Nigel Pearson

[David Brent]

20 minutes ago, mozo said:

Nothing, thats my point. I think he's done a great job to turn our form around. No complaints about team selection, formation, motivation, cohesion in any of the unbeaten 5 games. 

There have been other games or spells of form however where I did criticise because in my opinion something wasn't right.

I wanted Pearson as manager for years before he came and was excited when we got him. 

That doesn't mean he's the perfect manager and never gets anything wrong! 

I think Klopp is an incredible manager but it's hard not to criticise him for being able to get his side organised and motivated enough to avoid some of their shocking performances this season. 

It was the same tribalism with Lee Johnson. Guess what, he was both a good manager for us, and was flawed. Those are not mutually exclusive assessments.

I think it’s perfectly fair to point out what people believe he got right then.

I agree that can go too far though. It’s like people taking credit for saying 4-3-3.

[MarcusX]

12 hours ago, FNQ said:

Great result tonight away to Swansea for Nige (this is the NP thread) and with half a dozen academy products featuring. Shame we can’t all park our agendas and get behind him and the team and push on together..

A few games back I'd be swung in the direction of potentially getting rid, if someone with "pedigree" was willing to come in.

That said, I absolutely love the influx of youngsters into the team, especially local lads, and they are still fighting for him.

There's inconsistencies and shoddy defending, but he's certainly not lost the dressing room. We also played some pretty good football against Birmingham

[mozo]

2 minutes ago, David Brent said:

I think it’s perfectly fair to point out what people believe he got right then.

I agree that can go too far though. It’s like people taking credit for saying 4-3-3.

I think the criticism of the Andy King experiment is definitely valid. Given that eventually Pearson abandoned a cobbled back 3 in favour of a back 4 possibly suggests that criticism of the 3 was justified, but certainly was valid. That's not an anti-Nige position, just an opinion.

[FNQ]

4 minutes ago, MarcusX said:

A few games back I'd be swung in the direction of potentially getting rid, if someone with "pedigree" was willing to come in.

That said, I absolutely love the influx of youngsters into the team, especially local lads, and they are still fighting for him.

There's inconsistencies and shoddy defending, but he's certainly not lost the dressing room. We also played some pretty good football against Birmingham

That’s the spirit !!

Blackburn should be a good game and another opportunity to play some good football too.. it’s either win or lose for that lot, no draws all season. They’re a young team who could easily be intimidated if our fans are up for it.. up at their place I reckon that was our best performance of the season so far. Remember Tommy’s diving header after Andi’s sprint and cross… great goal.

[ExiledAjax]

11 minutes ago, FNQ said:

That’s the spirit !!

Blackburn should be a good game and another opportunity to play some good football too.. it’s either win or lose for that lot, no draws all season. They’re a young team who could easily be intimidated if our fans are up for it.. up at their place I reckon that was our best performance of the season so far. Remember Tommy’s diving header after Andi’s sprint and cross… great goal.

Their away form is far worse than their home form as well. Ignore their Rotherham result last week, there's no way that was a 4-0 game. Bit of a fluke result. Still, they're all about the home form as this record shows.

36 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

(someone will probably correct me but I'm pretty sure that Pearson has never actually had us in the relegation zone* despite all the doom-mongering)

I checked this. We were in the relegation zone (23rd) after the 2nd and 3rd games this season. Other than that we've never been lower than 20th under Pearson, and actually haven't been in the relegation zone since day one of the 2019/20 season.

Edited January 18, 2023 by ExiledAjax

[elhombrecito]

3 hours ago, Robbored said:

As I posted - different times, different ethos throughout the club.

Add to that - different players against different players. Comparing managers records 15-20 years apart will always be out of context. Every club changes on and off the pitch.

Does that mean you're going to stop comparing every manager to Danny Wilson then?

[Robbored]

23 minutes ago, elhombrecito said:

Does that mean you're going to stop comparing every manager to Danny Wilson then?

Different times, different league but DW produced the most exciting football of them all. His teams played wonderfully thrilling stuff. Terrific entertainment.

We’ve not seen anything close since. Such a shame that he got sacked over the summer - no idea why. I don’t remember seeing an explanation on the OS………….

[bearded_red]

1 minute ago, Robbored said:

Different times, different league but DW produced the most exciting football of them all. His teams played wonderfully thrilling stuff. Terrific entertainment.

We’ve not seen anything close since. Such a shame that he got sacked over the summer - no idea why. I don’t remember seeing an explanation on the OS………….

You should post that more often I reckon.

[ExiledAjax]

19 hours ago, GrahamC said:

From an attacking sense it is worth pointing out that we are broadly similar but last year we relied very heavily on Weimann’s annus mirabilis, plus Martin making a significant contribution, someone we are clearly looking to move on.

To do so through a more balanced approach, Wells (now signed for 2 more years), the emergence of Conway & Semenyo scoring in bursts all seems more sustainable, especially with Weimann to return too.

Just to pick up on this, all of the below is league games only.

Overall our attacking prowess as a team/squad is oddly consistent with last season. After 27 games last year we had 35 goals from 96 shots on target and a cumulative xG of 33.65.

This season we are on 36 goals from 86 shots on target and cumulative xG of 33.66. 

So a small decrease in shots on target, but in both seasons we've broadly scored about as many goals as our attacking threat suggests we would. There's a slight overperformance in both season, but it is marginal.

Individually this season we've got 9 goal scorers, no one has scored more than 9, and the three leaders are Wells with 9 in 1,784 minutes (198 mins per goal), Conway has 6 in 1,510 minutes (251 minutes per goal) and Semenyo has 5 in 1,151 minutes (230 mins per goal). Fbref breaks it down here:

There has been some really lovely consistency from our three main attackers. Wells and Semenyo are shooting often. 2.5 shots per game is high. Antoine in particular is coupling this with a very good SoT% of 44.1%, so he's shooting a lot and those shots are on target almost half the time. Dangerous, that tests the goalkeeper. Considering he is also shooting from 14 yards on average, that accuracy is impressive. All three are also slightly outperforming their personal xG. However none of them are doing so to an unsustainable or unbelievable extent. This is good, this tells us that they are performing at a sustainable level that we can reasonably expect to continue through the rest of this season. We aren't in a 'purple patch' and assuming all other things remain equal, we should see a consistent goals scoring return form our main three strikers. Encouraging, and delectable.

I included Weimann here because it shows that he's perhaps our only concern. He's played a different role this season, but even in that role we might reasonably expect him to have five goals instead of four. However, given the low number of shots and SoT (28 and 8 ) that he has taken we should be wary of giving too much credibility to the small numbers. Ultimately 4 goals form 8 shots on target is ******* sniper elite levels of conversion, and holds up well against Wells and the other two. He's not going to match his freak season in 21/22, but any reasonable person should never have expected that anyway. He remains 3 goals away from getting 50 for the club, and that is still quite likely to happen this season.

It's hard to find stats for last season frozen at the 27 game point, so I can't do a direct comparison (@Davefevs do you have that?). But, we can look at the final 46 game position of three of the above players (Conway got so few minutes last season that it is pointless including him) plus Martin. 

Some difference. Look at Goals Scored G/SoT, and xG. You see immediately how Weimann was astounding last year. Like seriously overperforming. Also, that compensated for the relative underperformance of the other strikers. Martin, Semenyo and Wells both had pretty poor G/SoT rates of just about 1/3, and both ultimately netted roughly 2 fewer goals than they perhaps could have done based on the quality of the shots they took through the season. Weimann saved our goals conceded column last season. 

So really I am happier this season. I've always said I'd much rather have three 10-goal a season strikers than one 30-goal man. It leads to a better balance, and protects against injury or loss of form in that main striker. We're in a nice spot attacking-wise. We're a threat, but it's balanced and the load and responsibility can therefore be shared. I think that is proven by the situation with Conway. He's dropped out, and Semenyo has stepped up.

We're unlikely to have the 20-goal striker that some demand (although Wells may finally claim that elusive medal that some award him already) but we will probably have 3 strikers in double-figures as opposed to the two last season. Couple that with some goals from the rest of the team, the aforementioned defensive improvement, and the good will of lady luck and we'll be just fine for a lower mid-table finish, an improvement on last season.

Edited January 18, 2023 by ExiledAjax

[Selred]

6 minutes ago, Robbored said:

We’ve not seen anything close since

Different times. Can't compare.

[Robbored]

15 minutes ago, Selred said:

Different times. Can't compare.

You can compare the amount of excitement or “buzz” that you feel during/after a match. 

[Fordy62]

We were a car crash when Nigel came in. I warned at the time that an out of control frigate take a long time to stop before you can turn it around. I hope we’re somewhere near stopping.

The way he’s treated the academy and the ‘pathway’ is nothing short of incredible. Nice to have someone understand the pathway rather than just talk about it and ignore it. 

[Selred]

2 minutes ago, Robbored said:

You can compare the amount of excitement or “buzz” that you feel during/after a match. 

Was buzzing after our loss to Brighton. Not buzzing after our 8-2 win over Walsall when we had a promotion party.

[Davefevs]

@ExiledAjaxsorry, I don’t have that.  If I was a Data Scientist (rather than a guy who likes numbers as a hobby ) I’d have thought about building history / archival stuff into my data extracts!!!

[ExiledAjax]

2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

@ExiledAjaxsorry, I don’t have that.  If I was a Data Scientist (rather than a guy who likes numbers as a hobby ) I’d have thought about building history / archival stuff into my data extracts!!!

No worries, it's a pretty niche request. I think the comparison remains valid.

[tin]

1 hour ago, Fordy62 said:

We were a car crash when Nigel came in. I warned at the time that an out of control frigate take a long time to stop before you can turn it around. I hope we’re somewhere near stopping.

The way he’s treated the academy and the ‘pathway’ is nothing short of incredible. Nice to have someone understand the pathway rather than just talk about it and ignore it. 

And yet still there was a bloke in my local last night slagging Pearson off — after we’d won at Swansea and another academy product had bagged the winner — and his main point was because NP “hasn’t gone and spoken to the Senior Reds in three years”!

[HappyClapper]

1 hour ago, Robbored said:

You can compare the amount of excitement or “buzz” that you feel during/after a match. 

Sounds like you need a new dealer. Speak to one of the youngsters.

[Fordy62]

28 minutes ago, tin said:

And yet still there was a bloke in my local last night slagging Pearson off — after we’d won at Swansea and another academy product had bagged the winner — and his main point was because NP “hasn’t gone and spoken to the Senior Reds in three years”!

Did also dislike GJ with a passion?

[glynriley]

31 minutes ago, tin said:

And yet still there was a bloke in my local last night slagging Pearson off — after we’d won at Swansea and another academy product had bagged the winner — and his main point was because NP “hasn’t gone and spoken to the Senior Reds in three years”!

That's harsh, he's been in the job less than 2..!!

[Red Army 75]

Very interesting interview. Enjoyable listen for me

[GrahamC]

36 minutes ago, Red Army 75 said:

Very interesting interview. Enjoyable listen for me

Interesting that he confirmed the HNM Anderlecht rumour.

[Boston Red]

Nigel was asked whether there was anything in the fact that HNM is stuck on 99 league appearances. (20.33) As soon as he hears "99", he shoots the reporter a black look, and quickly looks away and starts fiddling with his cup. Then he acts all bluff and genial, saying he does not know anything about that, and he wouldn't know about contract details like that. Sorry, but that is nonsense. If a manager picks a player for the 100th time that triggers a payment to their former club, it would be the most appalling dereliction of duty on behalf of the club if the manager just did that by accident because he had not been told about that detail. Of course a manager knows whether there is such a clause in the contract, as he is the one picking the team. And considering how careful the club is about money, to pretend he knows nothing about whether the clause exists or not is nonsense. Then he pretends he does not even understand the relevance of the question, all the while being overly bluff and friendly and genial. It all looks as if he is dodging the issue, so I reckon there is such a clause. 

 

[mozo]

1 hour ago, Red Army 75 said:

Very interesting interview. Enjoyable listen for me

Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed that. Good questions, a very calm and diplomatic Nige and most of our key talking points covered, mostly with thinly veiled answers. Semenyo is definitely unsettled!

[mozo]

35 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

Complete opposite to how I took that. Don't think there's a conspiracy here 

I think the Massengo answer was amateur dramatics, personally. I think he's choosing to protect that element of the situation, but who knows.

[GrahamC]

1 hour ago, Boston Red said:

Nigel was asked whether there was anything in the fact that HNM is stuck on 99 league appearances. (20.33) As soon as he hears "99", he shoots the reporter a black look, and quickly looks away and starts fiddling with his cup. Then he acts all bluff and genial, saying he does not know anything about that, and he wouldn't know about contract details like that. Sorry, but that is nonsense. If a manager picks a player for the 100th time that triggers a payment to their former club, it would be the most appalling dereliction of duty on behalf of the club if the manager just did that by accident because he had not been told about that detail. Of course a manager knows whether there is such a clause in the contract, as he is the one picking the team. And considering how careful the club is about money, to pretend he knows nothing about whether the clause exists or not is nonsense. Then he pretends he does not even understand the relevance of the question, all the while being overly bluff and friendly and genial. It all looks as if he is dodging the issue, so I reckon there is such a clause. 

 

So why was on the bench v Watford, then?

With no intention to ever bring him on?

That makes absolutely no sense, especially as Kadji was available.

Conspiracy theory rubbish.

[mozo]

10 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

So why was on the bench v Watford, then?

With no intention to ever bring him on?

That makes absolutely no sense, especially as Kadji was available.

Conspiracy theory rubbish.

What do you think the real dynamic is?

[GrahamC]

6 minutes ago, mozo said:

What do you think the real dynamic is?

He won’t sign a contract so we are excluding him from selection because frankly on current form he’s no better an option than Kadji or King.

[Robbored]

1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

He won’t sign a contract so we are excluding him from selection because frankly on current form he’s no better an option than Kadji or King.

Nige has previously said that he’ll only use players that have committed to the club - para phrase “I don’t want to use players that may not be here next season.

It’s shitty position for HNM to allow himself to get into and I wonder who’s advising him. He’s not playing so isn’t ‘on display’ to attract buyers. 

Personally I think he’s making a mistake by not signing.

[mozo]

5 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

He won’t sign a contract so we are excluding him from selection because frankly on current form he’s no better an option than Kadji or King.

So a combination of contract and poor form or just contract?

[mozo]

Just now, Robbored said:

Nige has previously said that he’ll only use players that have committed to the club - para phrase “I don’t want to use players that may not be here next season.

It’s shitty position for HNM to allow himself to get into and I wonder who’s advising him. He’s not playing so isn’t ‘on display’ to attract buyers. 

Personally I think he’s making a mistake by not signing.

Sounds like cutting your nose off to spite your face to me.