IMOTGP Tale of the Tape: Pep or Mou

Well that was nice last season, wasn't it folks? Charming, wouldn't you say, that little Leicester City beat the odds and captured the Premier League. Thankfully, the big-spending clubs are having none of these kinds of stories anymore.  As reported previously on IMOTGP, the Champions League is making it even harder for smaller clubs to succeed. And if you look at the Premier League table now, the trio of clubs you see represent football money at its finest.

So as we take a break from the action with international matches, you can be rest assured that IMOTGP will have a full analysis of the riveting USA-St. Vincent and the Grenadines matchup Friday. But we can't lie to you that our minds are on the resumption of European action and the huge Manchester derby on Sept. 10.

Make no mistake about it, this derby - while always fiercely contested - isn't about which club is better between United and City. It's not about who is actually on the pitch either.  It is solely about which Manchester football philosophy you fall into - that of Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho.

With both clubs on nine points with high-flying starts and City owning an additional two routs in Champions League play-off action, there is little to quibble with as far as results go.  So which manager should we support in this heated derby?

In the past, IMOTGP has sided with Guardiola and Barcelona's possession-based style. We enjoyed his thrashings of Mourinho in Clasico showdowns. We enjoyed Mourinho's baseless whining in response. It's true that Mourinho may, in fact, be a bellend in comparison to the classy Guardiola. Some, like the gentleman below, have called us Guardiola apologists.

Former U.S. college football star who said we hate Mou!

We say it's not fair to say who the better manager is because although Guardiola only has won the Champions League at Barca and Mourinho at Porto and Inter, there are stains from Mourinho's Real Madrid tenure that are too glaring to ignore.

Let's instead focus on what we have seen so far on their latest stints. It's not surprising that Mourinho has easily adjusted to life at United since he's the one with the experience in English football.  But what is noticeable is how players have already fallen in love with him.  And that has borne fruit because The Special One's decision not to sub out Wayne Rooney when half the Twitterverse wanted that to happen ended up resulting in Roo setting up Saturday's late-game strike in a 1-0 victory at Hull City. Mourinho has also shown a softer side because of the continued lovefest with him and a revived Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Meanwhile, over at the Etihad, Guardiola has done nothing but inflame the situation between the club and Yaya Toure. Maybe Yaya is done and there is blame on both sides but it's shameful for this treatment of a player who was the talisman of City's glory days. We know that Pep hates Yaya so it should come as no surprise that he, and not Mourinho, is The Vindictive One.

If humiliating the proud Yaya isn't enough, why not do the same for another of the club's servants in Joe Hart? Once again, Hart may have to leave due to pure footballing terms but is this truly the way to treat a player who was a key to last season's run to the Champions League semi-finals? At least the smug Guardiola had the heart to give Hart a farewell game for City. And City certainly aren't winning as of now because of any tactical genius by the new boss.

Sure, Mourinho has banished a player like Bastian Schweinsteiger, but Schweini had no history at United or with the manager. Look at what he has done with Rooney; he has handled the situation like a consummate professional, befitting United's rich history. If City are accused of being a plastic club like this one, one way to defend themselves would be for the new manager to treat some of the stalwarts of the club with some respect.

Maybe Pep truly is a genius as this guy who is a better coach than Guardiola claims. And sure, Mourinho, has his aforementioned flaws.  But the IMOTGP blog sees a Mou that is a bit chastened after last year's disastrous Chelsea campaign and a manager mindful of his stewardship of one of the world's most popular teams. Guardiola seems emboldened at City despite a Bayern Munich tenure that wasn't really that special.

Style of play aside, the IMOTGP blog loves the superior man-management style of Mourinho over Guardiola's aloof approach. We endorse Manchester United in the upcoming Manchester derby over "Guardiola City!"