[Albion] Pep - ‘Brighton are like a Michelin starred restaurant’

[A1X]

Bet he's not so gushing after we've smashed them 5-0 tomorrow

 

[Farehamseagull]

I love Pep. He's the greatest manager of the modern football era and for me personally, the best ever. He is an absolute football genius but at the same time he is utterly bonkers!

I think he sees the whole world through a football pitch and struggles to understand anything outside of it including how to communicate at times. He is a mad genius.

 

[Official Old Man]

Hopefully he doesn’t see us as too much of a challenge to put a full strength team out

I will be very disappointed if Haaland doesn't get a run out. He is one of the best footballers at the moment and I'd like to be able to say in future that 'I saw him play'. Just don't let him score.

 

[Surf's Up]

Hmmmmmmmm…..I’m very wary of a Pep bearing gifts!!!!

 

[Icy Gull]

Ferran Adria, of El Bulli was who he compared us to...

That was some restaurant apparently

 

[Icy Gull]

I love Pep. He's the greatest manager of the modern football era and for me personally, the best ever. He is an absolute football genius but at the same time he is utterly bonkers!

I think he sees the whole world through a football pitch and struggles to understand anything outside of it including how to communicate at times. He is a mad genius.

De Zerbi may be better, give him the players City have and I'll pretty well guarantee he would have the won the CL by now

Pep keeps f***ing it up

 

[Mad as my Mother]

I'll take one of the best managers ever, saying these things all day long, even if they are some kind of mind game!

 

[Taybha]

I think I'd prefer it if he said we were like Divals and the last chef drowned himself in the Stroganoff

 

[Mackenzie]

Pep is right, De Zerbi introduced his style to Sassuolo and helped to change how football is played in Italy, it’s no longer the defensive game we associate with the Italians. You can see teams trying to copy our patterns of play over here now, granted usually comically badly, but he is having an influence. It’s amazing really, I hope he’s here for a long time and keeps ahead of the opposition tactically.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Pep and his compliments can do one. It's about time we had a 'Bored of Brighton now' media backlash.

 

[The Wizard]

He’s always very complimentary of teams he tends to bend over, in fact he’s nearly always complementary, makes it hard for teams to get riled up against City because they appear as ‘Mr Nice guy’

Nice to hear, but If I see Haaland and de Bruyne in that starting line up he can go f**k himself.

 

[Machiavelli]

Ferran Adria, of El Bulli was who he compared us to...

Yes so, contrary to what he said, he actually meant that we are like a three-starred Michelin restaurant, and arguably the most renowned three-starred Michelin restaurant.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I love Pep. He's the greatest manager of the modern football era and for me personally, the best ever. He is an absolute football genius but at the same time he is utterly bonkers!

I think he sees the whole world through a football pitch and struggles to understand anything outside of it including how to communicate at times. He is a mad genius.

He's not yet transformed a team who haven't already been winning. Frank RiJkaard won consecutive La Liga's and a Champions League after 7 years without a trophy for Barca before Pep took over, and it was him who bought young players like Iniesta, Messi and Valdes into the team. Pep took over a winning side. Likewise Jupp Heynckes won the league and CL before Pep took over - another winning machine. Pellegrini and Mancini won the PL before Pep took over. Great manager to sustain success, but he's never had the challenge of creating success from very little.

 

[raymondo]

Getting the excuses in early?

Nah, he's setting us up for a thumping

 

[Bakero]

Pep stole his simile from a bloke on the Totally Football show

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Find it difficult to take this kind of stuff at face value.

 

[Farehamseagull]

He's not yet transformed a team who haven't already been winning. Frank RiJkaard won consecutive La Liga's and a Champions League after 7 years without a trophy for Barca before Pep took over, and it was him who bought young players like Iniesta, Messi and Valdes into the team. Pep took over a winning side. Likewise Jupp Heynckes won the league and CL before Pep took over - another winning machine. Pellegrini and Mancini won the PL before Pep took over. Great manager to sustain success, but he's never had the challenge of creating success from very little.

I know all that but no other manager has influenced the modern game like he has in the last 30 years and Barca were actually a bit of a mess when he took over. No one thought the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets would be anywhere near as good as he made them when they were coming through either. Messi was clearly a special talent but Pep elevated him beyond what anyone thought he could be. That Barca team were the greatest ever. Their influence extended to a division three club in England called Brighton and Hove Albion and many, many more clubs worldwide. His Barca, Bayern and City teams play the best football I've ever seen and to stay at the top as he has done over such a long period of time in three different leagues is pretty remarkable and never been done before. Only Michels, Cruyff and Sachi compare for overall achievement in my eyes.

I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me but I'm a massive Pep fanboy, no one will convince me otherwise!

 

[raymondo]

Apparently after our game earlier in the season Pep went into our dressing room and spoke to our team saying something like if he was a player he’d fall into a fire for Roberto

I think they are friends as there are photos of them out for dinner

They are friendly acquaintances for sure. RDZ visited City a while ago (2 years ), to see how they train and to discuss footie tactics with Pep.

 

[Midget]

Yes it's mind games but that aside, I think he's very like RDZ, a football-obsessed perfectionist. No, he hasn't done it without a tiny budget and a good base to start from, but I suspect he could.

I heard they were friends before this year (maybe as Pep had a couple of spells at Brescia?), and didn't RDZ spend some time getting some mentoring from him at one point? Either way I don't know that De Zerbi would be the manager he is in the style he is if Guardiola hadn't come along first.

I also heard that RDZ asked him about the Brighton job, and Pep bigged Brighton up to him and advised him to take it. For that alone, I can forgive anything.

(When RDZ does one day move on, I could see City being the best fit. Wonder if there is some succession planning going on there?)

But thank you Pep if you played any part in influencing Roberto to come here.

Now if you could please just put out your third eleven tomorrow and I'll like you even more...

 

[AmexRuislip]

While we we're riding on RDZ's crest of a wave.....