Opinion: If Guardiola is a tactical mastermind, he should manage with 3 substitutes!

Now that the Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola is having his first real test as a professional manager, he wants to revamp the system. So that it can with ease fit his protocol and tactical, mastermind of tactics are struggling with “only” having 3 substitutes in the Premier League. Since he doesn’t have Arjen Robben or Lionel Messi; he has Sergio Agüero and Kevin De Bruyne. Seems, like they are not up-to his level or his standard of football, he is not winning with ease as Guardiola did in Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

With History in Mind:

“On 21 August 1965 Charlton’s Keith Peacock ensured his place in football history by coming on as substitute for injured goalkeeper Mike Rose at Bolton. The Football League had decided to allow substitutes from the start of the 1965-66 season, although only to replace an injured player. There had been many calls for such a change over the previous decade and the issue achieved prominence after a series of FA Cup finals had seen teams depleted by injury, often with decisive influence on the result” (Bateman, 2016).

What Guardiola was saying:

“’It’s not just English football, it’s all around the world. We’re going to kill the players,’ Guardiola said” (…) “‘For that reason we have to have huge squads, more money for the clubs to spend. Just three substitutions right now… why can’t you make four, five or six? ‘That [would] mean all the players are involved more than they were before. The coaches can use different tactics, where you can change four or five players’. ‘It’s [then] a more open game, not always the same. Less injuries. Everything would be better. I think UEFA and FIFA have another opinion about that.’” (Gaughan, 2016).

So to be able to change a forward, midfield and defence isn’t enough as he has loaned away Joe Hart to Torino, not thought much of many of the other former big-players under Roberto Manchini, Guardiola are now wanting to revolutionize the Substitutions system in the Premier League. This is the same kind of whining we heard similar fashion when Jose Mourinho started his first period in Chelsea. That there we’re to many matches in the Christmas and around New Years, as the Premier League and cup matches happens nearly every 3 day with no Christmas break as in other European leagues.

So now Guardiola, the tactical genius, the mastermind of football cannot manage to change 3 out 11 players on the pitch, as he cannot see this fitting the time schedule with Champions League and other cups. That sounds weak, as Alex Ferguson managed well for a decade with that in Manchester United. He has not been proclaimed the FOOTBALL mastermind and the one who could make water into wine.

The new-wine is to be able to substitute half of the team as the strength of modern players are lacking, the ease of heavy training make them more fragile as their salaries has surged and the level of tattoo’s are more common than on seamen back-in-the-day. That Guardiola has to and wants to change half his team says more about his lacking consideration and wish to have bigger squads. Because if they can substitute 6 players, the bench shouldn’t be 7 players with 6 players eligible to play on the field and one keeper! Than the number of substitutes should be 12 players and 11 eligible players to play on the field. That means that the squad of a team would be 23 players not the 18 players that it’s now. That together with the maximum squads registered into UEFA Champions League and Football Association (FA) for Premier League. Something that will make the richest and powerful teams grab more of the talent and more of skilled players without needing farmer-clubs to keep the level of world-class professional players elsewhere.

Guardiola just want it easy and make the changes as he sees certain players without form or without character on the field playing Burnley instead of intelligence of how to use those three to change the game. This isn’t what I expected of Guardiola, I thought he would cope with the Premier League and not bitches like this. The Arrogance of wanting to revamp an old system because he has a hard time isn’t wisdom. It’s the easy fix out. Just like I felt with Mourinho when he was nagging on the amounts of matches in the Christmas and New Year’s period!

Man-up Guardiola! You who are supposed to be a mastermind, a tactician use the system and hit it hard. You have a club with fortunes to spend; you got workmates from Barcelona to help you out in the corners of Football Academy and the scouting after talent on the continent. You Guardiola have a grand opportunity to prove your skills.

I feel the same way to ranting Mourinho who said this in 2013:

“We go into the Christmas period and the accumulation of matches is so high, we don’t do it as a normal thing, we do it as a special group with a special mentality, enjoying the situation, forgetting we don’t have a Christmas break like the Spanish, Italian and German players. We don’t have that” (…) “But we have the pleasure of playing a period that’s only for the braves. I like that very, very much.” (…) “”I enjoyed it when I was in England before and I missed it when I was in Spain and Italy. Now I’m back I want to enjoy it, I want the players to enjoy it, and we need a special mentality to cope with that situation” (…) “Nine matches and one of them is the match against Steaua. That’s our motivation for tomorrow, to try to kill the situation in the group phase and give us a little bit of space in December; instead of having nine real, competitive matches, we only have eight” (HGH Magic – ‘Mourinho: Christmas fixtures only for the braves!’ (26.11.2013) link: http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=538783#ixzz4SZILKQJi).

It’s time for Pep to cope with the Premier League, to play with the cards that are dealt and the cards on the table. He cannot think that his stature and his former accolades will give him way to fix the FA. Pep is not the first or last former successful manager trying himself in the Premier League. There aren’t many leagues with more substitutes over 3 + one extra if the goalkeeper is injured in the overtime. This is something that Pep should be able to fix it!

PEP, time to man-up eats the pupping-pop and figure out possible ways of using the players, the club and the league. Not complaining and wanting a revolution because you cannot handle the pressure. Time to think through your skill-set, talk with your fellow compatriots and club apparatus in Manchester City; they should help you and give you advice so you can manage 3 substitutes as it has been for decades. Peace.

Reference:

Bateman, Jason – ‘Fifty years of substitutions in football: from necessary novelties to tactical tools’ (18.09.2016) link: https://www.theguardian.com/football/when-saturday-comes-blog/2015/sep/18/fifty-years-substitutions-football-sport

Gaughan, Jack – ‘Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola urges football authorities to allow managers to use more than three subs’ (10.11.2016) Link:: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4018792/Manchester-City-boss-Pep-Guardiola-urges-football-authorities-allow-managers-use-three-subs.html#ixzz4SZ8BtdBN

Crime in the Crimean

Everybody who hasn’t lived under stone since 2013 has gotten with the news of demonstrations going on in Kiev in Ukraine. Ukraine who been split by two parts, the one who want a close connection to Russia and the one who want to get closer to EU. So there we have it! Viktor Yanukovich who has been ousted before is now in the wind in Russia. Last time was the Orange revolution in 2004. So ten years later it happened again!

This time Vladimir Putin the president Russia who was using the bargain chip of the vast issues of economic downturn in Ukraine. So there is an issue where Ukraine has a downturn and is borrowing in an up scaling rate. Russia would offer this money if they passed on the deal for a step towards getting a EU membership. That wasn’t acceptable for Putin or Russia. This is in the close hinterland of Moscow. Where famous battles of ancient Russia have fought and had made history there.

Ukraine has a sovereign right to the area. The only issue that Russia has rights there is that they have had agreement with the Ukraine government to have a navy-base fleet in the Black sea. This is the best place considering most other harbors in Russia would be frozen for a long time of the year.

We can all learn by history of action rash. The way of the future madness it can lead into. The way military units move into the region. The Ukraine is unstable because of fresh leadership and ousted of the government of Yanukovich. Putin is fairing the safety of the navy-base and warships.

That USA is calling this 18^th century ways of acting. It’s kind of unreasonable of the country that has attacked countries without caring about the UN resolutions or the safety council accommodation. John Kerry attacking Russia is a bit of throwing a stone in glasshouse. USA went into Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya. Only a few times US has been right in aggressive military action is as recent “white” war of Balkans during the 90s. Now were in present time after a period of Bush wars and giving other countries the clean-up missions that they couldn’t do: in the likes of AMISOM mission in Somalia and the MONUC mission in Democratic Republic of Congo.

So here we have it! Putin who has been just finished a polished and beautiful Olympics in Sochi. Then he tried to make a positive impression on the world. Now, we are here where Russia is going into the Ukraine with a force to just secure … the navy-base in Crimea for its warship fleet and also excusing itself for the Russian inhabitants. We have heard sorry excuse before by other power in the 20^th century it’s was a certain Nazi Germany who attacked parts of Poland and Czechoslovakia for its German citizens there and the League of Nations had no power to stop it or Neville Chamberlain.

It has some similarities we all now, but doesn’t have the same ending or the same pretext. We’re just in a situation where Putin has to save face and Ukraine has to do the same. Where USA and western hemisphere isn’t happy for the actions of Russia, at some point this will give other issues as well. Canada has already called back its ambassador from Moscow. The United Kingdom has already pulled itself out of the G8 meeting which was supposed to be in Sochi, Russia.

You can wash your hands clean and then call yourself guilty… Still your actions tell more than the lies you told yesterday. The same must Vladimir Putin feel today or yesterday since he order troops into the Crimean-peninsula. Mother Russia doesn’t have the rights to this. US is correct though they isn’t the right actor to talk. They have broken the same rules whenever it have pleased themselves in recent years. So if Canada or UK is attacking Russia for their actions they have more credibility then USA for the moment. Barrack Obama can talk peace, but he should instead spend time selling government cheese inside his own border then resume and judge Vladimir Putin. The French who has jumped to the Francafrique – the French Africa in this instances we talk about Cote d’Ivoire and Central African Republic. Cleaning out their own “commonwealth” or should I say: “Francafrique”.

So here we are in position where mighty people play with high stakes. So high haven’t we been in ages. The outcome can be either little or big. We can know for the moment. The people of the Crimean-peninsula are the pawns in this and it’s sad. So as outsiders we can only act with condemnation and pray for the right way out of this. This is still a crime and is a foul. If it had been a football match they would have given Russia as a player least a yellow card and maybe even warning that next action could lead to a red card! Peace.