Should Nigel Pearson be doing better? Bristol City fan’s verdict on ‘poor season’ BristolWorld fan columnist Ian Gay says too many lacklustre performances under boss Nigel Pearson means he will not relax until the side reaches 50 points By Ian Gay Friday, 11th February 2022, 12:03 pm please log in to view this image Let’s be honest, this has been a poor season for a club with Premier League ambitions. Last season took a heavy toll on the club not the least financially and the accounts were, as Steve Lansdown had advised, horrific. That was partly down to Covid lockdown and an empty stadium - however, that wasn’t the full story A spiralling wage bill and increasing debt principally to majority shareholder Lansdown, who also guarantees the club’s significant overdraft, made for some painful reading. The three year plan We’re told that we have a three-year plan that leads us into the promised land but those better versed than me with all things Bristol City over decades are telling me that we haven’t a hope in hell or moving from where we are to the Premier League. There are allowances against the £39m three-year allowable loss under Financial Fair Play such as loss of commercial revenue, ticketing, the academy, infrastructure and women’s football but 2022/23 could be squeaky bum time from a financial standpoint hence Nigel Pearson’s oft repeated ‘we are where we are’. So let’s take a look at exactly where that is, albeit one thing Pearson has succeeded in is lowering the fanbase’s expectations to embrace survival as some sort of achievement. please log in to view this image I’m told part of City’s loss has been generated by 3,000 season ticket holders failing to renew - 1,700 of which had held season tickets for over seven years and the offer of more of the same obviously didn’t appeal to them and neither will it bring them back. There won’t be a post lockdown “bounce back” this summer The fanbase seem to have three opinions on Nigel Pearson from what I read and hear: He hasn’t had any money and he was forced to release good players so what do you expect? The damage was done before he arrived and it was all Mark Ashton’s/ Lee Johnson’s/ Steve Lansdown’s fault so he can only do his best. This probably covers about 60% He’s been unsuccessful. His record since arrival is unacceptable and he should resign or be sacked. Look at what Cooper’s done at Forest or Coventry or Boro under Wilder. Why haven’t we done that? 10/15% He should be doing better with what’s at his disposal and there’s no excuse. We’ve got some good players, the squad’s better than many clubs above us. 20/25% Nigel Pearson’s league record: P45 W12 D10 L23 F58 A79 GD -21 Our home current form is good but our away record, which has been good in recent seasons is in tatters despite one or two decent performances, City’s inability to defend crosses has undone some excellent work from the likes of Massengo, Weimann and Kalas. Our Recent Away Form We haven’t won away since October 2 against Posh, and we had to score three to win that. P9 W0 D2 L7 F10 A26 GD-16 Average goals against almost three per game. Problems Injuries are again proving a significant obstacle with only Weimann of the summer signings looking like real value for money. It’s better than last season when, at one point, we had twenty players injured with, I think, nine hamstring injuries amongst them, but with Pearson’s preferred option of a smaller squad, having five or six out equates to 25% of our first team that already contains many young players. please log in to view this image Those younger players have been a silver lining this season but without success in the form of play off or promotion, those players will be snapped up by Premier League clubs if they perform, albeit the club have done well to secure Scott, Semenyo, Pring and Benarous on long-term deals which should at least guarantee a sizeable fee when, not if, they move on. The major contractual issue is Massengo - City can’t afford to let him, ala Diedhiou and Walsh, run down his contract so it’s sign or sell in the summer, no doubt with his agent requiring a release clause similar to Josh Brownhill’s when he left for Burnley. League standing Before this weekend’s game against Swansea, City sit 16th, 17 points clear of Peterborough on twenty points with three games in hand. Do I think we’ll be relegated this season? No, but without points deductions, Derby would be two points above us and Reading nine points below us with two games in hand so I won’t relax until we’ve got fifty points on the board. https://www.bristolworld.com/sport/...stol-city-fans-verdict-on-poor-season-3563683
I'm one of the 60%. 'He hasn’t had any money and he was forced to release good players so what do you expect? The damage was done before he arrived and it was all Mark Ashton’s/ Lee Johnson’s/ Steve Lansdown’s fault so he can only do his best. This probably covers about 60%'
We have to remember the mess he inherited - at the start of this season I would have settled for staying up
I'm sort of on the fence on this one but I do feel a manager of his stature should be getting better out of the players at his disposal. As a club we can use all the excuses in the book but when it comes down to the bottom line the supporters deserve better than the continual dross being dished up at Ashton Gate because after all the promises and pillars we still struggle to impose ourselves. Covid has indeed put a lot of strain on businesses but the focus needs to shift to recovery mode because without seeing any visible sign of something bordering on progression then the lost ticket holders may never return. There have been way too many times when we get stuck in the mire without any reasonable and solid thinking as to how we remedy that malaise and the dissatisfaction shows it's ways at the box office. I still have this feeling that Nigel will not be at Bristol City much longer which, considering our record of failing consistently to miss our targets, would not surprise me seeing that it doesn't look like he, or the club, can find the key to unlock a better future. Although the January window was it's usual apathetic self I think it would be a reasonable expectation for the summer to provide better fodder to feed our desire for more than what we have seen for seasons past. Does Nigel have targets in mind that meet the remit to raise the overall level of play combined with financial wisdom to stay away from the dreaded FFP regulations? Another rebuild looks to be the order of the day but just the thought of having to endure the inevitable excuses is starting to wear me down and how nice it would be for us to trot out of the tunnel next August with a really competitive Bristol City F.C. I just want this season to end quite frankly and my final verdict on Nigel Pearson will have to wait until about November after he has had the chance to have an impact on the players wearing our shirt. Based on his first full season in charge I think he has a bigger challenge coming down the pipe and that's what makes me think he may decide to pass on the opportunity but secretly I hope he stays and succeeds because we deserve at least one season of enjoyment and hope. As I said at the start I still am very on the fence regarding our manager.
Hang on a minute, which good players are these we let go? You and the other LJ detractors said all the players that left were "$hit, dross, part of the 65, indulgent" to name a few adjectives thrown around on here in the last 12-18 months.
The simple answer is, on the basis of why he was appointed i.e. experience etc, Yes, he should be doing better.
I think we are more or less where we should be. I guess that makes me one of the 60%, but I don’t blame LJ for it - he worked within the parameters and constraints of his employment.
And he signed a new 4 year contract in the summer of 2019 thereby agreeing to the parameters and constraints of his employment, so he was obviously happy with the said parameters and constraints.
I believe we should be doing better with the players we have....I'm on the fence as it's been refreshing to see the younger players being used and improving.. For me the tactics and some of his team selections in the course of the season could have been better IMO.....but slowly I believe we are getting there..
I agree with most of that, except the very first sentence, I think that certain players have been exposed as not being good enough and sadly most of them are ‘allegedly’ the highest paid. I understand your comments about tactics and selection and some selections and substitutions have been strange. As for tactics I suspect defensively it must incredibly frustrating to presumably spend Monday to Friday working on problems emanating from a Saturday performance and then see the same mistakes from the same players especially at set pieces for the very next game. But here’s the difference for me, at the beginning of the season, I said on here that in the past we had players we could cash in on when needed, but I could not see one player that was worth real big money and even the improving Massengo would not recoup the fee we paid for him, but now that has changed Massengo’s improvement now weighing in with assists, the emergence of Scott and Semenyo now fully fit and showing the talent that made Chelsea offer 2mil for him not long after we signed him, we suddenly have 3 players who could command combined fees of around 40mil, not that I would like to see any of them leave. I would rather see Bentley, Palmer, ODowda and Wells off of the pay roll to hopefully fund a few quality signings.
Im probably one of the unconfirmed 25% might be less 10%? or maybe 40% "He should be doing better with what’s at his disposal and there’s no excuse. We’ve got some good players, the squad’s better than many clubs above us" wizereds/SMH's quotes. .. "damage done before and he inherited" ............. I did sort of go along with DH replacing LJ because we had embarked upon a "plan" staff wise and financially. NP's record P44 .. W11 .. D10 .. L23 .. F58 .. A79 .. GD -21 [NEED FINER CHECKING.] .......... Ian Gay has given the away games at MIDDS / SWANSEA TO NP! NP confirmed Midds nowt to do with him / Swansea he had almost nil input!! away..... W D L D L L // L W W W L W L L L L D L L D L ..... = 19 points home .... L L L L D L L // D L D D D L L W D W W L L W W W ..... = 24 LAST 10 GAMES 1OTH IN LGE this is NP's record, NOT going to because have done a few times in past compared to " damage done / what he inherited" is better!!! at the very worst we could have expected a continuation of before .. but no a dive ... with a hard 10 games coming up hard to see 1.3 pts a game ave ... by game 40 47 points! I hope!
I’m part of the 60%, for now. This season staying up was our aim, a position within the mid third would be acceptable, and that’s where we’re looking to finish. I wonder whether his health was worse than he let on when he joined. Since he’s been back this time he looks completely different, and performances, at least, have improved greatly, The summer window holds the key for me . The squad we have will get us through this season, but in order to progress next season we are going to need to not only hold on to our best players, but somehow add some quality to key areas. If we fail to do this then the next few seasons are going to be very painful indeed. If we can however manage to hold onto our best players, and add quality to key areas we could start to threaten the top 6, this summer is really that important. This is where I’d hope Nige would come into his own, his experience and respect within the game hopefully will enable us to stabilise and attract the quality of players needed.
When the stand was opened and the results showed promise the ST's went up... since Covid were expected to go down while peeps got adjusted to COVID etc... it isnt going away will be like another flu! put people in hospital and kill a few as a "norm"
I really think the club are missing a trick making POTD prices far too expensive, Season ticket sales dropped because of COVID, they should be trying to encourage them back with much more affordable POTD prices.
I don’t disagree with this. The footballing landscape was very different back then - clubs had money to burn because the player market was vibrant. If money was wasted on one player, you could recover it by selling another. Now, the market has stagnated and we have found ourselves stuck with some expensive players from that era. That’s just how it is and we are not the only club in this situation. As for signing a 4 year contract; surely that’s simply the sensible thing to do in a business which hires and fires whenever the wind changes direction?
NP also signed a contract at the start of this season, knowing the parameters, yet everyone is cutting him slack.l!! It’s the double standards of some on here that are laughable
Yes he did, but he made clear at the time he would need time to get things sorted out. We aren’t cutting him slack, we are giving him the time he said he’d need. If he fails to achieve his goals then I will be the first to criticise. It isn’t double standards as LJ was given the time he said he’d need also. How can that be double standards?
