Nigel Pearson reveals frustration at Bristol City substitutes as he shares lesson to be learned The Robins were impressive for long spells against Sheffield United but were undone in the second half through James McAtee's goal to lose 1-0 Nigel Pearson criticised his second-half substitutes for failing to have the desired impact as Bristol City came up short against promotion-chasing Sheffield United. The visitors proved they were going to be no pushovers in the opening 45 minutes and dominated proceedings with Harry Cornick engineering the game's first chance when he cut inside on his left foot. Sheffield United could, and probably should, have been reduced to 10 men when Sam Bell was tugged down on the edge of the area by a Sheffield United defender when Cornick played a dangerous cross into the area but referee Geoff Eltringham waved play to continue. Despite their pressure, City couldn't turn their opportunities into clear-cut chances and it forced Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom into a half-time change, bringing on young Manchester City playmaker James McAtee. United came out with more impetus in the second half but rarely tested Max O'Leary before a rare moment of quality carved City's defence open. With 13 minutes left on the clock, Iliman Ndiaye slipped in McAtee who had time to pick his spot on the angle. While Pearson could look at the bigger picture in the 2-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, he was critical of the lack of involvement from his substitutes when introduced. Having named an unchanged side, the first pair of changes came in the 65th minute with Mark Sykes and Tommy Conway replacing Nahki Wells and Harry Cornick. Alex Scott came on for Sam Bell three minutes before the goal with Anis Mehmeti being introduced for George Tanner in the dying stages. "I'm a bit annoyed today," Pearson started in his post-match press conference. "I thought there were some really good things about the performance but the subs didn't really have an impact in the way I would have wanted. I won't really include Anis in that because he didn't have too long but we didn't get an impact off the bench and it's a shame because we put a lot into the game. "Sloppy goal that we conceded and no points out of two games that we've played in for long periods. We've got to be better than that and learn from it. "It's a disappointment for us. I think the lesson is, whoever starts and whoever is on the pitch, they need to be ready to make the impact that we need. Simple as that for me. "I preach about having a good group ethic but it's not enough to not have a positive impact, that's my view. Whether people think it's harsh or not, I'm not bothered. "They've got loads of momentum and are on a good run but I thought we managed the game well in the first half. I thought our back four and goalkeeper were very good. Our senior players were excellent. Like I say, when we needed to make changes for different reasons we didn't get the impact we needed and we have a strong bench tonight. "That's why tonight, I'm not very happy because we've put in an awful lot of effort but not really stretched ourselves enough in the second half." The decision to wave away Bell's pull back in the first half just added to Pearson's frustration. When quizzed on the incident, he added: "I don't bother looking anymore because we don't get any of them. "I'm wasting my time. because they'll make a story up about why it's not given. Alex Scott gets pulled down and Anis crosses late in the game but that's not why we've lost the game." https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport.../bristol-city-manager-lessons-learned-8365206
As I sad in another thread I was really disappointed with Scott last night, it looked like all the recent speculation had gone to his head. Good bit of man management by NP to bring him down a peg or two.
I'm definitely out of step with Nige on this one, he selects the subs, he manages,trains, instructs and issues the tactics and timings, the structure and style are his, if a player is not fit enough in mind, spirit or body they should not be selected, his choice. We just don't have the quality, in plain language we just are not good enough, never mind only 4 games to go and then off to the beach.
I don’t know if you saw the game wiz, but Scott’s attitude was billy big bollocks., I think NP is spot on, he didn’t name him publicly, did it collectively, but I’m sure face to face he’ll have made him well aware that’s not acceptable.
No mate, I didn't view the game, I have read this morning your points and have no doubt you are correct but NP still chose to play him, if the guy was out of sinc then he should have been hooked off, the managers choice.
Final third was our downfall last night... IMO we lack an out and out goal scorer.... we often try to walk the ball in, make it more complicated than it needs to be.... Although Wells & Bell are work horses, they don't have that final product consistently enough IMO...The longer we don't score in the game the more chance we will concede......it's a shame because out touch football is quite good, we are quite quick....but just lacks quality when it comes to put the ball into the net... As for the subs, I'm not sure the problem were the players that came on, more towards the players that came off.....the balance changes and it seems we take too long to adjust, by such time, it's too late.......That's my view anyway!!
Over a period of many years we have failed consistently to build a squad capable of being a Championship contender and the reasons behind that are anyone's guess. Putting the blame on the owner or manager is clearly the obvious choice because they are the people who spend the money in whatever way they see fit and we just sit by and moan about the lack of foresight and results. Delving into our history doesn't solve any problems because the issue is here and now when you consider we have suffered yet another poor, if not dismal, season with quite honestly very little confidence going forward. I probably won't ever see Bristol City play at Ashton Gate again and so I am following their every move on Robins T.V. which gives me a good vantage point to analyze where we fail in our annual efforts to beat the pundits who either say we will be relegation candidates or mid-table at best. Currently I see us several good bricks short of a load and it blows my mind when we look less than average each time we step out on to the pitch, but last night we played some quite decent football. Having said that nice thing I must say that what I saw was all very well and good but if you can't score goals then niceties don't count. We are so weak up front and Weimann has gone to sleep and may never return to his days of prominence, and I don't honestly see Wells as a long term prospect. Jay is inconsistent and creates problems of his own making plus he puts extra pressure on players such as Zak Vyner and that in turn makes Max make poor decisions in rash clearances. Bristol City can no longer be a team of individuals who, each in their own right, are semi-decent players but then don't play up to par due to weaknesses in other areas of the field. I have never been a fan of Man City but if you want to see how beautiful the game can be then you won't go far wrong by saying they are wonderful and a joy to watch. Bristol City are well below that accolade but how nice it would be to finally see a team trot out in August that is a thrill to watch because they know how fully play the beautiful game and entertain their supporters in a way they richly deserve. Over to you Nigel.
