I still don't know why?

[ozleicester]

Weve had a few discussions about what has gone wrong, about why a side that was playing football and winning for the first 4 months of the season, suddenly (it seemed sudden?) ceases to play football and starts to drop points at every opportunity.

All i want to know is why?

I we can figure that out, we can then think about who our manager should be?

[ARM1968]

Confident players are cocky players. Pearson doesn't like cocky players.

You need look no further than Pearson. His dull, dour character.

[MattyFromLE]

Confident players are cocky players. Pearson doesn't like cocky players.

You need look no further than Pearson. His dull, dour character.

Massive generalisation. I wouldn't say Scholes, Giggs, Messi, Beckham are cocky? Ronaldo however, is cocky.

QPR have loads of cocky players, look where that got them. Fair play to Pearson wanting to assemble a fair, level-headed team of non-cocky players I say.

[cc_star]

Confident players are cocky players. Pearson doesn't like cocky players.

You need look no further than Pearson. His dull, dour character.

Total bullshit.

He's only dour & exactingly precise when interviewed by Stringer, I don't know what it is, but it does neither of them any favours... everywhere else you see him he's laughing, joking with players, celebrating getting on with players and all other media & usually got a smirk on his face.

---------------------------------------------

All that happened this season was that we overachieved for a period in the season which inflated expectations... the majority of people before the season started said we'd finish 7th... and if we'd fought our way up to 7th & taking the playoffs potentially on the last day of the season then people would be happier than having that bubble up to 2nd and later falling out of the playoffs.

In the same way as you're happy with a draw if you score a last minute equaliser, but you're unhappy with a draw if you concede last min goal... even if it is a 'good point' (like Cardiff away for eg.)

Concern with Pearson, for me, is not being able to arrest this slide - not where we finish... although as owners rarely let a manager finish their contract and build a team, I think he'll be gone... I'm not convinced that's the right thing as half of me thinks Pearson's only halfway through his job... he's got rid of 30+ players of deadwood & mid-table... and brought in a few young players that are still to have their best years ahead of them as well as growing as individuals which will improve the team, a sprinkling of experience could make all the difference as far as consistency to this side goes... Then the half of me looks at this continued slide and knows he probably won't get the chance.

[Fox92]

Un-motivated? I've got my business exam coming up on Wednesday (we have to study business for some reason with my degree), and I've been learning alot about motivation, leadership etc. It's interesting actually, and as one of the statements reads 'a highly motivated person works hard at a job, a un-motivated player does not'... Sometimes I look around at our players and certain players don't look interested.

Massive generalisation. I wouldn't say Scholes, Giggs, Messi, Beckham are cocky? Ronaldo however, is cocky.

Ronaldo isn't cocky, read Paul Scholes' book. He is a good player, and probably knows it, while at the same time keeps himself out of the media (in terms of bad news), although they obviously follow him because he is a good target to pick on. Media can destroy anybody they want, and influence public opinion. It's funny how people jump to conclusions having never met someone personally.

[Churchill]

Not a dig towards Wood here as i think he is a good player but since his arrival we have slowly started to resort to hoofing it up to him where as before when we didn't have a target man we kept it on the floor. Maybe i am wrong and its just a bad run of form but when we didn't have a big man up front we played great football with the ball on the floor.

[Guest Col city fan]

Where it went wrong?

Here's my take:

1. I didn't think we signed enough quality players at the start of the season. In particular I wanted an older, more experienced head in the midfield.

Therefore, I predicted 7th (I thought we'd be ok, but not good enough).

2. I believe we got found out. Other posters will argue that we changed our formation and tactics which led to our slide. I think we had to change to some extent, we were continuing to lose away from home, but also the other teams studied us and knew to stamp out some of our players. Particularly Knocky.

3. Some of Pearson's team selections. To drop the likes of Dyer and Schlupp in a team already devoid of pace was bizarre to say the least.

4. January... With the exception of Wood, the squad was not strengthened when it was clear it should have been.

5. Belief... What once was seen as Fortress KP no longer became a safe haven. We started to lose games at home too. Self belief and confidence stem from the managerial team. I never thought I'd see the day when a Nigel Pearson side stopped trying.

Given all this, it's amazing that we still have half a chance. This shows that promotion was there for the taking. Somehow now we must beat Forest and pray that Bolton slip up. I wouldn't be surprised actually to see this happen.

But it could have and should have been so much more comfortable than this.

[The Quick Brown Fox]

.

[ARM1968]

Pearson is where it went wrong. It's as simple as that.

I didn't mean cocky as in arrogant twats. I meant merely that confidence brings an air of cocky self assurance. Pearson does not like that because he has little personality.

[Simi]

We began to run out of ideas in January when teams realised how to play against us. Pearson has to take the blame for that. The formation should have changed sooner and players should have been dropped sooner. We've ended the season chopping and changing the team more or less every game to try and find a winning formula but it was too late.

I also think a few players have been sulking since things started to go back and have not showed anywhere near enough commitment to Pearson and the fans. To me, it is clear to see that something has gone on behind the scenes and there have been a few divides in the camp.

[Stuliasz]

Pearson is where it went wrong. It's as simple as that.

I didn't mean cocky as in arrogant twats. I meant merely that confidence brings an air of cocky self assurance. Pearson does not like that because he has little personality.

Yeah Pearson prefers his players to be as miserable as he portrays himself to be in the media, of course he does. That's why he wasn't moaning about the crisis of confidence that his squad were showing and instead said that he was delighted that their heads seem to be down because it matched his own dull dour personality.

[RobHawk]

I think we had a number of young players who perhaps weren't physically fit enough to play 40-50 games this year! Many of the younger guys have had alot of time in youth teams and odd spells on loan but this is alot different to a full season in the championship! I think De Laet is a good example of this! He's looked knackered every game he's played since January!

[kingfox]

Inexperience in the side, most of the squad hasn't had to deal with a promotion push before, the players couldn't handle it.

More experience needed next season, if not we will probably finish where we are now, or worse.

[Finnegan]

Squad lacks any quality beyond the first eleven and in some places has no cover at all.

Hardly surprising that we've burnt out. Players get injured, tired or go off form and we have to keep forcing them.

I wouldn't object to Pearson having more time to finish building a squad if he shows willing to ship out the like of Gally and Wellens, persevere with Marshall and Knockaert and flesh out the rest of the squad.

[ARM1968]

Oh. Ok then. So it's not Pearson's fault at all then?

Must be a fooking mystery. Perhaps we should get Sherlock Holmes in to sort it out.

[Guest BlueBrett]

Must be a fooking mystery. Perhaps we should get Sherlock Holmes in to sort it out.

As director of football? Too continental for me that.

[shade]

it's obvious to me where a decent proportion of the blame has to lie, sadly, the thai owners. don't get me wrong, i am definitely in favour of them and think they have been generally, good for the club, but they made a MASSIVE mistake when they came in to the club, doing lots of interviews and press releases talking about promotion, promotion, promotion.

making it so obvious that they wanted promotion, and wanted it as quickly as possible, puts massive pressure on the managerial team and by proxy onto the players. sure, some people thrive under pressure, but not many, most people will struggle. promotion became the be all and end all, and anything else is failure which we assume is punished by a sacking. not many people will thrive under this kind of atmosphere, it affects the managers and then indirectly, the players.

the best thing the thais could have done, which in fairness they half heartedly did, was say nigel is here for the long term, regardless, we would love promotion in the next three of four years, but would much rather see a solid and youthful team being built for the future. even if they didn't mean it.

[Mythyaar]

The last couple of months has been relegation form, so reversing that trend has to be the priority now. I'm pre supposing we don't make the playoffs, which is still a remote possiblity I suppose.

Most teams played us without fear towards the back end of the season. We were exposed badly by Watford who had far greater cohesiveness, speed of thought, creation, cutting edge and aggression. As a team, we lack sufficient quantities of all of those key attributes.

[Ricey]

The main issue for me was the inability to break down teams that focussed on stopping us play.

A lot of teams in the second half of the season have set up with 4-5-1 with a defensive midfielder in front of the back 4, sat deep and doubled up on our wide players, which is where all our creativity is. Game after game we've struggled against these tactics and often lost games due to the other team counter attacking or grabbing a goal via set-pieces. The most frustrating thing is that Pearson was too late in changing things to combat these tactics, he'd stick with 4-4-2 and make like-for-like substitutions.

We've been so one dimensional that we've become very easy to play against for teams happy to settle for a point. We'd have been much better starting, or changing, to 4-3-3 against these teams. The extra central midfielder would have given us more domination in the middle and stop is being so swamped in the middle.

[smudgerfox]

1 Over reliance on Nugent and Wood for goals

2 Poor conversion of set pieces

3 Poor defending of set pieces

4 Too many strikers, not enough central midfield and defensive cover (leaving a bench full of ineffective and disspirited strikers)

5 Too little leadership shown by more experienced players (only Schmeichel and Morgan have these qualities), the Nugent backward dribble v Birmingham was a typically self-indulgent and expensive error from a player who should know better. As the going has got tougher Konchesky has got worse and worse. Wellens and Gallagher are now too marginal but unlikely to help anyway.

6 Eccentric approach to loans (Schlupp, Moore out, Kane in).

7 And something happened at the end of January to disrupt a solid and happy squad (NFP hasn't referred to team spirit for weeks)

Oh and I wonder if our signings are not too heavily based in the UK. When you look at Watford and the level of technical ability they had on Friday, our lot don't come close.

[Guest]

Oh. Ok then. So it's not Pearson's fault at all then?

Must be a fooking mystery. Perhaps we should get Sherlock Holmes in to sort it out.

Change the fvcking record, you're boring as hell.

[ARM1968]

What record would you like?

One where we don't win for a record number of games?

Perhaps you should offer your own insights - that might be interesting.

Seems you think it's not Pearson or the players. So who, the tea lady?

[marbelladave]

We have been through this many times, I think Col has it pretty much right, though as I am sure you all know, I believe a big part of our decline came from the totally unnecessary changes made by NFP back in November.

The negativity of these changes destroyed our momentum and the confidence of some of our attacking players, in attempting to tighten up and close down the opposition we only really succeeded in closing down our own attacking play.

[Guest]

What record would you like?

One where we don't win for a record number of games?

Perhaps you should offer your own insights - that might be interesting.

Seems you think it's not Pearson or the players. So who, the tea lady?

Yep, she ran out of semi skimmed and jammie dodgers too early in the season the bastard!

[ARM1968]

Second half of the season has been pretty semi-skimmed.

Perhaps they should have some full fat, or gold top?