Sack or keep Nigel Pearson

[cidercity1987]

Nige is building a proper club

Results are not really the most super important judgment at the moment

As long as we don't get relegated 

[Red-Robbo]

49 minutes ago, Olé said:

 

• Weimann at RWB. Frustrating but let's not forget he played there and scored in wins last season; this season goal scoring via Conway and Wells has NOT been a problem for us, but at RWB we've had Sykes who briefly started the season well but has deteriorated into a lower division player who is well out of his depth; Wilson is injured; and Tanner NP doesn't believe is ready yet and clearly doesn't have qualities going forward that Weimann offers. This is best player not best position. Add into this in the 3-5-2 when we need to press as well as go compact without the ball, fitness is so key and Weimann is. 
• King at CB. Like most people I am not a fan but it is indisputable we are without Kalas, we lost both Naismith and Atkinson to injury, so he had to come into the equation - it's only the persistence with him that is questionable. But the story doing the rounds on Atkinson's delayed return / trust relates to (allegedly) breaching the club's Covid policy and bringing the infection into the squad as a result. Whether true or not who knows, but shows that trust isn't just about performances. Klose I have no idea, that is a mystery, I assume he has fitness issues as I'm struggling with the idea NP is doing this deliberately.
• HNM. I'm someone who enjoyed some of his breakout performances and wanted him to be a success, but others have long since highlighted his flaws and ability to give possession away in the worst positions, I think had he signed a deal off the back of playing an important role when we were on top form through the Cardiff etc games, think he could have settled into a first team role, but not doing so, then being an absolute mess away at Birmingham when we were abysmal, probably did for him. And if you have other midfielders even from the academy, what's the point of persisting with someone who wants out.
• Loans. For me at least, NP's explanation of this has always made sense and I thought he covered it very eloquently on one of those feature length Geoff Twentyman interviews regarding squad culture.

None of these to me are clear cut or suggest NP doesn't know what he's doing. You can make a good case for why he's taken every one of the above decisions, and if baked into each of them is setting an example and trying to make other players realise what is required, then I'm all for it. He hasn't been blessed with much ready-made Championship recruitment, if he's trying to enforce standards on invariably inexperienced and new-to-the-division players then - good.  Not playing 3 "ones for the future" he signed until he can rely on them isn't that unusual and a far cry from LJ chopping and changing 20 £1m+ signings. 

It seems to me NP isn't going to win friends when things are going against him because his interviews come across as arrogant and dismissive. But then we all found a way to be triggered by each of the interviewing styles of the last several managers who got sacked, so it's all a bit self fulfilling. Personally while I respect others frustrations, I'm not engaging in yet another pile on - as we've got to trust someone to build through the transition. NP has so far avoided the death spiral of LJ losing runs and has turned around patches of bad form. I see very little in what he says that is inconsistent with what we need to do to improve.

 

Pt 1: Let's be honest: we aren't a big or physical side. West Brom are, and with 5ft 8 Nakhi Wells effectively marked out by a (very good) man-mountain, we only had Conway's physicality to rely on. For me, Weimann's speed and poacher's instinct had to be put forward where he's got most of his goals. Yes, he can play RWB - unlike many forwards, he has defensive ability - but swap Wells' declining speed and positioning, for Weimann's. Have Antoine starting as a battering ram, holding balls for AW to run on to. Wells would make an excellent second half sub in such a game.  Addendum: Syksey did well when he came on versus Stoke. Play according to matchday form.

Pt2: Because he knows Andy King of old, he trusts Andy King and because of that - and the fact Kingy is a mid-30s married man he can probably relate to better than youngsters - he was left in a position he should not have been made to do once Atkinson and/or Klose were available. The fact he got injured doing it, just shows its folly. I'm all for imposing squad discipline BTW but not if it costs us points. Other ways to do that. 

Pt3: Of course, he has flaws, but in this one particular game you wanted someone to take the ball away from the midfield area that was a happy hunting ground for the Baggies.  Get it in their half and maybe win a free kick. Han can do that. He was custom-made for the role when Scott and Williams offered nothing. Ultimately, if all he offered was fresh legs, he could be no worse!  I'm of the opinion that Massengo might meet the right coach and fit into the right team and he will become the real deal. Just a hunch, mind you. 

Pt4: I think the vast majority of managers not working with PP millions utilise loans and as most in the Championship are above us, often with loanees as crucial parts of their team's equation, they seem to work for them without destroying the team's equilibrium or cohesion. Imagine foregoing Tammy Abraham or Steven Caulker. Or Andy Cole!

I don't dispute a lot of your post and it isn't a case of me thinking we're doomed with Pearson.  It's just I can't see any progression, We seem less able to compete with good teams than under Holden, and although Nigel faces particular money challenges, so do others, more successful others.  If NP keeps us up this season, I foresee more of the same - or worse. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Red-Robbo

[Davefevs]

14 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Every word from Nigel Pearson on Bristol City fan criticism, confidence, transfers and loans

Every word from the manager's written press post-match interview following the defeat at home to West Brom

What were your thoughts on the performance, any complaints with the result?

No, not really. No Complaints. We've had chances and not taken them and they're a really good side. Carlos has got the best out of that group of players now so disappointing for us.

What were the thoughts on the second-half performance and the lack of chances created specifically?

In the first half we've conceded another poor goal but worked very hard to get back into it. We finished the first half very well and they dominated in the second half. Because they adopted a defensive sort of shape where they were going to be deep to play those balls in behind. It was difficult for us to break them down.

Do you feel let down by the performances of your players today and their reaction?

No, not at all. The reaction of what?

The reaction to the second-half performance and the fact that West Brom looked so comfortable.

Do you not think that is because are a very good side?

Yes, but I think Bristol City are a good side too.

I don't feel let down by the players at all.

Is that the most difficult or testing day for you as manager of Bristol City?

No, not really. If you're alluding to the reaction from our fans then that's part of football, I'm afraid. Our young players have really only experienced the positive aspects of football so far. What it does, it creates a situation where it will test very much the resolve of who's onside and who's not. Simple as that.

Our fans are entitled to their opinions but what is important is that they stay behind their team. It's never going to be beneficial to have a negative reaction. If they want to have a go at me, they can have a go at me. It's important our team stays together, it's as simple as that.

Do you think the reaction by the supporters was justified?

In what sense?

The reaction towards you was hostile at the end.

Yea but I've had that before. I've had that at some point in every club I've been at. People have their opinions and they can do what they want. It's fine.

Does it hurt you when you hear chants like that?

I think what's important to recognise is that I know exactly the job that I've got to do here so I keep it in context. Football matches are emotional. If people want to vent their frustrations, I'd rather they do it at me and not the players. It doesn't help the players. It's not beneficial towards the players.

Do you think the concerns about relegation at the moment are justified and should fans be concerned? Is this squad of players good enough to be clear of that?

I think we will be fine but the bottom line is that I've been brought here to do a job. Affecting change is something which makes people feel uncomfortable. It is what it is.

How can you pick them up from here because as you said, there's players in this side who haven't experienced an atmosphere like that?

We'll see how we are tomorrow because the bottom line is this, how people see the game compared to or how they feel emotionally about it, I try and keep things in context. We played against a side who were better than us today. In the first half, in particular, we caused them problems.

How people view the game is up to them. I have to keep a more pragmatic view of it. That's my job. I'm a football manager, I'm not a football fan. I'm a football manager.

Is there a danger that this result can damage confidence?

Yea, it could do. Yea, could do.

The key thing is that you've got young players in the side and you've brought a lot of them in yourself, but the worry is isn't it they hear that from the stands and people like Alex Scott won't be able to express themselves as confidently when things like that are going on?

Look, I don't want to confuse the two issues. The players are in there because they are good enough. They are our best players and so the question is, how do we approach January? Can we freshen things up or not? The players that we have, they have to be good enough so I don't know whether people actually like hearing the reality of our situation. Maybe there are a few frustrations with that in terms of being able to freshen the squad.

Look, for me, it's just a very simple situation and that is, we as a football club need to decide whether we can or cannot strengthen in January and if we can, we'll try and do it in the best way possible without affecting our financial fair play scenario.

I'm sorry not to engage on a level of emotion which conflicts with our fanbase. People have had things to say today and they're entitled to their opinions. If they're going to have a go I'd rather they have a go at the players because the players need the support of the fans.

What is the very latest, do you expect to have money to spend or not?

It’s not about having money to spend it’s how we release money so we might have to trade. It means players go out to free up money to offset the wages, it’s more about that. If there is money to spend that’s a different situation.

What we must not do is get into a situation where there’s an air of panic that 'oh dear things aren’t going well we need to splash out' and then we fall foul of the financial fair play. My job is very much to try and keep a steady hand on it and whether things go badly today or not, the season of goodwill it certainly isn’t today and that’s the bottom line.

A lot of damage was done before you came in as well... 

I’m not interested in apportioning blame, what I’m interested in, and I just said to some of the staff at West Brom, the easy thing to do is pat yourself on the back when things are going well. You earn your corn when things aren’t going well so when people start to question what we’re trying to do here they need somebody to have a go at.

So, if they’re going to have a go at me that’s fine but the bottom line is we still need to get ourselves out of the situation that we’re in and that’s not just this season and where we are in the league. I’m talking about the bigger picture of what we’re trying to do at the football club. So, if people want to express their displeasure or whatever, fine. They’re entitled to do it, but it doesn’t really help the team.

Going into January, are you as confident as ever knowing the job that has to be done? 

Yeah, there are plenty of good things yeah. So today my first reflection is, ‘they’re a good side.’ It’s not about picking the bones out of that, you can always do that with your own side, but today we came up against a side who are actually, they’re on 32 points now.

They’re actually now getting the best out of their own players, but when we played them at their place, we beat them 2-0 comfortably on the night because they had players that were coasting, and they weren’t getting the best out of their players, so it depends how you want to look at it. It depends on what the criteria it’s based on. If it’s about having a go at one person, if that’s me, fine. It doesn’t bother me; I’ve been booed off bigger stadiums.

I always try to look at the bigger picture Nigel and the bigger picture is still important...

The bigger picture is important, but we need to start winning games. That’s clear. I’m not getting away from that.

One of the criticisms from the stands Nigel was the square pegs in round holes, playing Weimann at wing-back how do you answer that to the fans? 

What do you mean square pegs in round holes? Instead of who?

I suppose Tanner on the bench 

Yeah, Tanner is a right-back. Mark Sykes has played there and who else? That’s one player Andi Weimann has scored goals from there. 

Andy King at centre-back? 

Because the other players haven’t been up to it recently. We had all this last week and if it’s about Rob Atkinson the same thing applies, he needs to respond. I see them every day, you don’t.

How King after his injury? 

I don’t know. But I thought Rob did okay when he went on apart from a couple of occasions.

And Chris Martin at the moment?

Not in the squad, yeah. But that happens to a lot of players. Choose the squad for the day, but players are still in the squad even if they’re not involved. Maybe the question needs to be can we go out then and strengthen in the areas we’re weak? I think that’s a better question. The players that are playing are the ones that are showing the most in training, so that’s the answer to your question.

What would you like to do in January ideally? 

We need to strengthen at the back is the priority. 

Just one central defender? 

I didn’t say that. We need to strengthen at the back, depending on what we can do.

How difficult is it to trade in this climate as it’s a bit of an unknown quantity after the pandemic with less money? 

I think it depends on whether, if you’re talking about if players move who are on big money in terms of wages, then that could free it up to bring a couple in for one. But again, the availability is a big thing. We are exploring what we could do in the loan market but again all those types of questions there are more variables because there are more people involved.

Whether you can do a loan deal, whether it’s affordable, whether it’s a deal that can be done on the wages all those types of things are quite complex. We’ll try to do some business, but we’ll see what happens.

 

@Mr Popodopolous

[Olé]

2 hours ago, italian dave said:

you could have written this post word for word a year ago. We're not progressing. Nothing's changing

Not sure I agree! Our run prior to the international break was the most convincing I've seen us play in a long time at this level and was an elevation (I thought) of what NP was trying to do.

• Last season we started okay and hit 8th place by late September (P9 W3 D4 L2 GF11 GA10).
• This season in a similar period we peaked at 3rd after Blackburn (P8 W4 D2 L2 GF16 GA11).

The latter (significantly improved) was done without Kalas, Baker and Benarous (injured), O'Dowda, Palmer, Bakinson (off wage bill) and Martin (bit part), but with Tommy Conway (20) and perceptibly unproven Championship players like Sykes and Vyner (and a rejuvenated Wells). Even after losing the next two to promotion favourites (Norwich, Burnley) we looked convincing and were still top ten.

In other words we were doing more with less this season and with a clear identity. That is progression. That is change. 

If I take the Norwich and Burnley games out (again, anyone who went to them - and I know you will have done - will have seen us give both teams a really good game), then our record SINCE the international break, is as follows: P14 W3 D4 L7 GF12 GA18. Absolutely not good enough, but let's look at the defeats:

• 1-2 (H) to QPR - two early goals conceded to a form side
• 0-3 (A) to Birmingham - absolutely calamitous from 3 set pieces
• 1-2 (H) to Millwall - mistake by O'Leary for winner
• 0-2 (A) to Reading - conceded opener from another set piece
• 0-1 (H) to Sheff Utd - mistake by Vyner/Tanner
• 1-2 (H) to Stoke - mistakes by King/O'Leary, King/James 
• 0-2 (H) to West Brom - mistakes by O'Leary/Vyner, Naismith

7 defeats and 18 conceded and only one defeat (QPR) not down to our players making simple mistakes or failing at set pieces. 10/18 goals out and out mistakes by City players. 6 out of 7 winners too. None of this excuses Pearson, but what is unreasonable about his commentary of this (selectively calling out or protecting players) and what else can he do if players keep making these simple, basic mistakes?

Take out the errors and we're closer to the team that started the season getting up to 3rd using a cheaper and younger side on paper vs last season. That is and could still be an improvement in my book.

[robinforlife2]

It's very clear I have been Pearson out longer than most. I don't dislike Pearson, I just don't buy into just because we have no money and the person who should replace him can't be identified is the correct reason to keep him in a job.

I had three main gripes about Pearson I said early on.

1: He had wasted the career of Nahki Wells here and if it hadn't been for Semenyo getting injured he would have got the Bentley/Massengo treatment.

What has transpired is Pearson left our best striker out of the fold, was happy in January to try and send him on loan (Nahki didn't want to go) and only when his hand was forced did he give him a chance. From thsi chance Nahki has proven countless times he is a team player, our best striker and ultimately earned himself a new contract. THIS IS CLEAR EVIDENCE PEARSON DOES NOT KNOW HIS BACKSIDE FROM HIS ELBOW! He was happy to waste the career of one of our best players, leaving him to waste, fans accusing said player of having a bad attitude and not wanting to be hear. Some of these fans wanted him sold to Preston! Where would we have been this year without Nahki, slap bang in the relegation zone! 
This was no stroke of genius to convert a player, this was pure awful management who had no idea the talent he had at the club, I said long ago, this worried me and showed Pearson could not be trusted to recruit and should be sacked, I stand by this, he exposed what an awful manager he was by demoting Nahki and never playing him to his best positions in the past, for me this made his job untenable.

2: He is a bully!

I don't care what others think, Pearson is a bully, he has frozen out his own choices of purchases, thrown players under the bus, and used the players I can trust nonsense. 
This is not how you inspire people, if I were Massengo, Bentley, Klose, Atkinson, I would wouldn't try a yard for him, I would deliberately let us get humiliated so the board have to step in. The facts are, teams are a bond, squads are a bond, players hang about with players, some times coaches, they get on with each other, and keeping high spirits is important. You can say he is trying to motivate all you want. He isn't. He is pig headed and a bully. He feels he is above this club and we are lucky to have him. He is a bully boy who has demoralised a number of players, he has publicly exposed them and frozen them out. Do you really think other players will be motivated by this, no they will play scared, frightened that one false move, one mistake, one bad comment and they are back in the naughty seat in Frozen corner. 
Players look like they are playing with no confidence, or belief, they are playing in fear of their positions and unless they have the surname James or King, know they are one error away from the reserves. 
You wont get results when players feel like this. Pearson has done this to the squad, no one else and is another reason he has to go. 
The day he is sacked, everyone has a chance again, and players will have a boost.

3: He is not getting any better, yet he has his team and his tactics.

Pearson by his own admission says this is a team that could be good enough to be top half. He has never said this is a relegation fodder team, he has spoken of youngsters of quality. He is not wrong. We have some good players, some talent coming through and we are in a position where many say the results don't lie, but the fact is the main reason this team is where it is, is for all the moments of magic, there are awful mistakes, often by sticking with the same formation which isn't working. Continually not playing players in their best positions and that is down to poor management and poor tactics.
I don't buy into what people say that anyone who inherits this squad will have the same problems as Pearson, and that we are better to stick than twist. The fact is, Pearson is not getting the best out of these players, whether its them not giving him 100%, or them unable to adapt to his tactics, but the facts are simple, we are underachieving.

When we beat West Brom 2-0, we had a similar line up to the team that yesterday lost 2-0 to West Brom. In Steve Bruce who had just been sacked when we beat them West Brom had not in their own fans eyes recruited well and were annoyed the only forward they bought was from Salford. They felt they would go down under Bruce, as the team just didn't turn up and play to their ability. Now the new manager of West Brom has not had the luxury of transfer windows or a chance to rejig a squad, he has simply worked with exactly the same tools Bruce had, tools which had them losing to us 2-0 and looking relegation candidates, but what the new manager done, was got them playing again, giving them good tactics and they improved and suddenly they came to us and done what we did to them.
The facts are simple, the same team that beat the same West Brom in October 2-0 are the same team who were beaten 2-0 by pretty much the same team, only one thing is different, when West Brom had a team not playing to their best, Bruce was not given the "he's doing the best he can" relief by the fans, he was sent packing and West Brom have turned it around.
Now we are not blessed with money, but West Brom's improvement has not come by spending money, it has come from new motivation from a new manager who knows what they are doing. There is no reason why the same affect can't happen here. 
Pearson is leading us to a regression on the pitch. For all the off the pitch advancement, on the pitch is what decides relegation. We can count ourselves lucky the league is wide open and 10pts separates Playoffs to Relegation Zone, but we now have a situation where small gaps are starting to open from mid table to bottom 6 or 7 and by the end of January, it could suddenly be 3 of 5 and not 3 of 10. 
This is the situation we are facing if we don't act now.

Pearson has had more than enough time, but a 26% win rate is enough to get you sacked at any club. Our financial position is no worse than several in this league and our CEO has told us that we are in the top ten wage payers in the league, so for all our financial constraints, we are still happy to be one of the better payers in the division, yet we are playing shocking.

I actually feel the players want change, maybe some feel its the only way to get back in the squad. None of the players want to get relegated, but at the same time too many players look lost by frustrating and confusing tactics. 

Those who say Pearson should stay because the better option is not obvious, are the same people who are likely to have only worked for people in life and not hired and fired. In order to find the right candidates, the job has to be available. If someone is not performing and not getting the best from their workforce, you do more damage than good by keeping them in place.
It is my feeling, that no one could do worse than Pearson is currently doing, that's not to say I know who can do better, and who can turn us around, but I actually think no one could do any worse, and therefore I see no risk in sacking Pearson.

Those who don't want Warnock, I understand why and he would not be a solution to the long term problem, but he could be an option to actually make sure we stay in this league. Give him the job until the end of the season to keep us up. In the summer our finances will be better, and we will probably sell Semenyo, Scott and possibly one other. Then we can at least be an attractive proposition to a new manager to work off a blank canvas at the start of the season, with a respectable budget, with a lot of dead wood gone, and money in the bank from player sales. 

This is when we look for the manager to take us forwards, a permanent replacement to Pearson is not needed right now, but what is needed, is someone to stop the rot that is leading us to League One, and that financially will cripple us, and don't expect us to bounce back, as League One is a lot tougher than the last time we were there and we would be one of many big fish in that pond, playing the Gas twice a year, and probably looking at Plymouth in the Championship lording it as the best in the west .

The problem now is we are going backwards under a leader, who has alienated several members of the squad, bullies the team, doesn't know his best players from his worse, and can't get a result with his tactics. The problem is not to replace him, the problem is keeping him.

Pearson has to go. That alone can start to stop the rot. 

 

[Major Isewater]

34 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

Pt 1: Let's be honest: we aren't a big or physical side. West Brom are, and with 5ft 8 Nakhi Wells effectively marked out by a (very good) man-mountain, we only had Conway's physicality to rely on. For me, Weimann's speed and poacher's instinct had to be put forward where he's got most of his goals. Yes, he can play RWB - unlike many forwards, he has defensive ability - but swap Wells' declining speed and positioning, for Weimann's. Have Antoine starting as a battering ram, holding balls for AW to run on to. Wells would make an excellent second half sub in such a game.  Addendum: Syksey did well when he came on versus Stoke. Play according to matchday form.

Pt2: Because he knows Andy King of old, he trusts Andy King and because of that - and the fact Kingy is a mid-30s married man he can probably relate to better than youngsters - he was left in a position he should not have been made to do once Atkinson and/or Klose were available. The fact he got injured doing it, just shows its folly. I'm all for imposing squad discipline BTW but not if it costs us points. Other ways to do that. 

Pt3: Of course, he has flaws, but in this one particular game you wanted someone to take the ball away from the midfield area that was a happy hunting ground for the Baggies.  Get it in their half and maybe win a free kick. Han can do that. He was custom-made for the role when Scott and Williams offered nothing. Ultimately, if all he offered was fresh legs, he could be no worse!  I'm of the opinion that Massengo might meet the right coach and fit into the right team and he will become the real deal. Just a hunch, mind you. 

Pt4: I think the vast majority of managers not working with PP millions utilise loans and as most in the Championship are above us, often with loanees as crucial parts of their team's equation, they seem to work for them without destroying the team's equilibrium or cohesion. Imagine foregoing Tammy Abraham or Steven Caulker. Or Andy Cole!

I don't dispute a lot of your post and it isn't a case of me thinking we're doomed with Pearson.  It's just I can't see any progression, We seem less able to compete with good teams than under Holden, and although Nigel faces particular money challenges, so do others, more successful others.  If NP keeps us up this season, I foresee more of the same - or worse. 

Suddenly Nigel Pearson is talking about loans. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see at least one come in in January. 

[Scrumpylegs]

Dean Smith available now. Would there be any takers on here for him?

[Top Robin]

1 hour ago, megansdad said:

Ole - a really good post. I think we are making mistakes when on top in games that are proving very costly. Against Stoke we could have been 2 up at half time and probably should have been - yesterday we could easily have been level. Chances are being created and some good football is being played. Scott looks a little jaded to me and could not seem to hold the ball yesterday. Hopefully NP has plans for the January window which will prove successful! 

Hopefully he's gone before then

[CliftonCliff]

8 minutes ago, Scrumpylegs said:

Dean Smith available now. Would there be any takers on here for him?

Well, considering he's got three wins in his last 13 games with a squad that's vastly superior to the one at the disposal of Pearson, who also has three wins on his last 13..... er, no.

[M.D]

If we have any money to spend in January then we should get Craig Shakespeare in if NP could persuade him to join..

[REDOXO]

Christ alive there is some utter crap in this thread. 
 

There is Still half a season to go and a transfer window. 
 

Yes we urgently need Kalas and another defender, possibly a loan. We need to replace who we sell to fund any other signings and get the remaining dead wood off the books. 

Alan Dicks must laugh his cock off reading stuff like this. Building a team out of matchwood is hard!

Personally I’m not as in the Pearson camp as I once was, but who the hell is better at this kind of job?

[Bris Red]

56 minutes ago, M.D said:

If we have any money to spend in January then we should get Craig Shakespeare in if NP could persuade him to join..

Aswell as Curtis Fleming and Euell? You’d imagine one of them would have to be let go if Shakespeare was to come in. Suppose it all depends on how much of the budget it would it eat up.

I do find Shakespeare an interesting one though, it looks to be the case that whenever Nige has had success at a club Shakespeare has been his right hand man…

Edited December 27, 2022 by Bris Red

[Lanterne Rouge]

1 minute ago, Bris Red said:

Aswell as Curtis Fleming and Euell? You’d imagine one of them would have to be let go if Shakespeare was to come in. Suppose it all depends on how much of the budget it would it eat up.

I do find Shakespeare and interesting one though, it looks to be the case that whenever Nige has had success at a club Shakespeare has been his right hand man…

A bit left field but why not see if Shakespeare fancies the step up to manager with NP moving upstairs to DOF or similar?

[Red-Robbo]

1 hour ago, Major Isewater said:

Suddenly Nigel Pearson is talking about loans. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see at least one come in in January. 

 

Quite. But a bit late for him to salvage this season. Maybe, at 59, that granite-hard self-assurance is starting to crack and he has started to learn the error of his ways in that respect. 

I never thought he was a stupid man. Just a stupidly stubborn one at times. 

[Davefevs]

3 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

Quite. But a bit late for him to salvage this season. Maybe, at 59, that granite-hard self-assurance is starting to crack and he has started to learn the error of his ways in that respect. 

I never thought he was a stupid man. Just a stupidly stubborn one at times. 

He did explain why he hadn’t last season, but now feels he can.  Of course he may have been making it up, or perhaps learning from a mistake.  It still wouldn’t surprise me to see no loan coming through the door.

[Red-Robbo]

25 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

Christ alive there is some utter crap in this thread. 
 

There is Still half a season to go and a transfer window. 
 

Yes we urgently need Kalas and another defender, possibly a loan. We need to replace who we sell to fund any other signings and get the remaining dead wood off the books. 

Alan Dicks must laugh his cock off reading stuff like this. Building a team out of matchwood is hard!

Personally I’m not as in the Pearson camp as I once was, but who the hell is better at this kind of job?

 

It's only Leicester where he's really done it. With different personnel. Different owner. Different regulatory regime. Different finances.

Did well at Hull, but they'd been relegated, had parachute payments and he was able to bring in the likes of Solano, Koren, Harper etc. 

At Southampton, he faced a problem club and took them down to L1 for the first time in their history. Didn't uproot any trees managing in the Belgian second division either, although I accept that there are challenges with managing abroad. Failed to stop Watford's decline as well.

I personally think that there are all sorts of managers who can and have undertaken long-term rebuilds.  If NP goes, I'll be glad for the work he's put in beginning this process. The real restructuring began when Mark Ashton took another job however. 

 

 

[Red-Robbo]

8 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

He did explain why he hadn’t last season, but now feels he can.  Of course he may have been making it up, or perhaps learning from a mistake.  It still wouldn’t surprise me to see no loan coming through the door.

 

Sadly, it wouldn't surprise me to see no one come through the door. Summer seems the best time for sorting out really exciting loans; January is when you do the fire-fighting, filling-a-specific role short-term loans. 

[Bazooka Joe]

I rate Pearson, and understand what he's trying to do with scant resources, but his stubborness is doing him him no favours.

Tough game coming up against a physically strong Millwall side, with some big players. Which means that barring injury, given Pearson's bloody-mindedness, King will be the first name on the team sheet, as centre-back.

We need a clean sheet to have a chance of getting something from the Den. C'mon Nige, do us all a favour and stick in some, genuine, big strong defenders.

If not, you may soon find yourself fighting adversaries more formidable than a pack of wolves.

 

[Merrick's Marvels]

1 hour ago, M.D said:

If we have any money to spend in January then we should get Craig Shakespeare in if NP could persuade him to join..

100%

[IAmNick]

1 hour ago, robinforlife2 said:

1: He had wasted the career of Nahki Wells here and if it hadn't been for Semenyo getting injured he would have got the Bentley/Massengo treatment.

We had an excellent strike partnership last year, why would he change that?

Nahki worked hard, Pearson gave him a chance (he didn't have to), he took it, is clearly very happy here and just signed a contract extension. He clearly likes Pearson.

To day he's wasted his career is utterly ridiculous.

1 hour ago, robinforlife2 said:

He is a bully!

I don't care what others think, Pearson is a bully, he has frozen out his own choices of purchases, thrown players under the bus, and used the players I can trust nonsense. 

How do you discern between being frozen out compared to not in form or training poorly? The only player I'd consider frozen out is Bakinson, and now Massengo to some degree. Pretty clear reasons there, even though I'd personally still probably have Massengo around the squad.

We have a few examples of players being dropped and coming back better do we not? Wells, Vyner, O'Leary, Dasilva, for example. Maybe there are legitimate reasons?

Any specific quotes where he's thrown a player under the bus? I hear this a lot but it's not something I'd associate with Pearson.

Remember it's a specific thing, not just saying "X didn't have a great game" or "the defense need to work harder". That's not throwing someone under the bus.

[IAmNick]

23 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

Quite. But a bit late for him to salvage this season. Maybe, at 59, that granite-hard self-assurance is starting to crack and he has started to learn the error of his ways in that respect. 

I never thought he was a stupid man. Just a stupidly stubborn one at times. 

I'd have probably liked to have seen one or two in the summer, but he gave a pretty clear and understandable reason why we didn't have any - and it wasn't just that he didn't like them.

He even said he looked and spoke to some teams in the summer I'm pretty sure.

[Red-Robbo]

Just now, IAmNick said:

I'd have probably liked to have seen one or two in the summer, but he gave a pretty clear and understandable reason why we didn't have any - and it wasn't just that he didn't like them.

He even said he looked and spoke to some teams in the summer I'm pretty sure.

 

Perchance he was a bit too fussy, seeing that we had a smallish squad and there's no way we were going to get long into the season before injuries starting to limit his in-house options?

[Top Robin]

59 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

Christ alive there is some utter crap in this thread. 
 

There is Still half a season to go and a transfer window. 
 

Yes we urgently need Kalas and another defender, possibly a loan. We need to replace who we sell to fund any other signings and get the remaining dead wood off the books. 

Alan Dicks must laugh his cock off reading stuff like this. Building a team out of matchwood is hard!

Personally I’m not as in the Pearson camp as I once was, but who the hell is better at this kind of job?

Pearson has had many transfer windows and has also bought plenty of player, most of whom are not being picked.

[Davefevs]

13 minutes ago, Top Robin said:

Pearson has had many transfer windows and has also bought plenty of player, most of whom are not being picked.

3 windows

10 signings - 2 for fees and 1 for compo, 7 free

2 existing players re-signed (Weimann and Baker - now retired).

That’s the lowest in the Championship over that period.

Those are the hard numbers.

 

[Chivs]

40 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

We had an excellent strike partnership last year, why would he change that?

Nahki worked hard, Pearson gave him a chance (he didn't have to), he took it, is clearly very happy here and just signed a contract extension. He clearly likes Pearson.

To day he's wasted his career is utterly ridiculous.

How do you discern between being frozen out compared to not in form or training poorly? The only player I'd consider frozen out is Bakinson, and now Massengo to some degree. Pretty clear reasons there, even though I'd personally still probably have Massengo around the squad.

We have a few examples of players being dropped and coming back better do we not? Wells, Vyner, O'Leary, Dasilva, for example. Maybe there are legitimate reasons?

Any specific quotes where he's thrown a player under the bus? I hear this a lot but it's not something I'd associate with Pearson.

Remember it's a specific thing, not just saying "X didn't have a great game" or "the defense need to work harder". That's not throwing someone under the bus.

"I played a midfielder at centre back which tells you what I thought" - I really do paraphrase but it was a quote like that when Klose was taken off at half time during Lincoln. A game, btw, where Klose did nothing wrong, and Pearson made about 6 mistakes before the game started...

How people are defending Pearson is beyond me.

 

Ps Also, Bentley frozen out. O'Leary didn't get dropped and come back better. He was average to poor the last time Pearson blamed Bentley for something.  And eventually was so poor that even Pearson couldn't persist with him.

This season O'Leary has been poor to even poorer but Pearson is a "great man-manager" so has decided to continue with him...

[Top Robin]

19 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

3 windows

10 signings - 2 for fees and 1 for compo, 7 free

2 existing players re-signed (Weimann and Baker - now retired).

That’s the lowest in the Championship over that period.

Those are the hard numbers.

 

Still a fair number of Pearson incomings with arguably not much improvement.

[lenred]

23 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

3 windows

10 signings - 2 for fees and 1 for compo, 7 free

2 existing players re-signed (Weimann and Baker - now retired).

That’s the lowest in the Championship over that period.

Those are the hard numbers.

 

But but but but...........

[Northern Red]

59 minutes ago, Top Robin said:

Pearson has had many transfer windows and has also bought plenty of player, most of whom are not being picked.

Yeah, we should sack him so you can get straight on with hounding the next one out.

Because that's what you, and several others on here, will do. Because you always do.

[Superjack]

6 hours ago, And Its Smith said:

We could be mid table with another manager 

Or in League One already.

[IAmNick]

35 minutes ago, Chivs said:

"I played a midfielder at centre back which tells you what I thought" - I really do paraphrase but it was a quote like that when Klose was taken off at half time during Lincoln. A game, btw, where Klose did nothing wrong, and Pearson made about 6 mistakes before the game started...

How people are defending Pearson is beyond me.

 

Ps Also, Bentley frozen out. O'Leary didn't get dropped and come back better. He was average to poor the last time Pearson blamed Bentley for something.  And eventually was so poor that even Pearson couldn't persist with him.

This season O'Leary has been poor to even poorer but Pearson is a "great man-manager" so has decided to continue with him...

To me throwing someone under the bus is blaming them specifically for a loss (or big error) which was a team issue. It's not just saying someone was poor or whatever. Something goes wrong and one individual is named as the reason unfairly - that's my understanding of it.

Bentley had been poor and quite a few were saying Max should be in. Why's that frozen out? He's just been dropped, no? 

I'd probably have Bentley in personally but I can explain why without saying things like thrown under the bus, lost the dressing room, frozen out, or whatever.

I'm only "defending" him because I think there's a lot of legitimate and reasonably objective/fair criticism that could be levelled at him currently, but I don't think adding those kinds of things are it so I push back on it when I see it.

Edited December 27, 2022 by IAmNick