Pathetic excuse. Other managers have had harder jobs and lasted much longer. Hes a weak man going off this and the evidence that he had very little to do with Barcelonas success is mounting. I mean whats he actually done to make his job difficult. I image training is a case of " go on lads, you know what to do " and tactics are " see this little guy, give him the ball in the last 3rd and see what happens ". He had it made, the perfect job where minimal effort gave massive reward and now that reward has gone hes gone. He may well of also made himself un-hireable at many clubs now aswell by saying he doesnt want a long term job. Some clubs want more stability or at least the potential for it. His next job will answer many questions.
You see him as weak. Maybe. Others may see him as believing there are more important things in life than Barca.
Of course there is, but hes a football manager and thats his job. Hes walked out at the first sign of a challenge and that speaks volumes. He can cover it up how he likes but the fact remains hes left when the going got tough.
He has not walked out at the first sign of a challenge. What do you think Real Madrid have been doing for the last few seasons? Do you think Man United and other European sides have not been attempting to challenge Barca in the last few years? The fact is he has been talking for a while of leaving regardless of who is challenging him.
He's been there for how long? He doesn't need to make excuses, Fergie would be quite chuffed with his 4 year record would he not? 2 CL titles a few leagues and other bits and pieces, he's earned the right to make his own choices, he's given his career to Barca and done them proud as a manager, I thought he would be exactly the sort of committed individual United would be looking for to replace Fergie
Same could said of Fergie but he never left United, this guy had te balls to make a move that takes him away from arguably the best group of players for a long time and gets criticised for it. Fergie also landed into a bunch of talented players not matched by the following squads, that team really did play as a team and that wa the key to their success. Pointing to what he had at his disposal, they were all not so greatly thought of as they are now, great players ect thats why he had success, all excuses to back your arguments lads. The team that went out 1 0 to UNited a few years back is nothing like this team. Unlocked potential already there, you say that like it is a reason it was easier rather than crediting him for bring out better in already very good players. He thought Masc how to pass a ball, I commend him for that alone Maureen had a great team, never dominated europe or the prem, wenger had a fantastic team, again no domination of even their own league for more than a year, United had a great team in 1999 and it ended there as far as europe is concerned, and then there's Messi does nothing with Argentina yet he is the end all and be all at barca, yet some of ye say it is all inestia and Xavi. When you get good players hat can also play as a team totally it is a notch above the rest and there have been few of theose teams in football history, Barca are one thanks to their manager. The pressure of that job as it stands dwarfs pressure in any jobs in the prem, thier rivalries are not rooted in football as in England. Yes we are all curious about how he will do at another club, I often wonder that about Fergie, but the fact remains that he assesed what he had and made them into the team they are, they were not even close to this current team 5 years ago. Lastly I doubt even Fergie could have gotten those players to play that good, I think that is an important and overlooked fact. Most of what Barca do is very very simple, it is the tactics they use that make them so good, they play like no other team. They have not got the best in the world man for man team by a long shot so that makes his achievement even greater, it is just so ABB to be downlaying what he and his team have achieved in the modern game where iit is according to yourself over and over Swarbs, much harder to dominate.
Barcelona were on another planet to everyone else until this season. Suddenly the threat of Real has not just become huge but they have bettered Barcelona in La Liga and by some distance. In Europe their tippy tappy style has suddenly become Arsenalesque by which I mean nothing much came of it when it mattered most. Look I am not saying hes an awful manager just that hes proved nothing in football except hes capable of taking the best team on earth and winning things with it. Wow. Amazing. All this talk about him saying for years he was always going to leave. Yeh, thats a sign of a man who you can rely on isnt it. What sort of manager tells people hes no plans to stay. You keep your mouth shut and do you job.
Fergie and Mourinho would of won everything with that squad, not defeats to Inter or Chelsea in Semi finals, no conceding the title to Real Madrid none of that nonsense. He had the best set of players ever to be considered a team and the first season he doesnt win something major hes off. You can try as hard as you like to dress it up but the fact is, no trophies, gone.
Possibly the worst thing ever written ever. Ok maybe not that bad but close... Fergie didnt have anywhere near the quality Pep had. Not even 25%. Mouriniho did dominate English football in his short stay at Chelsea. He left due to many reasons, one being the owner is a knobhead. Wenger may not of dominated but hes maintained Arsenals position as one of the 4 biggest in the country and one of the most entertaining teams in Europe for over a decade. He hasnt left during tough times even when the offer of the MAdrid job was there. The 3 above all had something Pep has shown he didnt. When things go wrong they have the ability and the belief to rectify things. Wenger didnt win trophies but he proved everyone wrong by keeping Arsenal up near the top. Lesses managers would of failed. Mouriniho took Madrid close last year but instead of thinking, ah, close enough like Mr Rafa Benitez might think, he went and won it this time round. Fergie, well people keep telling him his time is over yet he comes back and makes them look like idiots season after season. We might finish with nothing this season, guess what Fergie will be doing. It wont be quitting thats for sure. Like I say, spin it how you like, he quit as soon as the going got really tough. Next season Barcelona would of had many questions to answer, is this the end of their reign, can they bounce back, lets really see what Pep is made of. Now hes chickened out of a fight we will never know.
I seem to remember sometime in 2008, after Barca had endured their worst season in a long time, people asked exactly these kind of questions when Barca surprisingly appointed a manager with a very limited CV. I think he answered those questions pretty well. Or when Mourinho's Inter dumped them out of the Champions league, people said their win the previous season was a one season wonder and they had been found out in Europe. He really chickened out of that one too didn't he. Most of the claims you are making about Guardiola have been well proven wrong but you still keep spouting this vitriolic nonsense about him. Why not at least tell us the reason to all the hatred against a, in my opinion, very decent and likeable bloke?
This is the first time hes not won a major trophy and hes gone. Nothing against him but if he ever had a chance to prove he was the real deal and now when the playing field might of just evened out hes off. Just strikes me as strange. Personally I dont think he did too much at Barcelona. He didnt have to really build a squad as most of the players were already there. Maybe he helped unlock the potential, perhaps the semi final in the CL gave them the belief they could go one better? Barcelona in Europe by then were the second best club at worst, they had only a few years prior to Pep won the CL and reached a semi 2 years later, going out to a piece of brilliance from scholes.
As you have been told at least twice, they still have a chance of winning a major trophy this season, in fact they are very likely to do so.
Even in Spain the Spanish Cup is not considered a major trophy. So no, they have not won a major trophy. The only reason Madrid made a big deal about it last season is because they beat Barcelona in the final.
Yeh, not considered a major trophy. Its like comparing the League Cup to the Champions League or La Liga title.
It is but in England we take ours way more seriously. Most countries dont have as much emphasis on them as in England. Think of it as the League Cup a decade ago in many ways. Lost of youngsters getting match time and results that would often shock people if they were in league games. Its still a trophy though, just not a major one.
