How long has Pearson got left?

[TV Tom]

2 hours ago, Bristol Oil Services said:

LJ to return it is, then. And his first signing - Marlon Pack. 

One is bad enough but the two of them would send me over the cliff

[KegCity]

3 hours ago, big dosser said:

blimey dave i just spat me cuppa out

i think the problem is we go for managers that i dont think we relate to or they dont relate to us.i wanted to see big nige do well but i feel he just looks like a man going through the motions.due to his health concerns i think he would do a better job upstairs with a younger up and coming man underneath.i will stick my neck out here as i have before a man i would love to see given a chance is garth awinsworth.

i know people will ask why so my reasons would be 1-works on a shoestring budget if not no budget 2-seems to find some gems out of lower league levels 3-gets the best out of all his players 4- very good with tactics and 5 most important just seems a great bloke and brims with confidence which i always feels rubs off on even the most negative of fans.oh forgot and we could also set a trend of showing are big hairy chests

please exscuse my spelling

I think that's best for everyone. I think he's got the vision to sort the club out, just not sure if he's the best person to actually manage the team. Making him Director of Football and bringing someone else in makes sense to me. Can't comment on Ainsworth or anyone else, have no idea who's out there.

[Rich]

3 hours ago, NcnsBcfc said:

As others have said some great posts over the 20 pages so far.

I'm sure looking at the our stats since January 2021, most fans of other clubs will be incredulous as to how we are still in this division, and have never been in the respective relegation zone in either season.

Ultimately as a club we appear somewhat rudderless at the moment, and seem to be treading water will this mythical "Let's get to Summer 2023, and then all the problems will be sorted mantra". Hence the 3 year plan that was mooted

For me at the moment, there doesn't seem to be much of a plan, other than trying to reduce the wage bill, and stay in the division; and my hook or by crook, that's what NP has done. I still  believe the team is playing better football this season than last, on the basis of how many of the games we have lost have been by the fine margin of only 1 goal. 

We are not the basket case of the relegation team of 2012-13, that still had some decent players in it as well. It's difficult to see anything positive about our current situation other than the emergence of a number of promising young players, that due to the squad issues have been given opportunities that perhaps they wouldn't have had in previous seasons.

Really this squad hasn't been pushed or found itself fighting for it's life in a relegation zone either. It's all a question of what the expectation of what the board/owner is at the moment. We seem to have coasted through two seasons of some pretty turgid football at times, but of course this season we are in the top 6 for goals scored (shame about the goals against).

If we really had an ambitious plan moving forward; it'll'' become evident in the Summer. We will have to sell one or more of our jewels in order to take the pragmatic approach to revamp the playing squad, alongside taking massive amortisation hits on a number of players just to get them off the playing budget. It's a shame of course, that once again we have become a selling club, but ultimately what is point of keeping players like Semenyeo, HNM and Scott if as a squad you are failing in so many other areas?

Or do we do the safe option, release a few this summer, and plod into the next season; once again hoping just to finish outside the bottom 3? It's all about expectation isn't it?

Personally I can't see any decision being made about NP until it is either forced by us being in the bottom 6 after 10-12 games of the 22-23 season; or a falling out over ambitions/priorities over the summer. I'm sure NP is aware of the latter, so that won't be an area of contention.

 

Good post and a reasoned summing up of the current position, though I'd add that, reducing the wage bill has been harder than first thought, with some movement in January expected, both ways. This has probably impacted on the three year plan. Also, not unlike last year, selection has been difficult due to the sheer amount of injuries to a smaller, less experienced squad, resulting in inconsistency in selection, formation and results. I think this more than anything else has impacted our season.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see a parting of ways, as Lansdown doesn't seem to enjoy people running his team/club, who know football and aren't afraid to call a spade a spade, ultimately being a challenge to his authority. I expect another young hungry inexperienced manager, sorry head coach, to be appointed by Lansdown, as he's previously stated his preference for young and hungry employees. 

[Guest]

With Bristol live reporting that a massive 19 players are out of contract either this summer or next summer, it gives NP plenty of scope to change things.

Of course depends on the availability of pound notes and FFP rules etc, but who is out and who is in his plans/ squad to kick on. and also ...can he be bothered/will he be allowed his choices

 

[RedRock]

Still in the Pearson camp but would have expected to be in significantly better shape than we are on the field. 

The prime objective for the season of transformation within the division, as opposed to our usual approach of regrouping in League One, has more or less now been achieved. 

I’m still struggling though to observe any identity, partnerships, fighting or, to be frank, any other footballing qualities or patterns of play. Even our youngsters seem to have lost their way a little after bright starts. Our injury record is as bad as ever, and we just don’t seem to have the power, passion or performance levels of other teams - issues Pearson said he would address. We also have no ******* scouting system worthy of its name, something a football- man like Pearson I would have thought would be a top priority. Somewhat bizarre team selections and substitutions make one feel a bit uneasy too. 
 

Just hoping this season is not a ‘stay of execution’, as opposed to building the foundations of a sustained challenge for the top ten. Interesting and worrying times. 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

Good post and a reasoned summing up of the current position, though I'd add that, reducing the wage bill has been harder than first thought, with some movement in January expected, both ways. This has probably impacted on the three year plan. Also, not unlike last year, selection has been difficult due to the sheer amount of injuries to a smaller, less experienced squad, resulting in inconsistency in selection, formation and results. I think this more than anything else has impacted our season.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see a parting of ways, as Lansdown doesn't seem to enjoy people running his team/club, who know football and aren't afraid to call a spade a spade, ultimately being a challenge to his authority. I expect another young hungry inexperienced manager, sorry head coach, to be appointed by Lansdown, as he's previously stated his preference for young and hungry employees. 

Yep, that’s partly why I think Pearson needs longer to get to something resembling “his squad / team”.  Ideally we’d be going into this summer with all the “dead-wood” gone but some of them (e.g. Palmer) might just see their contracts out, that’s another year’s money wasted on a player.  That makes it doubly hard.  Of course the argument might be countered “why can’t he coach them to improve”….which is a bit ironic when the same people are saying these players are “league one at best”.  You can’t have your cake and eat it

[TV Tom]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

Good post and a reasoned summing up of the current position, though I'd add that, reducing the wage bill has been harder than first thought, with some movement in January expected, both ways. This has probably impacted on the three year plan. Also, not unlike last year, selection has been difficult due to the sheer amount of injuries to a smaller, less experienced squad, resulting in inconsistency in selection, formation and results. I think this more than anything else has impacted our season.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see a parting of ways, as Lansdown doesn't seem to enjoy people running his team/club, who know football and aren't afraid to call a spade a spade, ultimately being a challenge to his authority. I expect another young hungry inexperienced manager, sorry head coach, to be appointed by Lansdown, as he's previously stated his preference for young and hungry employees. 

We’ve missed the boat with the hungry young coaches that were available, they’re doing fine at Swansea, Forest & PNE 

[Rob k]

6 hours ago, bris red said:

I also would like to think i have that same thought process of ‘‘i would back any City manager’’ but I’m sorry i would struggle massively to back LJ if he ever came back.

It would intrigue the hell out of me - I’d love to see the difference without Ashton 

[Northern Red]

3 minutes ago, Rob k said:

It would intrigue the hell out of me - I’d love to see the difference without Ashton 

That's why I can't see it happening, because it's the only real justification for giving him another shot but doing so would be a tacit admission by SL that Ashton was the cause of a lot of the issues and made a mug of him.

[ray savino]

I think NP will have done the first bit of the demolition needed to clear the crap. I suspect that he may stay to do much of the rest of the clearance needed. I’m not so sure about a coupe of things though.

1) Whether he’ll be here to rebuild.

2) Above will depend on SL’s future plans. Will SL want to use NP to at least get the club back onto a more solid footing, i.e. average/decent mid table team but with potential to build a challenge for higher. Making the team more attractive for an investor to get in a new management team of their choice. Or does SL still have the ambition to see a plan through and try getting to the Prem while he still owns the club. Plus of course the completion of the new Sports Quarter.

My gut feeling is that logically we may get a slightly better season than this year, but it will be a year to ideally get the demolition completed. I then think that by then SL will either be close to selling his stake in BCFC (or most of it) and NP will be replaced by a coach of a new regime’s choice. If doesn’t happen, and SL still in control, then I think he will get impatient and get a replacement in again anyway. We will look back and underestimate the job NP will have done in keeping us in the Championship while clearing out the club.

We might strike lucky next year and hit a consistant spell with a couple of good signings and injury free, and do a Luton or Millwall. But let’s not kid ourselves that Luton, Millwall, Preston have been slowly building within their means for years. We’ve been a bit boom and bust with our transfer planning. Reality is we’re gonna need a few years of Millwall and Luton patient rebuild. 

In short, I think NP will be gone by this time next year, although I hope I’m wrong because if he’s still here then, that might mean we’ll be on the right track at last. But have little faith in SL making a good appointment and indeed, question if he still has the desire for it.

[Davefevs]

@billywedlock

@ray savino

Wise words

[Rich]

1 hour ago, harrys said:

We’ve missed the boat with the hungry young coaches that were available, they’re doing fine at Swansea, Forest & PNE 

I'm sure another young hungry coach will come along shortly, that's what happens. Would we make the correct selection though?

Swansea and Preston are currently 6 points better off than us, not too great an example. Of course they could get automatic next season. I'd think the Forest squad was superior to ours and, added to in January, something we couldn't afford to do.

[ray savino]

8 minutes ago, Rich said:

I'm sure another young hungry coach will come along shortly, that's what happens. Would we make the correct selection though?

Swansea and Preston are currently 6 points better off than us, not too great an example. Of course they could get automatic next season. I'd think the Forest squad was superior to ours and, added to in January, something we couldn't afford to do.

I think that Swansea have had a template in style of football and management since Martinez (about 15 years ago?). Hence them going for more progressive appointments like Martinez, Rodgers, Cooper, Potter, maybe Laudrup, and now Martin. They have veered off track with a couple of appointments, but gotta say they’ve had success and played some decent football.

Preston I’d say have been steady and flipped around a bit. Will be interesting to see how Lowe carries on. Yep, Forest had a better squad and Cooper has got them performing although with I guess some expensive loans (compared to us). If they don’t go up, will they be in the shit for FFP next year, unless they sell Johnson, etc. I don’t think Cooper would have come to us and work under the current restricted financial situation. He seemed to move on from Swansea as they seemed unwilling to put in the investment that he believed the squad needed to move on. Let’s not kid ourselves, Forest are a still bigger draw than us, however long since their glory days.

I would have been interested to have seen Lowe with us, given the task we have faced. As much as it would have been great to see what Cooper and Martin would have done with this City squad, not convinced they would have been much better and think the clubs they chose had either better players or club football strategy to suit them. In the future if we get sorted then who knows...

First the club has to demonstrate a visible plan and most importantly stick to it, unlike the last 7 years since Cotts well planned promotion season. Too many false dawns and shooting ourselves in the foot I think.

 

[RedRock]

7 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

Well we had a hungry young coach . He left us with a 38 M loss and a squad you could not give away 

Far too superficial thinking we need a young coach . Age is far from a factor here . Some of the best are older . 

I would look more at how those clubs have been run , particularly recruitment. Forest have a pretty good squad , Swansea in transition but kept their eye on the ball , Preston very stable and clear in their player signings .

far more important , as a club , is that we recognise what creates a successful side and club . Define a plan that suits your situation and stick with it . We have been all over the place and are yet again paying the price . We are in recovery , a recovery that has a few more years to run . Tough hey but that is the mess created by that young hungry coach. Sadly that did not know what he was doing . 

 

Agree with most of that, but you may be seriously under-estimating Ashton’s role in our demise.

Of course, we don’t know how much Ashton was ‘controlled’ by SL. It could be given SLs silence over Ashton - aside from praising his input to the Training Complex - that the former CEO received quite a few orders from our owner. 

[Davefevs]

7 minutes ago, RedRock said:

Agree with most of that, but you may be seriously under-estimating Ashton’s role in our demise.

Of course, we don’t know how much Ashton was ‘controlled’ by SL. It could be given SLs silence over Ashton - aside from praising his input to the Training Complex - that the former CEO received quite a few orders from our owner. 

I honestly think it was the other way around, SL was completely hoodwinked by him, partly because his son didn’t have a clue what was going on at ground level.

[TV Tom]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

I'm sure another young hungry coach will come along shortly, that's what happens. Would we make the correct selection though?

Swansea and Preston are currently 6 points better off than us, not too great an example. Of course they could get automatic next season. I'd think the Forest squad was superior to ours and, added to in January, something we couldn't afford to do.

Two perfect examples, 9 points off both of them now but the gap is far bigger than that as we all know, PNE were capable of doing the double over Bournemouth while we just downed tools twice, Swansea have had some great victories recently and were described as playing “champagne football” by the sky commentator last week, both these teams have bright new managers and also lost their best players in the summer to be replaced by free signings

[Waconda]

5 minutes ago, harrys said:

Two perfect examples, 9 points off both of them now but the gap is far bigger than that as we all know, PNE were capable of doing the double over Bournemouth while we just downed tools twice, Swansea have had some great victories recently and were described as playing “champagne football” by the sky commentator last week, both these teams have bright new managers and also lost their best players in the summer to be replaced by free signings

Proving that it is possible to rebuild your squad AND be competitive at the same time.

Excuses will be found though however ludicrous.

[BS4 on Tour...]

On 04/04/2022 at 15:22, Davefevs said:

I’ve never known it so quiet.

New Hummel deal, season tickets on sale….pretty much silence.  Maybe they’ve appointed @And Its Smithinto the media team

Why would they do that? He can’t even get “it’s” correct in his forum name???!!

[BS4 on Tour...]

13 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Maybe, but I’d be prepared to see LJ in action under RG.  We can then judge him without excuse.

At the end of the day, I’ll back any City manager, I’ll praise and criticise objectively as I see fit.  Whoever is in charge needs support, the right set up, professionals, etc to succeed.  Mark Ashton was not a good fit (polite).

You’d welcome LJ back?! Good grief, please no ... just no! The majority of his signings were “one for the future” - farmed out on loan and then never heard of again - 2nd in January, 11th in May ... he oversaw that sort of capitulation a couple of times, he defo doesn’t have what it takes to get us over the line and to the next level - plus, when hearing him interviewed I can’t understand a bl**dy word he’s saying - never want to see LJ at the helm again ...

[BS4 on Tour...]

11 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Back pedal?  Still got me stabilisers on

So i hear….don’t blame him.  His dad didn’t have a great time there.

What’s his Dad’s experience at Posh got to do with it? Darren Ferguson seemed to think it was an attractive enough environment to go back three times!

[RobintheRed Red]

13 hours ago, Davefevs said:

 

 

All very valid comments, some of which I agree with.

As I said, it just wouldn’t surprise me, he’s “very out there” in the media at the mo’, and I could see SL picking up on that.

Hope he does it before I renew then Dave that would finish me off . Cant put up with no more of that .

[Davefevs]

23 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

You’d welcome LJ back?! Good grief, please no ... just no! The majority of his signings were “one for the future” - farmed out on loan and then never heard of again - 2nd in January, 11th in May ... he oversaw that sort of capitulation a couple of times, he defo doesn’t have what it takes to get us over the line and to the next level - plus, when hearing him interviewed I can’t understand a bl**dy word he’s saying - never want to see LJ at the helm again ...

“Prepared” didn’t say “welcome”, but i am mindful that sometimes wrong place, wrong time can apply too.  It was more a case of “if he did come back” rather than advocating it per se.

21 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

What’s his Dad’s experience at Posh got to do with it? Darren Ferguson seemed to think it was an attractive enough environment to go back three times!

Can’t recall Alex Ferguson managing Peterborough  

[Guest]

Only time will tell if our owners latest decision to employ NP is a good one or not, niether of their records/choices at this club to date, fills me with hope.

Lost count of the many summer/xmas transfer windows that have been given to various managers to rebuild and go again.

So we are where we are, tough next season coming up we will need to improve the team, the spirit and belief to still be in the championship at the end of it.

 

[Davefevs]

52 minutes ago, gl2 said:

Only time will tell if our owners latest decision to employ NP is a good one or not, niether of their records/choices at this club to date, fills me with hope.

Lost count of the many summer/xmas transfer windows that have been given to various managers to rebuild and go again.

So we are where we are, tough next season coming up we will need to improve the team, the spirit and belief to still be in the championship at the end of it.

 

Re rebuild, how many players has Pearson signed for the 3 year plan?

Atkinson

Tanner

Weimann (re-sign)

James

Just 4. Finances have dictated a slow rebuild.

Simpson, King, Klose were temporary / transitional. Baker (re-sign) mid-term.

Nowhere near being his team yet in reality. 

[Waconda]

23 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Re rebuild, how many players has Pearson signed for the 3 year plan?

Atkinson

Tanner

Weimann (re-sign)

James

Just 4. Finances have dictated a slow rebuild.

Simpson, King, Klose were temporary / transitional. Baker (re-sign) mid-term.

Nowhere near being his team yet in reality. 

Yep he has signed 8 players (however you fudge it).

Not a massive amount and Weimann, Klose and Atkinson have been a success.

Recruitment has to improve immensely in the Summer but in the meantime there is absolutely no reason (quality wise) that this current squad could not be competitive whilst the rebuild goes on.

Both can happen the same time !

[swanker]

I like Pearson and I’m looking forward to next season. 

[SecretSam]

Pearson clearly has a longer-term plan in place, there's a real structure behind the scenes (medical team, scouting, coaching) and you can see the genesis of a concerted effort to bring the youngsters through.

But I think we need to be realistic - City are not a 'rich' club any more, not compared to the parachute clubs. We will sell this summer - it could be all 3 of HNM, Scott and Semenyo. Likewise, as @Davefevs and others have said, Kalas and Bentley may be off. That won't generate huge fees, but should release wages.

The key is what is the plan for using that money, or whatever proportion of it is made available? I think more signings like Atkinson and Tanner make sense. There's little risk there. And with many clubs in lower divisions cash-strapped still due to COVID and so forth, there have to be opportunities to pick up some decent players. Certainly, the experiment with signing tried and trusted ex-Leicester stalwarts has failed - none of King, Simpson and co have really made an impact. Back to the 4 pillars? (Or was it 5?)

[italian dave]

10 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

You’d welcome LJ back?! Good grief, please no ... just no! The majority of his signings were “one for the future” - farmed out on loan and then never heard of again - 2nd in January, 11th in May ... he oversaw that sort of capitulation a couple of times, he defo doesn’t have what it takes to get us over the line and to the next level - plus, when hearing him interviewed I can’t understand a bl**dy word he’s saying - never want to see LJ at the helm again ...

11th……2nd……heights we only dream of now….

[glynriley]

4 minutes ago, italian dave said:

11th……2nd……heights we only dream of now….

Ah yes, those heady days when we could spend (spunk..) millions of pounds on the likes of Liam Walsh, Hakeeb Adelakun & Marley Watkins, send them out on loan and release them all for nix.

A dream indeed.

[Waconda]

22 minutes ago, glynriley said:

Ah yes, those heady days when we could spend (spunk..) millions of pounds on the likes of Liam Walsh, Hakeeb Adelakun & Marley Watkins, send them out on loan and release them all for nix.

A dream indeed.

You forgot to mention Webster, Brownhill, Kelly, Bryan, Reid, Kodjia .

[glynriley]

4 minutes ago, Waconda said:

You forgot to mention Webster, Brownhill, Kelly, Bryan, Reid, Kodjia .

Why would I mention those 3 as signings when they came through the academy.

I see you also included a Cotterill signing, not relevant when discussing LJ.

[petehinton]

FWIW I also dont think it's going to end well if we start next season poorly. SL seems to blinkered (wouldn't go as far as deluded) because of the money he;s put in, it seems like in his head well funded = success.

Think it was on the 3PIAC episode or the club interview, where he said in 17/18 we should've got promoted, then said he thought we definitely should've been promoted in 18/19, if not at least made the play offs. Similar for 19/20. Based on what? Throwing loads of money at the wall and seeing what stayed? This is the hardest league to get out of in the world.

Add that with him basically holding up a for sale sign, JL saying he thinks we're under achieving & NP disagreeing, I don't think it's a great cocktail. There's also no way in hell SL lets NP be in/around relegation zone too, or even for NP to want to be here for that. Everyone says it's a 3 year plan/3 year deal so he'll stick with it for that, but there were also a lot of people who thought LJ had a job for life, and Holden had a 'free pass' for his first season due to no fans in stadiums.

I really wouldn't bank on Pearson being as bulletproof as is widely thought, rightly or wrongly. This summer and first half of next season are the biggest in my time supporting the club tbh, and not in a good way. Can we be reliant of Weimann to have a similar season next season? Very tough on him if so. Scott/Semenyo/Massengo key players that we'll struggle to replace, but we also need funds from them to bring more quality in across the board. 

[Sheltons Army]

2 hours ago, glynriley said:

Ah yes, those heady days when we could spend (spunk..) millions of pounds on the likes of Liam Walsh, Hakeeb Adelakun & Marley Watkins, send them out on loan and release them all for nix.

A dream indeed.

Wonder Coach inherited Cotts Promotion side , plus Kodja (And had us in a real relegation scrap 18 months into his ‘reign’, despite signings and Abraham’s goals)

Pearson inherited a demotivated , shambolic squad , lacking leaders or cohesion ....... the squad left behind by ...........Johnson & Holden

[Lew-T]

2 hours ago, Waconda said:

You forgot to mention Webster, Brownhill, Kelly, Bryan, Reid, Kodjia .

Let’s be honest, the only two hits LJ had out of 942 players was Brownhill and Webster.

 

[Waconda]

25 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Let’s be honest, the only two hits LJ had out of 942 players was Brownhill and Webster.

 

942 ?

I must have missed a few hundred signings.

 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Re rebuild, how many players has Pearson signed for the 3 year plan?

Atkinson

Tanner

Weimann (re-sign)

James

Just 4. Finances have dictated a slow rebuild.

Simpson, King, Klose were temporary / transitional. Baker (re-sign) mid-term.

Nowhere near being his team yet in reality. 

Apart from Weimann, who was already here, in the areas NP has brought in his players those areas are now worse than what we had before he brought them in imo.

As prev stated half as many wins as defeats and the midfield is and weak verging on non exsistant, with the defence well, any sort of pressure and panic mode, does not bode well and after the asset stripping summer, well lets see.

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by gl2

[Rich]

17 hours ago, harrys said:

Two perfect examples, 9 points off both of them now but the gap is far bigger than that as we all know, PNE were capable of doing the double over Bournemouth while we just downed tools twice, Swansea have had some great victories recently and were described as playing “champagne football” by the sky commentator last week, both these teams have bright new managers and also lost their best players in the summer to be replaced by free signings

I made the mistake of looking at the City Site for the points totals on the printed table, didn't include last nights results. It's actually ten points above us.

To be quite honest, I couldn't give a toss about either of those clubs, the grass always being greener elsewhere. Do you honestly think either would have been able to do with getting rid of was it, fourteen players? And, would any of those mentioned ever chosen us over those clubs, at this time?

Our problems are much deeper and I'm pleased we have an experienced manager just about keeping us afloat. Everything spoken about regarding who would have done this, or who would have been better is all hypothetical. They aren't here, they most certainly wouldn't have come here and who'd have known if they'd done a better job here, or even a worse job. Pure speculation. 

[Merrick's Marvels]

7 hours ago, petehinton said:

FWIW I also dont think it's going to end well if we start next season poorly. SL seems to blinkered (wouldn't go as far as deluded) because of the money he;s put in, it seems like in his head well funded = success.

Think it was on the 3PIAC episode or the club interview, where he said in 17/18 we should've got promoted, then said he thought we definitely should've been promoted in 18/19, if not at least made the play offs. Similar for 19/20. Based on what? Throwing loads of money at the wall and seeing what stayed? This is the hardest league to get out of in the world.

Add that with him basically holding up a for sale sign, JL saying he thinks we're under achieving & NP disagreeing, I don't think it's a great cocktail. There's also no way in hell SL lets NP be in/around relegation zone too, or even for NP to want to be here for that. Everyone says it's a 3 year plan/3 year deal so he'll stick with it for that, but there were also a lot of people who thought LJ had a job for life, and Holden had a 'free pass' for his first season due to no fans in stadiums.

I really wouldn't bank on Pearson being as bulletproof as is widely thought, rightly or wrongly. 

Agree with you but, on Pearson, surely the cost of the sack and paying him off would make our terrible FFP position even worse.

Which is, literally, the last thing we should be doing. Lansdown isn't that daft, surely? If he only understands one thing, it's the cost of everything. 

Which makes Pearson relatively bulletproof at the moment, albeit by default! 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Merrick's Marvels

[Superjack]

23 hours ago, Rob k said:

It would intrigue the hell out of me - I’d love to see the difference without Ashton 

He didn't have Ashton at Sunderland.

And he still failed.

[Rob k]

9 minutes ago, Superjack said:

He didn't have Ashton at Sunderland.

And he still failed.

They were 3rd when he was sacked 2 points off the top, they are now 7th and 13 points off the top 

[Superjack]

Just now, Rob k said:

They were 3rd when he was sacked 2 points off the top, they are now 7th and 13 points off the top 

The remit of anybody given the Sunderland job in League One is to get promotion.

He didn't. 

Just like he didn't here.

[Rob k]

1 minute ago, Superjack said:

The remit of anybody given the Sunderland job in League One is to get promotion.

He didn't. 

Just like he didn't here.

He got sacked in January - when they were 3rd!! Not sure any team in the history of the football league has been promoted by then 

[BCFC Rich]

7 minutes ago, Rob k said:

He got sacked in January - when they were 3rd!! Not sure any team in the history of the football league has been promoted by then 

Swindon

[Davefevs]

22 minutes ago, Rob k said:

He got sacked in January - when they were 3rd!! Not sure any team in the history of the football league has been promoted by then 

Assist 

14 minutes ago, BCFC Richard said:

Swindon

Goal

️️️

[BS4 on Tour...]

13 hours ago, italian dave said:

11th……2nd……heights we only dream of now….

Those were the days! And I hope you don’t mind me saying, but your forum name really should have been a character often referenced but never seen in Only Fools And Horses ...

[Waconda]

3 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Assist 

Goal

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Can't wait for LJ to be announced here - oh the tantrums !!

[Rudolf Hucker]

30 minutes ago, Waconda said:

Can't wait for LJ to be announced here - oh the tantrums !!

No doubt, you’ll have had many more forum names before that happens. 

[JBFC II]

18 hours ago, Sheltons Army said:

Wonder Coach inherited Cotts Promotion side , plus Kodja (And had us in a real relegation scrap 18 months into his ‘reign’, despite signings and Abraham’s goals)

Pearson inherited a demotivated , shambolic squad , lacking leaders or cohesion ....... the squad left behind by ...........Johnson & Holden

To be fair that’s incredibly selective. 
 

He inherited a side who were already in a relegation scrap and left them in mid table, with some highs and lows along the way. Yes financially him (but mainly Ashton) screwed us over, but positionally we haven’t seen anything better than under LJ as a club since his dad, 13 years ago

[Galley is our king]

FWIW having just renewed my season ticket, I for one will be very pissed off if NP ISN'T here.

I think without him Saturdays game would have nothing else on it except who finishes bottom, us or Peterborough!

[Simon bristol]

22 hours ago, Lew-T said:

Let’s be honest, the only two hits LJ had out of 942 players was Brownhill and Webster.

 

What about engvall, and about 50 goalies to replace fielding?

[Andrew_V1]

5 hours ago, JBFC II said:

To be fair that’s incredibly selective. 
 

He inherited a side who were already in a relegation scrap and left them in mid table, with some highs and lows along the way. Yes financially him (but mainly Ashton) screwed us over, but positionally we haven’t seen anything better than under LJ as a club since his dad, 13 years ago

I think he was referring to the Tammy season where we survived the game before last day of the season.

I think a lot have forgotten just a how dire LJ’s first full season was

 

[bcfcredandwhite]

4 hours ago, Andrew_V1 said:

I think he was referring to the Tammy season where we survived the game before last day of the season.

I think a lot have forgotten just a how dire LJ’s first full season was

 

I'm pretty sure that the game you refer to was NOT his first full season, but the (less than) half season when he took over from Cotts, where we were in the relegation zone and heading for an immediate return back down to League 1, before he guided us back to safety (with a little help from Pembo in the first instance).

It would be more accurate to suggest that a lot have forgotten just how dire the first half of our first Championship season was under Cotts!!!! 

Love him, like him, dislike him or hate him, we NEVER looked like relegation after that under LJs tenure - in fact, I don't think we ever dropped into the bottom 3.

Whatever one's opinion is of LJ, our final league position improved EVERY season year on year under his tenure until his sacking. The league table doesn't lie.

I thought LJs first FULL season wasn't that bad really - just the frustration of falling away towards the end - which became something of a trademark of his.

Edited April 7, 2022 by bcfcredandwhite
Add words

[Andrew_V1]

3 minutes ago, bcfcredandwhite said:

I'm pretty sure that the game you refer to was NOT his first full season, but the (less than) half season when he took over from Cotts, where we were in the relegation zone and heading for an immediate return back down to League 1, before he guided us back to safety (with a little help from Pembo in the first instance).

It would be more accurate to suggest that a lot have forgotten just how dire the first half of our first Championship season was under Cotts!!!! 

Love him, like him, dislike him or hate him, we NEVER looked like relegation after that under LJs tenure - in fact, I don't think we ever dropped into the bottom 3.

Whatever one's opinion is of LJ, our final league position improved EVERY season year on year under his tenure until his sacking. The league table doesn't lie.

I thought LJs first FULL season wasn't that bad really - just the frustration of falling away towards the end - which became something of a trademark of his.

Nope his first full season we survived on the penultimate game by winning away at Brighton.

The first full season we started well results wise but had to come back from behind virtually every week then the wheels fell off.

Same season we had the famous interview with SL refusing to sack him for a horrendous run basically saying it’s my toy I put more money in.

The following seasons cup exploits have really clouded peoples memory as that first full season was an absolute shambles 

[Davefevs]

6 minutes ago, bcfcredandwhite said:

I thought LJs first FULL season wasn't that bad really - just the frustration of falling away towards the end - which became something of a trademark of his.

 

[Sheltons Army]

1 hour ago, bcfcredandwhite said:

I'm pretty sure that the game you refer to was NOT his first full season, but the (less than) half season when he took over from Cotts, where we were in the relegation zone and heading for an immediate return back down to League 1, before he guided us back to safety (with a little help from Pembo in the first instance).

It would be more accurate to suggest that a lot have forgotten just how dire the first half of our first Championship season was under Cotts!!!! 

Love him, like him, dislike him or hate him, we NEVER looked like relegation after that under LJs tenure - in fact, I don't think we ever dropped into the bottom 3.

Whatever one's opinion is of LJ, our final league position improved EVERY season year on year under his tenure until his sacking. The league table doesn't lie.

I thought LJs first FULL season wasn't that bad really - just the frustration of falling away towards the end - which became something of a trademark of his.

Think you need to recheck your memories

[bcfcredandwhite]

Oops sorry - I stand corrected. 
LJs first season was exactly as described. I’d forgotten. 
I’m right about them improving every season though

[JBFC II]

5 hours ago, Andrew_V1 said:

I think he was referring to the Tammy season where we survived the game before last day of the season.

I think a lot have forgotten just a how dire LJ’s first full season was

 

I’m aware what season he was referring to. I still think it’s very selective from the poster though, totally ignoring where we were at when LJ took over and even where we ended up at the end of that season. 
 

There was clear improvements on the pitch (aided by the financial support no doubt), even when comparing the 16/17 season to the 15/16, under Cotts, where we were looking incredibly likely to go down

[italian dave]

23 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

Those were the days! And I hope you don’t mind me saying, but your forum name really should have been a character often referenced but never seen in Only Fools And Horses ...

Ha ha! I'm not sure what Paddy the Greek has to do with it though 

I was - as you probably realised - being deliberately provocative. But at the same time I think @Davefevs made a good point and I don't buy into this whole 'everything LJ did=bad, everything NP does=good' AND vice versa mantra that seems to drive so much of the discussion on the subject.

They are both just the same as other managers - they have their strengths, they have their weaknesses. They have things going on that we probably know little about and they are put in positions often outside their control that influence how they perform. 

LJ - I think increasingly evident in retrospect - suffered from having to work with MA. NP suffers from being appointed to run a club that's for years been built around a style of football that's alien to him. Not being critical of either style - just making the point. 

And I'm not having a go at you specifically either - but I just felt that using league positions as the stick to beat LJ with was perhaps one of the less appropriate - if there's one thing LJ objectively improved during his time here it was our league position. Top half of the Championship for more than half his time here, and the first manager I can remember for best part of 40 years whose got us to an "established" position in one of the top two leagues - by which I mean not on most people's list of likely relegation candidates at the start of each season!

[Davefevs]

44 minutes ago, italian dave said:

Ha ha! I'm not sure what Paddy the Greek has to do with it though 

I was - as you probably realised - being deliberately provocative. But at the same time I think @Davefevs made a good point and I don't buy into this whole 'everything LJ did=bad, everything NP does=good' AND vice versa mantra that seems to drive so much of the discussion on the subject.

They are both just the same as other managers - they have their strengths, they have their weaknesses. They have things going on that we probably know little about and they are put in positions often outside their control that influence how they perform. 

LJ - I think increasingly evident in retrospect - suffered from having to work with MA. NP suffers from being appointed to run a club that's for years been built around a style of football that's alien to him. Not being critical of either style - just making the point. 

And I'm not having a go at you specifically either - but I just felt that using league positions as the stick to beat LJ with was perhaps one of the less appropriate - if there's one thing LJ objectively improved during his time here it was our league position. Top half of the Championship for more than half his time here, and the first manager I can remember for best part of 40 years whose got us to an "established" position in one of the top two leagues - by which I mean not on most people's list of likely relegation candidates at the start of each season!

Yep, not the messiah, not a naughty boy either.  Certain things bugged the hell out of me, other bits I thought he was good at.

[Davefevs]

On 05/04/2022 at 11:12, Davefevs said:

I like Ainsworth too.

I also like Paul Warne.  Neither are massively young, both are 48.

Of the younger bunch, I like Duff.  Liam Manning has a lot of fans.

Sacked by MK Dons today.

[petehinton]

31 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Sacked by MK Dons today.

90 points last season….crazy how quickly things change. 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, petehinton said:

90 points last season….crazy how quickly things change. 

Darling and Twine moved on in the summer, O’Reilly went to Celtic last Jan.