Nigel Pearson will be on Sounds of the City Monday 25th July

[Never to the dark side]

Radio Bristol starting at 6pm

[Jerseybean]

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/pearson-on-sound-of-the-city/

[Slack Bladder]

Bless 'im he's doing his best not to get us excited 

[Curr Avon]

Just now - Unless circumstances change, its unlikely that we'll do more business......

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Curr Avon

[Red Army 75]

Any updates would be gratefully appreciated. 

[Curr Avon]

Anyone really impressed you? (in pre-season)

Yeah, but I'm not going to name 'em.

[Malago]

Ouch.  Pathway dig at LJ.

[Northern Red]

Says the players are in better condition than they were this time last year, praised them for how well they looked after themselves during the close season.

[Curr Avon]

How's Antoine doing?

Hopefully we'll get him back at some point in September.

 

Not good news about Kalas, doesn't know when he'll be back over 'grumbly issue' (injury).

[al3xrh0des]

Kalas injury not making much progress

[Malago]

HNM a squad player who may get pitch time

[RedRaw]

Sounds like HNM looking to run his cotract down 

Edited July 25, 2022 by RedRaw

[Curr Avon]

We've invested a lot of time and money in him (HNM) and there's absolutely nothing happening (in terms of transfer activity). I can't tell you what's in his brain or his representative's brain. 

[Curr Avon]

(Vyner) He's had a good pre-season.

[Northern Red]

He's definitely not happy about the Massengo situation. Offer on the table for a year, no progress, no transfer interest.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Northern Red

[Malago]

 Zak a front liner.  Had a good preseason

[joshbristol]

Sounds to me like massengo will be sold and that vyner is still with the club only because the lack of numbers in defence .

[Northern Red]

Asked whether he's excited/stimulated by the challenge of building a team and changing the club - "that's why I'm here, if it was just about being a head coach of a team I wouldn't bother" It's time consuming, difficult, problematic, but at this stage of his career it's what he wants to do. About being part of a group who want to move the club in a different direction and are prepared to take the challenges on. No point moaning about the situation we're in, up to us as a club to find solutions.

[chinapig]

3 minutes ago, joshbristol said:

Sounds to me like massengo will be sold.

The problem is nobody seems to want to buy him. Perhaps he and his agent should reflect on that.

[RedRaw]

He does babble on a bit but if you listen and take it in, everything he says makes sense and is on point……he seems to have every angle covered

[The Coach]

Recap I've taken from NP tonight:

 

Nigel wants to be competitive. May just be me. But wants this squad of players to aim high this coming season

Squad looking fitter than last season

Naismith secured a better contract offer here than at Luton. Naismith excited at the project at Bristol City. 

Confident Sykes & Wilson have the technicality, motivation and desire to be successful. Something that is often not talked about in players.

3 players that were brought in on a free helped us massively due to our financial predicament.

Wants to achieve his 3 year objective as originally set out. However, now believes it may take a bit longer due to our situation and the current market. 

Still has ambition to sign more players. Less likely to do more business due to current financial challenges. But states things could change. Highlighted there has been interest from some clubs with a couple of our players but doesn't want to lose any of these players.

Will not disclose who's impressed him this pre-season. 

Spoke with Tins, wants to put some young players out on loan. Due to the numbers, cannot afford to do so. Young players pathways could be disrupted as numbers are short in the squad. 

Joe Williams - always going to be a concern with his injury record. Joe may not play 2 games in a short space of time (i.e, Saturday, Tues, Saturday).

Semenyo - Hoping to be back in September from injury.

Kalas - Not making much progress on his injury. Something that has cropped up before

Massengo - No update on Massengo contract. Offer on the table for over a season more or less to sign. Squad player who may get game time (sounds like he won't be a first starter going forward). No interest in him from other clubs. Sounds like he will run contract down. 

Vyner - Appears to me the club cannot offload him. Sounds like he's just making up the squad numbers. NP highlights he's had a good pre-season however. 

In terms of the operation of the football club. Wants those high up to take on the challenge of moving up the ladder and having the ambition to progress. Understands the challenges and issues but everyone involved with the club needs to find a way to progress. 

Loan Players - Not keen. You sign PL loan players, their wages are high and it bites into the wage budget. Not a cheap option. Again, not ruling out but would have to be the right loan signing. Also highlights other Championship clubs are chasing the same young players to loan.

Starting XI for Saturday not yet finalised. Knows the bulk of his first XI but players still have 4 days to change his mind. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by The Coach

[Jerseybean]

My synopsis:

Priceless NP, great insights and a very good interview IMO

‘Excited’ (in the context of the new season) NP ‘it’s not a word a tend to use’

‘Hard to align being competitive and being sustainable’ but we need to

Lots of agent/media speculation ‘I have no time for that kind of crap’

‘I’ve  another two years on my contract and it’s all about achieving the objective, even if the time-scale is ultimately longer’

If you have players you want to move on but can’t you have to make the most of them and certainly ensure they don’t make a nuisance of themselves

I work for and with the club

There’s no approach from us that involves ‘selling bull’ when looking to attract new players, we are just honest with people

Twentyman went ‘fishing’ for players who have impressed pre-season and NP gave it a straight-bat and wasn’t drawn into naming anybody, although he acknowledged that there had been individuals who’d shone

Managing Joe Williams (in terms of protecting him) was raised, NP ‘he’s done exceptionally well but we have to ensure the maintenance of him is taken care of’

AS - hopefully back in September, TK - has a ‘grumbly problem’ it’s hard to put a time line on it, HNM an offer is on the table so it’s in his hands, he remains a squad player there’s nothing happening re him committing himself to the Club or moving on, ZV - we need players and while we aren’t flushed with players and he’s contracted to us so we need to ‘ensuring he’s on-side’ he gets minutes in readiness

I’m here because I’m stimulated by being apart of those who want to move the club in a different direction, so it’s successful in the present and in the future, if I was just a Head Coach I would not be here. We need an approach which finds solutions to our problems. We are making really important progress in many areas

The people who are in the building/set-up are all taking forward the challenge (to progress BCFC) once people are in ‘survival mode’ you have to manage the situation and sometimes that means managing people out

GT ‘How do you quantify progress?’ NP ‘We have to be more successful in terms of points as that’s a tangible measure. I believe in building teams not collecting players’ The risk is, of course, this takes longer and I came to the club because of the necessity to change things, it makes sense to do things differently

Loan players were explored by GT, NP responded ‘I’ve used loan players wherever I’ve been, loans aren’t cheap and we certainly need the right culture if we are going to bring them to the club, so this season I think it is more viable - if they are the right ones - our enquiries to-date have not been successful but it’s not for the lack of trying

 

 

 

 

 

[pl00peh91]

Thought Nige was very open today, really do enjoy listening to him speak 

[Northern Red]

3 minutes ago, The Coach said:

Recap I've taken from NP tonight:

 

Nigel wants to be competitive. May just be me. But wants this squad of players to aim high this coming season

Squad looking fitter than last season

Naismith secured a better contract offer here than at Luton. Naismith excited at the project at Bristol City. 

Confident Sykes & Wilson have the technicality, motivation and desire to be successful. Something that is often not talked about in players.

3 players that were brought in on a free helped us massively due to our financial predicament.

Wants to achieve his 3 year objective as originally set out. However, now believes it may take a bit longer due to our situation and the current market. 

Still has ambition to sign more players. Less likely to do more business due to current financial challenges. But states things could change. Highlighted there has been interest from some clubs with a couple of our players but doesn't want to lose any of these players.

Will not disclose who's impressed him this pre-season. 

Spoke with Tins, wants to put some young players out on loan. Due to the numbers, cannot afford to do so. Young players pathways could be disrupted as numbers are short in the squad. 

Joe Williams - always going to be a concern with his injury record. Joe may not play 2 games in a short space of time (i.e, Saturday, Tues, Saturday).

Semenyo - Hoping to be back in September from injury.

Kalas - Not making much progress on his injury. Something that has cropped up before

Massengo - No update on Massengo contract. Offer on the table for over a season more or less to sign. Squad player who may get game time (sounds like he won't be a first starter going forward). No interest in him from other clubs. Sounds like he will run contract down. 

Vyner - Appears to me the club cannot offload him. Sounds like he's just making up the squad numbers. NP highlights he's had a good pre-season however. 

In terms of the operation of the football club. Wants those high up to take on the challenge of moving up the ladder and having the ambition to progress. Understands the challenges and issues but everyone involved with the club needs to find a way to progress. 

Loan Players - Not keen. You sign PL loan players, their wages are high and it bites into the wage budget. Not a cheap option. Again, not ruling out but would have to be the right loan signing. Also highlights other Championship clubs are chasing the same young players to loan.

Starting XI for Saturday not yet finalised. Knows the bulk of his first XI but players still have 4 days to change his mind. 

 

 

 

 

 

On loans, he did say that we've made some enquiries with PL clubs but they take these youngsters on tours with them and want to have a look at what level they're at before deciding what to do with them, exactly the same as we've been doing with our own youngsters. Also said that the reason he hasn't brought loans in up to this point is that the existing culture at the club wasn't strong enough to have players in who wouldn't be here the year after. Is a viable option this year because the culture is stronger than it's been at any point since he's been here, they have to be the right player though.

[the red rules]

He also said there had been some interest in some of our players that we don't particularly want to move on          I'm guessing that's Scott Weimann and Semenyo.

[Pezo]

37 minutes ago, Malago said:

Ouch.  Pathway dig at LJ.

And collecting players but not knowing how they fit into a system.

[AshtonRobin21]

There was a brief but special mention for Dylan Kadji towards the end when discussing loans. 

Keep an eye on the lad this season. Nige is a big fan. 

[RedRock]

4 minutes ago, Pezo said:

And collecting players but not knowing how they fit into a system.

Yep, that was one of the main things I took from the piece.
 

Wants to build a team, not collect individuals. That’s a significant change in the Club’s/ Ashton’s approach and about ******* time!

Pearson was/is absolutely the right choice. Smart, with a clear plan and ruthless when needs to be. I like.

Nearly all issues I had under LJ/MA have been or are being addressed. Great foundation being constructed on which we can move forward. We may surprise a few this Season and more optimistic about things than I have been for years. 

[GrahamC]

Interesting & as usual, open & honest.

Certainly dampening down too much enthusiasm by saying no Semenyo before September, implying Kalas’ injury isn’t improving & pretty much ruling out further transfers.

 

[samo II]

He’s right to temper expectations.

Nothing wrong with having a good feeling about things, but progress not promotion needs to be the watch word, I feel.

Edited July 25, 2022 by samo II

[pongo88]

1 hour ago, chinapig said:

The problem is nobody seems to want to buy him. Perhaps he and his agent should reflect on that.

The Massengo situation reminds me of O’Dowda a few years ago. He was convinced Leeds / other clubs wanted him but no offers materialised. Unfortunately, City made the mistake of offering him a new contract and we were stuck with him. Massengo probably thought he would have clubs chasing after him, and be prepared to pay what City want, but it hasn’t turned out that way. NP often mentions the fact that there is a new contract on the table for Massengo, but I hope he tears it up

[chinapig]

8 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

The Massengo situation reminds me of O’Dowda a few years ago. He was convinced Leeds / other clubs wanted him but no offers materialised. Unfortunately, City made the mistake of offering him a new contract and we were stuck with him. Massengo probably thought he would have clubs chasing after him, and be prepared to pay what City want, but it hasn’t turned out that way. NP often mentions the fact that there is a new contract on the table for Massengo, but I hope he tears it up

It could be of course that he just wants to return to France for personal reasons but if that is the case he and his agent should just tell the club that rather than just not responding.

If however his agent is telling him somebody will pay him significantly more money if he runs his contract down then there should come a point when we withdraw our offer imo.

Though if he thinks he will get big money in France in particular he clearly has no idea of the parlous state of French clubs.

In the meantime Nigel will use him if he has to but he'll be on the bench most of the time.

[Jerseybean]

56 minutes ago, RedRock said:

Yep, that was one of the main things I took from the piece.
 

Wants to build a team, not collect individuals. That’s a significant change in the Club’s/ Ashton’s approach and about ******* time!

Pearson was/is absolutely the right choice. Smart, with a clear plan and ruthless when needs to be. I like.

Nearly all issues I had under LJ/MA have been or are being addressed. Great foundation being constructed on which we can move forward. We may surprise a few this Season and more optimistic about things than I have been for years. 

Great post RR which very much echoes my thoughts in a nutshell 

NP is IMO working sensibly and hard to turn the mess around despite all the challenges he inherited 

He knows what good/success looks like and is clearly focused on achieving that without any nonsense or ego being required

Those (either on the pitch or off the pitch) who are with him and committed are part of the future anybody else is history 

What a great appointment 

[steviestevieneville]

19 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

The Massengo situation reminds me of O’Dowda a few years ago. He was convinced Leeds / other clubs wanted him but no offers materialised. Unfortunately, City made the mistake of offering him a new contract and we were stuck with him. Massengo probably thought he would have clubs chasing after him, and be prepared to pay what City want, but it hasn’t turned out that way. NP often mentions the fact that there is a new contract on the table for Massengo, but I hope he tears it up

 

19 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

The Massengo situation reminds me of O’Dowda a few years ago. He was convinced Leeds / other clubs wanted him but no offers materialised. Unfortunately, City made the mistake of offering him a new contract and we were stuck with him. Massengo probably thought he would have clubs chasing after him, and be prepared to pay what City want, but it hasn’t turned out that way. NP often mentions the fact that there is a new contract on the table for Massengo, but I hope he tears it up

Reading between the lines , I think it’s all  his agents doing 

[GrahamC]

5 minutes ago, chinapig said:

It could be of course that he just wants to return to France for personal reasons but if that is the case he and his agent should just tell the club that rather than just not responding.

If however his agent is telling him somebody will pay him significantly more money if he runs his contract down then there should come a point when we withdraw our offer imo.

Though if he thinks he will get big money in France in particular he clearly has no idea of the parlous state of French clubs.

In the meantime Nigel will use him if he has to but he'll be on the bench most of the time.

In a nutshell.

[eardun]

17 minutes ago, chinapig said:

It could be of course that he just wants to return to France for personal reasons but if that is the case he and his agent should just tell the club that rather than just not responding.

If however his agent is telling him somebody will pay him significantly more money if he runs his contract down then there should come a point when we withdraw our offer imo.

Though if he thinks he will get big money in France in particular he clearly has no idea of the parlous state of French clubs.

In the meantime Nigel will use him if he has to but he'll be on the bench most of the time.

Doesn’t the fact that we have offered a contract - presumably on better terms - mean that we at least get some compensation as Massengo is under 24? If so but we then withdraw the offer, presumably we wouldn’t get that. Clearly not as much as a transfer fee but would be better than nothing. 

[LondonBristolian]

1 minute ago, eardun said:

Doesn’t the fact that we have offered a contract - presumably on better terms - mean that we at least get some compensation as Massengo is under 24? If so but we then withdraw the offer, presumably we wouldn’t get that. Clearly not as much as a transfer fee but would be better than nothing. 

I could be wrong but I think that is only if he moves to a team in the English leagues.

[AshtonRobin21]

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

Interesting & as usual, open & honest.

Certainly dampening down too much enthusiasm by saying no Semenyo before September, implying Kalas’ injury isn’t improving & pretty much ruling out further transfers.

 

What impresses me with Pearson is that there is no moaning or need to make excuses. 

He works with what he has, and is fully commited to steadying the club in all aspects. 

No Kalas and Semenyo would be a big loss to some managers, but Nige is completely relaxed about the situation.

Previous regimes would be quick to get the excuse book out and list all the things not in their favour. But Nige just keeps working and finding solutions to problems. 

[P'head Red]

45 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

 

Reading between the lines , I think it’s all  his agents doing 

Think this is probably the case. Nige did make a point of saying that he likes Han and what he can bring to the side, and it just seems to be an unfortunate situation for everyone. Agents are everything wrong with modern football. 

[chinapig]

27 minutes ago, eardun said:

Doesn’t the fact that we have offered a contract - presumably on better terms - mean that we at least get some compensation as Massengo is under 24? If so but we then withdraw the offer, presumably we wouldn’t get that. Clearly not as much as a transfer fee but would be better than nothing. 

You're right of course. Shame we aren't in a position to stand on principle and tell a player if they aren't committed to us we're not committed to them.

[spudski]

If memory serves...HNM's agent is a family member.

Also from memory his whole family, father, mother, brother and sisters moved to Bristol to be with him and establish their own lives here.

Any move, would it seem, affect all of them.

My gut feels that NP really likes and rates him. 

And is playing down his worth.

Either way, it would be good for all parties that he makes his mind up. 

 

 

[Street red]

18 minutes ago, AshtonRobin21 said:

What impresses me with Pearson is that there is no moaning or need to make excuses. 

He works with what he has, and is fully commited to steadying the club in all aspects. 

No Kalas and Semenyo would be a big loss to some managers, but Nige is completely relaxed about the situation.

Previous regimes would be quick to get the excuse book out and list all the things not in their favour. But Nige just keeps working and finding solutions to problems. 

And in the past a loan player would be brought in to cover those players or would have to sign a player, Now it's look at what we have in the building and not adding to the squad for no reason so much more professional,I'm impressed that he's trying to put the club in a good place for now and the future as well.

[AshtonRobin21]

3 minutes ago, Street red said:

And in the past a loan player would be brought in to cover those players or would have to sign a player, Now it's look at what we have in the building and not adding to the squad for no reason so much more professional,I'm impressed that he's trying to put the club in a good place for now and the future as well.

There was certainly a couple of nods to previous regimes regarding overloading the squad, and LJ's pathway comments. 

Nige is fully aware of what needs/has been addressed during his tenure. 

I have full faith that at the end of Nige's time here, he will be remembered for what a great job he has done. He has had everything against him, and continues to put the clubs long term stability at the front of his mind. 

Am I correct in thinking that the only two players he has paid a fee for are Atkinson and Tanner? 

If so, that's a testament to the work he has done so far, especially considering that the squad now looks the strongest it has been for some time. 

[petehinton]

By far his best bit of media since he’s been manager. Absolutely loved his comments on HNM. We’ve been held to ransom by too many players in the past, and in some horrific cases (CO’D) we’ve been held to ransom and given into them.
 

Sign the deal or get going. 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, eardun said:

Doesn’t the fact that we have offered a contract - presumably on better terms - mean that we at least get some compensation as Massengo is under 24? If so but we then withdraw the offer, presumably we wouldn’t get that. Clearly not as much as a transfer fee but would be better than nothing. 

There are two compensation schemes in play here:

• PFCC - if he stays in this country next season
• FIFA RSTP - if he goes abroad next season

Based on the guidance on PFCC, previous cases, etc, I think we could get somewhere towards £3m.

Based on the rules / formula of  RSTP, we are looking at €350k, a tenth of PFCC.

So the big question becomes, does he want to stay in this country, because there will be plenty of suitors NOW at the right price, regardless of whether we’ve received any so far…or does he want to go back home.

@spudski I believe his dad (an ex-pro) is his agent.

1 hour ago, LondonBristolian said:

I could be wrong but I think that is only if he moves to a team in the English leagues.

See reply to Eardun above.  I’ve spent hours recently reading up on this.

45 minutes ago, Street red said:

And in the past a loan player would be brought in to cover those players or would have to sign a player, Now it's look at what we have in the building and not adding to the squad for no reason so much more professional,I'm impressed that he's trying to put the club in a good place for now and the future as well.

It’s what we needed, a professional, experienced manager, here to rebuild a club, not to boost his ego.

I said right back at the start of his appointment that I saw him playing a bit of a “General Manager” role too.  I think with Richard Gould we have two sensible, pragmatic blokes at the helm.  It bodes well.

30 minutes ago, AshtonRobin21 said:

There was certainly a couple of nods to previous regimes regarding overloading the squad, and LJ's pathway comments. 

Nige is fully aware of what needs/has been addressed during his tenure. 

I have full faith that at the end of Nige's time here, he will be remembered for what a great job he has done. He has had everything against him, and continues to put the clubs long term stability at the front of his mind. 

Am I correct in thinking that the only two players he has paid a fee for are Atkinson and Tanner? 

If so, that's a testament to the work he has done so far, especially considering that the squad now looks the strongest it has been for some time. 

Bit of compo for Wilson too….£300k(ish) I reckon.

15 minutes ago, petehinton said:

By far his best bit of media since he’s been manager. Absolutely loved his comments on HNM. We’ve been held to ransom by too many players in the past, and in some horrific cases (CO’D) we’ve been held to ransom and given into them.
 

Sign the deal or get going. 

I felt he sounded frustrated….but totally in control.  He just gets on with it.

I think that was a little message tonight publicly.  Nige has made his position clear.  It will alert clubs , if not already alerted.

[bcfc01]

6 minutes ago, petehinton said:

By far his best bit of media since he’s been manager. Absolutely loved his comments on HNM. We’ve been held to ransom by too many players in the past, and in some horrific cases (CO’D) we’ve been held to ransom and given into them.
 

Sign the deal or get going. 

Agreed.

Its not as if he's progressed in the last 4 years, he's gone from one of the most technically gifted players at the club to a bit of a parody of himself. Big hair, lot of effort, but not a lot else after 89 championship games. Its no wonder there's been no interest in him, he's as he was as a teenager. Still only 21 so time to get his career back on track, but probably not here. Time for him to move on imo.

But, given the injury records of Williams and James, NP can't afford to side line him at the moment, he needs to keep him fit and interested just in case,, but he won't be a starter.

If NP can get a loanee in, or Kadji being fast tracked is a success, I think HNM won't get much pitch time this season.

Better still, if we can get a fee for him, it would suit all parties.

 

 

[chinapig]

2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

So the big question becomes, does he want to stay in this country, because there will be plenty of suitors NOW at the right price, regardless of whether we’ve received any so far…or does he want to go back home.

This seems to be contradictory. If there are plenty of suitors now why have we had no offers?

If there are plenty his agent doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of flushing them out.

[Ben1980]

Love the guy 

[formerly known as ivan]

Surely with HNM if he isn’t going to sign a contract and will run down the last year with minimal playing time then it’s best to cash in now? And I don’t mean £6m, more like £1m-£2m with a sell on fee and also saving in his wages

[Davefevs]

17 minutes ago, chinapig said:

This seems to be contradictory. If there are plenty of suitors now why have we had no offers?

If there are plenty his agent doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of flushing them out.

Because up to this summer we’ve been able play hardball on fee.  Now that seesaw is starting to shift its balance.  I think it’s just hit ultimatum time, and if he won’t sign, we drop our valuation.

[mozo]

"If you've got players that in an ideal world you'd like to move on, but can't, then you've got to get the best out of them.... Or at least ensure they don't become a nuisance around the place... I never begrudge what players earn..."

Who is this referring to?  

[Davefevs]

1 minute ago, mozo said:

"If you've got players that in an ideal world you'd like to move on, but can't, then you've got to get the best out of them.... Or at least ensure they don't become a nuisance around the place... I never begrudge what players earn..."

Who is this referring to?  

Think that was aimed at Tyreeq.

[mozo]

4 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Think that was aimed at Tyreeq.

Sounds like it. The broader point he was making was about player(s) still at the club.

[Swede]

What a difference a proper manager makes! Nige knows exactly what he wants and its that shift from "clubs in the bag" to a smaller squad pulling in the right direction.

There's a clear message to everyone. I like how its gradually shaping up.

[Lew-T]

19 minutes ago, formerly known as ivan said:

Surely with HNM if he isn’t going to sign a contract and will run down the last year with minimal playing time then it’s best to cash in now? And I don’t mean £6m, more like £1m-£2m with a sell on fee and also saving in his wages

I don’t think there are any buyers though. That’s the point.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Lew-T

[Davefevs]

3 minutes ago, mozo said:

Sounds like it. The broader point he was making was about player(s) still at the club.

Zak I reckon.

[2015]

It's not as if we'll miss all those goals Massengo has been scoring or all of them assists.

He needs to move on for the benefit of both us and himself. Lets be honest for the money we spent, it hasn't been good business so far.

[And Its Smith]

1 hour ago, chinapig said:

This seems to be contradictory. If there are plenty of suitors now why have we had no offers?

If there are plenty his agent doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of flushing them out.

Clubs will call the agent first to sound out the situation before putting in a bid. If Massengo is going to see out his contract (something he’s perfectly entitled to do without punishment) then a club wouldn’t make a bid as they’d be wasting their time 

[And Its Smith]

1 hour ago, Lew-T said:

I don’t think there are any buyers though. That’s the point.

Clubs will be interested in him for sure. No bids doesn’t mean no interest 

[downendcity]

3 hours ago, AshtonRobin21 said:

What impresses me with Pearson is that there is no moaning or need to make excuses. 

He works with what he has, and is fully commited to steadying the club in all aspects. 

No Kalas and Semenyo would be a big loss to some managers, but Nige is completely relaxed about the situation.

Previous regimes would be quick to get the excuse book out and list all the things not in their favour. But Nige just keeps working and finding solutions to problems. 

I remember that not long after he took the job NP was asked  about the club/team prior to him taking the manager's job.

It would have been all too easy ( and understandable) had he distanced himself from the shambles he inherited and transferred the blame to the previous incumbent, but in his answer  he kept using "we".  

[The Constant Rabbit]

Either HNM's dad is a rubbish agent - or we are asking too much.

 

I suspect it's the latter based on current financial markets.

 

If he wants to go now - lower the price and ease his way out.

No point playing hardball if he wants to go.

 

$1,000,000 question - why does he want to go??

[The Constant Rabbit]

3 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

Did you listen to the actual comment ? There is no interest, it is not that we rejected an approach or asked too much. There is no hardball, there is no ball. 

As to why he wants to go, you need to ask HNM that. No one seems to know apart from him and his agent (dad if true he is his agent) 

Being in Australia - no I didn't

Hence my question.

Apologies if you were triggered by my geographical location impeding my listening to a local British broadcaster

[Olé]

Blimey - that comment about loans "The existing culture that we've had within the club is not strong enough to have people in who aren't necessarily going to be here the year after. I think it's a viable option for us this year because the existing strength within the group of players is really a lot stronger than anytime - since I've been here anyway"

He's saying what we can all see when we look at the players on the pitch and in the club videos. The togetherness of the squad seems to rise and fall over cycles of quite a few seasons, I've seen comments saying this group looks like the 14/15 one, which is a bit premature, but the fact it looked a million miles away from that the last few years and NP identified that and wanted to fix that first as a priority without diluting the club further with loans - that's experienced management.

Not going to use this as another bash LJ comparison but it's a great shame for everything LJ put into his time here that he poured over so many things and minute detail but never understood the pragmatism that less is more and no amount of building and spending works on weak foundations - the absence of focus on culture and leadership was always a great miss and a great waste, and once the last of the 14/15 personalities had gone, so largely had his chance of succeeding.

 

[SecretSam]

5 hours ago, The Constant Rabbit said:

Being in Australia - no I didn't

Hence my question.

Apologies if you were triggered by my geographical location impeding my listening to a local British broadcaster

Calm down, sport, you could have said "I wasn't able to listen, I'm in Australia"

[SecretSam]

Firstly, I didn't listen to the interview (I live in Bucks)

But...HNM has a real bond with the fans, he is much liked. That is very much at risk here, does he know what it's like to play for us (or any club) if the fans have turned against you? Has happened with so many players in the past...

[DT The Optimist]

5 hours ago, The Constant Rabbit said:

Either HNM's dad is a rubbish agent - or we are asking too much.

 

I suspect it's the latter based on current financial markets.

 

If he wants to go now - lower the price and ease his way out.

No point playing hardball if he wants to go.

 

$1,000,000 question - why does he want to go??

I have just listened to the interview on BBC catch up.  NP says no interest in him.  Going to be a squad player  while here and good offer still on table.  He will utilise him

As for reason why HNM has not signed and committed himself who knows…being told or believing better opportunities will be found at larger clubs around the corner….well as a freebie  this might be the case in years time, but seems  not a player anyone wants to spend money on at this moment in time…but seems at this moment time he’s here for the foreseeable.  

[JoeAman08]

9 hours ago, bcfc01 said:

Agreed.

Its not as if he's progressed in the last 4 years, he's gone from one of the most technically gifted players at the club to a bit of a parody of himself. Big hair, lot of effort, but not a lot else after 89 championship games. Its no wonder there's been no interest in him, he's as he was as a teenager. Still only 21 so time to get his career back on track, but probably not here. Time for him to move on imo.

But, given the injury records of Williams and James, NP can't afford to side line him at the moment, he needs to keep him fit and interested just in case,, but he won't be a starter.

If NP can get a loanee in, or Kadji being fast tracked is a success, I think HNM won't get much pitch time this season.

Better still, if we can get a fee for him, it would suit all parties.

 

 

My first instinct is to this is harsh. However, when you really think about it, it is spot on. HNM hasn’t really improved since he arrived.
 

Now I won’t place all the blame on him. He arrived with a lot of fanfare but there was no plan of how to use him. Been in and out of the team so never a real consistent run of games. All in all though, he should have grown by now as a player. 
 

Think he is probably being used too deep by us. Probably because of his work rate, tenacity and ability to win the ball back. However, when we have possession I feel he looks a bit lost. He has nice tricks and touches in tight spaces but feel these would be better further forward. Maybe we’d have seen more from him in a 3 man midfield. Feel he probably could have played wide with his ability to go past players. 
 

All in all, probably won’t really weaken us when he leaves. There was something there to mould. We just didn’t do it with 3 different managers, different roles, covid and a lot of squd upheaval. 

[Taz]

Just listened online, good honest assessment from Nige as ever, without giving too much away with regards to who he sees as being the bulk of the first 11, and/or players who have impressed, although Kadji was mentioned as one who he likes.

On to Han Noah, great lad but for me hasn't done much to warrant a big improvement with regards to contract terms. In some respect he needs to look at the example that Taylor Moore set a few years ago - accept the offer on the table but maybe try and negotiate a better one based on targets set in the next. He took a wage cut to prove his worth. 

Now granted, it didn't work out for Moore, but you can't fault players like that. He had a belief that he could make it here, and was quite willing to accept lower terms over a short contract to prove that, which he did. Unfortunately for him he's out on loan for the last year of his deal, but I respect him for what he did. 

Han and his representatives, have maybe brought into the hype that surrounded him when he first signed too much. The market has changed, clubs are less willing to take a chance on players if they don't know how and where they would fit into their teams. Unless they know of something behind the scenes, I'd say they are playing a very dangerous game.

[CiderJar]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0cjzkvd

[spudski]

So how true are the reports that we turned down 8.5 million for HNM from Watford a while back? 

And that talks with Nice, Freiburg and Leicester had happened with his Agent?

How much are we putting on his head?