Bristol City's future may also be its present as Nigel Pearson faces a very modern challenge The pathway between Bristol City's academy and first-team has arguably never been stronger than it has in the last five months, with its proficiency driven by an abundance of talent but also circumstance please log in to view this image (from left to right) Sam Pearson, Tommy Conway, Ryley Towler and Owura Edwards The sense of symbolism didn’t go unnoticed among Bristol City fans. As a flurry of young Robins were signing new contracts at Ashton Gate, two of the club’s proudest sons were combining to score against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Bobby Reid-Joe Bryan axis was made in Bristol and honed in BS3 over a decade in the academy and while they unmistakably delivered against United for City in 2017, the reprise four years later was unfortunately in the yellow of Fulham. But the juxtaposition was perfect as Bryan’s header hit the net, Tommy Conway and Ryley Towler had already penned three-year contracts and then soon after Owura Edwards and Sam Pearson were confirmed. Conway from Taunton, Towler of Kingswood, Edwards bred in Bristol and Pearson from across the Severn in Cardiff. It continues a trend at City this year, which has been an intermittent light in the gloom of 2020/21, of a steady stream of young talent pledging their futures to the club. Previous to Tuesday night’s quartet, Alex Scott, Harvey Wiles-Richards, Sam Bell and a 12-month option for Louis Britton. Not to forget Ayman Benarous and Marlee Francois also signing professional deals. It wasn’t so long ago that Lee Johnson teased the prospect of City producing their own version of Jude Bellingham - now starring for Borussia Dortmund and potentially in the European Championship. A bold claim that was also laden with a cruel sense of irony given Johnson’s apparent reticence at placing faith in young talent had consistently irked the hierarchy at City towards the end of his reign. However, it was a claim made with knowledge and even before you dive into the respective merits, strengths, weaknesses and ceilings of the aforementioned players, simple law of averages states that within this crop, the sheer volume of potential indicates at least one can become a serious player for City. We, of course, shouldn’t place too much of a burden of anticipation or hype on such youthful shoulders and part of what Nigel Pearson has been getting at throughout this tortuous season, when he says about the importance of shielding young players from such situations, is about the management of expectation. Scott is just 17, Conway 18 and Pearson only 19 - they have plenty of time on their side. Zak Vyner’s emergence as a stalwart of the first-team at 23 going into 24 is testament to that. But circumstances could dictate that while patience must be an underlying virtue, reality means their progress at the club is accelerated. And, if anything, it’s already happened, with Covid-19 the motivating factor. Consider City’s comparatively limited business last summer, the restrictions placed on recovery and preparation time, the compressed fixture list - all leading to a stretched squad, ridden with injuries and without the resource to cover the multitude and consistency of players absent. It was the academy that provided the band-aid and a sense of relief and respite for fans driven into cynicism over how the season was panning out. “If the pandemic hadn’t have happened ...” will be a sentence prefixed to debates within all aspects of society over the coming years, but in City’s case it may not have led to Pearson, Scott, Conway etc making their bows so early in their development arcs. But the landscape now isn’t particularly different, just because the door has been shut on a truly miserable season. The financial aftershocks of 15 months without anything resembling acceptable revenues continues to resonate and make financial directors wince. To the point that, while releasing 11 players has allowed Pearson to retool and rebuild with salary and newly-created squad space, would he have done it all with such severity, had their been more money in the bank? Everything suggests that there will be minimal transfer funds for Pearson this summer, as will be the case with nearly every member of the EFL; teams across the three divisions are actively cost-cutting, not able to provide significant investment in the first-team yet. One of the notable exceptions being, as we’re all now aware, Ipswich Town. (That sound you hear is Mark Ashton's perfectly-polished brogues thwacking onto the pavement outside Portman Road and he lands emphatically on his feet). And while Pearson will have his eye on targets with certain characteristics and personalities to fit his new Bristol City brief - Danny Simpson provides an obvious insight into this - the free agent market will be chaotic, inconsistent and potentially even more frustrating than a normal transfer window. On the one hand, players in-demand will have significant bargaining power given the sheer volume of clubs hunting for value additions. On the other, reality will need to be understood as wage demands as recent as, say, 2019 largely won’t be replicated now. City have lost 11, and could witness further players leaving - Andi Weimann and Simpson are yet to agree contracts, plus there will surely be at least one significant sale - but the idea that number will be directly replaced is unlikely. The squad will be (thankfully) reduced but will also need to be boosted and complimented by what’s already in the building. As academy chief Gary Probert admitted last week, Pearson wants a proper look at the Under-23 contingent in pre-season before plans are devised over each individual’s first-team involvement and whether or not they’d be best served at Failand or on loan. But that pathway will also he dictated by what transpires in the transfer market: for example, if an additional central playmaker cannot he signed to support Kasey Palmer, Scott and Pearson come firmly into view. please log in to view this image Alex Scott of Bristol City gets away from Ryan Woods of Millwall See also Towler, in terms of centre-back options, Edwards out wide, and Conway, Britton and Bell in the final third. Yes, some will be best served in League One and League Two with a full men’s season under their belt. After all, spells at Plymouth put Bryan and Reid on the fast track to the Robins first-team. But the very restrictions that have rocketed this group into the first-team reckoning, arguably ahead of schedule, still exist and could also see some maintain that status. Perceptions of Pearson It’s an interesting scenario for Pearson, and the idea of what sort of manager he is. The impression has always been that’s he’s a win-now type of coach, with any sense of development happening on the job in the immediate. Not so much a short-termist but someone with a focus on what’s in his direct eye-line as opposed to what lies on the horizon. However, that’s also been dictated by the circumstances of the clubs he’s worked at post-Leicester - Derby, Watford and even, albeit without the same level of glare, OH Leuven. At Bristol City, though, while success and progress is required and a tangible sense of improvement must be delivered, he has been given a three-year contract for a reason. This is a project. There is no rush. Pearson doesn’t have to force the issue or fight fires, he can rebuild with purpose and precision with a sense of time being on his side. please log in to view this image Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson takes notes at the Robins High Performance Centre That means he doesn’t need to strictly sign players for the here and now - and, again, if that had been the case he may well have kept hold of players like Jamie Paterson, Nathan Baker and Jack Hunt. That's not to say Pearson won't sign some ready-made, plug-in-and-play Championship footballers, he can't afford not to. But he will also require individuals who can be moulded to conform to his managerial and tactical ideals over what is a three-year project. Imposing them on youngsters in the early stages of their career, with a thirst for knowledge and progression, is a damn sight easier than established professionals now at their fourth or fifth club who have subconsciously allowed routine and familiarity to affect their development. To return to a previous point, without the need to "play the kids" due to Covid-19, they wouldn’t then have been given the forum to earn the contracts that have steadily been announced over the last three months. By accident, design or a combination of both, Pearson has driven this situation to where it is today and the club feels fresher and with a greater sense of hope for it. Because while, yes, this group of players are rightfully branded “the future” of Bristol City, they may also prove to be a major part of its present. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-future-nigel-pearson-5430779
Nice to see all of these youngsters coming through and signing up, they must all have a lot of trust and confidence in NP, a good start after clearing out the OOC's.
Something had to change. Our chance to buy our way to the Prem has long gone. Hopefully we've now got a Manager who can nurture and develop these kids into first team players, supplemented with some experience in key areas. Not sure it's going to be easy, but here's to a new dawn in BS3 after all the crap of the last few years.
I think big changes are being forced onto all football clubs in how they do business. The Covid crisis has put colossal financial pressure onto clubs that were already struggling to balance the books. In that respect we are one of the more fortunate clubs in that our finances are comparatively stable. Some of those OOC players - not just ours - particularly the big wage earners - are going to find themselves out of work in a marketplace flooded with available talent. There could be some bargains to be had - it might be a buyer's market and just what we need. If true then that is good for our finances, but the other challenges will be exactly the same in that we will be competing with other clubs for players' signatures - only THIS time we have a 'big name' manager to attract them.
Indeed. I'm hoping that Nige's contacts in football will pay dividends for us over the next few seasons and get us 'his sort' of players
Far more circumstance than anything, but good to see the youngsters getting first team experience. I doubt we will see so many so frequently next season.
Maybe, but as Sir Matt Busby once said "if they're good enough, they're old enough" and it is good to actually see the talent we have at the club and not just hear about them and the fact that they were able to embarrass some of our 'decent' squad when given the chance was a bonus.
I agree, I was saying on here for weeks to give Bell and the others a go as Fammy was useless. I still think some/most are far to raw for a full season at this level, but using them to supplement the squad next season will be good for them, and the club as I doubt we can afford to replace 11 or more senior players
I think Diedhiou's continued inclusion was to prove to SL and some of the fanbase exactly how bad he was, because he knew if he didn't because of his popularity there would be a backlash and I think it has worked, not many have mourned his leaving. It is a delicate balancing act and you have to accommodate late developers like Vyner and now Cameron Pring who is 23 already and George Nurse who is 22 years old.
It really says something when our second-highest scorer is labelled as 'useless'!!!! I can see what Jiffie and Supcon are saying about him - and agree to a certain extent - he wasn't and isn't a top Championship striker, but I would hesitate to label him 'useless' - unless taking the past 6 or so games in isolation. Disappointing and frustrating maybe, but useless is at tad harsh imho - he still managed to score 14 goals with a pitifully threadbare supply from a crap midfield ! Happy with him leaving though - there are bound to be better striker options around
My problem always was, either he was never properly coached or proved uncoachable. He was always reactive and never proactive, never ever gambled on the defender missing the ball. He was always behind his marker at the far post for all dead ball deliveries. At those dead ball deliveries he never attempted to pull defenders away from the far post by breaking away to the near post, leaving the back post on others incoming. In fact the near post was something of a mystery to him, when we broke he was nearly always as usual stationed at the far post usually conveniently for defenders behind them. Always at least a yard behind any low driven balls into the 6 yard box. But worst of all for a big strong muscly player, was easy to mark because he went down far to easily and barely ever strong enough to hold the ball up to relieve pressure on his defence. In his defence I agree about our crappy midfield not playing to his or Well's strengths or backing him up in his vain attempts to hold the ball up, he defensive work was almost exemplary and he seemed to be genuinely a nice guy. The strike force of Diedhiou and Wells is testament that even at our level how little you get for a combined 10mil outlay, especially when you have a mismanaged squad with ageing non athletic wing backs for a whole season and a piss weak, disorganised, mainly non creative midfield supplying them, maybe it is a miracle that both reached double figures?. I think we missed a trick by not employing Wilbraham as maybe a player coach, I understand that was the plan but LJ only wanted him as a coach not a player/coach, but I also understand Alby wasn't overly keen on LJ.
Plenty home grown players have signed up... The academy players who have signed this year Following last night's series of announcements that's 11 new contracts for academy players this year .... Sam Bell (18, striker) - three years Ayman Benarous (17, playmaker) - pro deal Louis Britton (20, striker) - 12-month option Tommy Conway (18, striker) - three years Owura Edwards (20, winger) - two years + 12-month option Marlee Francois (18, midfielder) - pro deal Sam Pearson (19, attacking midfielder) - three years Barney Soady (19, left-back) - 12-month option Alex Scott (17, playmaker) - pro deal Ryley Towler (19, defender) - three years Harvey Wiles-Richards (18, goalkeeper) - two years ( Copied from Bristol Post)
I was surprised given how well he played last week that Vince Harper was let go, he looked a talent, will keep an eye on him.
The fact that Diedhiou wouldn't or couldn't learn to do the basics expected of a striker, is also a withering reflection on our so called England coaches and recent Managers !
To be fair to the 'so called England coaches' and I am well aware of the criticism of them on here and other forums and in some cases in an attempt to absolve previous managers and coaches of any blame and to further their resolve that we in fact actually had a decent squad. Although obviously the jury is out regarding them, somehow they and Pearson have been expected to polish some of these turds, turd polishing is a 2 way street in that the turds need to be amenable to the polishing. As with Pearson, the 2 'so called England coaches' should be judged over the next 3 years and not their failure to polish turds. That is my opinion.
Fam managed to be our top scorer and have a pretty good goals per minutes played ratio, I agree with Jiffie he had many areas he was poor at, if only we could have improved his weak areas we could have had a seriously good player on our hands. Whether we didn’t manage it was his fault or our coaches we’ll never know, either way time to move on. COYR
