GrahamC Posted July 8, 2023 Report Share Posted July 8, 2023 39 minutes ago, Bar BS3 said: 18th, 2 points off the drop zone & 1 win in our last 9 games - didn't have you atall concerned that we might be in trouble..? OK then.! You've obviously got steadier nerves than I had at that time.! I honestly didn’t, but also get that perception is subjective. Those 9 games included an excellent point at Boro, one at home to Watford & a win in vital six pointer against Rotherham, who I thought would go down. I thought West Brom simply too good for us & expected them to feature in the top six & Stoke just one of those games we have often had against Alex Neil sides. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
And Its Smith Posted July 8, 2023 Report Share Posted July 8, 2023 (edited) @Bar BS3 you must have been quite happy with last season as you said you’d be happy with minimum 60 points and we got 59. Just one point off. This season I will be happy with entertaining football, 65 points+ and a decent positive goal difference Edited July 8, 2023 by And Its Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar BS3 Posted July 8, 2023 Report Share Posted July 8, 2023 24 minutes ago, And Its Smith said: @Bar BS3 you must have been quite happy with last season as you said you’d be happy with minimum 60 points and we got 59. Just one point off. This season I will be happy with entertaining football, 65 points+ and a decent positive goal difference I'm not sure that failing to achieve a MINIMUM target makes anyone particularly happy.... I'd hope that, another year into the process, we'd be expecting a slightly better increase than 6 points. The rest I agree with. Top 10 & generally better would be sufficient - as a minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elhombrecito Posted July 8, 2023 Report Share Posted July 8, 2023 6 hours ago, Bar BS3 said: I wouldn't say outstanding - but we certainly recovered from Christmas time & it all looks more promising. We do need to push on this coming season though. Another season bottom half wouldn't really be showing much progress, imo. Hence why Pearson stated in the above video that we're aiming for the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar BS3 Posted July 8, 2023 Report Share Posted July 8, 2023 37 minutes ago, elhombrecito said: Hence why Pearson stated in the above video that we're aiming for the playoffs. Good. I'd hope that was our aim. May not be possible, just because it's what we'd like. Top 10 would be reasonable - we we absolutely should be aiming for the play offs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledAjax Posted July 8, 2023 Report Share Posted July 8, 2023 2 minutes ago, Bar BS3 said: Good. I'd hope that was our aim. May not be possible, just because it's what we'd like. Top 10 would be reasonable - we we absolutely should be aiming for the play offs. Yeh I go with this this season. Aim high, if we fall short it won't be too bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garland-sweden Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 Players fit, some new coming in, top six the aim. NP seems comfortable and the players knows what to do, probably we play four at the back. As always Im looking forward to the season, this season is the first I really hope and think we can be top six. Few errors in defence, some luck, pens, he he. We showed we can play good football, even win when we dont play good. Its not gonna be easy but think in our team we got potential to make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonBristolian Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 What interests me in that video is how open Pearson is about promotion being the target - especially after two years of playing down expectations. He very clearly believes the team are good enough. We shall see if he is right.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviestevieneville Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 On 08/07/2023 at 09:24, frenchred said: I have added my opinion (for what it's worth) to your comments above. Not to start an argument just to show people have different opinions and views of Nige's management and our club I’m not sugar coating anything. I’m being realistic . At the end of Pearson’s first season where he’d only been here a few months we lost a lot of players. It needed to be done & similar last season . You will never get consistency when that happens , especially when blooding a lot of kids . Plus him playing a formation he didn’t really want to play but had to due to the players we had & a lack belief in our defenders at the time . He was constantly juggling to get a decent team on the pitch whilst keeping our heads above water. This season coming is different though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviestevieneville Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 On 08/07/2023 at 09:24, frenchred said: I have added my opinion (for what it's worth) to your comments above. Not to start an argument just to show people have different opinions and views of Nige's management and our club If you read it again I never said we played constantly good football. Plus , what’s goulds rewards scheme got anything to do with player recruitment . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchred Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 15 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said: I’m not sugar coating anything. I’m being realistic . At the end of Pearson’s first season where he’d only been here a few months we lost a lot of players. It needed to be done & similar last season . You will never get consistency when that happens , especially when blooding a lot of kids . Plus him playing a formation he didn’t really want to play - totally disagree with this, he chose to play 3 at the back and stuck with it far far too long, he stumbled across a winning formula and rather belatedly stuck with it, fair play to him for that but it took too long to change. but had to due to the players we had & a lack belief in our defenders at the time . He was constantly juggling to get a decent team on the pitch whilst keeping our heads above water. This season coming is different though. I agree with most of what you are saying but not the bit in bold above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviestevieneville Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, frenchred said: I agree with most of what you are saying but not the bit in bold above He actually mention it a few times that three at the back suites the players we had . Also & quite revealing although not mentioning players names that he wasn’t confident to play four . He also was asked when he first came in what formation he preferred & he said 433 but it depends on the players you have. He’s now recruiting for four at the back , so that tells you he played three through necessity. Edited July 9, 2023 by steviestevieneville 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehinton Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 2 hours ago, LondonBristolian said: What interests me in that video is how open Pearson is about promotion being the target - especially after two years of playing down expectations. He very clearly believes the team are good enough. We shall see if he is right.... Yep, clearly believes it, and also could very well be his final year as a manager so probably wants to go out with one of the best/rewarding seasons he’s had. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, LondonBristolian said: What interests me in that video is how open Pearson is about promotion being the target - especially after two years of playing down expectations. He very clearly believes the team are good enough. We shall see if he is right.... I think it is that to an extent, plus he’s a realist, he knows this is his third season now & he’d acknowledge that whilst finances have been tight he is effectively has “his” squad & so is expected to show signs that we are genuine contenders for top ten, at least. I still think that’s difficult & also reckon it looks a tougher division than last season but we’ll see. Edited July 9, 2023 by GrahamC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 Big Vern, sorry Nige means business! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh Louie louie Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 I recall him, saying give me I think 4 or 5 transfer windows, we Will be challenging for promotion, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviestevieneville Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 41 minutes ago, Oh Louie louie said: I recall him, saying give me I think 4 or 5 transfer windows, we Will be challenging for promotion, I might be wrong but I don’t ever recall him saying that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh Louie louie Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 100 per cent he said that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehinton Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 55 minutes ago, Oh Louie louie said: I recall him, saying give me I think 4 or 5 transfer windows, we Will be challenging for promotion, Wasn’t that LJ….? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh Louie louie Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 Nope nige said this at the start off his first full season vividly recall it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 I do recall him saying it’s gonna take 3 seasons (years?) to get this team competitive/ challenge for promotion. Something like that. That’s not a million miles away from 4/5 windows. I always wonder with statements like that whether he means “in the third year” or “after the third year”. Assume the first one, hence this is the first summer he really is starting to feel confident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheddarReds Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 Re back 3 vs back 4 - I've always understood Nige preferred a back 4 but due to what he had available and our financial circumstances he played a back 3 more often. Likewise, Postecoglou has inherited a squad largely put together by Conte at Spurs and so they're likely to go through a similar process of rearranging their squad to move from a back 3 to a back 4, though given their finances that process might be a quicker one! I'd be surprised if we don't start and end the season with a back 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-S-M Seagull Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 1 hour ago, Davefevs said: I do recall him saying it’s gonna take 3 seasons (years?) to get this team competitive/ challenge for promotion. Something like that. That’s not a million miles away from 4/5 windows. I always wonder with statements like that whether he means “in the third year” or “after the third year”. Assume the first one, hence this is the first summer he really is starting to feel confident. He did yes. But what I like about Nige is that when he said it, he didn't just pluck a number out of thin air. He said it, with a plan in mind and knowing it would take until the 3rd year for us to be competitive. It certainly wasn't a LJ "Europa league in 5 years" statement. I think Nige said in the second half of last season that we were slightly behind where he expected us to be? I have no idea if we've caught up with his expectations but it seems like it. In years to come, I'd expect many to look back on those 1st 2 years and realise what an incredible job he did under the circumstances and restrictions. Maybe some struggle to see it because we're still in that moment but he has in my opinion set this club up for years of sustained future success whilst steering us away from the threat of relegation and the financial implications of that. Relegation would have been catastrophic for us at that time. I'm not sure many other managers would have had the long term vision Nige had. They would have worried more about the short term and their own records etc. That interim period in charge enabled him to analyse the club and to then to say to get to where we want to get to, it's going to take 3 years to challenge and this is what we need to do to get to that point. Nige isn't a charlatan like LJ. Nige has substance to what he says. I think I also remember him saying that he might not be the man to take us up, but that he would be the man to put all the foundations in place for us to challenge, and that he has done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh Louie louie Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 No he spoke in terms of transfer windows, this interview was in may 2021, just checked he said four, like dave said not a million miles away 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 4 minutes ago, Oh Louie louie said: No he spoke in terms of transfer windows, this interview was in may 2021, just checked he said four, like dave said not a million miles away On those 4 windows, nobody has recruited less players in the Champ (prob the EFL, but I haven’t checked) than us. He really has been frugal, and undoubtedly “used what he has”. Even this summer: McCrorie £1.2m Dickie £0.7m Roberts free plus hopefully: Knight (up to) £2.0m against the wage savings of Kalas, Dasilva, Moore, etc…is still carrying on the plan. Even if Scott goes I don’t see us deviating from that plan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh Louie louie Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 Frugal, and has the ability to install confidence in young uns to play their game, Conway Scott, fear nobody, the work on vyners game is also apparent, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonBristolian Posted July 9, 2023 Report Share Posted July 9, 2023 4 hours ago, steviestevieneville said: He actually mention it a few times that three at the back suites the players we had . Also & quite revealing although not mentioning players names that he wasn’t confident to play four . He also was asked when he first came in what formation he preferred & he said 433 but it depends on the players you have. He’s now recruiting for four at the back , so that tells you he played three through necessity. Also, it is easy to criticise the back 3 now but for a while we put it some genuinely good performances with it. The fundamental issue was it relied on Matty James to work and we did not adapt when he got injured. No doubt it was born of necessity and 4-3-3 suits us better now but is remembered as far more of a disaster in retrospect than it actually was 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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