit thin soon.....unless a new keeper arrives.
Guardiola is making a bold statement fully in line with his footballing principles but also with an eye on establishing his authority at the club, with the players and within the British footballing community. With negotiations seemingly well advanced to bring Bravo to the Etihad it would appear that England's current No 1 will be plying his trade elsewhere by the close of the transfer window. This is football.
In team news the usual suspects remain absent - Kompany and new boys Gundogan and Sane - but Sagna might well be available.....just to mess a bit further with the BTM crew :028:
As for Steaua......my main hope is that they don't take out any of our players in a fit of pique.
Once again my streak of monumental bad planning continues with Mrs Skoorb having elected to invite friends around for a BBQ on Wednesday evening. The fact that it is her birthday is a feeble excuse. Still - if we keep on winning I may have to forsake watching any live games as long as the results keep rolling in :026:
Come On City!!!
