Norwich City at home Carabao Cup match thread

[CraigBCFC10]

The midfield is a big problem at the moment. We are pedestrian and so easy to play through. Williams, James and King are literally the same player. No ball winners, sideways or backward passing.

I haven’t got a problem with BCFC using the “Brentford style” of selling our best players for a good price, but the bit SL has forgotten is when they sold Ollie Watkins they bought in Ivan Toney from Peterborough to replace him. You can’t sale a player of the quality of Alex Scott and not replace him. I think watching Sykes playing as a number 10 last night shows the issue we have. We are completely toothless going forward.

Edited August 30, 2023 by CraigBCFC10

[Charlie BCFC]

5 minutes ago, Sleepy1968 said:

Other than Yeboah's cameo, I thought Wells worked extremely hard - ran his socks off - for little return.

Our attacks were very easy to defend against - very one dimensional, and ineffective.

Wells had the only shot on target and he showed what we should’ve done more of. Got the shot away at the right time and a great strike, keeper made a great save

[TV Tom]

15 minutes ago, Son of Fred said:

With our hard line wage cap, Pearson,after grafting to clear away the mess left by the chuckle brothers is still working with one arm tied behind his back -

He's nearly 60, doesn't need the money -

If I were him I'd inform Lansdown to poke his job - and I'm a supporter of the club!

But people are moaning that SL splashed the cash while the chuckle brothers were here (can't recall anyone complaining then) and now people are moaning now because he isn't splashing the cash, SL can't win, this is Pearson's team, he's brought in practically every one of this squad and some at decent prices, this is his players, his tactics, his team, his formation, he is solely to blame for such woeful performances.  

[MarcusX]

32 minutes ago, Shuffle said:

The big positive  on the night was Yeboah who was very good.  We were well beaten & carry no threat at all. The signings of Cornick & Memehti look poor now & King can’t influence a game anymore & certainly not last 90. Thought Dickie (rolled again for goal), Roberts & Tanner were dreadful & expect TGH to start at RB on Saturday. 
 

it’s going to be a long season & night made more depressing by news that no new signings as squad not good enough as it is. 

And yet Cornick was a big part in us beating Millwall and almost getting the winner Friday…

Its depressing that we aren’t bringing anyone in, think that comment from Nige was very telling and he isn’t happy. 25m brought in, lost our best player (who we are missing badly) and we aren’t going to bring anyone else in? That’s poor

[mozo]

6 minutes ago, westonred said:

1 Shot on target in 90mins again it was Just another game that shows we are desperate for a Big mobile unit up front. The money has dried up and we are getting turned down by players from Bolton and the Irish league. Experienced players we have/had havent/wont sign new deals Kalas HNM Diedhou Vyner We cannot even fill a bench for matches these days which looks embarressing and small time The matchday experience is not good at the moment as we have replaced a lot of our better players with players who are not yet of Championship quality and then when they become championship quality we sell them. Something needs to be done about this shambles as we will be fighting relegation all season and the crowds will drop.  SL if you read this please come and address the fans in the media and tell us your vision for the future

The next three games should tell us more about our levels.

We've got Swansea and Plymouth both of whom are below us in the table, with West Brom in between who we should very much be jostling for position with of we want a top 10 finish.

If we beat Swansea on Saturday we'll be comfortably top half going into a two week break which gives Nige and Co a chance to do some tinkering.

Naturally if we lose to Swansea ahead of that break, it won't do much to improve your spirits!

[Charlie BCFC]

37 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I thought we were good first half, poor second.

Norwich are a very decent side with obviously far greater squad strength than we possess.

Yeboah did very well after coming on but calls for him to start are ludicrous, he’s still raw but looks a talent.

With the exception of the back four it is very easy to predict Saturday’s side after that, Mehmeti showing exactly why he doesn’t start.

Pring will certainly come back in but on last night’s evidence only Naismith of the rest of the defence made a case to do so.

Naismith was our best player imo, thought Dickie did well but Tanner for me needs to be dropped. Poor on the ball and has started every game this season so is overdue a rest 

[Sleepy1968]

31 minutes ago, Carey 6 said:

I really hope he can turn it around but so far he’s really disappointed me. 

Was hopeful that after a full pre season here he’d go up a level but still yet to see it. 

I do wonder if we’d be better of getting him on the right. 

I just don't think he understands what he needs to do. Putting him on the other side won't improve his decision making or end product.

[mozo]

1 minute ago, Charlie BCFC said:

Naismith was our best player imo, thought Dickie did well but Tanner for me needs to be dropped. Poor on the ball and has started every game this season so is overdue a rest 

Tanner shouldn't need a rest in his early 20s! A player his age should be thriving on gametime and learning and improving.

[westonred]

3 minutes ago, Top Robin said:

He's running out of patience!?!   He is responsible for this term and it's motivation.

We should be the ones running out of patience with him.

 

NP is not running out of patience with the team he always backs them. He is upset that he is not being backed by those above. For 2 or 3 years he has done a great job shifting out the deadwood and high earners and sort out the mess the chuckle brothers left us in He has had to sell our best players and only given a limited budget, so we have to shop in the bargain basement for non championship quality players . Now the wage budget has been capped so he is fighting another losing battle and players from Bolton and the Irish league turn us down

[Cidre Monita]

1 hour ago, TV Tom said:

What's this got to do with Lansdown ? this is NPs team, his players, his tactics yet he keeps on getting off relatively scot free after every poor performance (of which there has been so, so many during his tenure)    

What’s this got to do with Lansdown? Are you for real?!! With a couple more injuries we will be down to a 5-aside team and still no sign of the Scott cash being reinvested. Seriously mate you get the team/club you deserve….

[Northern Red]

17 minutes ago, Top Robin said:

He's running out of patience!?!   He is responsible for this term and it's motivation.

We should be the ones running out of patience with him.

 

You ran out of patience with him after about 2 weeks, if you even had any to start with.

Still, maybe it won't be long until you can start hounding the next one out.

[TV Tom]

7 minutes ago, Cidre Monita said:

What’s this got to do with Lansdown? Are you for real?!! With a couple more injuries we will be down to a 5-aside team and still no sign of the Scott cash being reinvested. Seriously mate you get the team/club you deserve….

And you've got the manager you deserve......

[Nogbad the Bad]

19 minutes ago, Top Robin said:

He's running out of patience!?!   He is responsible for this term and it's motivation.

We should be the ones running out of patience with him.

 

I'm sure we would be if we genuinely thought he was at fault, but he has to work with the tools he's got which are clearly insufficient to progress.

Most of us can see that having sold Semenyo and Scott, and with the injuries to Conway. McCrorie, Weimann and Atkinson, we can't expect much more from NP until SL properly backs him.

My patience is running out with SL, not NP.

 

[Cidre Monita]

1 minute ago, TV Tom said:

And you've got the manager you deserve......

First proper manager we’ve had for years and he’s been starved of funding. As I said in a previous post NP has kept his part of the bargain which SL has seemingly reneged on. It annoys me that NP will ultimately be made the scapegoat and a lot on here will applaud that ,frankly, I believe, through their own ignorance. Please understand that SL is the one constant in the historical and ongoing underachievement of our club. 

Thanks for your articulate response by the way. 

[TV Tom]

5 minutes ago, Cidre Monita said:

First proper manager we’ve had for years and he’s been starved of funding. As I said in a previous post NP has kept his part of the bargain which SL has seemingly reneged on. It annoys me that NP will ultimately be made the scapegoat and a lot on here will applaud that ,frankly, I believe, through their own ignorance. Please understand that SL is the one constant in the historical and ongoing underachievement of our club. 

Thanks for your articulate response by the way. 

You sound as chippy as a Rovers fan, are people not allowed to have a different opinion to you without your sarcastic comments?  

[95red]

1 hour ago, TV Tom said:

What's this got to do with Lansdown ? this is NPs team, his players, his tactics yet he keeps on getting off relatively scot free after every poor performance (of which there has been so, so many during his tenure)    

Um lansdown  runs the club final say on finances, shop in lower leagues 90% of the time that's their level,Pearson have been told to shop there he working with what he's allowed  ,tryers with little  or no quality  if we stay up lansdowns happy ,Pearson takes the flak for a bottom half finish, next manager  inherits  the same problem. Selling our young talent  also steadys  the ship for lansdown to sell up.

[Olé]

52 minutes ago, Gert Mare said:

Wells just ‘strolled about

42 minutes ago, Sleepy1968 said:

I thought Wells worked extremely hard - ran his socks off - for little return.

I'm definitely in the latter view. I actually left wondering if Wells will have the legs for Saturday, he put a proper shift in without much supply - as poor as we were with the ball, we pressed high up more than we have all season and right to the very end and Wells rarely dropped off from his commitment to close down their defenders without the ball. 

 

[italian dave]

1 hour ago, Gert Mare said:

A family member went last night and his thoughts were that we seemed to lack any urgency, continued to surrender possession by opting to launching long balls, thought that Cornick didn’t even look like a footballer and was stealing a wage, said that Mehmeti kept hold of the ball for too long and should have passed to Wells, Wells just ‘strolled about, Bell did a lot of running without impacting the game, we chose to pass it around the back and play it back to Max when we were 1-0 down with time running out instead of trying to get back into the game and was very impressed with Yeboah and said that if the rest of the team had played with the same intent as Yeboah it could have been a much better game. Overall he said it was rubbish and boring.

A fair summary! All I would say though is that if we had 11 players demonstrating intent in the fashion Yeboah does then we’d rarely see more than half a game before we were down to 6 players remaining on the pitch!

Not knocking the guy: he was the one bright spot last night. But he was a red card waiting to happen, and how he avoided a yellow only the ref can explain. 

[Red-Robbo]

1 hour ago, Son of Fred said:

With our hard line wage cap, Pearson,after grafting to clear away the mess left by the chuckle brothers is still working with one arm tied behind his back -

He's nearly 60, doesn't need the money -

If I were him I'd inform Lansdown to poke his job - and I'm a supporter of the club!

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

[FNQ]

3 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

Are you serious?? If so who’s the ACM that you’d have in mind that could possibly replace the three squad places?

[Top Robin]

40 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

You ran out of patience with him after about 2 weeks, if you even had any to start with.

Still, maybe it won't be long until you can start hounding the next one out.

It was about 10 games when I knew that he was going to stabilise us but not get us promoted. 

Unfortunately even the stability looks dodgy now.

[petehinton]

3 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

Far too early to say on Mehmeti….some were saying better than Semenyo after his first 2 games. Will we sell him for more than we bought him for in years to come? Definitely, imo. Cornick, jury’s out still. Want to see him centrally. 
 

We did try to sign the lad from Bolton on a perm, long term deal and got offered the same to stay at Bolton. It happens. TGH is a really good player, and was forced to leave WBA because of their money issues. I’m sure if Pearson could’ve, that would’ve been a perm too. 
 

Absolutely none of these will be solely Pearson decisions. They’ll be Alexander and Tinnion choices too, so definitely not managers call. 
 

Managers call, rightfully, as we can all read between the lines is that we need more reinforcements with the Scott money. But he isn’t going to get it. 

[Red-Robbo]

2 minutes ago, FNQ said:

Are you serious?? If so who’s the ACM that you’d have in mind that could possibly replace the three squad places?

As Cornick is regularly subbed, it seems he's already replacable. 

[MelksRed]

Key line in NP's post match....."in other areas we are not quite as blessed".....he knows we need investment....but has no funding to work with. 

[Son of Fred]

6 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

I think our new wage cap hugely restricts who we can bring in - ok,I agree that monies spent on the Cornicks & Mehmeti's could certainly have been far better utilised on what we really needed - but then your shopping in an area that brings a player earning a higher salary..

Catch 22!

[RedEyez]

57 minutes ago, Charlie BCFC said:

Naismith was our best player imo, thought Dickie did well but Tanner for me needs to be dropped. Poor on the ball and has started every game this season so is overdue a rest 

For sure. TGH will start Saturday 

[Cidre Monita]

17 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

You sound as chippy as a Rovers fan, are people not allowed to have a different opinion to you without your sarcastic comments?  

Haha do you ‘smell gas’ TVT?!  The standard go to lazy response to a well made argument that is difficult to argue with given the current situation. This is a forum so of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I was merely having an opinion on you opinion. 

[Red-Robbo]

2 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Far too early to say on Mehmeti….some were saying better than Semenyo after his first 2 games. Will we sell him for more than we bought him for in years to come? Definitely, imo. Cornick, jury’s out still. Want to see him centrally. 
 

We did try to sign the lad from Bolton on a perm, long term deal and got offered the same to stay at Bolton. It happens. TGH is a really good player, and was forced to leave WBA because of their money issues. I’m sure if Pearson could’ve, that would’ve been a perm too. 
 

Absolutely none of these will be solely Pearson decisions. They’ll be Alexander and Tinnion choices too, so definitely not managers call. 
 

Managers call, rightfully, as we can all read between the lines is that we need more reinforcements with the Scott money. But he isn’t going to get it. 

So Pearson has no say in player recruitment?

Is there anything he does do?

I mean, we are allowed to say his three up-front with Cornick and Mehmeti either side of Wells or Bell doesn't look like it's working, right? 

[FNQ]

2 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

As Cornick is regularly subbed, it seems he's already replacable. 

Everyone is replaceable, but who’s the one ACM that you have in mind that could replace three?

[petehinton]

Just now, Red-Robbo said:

So Pearson has no say in player recruitment?

Is there anything he does do?

I mean, we are allowed to say his three up-front with Cornick and Mehmeti either side of Wells or Bell doesn't look like it's working, right? 

No he will be involved of course, but I’m saying it’s not going to be solely down to him. 
 

The front 3 set up is definitely an issue. They’re far, far too far apart from each other in the home games. That needs to be a coaching focus. Not helped by losing Tommy for 3 months, 60 minutes into the season of course 

[Numero Uno]

6 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

……….and then people would be berating lack of competition in other areas and saying we put all our eggs in one basket. If said midfield player got injured for three months we would be in a worse position than we are now. To get adequate numbers and quality needed to challenge the top half requires money to be spent. That money isn’t available. You could argue with our injury situation it’s just as well we got the numbers in first?

I think it’s obvious that Steve is setting things up for a sale of the club and is keeping the purse strings tight. That’s his prerogative but rather than be up front and say it he is hiding behind a mantra of we’ve got a better squad than Luton had last season. Do we really?

I doubt that the current situation is what was sold as the Year 3 plan to Nige when he took the job. The fact he hasn’t moaned about his lot up to the end of last season suggests he knew what he was getting into. However, having developed Scott, earned the club £25m and isn’t seeing much of it to bring that quality addition you speak of, he’s probably wondering whether he was sold a pup.

[MelksRed]

 

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

Is the plan to become a Championship Academy? developing & feeding young players to the football market?

 

 

You have to remain in the Championship to be a championship academy.......I think we will have a long drawn out season....possible relegation battle but would expect to survive. Its certainly not going to be the promotion push season that the pre-season bluster suggested. 

Key line in NP's post match....."in other areas we are not quite as blessed".....he knows we need investment....but has no funding to work with. 

SL needs to be careful....NP close to the end of his deal.....could walk if not given appropriate support. Especially as it is known that he is now considering life after football. NP has secured championship status whilst shedding drift wood, sorting the team and revising the pay structure in line with his gift.....

 

Seems always the way that we get to a good position and then fail to capitalise on the gain.......disappointing but not unexpected. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by MelksRed

[westonred]

Personally i would try and get rid of Cornick Memheti King (only a bit part player) to try and get a transfer kitty.  I think Tanner would have been sold after the additions McCrorie and TGH but injuries cant let that happen at the moment.  In a BBC interview last night NP was asked if we would be bringing anyone in before the window closes he abruptly said No,  he didnt sound happy about it at all. I'm sure he will leave at the end of his contract, he wont put up with the broken promises anymore

https://twitter.com/i/status/1696639411755081972

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by westonred

[MelksRed]

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

Is the plan to become a Championship Academy? developing & feeding young players to the football market?

 

 

You have to remain in the Championship to be a championship academy.......I think we will have a long drawn out season....possible relegation battle but would expect to survive. Its certainly not going to be the promotion push season that the pre-season bluster suggested. 

Key line in NP's post match....."in other areas we are not quite as blessed".....he knows we need investment....but has no funding to work with. 

SL needs to be careful....NP close to the new of his deal.....could walk if not given appropriate support. Especially as it is known that he is now considering life after football. NP has secured championship status whilst shedding drift wood, sorting the team and revising the pay structure in line with his gift.....

Seems always the way that we get to a good position and then fail to capitalise on the gain.......disappointing but not unexpected. 

[View from the Dolman]

1 minute ago, westonred said:

Personally i would try and get rid of Cornick Memheti King (only a bit part player) to try and get a transfer kitty.

How much do you really think Andy King would add to the "transfer kitty"? Unless there's something I'm missing about Saudi Arabia coming calling with £10m.

[Calculus]

1 hour ago, johnheadbcfc said:

Twice the player is a stretch mind

Fair enough. Bell is a lot more useful than Mehmeti on the left, and I'm not even a fan if Bell's. 

[westonred]

1 minute ago, View from the Dolman said:

How much do you really think Andy King would add to the "transfer kitty"? Unless there's something I'm missing about Saudi Arabia coming calling with £10m.

I'm talking wages

[MelksRed]

Not quite sure why my post is showing twice.....

[Numero Uno]

1 minute ago, westonred said:

Personally i would try and get rid of Cornick Memheti King (only a bit part player) to try and get a transfer kitty.  I think Tanner would have been sold after the additions McCrorie and TGH but injuries cant let that happen at the moment.  In a BBC interview last night NP was asked if we would be bringing anyone in before the window closes he abruptly said No,  he didnt sound happy about it at all. I'm sure he will leave at the end of his contract, he wont put up with the broken promises anymore

I think this almost certainly what will happen unless something changes in the next window. I don’t see Nige walking away mid-contract unless Steve cans him tbh but he has no need to continue the job under its current restrictions. Let someone else have a go and enjoy retirement with his family.

You would hope after 20 years plus of the same owner that we would have a relatively seamlessly run club where everyone knows their role down to the last full stop on the contract. Do we ****………

[firstdivision]

33 minutes ago, Cidre Monita said:

First proper manager we’ve had for years and he’s been starved of funding. As I said in a previous post NP has kept his part of the bargain which SL has seemingly reneged on. It annoys me that NP will ultimately be made the scapegoat and a lot on here will applaud that ,frankly, I believe, through their own ignorance. Please understand that SL is the one constant in the historical and ongoing underachievement of our club. 

Thanks for your articulate response by the way. 

We've spent 14 of the last 16 seasons in the Championship, which compares very favourably with our history.

 From 1965-1981 we were in the top two divisions all the time.

Before that, you have to go back to the period before and after the First World War to find a better run than now. So basically, this is our best consistent spell in terms of which division we are in for over a hundred years. The things history teaches us, eh?

[pillred]

2 hours ago, TV Tom said:

What's this got to do with Lansdown ? this is NPs team, his players, his tactics yet he keeps on getting off relatively scot free after every poor performance (of which there has been so, so many during his tenure)    

He does seem a bit bulletproof with many on here, I have made no secret of my lack of enthusiasm for him, sure he has had a bit of a mess to clear up but has now been in charge for over 3 years, The team and tactics are basically his now and I'm not particularly impressed with what I'm seeing, if this carries on much longer even SL patience will wear thin.

[TV Tom]

1 minute ago, pillred said:

He does seem a bit bulletproof with many on here, I have made no secret of my lack of enthusiasm for him, sure he has had a bit of a mess to clear up but has now been in charge for over 3 years, The team and tactics are basically his now and I'm not particularly impressed with what I'm seeing, if this carries on much longer even SL patience will wear thin.

Agreed, last season you had the likes of Luton, Coventry and Blackburn fighting for promotion and they barely spent a penny on transfers between them, their managers made the most the most of what they got. 

[Red-Robbo]

21 minutes ago, FNQ said:

Everyone is replaceable, but who’s the one ACM that you have in mind that could replace three?

Funnily enough, as I do not work professionally in football, I don't have a database of who may or may not be available.  Thing is, we have staff at BCFC who do that, and I don't believe that there would be no one available or affordable in the entire world of football who could play the role of linking our defence and deep midfield with our forwards. Because, you see, we aren't really doing that at our club at present - the pitiful number of goal attempts per game shows that.

So, would I rather have had one really useful central player than three who all fulfill roles that can be done by other players already here (one of whom, tbf, hasn't yet had time to show what he can do), well, yes, I would. 

It's hypothetical anyway, as we've got who we've got. We can't time-machine them back. 

[Cidre Monita]

8 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

We've spent 14 of the last 16 seasons in the Championship, which compares very favourably with our history.

 From 1965-1981 we were in the top two divisions all the time.

Before that, you have to go back to the period before and after the First World War to find a better run than now. So basically, this is our best consistent spell in terms of which division we are in for over a hundred years. The things history teaches us, eh?

So you are happy with that? The likes of Luton, Brentford et al in the Prem and that sleepy little retirement home Bournemouth signing our best young players. I was saying to my mate that I actually prefer the old days in the early 80’s when Terry Cooper was in charge and we didn’t have a pot to p*** in. Who would have thought back then we still wouldn’t have made the promised land some 40 years later even with the involvement of a local billionaire. The things history teaches us, eh? 

[mozo]

29 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Far too early to say on Mehmeti….some were saying better than Semenyo after his first 2 games. Will we sell him for more than we bought him for in years to come? Definitely, imo. Cornick, jury’s out still. Want to see him centrally. 
 

We did try to sign the lad from Bolton on a perm, long term deal and got offered the same to stay at Bolton. It happens. TGH is a really good player, and was forced to leave WBA because of their money issues. I’m sure if Pearson could’ve, that would’ve been a perm too. 
 

Absolutely none of these will be solely Pearson decisions. They’ll be Alexander and Tinnion choices too, so definitely not managers call. 
 

Managers call, rightfully, as we can all read between the lines is that we need more reinforcements with the Scott money. But he isn’t going to get it. 

Just to chip in, I'm in complete agreement with everything you say there...

Just on Mehmeti and TGH, I've said a few times that I'm worried that we're signing players with potential but not players for a push up the league.

Totally agree that in theory (if we don't let their contracts expire...!) we should see a profit on those players and others, such as Roberts and Knight. 

I think it's fair to say that we entered this season with expectations of pushing on and upwards, and naturally there's going to be frustration if it turns out that the majority of our recruits actually needed a year or two to develop into good Championship players.

We're unlucky with McCrorie though, albeit even he is untested at this level.

[The Dolman Pragmatist]

1 hour ago, westonred said:

1 Shot on target in 90mins again it was Just another game that shows we are desperate for a Big mobile unit up front. The money has dried up and we are getting turned down by players from Bolton and the Irish league. Experienced players we have/had havent/wont sign new deals Kalas HNM Diedhou Vyner We cannot even fill a bench for matches these days which looks embarressing and small time The matchday experience is not good at the moment as we have replaced a lot of our better players with players who are not yet of Championship quality and then when they become championship quality we sell them. Something needs to be done about this shambles as we will be fighting relegation all season and the crowds will drop.  SL if you read this please come and address the fans in the media and tell us your vision for the future

Not everything is solved by bringing in yet more new players.  How many players has Pearson brought in since January?  Cornick, Mehmeti, Dickie, Roberts, Knight, McCrorie, Gardner-Hickman.  Have I missed anyone?  The issue for me is that we are under-performing with the players we do have, which is an issue for the manager and coaches, not the owner.

[Red-Robbo]

29 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

……….and then people would be berating lack of competition in other areas and saying we put all our eggs in one basket. If said midfield player got injured for three months we would be in a worse position than we are now. To get adequate numbers and quality needed to challenge the top half requires money to be spent. That money isn’t available. You could argue with our injury situation it’s just as well we got the numbers in first?

I think it’s obvious that Steve is setting things up for a sale of the club and is keeping the purse strings tight. That’s his prerogative but rather than be up front and say it he is hiding behind a mantra of we’ve got a better squad than Luton had last season. Do we really?

I doubt that the current situation is what was sold as the Year 3 plan to Nige when he took the job. The fact he hasn’t moaned about his lot up to the end of last season suggests he knew what he was getting into. However, having developed Scott, earned the club £25m and isn’t seeing much of it to bring that quality addition you speak of, he’s probably wondering whether he was sold a pup.

 

If my auntie had ... etc. Hypotheticals.

Fact is, the three players people complained the most about last night were Pearson signings. Tinnion does the background availability stuff, Alexander - in consultation with the owner - sets the budget, but Pearson brought them here.  I'd argue that neither Mehmeti nor Cornick have been success stories and they've had quite a lot of gametime now, each.  Tanner, the other current whipping boy, is not as bad as people make out and has been MOTM in the past. We know he can do it, he's out of form. 

He can't spend what we need and I'd agree with everyone who says new ownership/new co-owners/an injection of at least interest in building the club up, is needed much more than a change of manager.

But Pearson makes mistakes. He's very stubborn at acknowledging them to himself as well. I don't think he's beyond criticism on that front. 

 

[Major Isewater]

33 minutes ago, MelksRed said:

Not quite sure why my post is showing twice.....

It’s that good. 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, CraigBCFC10 said:

The midfield is a big problem at the moment. We are pedestrian and so easy to play through. Williams, James and King are literally the same player. No ball winners, sideways or backward passing.

I haven’t got a problem with BCFC using the “Brentford style” of selling our best players for a good price, but the bit SL has forgotten is when they sold Ollie Watkins they bought in Ivan Toney from Peterborough to replace him. You can’t sale a player of the quality of Alex Scott and not replace him. I think watching Sykes playing as a number 10 last night shows the issue we have. We are completely toothless going forward.

Heard an interview with the Brighton CEO recently about how they ran their club. He said that they buy players cheaply, with the intention of making them far better and selling for a huge profit, BUT, they recognise this will take at least two transfer windows and so they replace their better players two windows ahead of them leaving. It makes it a seamless transition.

[2015]

I am astonished that we have received £35 million in Scott and Semenyo this year and we won't adequately replace them. That is not how you progress a team in this League!

[Nogbad the Bad]

18 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

Not everything is solved by bringing in yet more new players.  How many players has Pearson brought in since January?  Cornick, Mehmeti, Dickie, Roberts, Knight, McCrorie, Gardner-Hickman.  Have I missed anyone?  The issue for me is that we are under-performing with the players we do have, which is an issue for the manager and coaches, not the owner.

Don't think so.

7 in since January, but almost twice as many out, so the squad clearly requires strengthening.

 

[italian dave]

9 minutes ago, 2015 said:

I am astonished that we have received £35 million in Scott and Semenyo this year and we won't adequately replace them. That is not how you progress a team in this League!

I don’t disagree with the point you’re making in your second sentence. (Although I’m no longer convinced that our current objective is to progress in the league so much as to tread water in 14th place - but that’s another issue).

But isn’t the point about the finances to do with the wage bill, not with transfer fees. I don’t have the detailed knowledge of these things that some on here have, and it’s probably over-simplifying it. But the point everyone at the club - including NP - keep referring to is the wage structure/cap. For all their value, I don’t imagine either Semenyo or Scott were on big wages. So what they’ve freed up in the wage bill doesn’t get you much more than a couple of the incoming players we already have.

I’m not trying to argue that’s the right approach. But maybe explains it. And it’s certainly why it’s not as straightforward as ‘we’ve had £35m incoming therefore we can afford to spend x% of that outgoing’ 

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, TV Tom said:

But people are moaning that SL splashed the cash while the chuckle brothers were here (can't recall anyone complaining then) and now people are moaning now because he isn't splashing the cash, SL can't win, this is Pearson's team, he's brought in practically every one of this squad and some at decent prices, this is his players, his tactics, his team, his formation, he is solely to blame for such woeful performances.  

Just putting out a rhetoric that fans want us to splash the cash.  We don’t.  We just want a couple of sensible signings to boost the first team squad.  For Nige to ask for that is a million miles from previous spending…and it’s completely reasonable after the cost cutting he’s done and transfer revenue earned.

1 hour ago, Olé said:

I'm definitely in the latter view. I actually left wondering if Wells will have the legs for Saturday, he put a proper shift in without much supply - as poor as we were with the ball, we pressed high up more than we have all season and right to the very end and Wells rarely dropped off from his commitment to close down their defenders without the ball. 

 

I can only imagine some people didn’t watch the game.  Wells is looking sharp, worked his nuts off last night.

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Calculus said:

Fair enough. Bell is a lot more useful than Mehmeti on the left, and I'm not even a fan if Bell's. 

I think Bell was below par again last night.  Most of our attacking situations first half involved Mehmeti.

We moaned about Mehmeti taking extra touches last season, how many times has Bell refused to cross in the last three games…far too many.  Last night he just got ushered off the ball when he came inside. 

[johnheadbcfc]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I think Bell was below par again last night.  Most of our attacking situations first half involved Mehmeti.

We moaned about Mehmeti taking extra touches last season, how many times has Bell refused to cross in the last three games…far too many.  Last night he just got ushered off the ball when he came inside. 

Bell for me hasn't shown that's hes better than mehmeti in the slightest, take away the academy aspect and there would be threads about his bad performances.

[bcfc01]

2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I think Bell was below par again last night.  Most of our attacking situations first half involved Mehmeti.

We moaned about Mehmeti taking extra touches last season, how many times has Bell refused to cross in the last three games…far too many.  Last night he just got ushered off the ball when he came inside. 

I was hoping that pre-season would sort that out, but from what I've seen so far he still seems a little lightweight. His decision making is not good either so far, he's a bit off from last season imo. I could say the same for a couple of others in terms of decision making, notably Tanner and O'Leary.

Early days and I'm not too bothered about last night against a team who will be challenging near the top, but we do need a good performance against Swansea who are looking for their first win.

[mozo]

34 minutes ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

Don't think so.

7 in since January, but almost twice as many out, so the squad clearly requires strengthening.

 

The messaging from the club has been that the squad is strong.

Tinnion has championed "two quality players for each position".

Nige has confirmed that "we're happy with the squad that we've got."

Your response to me might be "well, what do you expect them to say?!" 

[The Dolman Pragmatist]

I’m sure this is unpopular view, particularly with the current wave of criticism aimed at Lansdown, but Pearson has had, what, three years now?  That’s a long time in football management terms these days.  This is his squad, when is he going to get the best out of it?  All I see at the moment is decent players underperforming, as individuals and as a unit, and I find it hard to pin that on the owner.  

[firstdivision]

1 hour ago, Cidre Monita said:

So you are happy with that? The likes of Luton, Brentford et al in the Prem and that sleepy little retirement home Bournemouth signing our best young players. I was saying to my mate that I actually prefer the old days in the early 80’s when Terry Cooper was in charge and we didn’t have a pot to p*** in. Who would have thought back then we still wouldn’t have made the promised land some 40 years later even with the involvement of a local billionaire. The things history teaches us, eh? 

'So you are happy with that?' Ah, that's a different point. No, I'm a little frustrated, but I have been for many many months of the 52 years I've been a supporter.

It was just that you brought up the historical context so I thought you might, on the off chance, like to see some facts to consider to go along with your opinion. I was merely pointing out that the SL's years compare extremely favourably with what we've achieved in our history. 

(Btw, my post should have read 'second most successful period...in over a hundred years' btw.' Apologies. It was a typo.

 

[mozo]

3 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

I’m sure this is unpopular view, particularly with the current wave of criticism aimed at Lansdown, but Pearson has had, what, three years now?  That’s a long time in football management terms these days.  This is his squad, when is he going to get the best out of it?  All I see at the moment is decent players underperforming, as individuals and as a unit, and I find it hard to pin that on the owner.  

I personally think it's his squad, his coaching set up and his tactics. 

If he sets an expectation that we have the quality to push for top 6 then we have to judge him on that.

But it's too early to judge that after just a few games.

So far most performances have been disappointing, and in all games the forward play has been concerning.

Let's get the first block of ten out to way and see how it's going.

[Nogbad the Bad]

11 minutes ago, mozo said:

I personally think it's his squad, his coaching set up and his tactics. 

If he sets an expectation that we have the quality to push for top 6 then we have to judge him on that.

 

Didn't SL say that his expectation was a push for top 6 this season? If so Nige could hardly publicly say he disagreed, because however unlikely, it couldn't be ruled out.

Presume you're quoting NP from pre season when his optimism to push for the top 6 would be based on his squad at the time and envisaging Scott, Conway and McCrorie as regular starters. 

With a small squad losing 3 such key players collectively right at the start of the season obviously makes a big difference, most fans know and accept that, and expectations will be tempered until those at the top are seen to be sharing NP's ambition by supporting him financially rather than apparently being content to stagnate in this division and frustrate both the manager and the fans.

It almost feels by SL's inaction to back the manager that he is writing off this season already and is completely unbothered about having a discontented manager and fanbase and the prospect of dwindling, restless crowds. Very odd imo.

 

[mozo]

7 minutes ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

Didn't SL say that his expectation was a push for top 6 this season? If so Nige could hardly publicly say he disagreed, because however unlikely, it couldn't be ruled out.

Presume you're quoting NP from pre season when his optimism to push for the top 6 would be based on his squad at the time and envisaging Scott, Conway and McCrorie as regular starters. 

With a small squad losing 3 such key players collectively right at the start of the season obviously makes a big difference, most fans know and accept that, and expectations will be tempered until those at the top are seen to be sharing NP's ambition by supporting him financially rather than apparently being content to stagnate in this division and frustrate both the manager and the fans.

It almost feels by SL's inaction to back the manager that he is writing off this season already and is completely unbothered about having a discontented manager and fanbase and the prospect of dwindling, restless crowds. Very odd imo.

 

I think if Pearson feels he's not being adequately backed financially and that the targets are unachievable it won't be long before he starts dropping hints to that effect.

I don't see him as someone to tow the company line if he doesn't like it.

[TV Tom]

1 hour ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

I’m sure this is unpopular view, particularly with the current wave of criticism aimed at Lansdown, but Pearson has had, what, three years now?  That’s a long time in football management terms these days.  This is his squad, when is he going to get the best out of it?  All I see at the moment is decent players underperforming, as individuals and as a unit, and I find it hard to pin that on the owner.  

Well said 

[stephenkibby.]

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Just putting out a rhetoric that fans want us to splash the cash.  We don’t.  We just want a couple of sensible signings to boost the first team squad.  For Nige to ask for that is a million miles from previous spending…and it’s completely reasonable after the cost cutting he’s done and transfer revenue earned.

I can only imagine some people didn’t watch the game.  Wells is looking sharp, worked his nuts off last night.

Wells had a good game last night he's a real team player.

Big worry for me is Tanner, he looks devoid of confidence never steams forward with the ball to make his opponent commit to making a challenge    just reaches the half way line stops and goes backwards.

He's trying so hard not to make a mistake it has the opposite affect.

[Davefevs]

When did a few days over 2 1/2 years become 3 years?

”this is his squad” - yes it is, but it’s not his squad of choice, it’s his squad of compromise and constraint, because he was left with a right old mess that couldn’t be rectified immediately.  It takes 2-3years to get players out of a club, because of the contract dished out previously.

This really is season one, a semi-decent squad with potential to make better through sound player sales (Semenyo done early) and recruitment, whilst bringing on the academy.

Someone reneged on the deal!

[RedM]

5 hours ago, Calculus said:

Was sat in the middle of the Lansdown yesterday and was watching Nige's reactions, particularly about Mehmeti. Not happy would be the understatement of the year. Was very surprised when Mehmeti came out for the second half. Sam Bell is twice the player on the left. 

I noticed this too, and I think he had a right go at Wells too with a few explitives thrown in, he wasn't happy. 

I don't think it's lack of effort overall, we are just well short of quality. We miss the driving spark of Conway, and maybe the guidance of Weimann for example, but they are not available and we have to make do with what we have.

We have experience out there but the experienced players are failing to impact and affect the game like they should be able to. James. King, Naismith, Cornick, Wells,O'leary etc have masses of games between them, so how is it that Yeboah and to a lesser extent Bell are the only ones who look like unlocking games like this. 

Oxford aside we are still in single figures for shots on target combined aren't we. Now that's a stat that concerns me. but I am also equally concerned that Pearson can't seem to get more out of this squad, his squad, too.

[Davefevs]

@RedM

This is a summary of City vs all the Championship.  League Only - 4 games only.  Small sample.

The red blob is City, the other blobs are the other teams.  The thin grey vertical line (shaded out) is the average of all 24 clubs.

The further to the right is better.  For defending I reversed the axes, so further right is still better.

Heres Norwich.

The big question is how do we improve “us”.  We do need to improve.

@Spike wrote on another thread re some “flaws” in our attacking play.  I agree with some bits.

 

[italian dave]

5 hours ago, Cidre Monita said:

So you are happy with that? The likes of Luton, Brentford et al in the Prem and that sleepy little retirement home Bournemouth signing our best young players. I was saying to my mate that I actually prefer the old days in the early 80’s when Terry Cooper was in charge and we didn’t have a pot to p*** in. Who would have thought back then we still wouldn’t have made the promised land some 40 years later even with the involvement of a local billionaire. The things history teaches us, eh? 

I don't think anyone has come anywhere near suggesting they are happy with that. The point was simply that your assertion that "SL is the one constant in the historical and ongoing underachievement of our club" doesn't really stand up. And that, in the context of the historical levels of achievement (or otherwise) of our club, SL's tenure is actually one of the more successful.

You've made the point yourself that we've had spells of far greater underachievement - in the old 4th Division for example. SL wasn't involved then.

I enjoyed the days of Terry Cooper too - I look back very fondly on them. But I'm not sure what point you're making. Those weren't times of 'achievement' - beyond simply surviving. And I wouldn't want to be watching and visiting the likes of Chester and Rochdale every season for long! I assume you don't want SL to take us back there 

Someone made the point elsewhere on here recently that the common factor in the two periods of greatest achievement (1970s and the past decade) was stability of ownership. I'm not for a moment uncritical of some of the things SL has done. And one of then is that the stability of ownership hasn't been accompanied by a consistency of strategy. But at the same time I don't think you can dismiss the many pluses of his ownership either. And a change would be not only a break in that stability but also a leap into the dark - sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. 

[BCFC Rich]

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

@RedM

This is a summary of City vs all the Championship.  League Only - 4 games only.  Small sample.

The red blob is City, the other blobs are the other teams.  The thin grey vertical line (shaded out) is the average of all 24 clubs.

The further to the right is better.  For defending I reversed the axes, so further right is still better.

Heres Norwich.

The big question is how do we improve “us”.  We do need to improve.

@Spike wrote on another thread re some “flaws” in our attacking play.  I agree with some bits.

 

I'm probably totally misreading that, but to me, it looks like it's our pressing and passing that are the main issues (poor passing was very evident against Birmingham). Does that suggest in the passing were to click we would see big improvements? 

It also show Norwich are pretty much the best attacking side so far this season. Again I'm probably reading it wrong.

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by BCFC Rich

[Davefevs]

8 minutes ago, BCFC Rich said:

I'm probably totally misreading that, but to me, it looks like it's our pressing and passing that are the main issues (poor passing was very evident against Birmingham). Does that suggest in the passing were to click we would see big improvements? 

It also show Norwich are pretty much the best attacking side so far this season. Again I'm probably reading it wrong.

 

Nope, you’re reading it right.  Just on the pressing bit…we did press well, I.e get the ball back, we just don’t do it quite enough in the opposition final third.  We are tending to recover the ball in our own half (aimless punts forward by opponents under pressure), rather than pinching it high up.  If that makes sense.