Middlesborough away match thread

[SouthS22]

2 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

Yeh I said it at the beginning of the season, hell it was even an issue last season. O'Leary will be 27 next season as well. 

It's a symptom of our predicament rather than a cause, but it's damning nonetheless.

I agree with this in general terms in that I would expect us to be in a better place at this stage, after 20 months under this management team.  

Its clearly the case that there were massive issues that NP took on when he joined us.  That is the principle reason why I’ve tried to be more patient, less critical and more supportive, despite the football being played by the team being so bad for so long.  

The squad NP inherited was decimated by injuries but that was by far not the only issue.  Perhaps more importantly the culture at the club was far too accepting of ‘mediocre’, and then there did need to be huge upheaval in the summer at the end of that first season because we needed to cut the wage bill by so much.  We’ve been massively constrained in what we’ve been able to do in the transfer market to replace those players and have had to look to the academy instead and bring players through. 

There have been some positives, especially this season, which have been instrumental in retaining any faith. Cultural change is clearly being achieved and we’ve  started to see an identity on the pitch at long last.  There’s been progress on the pitch to some extent, with some strong performances this season which continue to give me hope that those are the levels we can reach on a consistent basis under NP.  Despite the constraints he’s also bought in some good signings in Naismith and James (and with more development Sykes, Tanner and Wilson).

That said, there are lot of negatives too.  I don’t buy into this narrative that the squad is so poor or thin that it’s amazing that NP has managed to get anything out of them.  We have some real talent in the team, who we should be getting more from. We should be more organised and stop giving away soft goals game after game. Team set up has got to be better, and consider opponents as well as playing to whatever strengths we have - at least a plan B.  We’ve got got to stop playing players constantly out of position and only basing team selection on trial and error.  And in game management has got to be better - making tactical tweaks and changes according to how the game is going and not randomly chucking extra strikers on (Chris Martin especially) when we are losing and totally disrupting the rhythm of the team. 

I thought at the end of last season that if we are in the bottom 6 by the time the World Cup break comes around, we probably need to be looking at management recruitment and putting plans in place.  If we’re still there by end of January then those plans need to be implemented because this club should be aspiring to better than bottom of the table finish, or even worse relegation. 

Still hoping for a good run of results and the achievement of greater consistency, but I think the next two games and then how we restart after the World Cup are going to be critical. 

 

 

 

[MC RISK77]

Christ what a different place this will be with two wins next week, before we can all have a month off watching a World Cup that no one seems to give a toss about right now.

Getting to 26 points if we beat stoke will cement mid table and allow all our injured players time to fully recuperate.

 

[Super]

3 hours ago, MC RISK77 said:

Christ what a different place this will be with two wins next week, before we can all have a month off watching a World Cup that no one seems to give a toss about right now.

Getting to 26 points if we beat stoke will cement mid table and allow all our injured players time to fully recuperate.

 

Why would anyone not care about the WC? Bizarre. 

[Top Robin]

3 hours ago, MC RISK77 said:

Christ what a different place this will be with two wins next week, before we can all have a month off watching a World Cup that no one seems to give a toss about right now.

Getting to 26 points if we beat stoke will cement mid table and allow all our injured players time to fully recuperate.

 

I do

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

9 hours ago, petehinton said:

People look at results and stat padding too much.  We were by far the better side in our last two days, and could very easily, and probably should be, looking at today as a draw after two comfortable wins. That’s the overarching difference here

 

 

Yes, people do look at results because when you are in any position of trying to get promoted or stay clear of relegation- it's the only thing that matters. Impressive performances only make a difference if this either translates into points or consistency and we lack both. Stating that "if " we had won the last 2 games seems odd when we didnt.

 

[Major Isewater]

28 minutes ago, Super said:

Why would anyone not care about the WC? Bizarre. 

I care about the World Cup which is why I am saddened and angry with the decision to give it to Qatar.

Amongst other more important reasons , that we have to interrupt domestic leagues to accommodate the host country stinks. 
 

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

9 hours ago, Davefevs said:

10 hours ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

But if you think a top 6 push is a reasonable expectation, like some are suggesting, then the argument is flawed.

I don't and didnt so keep to my stated words please, Dave.

Of the last 36 points available to us we have picked up 9 points: 8 defeats, 3 draws and 2 wins. In the previous 8 games we won 5 , lost 2 and drew 1. That's not progress.

It is similar to last season - almost identical so I just don't see the progress you and others do. The worrying trend is we are losing too many games and if that is expressed by a % -so what? Facts are facts.

We have played more games than anyone below us and are 3 points clear of safety.

My whole point has been and remains that ,imo, Nige is not getting the best or making the most out of the players available as a team and this has been a hall mark of his tenure.  If Nige continues in a similar vein and is unable to create an average position from an average squad then SL will take action and make our differing points of view wholly redundant.

[Super]

34 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

I care about the World Cup which is why I am saddened and angry with the decision to give it to Qatar.

Amongst other more important reasons , that we have to interrupt domestic leagues to accommodate the host country stinks. 
 

I get that. 

[Peter O Hanraha-hanrahan]

4 hours ago, MC RISK77 said:

Getting to 26 points if we beat stoke will cement mid table and allow all our injured players time to fully recuperate.

 

Stoke? 

[italian dave]

8 hours ago, SouthS22 said:

I agree with this in general terms in that I would expect us to be in a better place at this stage, after 20 months under this management team.  

Its clearly the case that there were massive issues that NP took on when he joined us.  That is the principle reason why I’ve tried to be more patient, less critical and more supportive, despite the football being played by the team being so bad for so long.  

The squad NP inherited was decimated by injuries but that was by far not the only issue.  Perhaps more importantly the culture at the club was far too accepting of ‘mediocre’, and then there did need to be huge upheaval in the summer at the end of that first season because we needed to cut the wage bill by so much.  We’ve been massively constrained in what we’ve been able to do in the transfer market to replace those players and have had to look to the academy instead and bring players through. 

There have been some positives, especially this season, which have been instrumental in retaining any faith. Cultural change is clearly being achieved and we’ve  started to see an identity on the pitch at long last.  There’s been progress on the pitch to some extent, with some strong performances this season which continue to give me hope that those are the levels we can reach on a consistent basis under NP.  Despite the constraints he’s also bought in some good signings in Naismith and James (and with more development Sykes, Tanner and Wilson).

That said, there are lot of negatives too.  I don’t buy into this narrative that the squad is so poor or thin that it’s amazing that NP has managed to get anything out of them.  We have some real talent in the team, who we should be getting more from. We should be more organised and stop giving away soft goals game after game. Team set up has got to be better, and consider opponents as well as playing to whatever strengths we have - at least a plan B.  We’ve got got to stop playing players constantly out of position and only basing team selection on trial and error.  And in game management has got to be better - making tactical tweaks and changes according to how the game is going and not randomly chucking extra strikers on (Chris Martin especially) when we are losing and totally disrupting the rhythm of the team. 

I thought at the end of last season that if we are in the bottom 6 by the time the World Cup break comes around, we probably need to be looking at management recruitment and putting plans in place.  If we’re still there by end of January then those plans need to be implemented because this club should be aspiring to better than bottom of the table finish, or even worse relegation. 

Still hoping for a good run of results and the achievement of greater consistency, but I think the next two games and then how we restart after the World Cup are going to be critical. 

 

 

 

This is a great summary for me.

And that restart after the World Cup is a run of 8 games in 2 months: 4 against teams currently below us, 3 against pretty mediocre mid table teams and only one against a top 10 team. Critical indeed, and takes us through to end Jan, so I think your timeframe may be about right in SLs mind. 

[Red Exile]

58 minutes ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

My whole point has been and remains that ,imo, Nige is not getting the best or making the most out of the players available as a team and this has been a hall mark of his tenure.  If Nige continues in a similar vein and is unable to create an average position from an average squad then SL will take action and make our differing points of view wholly redundant.

Despite it being painful to watch City at times I remain sympathetic to Nigel Pearson. Here he is, in one of the world's richer and more competitive leagues, at times being obliged to pick sides with a high percentage of young & often inexperienced players developed by the club. We might all want to believe - hope - that our youngsters will be world beaters but it doesn't seem very plausible that any club at our level will unearth a Championship-ready crop of early 20-something talent all in the same generation.  That we're not dead certs for relegation seems something of an achievement in the circumstances and testament to his man management experience, not least be cause he, we, they, know that we can't afford the wages of many of the more experienced players and we're actively trying to shift them on.

Your last point may be correct - in which case heaven help us because Lansdown's track record of manager picks is pretty abysmal. If we're currently in a mess it's a mess of his making - bet the house on his boy Lee and Mark Ashton...what folly!

Edited November 6, 2022 by Red Exile

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

26 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

Despite it being painful to watch City at times I remain sympathetic to Nigel Pearson. Here he is, in one of the world's richer and more competitive leagues, at times being obliged to pick sides with a high percentage of young & often inexperienced players developed by the club. We might all want to believe - hope - that our youngsters will be world beaters but it doesn't seem very plausible that any club at our level will unearth a Championship-ready crop of early 20-something talent all in the same generation.  That we're not dead certs for relegation seems something of an achievement in the circumstances and testament to his man management experience, not least be cause he, we, they, know that we can't afford the wages of many of the more experienced players and we're actively trying to shift them on.

Your last point may be correct - in which case heaven help us because Lansdown's track record of manager picks is pretty abysmal. If we're currently in a mess it's a mess of his making - bet the house on his boy Lee and Mark Ashton...what folly!

SL made it crystal clear several years ago that the emphasis would be on bringing in players from the Academy and he has stuck with this, NP knew this when he took the job and credit where credit is due- he has ensured a pathway for the graduates.Some on merit and some due to circumstance. SL also said that this would  have to be the source of future funding for the club - he told it as it is. We will sell one or two and hopefully this will ease the mistakes of high spending.

It is little mentioned that whilst money was badly spent we did receive a significant dividend for Flint, Kelly, Brownhill ,Reid & Webster - three of which could still yet produce more vital income. Fam and Massengo have been really unfortunate situations but if someone wont sign a new contract what can anyone do?- it's how we got Naismith and is a problem for every club.

Our most saleable assets, imo, are now Scott, Conway & Semenyo but there are others coming through as well. Benerous could also be a great asset but that's an unknown. I think all the three mentioned players are in the side on merit not because there's no one else and would likely have a starting place in most Championship sides.

[Bodiesaffer]

17 hours ago, Bar BS3 said:

I would say so, yes. They are 1 point above the relegation zone. 

What they have done is make a managerial change to address that. 

Their choice is a risky one, but a very astute one, I'd say. 

I'd replace NP with Michael Carrick in heartbeat. 

 

No all top players make good managers. Look at Steve Gerrard.

[italian dave]

12 hours ago, petehinton said:

Do you think many other managers would shrug and get on with the job at hand whilst having to play Tanner and Pring at CB?

People look at results and stat padding too much.  We were by far the better side in our last two days, and could very easily, and probably should be, looking at today as a draw after two comfortable wins. That’s the overarching difference here

That’s true, Pete, but the other way of looking at that is 

a) we didn’t make our superiority count, we didn’t get two comfortable wins, we got one point. 
b) Tanner and Pring both played well and contributed to that superiority - they were far from being just ‘stand in’ passengers: so why have both been sitting on the bench for most of the season? 

[Red-Robbo]

13 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Sorry, but that’s how I feel.  If posters can be strong in their proclamations about those who are comfortable with Nige’s performances then I feel I can be strong in my comments back.

The position he took over in (end of Feb 2021) was at a point where the CEO had pissed off the players re contract situations (to then piss off himself), and the losses re the mismanagement of fees / wages (vs quality) and Covid weren’t in the public domain, we’d only seen a small portion of the covid impact in the accounts (for 19/20 season) as he took over.

How do you square £68m of losses borne from an irresponsible management regime, and expect to improve the squad, and therefore turn around from the inevitable downturn that had to happen, regardless of who was in charge.  Had Holden remained, I don’t believe we would’ve gone down either, we might’ve finished higher, but that summer was gonna be a cluster#### as the squad was gonna be decimated with little scope to improve.  That continued into the summer just gone too.

So, there you have my reasons why I said it!

 

Well said Fevs. 

I don't think Nigel Pearson is beyond criticism and I believe some of his substitutions in particular have been needless or overly cautious and have cost us, HOWEVER, you succinctly set out the big picture there. 

The bloke has been operating with so many limitations, leading to a small squad (and small squads get impacted more by injuries) and not necessarily a squad he'd choose. In fact, no "not necessarily" about it. His interviews make quite clear he can see our weaknesses. 

Given those challenges, the fact he has been able to improve the performance of a number of players and continues to introduce young players to the second tier of English football - and they've mostly held their own or better - is something we can all thank him for. 

[Engvall’s Splinter]

17 hours ago, Bar BS3 said:

 

I'd replace NP with Michael Carrick in heartbeat. 

 

Based on what though? I don’t mean the replacing of Pearson, I’m asking why Carrick? And why in a heartbeat? What has he done to replace Pearson in a heartbeat?

[CiderJar]

12 hours ago, Dan Robin said:

I was reading the match report on the OS and....

Semenyo blazed his shit over the bar under pressure. 

To be honest if you are going to blaze it over the bar you have got to have built up a fair bit of pressure.

[Rob k]

13 minutes ago, Engvall’s Splinter said:

Based on what though? I don’t mean the replacing of Pearson, I’m asking why Carrick? And why in a heartbeat? What has he done to replace Pearson in a heartbeat?

This is the point isn’t it? It’s easy to say I’d replace NP and then you get a name given to you like Carrick? Why? 

[glynriley]

1 minute ago, Rob k said:

This is the point isn’t it? It’s easy to say I’d replace NP and then you get a name given to you like Carrick? Why? 

ABN

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

I don't and didnt so keep to my stated words please, Dave.

where do you expect us to be?  Mid-table? 10th-14th kind of mid-table?

Of the last 36 points available to us we have picked up 9 points: 8 defeats, 3 draws and 2 wins. In the previous 8 games we won 5 , lost 2 and drew 1. That's not progress.

it’s 7 defeats btw

Based on your 8 game / 12 game split you see a downward trend.  But you can spin that however you want.

Game 9-12 - 1 pt

Game 13-16 - 6 pts

Game 17-20 - 2 pts

So you could argue we’ve had an up and down time in that general trend downwards.  It just points to how inconsistent we are.

I don’t disagree re downward trend, but did you really expect us to keep picking up points around the 2ppg mark…nobody in the Champ is doing that, let alone “mid-table expected Bristol City”.  We achieved 1.52ppg once since we came back up!  To base progress on a comparison of those opening 8 games vs next 12 is a bit selective also.  Why not just go 10 games v 10 games.  14 pts v 9 pts.

It is similar to last season - almost identical so I just don't see the progress you and others do. The worrying trend is we are losing too many games and if that is expressed by a % -so what? Facts are facts.

what do you expect, it’s pretty much the same players, and we’ve had a spell of injuries (and illness) in recent weeks.  People keep suggesting that myself and others are painting false pictures of progress, we aren’t, we are saying we are “surviving”, “getting by”, “doing ok against the backdrop”.

Progress is being measured by things like improving the finances whilst trying to move us into a place in the middle-eight.  We finished top of the bottom eight last season (17th).  I expect us to move into the middle-eight this season, but not much.

Progress is about developing players and getting value / minutes out of players that wouldn’t normally be expected, whilst still pushing into that middle-eight.  Vyner, Conway, O’Leary, are all exceeding expectations.  That’s also progress.  Of course we could’ve kept Palmer and Bakinson, and exercised O’Dowda’s excessive option (based on current climate), and maybe not been able to sign Naismith or Sykes or both.

Joe Williams has been available for every league game except his yellow card suspension.  That’s progress.  That’s a manager working with his medical team to improve fitness / availability.  That might sound hypocritical when I say we’ve had injuries, but the context is a small number of injuries against a small squad, it’s nothing like the volume of injuries in the past.  If I take (selectively) Benarous and Bajic out of the equation, we’ve had between 1-4 players injured.  That’s progress.  It just feels worse because we have such a trim squad.

You base progress on results.  Nige’s job is wider than results, and for me progress is maintaining our position in the league, hopefully improving it a bit, whilst doing all those things above.  If we’d recruited Rinomhota, Khadra, that CB Nige wanted, alongside the ones we did, I’d be less content.  But we didn’t, and we know why…skint…so my expectations are adjusted accordingly.

We have played more games than anyone below us and are 3 points clear of safety.

yeah, we aren’t in a great position. 

My whole point has been and remains that ,imo, Nige is not getting the best or making the most out of the players available as a team and this has been a hall mark of his tenure.  If Nige continues in a similar vein and is unable to create an average position from an average squad then SL will take action and make our differing points of view wholly redundant.

yep, he may well do that.  I’m just intrigued who SL thinks might want to join us as manager / head coach in our situation.

[Davefevs]

23 minutes ago, Engvall’s Splinter said:

Based on what though? I don’t mean the replacing of Pearson, I’m asking why Carrick? And why in a heartbeat? What has he done to replace Pearson in a heartbeat?

9 minutes ago, Rob k said:

This is the point isn’t it? It’s easy to say I’d replace NP and then you get a name given to you like Carrick? Why? 

I’d take Pep in a heartbeat!!!

Why would Carrick come to us in our current situation?  It’s bonkers to throw names out like that.  We are unattractive currently.  No scope to develop the squad with external recruitment as it stands.  That might change next summer if we sell Semenyo, Scott or Conway.  But I don’t think anybody takes us on in Nov 22 for fear of not getting to next summer.

[Engvall’s Splinter]

16 minutes ago, glynriley said:

ABN

I’ve had to Google this … Abnormally Bulbous Nipples?

 

Actually… Anyone but Nigel ? 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Engvall’s Splinter

[Tin Soldier]

5 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I’d take Pep in a heartbeat!!!

Why would Carrick come to us in our current situation?  It’s bonkers to throw names out like that.  We are unattractive currently.  No scope to develop the squad with external recruitment as it stands.  That might change next summer if we sell Semenyo, Scott or Conway.  But I don’t think anybody takes us on in Nov 22 for fear of not getting to next summer.

People need to take a reality check. I was lambasted for saying at the beginning of the season, we were in for a relegation fight. Talk of top 6 finish was just ridiculous. If the club stays up this year, that will be one hell of an achievement. Just look at some of the big name clubs near the bottom. Their squad is far stronger than City. We are now reaping the chaos of Ashton & Johnson's reign. SL will be regretting some of the decisions he allowed to happen. NP is doing a brilliant job in my book.

Edited November 6, 2022 by Tin Soldier

[TV Tom]

3 hours ago, Super said:

Why would anyone not care about the WC? Bizarre. 

I don’t

[firstdivision]

13 hours ago, petehinton said:

If anything, we’ll be in an even better place next year.  Kalas, Bentley, JD will all be top 5 earners; the former never fit, and the latter not rated. We’ll inevitably get huge money for Scott and/or Semenyo.  Combine those things with the ability we’ve had to get some of the better quality free transfers and it’s a very very good mix. 

That’s certainly possible. But depends on the quality of our recruitment. TBD. But we’ll most likely lose quite a few so have to rebuild.  And that could bring with it more jeopardy not less.

My main point is that NP did not inherit that bad a squad. Most of it was injured. That was the primary cause of the slump. 

We shed, it seems, most of the players NP wanted to get rid of (Pato, O’Dowda, Nagy, Palmer, Bakinson) and not many we didn’t (Diedhiou - well, for no fee anyway). And he’s added some solid players to an expensively-assembled  squad (a squad that was in the top six before Covid struck, lest we forget, under the, er, clearly totally incompetent Lee Johnson - if I’m allowed to mention the name of someone so, er, rightfully reviled for taking us to a cup semi-final and giving us the best chance of promotion since his dad nearly did it ten years before). I find the Animal Farm-esque Johnson bad, Pearson good argument so lacking in nuance. 
 

Edited November 6, 2022 by firstdivision

[Swede]

World Cup?!? Played in a country with no football culture, with terrible human rights issues, that bribed its way to get selected. Having to be played at a time of the year when its less hot but still too hot and mid season for all competing nations. A total disregard for the athletes competing and the fans watching. It sums up all that is bad about football.

[MC RISK77]

9 minutes ago, Swede said:

World Cup?!? Played in a country with no football culture, with terrible human rights issues, that bribed its way to get selected. Having to be played at a time of the year when its less hot but still too hot and mid season for all competing nations. A total disregard for the athletes competing and the fans watching. It sums up all that is bad about football.

Yeah that was my point mate- just feels like their is no buzz about this World Cup at all currently.

[Davefevs]

18 minutes ago, Tin Soldier said:

People need to take a reality check. I was lambasted for saying at the beginning of the season, we were in for a relegation fight. Talk of top 6 finish was just ridiculous. If the club stays up this year, that will be one hell of an achievement. Just look at some of the big name clubs near the bottom. Their squad is far stronger than City. We are now reaping the chaos of Ashton & Johnson's reign. SL will be regretting some of the decisions he allowed to happen. NP is doing a brilliant job in my book.

FWIW I don’t think he’s doing a brilliant job, but I’m pretty happy with how he’s steering this ship through difficult times.

12 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

That’s certainly possible. But depends on the quality of our recruitment. TBD. But we’ll most likely lose quite a few so have to rebuild.  And that could bring with it more jeopardy not less.

My main point is that NP did not inherit that bad a squad. Most of it was injured. That was the primary cause of the slump. 

We shed, it seems, most of the players NP wanted to get rid of (Pato, O’Dowda, Nagy, Palmer, Bakinson) and not many we didn’t (Diedhiou - well, for no fee anyway). And he’s added some solid players to an expensively-assembled  squad (a squad that was in the top six before Covid struck, lest we forget, under the, er, clearly totally incompetent Lee Johnson - if I’m allowed to mention the name of someone so, er, rightfully reviled for taking us to a cup semi-final and giving us the best chance of promotion since his dad nearly did it ten years before). I find the Animal Farm-esque Johnson bad, Pearson good argument so lacking in nuance. 
 

Recruitment will be key.

Johnson wasn’t bad at all, but he wasn’t half a bloke who divided us.  He even divided me!!!  I liked some of the things he did, I disliked other things.

I do think he’d had his peak with us and it was long gone.  He couldn’t recreate 17/18.  The 18/19 season although finishing higher was not of the same calibre, and although we were 7th (after drawing with Fulham) as Covid struck, I think we were hanging on by our finger nails, as results were better than performances and had been for a long while.  It caught up with us / him post-covid and we fell back to 12th.

It was always going to be difficult to to compete with 5-8 parachute payment teams, but boy we spent some money trying to compete.

We hear RG talk about top 10 wages, but that’s coupled with bottom-end fees, I.e. free transfers.  We were spending £8m on a CB and paying top 6 wages to certain players.  We spent £25m(ish) on players in 19/20, not including loan fees, not including agent fees, not including the wage bill going up too.  It was the big push to playoffs.  And playoffs doesn’t mean promotion.  We tried to buy success.  We got carried away…and boy has it bitten us on the arse!

[petehinton]

1 hour ago, italian dave said:

That’s true, Pete, but the other way of looking at that is 

a) we didn’t make our superiority count, we didn’t get two comfortable wins, we got one point. 
b) Tanner and Pring both played well and contributed to that superiority - they were far from being just ‘stand in’ passengers: so why have both been sitting on the bench for most of the season? 

Course, but I don’t see how multiple players missing multiple chances is down to Pearson. In the same way that Vyner’s multiple misplaced passes that gave Boro chances weren’t too. 
 

Pring 100% should’ve been involved earlier, big fan. Tanner, honestly I’m not so sure. Good player, but not sure he could’ve been much more involved up until now really. Sykes has been solid, and Wilson was naturally always gonna be ahead of him after coming in over the solid. 

[petehinton]

20 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

That’s certainly possible. But depends on the quality of our recruitment. TBD. But we’ll most likely lose quite a few so have to rebuild.  And that could bring with it more jeopardy not less.

My main point is that NP did not inherit that bad a squad. Most of it was injured. That was the primary cause of the slump. 

We shed, it seems, most of the players NP wanted to get rid of (Pato, O’Dowda, Nagy, Palmer, Bakinson) and not many we didn’t (Diedhiou - well, for no fee anyway). And he’s added some solid players to an expensively-assembled  squad (a squad that was in the top six before Covid struck, lest we forget, under the, er, clearly totally incompetent Lee Johnson - if I’m allowed to mention the name of someone so, er, rightfully reviled for taking us to a cup semi-final and giving us the best chance of promotion since his dad nearly did it ten years before). I find the Animal Farm-esque Johnson bad, Pearson good argument so lacking in nuance. 
 

For sure, but Pearson’s recruitment has been very good. Per capita, far better than LJ & Ashton. So that’s where my positivity comes in. 
 

He didn’t inherit an awful squad by any means, but he inherited a total ******* mess of players who were really taking the piss with awful attitudes on big money. That’s what takes the longest to change and that’s why it’s taken us 18 months for him to be remotely happier with the make up of the squad now. 
 

I’ve said before I agree you can’t just point it to LJ, you point it at the whole overarching mess that was allowed in his last season + Holden’s tenure. The squad was enormous, mismatched and expensive. Holden was a massive push over that allowed a culture of taking the piss. Ashton added expensive players we didn’t need to an already bloated squad, and that hits the finances more. The medical team ruined half of our squad, to a point where we’re still monitoring the likes of Williams to play 3 games in a week. 
 

The only players we are likely to get big cash for now, are the ones that are/have flourished under Pearson. Having 7/8 academy players in the last few squads is a huge huge positive, for people who care about that anyway. I don’t think many other managers do that. To hinge it back to LJ, he absolutely wouldn’t. Palmer would still be here and playing over Scott. Pearson is making the best of our situation imo, in his ideal world would we still be relying on the likes of Vyner and Dasilva? Definitely not, but as he said in the fans forum, that’s all we can do so we have to make do with that until we have the option to improve