Piercy on Pearson

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

Another very interesting albeit highly uncomfortable read from James Piercy.

He is , as usual, balanced in what he says and feels NP should take significant credit for developing play in the final third. He also points to our rapidly deteriorating defensive ability and suggests that we are potentially on target to have the worst defensive record in 10 years since DM/SOD when we finished rock bottom with 84 goals against- we are in danger of shipping 83. this season.

James is not suggesting that Nige should go or even hinting this should be the case. He does question that if Nige cant turn it around ("make definitive improvements") in the remaining 14 games then this will give reason for doubt about whether he can do it over the medium/long term.

Painful reading but definitely worth a look and written with careful thought backed with facts not guess or emotion.

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

Thanks- forgot to attach link!

[exAtyeoMax]

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-defensive-nigel-pearson-6663398

 

[Bar BS3]

I'm slightly more comfortable with the fact that there are, finally some signs of developing some sort of pattern & game plan now - so I'm more happy giving NP time to build a team... 

However - I also firmly believe that he has been lucky in our added attacking threat, with Wiemann being fully fit & in form and, mostly, the return of Semenyo certainly turned our drap attacking play (credit for the improvement in his more direct approach though) 

There also have to be serious questions over the utter inability to tighten up defensively. 

Still far from convinced about NP but at least we don't look like the total lost cause that we have done for most of his first year in charge, when we were actually going from dire, to even worse..! 

[HappyClapper]

9 minutes ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

Another very interesting albeit highly uncomfortable read from James Piercy.

He is , as usual, balanced in what he says and feels NP should take significant credit for developing play in the final third. He also points to our rapidly deteriorating defensive ability and suggests that we are potentially on target to have the worst defensive record in 10 years since DM/SOD when we finished rock bottom with 84 goals against- we are in danger of shipping 83. this season.

James is not suggesting that Nige should go or even hinting this should be the case. He does question that if Nige cant turn it around ("make definitive improvements") in the remaining 14 games then this will give reason for doubt about whether he can do it over the medium/long term.

Painful reading but definitely worth a look and written with careful thought backed with facts not guess or emotion.

Thanks for pointing me in direction of the piece MRR. It is as you say carefully written. The downward trend in our goals against stats are a little worrying and we haven’t got the balance right between defence and attack. @Davefevsmentions on another thread how we were more solid playing a back 4 earlier in the season. I think some of the defensive issues are due to injury. Bakes, Tanner, Atkinson in defence. But overlooked I think is what James (and King to a lesser degree) brings to our defensive shape.

My hope is that we can get Tanner, Atkinson, James and Williams all fully fit and in the same team relatively soon. I think this will give us greater stability and should improve us. 

[IAmNick]

A team who were expected to be near the bottom of the table who signed 3 defenders over the summer (Baker, Atkinson, Tanner) - all of whom are now injured. And two extremely experienced midfielders over the summer (James, King) - both of whom are now injured. Are conceding a lot of goals? Hmmm.

The article says itself, after 10 games we were 7th for goals conceded and it's gone downhill from there. Look at the team we're having to put out. We must have about the youngest / most inexperienced central midfield pair, Vyner and a free transfer in central defence, Dasilva playing out of position.

Of course it's disappointing but maybe it isn't that much of a mystery when the back line and 2/3 in front of them has been different every half dozen games all season, and largely not through choice.

Personally I think we're also sacrificing stability / organisation in order to try out players for next year, but that's another conversation.

Edited February 16, 2022 by IAmNick

[Super]

That's pretty brutal.

[bcfc01]

10 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

A team who were expected to be near the bottom of the table who signed 3 defenders over the summer (Baker, Atkinson, Tanner) - all of whom are now injured. And two extremely experienced midfielders over the summer (James, King) - both of whom are now injured. Are conceding a lot of goals? Hmmm.

The article says itself, after 10 games we were 7th for goals conceded and it's gone downhill from there. Look at the team we're having to put out. We must have about the youngest / most inexperienced central midfield pair, Vyner and a free transfer in central defence, Dasilva playing out of position.

Of course it's disappointing but maybe it isn't that much of a mystery when the back line and 2/3 in front of them has been different every half dozen games all season, and largely not through choice.

Personally I think we're also sacrificing stability / organisation in order to try out players for next year, but that's another conversation.

Spot on imo.

Baker is a huge loss, as is a career right back in Tanner. Losing Atkinson as well was a blow and necessitated bringing in Klose who, whilst being a very good quality defender, has made no difference to the goals conceded, thanks to individual errors.

Midfield is light without James, King, and Williams who should be a shoe in if all were fit.

Our attacking play is very good and very entertaining now that Semenyo is starting to achieve his potential and they are working their socks off to pressure the opposition, so no problems there as long as all stay fit. 

It aint rocket science to figure out why we have fallen apart defensively, there are individuals who are switching off at key moments and they are doing it game by game.

[And Its Smith]

Pearson will boo 

[RedRock]

Good piece.

 That Swansea goal, you know, the one that three defenders stood off, that Vyner was on another planet, Max frozen on his line.
 

That goal summed up what we are defensively more than any words. It just needs to be played on a continuous loop on all the screens at our ‘high performance’ centre.

Old school,  but I’d get the team to each write essays on their thoughts on that goal and what they could have done to prevent it. Then present their findings individually to the group. Maybe by using that technique we would finally break their brain fog about personal and collective defensive responsibilities. 
 

It was Under-5’s defending. Pathetic. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by RedRock

[GrahamC]

It’s a good article & Piercy writes well but I’m not sure it tells us much we didn’t know.

What did occur to me reading it though was that it explains why Pearson was prepared to offer Baker a new deal, even though his availability under him last season was almost non existent.

Pearson can be an open book at times & it is blindingly obvious that he likes him, both as his type of defender & as a bloke.

For all his injury history, what has happened this season was still unexpected & we have missed him badly.

Whether that is Klose or someone else, he needs replacing this summer if as we all believe, he is going to have to retire.

[tin]

Slow news day. We've got a small squad that is being stretched to the limit by injuries.

Up until November, we hadn't been beaten by more than one goal and were fairly solid in a four-man defence often with Baker/Atkinson, Tanner and James in the starting XI and King's experience off the bench. Any club operating with a small squad a medium-term injuries would struggle in one way or the other. 

The individuals who are fit and have had a chance to make a name for themselves at this level and they continually fail to convince. I don't think that warranted 1,500+ words, though.

[And Its Smith]

10 minutes ago, tin said:

Slow news day. We've got a small squad that is being stretched to the limit by injuries.

Up until November, we hadn't been beaten by more than one goal and were fairly solid in a four-man defence often with Baker/Atkinson, Tanner and James in the starting XI and King's experience off the bench. Any club operating with a small squad a medium-term injuries would struggle in one way or the other. 

The individuals who are fit and have had a chance to make a name for themselves at this level and they continually fail to convince. I don't think that warranted 1,500+ words, though.

Not everyone watches every game or is across it all as much as a lot of people on this forum. I think it’s a great piece that many people will appreciate. 

[!james]

Definitely issues with the defence which is are all aware of but as discussed on the latest OSIB we are 6th in the table for goals scored on 42. I can remember recent times us struggling to even have shots on target during a game let alone score goals. With Semenyo and Scott constantly improving and potential of bringing in a Pearson type striker in the summer it's definitely a massive positive.

We are in a position where we won't go down and in the summer these issues can be addressed. 

So yeah playoff attack, relegation defence. 

[Waconda]

54 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

A team who were expected to be near the bottom of the table who signed 3 defenders over the summer (Baker, Atkinson, Tanner) - all of whom are now injured. And two extremely experienced midfielders over the summer (James, King) - both of whom are now injured. Are conceding a lot of goals? Hmmm.

The article says itself, after 10 games we were 7th for goals conceded and it's gone downhill from there. Look at the team we're having to put out. We must have about the youngest / most inexperienced central midfield pair, Vyner and a free transfer in central defence, Dasilva playing out of position.

Of course it's disappointing but maybe it isn't that much of a mystery when the back line and 2/3 in front of them has been different every half dozen games all season, and largely not through choice.

Personally I think we're also sacrificing stability / organisation in order to try out players for next year, but that's another conversation.

Almost as bad as what Holden had to deal with. A lot of that was put down to a dreadful medical team.

Worrying that the replacement medical staff have not improved the situation at all and our injury list is horrendous, making NPs job very difficult.

Why is our club so cursed with injuries ? Holden and now Pearson have been denied being able to put out their first team (or anything like it) for the majority of both of their tenures.

That's the biggest worry for me going forward.

 

[DaveF]

5 minutes ago, VT05763 said:

Worrying that the replacement medical staff have not improved the situation at all and our injury list is horrendous, making NPs job very difficult.

 

Does anyone have the stats for that? Pretty sure our injury record is better this season?

[GrahamC]

Just now, DaveF said:

Does anyone have the stats for that? Pretty sure our injury record is better this season?

It is significantly better, there was a thread a week or so ago that detailed around 20 injuries in the Holden season (I’m not blaming him for this, by the way).

This season we have certainly suffered from the lack of availability of key players in midfield especially, but it is nowhere near as bad.

Our squad is also much smaller, because bluntly we needed to slash our wage bill & Pearson wants to operate that way, so the loss of James hits harder when numbers are far fewer.

[headhunter]

Hard hitting article that applies a degree of pressure on NP between now and end of season.

We are safe and will get at least the 2 wins that probably guarantee that but how will the fanbase feel if the last 14 games give something like this return : 3-3-8 [49 points] ?

This summer will be very interesting. Sell ons from Webster, Kelly & Brownhill [assuming they exist] could yield, say, £7M which reduces FFP pressure. Will we hang on to our star trio [HNM, Semenyo, Scott]? If 2 go for £15M [LOW] how much will NP spend - would we still have confidence in his judgement in doing so with no recognised recruitment lead in the club and a playing record that will be open to question even by those cutting him slack for the *hit storm he inherited?

[Waconda]

2 minutes ago, DaveF said:

Does anyone have the stats for that? Pretty sure our injury record is better this season?

Would be good to know, it feels just as bad but I may be wrong. 

James

Atkinson

Tanner

King

Baker

ODowda

Cundy

Williams

All currently (or have been for long periods) injured.

[GrahamC]

Just now, JonDolman said:

Getting 3 of the 4 experienced summer signings wrong has made things tougher. Though Klose signing in January looks an upgrade on Baker imo.

 

Genuine question, who do you mean?

James? Weimann? Baker?

[HappyClapper]

2 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

Getting 3 of the 4 experienced summer signings wrong has made things tougher. Though Klose signing in January looks an upgrade on Baker imo.

I just think we look really unorganised. There has been some good performances since the change of system.

But I would have thought Pearson could make adjustments to give us a more solid defensive structure whilst still having a threat down the other end.

I think he has made adjustments Jon. We looked good all round first half v Swansea. Very much looked like we were playing to a plan. I think Pearson’s frustration is with individual decision making and desire to keep the ball out of the net.

We often make a series of errors that lead to goals then get deeper as the pressure intensifies. We don’t seem to have the ability/confidence/experience to break this cycle once it starts at the moment. I would argue that this is not a coaching issue.

[Waconda]

3 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

Getting 3 of the 4 experienced summer signings wrong has made things tougher. Though Klose signing in January looks an upgrade on Baker imo.

I just think we look really unorganised. There has been some good performances since the change of system.

But I would have thought Pearson could make adjustments to give us a more solid defensive structure whilst still having a threat down the other end.

This is what I struggle to understand.

We look so disorganised without the ball, not every game but 2 out of 3 and if anything that makes it worse.

To be fair as we are safe if it was a choice of at least having some entertaining attacking play or going back to trying and "nicking" 0-0s and 1-0s I know which I would prefer to watch.

Whole new defence structure needs to be coached and applied in the Summer.

[IAmNick]

18 minutes ago, VT05763 said:

Almost as bad as what Holden had to deal with. A lot of that was put down to a dreadful medical team.

Worrying that the replacement medical staff have not improved the situation at all and our injury list is horrendous, making NPs job very difficult.

Why is our club so cursed with injuries ? Holden and now Pearson have been denied being able to put out their first team (or anything like it) for the majority of both of their tenures.

That's the biggest worry for me going forward.

 

Yeah it's certainly not ideal... I don't have enough knowledge to point to where the issue is. Clearly some of it has to be at the medical team, but I don't buy what seems to have become semi accepted fact they were slicing people up in the treatment room while everything else was pretty much spot on.

What I'm hoping though is we've learnt this year about returning players and will be more cautious - look at the way Williams has been reintroduced compared to last year. A lot more slowly / measured in my opinion. I think Pearson is probably more confident to gently ease a player back, or rest them even if he knows it will weaken the team than Holden was. That's not really a criticism of Holden either, it's pretty understandable given their relative experience levels).

[Waconda]

3 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

Yeah it's certainly not ideal... I don't have enough knowledge to point to where the issue is. Clearly some of it has to be at the medical team, but I don't buy what seems to have become semi accepted fact they were slicing people up in the treatment room while everything else was pretty much spot on.

What I'm hoping though is we've learnt this year about returning players and will be more cautious - look at the way Williams has been reintroduced compared to last year. A lot more slowly / measured in my opinion. I think Pearson is probably more confident to gently ease a player back, or rest them even if he knows it will weaken the team than Holden was. That's not really a criticism of Holden either, it's pretty understandable given their relative experience levels).

Yes agree with this.

I feel Holden was (felt) under more pressure re his position as Manager and rushed unfit players back too soon, Paterson was a prime example., thus compounding the problem.

NP has been assured of more time so can be more patient with the injured, he also has us in a position safe from relegation.

[GrahamC]

Just now, JonDolman said:

Baker, Simpson and King.

Forgot Weimann so 3 out of 5 experienced signings in the summer he got wrong imo.

There's a lack of organisation defensively. The adjustments he needs to make is to improve that so when teams inevitably get on top in a game we can keep them out. Or if they do score then we've at least made it a bit of a challenge to do so!

See a cynic would say that you excluded Weimann & yet included Baker (signed in identical circumstances) because it didn’t fit the narrative…

No doubt Simpson hasn’t worked out but I’m a bit more tolerant on the other two, personally I wouldn’t have signed Baker (though I have no idea what terms he’s on or who we could have got for free who is better) but there were signs early this season he was at his very best & his absence has come from something cumulative, not as a result of a specific injury.

King was always lined up to be cover for James & Williams, not to be a regular starter & in some of the games he played he did a decent job. I also understand he is coaching the U18s at present & making a good impression. Last season James managed 39 games, if that had happened again or Williams had finally been able to start more King’s absence wouldn’t have been an issue. Expect him to stop playing this summer & join the coaching staff.

[tin]

50 minutes ago, headhunter said:

Hard hitting article that applies a degree of pressure on NP between now and end of season.

We are safe and will get at least the 2 wins that probably guarantee that but how will the fanbase feel if the last 14 games give something like this return : 3-3-8 [49 points] ?

This summer will be very interesting. Sell ons from Webster, Kelly & Brownhill [assuming they exist] could yield, say, £7M which reduces FFP pressure. Will we hang on to our star trio [HNM, Semenyo, Scott]? If 2 go for £15M [LOW] how much will NP spend - would we still have confidence in his judgement in doing so with no recognised recruitment lead in the club and a playing record that will be open to question even by those cutting him slack for the *hit storm he inherited?

The fact we have no recognised recruitment lead at the club falls firmly on SL, I'm afraid. That should've been addressed last summer and we're only left to speculate/assume the budget wasn't there for that.

The money NP has spent (Tanner, Atkinson) has been pretty good value IMO and they should improve, so I trust his eye for a player and that he has the contacts to bring them in. The only thing missing is cash to spend. 

[And Its Smith]

14 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

See a cynic would say that you excluded Weimann & yet included Baker (signed in identical circumstances) because it didn’t fit the narrative…

No doubt Simpson hasn’t worked out but I’m a bit more tolerant on the other two, personally I wouldn’t have signed Baker (though I have no idea what terms he’s on or who we could have got for free who is better) but there were signs early this season he was at his very best & his absence has come from something cumulative, not as a result of a specific injury.

King was always lined up to be cover for James & Williams, not to be a regular starter & in some of the games he played he did a decent job. I also understand he is coaching the U18s at present & making a good impression. Last season James managed 39 games, if that had happened again or Williams had finally been able to start more King’s absence wouldn’t have been an issue. Expect him to stop playing this summer & join the coaching staff.

I don’t think Baker and Weimann were signed in identical circumstances. Baker was without a club for a while and we then took him back. Weimann was never really without a club as the new contract was agreed at the point the extra year on the old contract wasn’t triggered. 

[GrahamC]

2 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

I don’t think Baker and Weimann were signed in identical circumstances. Baker was without a club for a while and we then took him back. Weimann was never really without a club as the new contract was agreed at the point the extra year on the old contract wasn’t triggered. 

Baker was never “without a club” as he was contracted until the end of June, was released on May 14th & signed a new two year contract in mid June.

Obvious he & the club tested the market but decided for both parties that it was the best option.

Incidentally Weimann spoke to 2 other clubs (one of them I believe was the same one as Baker) before re-signing, thank goodness he did.

[And Its Smith]

7 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Baker was never “without a club” as he was contracted until the end of June, was released on May 14th & signed a new two year contract in mid June.

Obvious he & the club tested the market but decided for both parties that it was the best option.

Incidentally Weimann spoke to 2 other clubs (one of them I believe was the same one as Baker) before re-signing, thank goodness he did.

You obviously know what I meant. He was without a club for a month in fans eyes rather than technically. 

[GrahamC]

5 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

No narrative here.

I have given Pearson credit loads of times for the good signings he made.

King is like the Brunt signing for me. Body can't do it anymore. Playing one full game in the previous 3 years at other clubs before joining us and 33 years of age.

Baker signing I really disagreed with at the time.

Pearson wanted a more physically robust smaller squad. So for me having more robust players was a must.

Of course Tanner, Atkinson and James injuries could not have been predicted. Have no criticisms there.

I distinctly remember having the debate with you about the Baker signing at the time, when you specifically said “if Nige is happy with it, so am I” so that isn’t completely true, is it?

King wasn’t signed to necessarily “play the full 90 minutes” though, was he? Cover for James & Williams with likely sub appearances, though he has since done so 5 times in his 10 starts.