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52 minutes ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

No, he hasn't. But you seem to be under the impression that managers "magic" this from players, not that first and foremost it comes from players themselves. Surely managers can only extract from players that which those players are willing, and able, to give. So again, I ask: Why would these players give this "best" that you are wanting to see now? What is the incentive to these players right now? 

I'm not that naive mate, I'm relying on Pearson having something a bit more substantial than 'magic' to offer, like motivational ability, coaching skills, experience to impart, and knowledge of the game  If you are genuinely saying that you don't think Pearson has the wherewithal to persuade the players to give of their best, then I fear for the future.  The notion that players are unwilling to play strikes me as completely unsubstantiated - have you ever seriously known a team that simply couldn't be bothered to play well?  Yes, one or two players may be looking to their exits at the season's end, but that doesn't change the fact that the manager has a squad at his disposal, and his job is to get the best out of them.  Surely if there was any suggestion that a player was not prepared to give 100%, then that player would be nowhere near the first team squad, yet we've seen Pearson pick the same players time after time?

The incentive to the players is no less than it always is: give of your best because your future is at stake.  Probably more so at the moment, given than uncertain state of the game thanks to Covid.  I don't think any of the players would be so naive to think they can take the p*ss and then walk straight into another job.  Gary Johnson identified some bad apples as soon as he took over, but his solution was not to play them week after week.

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Just now, Simon bristol said:

That squad will still have palmer, wells, nagy and kalas in, who are arguably 4 of the senior pros who pearson has publicly made it obvious are not doing what he wants or expects of them (along with fam hunt and rowe) and will presumably form a significant core of the squad for next season given that its unlikely anyone will be offering much money for any of them this summer.

Doesn’t say much for the current crop does it. Kalas is a decent championship player & I agree their won’t be many queuing up to sign the rest . Goes to show how poor the recruitment has been. Add that to @Harry post about the club having yet to put the ground work in for next season. It’s genuinely a worrying time. 

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Just now, Numero Uno said:

Quite. We have people arguing that NP should go as he doesn't take responsibility and throws people under the bus and should replace him with a manager who by their standards throws people under the bus to an even greater degree (I rate Wilder btw but you get my point)...............it seems to be more a dislike of NP than any point of principle to me.

That job wilder did at sheffield united was sensational, he did what cotts did for us then took them to the premier league as well.

i dont dislike pearson, apart from cringing at what he will come out with when gregor is interviewing him, but what should be his strong points are passion, organisation and defensive structure and hes just not installing that into the team and we are a shambles.

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5 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

Doesn’t say much for the current crop does it. Kalas is a decent championship player & I agree their won’t be many queuing up to sign the rest . Goes to show how poor the recruitment has been. Add that to @Harry post about the club having yet to put the ground work in for next season. It’s genuinely a worrying time. 

Certainly, we have been asset stripped and run into the ground by a bunch of charlatans who will have pissed off by the summer, thank god.

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6 hours ago, Red Alert said:

The only person putting SL between a rock and a hard plaice is himself.

By far the easiest option is to appoint NP as the majority of fans are behind it and if it failed the backlash would be minimal as responsibility is in everyone’s shoulders.

You can't please everyone, but I don't think many (one left footed individual on here aside) would criticise him for making a bold appointment. If it doesn't work out, at least we've had a go.

Rock and a hard place maybe, but lets stop hiding under the rock!

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34 minutes ago, Cowshed said:

Its not that long ago Mr Lansdown thought this squad could be top six. Well if that is still the expectation .. Jesus. 

 

Yes, that's what we were told. My fear is that if NP is not the man then I can see SL reverting to type. Namely a lower profile man who will obviously need to be available immediately if not very quickly. 

Paul Tisdale anyone?........ ?

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43 minutes ago, Harry said:

I like James Piercy’s pieces. He’s done some decent ones of late. Seems like a switched on journo. Good for him. 
 

In the wider discussion, again, what we have here is something entirely, and I mean, absolute entirely of Steve’s own making. 
He put too much faith and control in 1 person, Ashton. Now he’s fleeing the scene of his crimes, Steve is left holding a lemon. 
My assumption would be that, given the Ashton to Ipswich rumours were known on here in January, they surely would have been known to Steve (likely earlier if Ashton was up front with Steve about the interest in him). 
At that point in time, Steve should have put in place the search for the new CEO or new DOF or whatever structure he wants in place. Failure to do so is incompetence. 
Again, we are now weeks, nay months down the line and Steve has so far, (to the best of our knowledge) made zero inroads into putting a team together. 

My understanding of the Pearson situation is that Steve is stuck. Both financially and mentally, stuck. 
If you look at Pearson’s history (in addition to his couple of months here), his record without Shakespeare isn’t great. Also, if you consider his promotion with Leicester, that team were very close to breaking FFP, so he had a big budget to play with. Steve’s dilemma should be, can Nigel bring success without a large budget and without his favoured staff? 
We then have covid finances. Steve will be looking at the 21/22 season and thinking that income will still be incredibly low, unlikely fans will be back in full, no supplemental income to derive from the way he’s netted Ashton Gate income into the City books. 
Based on those unknowns, I don’t think Steve wants to commit too much spend at the moment. He’ll be offering Pearson a 12 month rolling contract whereas Nige will want 3 or even 4 years. 
They may come to a compromise but given the finances, I am now beginning to doubt that Steve will also let Nige have free reign on bringing in lots of his own staff. It could be, ok have a 2 year deal with a year option, but you work with what you’ve got (Simpson, Downing etc). 
 

I honestly think Steve is stuck. He wants Nige, but knows his past isn’t great without a big budget and his own personnel. Is this holding him back? 
 

Ultimately, Steve is in a mess of his own making, by putting 1 person in control of everything. 
We are now already falling behind in summer recruitment.  I’ve spoken to some agents today - things have gone very very quiet from BCFC. We currently have no one who is dealing with agents, putting in place the early conversations for summer movements. Other clubs are putting the groundwork in now. We are quiet. Because we had 1 person who did everything and he’s no longer doing it. 
 

Steve really needs to make his mind up asap. We can’t be dithering much longer. We’re putting ourselves into a corner where players will be going to other clubs and we’ll end up having to extend the failures we’ve got out of contract. I wonder what sort of meltdown there would be if we end up extending Baker, Weimann, Hunt, Watkins, Rowe, Simpson, Mariappa etc. Same squad as this year, very few additions because we had no one dealing with the agents. 
 

Steve needs to get on top of this urgently. Otherwise, I’m sorry to say, I can see a relegation on the cards next year. We have to thank our lucky stars we didn’t go down this year. If the season was 4 more games, we’d be gone. We are the worst team in the league. And we currently have no manager, no one dealing with recruitment, half the team due to leave and none being lined up to replace them. 
 

Some people will say “don’t panic, the window isn’t even open yet”. Well, prepping for the window and having early conversations with agents is happening now. And we’re not currently attending that party. 
 

We need action now Steve. You can’t dilly-dally on this one any longer. Either appoint Pearson now, or let him go now and bring in who you fancied last year but wasn’t available (he’s seemed very keen to tell us that there was someone he wanted). 
 

 

Superb yet extremely worrying post. Let’s hope SL pulls his finger out - quickly. 

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5 hours ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

Just a couple of points on my, for one, ‘incredible, though not at all surprising’ feelings about Nigel Pearson.

1.  While Holden was in charge, he and the coaches were held entirely responsible for the team’s shortcomings; the players were absolved from all responsibility.  Since Pearson was appointed the reverse has consistently been true: nothing that has happened since Holden was sacked appears to be Pearson’s responsibility, all of it is down to the players.  Pearson, it would appear, can do no wrong.

2.  Holden’s final dozen games in charge yielded a similar number of points to what Pearson has accrued.  However, interestingly Holden’s last five games were against Reading, Watford, Sheff Utd, Cardiff and Brentford.  In our last five games we have failed to beat Luton, Wycombe, Sheff Wed, Forest and Coventry.  We were losing no more prolifically under Holden, but his was the more difficult run of matches.  What’s worse, to surrender a two goal lead against Luton or to lose 6-0 to a premier league team in waiting?

Don’t get me wrong, I felt that Holden’s time was probably up and was excited by Pearson’s appointment, but I can’t ignore that Pearson’s record is no better than Holden’s, in an easier run of games on paper, and while I admire the confidence people have in him, what is ‘not at all surprising’ (and hardly incredible) is that not all people are presently sharing that confidence, given the shockingly awful results under his management.

That Mr Pearson appears to be able to do no wrong suggests that fans are so desperate almost that they feel he is our last hope  before the ship finally sinks. These players are not all wronguns as some suggest .  Some of them will be successful at other clubs after moving on for derisory  fees, others may well fade into obscurity. However it should be seen as a failure of the management and not these individuals, that we have been unable to get the best out of them even if they are not the best of them.

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8 minutes ago, Red_Alligator said:

Yes, that's what we were told. My fear is that if NP is not the man then I can see SL reverting to type. Namely a lower profile man who will obviously need to be available immediately if not very quickly. 

Paul Tisdale anyone?........ ?

Seriously dont see why not..... someones got to get lucky ! on a six month contract of course!!!

Howe would be better but better be quick!

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27 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Anyone who thinks Pearson has been lobbing people under the bus will clearly not take to Chris Wilder who is certainly a bloke that pulls no punches.........think about his comments on Dean Henderson for starters (which funnily enough saw the young lad go on an outstanding run of form for pretty much the rest of the season thereafter).

Agreed, he's a straight speaking northerner. But that wasn't my point. I was talking about money. Money is the one thing Lansdown understands, so the fact there's a manager out there who previously took a bunch of cheap as chips players all the way to the Premier League might have attracted his attention. 

Nothing about the man's personality, just the fact he achieved wonders without breaking the bank or asking for the earth. 

FYI, I'm still in "Team Nige".      

 

23 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

And you think Wilder would be remotely interested ? On his own too ? If fans and Sl think that just one person is going to turn this around , then L1 here we come. I do agree that I expected more from NP, not miracles, but some semblance of a team. It lasted a few games then fell apart. So I can understand the worries. But turning around a sinking ship ? Big task. We simply have used up all of the time we had , with no clear plans in place, yes it is time to really worry. Let's see what happens over the next 2 weeks, but it is starting to look a real mess. 

I've no idea if Wilder would be interested. But that wasn't my point. I was talking about money. Money is the one thing Lansdown understands, so the fact there's a manager out there who previously took a bunch of cheap as chips players all the way to the Premier League might have attracted his attention. 

Nothing about the man's inclination to manage Bristol City, just the fact he achieved wonders without breaking the bank or asking for the earth. 

FYI, I'm still in "Team Nige".      

 

23 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Couple of years ago Wilder might have been cheaper but once you go sipping that Premiership champagne you aren’t going back to drinking cheap lager.

Be amazed if Wilder’s demands weren’t at least equal to Pearson’s now.

Wasn't thinking so much about Wilder's own remuneration, more the fact he built a promotion winning team for thruppence ha'penny. Can Pearson say that?     

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54 minutes ago, Harry said:

I like James Piercy’s pieces. He’s done some decent ones of late. Seems like a switched on journo. Good for him. 
 

In the wider discussion, again, what we have here is something entirely, and I mean, absolute entirely of Steve’s own making. 
He put too much faith and control in 1 person, Ashton. Now he’s fleeing the scene of his crimes, Steve is left holding a lemon. 
My assumption would be that, given the Ashton to Ipswich rumours were known on here in January, they surely would have been known to Steve (likely earlier if Ashton was up front with Steve about the interest in him). 
At that point in time, Steve should have put in place the search for the new CEO or new DOF or whatever structure he wants in place. Failure to do so is incompetence. 
Again, we are now weeks, nay months down the line and Steve has so far, (to the best of our knowledge) made zero inroads into putting a team together. 

My understanding of the Pearson situation is that Steve is stuck. Both financially and mentally, stuck. 
If you look at Pearson’s history (in addition to his couple of months here), his record without Shakespeare isn’t great. Also, if you consider his promotion with Leicester, that team were very close to breaking FFP, so he had a big budget to play with. Steve’s dilemma should be, can Nigel bring success without a large budget and without his favoured staff? 
We then have covid finances. Steve will be looking at the 21/22 season and thinking that income will still be incredibly low, unlikely fans will be back in full, no supplemental income to derive from the way he’s netted Ashton Gate income into the City books. 
Based on those unknowns, I don’t think Steve wants to commit too much spend at the moment. He’ll be offering Pearson a 12 month rolling contract whereas Nige will want 3 or even 4 years. 
They may come to a compromise but given the finances, I am now beginning to doubt that Steve will also let Nige have free reign on bringing in lots of his own staff. It could be, ok have a 2 year deal with a year option, but you work with what you’ve got (Simpson, Downing etc). 
 

I honestly think Steve is stuck. He wants Nige, but knows his past isn’t great without a big budget and his own personnel. Is this holding him back? 
 

Ultimately, Steve is in a mess of his own making, by putting 1 person in control of everything. 
We are now already falling behind in summer recruitment.  I’ve spoken to some agents today - things have gone very very quiet from BCFC. We currently have no one who is dealing with agents, putting in place the early conversations for summer movements. Other clubs are putting the groundwork in now. We are quiet. Because we had 1 person who did everything and he’s no longer doing it. 
 

Steve really needs to make his mind up asap. We can’t be dithering much longer. We’re putting ourselves into a corner where players will be going to other clubs and we’ll end up having to extend the failures we’ve got out of contract. I wonder what sort of meltdown there would be if we end up extending Baker, Weimann, Hunt, Watkins, Rowe, Simpson, Mariappa etc. Same squad as this year, very few additions because we had no one dealing with the agents. 
 

Steve needs to get on top of this urgently. Otherwise, I’m sorry to say, I can see a relegation on the cards next year. We have to thank our lucky stars we didn’t go down this year. If the season was 4 more games, we’d be gone. We are the worst team in the league. And we currently have no manager, no one dealing with recruitment, half the team due to leave and none being lined up to replace them. 
 

Some people will say “don’t panic, the window isn’t even open yet”. Well, prepping for the window and having early conversations with agents is happening now. And we’re not currently attending that party. 
 

We need action now Steve. You can’t dilly-dally on this one any longer. Either appoint Pearson now, or let him go now and bring in who you fancied last year but wasn’t available (he’s seemed very keen to tell us that there was someone he wanted). 
 

 

Bloody hell this is thoroughly depressing.  What a job SL and whoever takes over has got.

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1 minute ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

Ah, that old chesnut. 

Sorry that my posts swim against the tide and make things uncomfortable for you and others going by reactions. 

The upshot is this is a discussion forum where people have different opinions over the same information. 

Not all people are in this group mentality that's prevailing around NP, that he must be appointed irrespective and that the team, coaches and upper management are broken beyond redemption. 

However, standing firm and taking different view point, however unpopular is where I'm at. I'm not going to apologise for that as at least it's authentic. 

Cheers

 

 

You are entitled to your opinion as much as anyone. It's taking it as a personal attack when people don't agree with it while simultaneously telling them that theirs is wrong that I take issue with.

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1 minute ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

Ah, that old chesnut. 

Sorry that my posts swim against the tide and make things uncomfortable for you and others going by reactions. 

The upshot is this is a discussion forum where people have different opinions over the same information. 

Not all people are in this group mentality that's prevailing around NP, that he must be appointed irrespective and that the team, coaches and upper management are broken beyond redemption. 

However, standing firm and taking different view point, however unpopular is where I'm at. I'm not going to apologise for that as at least it's authentic. 

Cheers

 

 

Well said Ralph, you're entitled to your opinion as much as anyone here, it's a forum.

I'm one of thinks NP can turn things around for us.

Who do you think might be a better bet for us?

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Just now, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

Ah, that old chesnut. 

Sorry that my posts swim against the tide and make things uncomfortable for you and others going by reactions. 

The upshot is this is a discussion forum where people have different opinions over the same information. 

Not all people are in this group mentality that's prevailing around NP, that he must be appointed irrespective and that the team, coaches and upper management are broken beyond redemption. 

However, standing firm and taking different view point, however unpopular is where I'm at. I'm not going to apologise for that as at least it's authentic. 

Cheers

 

 

What I'm yet to see is any evidence to support that claim though. Apologies if you've put it elsewhere, but the evidence for the coaching staff and upper echelons of the club being inept is on the pitch and shown on the league table. What have you seen to give you any faith in the current setup? The momentum is undoubtedly downwards, not sure how keeping things the same is likely to change anything?

I'm personally not dead set on Pearson, but I do understand the context of his time so far and believe he's qualified to rebuild the club. Who else is out there who is available and experienced? Chris Wilder I'll give, and if he fancied it I'd take him in a heartbeat, but I can't imagine he would be. The risk of not appointing Pearson in the hope of someone better comes along doesn't really seem worth it to me.

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1 hour ago, Harry said:

I like James Piercy’s pieces. He’s done some decent ones of late. Seems like a switched on journo. Good for him. 
 

In the wider discussion, again, what we have here is something entirely, and I mean, absolute entirely of Steve’s own making. 
He put too much faith and control in 1 person, Ashton. Now he’s fleeing the scene of his crimes, Steve is left holding a lemon. 
My assumption would be that, given the Ashton to Ipswich rumours were known on here in January, they surely would have been known to Steve (likely earlier if Ashton was up front with Steve about the interest in him). 
At that point in time, Steve should have put in place the search for the new CEO or new DOF or whatever structure he wants in place. Failure to do so is incompetence. 
Again, we are now weeks, nay months down the line and Steve has so far, (to the best of our knowledge) made zero inroads into putting a team together. 

My understanding of the Pearson situation is that Steve is stuck. Both financially and mentally, stuck. 
If you look at Pearson’s history (in addition to his couple of months here), his record without Shakespeare isn’t great. Also, if you consider his promotion with Leicester, that team were very close to breaking FFP, so he had a big budget to play with. Steve’s dilemma should be, can Nigel bring success without a large budget and without his favoured staff? 
We then have covid finances. Steve will be looking at the 21/22 season and thinking that income will still be incredibly low, unlikely fans will be back in full, no supplemental income to derive from the way he’s netted Ashton Gate income into the City books. 
Based on those unknowns, I don’t think Steve wants to commit too much spend at the moment. He’ll be offering Pearson a 12 month rolling contract whereas Nige will want 3 or even 4 years. 
They may come to a compromise but given the finances, I am now beginning to doubt that Steve will also let Nige have free reign on bringing in lots of his own staff. It could be, ok have a 2 year deal with a year option, but you work with what you’ve got (Simpson, Downing etc). 
 

I honestly think Steve is stuck. He wants Nige, but knows his past isn’t great without a big budget and his own personnel. Is this holding him back? 
 

Ultimately, Steve is in a mess of his own making, by putting 1 person in control of everything. 
We are now already falling behind in summer recruitment.  I’ve spoken to some agents today - things have gone very very quiet from BCFC. We currently have no one who is dealing with agents, putting in place the early conversations for summer movements. Other clubs are putting the groundwork in now. We are quiet. Because we had 1 person who did everything and he’s no longer doing it. 
 

Steve really needs to make his mind up asap. We can’t be dithering much longer. We’re putting ourselves into a corner where players will be going to other clubs and we’ll end up having to extend the failures we’ve got out of contract. I wonder what sort of meltdown there would be if we end up extending Baker, Weimann, Hunt, Watkins, Rowe, Simpson, Mariappa etc. Same squad as this year, very few additions because we had no one dealing with the agents. 
 

Steve needs to get on top of this urgently. Otherwise, I’m sorry to say, I can see a relegation on the cards next year. We have to thank our lucky stars we didn’t go down this year. If the season was 4 more games, we’d be gone. We are the worst team in the league. And we currently have no manager, no one dealing with recruitment, half the team due to leave and none being lined up to replace them. 
 

Some people will say “don’t panic, the window isn’t even open yet”. Well, prepping for the window and having early conversations with agents is happening now. And we’re not currently attending that party. 
 

We need action now Steve. You can’t dilly-dally on this one any longer. Either appoint Pearson now, or let him go now and bring in who you fancied last year but wasn’t available (he’s seemed very keen to tell us that there was someone he wanted). 
 

 

Well this truly shits on my chips! 

I have no inside knowledge but in some ways I'm glad I don't.  I feel bad enough about our situation as it is.

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4 minutes ago, Red_Alligator said:

Well said Ralph, you're entitled to your opinion as much as anyone here, it's a forum.

I'm one of thinks NP can turn things around for us.

Who do you think might be a better bet for us?

The obvious answer is nobody really knows, lets be honest we thought NP would come in and everything would change

Just as likely that a complete nobody could in and turn us into a promotion winning side

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36 minutes ago, the frampton balti said:

That Mr Pearson appears to be able to do no wrong suggests that fans are so desperate almost that they feel he is our last hope  before the ship finally sinks. These players are not all wronguns as some suggest .  Some of them will be successful at other clubs after moving on for derisory  fees, others may well fade into obscurity. However it should be seen as a failure of the management and not these individuals, that we have been unable to get the best out of them even if they are not the best of them.

True. Telling players there's no deal on the table and letting it slip that someone's been offered one, is a catastrophic failure of management and a key factor in our total collapse this season. 

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37 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Agreed, he's a straight speaking northerner. But that wasn't my point. I was talking about money. Money is the one thing Lansdown understands, so the fact there's a manager out there who previously took a bunch of cheap as chips players all the way to the Premier League might have attracted his attention. 

Nothing about the man's personality, just the fact he achieved wonders without breaking the bank or asking for the earth. 

FYI, I'm still in "Team Nige".      

 

I've no idea if Wilder would be interested. But that wasn't my point. I was talking about money. Money is the one thing Lansdown understands, so the fact there's a manager out there who previously took a bunch of cheap as chips players all the way to the Premier League might have attracted his attention. 

Nothing about the man's inclination to manage Bristol City, just the fact he achieved wonders without breaking the bank or asking for the earth. 

FYI, I'm still in "Team Nige".      

 

Wasn't thinking so much about Wilder's own remuneration, more the fact he built a promotion winning team for thruppence ha'penny. Can Pearson say that?     

No he can’t, true. 

Logically for me if we don’t appoint Pearson it will be that SL will be looking for someone who is cheap in terms of salary demands, too.

My only other thought is that if it isn’t resolved by the Brentford game then we are looking elsewhere, though with matey boy off to Suffolk, **** knows who is doing the actual “looking”..
 

 

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It seems to be that the forum are all concluding that SL is delaying appointing NP, perhaps NP is waiting before committing to a contract, wanting to know what the structure of the club will be and who will be in key positions, also the possibility of investors and effect on budget.

 

 

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52 minutes ago, the frampton balti said:

That Mr Pearson appears to be able to do no wrong suggests that fans are so desperate almost that they feel he is our last hope  before the ship finally sinks. These players are not all wronguns as some suggest .  Some of them will be successful at other clubs after moving on for derisory  fees, others may well fade into obscurity. However it should be seen as a failure of the management and not these individuals, that we have been unable to get the best out of them even if they are not the best of them.

Be more than happy to see this post quoted again next season, as I’ll be amazed if anyone who leaves us this summer (bar Famara) is doing much at Championship level again.

Diedhiou has to be seen as a special case as rightly or wrongly we have tried to keep him & he has royally pissed us around.

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NP should be given the same opportunity as other applicants. I’d be against handing him the job by default because :

  • He’s not been able to motivate the players
  • He’s pointing out the blindingly obvious regarding structural and staff issues 
  • Maybe his ship has sailed. Very few managers are long-term successes over multiple clubs. May be his best before date has passed.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s genuinely a candidate but I think too many think he should be just given the job. Why?

I’d prefer we went through a exhaustive recruitment process to ensure the right candidate is appointed to take us forward, not another yes man like LJ or a copy of the farcical Holden appointment.

 

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14 minutes ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

Ah, that old chesnut. 

Sorry that my posts swim against the tide and make things uncomfortable for you and others going by reactions. 

The upshot is this is a discussion forum where people have different opinions over the same information. 

Not all people are in this group mentality that's prevailing around NP, that he must be appointed irrespective and that the team, coaches and upper management are broken beyond redemption. 

However, standing firm and taking different view point, however unpopular is where I'm at. I'm not going to apologise for that as at least it's authentic. 

Cheers

 

 

You’re perfectly right and your opinion is equally as valied as anyone else’s.  

Just wondering what your view is of why we are actually in this mess though?  This problem clearly goes far deeper than just injuries, which in themselves, put a big question mark over the training methods and physio side of the club anyway.

You clearly don’t like Pearson and to be fair, his case certainly hasn’t been helped by our continued awful form and results while he’s been here.  That said, he’s clearly among the best qualified of any managers I can remember being associated with this club in my lifetime, so would be interested to know who you think would be a better fit?

Now onto the calls for a massive shake-up at the club.  If you truly believe this isn’t necessary after witnessing the ever worsening performances over the last couple of years, I can only wonder how bad it would have to get before you felt a major overhaul was necessary?  

We’ve tried the nice human type HC, now we’ve had a dabble with the no-nonsense type in NP, who still can’t get a tune out of this lot, so where do we go from here?  If we can’t get a HC/Manager to get it to work, we have to start looking at all other areas of the club to find the cause, surely.

I do wonder if maybe Pearson can only work really effectively with some of his trusted backroom team, but if we could get at least some of them on board, what better options do we have?
 

 

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7 hours ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

This obsession with getting something out of the players here now. This insistence in the myth in football of one bloke sweeping in and single-handedly transforming a rotten team into the opposite. 

Why would this group of players - safe from relegation, not going for promotion, weeks from an injury free summer break, out of contract in the summer, playing in empty grounds, probably aware of the disdain of absent supporters - why would they up their game now? 

What's in it for them?

Very good post, but for me it would be personal pride and still giving 100% for team mates and the manager.

I never stepped on to a football pitch and didn’t want to give my all. Perhaps it’s because this generation are just a soft touch. 

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1 hour ago, Harry said:

I like James Piercy’s pieces. He’s done some decent ones of late. Seems like a switched on journo. Good for him. 

In the wider discussion, again, what we have here is something entirely, and I mean, absolute entirely of Steve’s own making. He put too much faith and control in 1 person, Ashton. Now he’s fleeing the scene of his crimes, Steve is left holding a lemon. 

My assumption would be that, given the Ashton to Ipswich rumours were known on here in January, they surely would have been known to Steve (likely earlier if Ashton was up front with Steve about the interest in him). 

At that point in time, Steve should have put in place the search for the new CEO or new DOF or whatever structure he wants in place. Failure to do so is incompetence. 

Again, we are now weeks, nay months down the line and Steve has so far, (to the best of our knowledge) made zero inroads into putting a team together. 

My understanding of the Pearson situation is that Steve is stuck. Both financially and mentally, stuck. 

If you look at Pearson’s history (in addition to his couple of months here), his record without Shakespeare isn’t great. Also, if you consider his promotion with Leicester, that team were very close to breaking FFP, so he had a big budget to play with. Steve’s dilemma should be, can Nigel bring success without a large budget and without his favoured staff? 

We then have covid finances. Steve will be looking at the 21/22 season and thinking that income will still be incredibly low, unlikely fans will be back in full, no supplemental income to derive from the way he’s netted Ashton Gate income into the City books. 

Based on those unknowns, I don’t think Steve wants to commit too much spend at the moment. He’ll be offering Pearson a 12 month rolling contract whereas Nige will want 3 or even 4 years. 

They may come to a compromise but given the finances, I am now beginning to doubt that Steve will also let Nige have free reign on bringing in lots of his own staff. It could be, ok have a 2 year deal with a year option, but you work with what you’ve got (Simpson, Downing etc). 

I honestly think Steve is stuck. He wants Nige, but knows his past isn’t great without a big budget and his own personnel. Is this holding him back? 

Ultimately, Steve is in a mess of his own making, by putting 1 person in control of everything. 

We are now already falling behind in summer recruitment.  I’ve spoken to some agents today - things have gone very very quiet from BCFC. We currently have no one who is dealing with agents, putting in place the early conversations for summer movements. Other clubs are putting the groundwork in now. We are quiet. Because we had 1 person who did everything and he’s no longer doing it. 

Steve really needs to make his mind up asap. We can’t be dithering much longer. We’re putting ourselves into a corner where players will be going to other clubs and we’ll end up having to extend the failures we’ve got out of contract. I wonder what sort of meltdown there would be if we end up extending Baker, Weimann, Hunt, Watkins, Rowe, Simpson, Mariappa etc. Same squad as this year, very few additions because we had no one dealing with the agents. 

Steve needs to get on top of this urgently. Otherwise, I’m sorry to say, I can see a relegation on the cards next year. We have to thank our lucky stars we didn’t go down this year. If the season was 4 more games, we’d be gone. We are the worst team in the league. And we currently have no manager, no one dealing with recruitment, half the team due to leave and none being lined up to replace them. 

Some people will say “don’t panic, the window isn’t even open yet”. Well, prepping for the window and having early conversations with agents is happening now. And we’re not currently attending that party. 

We need action now Steve. You can’t dilly-dally on this one any longer. Either appoint Pearson now, or let him go now and bring in who you fancied last year but wasn’t available (he’s seemed very keen to tell us that there was someone he wanted). 

Very insightful post, @Harry. It sounds like we haven't even got a shortlist of targets, let alone a long list. What exactly is the club gaining from keeping Ashton in situ if he's not even speaking to agents and nobody is stepping up to have those conversations?

I've said it before that it astounds me we have no contingency or succession plans in place. It's extraordinary for any business of this size not to have those plans in place. We've all been fed a diet of identity this, infrastructure that but it's non-existent.

This inertia from SL has the potential to absolute kill us. If we continue to bumble along, have third or fourth pick in the transfer market this summer and we end up renewing the contracts of these gutless players nobody else wants, we won't even compete next year regardless of who's in charge. 

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11 minutes ago, Rich_s said:

I’d prefer we went through a exhaustive recruitment process to ensure the right candidate is appointed to take us forward, not another yes man like LJ or a copy of the farcical Holden appointment.

 

Our last “exhaustive recruitment process” produced Holden...

As @Harry pointed out other clubs are speaking to agents about players who are out of contract this summer now.

In the meantime we have no one permanent in any significant position at the club.

Pearson should either be offered the job or shown the door this week, he has been here long enough for SL to decide he is a busted flush or managing a complete shit show.

 

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I don't think players will be jumping onto the first offer they get so I can't see us being behind other clubs in getting players on board as long as someone is appointed in the next couple of weeks or so.

I'd be amazed if SL doesn't have people in mind and is working on that.

I just think that NP isn't one of those people.

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56 minutes ago, sh1t_ref_again said:

It seems to be that the forum are all concluding that SL is delaying appointing NP, perhaps NP is waiting before committing to a contract, wanting to know what the structure of the club will be and who will be in key positions, also the possibility of investors and effect on budget.

 

 

I don’t think any potential investors play any part in this. 
Steve has suggested he may be on the lookout for investors. Those conversations will be lengthy. There is zero chance, in my opinion, that any new investors are even close to being prepared and are having any impact on the managerial situation. 
More likely next season or later that we hear further on the new investment scene. 
 

Re the contract negotiations. I think it’s a bit of both. NP will want assurances of putting staff in place and a recruitment plan he can work to. SL will want assurances that NP can deliver on his own, with the current staff and on a smaller budget than he’s had in the past. 
Both have already alluded to being savvy in the market this year (ie, we’re not going to be big spending). 
 

Contract length, from what I understand, is a current sticking point. 
 

However, I must add, and further to my earlier post, I’m still unsure that Steve is totally sold on Nige, and Steve has been very keen to point out that a) Nige approached us and b) Steve had a preferred candidate last year who wasn’t available. 
I don’t know why he’d freely impart such information if there wasn’t something in it. I think Steve still has someone else he wants and their availability may still be in question. I don’t know who - though I have a theory. 
Whatever he wants, he needs to do it quick. 

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24 minutes ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

 

I've faith because if we were that shit, we'd have been relegated and bankrupt some time ago. 

 

As mentioned in other threads, fans, lockdown and rumour has helped create a toxicity around the upper echelons of the club and indeed with SL goes back to when he first took over and never left. 

We have a team of players demotivated and at the beck and call of fans yet are being treated as naughty school kids rather than adults. 

It's clear stick hasnt worked, so perhaps carrot may be a start as well as actually looking at motivation. If players are told their shite, then that's all they will ever be 

We need as a team to break that cycle as weve a team of internationals and experienced at this level of players. 

Thw current management isnt working, neither did the previous.

Clear out and start again doesn't work because covid ffp etc, work with what we have and engage them. 

One of the biggest mistakes over the summer was selling Eliasson in my view but there's a lot that could have been done through successive managers to actually get basics right, and motivate, yet we dont. 

Not everyone is motivated by money and glort and it is simplistic to lump all footballers in the same boat. 

Change that, and those players might respond, it's finding the best manager to do that within budget, something we've historically failed at, and show no changes to as we seem to be clamouring to reward failure at present, which is insanity repeated. 

 

I think if the season was 4 or 5 games longer we'd be in trouble. Birmingham will finish above us this season, they were nearly down a month ago, so yes we really are shit enough to go down. We're bottom of the league based on the last 30 games!

The players have been given carrot for the past 5 years. With a few individual exceptions, the whole squad has been lauded by the fans as they beat United and climbed the table. The toxicity began when Lee became obsessed with defending, rather than attacking, and we became a timid and negative side. That attitude is still within the players. 

Clear out and start again is inevitable because we have so many players OOC, the club's hand is forced. Ashton has left, we have to start again or there's nobody running the club. I don't think anybody sensible is expecting a footballing revolution that sees us enter the top 6 over the summer, but the foundations have to be laid to go again and to actually look like we can get promoted and not like a Sunday League side that's won a lottery to play championship football.

I agree, Eliasson was a big loss that we never replaced, but Holden and many many others decided 3-5-2 was THE system and we would never ever use a different one, so wingers were surplus to requirements.

So, overall I would argue that it's probably the coaching and the environment of the club that will have a bigger influence on the performance of players than fans labelling players shite on social media. It's up to the players to go and prove their doubters wrong, rather than down tools as you suggest they have.

The "clamouring to reward failure" comment is frankly odd. The club gave Holden the managers job after being part of a team that failed repeatedly to achieve their aim of finishing in the top 6. Most of the players have consistently failed too, yet you suggest rewarding their failure by not introducing wholesale change?

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