Nigel Pearson was the best thing to happen to this club since Alan Dicks

[Shauntaylor85]

I am a strong believer of this, he united the fans and if you look back at the highlights of the first number of games last season he had us playing some great football and we were solid at the back. The injuries were so unfortunate, he was treated appallingly. Had he been backed post sale of Scott things would be different now in my view. How we miss his leadership and football etiquette.  
 

Why Steve allowed himself to be influenced by one of the worst mistakes he made in his city tenure in the summer of 2004 I will never know! That technical director appointment has taken us back. 

Edited Saturday at 18:17 by Shauntaylor85

[Clevedon Red]

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

[wendyredredrobin]

Absolutely.  Nige did a lot more with a lot less than the current bloke.

Not a surprise really as we all said so at the time.  

[BCFC1959]

4 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

I am a strong believer of this, he united the fans and if you look back at the highlights of the first number of games last season he had us playing some great football and we were solid at the back. The injuries were so unfortunate, he was treated appallingly. Had he been backed post sale of Scott things would be different now in my view. How we miss his leadership and football etiquette.  
 

Why Steve allowed himself to be influenced by one of the worst mistakes he made in his city tenure in the summer of 2004 I will never know! That technical director appointment has taken us back. 

Agreed

 

[Shauntaylor85]

2 minutes ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

Google Bristol City goals 23/24 and watch the football we played in first number of games before the injury crisis. I am sorry but the football was better than Manning Dire Ball. 

[The Coach]

Without Pearson we would have gone down into League One.

It was such an achievement to keep us in this division and change the mentality at this club to one cosy and yellow bellied to aggressive and determined. However, all that work has now been undone and we are back at square one.

[REDOXO]

2 minutes ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

The comparisons with throttled funding are obvious. SC never really got going in the Championship with us because of it and he had no HPC to fall back on. 
 

Pearson was playing kids as young as 17 that many of whom have gone on loan to lower clubs. 
 

Im not sure comparisons mean much. 

[Clevedon Red]

2 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Google Bristol City goals 23/24 and watch the football we played in first number of games before the injury crisis. I am sorry but the football was better than Manning Dire Ball. 

Didn’t say it wasn’t. Manning is no better…but to put Pearson above Cotts  beggars belief. 

[BigTone]

3 minutes ago, The Coach said:

Without Pearson we would have gone down into League One.

It was such an achievement to keep us in this division and change the mentality at this club to one cosy and yellow bellied to aggressive and determined. However, all that work has now been undone and we are back at square one.

Complete tangent here Coach but your profile pic resembles someone I was in a film with

Edited Saturday at 18:28 by BigTone

[The Coach]

Just now, BigTone said:

Complete tangent here but your profile pic resembles someone I was in a film with

Careful Tone. It’s still not past the watershed yet…

[David Brent]

The football wasn’t especially bad under Mr Pearson. Seems an odd thing to knock him for. 

I can only guess they’re referring to the early days .

[east sussex red]

Can we stop this now - the Pearson in/out saga caused so much friction between fellow City fans - please just let it go and move on.

[BigTone]

2 minutes ago, The Coach said:

Careful Tone. It’s still not past the watershed yet…

Not that type of film old sock. Cate Blanchett was in it also. As I said off on a tangent.

Edited Saturday at 18:31 by BigTone

[The Coach]

Just now, BigTone said:

Not that type of film old sock. Cate Blanchett was in it also.

Lord of the Rings?

[Shauntaylor85]

4 minutes ago, Clevedon Red said:

Didn’t say it wasn’t. Manning is no better…but to put Pearson above Cotts  beggars belief. 

Cotts was clueless at this level. We only had him because SL appointed Mciness and Docherty. Now we have Manning and Hogg. I am not knocking Cotts but he is a L1 coach, a level below Nigel. 

Edited Saturday at 18:31 by Shauntaylor85

[The Swan and Cemetery]

4 minutes ago, Clevedon Red said:

Didn’t say it wasn’t. Manning is no better…but to put Pearson above Cotts  beggars belief. 

Does it? Decent difference in quality between League One and Championship. 

[David Brent]

11 minutes ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

Daren’t ask what you thought of Holden’s football 

[Shauntaylor85]

2 minutes ago, east sussex red said:

Can we stop this now - the Pearson in/out saga caused so much friction between fellow City fans - please just let it go and move on.

No it can’t be let go because Lansdown let a certain someone who in my view should not be at this club influence him like with Wilson in 2004 and I can’t believe lightning struck twice again! Like Millen being repeated with Holden! So many silly mistakes. 

[Clevedon Red]

2 minutes ago, The Swan and Cemetery said:

Does it? Decent difference in quality between League One and Championship. 

IMHO yes. 

[joe jordans teeth]

15 minutes ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

There is standards you have to think about when coming out with that statement 

[joe jordans teeth]

5 minutes ago, Clevedon Red said:

IMHO yes. 

How was the football in the championship under cotts (he shouldn’t of been sacked by the way) but from his days to Pearson days were like chalk and cheese 

[wendyredredrobin]

11 minutes ago, east sussex red said:

Can we stop this now - the Pearson in/out saga caused so much friction between fellow City fans - please just let it go and move on.

I didn't come across many who were happy about him being booted out and most of us still seem to to feel the same, it would appear.

[TV Tom]

9 minutes ago, east sussex red said:

Can we stop this now - the Pearson in/out saga caused so much friction between fellow City fans - please just let it go and move on.

But certain people are obsessed to the point of madness, it’s not as if we played champagne football under NP, it was unbelievably dire at times, some of the away performances were some of the worst I’ve ever seen in the season before he got sacked

[marshy]

Pearson was doing an unbelievably good job with a threadbare squad and an horrific injury crisis. There were times he was being forced to play 3 at the back with only one recognized CB. Personally I think he was performing near miracles with the squad he had.

Edited Saturday at 18:56 by marshy

[The Swan and Cemetery]

17 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

But certain people are obsessed to the point of madness, it’s not as if we played champagne football under NP, it was unbelievably dire at times, some of the away performances were some of the worst I’ve ever seen in the season before he got sacked

At least no one can accuse you of exaggerating. 

[AppyDAZE]

Pearson did a load of great work under restrictions, but I can’t agree that he should come before Cotts.

Yes, it was league one, but SC gave us an absolutely magnificent season of goals, entertainment, the title, and a cup.
 

People have short memories.

Edited Saturday at 19:03 by AppyDAZE

[beaverface]

I think it's apparent that City fans want winning football, and a decent style to boot, and no matter how much we try to buy into what Manning has been doing, the NP saga is just too raw still.

It's bubbling away just under the surface, and no matter how many times I try to move on, I keep thinking back to what NP could've delivered for us.

Yes it wasn't the sexiest of football at times, but we knew it was a rebuilding exercise, he spoke honestly, and we could (by and large) see the bigger picture, he just needed to be backed towards the end of his regime, and that's where it's all started to unravel.

How the club removed NP from his position cut deep, and it's gonna be a while for some to forgive or even actually forgive full stop.

[Andy082005]

22 minutes ago, joe jordans teeth said:

How was the football in the championship under cotts (he shouldn’t of been sacked by the way) but from his days to Pearson days were like chalk and cheese 

As it should be - we’ve evolved as a club over the years 

Reality is both Cotts and Pearson were both given no finances at all - and both got stitched up to make way for a ‘young prospect’

Pearson and Cotts have more in common then most think 

[Glen hump]

38 minutes ago, BigTone said:

Complete tangent here Coach but your profile pic resembles someone I was in a film with

Animal farm?

[McNasty Filth]

Johnson
Pearson
Cotts

L1 and the championship are completely different animals for me. Cotts did well to get us promoted as champions (with big investment by L1 standards people should remember), but out of his depth in the championship. Kept on playing the same team, same tactics, same formation every week and hoping something would change, like a broken record, couldn't adapt.

Pearson on the other hand literally inherited the worst shit show from top to bottom I think the club has been in since 82 and steadied the ship. Don't get me wrong oor home performances towards the end were pretty dire without Scott and Semenyo, but had this weird gut feeling we were about to start turning things around with a little more patience and more importantly investment.

[cotswoldred2]

Another pointless thread, a bit like the football, but to constantly remind us of your crush on Nige is very wearing and very very tin pot.

Looking back all the time doesn't help, so Bristol City.

[joe jordans teeth]

Just now, Andy082005 said:

As it should be - we’ve evolved as a club over the years 

Reality is both Cotts and Pearson were both given no finances at all - and both got stitched up to make way for a ‘young prospect’

Pearson and Cotts have more in common then most think 

That’s not right tho is it let’s be truthful about it we went and bought the best in league 1 under cotts and walked it,when you go into the championship it’s a total different story 

[AppyDAZE]

3 minutes ago, Glen hump said:

Animal farm?

:laugh: reminds me of Ali G.

Yoo as seen animal farm?

[Mr Popodopolous]

6 minutes ago, Andy082005 said:

As it should be - we’ve evolved as a club over the years 

Reality is both Cotts and Pearson were both given no finances at all - and both got stitched up to make way for a ‘young prospect’

Pearson and Cotts have more in common then most think 

I've always thought of NP as being a superior version of Cotts in some aspects.

[pongo88]

Why hadn’t anyone mentioned Terry Cooper? The club was broke and heading into the fourth tier, even non league, when he arrived. He turned it around with the bare bones of a squad on peanuts

[Andy082005]

11 minutes ago, joe jordans teeth said:

That’s not right tho is it let’s be truthful about it we went and bought the best in league 1 under cotts and walked it,when you go into the championship it’s a total different story 

We also sold a striker for £2m and spent less then that on the squad assembled 

 

[Glen hump]

14 minutes ago, cotswoldred2 said:

Another pointless thread, a bit like the football, but to constantly remind us of your crush on Nige is very wearing and very very tin pot.

Looking back all the time doesn't help, so Bristol City.

Yeah’ because there’s so much to look forward too with these ******** in charge 

[TomThumb84]

Cotts and Pearson are on a par. Saved us when we needed saving then not backed.

Both strong personalities who pushed through and asked for more when they did the job they were bought in to do. The irony in that is unreal. Both were then discarded.

The whole Cotterill, Johnson, Pearson, Manning circle is just that. Get safe with proper managers then get safer with tedium and yes men. Add the absolute lunacy of the Holden appointment into that which stands almost alone as the most bizarre decision this club has ever made (apart from God Taylor to WBA for £300k).

Problem in this club is at the top, has been for a while. The predictable wheel of mundane is just that - predictable and boring. Funds for managers that cant use them and strangulation for managers that can.

Buckle in and tread water all of us until a regime change.

By the way, there is no other club ever where a man who was a failed manager is even now more powerful at the same club. We are unique.

Edited Saturday at 19:33 by TomThumb84

[Andy082005]

10 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I've always thought of NP as being a superior version of Cotts in some aspects.

Don’t disagree with that. Both a little old school with an incredible knack of bringing everyone together 

Both created an almost siege mentality 

I thought Cotts deserved the backing when he went up. He never got it. Pearson - I actually thought it was time for a change. I still think that - just think we went for the wrong option (again)

[fisherrich]

Stopped going after NP was sacked. Not been down since and won’t until new ownership. Lansdowns treat us all like mugs. Shit show.

[joe jordans teeth]

10 minutes ago, Andy082005 said:

We also sold a striker for £2m and spent less then that on the squad assembled 

 

In fees not in wages

[Frenchay Red]

10 minutes ago, Andy082005 said:

Don’t disagree with that. Both a little old school with an incredible knack of bringing everyone together 

Both created an almost siege mentality 

I thought Cotts deserved the backing when he went up. He never got it. Pearson - I actually thought it was time for a change. I still think that - just think we went for the wrong option (again)

I believe that we wanted Eustace, but he wasn't interested. Manning wasn't the first choice.

[harvey54]

The owners destroyed all the good work and the foundations put in place by Pearson and his coaching team and afterwards they alienated the fan base by spouting utter sh1te and taking us for mugs. My support for the owner, his son and Tinnion has been shattered and I no longer feel connected to the club I started supporting as a 6 year old, 57 years ago. That's how strong I feel about Niges sacking. It showed me that Steve Lansdown hasn't the faintest idea about football. 

[Ian M]

1 hour ago, Frenchay Red said:

I believe that we wanted Eustace, but he wasn't interested. Manning wasn't the first choice.

I thought our 1st choice was Mousinho but he wasn’t interested?

[Born and Red in 82]

Pearson was honest , some fans loved it some fans didn’t … the board room hated it ! Simple as that

[AppyDAZE]

24 minutes ago, harvey54 said:

The owners destroyed all the good work and the foundations put in place by Pearson and his coaching team and afterwards they alienated the fan base by spouting utter sh1te and taking us for mugs. My support for the owner, his son and Tinnion has been shattered and I no longer feel connected to the club I started supporting as a 6 year old, 57 years ago. That's how strong I feel about Niges sacking. It showed me that Steve Lansdown hasn't the faintest idea about football. 

Best and most concise post I’ve seen today. Hear ******* hear!

[cidercity1987]

I loved Cotterill but at least he was sacked for a reason

There was no rationale behind Pearson's sacking 

[David Brent]

2 hours ago, TV Tom said:

But certain people are obsessed to the point of madness, it’s not as if we played champagne football under NP, it was unbelievably dire at times, some of the away performances were some of the worst I’ve ever seen in the season before he got sacked

It may not have been champagne football but it certainly wasn’t unbelievably dire earlier.

The football I’m seeing now is no better than that played under our predecessor. We were told we would be getting better football. It’s worse imo.

So I’ll continue to call out Tinnion and Lansdowns for the nonsense they came out with a year ago. It’s not Manning’s fault for the way he was appointed but it is his fault for how poor we’ve been. 
 

Bringing up Nigel’s name doesn’t make me any less determined for Liam to succeed.

Edited Saturday at 20:59 by David Brent

[GrahamC]

44 minutes ago, Ian M said:

I thought our 1st choice was Mousinho but he wasn’t interested?

Correct.

We had no interest in Eustace.

[bpexile]

3 hours ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

I am a strong believer of this, he united the fans and if you look back at the highlights of the first number of games last season he had us playing some great football and we were solid at the back. The injuries were so unfortunate, he was treated appallingly. Had he been backed post sale of Scott things would be different now in my view. How we miss his leadership and football etiquette.  
 

Why Steve allowed himself to be influenced by one of the worst mistakes he made in his city tenure in the summer of 2004 I will never know! That technical director appointment has taken us back. 

Totally agree & after nearly 70 years of loving this club I will never forgive them forgive them for that move, even Stevie Wonder could have seen how things had improved, all Nige needed was financial backing at the right time. Unfortunately, that's all behind us now & we're stuck where we are, again hoping & praying for improvement 

[bpexile]

3 hours ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

Possibly, but that was because Nige was in repair & save mode most of his tenure with us, when he'd finally secured our safety the clowns in charge got rid of him.

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

Overall?

If you’d said “at times” I’d accept it’s your opinion.  But overall?

 

[bpexile]

2 hours ago, cotswoldred2 said:

but to constantly remind us of your crush on Nige is very wearing and very very tin pot.

Not to mention tin pot comments like this  

[Frenchay Red]

1 hour ago, Ian M said:

I thought our 1st choice was Mousinho but he wasn’t interested?

Ok, I heard that it was Eustace, but you may well be right. in either case Manning it seems was not the first choice

Edited Saturday at 21:55 by Frenchay Red

[Frenchay Red]

double post.

 

Edited Saturday at 21:54 by Frenchay Red

[Shauntaylor85]

3 hours ago, marshy said:

Pearson was doing an unbelievably good job with a threadbare squad and an horrific injury crisis. There were times he was being forced to play 3 at the back with only one recognized CB. Personally I think he was performing near miracles with the squad he had.

Liam Manning isn’t fit to lace Pearson’s boots. It was a Tinnion appointment to ensure someone had the biggest voice at the club. I am sorry but it’s a load of nonsense what happened! 

[shelts]

Can’t agree with the OP. He did a job cutting the wage bill and uniting the players but the football was uninspiring and not a great watch . 
I would like to add most of the football I’ve seen after the great cup run under LJ has been the same and that includes now . 

[jaymarti]

let's be honest our following is shite and our home atmosphere is like a library . No wonder we're crap 

[phantom]

4 hours ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

I am a strong believer of this, he united the fans and if you look back at the highlights of the first number of games last season he had us playing some great football and we were solid at the back. The injuries were so unfortunate, he was treated appallingly. Had he been backed post sale of Scott things would be different now in my view. How we miss his leadership and football etiquette.  
 

Why Steve allowed himself to be influenced by one of the worst mistakes he made in his city tenure in the summer of 2004 I will never know! That technical director appointment has taken us back. 

Not a chance, Cotts, Gary Johnson and Danny Wilson achieved more 

Great to see the NP obsession still rolling on though 

[phantom]

1 hour ago, bpexile said:

Possibly, but that was because Nige was in repair & save mode most of his tenure with us, when he'd finally secured our safety the clowns in charge got rid of him.

Funny how their is an excuse for everything with NP 

He still had a pretty decent squad at his disposal, and if he is the messiah so many make him out to be he did a pretty average job on the pitch 

45 minutes ago, shelts said:

Can’t agree with the OP. He did a job cutting the wage bill and uniting the players but the football was uninspiring and not a great watch . 
I would like to add most of the football I’ve seen after the great cup run under LJ has been the same and that includes now . 

100% this 

[Merrick's Marvels]

4 hours ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

A bloke who was able to buy his way out of L1 compared to a bloke who didn't have a bean to spend in the Champ and had his best players sold from under him? Yeah, brilliant comparison.

Lovecthem both but you're talking apples and pears, mate. Absolutely ridiculous comparison.

Edited Saturday at 22:55 by Merrick's Marvels

[bpexile]

1 minute ago, phantom said:

Funny how their is an excuse for everything with NP 

I wasn't making excuses, just stating facts. I never mentioned the quality of his squad either, I would agree with you on that but he obviously wasn't given the funds to turn a decent squad into a possible playoff squad. We all have our opinions & I have no problems with that 

[Ian Pople]

4 hours ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

I am a strong believer of this, he united the fans and if you look back at the highlights of the first number of games last season he had us playing some great football and we were solid at the back. The injuries were so unfortunate, he was treated appallingly. Had he been backed post sale of Scott things would be different now in my view. How we miss his leadership and football etiquette.  
 

Why Steve allowed himself to be influenced by one of the worst mistakes he made in his city tenure in the summer of 2004 I will never know! That technical director appointment has taken us back. 

I couldn't agree more. For me, Pearson was the best manager we've ever had. I include Alan Dicks and Steve Cotterell in that comparison. NP inherited a bunch of shit, left over from Lee Johnsons time, he had no money to spend, blooded many young players into the team, and transferred us from a nice friendly little club, to a team that would run through brick walls for the manager. If he was supported financially, what could he have achieved? I've been watching City since 1964, I'm now just totally fed up, this puppet Manning is just another yes man like Lee Johnson. We have no true ambition.

[YorksRed]

4 hours ago, cotswoldred2 said:

Another pointless thread, a bit like the football, but to constantly remind us of your crush on Nige is very wearing and very very tin pot.

Looking back all the time doesn't help, so Bristol City.

I think for many of us it is not about Pearson the person in reality.  It’s about the fact that for the first time in many many years we actually had a grown-up, highly experienced and competent manager with a good track record, working alongside a competent, sensible CEO in Richard Gould who was building the club from the foundations up into a credible, sustainable, well run and professional outfit.  For too long we have gone through the same cycle burning funds and resulting in a rebuild being required (I.e. young inexperienced manager learning on the job and given money, followed by experienced man brought in to sort out the mess with nothing to spend who is then sacked, and repeat…).  

Finally, we looked like we could progress incrementally in the way that Brighton, Leicester, Brentford and Bournemouth have done, whilst passing us and leaving us behind.

For the first time in the 40 odd years that I have been supporting City I really thought we could reach the top division and ultimately perhaps stay there in the long term.

That’s why some of us keep going back to Pearson - it’s not really all about the person, it’s the opportunity that we lost which causes us to look back.

Edited Saturday at 23:18 by YorksRed

[BasSavage88]

[Davefevs]

Great post @YorksRed.

As I’ve just said in another post, Nige had laid the foundations for someone to continue his work as a minimum.  It is abundantly clear, the hierarchy had no clue what he’d actually built.

[JAWS]

48 minutes ago, YorksRed said:

I think for many of us it is not about Pearson the person in reality.  It’s about the fact that for the first time in many many years we actually had a grown-up, highly experienced and competent manager with a good track record, working alongside a competent, sensible CEO in Richard Gould who was building the club from the foundations up into a credible, sustainable, well run and professional outfit.  For too long we have gone through the same cycle burning funds and resulting in a rebuild being required (I.e. young inexperienced manager learning on the job and given money, followed by experienced man brought in to sort out the mess with nothing to spend who is then sacked, and repeat…).  

Finally, we looked like we could progress incrementally in the way that Brighton, Leicester, Brentford and Bournemouth have done, whilst passing us and leaving us behind.

For the first time in the 40 odd years that I have been supporting City I really thought we could reach the top division and ultimately perhaps stay there in the long term.

That’s why some of us keep going back to Pearson - it’s not really all about the person, it’s the opportunity that we lost which causes us to look back.

Spot on mate. Football fans aren't normally patient but because we could see how NP was slowly making progress we were prepared to stick with him & he was invested in us as a project. So sad that lansdown couldn't see it.

[bpexile]

2 hours ago, phantom said:

Funny how their is an excuse for everything with NP 

Funny how people tend to be picky when they disagree, you've got me at it now.

Funny how their there is an excuse for everything with NP.

[fgrsimon]

3 hours ago, phantom said:

Not a chance, Cotts, Gary Johnson and Danny Wilson achieved more.

I'll give you Cotts and Johnson(G) but Danny Wilson achieved nothing, even at L1 level, with us. Nice football but always the bridesmaid.

Edited Sunday at 01:54 by fgrsimon

[Spike]

7 hours ago, Clevedon Red said:

Overall the football was dog shit though. Think Cotts ranks way way above Pearson.

You mean Cotts who was our manager in League One when we bought some of the best talent in that league and had a huge financial advantage? Cotts did well but Pearson had a much harder job then made even harder by having to fix a financial hole left by our previous managers. 

Pearson took a club in danger of relegation with a huge financial burden and just when he got us looking solid we had an injury crisis so bad we had as many injured players as we did fit the game he was sacked. 

People don't need to acknowledge how well Pearson did but I'll say this, I've never seen our fans as united as they were under him in my entire life and I'm not one of the young ones on here.