Nigel Pearson refuses to use f-word as he pinpoints what went wrong for Bristol City at Cardiff Bristol City lost the 100th edition of the Severnside derby 2-0 at Cardiff City Stadium after an energy-sapping week for the Robins Nigel Pearson was in no mood to blame fatigue, whether it be mental or physical, on Bristol City’s performance at Cardiff City as they were beaten 2-0 in their first league defeat since Boxing Day. City made the trip along the M4 at the end of an eight-day period in which they had beaten Hull City at home in the Championship and then lost 3-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup; of the starting XI that took to the field against the Bluebirds, 10 had started both previous fixtures. A Sory Kaba header and Jaden Philogene’s strike from outside the box decided the contest as the Robins lacked their usual zip and pace in transition, which have been hallmarks of their previous 12-match unbeaten run after Christmas. But Pearson claimed the display was more about his team being “careless” on the ball and/or not moving it quickly enough when they had possession. They did create some good openings with Anis Mehmeti denied in the first half but Ryan Allsop’s sprawling save after Alex Scott’s header was cleared off the line. Mehmeti also blazed a shot into the stands when sent through by Scott in the second half. “If that (fatigue) is the case, I’m not going to use that as an excuse and the players don’t either,” Pearson said. “The players are really frustrated because they know that today is in some ways a bit of a missed opportunity. We had control at times, but I would say they always looked pretty dangerous. They decided to play quite a bit of percentage football and then have some individuals that give them a bit of a different spark. “I suppose when you lose local derbies it becomes a bigger irritant in that regard. I would prefer that if we lose a local derby, it would be blood and thunder but it just sort of fizzled out for us. But I’m not using the fatigue line, we’ve done pretty well over quite a long period of time but now we have to respond midweek and that’s always something that we should be up for.” That midweek game is a long trip to Neil Warnock’s Huddersfield Town in which City are likely to be without midfielder Joe Williams and defender Tomas Kalas after they sustained injuries in the defeat to the Bluebirds. Pearson doesn’t have a great deal of room to manoeuvre in terms of his squad options with just one fit senior centre-back in Zak Vyner and three in midfield in Scott, Matty James and veteran Andy King. He does, at least, retain options in the final third with Nahki Wells, Harry Cornick and Andi Weimann all getting on the field against Cardiff having not started the contest, albeit with none of the trio able to impact proceedings. “We didn’t move the ball quick enough which is a frustration, and we couldn’t find enough moments of quality because look it was clear they were prepared to let us have the ball in wide areas, especially in full-back positions and we just couldn’t move with enough purpose,” Pearson added. “It was a bit of a careless performance in some ways. “But, look, the players have been brilliant over a sustained period it’s not about being overly critical we had plenty of the ball today, we showed a bit of patience, but we didn’t show patience often enough to find those added moment and on top of that it’s just one of those frustrating performances where things didn’t happen for us. “When the opportunities came , we weren’t clinical enough and we had one or two decent opportunities but I suppose in some ways it’s one of those where I don’t think there’s been times that I’ve been critical of us in recent weeks and that’s because our performances have been really good. "We lost the game today because the two goals that we conceded we didn’t defend with the urgency that we have done recently, it turns out to be a frustrating day. “A frustrating end to the week. We’ve gone a long time without a defeat and a bit like our penalties, two on the trot, it’s frustrating for us.” https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/nigel-pearson-bristol-city-cardiff-8215185
OK, we were beaten, sadly we have substained injuries in our defensive positions, we took a major setback in midfield but our strike force is alive and buzzing and that is where our strength should come from, the old adage is ' Attack is the best form of defence' seems very appropriate at the moment, I hope Nige applies it in a controlled fashion. Only 12 games to go, surely we have enough depth in our squad to maintain progress without to much difficulty, I remember an old Tommy Docherty quote " “I've always said there's a place for the press but they haven't dug it yet.” don't let the media put us into a crisis that doesn't exist.
That really is a great quote, one I haven't seen before. If anything, it is more appropriate now than ever before as the press (media) seem to thrive on anything ill/evil in this world!!
absolutely .. if its negative the medium give it a column if its positive they give it at best a paragraph .... media knows negativity/ bad things sell !
For me, it was all about the game after the Man C fixture and how we came back from the inevitable defeat.....I think the Cardiff game put an end to any thoughts of catching those in the playoffs......A defeat at Huddersfield will shatter any confidence that was building since boxing day... The quicker we get some result other than a defeat the better IMO.......We just need to make sure we don't go through another lull and make sure we are 100% safe of the drop, especially with all the injuries we have... I think we/Nige should prepare now for next season, with the very strong possibility Scott and maybe few others won't be here... All well and good having a small squad, but cover at the back is vital if we want to compete.....
I agree with 1For but not so sure of his last sentence. Last August we had 4 central defenders, tbf in normal seasons that would seem enough. Of all the positions to have injuries we have to have them in central defence. Losing Atkinson and now Kalas along with Naismith, another possible CD, is bloody unlucky. I suppose NP could have possibly gone for a CD in the Jan window. Who'd be a manager ?
Bristol City undone by questionable substitutions with Neil Warnock now lying in wait Bristol Live fan columnist Math Withers breaks down Bristol City's 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City in the Severnside derby https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-substitutions-neil-warnock-8216897
Maybe with hindsight we should have rested Kalas and Williams for the Man C game? Hindsight maybe, but a few of us were questioning whether they were up for 2 straight back to back games. Oh, and Nige may not have used the F-word on Saturday, but I did on several occasions - mainly when the goal alerts came in on my phone
I didnt see more than the minutes of highlights, but looking at the timings of the subs and positions after the game I thought it was a bit weird! My starting line up would have had Nahki start and Weimann for Sykes problem is we have a very small squad [ now smaller ] but players all mostly of same quality!!!!
Losing Williams was a tough one. Up till then we could arguably have been 1 up. We are so light on the ground with good championship players. Losing Williams now, with Atkinson, Kalas and Naismith means May can't come soon enough. NP has some serious thinking to do with offering further contracts to Kalas, Williams and Naismith. To make it worse, when fit, they're 3 of our very best players. For Ashton's sake - this is not an agenda, it's my opinion.
Read my post, I said I often agree with you when it’s not an agenda based comment, not always. So no it’s not only an agenda if I disagree with you.
