Are you pleased with our start to the season?

[marbelladave]

Imagine if we somehow made it to the Prem via the playoffs, we'd probably do worse than Derby did that year.

I suppose it's better than being in mid table obscurity for 5 years though.

Not a problem.

Go up, strengthen sensibly but do not panic.

Take all the extra money and if relegated build again. Manage expectations, spend proportionately and do it again, and if we have to again.

Don't take your eye off the ball, don't spend more than we can afford and above all don't get carried away by being a "Premier League" club.

[Ozwin]

So do what West Brom are doing then. They're pretty much a perfect example of how to run a football club aren't they?

[Koke]

So do what West Brom are doing then. They're pretty much a perfect example of how to run a football club aren't they?

I'd rather be West Brom than many other clubs in this division.

[dandannieldanok]

In what universe does giving away 4 points in 3 matches (by you're own admission) count as playing well!

Yes we shouldn't be throwing away leads like that on Saturday but let's give the teams that have taken points off us some credit here. This is a tough league and although we've been mugged a couple of times we've also mugged a couple of teams at home when we've only really played well for 45 minutes. I think you need to realise that although we can always strive to do better, the nature of this league is that results can be fickle and teams are constantly picking up points and losing them.

[jonthefox]

i know its early, but im very happy. and i think it can only get better.

[marbelladave]

So do what West Brom are doing then. They're pretty much a perfect example of how to run a football club aren't they?

Actually for a club of it's size it is doing rather well. It did not blow the extra income on crap overpaid players and although relegated continued to develop and are in a good position to go back up in rather better shape than last time. This time maybe they will stay up....

Short of getting a billionaire owner with more money than sense, the West Brom model is the only practical way forward!

[Ozwin]

Lets just hope when we reach the Prem we try and follow suit. I can see Mandaric (if he's still here) going a bit mental though.

[samjohnson]

We should make mid-table this season... But anything outside (or even inside) the play-offs would be a bonus. I can see this will be a very closely matched season. Any slip-ups will be costly.

[Simo86]

We should make mid-table this season... But anything outside (or even inside) the play-offs would be a bonus. I can see this will be a very closely matched season. Any slip-ups will be costly.

24th is outside of the play-offs but i think we all now what you mean

[MPH]

FFS.

I have said a dozen times recently that I have no problem if we do not win matches. Further I rarely criticise individual players for individual mistakes, that can happen to anyone.

What I can not and will not accept is the failure of basic organisation! We are a professional football team, there is absolutely no excuse for not being properly organised.

This failure has been obvious for some time, our attempts to sit back on a lead when we do not have the faintest idea of how to defend in depth and close out a game is one example, our lack of any threat from corners and free kicks is another and, even off the top of my head there are several others that I shall refrain from boring you with.

No, if we continue to play in the haphazard and disorganised way that we have displayed in most of the games this season we are more likely to be in a relegation battle than we are to be fighting for a playoff spot.

That is realistic!

you dont get it , do you?

On the point of being organized... i would beg to differ. I happen to think organisation is one of the things Pearson demands most from the team, however should the players make errors ( my original point) and loose their concentration then that is somthing vastly different to being disorganised although for the never happy brigade i guess it can appear as being disorganised.

you also made a point about howard not being able to bully defences in this league...

Newcastle supporter Steve Howard met Matt Oakley’s corner with a bullet header.

Howard was proving a real handful and Alan Smith’s foul on the striker presented Gallagher with a 38th-minute free-kick, Harper once again coming to the rescue with a fine diving save.

http://www.leazesdigest.com/2009/09/01/mat...leicester-city/

( an independant match report)

Anyway, who are newcastle? its not like they are doing very well and he only had a rubbish player like Steven Taylor marking him aswell..

[iancognito]

Anyone who's ever watched us play under Pearson couldn't truly call us disorganised. He's got more backroom staff than any other manager watching everything from training routines to diets to lifestyle. Just because we can't defend deep doesn't hint at disorganisation it hints at an inability from the players. Liverpool players can't zonal mark at corners but their management team isn't what you'd call disorganised, just the opposite.

Overall, I'm pleased with the start. Yes, you can say we've dropped points but at the start of the season if anyone had said we'd only lose one of our opening four away matches, we'd have snapped their hand off. The real tests are still to come, though. Can we cope without Wellens pulling the strings? Will Brown get his act together or will Tunchev get a deserved chance? How long can Howard realistically stay in the side with no goals & one assist to his name so far? If we drop points against Preston, Nige will have some big calls to make IMO.

[MPH]

got a feeling we might be playing alot more direct without wellens. which is fair neough... you got play to your strengths....

expect howard to get more assists and goals if that does happen.

[marbelladave]

you dont get it , do you?

On the point of being organized... i would beg to differ. I happen to think organisation is one of the things Pearson demands most from the team, however should the players make errors ( my original point) and loose their concentration then that is somthing vastly different to being disorganised although for the never happy brigade i guess it can appear as being disorganised.

you also made a point about howard not being able to bully defences in this league...

http://www.leazesdigest.com/2009/09/01/mat...leicester-city/

( an independant match report)

Anyway, who are newcastle? its not like they are doing very well and he only had a rubbish player like Steven Taylor marking him aswell..

Pearson may 'demand organisation' but he sure as hell does not provide it. I did not particularly wish to go down this route but our lack of organisation and tactical nous has been obvious, pretty much all season. Failure to try for the points against Ipswich, the lack of any kind of game plan against Peterborough, the negative set up after the break against Watford are all errors that can be laid at the door of the management. Asking a center forward to play defensive left mid field for f**ks sake. Is there any wonder that the players make errors in such circumstances?

Are you seriously suggesting that Howard will be any kind of a force in this division? Really?.......Seriously?

[marbelladave]

Anyone who's ever watched us play under Pearson couldn't truly call us disorganised. He's got more backroom staff than any other manager watching everything from training routines to diets to lifestyle. Just because we can't defend deep doesn't hint at disorganisation it hints at an inability from the players. Liverpool players can't zonal mark at corners but their management team isn't what you'd call disorganised, just the opposite.

Overall, I'm pleased with the start. Yes, you can say we've dropped points but at the start of the season if anyone had said we'd only lose one of our opening four away matches, we'd have snapped their hand off. The real tests are still to come, though. Can we cope without Wellens pulling the strings? Will Brown get his act together or will Tunchev get a deserved chance? How long can Howard realistically stay in the side with no goals & one assist to his name so far? If we drop points against Preston, Nige will have some big calls to make IMO.

No it does not.

But instructing us to do exactly that does! We are dis-organised on the pitch, not off it.

How many back room staff does it take to tell your midfield players where they are playing and whom to pick up? (The answer, of course is just one more than we actually have.)

Brown cannot play with the ball at his feet, simple as! Modern defenders need to take control of the ball and play it out of defense and he simply cannot do that, nor will he ever learn. He is the 'new' Patrick Kisnorbo!

We need Tunchev and we need him really badly!

It is a totally average start to the season, nothing like good enough given our capabilities.

[davieG]

This is exactly what I think.

I'm annoyed with the fans who pick on individuals in the team who are at fault for this or that or whatever. It's a team effort and the team is performing well as a unit generally up to this point. Ok, so players have off days but stop making such a fuss about it and look where we are in the table.

Some people are never happy are they?

So anyone that posts in the player ratings thread and identifies individual performances is wrong because they're making a fuss and annoying you?

Lets just hope when we reach the Prem we try and follow suit. I can see Mandaric (if he's still here) going a bit mental though.

I'd imagine he'd be more likely to sell.

[Babylon]

It is a totally average start to the season, nothing like good enough given our capabilities.

How do you know exactly what we are capable of? We might be able to string 40-50 minutes together of good football, but consistency is a skill too. If the players haven't got that skill then we will always be inconsistent as a team until we recruit better players.

[marbelladave]

How do you know exactly what we are capable of? We might be able to string 40-50 minutes together of good football, but consistency is a skill too. If the players haven't got that skill then we will always be inconsistent as a team until we recruit better players.

I take a view based on what I have seen. As you pointed out we have produced some excellent football in parts, yet not with any consistency.

I take these 'good bits' as the benchmark and believe that we can perform close to that standard pretty much all the time, you on the other hand doubt our capability to do just that.

Your's is a perfectly valid view, I just hope ( and to a large degree believe ) that you are wrong.

[MPH]

Pearson may 'demand organisation' but he sure as hell does not provide it. I did not particularly wish to go down this route but our lack of organisation and tactical nous has been obvious, pretty much all season. Failure to try for the points against Ipswich, the lack of any kind of game plan against Peterborough, the negative set up after the break against Watford are all errors that can be laid at the door of the management. Asking a center forward to play defensive left mid field for f**ks sake. Is there any wonder that the players make errors in such circumstances?

Are you seriously suggesting that Howard will be any kind of a force in this division? Really?.......Seriously?

I dont wish to be rude on this, and i know you can be a city fan wherever you are based, but are you called marbella dave because you live in marbella? IF thats so, im not so sure you can take such a hard line on our organisation skills and lambast Pearson in such a way. Im hoping you will understand that watching us on tv only paints a slim picture. you wont get to see all the talking that goes on by players to organise the team as the opposition are attacking, all the fingers being pointed for people to cover certain gaps, people like wayne Brown bellowing at the younger players to play a tighter game... being disorganised is not somthing i would accuse Pearson of at all... and it certainly isnt somthing the players have picked up from him either. as for his tactical knowledge... when somthing isnt working , like every good manager he isnt afraid to make substitutions which have gone on to make sometimes dramatic impacts on the game. often positive and rarelynegative. Now that isnt by any means a weakness but exactly the opposite - to spot the weaknesses and change them is a strength.

[leicesterfox86]

Happy with the start. Not sure what more we could have done. As for whether we will keep it up for the entire season, I'm not so sure. We need to get as many points as we can before Christmas and then re-assess then.

[Heart-Shaped Fox]

I think it is imperative that we win away sooner rather than later. Or I fear we will lose all confidence away from home, and struggle.

Similar to Ipswich when they had the best record at home in the league and the worst too I think. Hopefully the first wins away will be Boro and Cov!

[Simo86]

I think it is imperative that we win away sooner rather than later. Or I fear we will lose all confidence away from home, and struggle.

Similar to Ipswich when they had the best record at home in the league and the worst too I think. Hopefully the first wins away will be Boro and Cov!

Totally agree!

[marbelladave]

I dont wish to be rude on this, and i know you can be a city fan wherever you are based, but are you called marbella dave because you live in marbella? IF thats so, im not so sure you can take such a hard line on our organisation skills and lambast Pearson in such a way. Im hoping you will understand that watching us on tv only paints a slim picture. you wont get to see all the talking that goes on by players to organise the team as the opposition are attacking, all the fingers being pointed for people to cover certain gaps, people like wayne Brown bellowing at the younger players to play a tighter game... being disorganised is not somthing i would accuse Pearson of at all... and it certainly isnt somthing the players have picked up from him either. as for his tactical knowledge... when somthing isnt working , like every good manager he isnt afraid to make substitutions which have gone on to make sometimes dramatic impacts on the game. often positive and rarelynegative. Now that isnt by any means a weakness but exactly the opposite - to spot the weaknesses and change them is a strength.

FYI.....Yes I consider my home to be in Marbella. However for the last year and a half I have been living in Harrow in north London and see a lot of our games. (you could of course just taken a look at my sig.... )

I see and understand what you say but choose to interpret what I see in a rather different manner.

For example, I have said previously that our central defense is somewhat shaky when under pressure, communication between Weale, Hobbs and Brown seem only to take place after the event, with, as you say Brown doing most of the shouting and finger pointing. To me this is recrimination not organisation.

However it is the organisation of our midfield that I have had the biggest problem with. Prior to saturday we have consistently been out numbered in central midfield yet our setup has barely changed in any of our games. Generally this results in our wide players having to tuck in and try and help out at the cost of massively reducing our attacking potential from wide positions.

On saturday we selected three 'proper' central midfielders yet chose to set up as a 4-4-2 with Gallager and Oakley on the flanks, I accept that it was changed quite quickly, but why set up in that way in the first place?

At the start of the second half we again reverted to the 4-4-2 setup noted above, only this time even more defensively. When Wellens was replaced by Adams we tried no less than three different formations, with Adams in turn on both flanks then in the center. The resulting chaos nearly cost us the game!

To me this all smacks of not having a gameplan and of not having our player know the (various) roles they have to play.

That to me is lack of organisation!

I could go on to discuss our lack of any kind of a threat from corners or from free kicks, our dreadful distribution from the back but you get my drift.

[sdb]

I'd have taken this at the start for sure but having dropped points where we shouldn't, and realizing a lot of teams are weaker than i expected, i'm a little dissappointed we've not got 3/4 more points.

[marbelladave]

I'd have taken this at the start for sure but having dropped points where we shouldn't, and realizing a lot of teams are weaker than i expected, i'm a little disappointed we've not got 3/4 more points.

Totally on the money. Exactly the point of view I have been making for weeks! :D

One s.

[Ashley]

I'm pleased with this start.