Worried about Pearson?

[westred1]

He's playing the game. Act aggressively peeved (to a point) publicly to maintain the position that Scott sale was out of his hands to keep fans on side and try and force the club's hand to give him some funds to strengthen. It's tactical and clever. Whether it comes off...

[Davefevs]

9 hours ago, Henry said:

Hmm, not doing the pre match conference this early in the season is unusual 

Has quite often shared media duties with “Phlegm” when there has been midweek fixtures.

[Garland-sweden]

Kelly, Semenyo and now Scott to Bournemouth, bad taste in mouth. Offcause he knew Scott would leave sooner or later but NP not in a good mode offcause.

[LoyalRed]

14 hours ago, johnbytheriver said:

The bottom line is NP will never be allowed to build a team if we keep selling our best players. Sam Bell,TC,and Cam pring are already on the radar of the bigger clubs,so what chance does he have? Since when did we become Bournemouth's feeder club? Bournemouth???? 

Totally agree with this, wonder where Leicester had been if they keep selling their best players when he was manager.  Would he ever have got them promoted?   He really does have an impossible task here if that money doesn’t come his way, also it’s not great timing fo get players in now either.  

[Guest]

13 hours ago, pongo88 said:

Pearson is a realist. Scott has the ability to play in the Premier League and he wants to play there. It’s unlikely City will get there any time soon, Scott will get a big pay rise and City need the money to stabilise the club after the previous crazy spending. Pearson knew this was going to happen and, after being a manager for so long, he can’t possibly be surprised that Scott has gone. He may seem a bit grumpy but that’s his natural demeanour 

Very unlikely if we persist in selling off our best players, fact is we would have had a better chance with him than without. It shows us lacking ambition and belief, if we had signed/loaned a forward and kept AS there would be no reason for us to at least challenge a top six place, now we have to build again before we sell again.....round and round we go.

[downendcity]

14 hours ago, johnbytheriver said:

The bottom line is NP will never be allowed to build a team if we keep selling our best players. Sam Bell,TC,and Cam pring are already on the radar of the bigger clubs,so what chance does he have? Since when did we become Bournemouth's feeder club? Bournemouth???? 

Scott is an exceptional talent - once in a generation for a club like ours. It was always going to be difficult to resists offers and to prevent him making the move that will boost his career.

 While Semenyo's sale pulled us back from the brink, from all of Mr P's posts on the subject it seems that we were still in quite a tight position with ffp so Scott's sale not only removes that worry, it gives us a buffer against it for a number of seasons. This means that we do not have to sell other young talent just to keep the books balanced, so it gives us a better chance to build a team to challenge. 

As for Bournemouth, we became their feeder club the minute they had premier league money.

[Bris Red]

11 minutes ago, wtf said:

Very unlikely if we persist in selling off our best players, fact is we would have had a better chance with him than without. It shows us lacking ambition and belief, if we had signed/loaned a forward and kept AS there would be no reason for us to at least challenge a top six place, now we have to build again before we sell again.....round and round we go.

Agreed. Yes we all know our FFP situation but at some point in this game you have to take a gamble, as you said keeping Scott this season, getting a couple of decent loans in and we could have been genuinely looking at a real assault at the top 6..

The thing now is Steve Lansdown doesn’t want to take anymore gambles at promotion. All of that was used up on LJ and MA, the wrong horses were backed and the rest is history. The board are IMO genuinely happy to tread water now at this level untill a buyer is found. Unless of course Pearson can work a minor miracle with the fairly limited tools he will be provided.

[johnbytheriver]

9 minutes ago, downendcity said:

Scott is an exceptional talent - once in a generation for a club like ours. It was always going to be difficult to resists offers and to prevent him making the move that will boost his career.

 While Semenyo's sale pulled us back from the brink, from all of Mr P's posts on the subject it seems that we were still in quite a tight position with ffp so Scott's sale not only removes that worry, it gives us a buffer against it for a number of seasons. This means that we do not have to sell other young talent just to keep the books balanced, so it gives us a better chance to build a team to challenge. 

As for Bournemouth, we became their feeder club the minute they had premier league money.

Cannot disagree with anything you have said BUT BOURNEMOUTH BROKE ALL FFP RULES WHEN THEY WERE FIRST PROMOTED BACK IN 2011. Click on the link

 

 https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6701342/bournemouth-fined-ffp-rules-breach/

[Henry]

7 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Has quite often shared media duties with “Phlegm” when there has been midweek fixtures.

I do get that. It just unusual this early in the season, especially as there wasn’t a midweek press conference.

No conspiracy theory, just found it odd

[GrahamC]

You can’t blame him for being hacked off after sorting out the complete mess left by LJ & Ashton, spending about as much in total so far as LJ spent just on Kasey Palmer & Taylor Moore & having brought in £35m to the club from the sales of Semenyo & Scott alone.

However he’s a combative interviewee at the best of times so I don’t read anything into this at all.

Yet again he has a tough job this season but one he is eminently qualified for, though those who seem blasé about his eventual successor seem to have totally disregarded our track record here.

[RedRock]

Think we are opting for the lower risk ‘get all your ducks in alignment’ approach to an assault on promotion ie. we are building a team of 11 players of similar ‘average’ ability that together become a force. This, opposed to 3-4 individual stars with infill support of players of lesser ability.

Arguably, this is more tricky as it depends on everyone gelling and each being at the top of their game. However, given how football works at Championship level for non-parachute payment teams it’s the only the realistic way. The alternative is high risk with at least an equal chance of crashing and burning as getting promotion. 

Hopefully, Nige when appointed understood and accepted the context in which he was working. Personally, think he is the man who can deliver adopting the ‘team’ approach. Understand the frustrations of it taking time, but he walked into a complete mess of a Club and had to completely rebuild from the bottom up.

Progress is steady, with a few blips, and within 2 years I think we will be a force in this division based, this time, on solid and sustainable foundations.

[Redrascal2]

55 minutes ago, wtf said:

Very unlikely if we persist in selling off our best players, fact is we would have had a better chance with him than without. It shows us lacking ambition and belief, if we had signed/loaned a forward and kept AS there would be no reason for us to at least challenge a top six place, now we have to build again before we sell again.....round and round we go.

But doesn't the issue arise of what the player wants in these matters. If Scott wants to play at a higher level and vastly improve his earnings would it benefit us to block that.

[headhunter]

27 minutes ago, johnbytheriver said:

Cannot disagree with anything you have said BUT BOURNEMOUTH BROKE ALL FFP RULES WHEN THEY WERE FIRST PROMOTED BACK IN 2011. Click on the link

 

 https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6701342/bournemouth-fined-ffp-rules-breach/

IMHO that £4.75M fine imposed on them in 2018 [?] is a small price to pay when you look at the rewards of "going for it". When Lansdown relaxed the purse strings a little [not going for it big time like Wolves & AFCB] he failed because he placed his faith in LJ & MA.

If you include ground improvements as well as funding losses SL has poured 1/3rd of £Billion into this club - some have achieved a lot more for a lot less!

[Slack Bladder]

I thought the whole idea of the academy was to produce players of our own, making us less reliant on buying players in. Especially journeymen

I believe this formula would work even better if we actually kept those products and build a team around them.

Anybody remember Man Us class of '92? Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Nevilles, Sharpe and so on. Good things can happen when you keep these kids together.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, johnbytheriver said:

Cannot disagree with anything you have said BUT BOURNEMOUTH BROKE ALL FFP RULES WHEN THEY WERE FIRST PROMOTED BACK IN 2011. Click on the link

 

 https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6701342/bournemouth-fined-ffp-rules-breach/

Totally agree, but the ability to pull clubs up was so much more lacking then, sadly that put them in a position whereby they had the potential to comply in later years with Parachute Payments, Loss Limits etc.

Was literally a case of check one year in December after the season, fine or embargo if I  breach.

Fine if promoted, embargo if not- rules changed vastly in subsequent years. 

Points deductions and Business Plans, present and future monitoring were unheard of for this stuff.

QPR got theirs in the end, Bournemouth and Leicester pretty lightly.

If Wolves and Mendes was suspect then they're certainly starting to get theirs now, being caught by FFP, because they probably weren't straight with Lopetegui at time of hiring so he walked, what goes around etc.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[downendcity]

1 hour ago, johnbytheriver said:

Cannot disagree with anything you have said BUT BOURNEMOUTH BROKE ALL FFP RULES WHEN THEY WERE FIRST PROMOTED BACK IN 2011. Click on the link

 

 https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6701342/bournemouth-fined-ffp-rules-breach/

Yes they did and it enabled them to get to the position they have now, with us as a feeder club.

[RedRock]

40 minutes ago, Slack Bladder said:

I thought the whole idea of the academy was to produce players of our own, making us less reliant on buying players in. Especially journeymen

I believe this formula would work even better if we actually kept those products and build a team around them.

Anybody remember Man Us class of '92? Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Nevilles, Sharpe and so on. Good things can happen when you keep these kids together.

Yes, agree but it’s very easy when you are top of the football food chain. We aren’t. 

We haven’t a real choice - unless we offer Prem wages to our top youngsters - but to be a selling Club. We all know what happened when we offered long contracts and big wages the last time! Massive gamble.

Have a plan, stick to it and build slow and sustainably is the best way.
 

 

[TomThumb84]

He is hacked off no doubt, but a fair slice of that will be to send a message around replacements to the board.

Canny one is Nige.

[cidered abroad]

43 minutes ago, Slack Bladder said:

I thought the whole idea of the academy was to produce players of our own, making us less reliant on buying players in. Especially journeymen

I believe this formula would work even better if we actually kept those products and build a team around them.

Anybody remember Man Us class of '92? Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Nevilles, Sharpe and so on. Good things can happen when you keep these kids together.

But Man U didn't have an FFP problem as it didn't exist. Before yesterday, we were living on the edge of FFP danger. That has now been relieved but we still have the problem that our wage level is still way behind what those with Premier money have. It's going to be a real slog to get through that brick wall but Luton proved that it is still possible.

So we, the fans, have to back Pearson and his squad in every situation on the pitch. We can make as much noise as any other club but as we've not done promotion and or winning titles/cups it's still strange for us to do so.

[Baba Yaga]

12 hours ago, westred1 said:

He's playing the game. Act aggressively peeved (to a point) publicly to maintain the position that Scott sale was out of his hands to keep fans on side and try and force the club's hand to give him some funds to strengthen. It's tactical and clever. Whether it comes off...

I read it as him playing the game too, my first thought was it could be because if a team comes in for another one of our players before the window closes then he is going to want a bigger say in what the outcome is, although probably runs much deeper than just that. Not sure he is worried about keeping the fans onside enough to put on an act, I listened to the press conference before the Preston game and I think he mentioned they have a wages budget that they are at the limit of, it sounded like him and the board are pulling in the same direction there and I would think they have already agreed whether or not they can spend more after Scott is sold.

[JP Hampton]

16 hours ago, cotswoldred2 said:

Two and a half years he has been here, probably the longest tenure in the Championship, he will need a couple more seasons to fulfil his targets, but not sure he will stay that long, he is a stubborn so and so if he has the mind to go he will and won't shift. His stewardship has seen this club put back onto sound footings, the future looks better, however selling your best players will not enhance his confidence.

The problem is not Pearson it is of course SL's holding back, we needed to push on now, keep the likes of Scott if we were to get promoted. Many on here say it was ineveitable Scott would go, and it was given SL's attitude, and the way we are, still the laughing stock, however it is an indication of lack of real ambition.

Typical City we have again been let down, hopefully we will get new owners that want it as bad as the fans do.

 

Totally agree. This isn’t solely about Scott leaving, it’s what it implies about the clubs genuine commitment to pushing for promotion. You don’t need to be an expert to know you’ll get nowhere if you keep selling the very players who are likely to make that happen. 
How can you plan as a manager if your plan includes talented players, who because of that very talent, are then sold.

In an end of season interview with Geoff Twentyman SL said (in response to Geoff asking if players like Scott were sold would that mean Pearson would have money to spend) “what the club earns the club can spend” but that’s not the understanding from a press interview with NP when NP stated that even if they sold Scott it didn’t mean they’d have that to spend. That decision has to have come from SL et al. 

 

So it’s understandable if NP is frustrated. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

5 minutes ago, JP Hampton said:

Totally agree. This isn’t solely about Scott leaving, it’s what it implies about the clubs genuine commitment to pushing for promotion. You don’t need to be an expert to know you’ll get nowhere if you keep selling the very players who are likely to make that happen. 
How can you plan as a manager if your plan includes talented players, who because of that very talent, are then sold.

In an end of season interview with Geoff Twentyman SL said (in response to Geoff asking if players like Scott were sold would that mean Pearson would have money to spend) “what the club earns the club can spend” but that’s not the understanding from a press interview with NP when NP stated that even if they sold Scott it didn’t mean they’d have that to spend. That decision has to have come from SL et al. 

 

So it’s understandable if NP is frustrated. 

This is the Championship tbh, selling key players isn't especially uncommon, nor is in the case of others losing on loan and not necessarily replacing to a similar standard.

I do also think there is a time you stick or twist however and hope that this is the last big sale for a while.

[Nogbad the Bad]

Pretty obvious to me that what I consider to be proper managers like Cotts and Nige are best suited to the club, but they're not best suited to SL who will only accept them short term when the club is in a desperate position.

My concern is that SL may want to revert to his favoured type as soon as he feels he can, and either under funding Nige or setting completely unrealistic targets may be the catalyst for such a change. 

 

[Mr Popodopolous]

5 minutes ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

Pretty obvious to me that what I consider to be proper managers like Cotts and Nige are best suited to the club, but they're not best suited to SL who will only accept them short term when the club is in a desperate position.

My concern is that SL may want to revert to his favoured type as soon as he feels he can, and either under funding Nige or setting completely unrealistic targets may be the catalyst for such a change. 

 

To be fair, what assisted Lee Johnson over Cotts significantly was the revenue growth from 2015-16 to the next few years. Cotts was unlucky on one level with this.

However NP has this revenue stream and with his rebuilding job and flooding there are now no excuses not to give him a reasonable budget especially given revenue streams also quite different to 2015-16. The question is will NP be well backed. I sure hope so, if we walked e.g. we won't attract anyone better in our current position.

All that said NP does seem to be majorly underrated in the wider game.

Selles then Martin or NP.

Parker and or O'Neil or NP.

Watford sacked him after all despite doing excellent work there.

Could go on.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[fisherrich]

4 hours ago, Bris Red said:

Agreed. Yes we all know our FFP situation but at some point in this game you have to take a gamble, as you said keeping Scott this season, getting a couple of decent loans in and we could have been genuinely looking at a real assault at the top 6..

The thing now is Steve Lansdown doesn’t want to take anymore gambles at promotion. All of that was used up on LJ and MA, the wrong horses were backed and the rest is history. The board are IMO genuinely happy to tread water now at this level untill a buyer is found. Unless of course Pearson can work a minor miracle with the fairly limited tools he will be provided.

IMO, most of us City fans are a fickle bunch. Enjoy the wins, hate the losses.
I enjoyed watching Scott tremendously, the club has now made £25M, but if the team struggles over the next 10 games, the atmosphere could become fairly toxic at AG.

Due to FFP, I very much doubt much of that £25M will get spent on strengthening the side. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, fisherrich said:

IMO, most of us City fans are a fickle bunch. Enjoy the wins, hate the losses.
I enjoyed watching Scott tremendously, the club has now made £25M, but if the team struggles over the next 10 games, the atmosphere could become fairly toxic at AG.

Due to FFP, I very much doubt much of that £25M will get spent on strengthening the side. 

I honestly think we could if we wanted *stick in £10-15m across wages, amortisation/fees and agents fees but that's a big if and maybe I'm underestimating the losses for last season (I reckon £13m due to the Semenyo sale). That's sticking within FFP too that bullish prediction.

*I reserve right to revise significantly if our accounts last year much worse than feared.

Not saying we would give that much but probably could but we have to still be mindful etc . 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[ExiledAjax]

4 hours ago, Slack Bladder said:

I thought the whole idea of the academy was to produce players of our own, making us less reliant on buying players in. Especially journeymen

I believe this formula would work even better if we actually kept those products and build a team around them.

Anybody remember Man Us class of '92? Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Nevilles, Sharpe and so on. Good things can happen when you keep these kids together.

Do Vyner, O'Leary, Pring, Conway, Bell, Araoye, and Benarous not exist?

The trick is to sell the right academy players to keep us going, both those that go for megabucks and those like Towler, Bakinson and Morrell who go for less, whilst retaining those that also save us from spending the money that comes in.

It's working right now imo.

[BCFC_Dan]

He's been around long enough to know how things work.

He knows the financial situation at the club.

He's endured the toughest bit of the job already, when the squad was weaker and he was unwell.

He's out of contract at the end of this season anyway.

He's not going to throw his toys out of the pram over a sale he expected to happen anyway. If he's unhappy, he won't renew his contract. If he can't meet expectations without Alex Scott then he may not be offered one. If it goes really badly then he'll be sacked and paid off. I can't see any reason why he'd walk now if he didn't walk all the other times over the last 3 years.

[johnbytheriver]

8 hours ago, Garland-sweden said:

Kelly, Semenyo and now Scott to Bournemouth, bad taste in mouth. Offcause he knew Scott would leave sooner or later but NP not in a good mode offcause.

He's off to Barrow Gurney to see his cousin Ernie!

[pongo88]

5 hours ago, wtf said:

Very unlikely if we persist in selling off our best players, fact is we would have had a better chance with him than without. It shows us lacking ambition and belief, if we had signed/loaned a forward and kept AS there would be no reason for us to at least challenge a top six place, now we have to build again before we sell again.....round and round we go.

In the modern football world clubs like City have not choice but to sell good players. Financial considerations are one thing but gone are the days when a club can keep hold of a player who wants to move. Although Scott did not submit a transfer request, he’s refused a new contract. Moving to Bournemouth with increase his salary to a level far beyond anything City can pay, so why would he stay? Another factor is how the club attracts young players. The current policy enables them to get into the first team at an early age and the club makes it clear that if a Premier League club makes an acceptable offer it won’t block a move. If there was a policy of holding onto young players who could earn far more in the Premier League, then the incentive to join City would be less.