Sheltons Army

Are you still referring to your story of player rebellion and unrest in the camp ?

I actually think it’s a shame , if inevitable eventually , I thought Leeds were fascinating to watch and provided excellent entertainment for the neutral every time I watched them Was so refreshing , if not sustainable

%100 YES Russia needs to be made a complete pariah state , in every single way, frozen out from the civilised world

One of LJs first , and IMO , one of his, if not his biggest , major mistake in his tenure. Eddie Howe wanted rid asap and the reasons weren’t hidden , but Lee believed he could be ‘the one’ to manage Tomlin (The very same as he believed he was ‘the one’ to get the best out of Kasey Palmer , when others more experienced , such as Tony Mowbray had failed and given up) ( Two prime examples of LJs ‘over confidence in himself’ and bet LJ looks back on it as a mistake ) Tomlin undermined LJ and failing to act decisively and get rid that undermining of a HC / manager can quickly fester and spread, it won’t have helped LJ with the rest of the squad Shouod never have signed him permanently and should of got rid as soon as he demonstrated his normal behaviour & traits

Yes , like leaving a club in a healthier place than you found it. Or leaving it with a dreadful mish mash of a overbloated disenchanted squad , lacking character and leaders , and creating the foundations of a big financial hole Johnson / Ashton blew our best opportunity to push on for a decade

It’s frustrating , very frustrating, especially when we’ve played well But we were never threatening the top 8 this season , were far more likely to threaten the bottom three, we’ve had crap injuries again , reduced the wage bill significantly , got rid of some of the wasters and have 3 or 4 youngsters establishing themselves and looking the part at this level at a very young age We’ve got a few decent senior pros helping the squad and the side and performing , and we are playing some good football Post game is not the easiest time to do it , but if we take a deep breath , personally I think we have the makings of a very decent side Get rid of the mistakes , and any bad luck this season , learn from the mistakes and the future is bright COYR

Calm down and take a deep breath Yes , always gutting to concede a late goal (Again) but have a look at the big Ure picture If someone had told you 12-18 months we’d be pretty surviving without some breathing space in a side containing Scott, HNM , Benarous, Bell , we’re becoming regulars or semi regular That we’d need to find sufficient goals from Martin / Weimann and Antoine Whilst missing expected key first team starters in James , Baker, Williams .... The performance is what should be painting the picture Nigel Pearson is building something very decent here

Can see that goal like it was yesterday - His debut IIRC

In a interview after resigning he explained how settled and happy his family are here (Children just settled at school etc) - so I’m not so sure Hes one , who , if we found ourselves in a healthier financial position in 12 months time , that I’d actually reward by improving the terms of his contract

Excellent point

Johnson spent too much emphasis on what Weimann could do (Due to his unbelievable work rate and willingness) to stop the opposition , than what threat and damage he could do TO the opposition , an easy mistake to make with a player so willing , and one with respect you have been in danger of doing. Yes Andi will do whatever job you wish him to do (He is the consumate Pro for me ) and will chase opposing players back into the final third all game if you ask him. He is some athlete with an attitude to match , but even he can’t sprint for 90 mins - The more you ask him to do defensively the less opportunity he will have to impact the other way. Its about getting the balance right IMO , yes he needs to fulfill a defensive role when we don’t have the ball , but he does that naturally. If other players are doing their jobs and the system clear , then there are few occasions he should be sprinting back into our defensive third. You also forget that we don’t know what Pearson’s ask / instructions are to him - ( I would absolutely surmise that he doesn’t want AW sacrificing himself chasing back doing others jobs all game , ) As I said , a consumate pro (Epitomises the word Professional for me) who makes the absolute best of every asset he has , and one of a group of City players over the years that I think ‘you deserve everything you earn out the game’ * I’d also credit the often maligned Chris Martin for Weimanns impact this season - vastly underrated generally IMO - a clever and technically good footballer and we have two experienced good pros who know each other’s game and who between them have helped nurture and work with the explosive raw talent of a learning Antoine

Difficult call Al Our financial (FFP wise) situation will add pressure to those decisions Ideally if we can shift the high earners who add little , and NP doesn’t want , it might give us some breathing space , but that’s going to be far from easy in the current climate Add in the players own wishes / deaires / ambitions if a bid came in from an attractive Club (Prem) and some many influences in the decision. If we had to sell/ accept a bid for one to give us FFP breathing space , personally , and reluctantly I’d accept a suitable bid for HNM My reasoning pretty straightforward - Antoine and Scott are match winners / game changers , HNM , extremely likeable and a cult type figure , has many admirable qualities and may have a very decent influence on games but in a different way to the other two Id also suggest that Semenyo and Scott have real potential for their value to increase significantly every six months or so we can hold on to them. Antoine in particular , and to a fair degree Scott have the potential , in a stellar season to take the side into the play offs .....or better IMO it needs to be careful decisions with input and discussion from the financial side but I’d be very guided and heavily influenced by the main football man at the Club about their current value to the squad now , and in the coming period , and their potential to improve and increase in value in the next 12-18 months.....Mr Pearson

Don’t bother - he’s still got a sulk on because wonderboy (Who could do no wrong ironically in his eyes ) got the sack

A job for this man

Yes , thanks Dave

I thought you used to , but had to give up on that

Yes I was going to say money and the Prem not unsurprisingly quickly squashes any loyalty thoughts And who could blame him And in fairness to him I get the impression that it would be desire to play at highest level would be his own major attraction , moreso than the financial rewards I don’t think he’d quickly want to jump ship to a upper Championship Club but I’d be surprised if a Prem Club don’t take him (He looks more like a Sheff Weds Michael Antonio every day) He’s still got raw parts to his game and another year at this level would do him no harm at all and may he absolutely the way to go for his long term career Our best hope maybe to have him back here next season on loan as part of a sale / agreement

Excellent post match from NP (IMO) Last week , he pulled no punches , drew a line in the sand , and presses the warning button This week he highlights and throughout the interview praises attitudes , good , positive ,attitudes Accepting that a post match is easier after an excellent result, the message is consistent , the same Under me - No shirkers , good attitude a must Personally ........ I love it I bet the players have slight fear of him like a good old fashioned teacher but respect him ,( well , should I say the players and type of players I think nearly all of us actually want at Our Club will) Im behind him %100 - we really do need to take the ride with him and the Club need to support him as much as they can (IMO) Hes not got everything right but is clearly still learning a lot about the players and the club as a whole but I like the groundwork ive seen and his attitude requirements A bit of a Gary Johnson (Top Top man) with more experience of the upper levels I said numerous times the Ashton / Johnson tenure was an period of missed opportunity Personally , I hope the Lansdowns steadfastly back and support NP as we they might have a missed opportunity of an era to add to it

Sounds good , - but how does that leave Palmer with no Income ? I guess Antoine could pay his leccy bill etc and let him have some pocket money Im all for it

Absolutely - was always pretty clear to me Listening to DB post match he was buzzing and very ‘focused’ - I wonder whether NP thought he needed a bit of a dig in the ribs and sharpening up If players see everyone treated the same it doesn’t half help overall squad spirit , the younger players see and think ‘If he can drop the skipper he will drop anyone if we are not on our game’ Never too many complaints in any team if everyone is treated on the same basis (or ‘rules’)

Yes , his understanding of the game and implementation and use of his assets has leapt several levels in a short space of time ( I’ve said in my post above about his injury rehab time) Shows intelligence , a desire to improve , ........and he’s still learning ! Great stuff

Not so sure , he’s recently explained how his recovery time gave him time to reflect on and analyse his game ( Hiw mature and intelligent for a young player) Id also suggest the rehab working the gym has seen him kick on a level physically He also spent a lot of rehab time with Andi Weimann and Chris Martin- He recently alluded to how helpful they’d been to him , he didn’t specify about training ground , in game or where but some boring hours in the gym gives a lot of time for talking So ......:laugh:......I’m not so sure , a twist of fate , and the injury could just be the making of him !

Tbf , exactly what I would expect from Pearson I can imagine him ’ if you are not on form , you won’t make the eleven , even my chosen skipper , I don’t have ‘favourites’ , I aim to treat everyone fairly , and the same ‘

He can do both , which is great I actually wonder whether long term , or if he steps up a level , he will actually benefit from playing wide in a 3 , making runs and using his power diagonally , out to in may be more fruitful than starting too centrally However I saw one of his first games for U23s when he came back from Newport and it was clear that two outstanding assets were his ability to roll a defender, and his natural shooting power His shooting was very wild then , he actually hit balls with too much power as his natural timing hitting a ball gives him excellent power anyway - I think someone has worked on him to take a bit off and concentrate on placement - he has , as I said natural striking power so doesn’t need to work on that As for turning his man , he may find that slightly harder as the quality of defenders increases but his pace / power is frightening Championship defenders to death , being commented on by opposition fans , and is a problem even for the very best defenders

He’s run out of players to moan at every 5 mins so had no one else to dig at ? *. btw ‘Bullying’. ????