Pearson's First Year (Merged)

[shelts]

Things got soo bad but me thinks we are on an upward trajectory.  My main concern is keeping Nigel to finish what he started. 
The summer will be interesting and I hope he gets the backing .  

[Numero Uno]

14 minutes ago, The Bard said:

We'd be in a relegation scrap with the manager complaining about not  being backed and how 'he can't rely on kids'.

 

Sort of proves a point. You can't rely on kids per se (i.e. 9 of them in the starting 11) but if you play the right ones you end up with very good players around three years earlier than you otherwise would have. Alex Scott will be a semi-established Championship player come August. This is where I don't understand the tiny minority that label Pearson a dinosaur when we lose (well, it's one ******** in particular) - how many dinosaur managers would give youngsters a game like Pearson does - regardless of what is available to him.

[Davefevs]

1 minute ago, Numero Uno said:

Sort of proves a point. You can't rely on kids per se (i.e. 9 of them in the starting 11) but if you play the right ones you end up with very good players around three years earlier than you otherwise would have. Alex Scott will be a semi-established Championship player come August. This is where I don't understand the tiny minority that label Pearson a dinosaur when we lose (well, it's one ******** in particular) - how many dinosaur managers would give youngsters a game like Pearson does - regardless of what is available to him.

Agree, Nige definitely not a dinosaur.  I don’t get where that comes from, other than he’s 58.

[steviestevieneville]

5 hours ago, ooRya said:

Still to be convinced TBH.

On the one hand, I recognise all the difficulty's that he has had to face...and is still facing. But I do think that he has been incredibly lucky with the crop of youngsters that were ready to come through.

Really ? Semenyo was around & doing very little before he arrived , as was massengo . He’s also given Scott the chance to flourish . Don’t underestimate how well they’re being coached 

[steviestevieneville]

4 hours ago, VT05763 said:

Credit for doing it but not by any means a "genius" for doing so, most, if not all Managers would have/had to do the same in the situation we find ourselves in.

Academy has served him very well and will continue to do so.

Great news all round for the future of the club.

Loving the way we are playing at the moment, very entertaining. 

He still had to coach them . Semenyo & massengo are different players under him & he’s given Scott his head. Of course I don’t expect you to give him any credit but will be straight on here slagging him off If we lose tonight . 

[The Bard]

18 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Agree, Nige definitely not a dinosaur.  I don’t get where that comes from, other than he’s 58.

It's because he talks plainly, doesn't try to sound like like a tactical genius by using buzzwords and has a reputation for being old school.  As you say he's no dinosaur, he's quite forward thinking but without the bullshit attached. 

 

[David Brent]

We’re lucky to have him. Behind him all the way. 

[David Brent]

Not having anyone say he’s lucky to have the quality young players he has. He’s shown faith in them and they’ve repayed him.

We’ve always had decent young players who just needed an opportunity. Alex Scott doesn’t get in a LJ team 

[ExiledAjax]

Attack is sorted. Midfield is nearly sorted. Defence needs to be sorted, but hasn't gotten much worse.

Off the pitch he and Gould are working well and improving things no end.

For the moment it's the right guy at the right time.

A good first year all things considered.

[Jerseybean]

Decent related article - https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/nigel-pearson-year-bristol-city-6703321

 

[ExiledAjax]

7 minutes ago, Jerseybean said:

Decent related article - https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/nigel-pearson-year-bristol-city-6703321

 

"...securing those opening two wins - at Middlesbrough when he was in the stands and Swansea City pitchside..." Outrageous attribution of the Boro win to Pearson. Did Downing and Simpson die for this? Did they heck. 

[downendcity]

2 hours ago, David Brent said:

Not having anyone say he’s lucky to have the quality young players he has. He’s shown faith in them and they’ve repayed him.

We’ve always had decent young players who just needed an opportunity. Alex Scott doesn’t get in a LJ team 

He does, but LJ plays him at left back. Semenyo gets in an LJ team, in centre midfield and Pring would probably be played as a centre forward to hold the ball up.

What Pearson’s seems to be doing is organising the team in order to get the best out of his  players and I think this is why we are now seeing Weimann and Semenyo being so potent and productive and Scott and HNM influencing games.

My one surprise is that being a defender himself, NP seems unable to stop our defence leaking goals!

[Bodiesaffer]

2 hours ago, downendcity said:

He does, but LJ plays him at left back. Semenyo gets in an LJ team, in centre midfield and Pring would probably be played as a centre forward to hold the ball up.

What Pearson’s seems to be doing is organising the team in order to get the best out of his  players and I think this is why we are now seeing Weimann and Semenyo being so potent and productive and Scott and HNM influencing games.

My one surprise is that being a defender himself, NP seems unable to stop our defence leaking goals!

That will come. We are not that far away.  Keep most of these kids in the summer, And something very special is on the horizon.

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Bodiesaffer said:

That will come. We are not that far away.  Keep most of these kids in the summer, And something very special is on the horizon.

I look at it positively.  A couple of new players, a few mistakes cut out and we become a top half team fairly comfortably next season.

[Red-Robbo]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

I look at it positively.  A couple of new players, a few mistakes cut out and we become a top half team fairly comfortably next season.

 

Completely agree.

The rot has been stopped. We were in freefall. Now there are genuine green shoots.

Can't remember watching as many exciting young City players as the ones we had on the pitch tonight.  Three on the pitch in red under 21. Another three under 25. Happy days. 

[bexhill reds]

Looking at the body language between the current squad and NP especially now he’s back on the touch line, you can see that he’s building a spirit with a team that wants to play for him, good performances have helped, but it does look that every player in the squad has definitely got on the bus so to speak.

This has a lot to do with Nigel being willing to trust the younger players to do their thing and have belief in what they are doing.

I’m not going to get carried away, but I genuinely believe that he is building something special and everybody at the club has bought into it.

[redsquirrel]

did we have the youngest least experienced mojority of squad at the start of the season?

[cidered abroad]

31 minutes ago, redsquirrel said:

did we have the youngest least experienced mojority of squad at the start of the season?

I don't know the answer to that but I do know that NP has had the courage to give the under 23's chances to learn, improve and bring a team spirit that has been missing for too long. Whether we continue in the same vein remains to be seen. I'm guessing a big yes.

[Bristol Oil Services]

On 22/02/2022 at 23:38, Davefevs said:

I look at it positively.  A couple of new players, a few mistakes cut out and we become a top half team fairly comfortably next season.

Yes, defend a bit better (5/10%)/cut number of late goals conceded/"manage" slender leads after 85 minutes/sign quality CB in summer and we can have a very different season indeed.

[Bristol Oil Services]

On 22/02/2022 at 16:24, Davefevs said:

Agree, Nige definitely not a dinosaur.  I don’t get where that comes from, other than he’s 58.

 

On 22/02/2022 at 16:57, The Bard said:

It's because he talks plainly, doesn't try to sound like like a tactical genius by using buzzwords 

 

Yes, that, and: he throttles opposition players on the touchline and fights wild dogs with bare hands on solo hikes across East European mountain ranges (hope he doesn't book the latter for this summer)

[GrahamC]

On 22/02/2022 at 16:24, Davefevs said:

Agree, Nige definitely not a dinosaur.  I don’t get where that comes from, other than he’s 58.

As a fellow August ‘63 birth I can definitely refute any accusations of this.

58 is young these days..

[SecretSam]

I've had my doubts but he really does seem to be turning us around. This summer will be massive, though. 

Credit to the club for sticking with him.

[SecretSam]

1 hour ago, cidered abroad said:

I don't know the answer to that but I do know that NP has had the courage to give the under 23's chances to learn, improve and bring a team spirit that has been missing for too long. Whether we continue in the same vein remains to be seen. I'm guessing a big yes.

The improvement in players like Scott and HNM has been a major plus. And he brings out the best in older players, too, look at how well Weinmann is playing.

[Red-Robbo]

17 minutes ago, SecretSam said:

The improvement in players like Scott and HNM has been a major plus. And he brings out the best in older players, too, look at how well Weinmann is playing.

 

There's a sense of purpose about the team. Even when they lose, they are still going for it.

It lifts everyone on the pitch's performance, not least Weimann.

Just compare it to the morale of the 20/21 team Pearson inherited. The sense of purpose of many of those players was to get away from Bristol. It had just come apart at the seams.

[HappyClapper]

In my mind Nige is like an outstanding teacher. He is open and honest and has created an environment that gives the players a certain amount of agency/ autonomy. As he has said, he can’t do it for them, but what he can do is provide a structure, a sense of ownership and the sense that they are all working to a common goal. Within that each individual will have their own reasons and intrinsic motivation too. Each player would, I expect, know exactly what their strengths and weaknesses are and the physical, tactical, technical things they need to work on.

Most people would be on board with this and will appreciate the honest feedback they get, especially if it is for the greater good and delivered appropriately and designed to help them improve their own outcomes. The fact that he was willing to drop Bentley was a master stroke in the long term as it showed the squad that Nige was prepared to act if someone was dropping their standards, even if it was the club captain.

It feels a very very long way from where we were this time last year. I’m excited by where he could take us over the next few seasons.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Quite a positive one I reckon.

We can see that something is building or being built (FFP permitting)- the number of young players being given their head, a mix of their qualities and a willingness to give youth a greater chance combined with financial necessity.

The home form seems to be improving but still plenty to do, while the injuries are coming down...the gap between xG and XP is lower than the equivalent period last year which also is an indicator. That aside, from Blackburn at home in November Tuesday, there has been a definite uptick particularly in performances at home- some reasonable ones on the road too albeit just the 2 points from WBA away to Swansea away, about 4 months!

3 hours ago, redsquirrel said:

did we have the youngest least experienced mojority of squad at the start of the season?

Barnsley I'd have thought, age wise certainly. We could be one of the younger ones though,

I should also add, we have got or started to get a better idea of who is really committed- family reasons are one thing, ie Nagy possibly never settled fully but thinking more the dispatch of Bakinson to Ipswich.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Mr Popodopolous