Only Championship Team to have signed no-one

[MC Prussian]

I'm going to surprise you.... because I don't disagree with a single word of that ......

 

What annoys me is the defending of Pearson like he's above blame and that it's everyone else's fault ..... 

 

Yes, I blame NP, others blame other parties ...... the truth is that everyone has failed so far in a plan to get us promoted ..... The owners naivety cost them, Sven or AN giving splashing the cash without either being given limits or not adhering to them, and for me, particularly NP who dismantled a side that needed tweaking not a total re-build. He then built his side and forgot to include experience and grit in there.

 

Personally I don't think NP is ever going to be a premiership manager and doesn't have what it takes .... and therefore, for me, we are wasting our time with an experiment that is destined to fail and has all the hallmarks of already having done so.

 

I can understand people viewing things differently.

If only you'd put as much effort in critizising the other parties equally, instead of focussing on Pearson solely.

 

Judging from your post, I assume you start to realize that we're all in the same boat and that the management and the owners are as much to blame for the rollercoaster rides in recent seasons.

 

NP didn't just dismantle Eriksson's side, he had to. The wage structure during the Swedish Reign was obscene, we could never be sustainable with such an amount of high earners on a Championship level.

Fair enough, Pearson's not a Premier League manager in your eyes.

Personally, I can see him doing well up there - he's still only 49 (soon to be 50) and has at least another fifteen, if not twenty years ahead of him in the business.

 

We're still in a transition period or at the end of it. The player clear-out has almost been completed (I assume, there's two or three more names to go) and we're back on a more solid basis.

Managing a football team isn't an easy task and in order to be successful, you need several factors working in your favor, time being one of them. I think three years is a good amount of time to assess a manager, so let's just see where we end up in May 2014.

[indierich06]

I'm going to surprise you.... because I don't disagree with a single word of that ......

 

What annoys me is the defending of Pearson like he's above blame and that it's everyone else's fault ..... 

 

Yes, I blame NP, others blame other parties ...... the truth is that everyone has failed so far in a plan to get us promoted ..... The owners naivety cost them, Sven or AN giving splashing the cash without either being given limits or not adhering to them, and for me, particularly NP who dismantled a side that needed tweaking not a total re-build. He then built his side and forgot to include experience and grit in there.

 

Personally I don't think NP is ever going to be a premiership manager and doesn't have what it takes .... and therefore, for me, we are wasting our time with an experiment that is destined to fail and has all the hallmarks of already having done so.

 

I can understand people viewing things differently.

 

You see, this is where we disagree. The way I see it is that Pearson took a side filled with overpaid and undermotivated players, trimmed the fat, signed some good players - and let's be right, a couple of poor ones too - and turned that team into one that was capable of challenging for promotion. Sven's squad was expensively assembled and not up to the job that it was designed for. Pearson's kept the good players signed by Sven and gotten rid of the underperformers, look at players like Mills now - he can't even get a game for Bolton. Danns looked pretty unspectacular in a Huddersfield team battling relegation, Beckford managed a few goals in the same side... these are not players for a side that was seeking automatic promotion. Now I'm not saying that players Pearson's brought in are necessarily good enough for auto promotion either, but he's had a lot less money to spend and he's got a lot more value from his transfers than Sven ever did.

 

I can see why people are frustrated because if it weren't for the ridiculous collapse in form from feb last season, we'd have been promoted comfortably. Just an extra 3 wins and a couple of draws would have done it. So, while he and the players should rightly take a lot of blame for squandering a very good chance at promotion, I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. We're now going to have to work under very tight financial constraints from now on, and I personally think tbhis is a situation where Pearson will thrive and I'm interested to see how we get on this season.

 

You might think we're 'wasting our time' with Pearson, like there are better alternatives out there who could come in and do a better job. The reality is, we probably can't afford to sack him and poach another club's manager and the options currently on the market are either out of our price range (O'Neill, Di Matteo) or make for extremely depressing reading. If there was an option out there who would come in and do a better job than Pearson, I'd have no problem with him being sacked. But at the minute, I don't see anyone out there who we could realistically get and who I'd rather have in charge.

 

I'm as ambitious as anyone, I'd love us to get promoted as Champions this season and I want us to be playing against the likes of Man U and Arsenal, not Barnsley and Watford, but you have temper your ambition with realism as well. This is one of the toughest leagues going, there's no easy formula for promotion - look at last season, would anyone have picked Cardiff, Hull and Palace as the promoted sides?

[kingfox]

Loaning other people's kids is not the answer to our short comings, as our problem is the youth and inexperience of our own squad.

We need 2/3 older more experienced players to give the team some guile.

 

I agree with this. I think it was the problem last season. When the buoyancy of youth started to disintegrate, a couple of older heads on the pitch could have hauled them through the sticky patch. It was very apparent, to me, that this was missing.

 

These older players will more than likely come with higher wages.

 

Like the thread I made last week, I can see us going down the Aston Villa route, they keep signing young players under 23, and apart from Whitbread last season & Vardy of whom is inexperienced at this kind of level anyway, all our permanent & loan signings were under the age of 23. 

 

I honestly think a couple of loan signings will be our best bet, or we go abroad or dip into League 1 and get a couple of players on cheaper wages. 

 

There's many players who have been told they can go out on loan in the Premier League, Michael Keane, Andre Wisdom, Adam Smith, Shane Ferguson, Josh McEachran, James Ward-Prowse just to name a few. 

[MattyFromLE]

Errrrrr we were in the top two last season?

 

We were top in October!

[MattyFromLE]

You see, this is where we disagree. The way I see it is that Pearson took a side filled with overpaid and undermotivated players, trimmed the fat, signed some good players - and let's be right, a couple of poor ones too - and turned that team into one that was capable of challenging for promotion. Sven's squad was expensively assembled and not up to the job that it was designed for. Pearson's kept the good players signed by Sven and gotten rid of the underperformers, look at players like Mills now - he can't even get a game for Bolton. Danns looked pretty unspectacular in a Huddersfield team battling relegation, Beckford managed a few goals in the same side... these are not players for a side that was seeking automatic promotion. Now I'm not saying that players Pearson's brought in are necessarily good enough for auto promotion either, but he's had a lot less money to spend and he's got a lot more value from his transfers than Sven ever did.

 

I can see why people are frustrated because if it weren't for the ridiculous collapse in form from feb last season, we'd have been promoted comfortably. Just an extra 3 wins and a couple of draws would have done it. So, while he and the players should rightly take a lot of blame for squandering a very good chance at promotion, I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. We're now going to have to work under very tight financial constraints from now on, and I personally think tbhis is a situation where Pearson will thrive and I'm interested to see how we get on this season.

 

You might think we're 'wasting our time' with Pearson, like there are better alternatives out there who could come in and do a better job. The reality is, we probably can't afford to sack him and poach another club's manager and the options currently on the market are either out of our price range (O'Neill, Di Matteo) or make for extremely depressing reading. If there was an option out there who would come in and do a better job than Pearson, I'd have no problem with him being sacked. But at the minute, I don't see anyone out there who we could realistically get and who I'd rather have in charge.

 

I'm as ambitious as anyone, I'd love us to get promoted as Champions this season and I want us to be playing against the likes of Man U and Arsenal, not Barnsley and Watford, but you have temper your ambition with realism as well. This is one of the toughest leagues going, there's no easy formula for promotion - look at last season, would anyone have picked Cardiff, Hull and Palace as the promoted sides?

 

This is absolutely spot on!

[artursteppe]

Keane could be coming back on loan, Beckford never had the other strikers feel any pressure (pardon the pun), we were doing quite well without him.

You mention allegedly "weak" teams when we all know that there's no such thing in the Championship. Last season proved that the difference in quality between the 24 has narrowed down some more.

We also beat so-called "better" teams like Watford or Bolton or Brighton last season in case you should've forgotten.

 

And again, who said we're going to get automatic promotion this season? Where did you get that from? We have a solid team that, given the experiences from last season, can maybe challenge for a playoff spot again, but automatic promotion?

 

And calling Pearson "blunt" shows that you've got nothing to back up your claims but personal insults. I expected more from you.

He's shown by using a 3-5-2 in the first pre-season game that he's willing to gamble in terms of formation - so much for your "he's not got that tactics to change the game".

He's only learnt about alternative formations by reading the posts on this forum. He should have been reading this last season.

[indierich06]

He's only learnt about alternative formations by reading the posts on this forum. He should have been reading this last season.

 

Yeah, if only the professional football manager had listened to you and Raj the newsagent eh?

[MC Prussian]

He's only learnt about alternative formations by reading the posts on this forum. He should have been reading this last season.

Nigel Pearson can't read. He just knows. Nigel Pearson is God. In Pearson we trust.  

[lestajigs]

Looking at some of those squads and some of the signings I think we're really gonna struggle to make play offs this season.

And anyone other than the most optimistic City

fan would be blinkered to think otherwise.

I think it's gonna be tough.

Can Nige do it? Lets get behind him and see.

I really think we will finish mid table, hope I'm wrong though

[artursteppe]

Yeah, if only the professional football manager had listened to you and Raj the newsagent eh?

Raj knows more than Pearson about tactics and formations, but to be fair 'Shakey', who is a very able and shrewd talent spotter keeps Nigel in his job.

Maybe it should be Raj and Shakey in partnership.

[Babylon]

Raj knows more than Pearson about tactics and formations, but to be fair 'Shakey', who is a very able and shrewd talent spotter keeps Nigel in his job.

Maybe it should be Raj and Shakey in partnership.

You mean Walsh, "Shakey" isn't the scout. You need to speak to Raj more.

[lestajigs]

Raj knows more than Pearson about tactics and formations, but to be fair 'Shakey', who is a very able and shrewd talent spotter keeps Nigel in his job.

Maybe it should be Raj and Shakey in partnership.

Shakey is the assistant manager, not scout

[5waller5]

You see, this is where we disagree. The way I see it is that Pearson took a side filled with overpaid and undermotivated players, trimmed the fat, signed some good players - and let's be right, a couple of poor ones too - and turned that team into one that was capable of challenging for promotion. Sven's squad was expensively assembled and not up to the job that it was designed for. Pearson's kept the good players signed by Sven and gotten rid of the underperformers, look at players like Mills now - he can't even get a game for Bolton. Danns looked pretty unspectacular in a Huddersfield team battling relegation, Beckford managed a few goals in the same side... these are not players for a side that was seeking automatic promotion. Now I'm not saying that players Pearson's brought in are necessarily good enough for auto promotion either, but he's had a lot less money to spend and he's got a lot more value from his transfers than Sven ever did.

 

I can see why people are frustrated because if it weren't for the ridiculous collapse in form from feb last season, we'd have been promoted comfortably. Just an extra 3 wins and a couple of draws would have done it. So, while he and the players should rightly take a lot of blame for squandering a very good chance at promotion, I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. We're now going to have to work under very tight financial constraints from now on, and I personally think tbhis is a situation where Pearson will thrive and I'm interested to see how we get on this season.

 

You might think we're 'wasting our time' with Pearson, like there are better alternatives out there who could come in and do a better job. The reality is, we probably can't afford to sack him and poach another club's manager and the options currently on the market are either out of our price range (O'Neill, Di Matteo) or make for extremely depressing reading. If there was an option out there who would come in and do a better job than Pearson, I'd have no problem with him being sacked. But at the minute, I don't see anyone out there who we could realistically get and who I'd rather have in charge.

 

I'm as ambitious as anyone, I'd love us to get promoted as Champions this season and I want us to be playing against the likes of Man U and Arsenal, not Barnsley and Watford, but you have temper your ambition with realism as well. This is one of the toughest leagues going, there's no easy formula for promotion - look at last season, would anyone have picked Cardiff, Hull and Palace as the promoted sides?

 

 

We're almost on the same page ..... I agree with almost all of that ..... But i just don't think Sven's side was as bad as NP made it look .....

 

And that's actually not a criticism of NP ..... It's if anything a criticism of the owners for appointing him .... As soon as he became manager the following two years of rebuilding and frustration were going to happen - he's too different to SGE, we needed someone with similar philosophy to football to tweak what he'd built ... yes get rid of a few players and some of the overpaid underworking players. The two managers were poles apart in tactics and the way they play football ... and that meant that we took on a total rebuild, because NP was never going to tweak and refine, he was always going to fundamentally rip apart and change completely.

 

And that's the shame .... and It's frustrating because this was always going to happen - a long time of building a different side, for me not a particularly better side, just different. We're now at a similar point to where we were (ignoring the FFP implications which I do agree have muddied the water somewhat regarding the performance of NP).

 

If the rebuild isn't completed quickly we'll be doing it again -  and that will be even more frustrating!

[Col city fan]

We're almost on the same page ..... I agree with almost all of that ..... But i just don't think Sven's side was as bad as NP made it look .....

And that's actually not a criticism of NP ..... It's if anything a criticism of the owners for appointing him .... As soon as he became manager the following two years of rebuilding and frustration were going to happen - he's too different to SGE, we needed someone with similar philosophy to football to tweak what he'd built ... yes get rid of a few players and some of the overpaid underworking players. The two managers were poles apart in tactics and the way they play football ... and that meant that we took on a total rebuild, because NP was never going to tweak and refine, he was always going to fundamentally rip apart and change completely.

And that's the shame .... and It's frustrating because this was always going to happen - a long time of building a different side, for me not a particularly better side, just different. We're now at a similar point to where we were (ignoring the FFP implications which I do agree have muddied the water somewhat regarding the performance of NP).

If the rebuild isn't completed quickly we'll be doing it again - and that will be even more frustrating!

Again I don't getcha?

Pearson had to dismantle Sven's side.. It was poor.

In addition, Fernandes wanted to leave, Beckford wanted to leave, Mills was shite, let's be honest and has done no better at Bolton.

The players that Pearson kept were the ones he felt were worth keeping.. Nugent, Kasper, Konch for example.

I don't think Pearson has 'ripped apart' Sven's squad, he's simply retained the players he thought were any good.

And that was after giving Beckford, for example, a fair crack of the whip... He played consistently under Pearson after Sven got sacked and played consistently badly.

Sven assembled a group of overpaid misfits.. It was clear to see. Pearson kept the ones worth keeping and got rid of those who weren't, and those who demanded to leave. That's how I saw it.

[topharry123]

Wigan mean fkin business don't they! 

Think they may run away with it this year. Always a quality side even when they were losing. However, who knows whether Coyle will keep them playing the way they did under Martinez or whether they'll change tactics and not look as good.

[HoustonFox]

Think they may run away with it this year. Always a quality side even when they were losing. However, who knows whether Coyle will keep them playing the way they did under Martinez or whether they'll change tactics and not look as good.

Gotta remember who they are losing as we'll as gaining. I can see a few more leaving before the summer is out. They also have Europe to deal with...though not for too long I expect.

[dannythefox]

Lindgaard was only here on loan and had a total of five (5) appearances. Kane was also a loanee - Person didn't buy either of them.

Harry Kane had a rough time adapting to the Championship - as Craig Shakespeare once mentioned on the radio. Sadly, we only saw what Kane could do towards the end of his loan spell - he was massive in the playoffs against Watford at home.

Again, because you haven't answered me this yet - why do we "need" automatic promotion?

Your comments only point in one direction - your massive dislike for Pearson (even though he's one of the most successful managers we've ever had in terms of winning percentage).

But it's great to see you're deeming the upcoming season, which hasn't even started yet, a "failure" already with your scenario of us finishing 3rd and losing out to the team in 6th spot in the playoffs.

That's what I call excellent and positive support.

I always back the team and I never boo like a few do. But for me Loan or buy Pearson selected poor players last season to bring in apart from wood. I always say we need the top 2 because anything can happen in the playoffs its a lottery! I'm just living in the real world and not bumming an avarage manager that's all mate.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

We failed to get promotion = Failure. Not good enough. 

 

The current squad is weaker than we ended last season (3 loan players and a striker).

 

Easy really.

Exactly, but many posters on here just cannot comprehend that.

 

HELLO!  Last season WAS another failure! Had we won promotion, that would have been a SUCCESS. Is that to hard to understand? 

 

Be prepared for more of the same this coming season, and at the same time next year, the same blinkered idiots will be saying the same old thing. Bloody pathetic!  You all know who you are.

[Babylon]

Exactly, but many posters on here just cannot comprehend that.

 

HELLO!  Last season WAS another failure! Had we won promotion, that would have been a SUCCESS. Is that to hard to understand? 

 

Be prepared for more of the same this coming season, and at the same time next year, the same blinkered idiots will be saying the same old thing. Bloody pathetic!  You all know who you are.

Oh they get it, they just know it's not that bloody easy to achieve!!

[Leicester_Numan]

Again I don't getcha?

Pearson had to dismantle Sven's side.. It was poor.

In addition, Fernandes wanted to leave, Beckford wanted to leave, Mills was shite, let's be honest and has done no better at Bolton.

The players that Pearson kept were the ones he felt were worth keeping.. Nugent, Kasper, Konch for example.

I don't think Pearson has 'ripped apart' Sven's squad, he's simply retained the players he thought were any good.

And that was after giving Beckford, for example, a fair crack of the whip... He played consistently under Pearson after Sven got sacked and played consistently badly.

Sven assembled a group of overpaid misfits.. It was clear to see. Pearson kept the ones worth keeping and got rid of those who weren't, and those who demanded to leave. That's how I saw it.

Me too

[Guest]

Exactly, but many posters on here just cannot comprehend that.

 

HELLO!  Last season WAS another failure! Had we won promotion, that would have been a SUCCESS. Is that to hard to understand? 

 

Be prepared for more of the same this coming season, and at the same time next year, the same blinkered idiots will be saying the same old thing. Bloody pathetic!  You all know who you are.

 

What a fvcking hypocrite you really are!

[Leicester_Numan]

Gotta remember who they are losing as we'll as gaining. I can see a few more leaving before the summer is out. They also have Europe to deal with...though not for too long I expect.

That's what we thought about Birmingham a couple of years ago. I'm hoping they stay in it for a while and it tires them out so they fade in the league. That'll give us a better chance

[5waller5]

Again I don't getcha?

Pearson had to dismantle Sven's side.. It was poor.

In addition, Fernandes wanted to leave, Beckford wanted to leave, Mills was shite, let's be honest and has done no better at Bolton.

The players that Pearson kept were the ones he felt were worth keeping.. Nugent, Kasper, Konch for example.

I don't think Pearson has 'ripped apart' Sven's squad, he's simply retained the players he thought were any good.

And that was after giving Beckford, for example, a fair crack of the whip... He played consistently under Pearson after Sven got sacked and played consistently badly.

Sven assembled a group of overpaid misfits.. It was clear to see. Pearson kept the ones worth keeping and got rid of those who weren't, and those who demanded to leave. That's how I saw it.

 

You mean you refuse to "get me"  ....... I said he needed to tweak the squad and not rip it apart .... and you name three players that should be moved on ..... For me that's tweaking the squad.

 

He went way over that.

 

But hey .... we're two years into the process now with no significant improvement and presumably after three you'll still be saying the same.

[Col city fan]

You mean you refuse to "get me" ....... I said he needed to tweak the squad and not rip it apart .... and you name three players that should be moved on ..... For me that's tweaking the squad.

He went way over that.

But hey .... we're two years into the process now with no significant improvement and presumably after three you'll still be saying the same.

You have an incredible chip on your shoulder Wally. I've 'got you' before, this time I don't. Get over it.

Regarding what I'll be saying in three years time, lets wait and see how we do this season. Which was my previous point to you.

[MC Prussian]

You mean you refuse to "get me"  ....... I said he needed to tweak the squad and not rip it apart .... and you name three players that should be moved on ..... For me that's tweaking the squad.

 

He went way over that.

 

But hey .... we're two years into the process now with no significant improvement and presumably after three you'll still be saying the same.

He had to "rip it apart" because of financial constraints. We could have never been sustainable in the Championship with the team Pearson inherited from Eriksson.

The amount of talent and Premiership quality in that team was unheard of - and so was the wage bill.

 

Also, who says it was Pearson only who had a say in this matter? The loanees had to be recalled by their parent clubs at one point of the other regardless.

Again, you're simplifying things to the extreme at times.