Pep Guardiola's adventures in Manchester City

ES wrote:Except that is exactly how it works you halfwit, this is exactly how entities use financial indicators, cashflow forecasts, NPV, Payback periods etc to measure the level of return for their investment. No one spends money to make to make a return in 5 years team, in the case of football, intangibles such are factored in. Those examples you mentioned mean nothing.

Thimmy wrote:Truth: I only upped ES' comment because he posted that hilarious image of Man Utd's away goals stats. Didn't actually read the comment

CBarca wrote:If you want to throw out a bunch of buzzwords go ahead. You're wrong. I'll call up every club and tell them to stop buying young players. I will tell teams like Madrid that they should have sold Modric after a year because he flopped his first year in La Liga. They should have replaced him with someone Spanish who would have delivered instant results. I will tell Man City to sell John Stones ASAP because even though he is young, since he has not provided instantaneous results, he should be sold. The return on investment for him has been lost. If this was supposed to be your point, it's incredibly stupid.

CBarca wrote:City started spending like crazy in the summer of '09. It took them until 2011-2012 to win the league title and become a powerful team in the EPL. They finished fifth the season after they started spending like crazy. Real Madrid spent insane amounts of money in 09-10 and didn't win anything worthwhile until the 11-12 season. You say my examples mean nothing but you've completely ignored them. Why do the mean nothing? Because they don't fit your agenda?

CBarca wrote:You've literally gone on a tangent to my entire post, ignoring the most important part. You had two relevant points, Spurs and Chelsea. For Chelsea, the fact remains that the examples of teams spending insane money and achieving instant results is much less than the other way around. I can concede Chelsea because there are occasional exceptions.

CBarca wrote:The other relevant point is that of Spurs, which is pretty fair. Most of them flopped. However Eriksen and Lamela have been very good signings (Eriksen especially is now one of the best in the league). It was my mistake as I had misattributed the signings of Dembele, Lloris, and Vertonghen to Bale when they had previously been funded by the sale of Modric. When you combine Bale and Modric's money, you see that Spurs have spent over a hundred million pounds on the spine of a team which would only become a good team 4-5 years later.

CBarca wrote:My point is that Mou and Pep will be more fairly judged next season than this. This is why I never judge the worth of a transfer until a full season has passed, and usually wait to judge until that next season. Even though Andre Gomes is the most useless player I've ever seen, I still want him to stay on and I would like to see him playing with us next season. I cannot be more critical of Mourinho than I have been. I have said Pep and Mou's first seasons have been failures. However, the idea that both clubs spent a lot of money in the summer and should have expected to win the title is flawed. Should they have both done better? Probably, and Pogba too, but ask any Man U fan whether they regret spending the cash they did on one of the world's best midfielders, who can give them multiple years of prime service because of his young age, and grow and adapt, I don't think they'll say they regret it. The same thing applies to the managers and to the clubs who have spent this money.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:That's all they need though, his movement is absolutely vital to how they play.

I have only seen 3 games so far from him but what he does for their team shouldn't be underestimated imo.

Just allows so much more room for the central players and allows Sane and Sterling to basically isolate the fullbacks constantly.

I feel from what i have watched their attack is very fluid with him, they just need to get better mentally and improve defensively.

Glory wrote:




Personally I am still on the fence re:GJ. Rashers offers more imo. Sane on the other hand looks legit.

Firenze wrote:will take RG's word for it, ain't nobody got time for these posts

feuds with Unique have spoiled me tbh, only have to dissect a one sentence post with 5 grammatical errors in it on average

Sam Lee wrote:This is a translated version of an interview conducted by Isaac Lluch (@Isaac_lluch) for ARA with Manel Estiarte, right-hand man to Pep Guardiola. Isaac has allowed me to run this translated version - thank you Isaac.

The original, in Catalan, can be read on ARA’s website here.

I wrote about Manel Estiarte several months ago, you can read his backstory here.

Here is the interview, which I found very interesting…

ME: I don’t look so much at what would have happened if the season was longer. I prefer to look at the fact that this season there have been very good moments in games that you can compare to the teams that we all think about: the best Barca and the best Bayern. There would be a list of 10 or 15 games that we have played at a very high level independently of whether the result has gone for us or not. I prefer that. I wasn’t expecting to play so many games at that level in the first year, although it is true that in terms of titles and results we could have been much closer. It’s the same as always: there will be people pro-Guardiola and people anti-Guardiola and they will interpret it as they like. But I talk about football: we have played attacking football, with possession, creating chances and controlling the game, which is very Pep and very Johan [Cruyff].

IS THE ANALYSIS FROM OUTSIDE FAIR?
It’s a different game, one which they’d never even dreamed about here [in England]. It could be the start of something. It’s true that we have lacked consistency and decisiveness in the boxes. But it’s also evident that because of injuries or bans we have missed players in key moments. For example we have not had Kompany, Gundogan or Gabriel Jesus for practically the whole year. That’s 25% of the line-up. We’ve also had the topic of the refereeing, but I don’t want to make excuses.

DID YOU EXPECT TO PLAY WORSE AND BE CLOSER TO TITLES?
Yes, exactly. I was expecting it to be a little harder to play at that level, which at times has been very high. After that there have been many factors, like the injuries, bans, the refereeing, bad luck when it comes to finishing chances… we have created double the chances to score than the second-placed team and we are the ones who have missed most. Also we have conceded the most goals from the fewest chances.

COULD THAT BE DUE TO A LACK OF QUALITY?
It could be anything. We weren’t thinking about being 15 points off top. We were also thinking that maybe we would make a final. We were close to getting there, in the Cup. And in the Champions League we were eliminated because of the away goals rule.



THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SAY IT’S A DISASTER
They can say what they want. Maybe they say that out of jealousy or because they don’t understand or because they have a bandage over their eyes. Do you know why it’s not a disaster? Because those of us that are lucky to be on the inside realise that the players are absolutely convinced of this metamorphosis of the game, however it ends. The players know that this is a different type of football, something new, and something that we enjoy. Of course we want to win, and if you don’t win you are disappointed. But how natural it is when you see it day to day, in the players, the staff, in training, it allows us to say that it’s going well.

THE PLAYERS ARE GETTING IT?
Sport teaches you that you can’t stay down on your knees crying. The season finished? Then let’s look at all the positive things that we have done without forgetting what more we can do to improve. We have realised that we have to change things and that we have to adapt to English football.

ADAPT TO THE REFEREES TOO?
The English referees, when they referee in Europe, do it one way, and when they referee in the Premier League they do it another. It’s not a criticism, but the English referee [Martin Atkinson] who refereed Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid in the Champions League gave three fouls in the first minute and a half. In England this is impossible. You have to adapt, so that the goalkeepers can be touched inside the area, and the referees allow more contact. Hopefully the pros and cons will be the same for all teams at the end of the season.

THE CITY FANS FEEL HARD DONE BY...
There have been many episodes. But when we talk about this it looks like we are looking for excuses. We have not failed to win the league because of this, but in certain games we would have had more support and security.

IN THE PL YOU’RE ALLOWED MORE CONTACT, BUT IN INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL ENGLAND DON’T DO WELL...
I understand very well that they protect their product, because it’s the most followed in the global market. It has some very good things, but protecting your football does not mean that other influences should not be allowed.

PL BEST IN THE WORLD?
Yes and no. On one side, Barcelona, Madrid, Bayern and Juventus are at another level. But on the other side, when they say that the English league is the only one where six or seven teams can compete to win the league you have to say they are right. In Spain there are three candidates to win the league, and the third has appeared in the last three years. In Germany there are two, and one has taken a step backwards, in Italy there is one and a half, and in France there had been one until this year. The truth is that in England, and because of this we’re having such a good time, Tottenham, Chelsea, United, Liverpool, Arsenal and city can win the league, and last year none of those won it. It means that we are in a different situation.
AND WHAT’S THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING FOR CITY?
It’s the privilege of working at a club that gives you the best possible conditions. Not just economic conditions. I’m talking about work, about relationships, about sincerity, about honesty. The fact that your sporting director is Txiki Begiristain, the CEO is Ferran Soriano, and the boss is Khaldoon [Al Mubarak] is a spectacular chain of command. Khaldoon worries about everything, he wants to know everything, but he doesn’t interfere in anything. He just tells you, “What can I do to help you?”. Ferran also worries about everything, and more. He wants to know everything and more, but he doesn’t interfere in anything either. He just wants to help, and the same goes for Txiki.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME?
We feel at home, 1400km away [from our actual home]. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have our debates in this chain of command. We come up against different points of view and mentalities, that’s clear, like in Germany. We are learning how they work in England, we analyse it, we accept it and we do it together. We are not alone.

AT BOARD LEVEL IT SEEMS COMFORTABLE…
Yes, because we are all pulling in the same direction. Ferran manages the club like a business, but with a sporting eye. Beforehand the club had losses and now makes profit, profit, profit. Txiki has his ideas and he protects us. And for Khaldoon the only thing that he wants is to be up to date with everything and that you are happy. Of course he also wants to win, but when you lose he’s not angry with you. He supports you and tells you that we will find a solution. And for Pep this has an enormous value.

IS THE BEST THING ABOUT CITY THAT YOU GET TIME TO PUT THE PROJECT IN PLACE?
The best thing about City is the ownership. Khaldoon is a person with great charisma, education and intelligence. The day before a game he talks with Pep about football and after the game as well he goes into his office and comments on how it has gone. It’s great to have somebody who believes in an idea and sticks to it. And we have Ferran and Txiki with the same profile. It’s also true that if, during the season, we had not had these moments of good play everything would be harder, and everybody would be asking what’s going on. But everybody has seen that many games have escaped us by missing penalties, attacking and attacking, and by small details. From here we have to improve the quality of the team. We have played the biggest games with 90% of the team that had played the year before.

THE SQUAD WAS MORE FOR MANCINI AND PELLEGRINI?
It was not a new squad for the project. But let’s be clear, and I really must stress this: the players have made us cry this season. They have made us so emotional with their commitment, their professionalism and seriousness in training.

THEY NEED TO INVEST…
The tools that they give us at the training ground and the human quality that surrounds us is also a privilege. I’ll tell you something without wanting to make any comparisons: the internal staff here, with the medics, physios, is frightening. The best I’ve seen until now. Of course there have been difficult moments, but the synthesis when the time comes to work and everybody’s availability has been spectacular.

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WINNING 10 THEN DROPPING OFF?
If we had started the season suffering and losing, because we were changing an idea and a project, and then we had bounced back and finished third in the league, in the semi-finals of the cup and almost in the quarter-finals of the Champions League we would have had another feeling. But the opposite happened: at the start we were in the league and it was going well. We made one or two steps back and in the end the media are going to hit you with their negativity. We drew or lost games at home when we played very well, like against Everton, Middlesbrough and Chelsea. Then we were missing Aguero and Fernandinho because of suspension and Gundogan because of injury, but I don’t want to look for excuses.

WAS IT UNKNOWN TERRITORY TO DROP A LOT OF POINTS…
In Germany we also got tired of hearing and reading that we had failed. The people can think what they want. We are old enough and mature enough and have experienced sport in many ways. In Barcelona it was unique, with Laporte, with players from the academy, with Leo. It was a unique case in the history of football, the best team that you have ever seen. And Bayern had great consistency for three years, with three leagues and two cups. Yes, we had three opportunities to reach the final of the Champions League that got away from us.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM FINISHING 15 POINTS BEHIND THE CHAMPIONS?
You learn what you need in England for this style of play. We have an open debate about whether we should have made more changes last summer. But until you start you don’t know how it will go. First we threw ourselves into the mud, we have fought, we have won, we have lost, and that’s when you start planting the seed.

AND YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT EVERYBODY LOSES?
Here the only person who can’t lose is Pep. I always say to him that this is the biggest privilege that he has: it seems that he can’t lose. He has made a name for himself and the people either admire the job that he does or are jealous or simply consider that he must win everything, because that’s how the world is. I just say enough is enough when somebody lies. In Manchester we have young [Spanish] correspondents who hurt the profession of journalism by reading local newspapers and reprinting the spiciest information. But do they know for sure that what the other newspapers publish is confirmed? I consider it a lack of professionalism and respect to work like that, with easy controversy. Let them criticise me for my opinion if they want, but I act when they don’t tell the truth. There was a time when we were weak and we had to act when the comment was not fair, or false. And we were asking ourselves: What have we done to them? But little by little you make yourself stronger. You get upset if the criticism hurts the team or the job. But sometimes we laughed when you read something so clearly false.


DO YOU LEARN MORE IN DEFEAT THAN IN VICTORY?
We have been learning from defeat for many years. We have all won and lost, also as players. You can learn from defeat in a singular way, knowing what you have lacked in that game and that you can’t repeat the mistake. But on a general level, all this about learning from a defeat is pretty disputable. I remember the water polo teams when we lost and nobody said anything at the meal afterwards, everybody was in a bad mood. The day after we were still sore. On the other hand if you won everybody would be asking “Remember that play? You gave it to me here and I scored there!” And those chats add up, because it’s tactical, it’s analysis, it’s communication. I remember having evolved more with victories than with defeats, because the defeats hurt me, they shut me up and I wanted to forget.

HOW HAS THE TEAM PROGRESSED?
Sincerely I see it from Pep’s huge charisma. All the players listen intently and want to follow him: with what he says about playing out from the back, about using the goalkeeper, the spaces inside, the control of the game, pressing high, the high defence. When you see all of this, you realise that more than just Pep’s technical ability you see his powers of conviction. He convinced the Bayern players who had all that German tradition. Now he’s in charge of City and the players want to do what Pep tells them. For me that’s most impressive.

WHAT WILL COME OF ALL THIS?
It could be that we don’t win anything, but I have talked to him about the conditions at the club, the atmosphere on the inside, and that in some moments the level of football has been very high. We’re not far from being in an ideal position to work with more chances to win. Perhaps at the end you don’t win, because your rivals are also strengthening. But we are working towards the start of a new era.

Casciavit wrote:One of Pep's assistants (Manel Estiarte) talks about City's first season...

Sam Lee wrote:This is a translated version of an interview conducted by Isaac Lluch (@Isaac_lluch) for ARA with Manel Estiarte, right-hand man to Pep Guardiola. Isaac has allowed me to run this translated version - thank you Isaac.

The original, in Catalan, can be read on ARA’s website here.

I wrote about Manel Estiarte several months ago, you can read his backstory here.

Here is the interview, which I found very interesting…

ME: I don’t look so much at what would have happened if the season was longer. I prefer to look at the fact that this season there have been very good moments in games that you can compare to the teams that we all think about: the best Barca and the best Bayern. There would be a list of 10 or 15 games that we have played at a very high level independently of whether the result has gone for us or not. I prefer that. I wasn’t expecting to play so many games at that level in the first year, although it is true that in terms of titles and results we could have been much closer. It’s the same as always: there will be people pro-Guardiola and people anti-Guardiola and they will interpret it as they like. But I talk about football: we have played attacking football, with possession, creating chances and controlling the game, which is very Pep and very Johan [Cruyff].

IS THE ANALYSIS FROM OUTSIDE FAIR?
It’s a different game, one which they’d never even dreamed about here [in England]. It could be the start of something. It’s true that we have lacked consistency and decisiveness in the boxes. But it’s also evident that because of injuries or bans we have missed players in key moments. For example we have not had Kompany, Gundogan or Gabriel Jesus for practically the whole year. That’s 25% of the line-up. We’ve also had the topic of the refereeing, but I don’t want to make excuses.

DID YOU EXPECT TO PLAY WORSE AND BE CLOSER TO TITLES?
Yes, exactly. I was expecting it to be a little harder to play at that level, which at times has been very high. After that there have been many factors, like the injuries, bans, the refereeing, bad luck when it comes to finishing chances… we have created double the chances to score than the second-placed team and we are the ones who have missed most. Also we have conceded the most goals from the fewest chances.

COULD THAT BE DUE TO A LACK OF QUALITY?
It could be anything. We weren’t thinking about being 15 points off top. We were also thinking that maybe we would make a final. We were close to getting there, in the Cup. And in the Champions League we were eliminated because of the away goals rule.



THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SAY IT’S A DISASTER
They can say what they want. Maybe they say that out of jealousy or because they don’t understand or because they have a bandage over their eyes. Do you know why it’s not a disaster? Because those of us that are lucky to be on the inside realise that the players are absolutely convinced of this metamorphosis of the game, however it ends. The players know that this is a different type of football, something new, and something that we enjoy. Of course we want to win, and if you don’t win you are disappointed. But how natural it is when you see it day to day, in the players, the staff, in training, it allows us to say that it’s going well.

THE PLAYERS ARE GETTING IT?
Sport teaches you that you can’t stay down on your knees crying. The season finished? Then let’s look at all the positive things that we have done without forgetting what more we can do to improve. We have realised that we have to change things and that we have to adapt to English football.

ADAPT TO THE REFEREES TOO?
The English referees, when they referee in Europe, do it one way, and when they referee in the Premier League they do it another. It’s not a criticism, but the English referee [Martin Atkinson] who refereed Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid in the Champions League gave three fouls in the first minute and a half. In England this is impossible. You have to adapt, so that the goalkeepers can be touched inside the area, and the referees allow more contact. Hopefully the pros and cons will be the same for all teams at the end of the season.

THE CITY FANS FEEL HARD DONE BY...
There have been many episodes. But when we talk about this it looks like we are looking for excuses. We have not failed to win the league because of this, but in certain games we would have had more support and security.

IN THE PL YOU’RE ALLOWED MORE CONTACT, BUT IN INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL ENGLAND DON’T DO WELL...
I understand very well that they protect their product, because it’s the most followed in the global market. It has some very good things, but protecting your football does not mean that other influences should not be allowed.

PL BEST IN THE WORLD?
Yes and no. On one side, Barcelona, Madrid, Bayern and Juventus are at another level. But on the other side, when they say that the English league is the only one where six or seven teams can compete to win the league you have to say they are right. In Spain there are three candidates to win the league, and the third has appeared in the last three years. In Germany there are two, and one has taken a step backwards, in Italy there is one and a half, and in France there had been one until this year. The truth is that in England, and because of this we’re having such a good time, Tottenham, Chelsea, United, Liverpool, Arsenal and city can win the league, and last year none of those won it. It means that we are in a different situation.
AND WHAT’S THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING FOR CITY?
It’s the privilege of working at a club that gives you the best possible conditions. Not just economic conditions. I’m talking about work, about relationships, about sincerity, about honesty. The fact that your sporting director is Txiki Begiristain, the CEO is Ferran Soriano, and the boss is Khaldoon [Al Mubarak] is a spectacular chain of command. Khaldoon worries about everything, he wants to know everything, but he doesn’t interfere in anything. He just tells you, “What can I do to help you?”. Ferran also worries about everything, and more. He wants to know everything and more, but he doesn’t interfere in anything either. He just wants to help, and the same goes for Txiki.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME?
We feel at home, 1400km away [from our actual home]. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have our debates in this chain of command. We come up against different points of view and mentalities, that’s clear, like in Germany. We are learning how they work in England, we analyse it, we accept it and we do it together. We are not alone.

AT BOARD LEVEL IT SEEMS COMFORTABLE…
Yes, because we are all pulling in the same direction. Ferran manages the club like a business, but with a sporting eye. Beforehand the club had losses and now makes profit, profit, profit. Txiki has his ideas and he protects us. And for Khaldoon the only thing that he wants is to be up to date with everything and that you are happy. Of course he also wants to win, but when you lose he’s not angry with you. He supports you and tells you that we will find a solution. And for Pep this has an enormous value.

IS THE BEST THING ABOUT CITY THAT YOU GET TIME TO PUT THE PROJECT IN PLACE?
The best thing about City is the ownership. Khaldoon is a person with great charisma, education and intelligence. The day before a game he talks with Pep about football and after the game as well he goes into his office and comments on how it has gone. It’s great to have somebody who believes in an idea and sticks to it. And we have Ferran and Txiki with the same profile. It’s also true that if, during the season, we had not had these moments of good play everything would be harder, and everybody would be asking what’s going on. But everybody has seen that many games have escaped us by missing penalties, attacking and attacking, and by small details. From here we have to improve the quality of the team. We have played the biggest games with 90% of the team that had played the year before.

THE SQUAD WAS MORE FOR MANCINI AND PELLEGRINI?
It was not a new squad for the project. But let’s be clear, and I really must stress this: the players have made us cry this season. They have made us so emotional with their commitment, their professionalism and seriousness in training.

THEY NEED TO INVEST…
The tools that they give us at the training ground and the human quality that surrounds us is also a privilege. I’ll tell you something without wanting to make any comparisons: the internal staff here, with the medics, physios, is frightening. The best I’ve seen until now. Of course there have been difficult moments, but the synthesis when the time comes to work and everybody’s availability has been spectacular.

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WINNING 10 THEN DROPPING OFF?
If we had started the season suffering and losing, because we were changing an idea and a project, and then we had bounced back and finished third in the league, in the semi-finals of the cup and almost in the quarter-finals of the Champions League we would have had another feeling. But the opposite happened: at the start we were in the league and it was going well. We made one or two steps back and in the end the media are going to hit you with their negativity. We drew or lost games at home when we played very well, like against Everton, Middlesbrough and Chelsea. Then we were missing Aguero and Fernandinho because of suspension and Gundogan because of injury, but I don’t want to look for excuses.

WAS IT UNKNOWN TERRITORY TO DROP A LOT OF POINTS…
In Germany we also got tired of hearing and reading that we had failed. The people can think what they want. We are old enough and mature enough and have experienced sport in many ways. In Barcelona it was unique, with Laporte, with players from the academy, with Leo. It was a unique case in the history of football, the best team that you have ever seen. And Bayern had great consistency for three years, with three leagues and two cups. Yes, we had three opportunities to reach the final of the Champions League that got away from us.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM FINISHING 15 POINTS BEHIND THE CHAMPIONS?
You learn what you need in England for this style of play. We have an open debate about whether we should have made more changes last summer. But until you start you don’t know how it will go. First we threw ourselves into the mud, we have fought, we have won, we have lost, and that’s when you start planting the seed.

AND YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT EVERYBODY LOSES?
Here the only person who can’t lose is Pep. I always say to him that this is the biggest privilege that he has: it seems that he can’t lose. He has made a name for himself and the people either admire the job that he does or are jealous or simply consider that he must win everything, because that’s how the world is. I just say enough is enough when somebody lies. In Manchester we have young [Spanish] correspondents who hurt the profession of journalism by reading local newspapers and reprinting the spiciest information. But do they know for sure that what the other newspapers publish is confirmed? I consider it a lack of professionalism and respect to work like that, with easy controversy. Let them criticise me for my opinion if they want, but I act when they don’t tell the truth. There was a time when we were weak and we had to act when the comment was not fair, or false. And we were asking ourselves: What have we done to them? But little by little you make yourself stronger. You get upset if the criticism hurts the team or the job. But sometimes we laughed when you read something so clearly false.


DO YOU LEARN MORE IN DEFEAT THAN IN VICTORY?
We have been learning from defeat for many years. We have all won and lost, also as players. You can learn from defeat in a singular way, knowing what you have lacked in that game and that you can’t repeat the mistake. But on a general level, all this about learning from a defeat is pretty disputable. I remember the water polo teams when we lost and nobody said anything at the meal afterwards, everybody was in a bad mood. The day after we were still sore. On the other hand if you won everybody would be asking “Remember that play? You gave it to me here and I scored there!” And those chats add up, because it’s tactical, it’s analysis, it’s communication. I remember having evolved more with victories than with defeats, because the defeats hurt me, they shut me up and I wanted to forget.

HOW HAS THE TEAM PROGRESSED?
Sincerely I see it from Pep’s huge charisma. All the players listen intently and want to follow him: with what he says about playing out from the back, about using the goalkeeper, the spaces inside, the control of the game, pressing high, the high defence. When you see all of this, you realise that more than just Pep’s technical ability you see his powers of conviction. He convinced the Bayern players who had all that German tradition. Now he’s in charge of City and the players want to do what Pep tells them. For me that’s most impressive.

WHAT WILL COME OF ALL THIS?
It could be that we don’t win anything, but I have talked to him about the conditions at the club, the atmosphere on the inside, and that in some moments the level of football has been very high. We’re not far from being in an ideal position to work with more chances to win. Perhaps at the end you don’t win, because your rivals are also strengthening. But we are working towards the start of a new era.