AshtonRobin21

I think we look a better attacking side with Pring in the team. Our goal yesterday, doesn’t happen if Dasilva is playing, as he wouldn’t get that far forward. I enjoy the freedom Pring plays with when in possession. Dasilva often looks desperate to turn back and pass instead.

I agree with all of those. The comments about Atkinson yesterday, just made me question if he would consider a sale. Between now and the start of next season, our squad will look very, very different. Too many players approaching the end of their deals.

To a certain point, I would also argue that perhaps we as a club, have been struggling to adapt to our new, lower-ranking “seat at the table” in regards to transfers. The market has completely crashed, and the vast majority of teams in the division are all in the hunt for the same players. Our current financial limits, have pushed us down the pecking order, and I think Pearson is at the point now where ‘sell-to-buy’ becomes essential for future progression. In regards to Pearsons rants, I don’t like the ‘name and shame’ approach, but I also accept that it’s his management style, and he is your typical ‘old school’ manager. It can often get misinterpreted at a time where the new generation of ‘head coaches’ are making their name in the league. Your likes of Pearson, Warnock, Mowbray may upset a few with their man management style.

Pearson has got a reaction from some players before, however this time it feels slightly different. I personally would have Atkinson starting every week. Has he done much wrong? Certainly not from what I’ve seen. There were hints of frustration last season, when Atkinson was ill, I remember Pearson making a comment back then about “not wanting to battle through” or along those lines. My concern is that this close to the Jan window, would Pearson see Atkinson as a saleable asset? I would be disappointed if so. His later comments in the interview about January were also interesting. “Things that I cannot discuss in a post-match press conference”. I can see him trying to get a few out the door, this transfer window. Bentley, Massengo and one value sale (Semenyo etc). I also think Klose may have his contract terminated, if a replacement is available. I think he has come to the realisation that he has to spend money to improve this squad. Free agents and free transfers won’t cut it. Otherwise he will lose his job. People forget that he has only been able to spend money on two players; Atkinson and Tanner. All other players were free (excusing Kane Wilson - tribunal).

I’ve just heard the post-match interview with Radio Bristol. It’s bizarre that after todays performance, it’s Atkinson that he was ranting about… At the start of the season, Nige stated that he wanted to work with a smaller squad, we now have that. And yet, the number of players who are regularly left out of the match day squad is growing each week. some players are certainly not in favour: - Bentley, twice been dropped as the Number 1. Remains in match day squad. - Massengo, contractual reasons are keeping him out of the match day squad. - Klose, left out of the squad regularly. - Atkinson, the latest to be left out. Dasilva, Vyner, Pring and O’Leary are examples of those who have all worked themselves back into the squad.

It proves a tricky one, as Weimann is a player who should be in the team each week. However, IMO we see the best version of Scott in the number 10 position (Weimann’s role last year). This then creates the issue of ‘fitting’ Andi into the starting 11 in a position that may not be his strongest. the RWB position, still hasn’t had anyone claim it as their own, so it’s a case of play Weimann there to ensure he is in the team. Off the back of last season, I struggled to imagine a different front 3 of Martin, Semenyo and Weimann. Yet here we are, half way through this season, and 2 of them are on the bench every week, and the other (last seasons top scorer) is being shoehorned into any available position. He showed today in the first half, the attacking threat he possesses when in central areas.

5 minutes of added time, and we spent about 10 seconds of it in the oppositions half. woeful.

Anyone want to tell the players we are losing the game? not a single bit of urgency out there.

Prepare for 5 strikers on the pitch, and attempting long-balls to Martin, up against Soutter.

Consistently inconsistent.

Anyone still awake after that? The decision to leave Foden on the bench is shocking. Southgate would have left a prime Gascoigne on the bench.

It's all about opinions, and that's the reason we are all on the forum. I don't want to look back at the end of the season and think of the missed opportunities to win games. Anyway, we take the point and move on. Plenty of football still to be played.

Absolutely, and that's where are limits lie currently. We don't create a huge number of chances, so rely on our strikers being clinical enough to take the 1 or 2 chances we do create each game. Unfortunately, today we didn't. And that's where the frustration lies. When we controlled the ball as much as we did, I felt we could have thrown more at them to try and win the game.

See my response to another poster below, as I don't feel I've made my point well: I'm not saying it wasn't a good performance, rather that it's an opportunity missed to win the game. We did most things right today, but we certainly didn't create enough. When I was questioning if anyone was genuinely happy, I felt as though we should have thrown more at them to win the game. The bright side is a draw and a clean sheet.

I think the point I'm trying to make isn't clear, and is being misunderstood. We were the better team today, there's no denying that. We controlled the tempo, and won the ball back in key area's, the defence did a great job of keeping their attack quiet for the full 90 minutes. However, I feel we should have put their defence under more pressure, as the game was there to be won. That's where my frustration lies. It was a performance that SHOULD have won the game, but overall we didn't create enough to do so.

A draw is a good result against the opposition. But when we control the possession as we did, I'd like to see us create more. There were a couple of decent chances, but we have to do more to win these games. Look at where we are in the table. Some fans are celebrating a draw today. It's a game we should have won. There's definitely positives to take: - clean sheet - nullified Watford's threats - We dictated the tempo But overall, it's wins that we need and I feel that we didn't really make their defence work too much.

So two chances then... If your happy with what you saw then great. My opinion is that we have to find a way to turn these matches into wins or we may be in trouble at the end of the season. Watford didn't turn up at all today. It was an opportunity we didn't take, as has been the story on a couple of occasions previously. The draw can be seen as a positive, especially following on from some poor form. I'd just like to see us throw the kitchen sink at teams to try and get the win.

The overall result will be a big positive. I think we've controlled the game well and nullified Watford's attack. But we need to do more to turn these types of games into wins. That will be the difference at the end of the season. I don't think we've been a threat today.

Not doubting we've been the better team. It's been the story on a few occasions this season. But we've also been saying "results will come" for a while. We've controlled the game, without looking a threat in my opinion. It's a very dull game.

Is anybody genuinely happy with this? All I'm seeing is two teams that are lacking any real quality. We may have had more possession, but I don't feel as though we have done much with it. Watford haven't turned up today.

Today was a good example of what Nige meant when he said "we've lost games that we should have drawn". Today we put that right, and battled all over the pitch. We didn't create loads, but came away with a point against a decent side. I don't think Middlesbrough did enough to win the game. I thought they were very poor up front. A draw is a fair result today.

I think he's being open to our fanbase by sharing that we were in the market for loans, but only for the right players. I'm glad he has stated this publicly, as it shows that he wants specific players, rather than working through a long list and instead ending up with option X,Y or Z. I also think it's him sticking two fingers up towards some agents, as perhaps he feels in this case that the player would have been better suited to us. I did think it was an odd loan at the time, as Khadra did very well on loan at Blackburn when player as a winger. Whilst Sheffield United don't play with wingers, they instead use wing-backs. I think this is a subtle indication that Nige would like to move to a 4-3-3 where possible. But we don't have the correct players currently.

To a certain degree he was the perfect partner for Weimann and Semenyo. I'd argue Conway could be well suited also. He dropped in to create space in behind which allowed Weimann and Semenyo to attack at pace. His current role off of the bench doesn't allow this to happen. Teams protecting a lead will be set up in a low block, which doesn't suit Martin at all. My arguement when creating the "Martin conundrum" thread is that his game isn't suited to coming on when chasing a lead. It requires a complete shift in our playing style. If he were to start, it would at least allow us to set-up in a different style from the start, and most importantly, from a drawing position. I think Semenyo is at a bit of a crossroads due to the emergence of Conway, and Wells re-discovery of form. They possess similar attributes to him (ball to feet types), whereas previously this is what set him apart from the other attackers. Having Semenyo, Conway and Wells all on the pitch together can often lead to a variation of runs occuring, which can end up blocking space, or not offering an option to receive the ball.

I'll throw my hat into the ring here. I fully respect your opinion mate, and fwiw I think Martin has proved useful during his time here. However, he is now being used in a completely different role, and in my opinion, it doesn't work. The player Martin was last season, showed his true value, but we were also playing a system that suited his abilities. He was the decoy if you will, for Weimann and Semenyo to use the space he created in behind. This season, that's not the case. I'm not basing my original post off of one game alone, it's happened on a few occasions. I felt we were the stronger team and looked destined for an equaliser. But the introduction of Martin (and moving Weimann to RWB) just seemed to have attacking players on the pitch for the sake of it, which in turn, reduced the space in the attacking third. Now if Sykes were to remain on the pitch and we tried to cross into the box, then I could see the logic. But he was on the edge of the box trying to win flick ons with no space in behind. I've said it on multiple occasions, but there are two ways to use Martin effectively. 1. Start him, but that won't happen because others are in much better form this season. Conway and Wells deserve their place in the starting 11. 2. Bring him on to defend a lead. Defending from the front so to speak. It's not personal against Martin, but it causes a huge change to our style of play when bringing him on to chase an equaliser.

I use the term conundrum because if used to defend a lead, he can be a useful asset. But certainly not when chasing a game.