English PL 21/22 season

Anytime City are leading the title race or winning things, this one pops up. People taking the time to go onto the internet to write of how they don't care about Manchester City.  Quite childish as the same people were probably talking up how great the three way title race would be this season as close as 4 weeks ago. Now City are leading and they're taking their ball and going home with it. They cared a few months ago when Chelsea were 5 ahead of City and they were saying they really should have signed a striker in the summer. 

Hotlips_Hoolahan wrote: He's managed a Barca side with peak Iniesta, Xavi and Messi

Remind me what they'd won in the two years prior to Pep taking over? This greatest team ever that they were called when Pep had finished with them. Not bad for a "checkbook manager"

Hotlips_Hoolahan wrote: a Man City side that can afford to sell a talent like Ferran Torres halfway through a season without losing anything.

Ironically, one of the biggest criticisms of City is their spending. And the Torres sale took their NET SPEND (which fans of others clubs have gone on about for years) for the season to around about zero! And still he's dominating the greatest league in the world. Which is it? Are they bad boys for buying players and building up a big squad, or bad boys for selling them reducing their net spend and reducing the size of their squad?

Make your mind up. 

Hotlips_Hoolahan wrote: He hasn't won the CL in a decade.

Must be terrible then. Whats the issue and why has he totally outclassed the rest of England so much so that its another procession to the title 4 days into the new year? 

Hotlips_Hoolahan wrote: They can't even select Benjamin Mendy and it doesn't affect them at all!

Yes, as i touched on above, the sale of Torres and unavailability of Mendy means that City have the smallest number of senior players in their squad out of the top 3. 

City 20, Liverpool 25 and Chelsea 25. 

I have the list somewhere i can post up if you want? It was doing the rounds on social media last week. 

I'm sure United have more than 20 senior players in their squad as well. Read a lot of predictions and previews in August who even said United and Chelsea now have an all round stronger squad than Citys. 

Borussia wrote:  If ambition is solely defined by winning things then being in one of the few places that can spend unlimited amounts of money on players obviously lends itself to that.

Why didn't they sign Kane last summer? Or any striker for that matter? If it was unlimited surely there'd have been no issues replacing Aguero. Or buying an actual left back for that matter. 

Hotlips_Hoolahan wrote: Even Roberto Mancini won a league title with City FFS.

You miss the Euros in the summer? He's quite a good manager. Worse ones have won the premier league. (Ranieri)

While we're on the subject, I wonder why Pellegrini and Mancini didn't dominate domestically to the extent that Guardiola did in England. All had the same conditions to work in, if anything his predecessors had more of an "unlimited budget" considering the focus on FFP and City the last couple of years. Could it be just that Guardiola is a different class of coach and manager who gets every inch out of his squad, which does include some quite average players despite some of the fees they were signed for, playing a wonderful brand of football and improving every player technically?

Hotlips_Hoolahan wrote: Di Matteo won a CL with less resources than Pep!

Why don't one of City's rivals appoint Di Matteo then to close the massive gap that has emerged since he's been at City. Imagine him at Old Trafford with their unlimited budget, for example. Wouldn't be long overtaking the over rated Pep and his City side. 

FrankosHereNow wrote: The best managers get jobs at the top clubs. They get paid the most and they get big transfer budgets.

100%. Sounds like Hotlips isn't going to be happy until Pep is turned into a journeyman of a manager like Mourinho. The thing is, Mourinho has been hounded out of every club he's been at which is why he has to go to clubs like Spurs and Roma to manage. If he hadn't been he'd still be managing at the top level. 

HH probably was predicting that Jose would see Pep off in Manchester a few years ago, or maybe was one of those saying "he'll be gone by May" each season when Pep has lost a game before Christmas. 

Doesn't care about Manchester City but just wants Pep to leave them ASAP and stop being so good and winning trophies. 

Er. you made a clear distinction between players and managers.

I pointed out that PG was ambitious as a player - you don't get to the very top like he did unless you are - so why would he suddenly become less ambitious when becoming a manager?

And having done so, with considerable success, why would he, a multi-millionaire, continue pushing himself into his 50's, in the face of gobsh*tes criticising him for not having added to his 3 x CL titles with Man City?

Yet.

I mean, where's the ambition in that?

He hasn't won the CL in a decade. He's winning leagues with a squad that could put out 2 sides that would beat any Spanish or Italian side. They can't even select Benjamin Mendy and it doesn't affect them at all! 

For all his pomposity, there's a severe lack of ambition in what he's doing.

Failed to win 9 of their last 13