Pep: could it happen?

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Christiansmith

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Aug 30, 2011
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Media speculation, negotiating strategy for a better pay, agents stirring- take your pick regarding the Sunday articles about Pep preferring United if he was coming to England.

Sack LVG this summer to be replaced by Pep?
Leave LVG till the end of his contract in 2017 and risk losing Pep?
Is it even remotely true?

I'll stick my neck out by saying that most fans will prefer Pep to LVG :bandit:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...hester-United-as-his-preferred-next-move.html
 
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I'm not sure about this. He's always had the luxury of having by far and away the best team in the league. That we are not! It would be a leap into the unknown for both him and United. The football would be more entertaining though. Marginally.
 
I keep reading that Pep would prefer a club with tradition and stature over 'new money' - that puts us in a very good position indeed. LVG can and will be dispensed with just as soon as the board find a better candidate and I suspect he is only in the job now because of the lack of an alternative manager for the club. That changes the second Pep announces he is leaving BM.

I doubt there will be much resistence from the fans to the departure of LVG - it has all been rather a non-event, but is now being seen by many as a liability. I suspect the board are just praying for the opportunity to terminate his contract early. We all had high hopes, he did stop the rot, but he simply hasn't taken the club to the next level.

Pep will relish the prospect of turning the club around, and let's be fair, the potential is already there, the players just need better tactics and motivation. Get rid of Rooney, Fellani, Valencia and a few other under-performers - that leaves a young and talented core for Pep to add to with some fresh signings.
 
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Certainly could happen - probably the best manager in the world at the moment going to one of the biggest clubs in the world, hardly beyond the realms of speculation. We'd also be ideal if he wanted to have a crack at a long term job without the politicising and pressure that marred his time at Barca.

But all the media rumours definitely require a large pinch of salt. After all, the chat over last summer was all about Klopp dreaming of managing Utd and taking a sabbatical from Dortmund to try and line up a take over from LVG this summer. And he's basically thrown that chance away by taking over Liverpool.

So I think if we do want to have a chance of getting Guardiola we will need to be pretty decisive about it, like Bayern were when they signed him up in January with the Heynckes still in charge. He knew we were interested and he could take over from SAF when he retired. But at the time SAF hadn't decided to retire yet so he took the offer that was there rather than waiting for what might have been. If we make the same mistake again he could well end up at City, Chelsea or any club which is willing to ditch their current boss to get him.
 
Obviously.

Will it make everyone happy though. There will be a number of sideways passes, 60+% possession. Teams in Spain and Germany don't park buses and Pep's Barcelona failed to beat the ultimate bus in Chelsea at times. This could be an issue for some.

Maybe he will bring Muller, though.

Bayern fans thinks Peps boring btw.

Are we sure we wouldn't be better off with Moyes. I've seen a few suggestions that he's the right man. Stats were produced that supported this claim, apparently. Moyes also has PL experience and he's British. Could be worth a shot. Might shut some people up.
 
If he joins City then he's the biggest spoofer out there. Not bcos it's City, I'd have more respect for him if he went to Arsenal. All that going to City would show is that he's a cheque book manager (a very good one, but one nonetheless).
 
Treble said:
If he joins City then he's the biggest spoofer out there. Not bcos it's City, I'd have more respect for him if he went to Arsenal. All that going to City would show is that he's a cheque book manager (a very good one, but one nonetheless).
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Do you honestly think we have been much different the last couple of years?
 
returnofthesweatband said:
Do you honestly think we have been much different the last couple of years?
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I did think this as I posted, but in terms of as a club we have tradition which at least matches the likes of Barcelona or Bayern so the argument can be made that he is staying true to his beliefs. He would ofcourse spend loads at United, but he would also develop our youth coming through.

BTW the one big question mark over Pep is how long he would stick around. For that reason, I'm not sure he is the best option. Unless we accept that having a long term manager is just a pipe dream in modern football?
 
returnofthesweatband said:
Do you honestly think we have been much different the last couple of years?
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To be fair we have at least played some young players and local lads to try and keep some connection to our roots. City have that one lad from Cheadle who played five minutes of one league cup game, but other than that they don't seem to care about any legacy or history.

Treble said:
BTW the one big question mark over Pep is how long he would stick around. For that reason, I'm not sure he is the best option. Unless we accept that having a long term manager is just a pipe dream in modern football?
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I think having a very successful long term manager is a pipe dream - SAF was probably the last one there will ever be. It seems to be either be a choice between a manager like Pep or Mourinho who will come in, bring immediate success but leave after a few years, or one like Wenger or Benitez who may stay for a long time but will never experience the same level of success, and will anchor the team in deeper mediocrity the longer they stay.
 
Christiansmith said:
Media speculation, negotiating strategy for a better pay, agents stirring- take your pick regarding the Sunday articles about Pep preferring United if he was coming to England.

Sack LVG this summer to be replaced by Pep?
Leave LVG till the end of his contract in 2017 and risk losing Pep?
Is it even remotely true?

I'll stick my neck out by saying that most fans will prefer Pep to LVG :bandit:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...hester-United-as-his-preferred-next-move.html
Click to expand...
glazerfodder said:
Pep will relish the prospect of turning the club around, and let's be fair, the potential is already there, the players just need better tactics and motivation. Get rid of Rooney, Fellani, Valencia and a few other under-performers - that leaves a young and talented core for Pep to add to with some fresh signings.
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The framework is definitely there. Our problem is that third half of the pitch but the maturity is within the team for someone like Pep to step in. I believe LVG was brought in specifically for that ground work hence why there's very little noise from the board.

If I were Pep and I had a choice between City and United, United would always be my first choice. It's a no brainer! But then again, I'm naturally biased.
 
Swarbs said:
To be fair we have at least played some young players and local lads to try and keep some connection to our roots. City have that one lad from Cheadle who played five minutes of one league cup game, but other than that they don't seem to care about any legacy or history.



I think having a very successful long term manager is a pipe dream - SAF was probably the last one there will ever be. It seems to be either be a choice between a manager like Pep or Mourinho who will come in, bring immediate success but leave after a few years, or one like Wenger or Benitez who may stay for a long time but will never experience the same level of success, and will anchor the team in deeper mediocrity the longer they stay.
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Not necessarily a pipe dream.

Guardiola next followed by Giggs would be my ideal solution. Neville moves alongside Giggs after he's served his apprenticeship alongside van Gaal then Guardiola.

And no, he doesn't have to go somewhere else in the meantime.

If he proved to be a success then he'd be long term. Can't see him wanting to be anywhere else.

I might not end like that of course but it would be very nice if it did.
 
cytrax said:
If I were Pep and I had a choice between City and United, United would always be my first choice. It's a no brainer! But then again, I'm naturally biased.
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You'd think that would be the obvious choice. But then maybe Pep fancies gaining a status akin to Mourinho at Chelsea, where he is bigger than the club and can do no wrong. No matter how successful he is at Utd, he will never end up being bigger than the club, and would almost certainly always remain in SAF's shadow which may not be appealing.

Then again, Mourinho originally wanted to manage Liverpool instead of Chelsea, and only went to Chelsea after Liverpool chose Benitez. So maybe Pep will have the same preference for the bigger club.
 
Chief said:
Not necessarily a pipe dream.

Guardiola next followed by Giggs would be my ideal solution. Neville moves alongside Giggs after he's served his apprenticeship alongside van Gaal then Guardiola.

And no, he doesn't have to go somewhere else in the meantime.

If he proved to be a success then he'd be long term. Can't see him wanting to be anywhere else.

I might not end like that of course but it would be very nice if it did.
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That would be great. But would Giggs be very successful in the long term? I can see him winning trophies and playing good football, but then that's the same as Wenger has achieved. It would take something very special to maintain those levels of success over a period of more than five or six years.

I guess it depends on how you'd define success. We're the biggest club in England and one of the biggest in Europe, and have just enjoyed a 25 year period as the most successful club in England and one of the most successful in Europe. I don't think we'd enjoy that same level of success over the next 25 years, or even the next ten years, under any one manager as no other manager in history has shown the ability to build and rebuild as SAF whilst keeping the team at such a high level of performance.
 
Chief said:
Not necessarily a pipe dream.

Guardiola next followed by Giggs would be my ideal solution. Neville moves alongside Giggs after he's served his apprenticeship alongside van Gaal then Guardiola.

And no, he doesn't have to go somewhere else in the meantime.

If he proved to be a success then he'd be long term. Can't see him wanting to be anywhere else.

I might not end like that of course but it would be very nice if it did.
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I personally don't see Giggs as a manager. I think he is too much of a "nice guy" to be in with a shout. But then again, you have to look at Barca's model and admire how they take chances with mostly unknown managers. You have to love the way that club runs. They have no single point of failure and always have sufficient plan B. There was always danger in having Fergie at the helm for so long.

Another thing; there have been plenty of managers that have worked with LVG and gone on to be excellent managers. So maybe Giggs of today is more ready than we think.
 
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