City manager running out of patience after dismal draw
Talking points from Bristol City’s draw against Peterborough at Ashton Gate, by
THERE was a chorus of “that was embarrassing” from the home supporters at the fulltime whistle as the players headed for the tunnel.
It was difficult to argue with after the 10 men of Peterborough grabbed a fully deserved point with former Bristol Rovers striker Jonson Clarke-Harris scoring the goal that rubbed salt in the wound on a dismal performance.
While the showing on the pitch was far from good enough, especially when the manager said in the week that some players have six games left to play for their futures, it was the comments after the game from the manager that raised the eyebrows.
Pearson spoke like a man who knows he is under pressure, highlighting the task of the job at hand, referencing his own future and describing the club as “passive” in an interview with BBC Radio Bristol at the full-time whistle.
Who he is referring to in particular will be a lot clearer in his own mind but to suggest the “club is strange in that regard” because of the passiveness certainly raises the question as to what his thoughts are behind the scenes.
Here’s the verdict from a difficult afternoon at Ashton Gate.
NIGEL PEARSON’S FUTURE IN the final 25 minutes of the match, Pearson barely left his technical area as he watched his side struggle to break down a Peterborough side who have conceded 82 goals this season.
Assistant Curtis Fleming was as animated as ever, bellowing instructions to his side from the touchline but the fact the manager remained rooted may have been telling in itself - although it’s easy to read too much into these situations sometimes. Fast forward an hour, and Pearson appeared to be questioning his own future in his postmatch press conference when addressing the issue of the task at hand in the summer.
He said: “We’ve got five games left and the players that are here can either be here next year, or not.
“That goes for me as well, if I’m not here, whoever comes in has got the same problem and that is getting players to play.”
That’s actually the second time Pearson has referenced his own future after a game, with the first coming at Swansea following a 3-1 defeat.
Pearson came across as a man who had run out of patience with his players, fed up with the inconsistencies that have hampered City’s progress all season. Add to the fact that he has no money to spend in the summer with the huge task at hand of shaking up the squad and he may be asking himself the question: Is it really worth it?
Even in his interview with the club after the game, he was obviously very frustrated but his demeanour could have suggested that he is just waiting for the season to be over.
It will also be the second summer in a row where Pearson will have no money to spend unless he sells the likes of Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott. Again, that poses the question as to whether that is something Pearson would be willing to put up with for another year.
What is refreshing about Pearson, is he’ll never shy away from telling it how it is. But on the flip side of that, how will that approach sit with the powers that be who have to make the final decisions?
It’s going to be a huge summer,
there’s no doubt about that, and the decisions have to be spot on when it comes to recruitment otherwise City will undoubtedly find themselves in big trouble next season.
ONE DIMENSIONAL AND POOR IN POSSESSION
IT’S been a reccurring theme in recent weeks, Pearson admitting his side have been far from good enough with the ball.
Against Bournemouth last week, the hosts had 77 per cent possession at one stage - not totally unsurprising given the quality of Scott Parker’s side. He mentioned after the game how they were wasteful when they did get on the ball, giving it back to the Cherries.
Although Saturday was a completely different test against a side on a one-way ticket to League One, it was another contest where City seemed to struggle to put together a string of passes and dominating the play - particularly against a team that went down to 10 men.
They ended the match with 53 per cent possession having made a total of 412 passes with a passing success rate of 76 per cent. Peterborough made 377 passes in total with a 72 per cent passing success rate - despite playing the final 30 minutes with 10 men.
In reality, City could have conceded three or four in the first half with Peterborough breaking through the lines of play.
Pearson switched it up at halftime taking off Robbie Cundy for Zak Vyner and moving Alex Scott into his favoured position in the middle in an attempt, presumably,
to be more authoritative in the contest by putting an extra man in the middle of the park.
Although he was not willing to go into detail on why he made the tweak at half-time, Pearson was adamant that the result had nothing to do with tactics. He said: “We gave it away for fun whether in a three at the back or four at the back. Tactics have got nothing to do with today, they’ve scored a goal where they’ve launched the ball into the box, we don’t get the first header and we don’t clear it. Nothing to do with tactics.”
ALEX SCOTT OFF THE BOIL?
THE fact this is being mentioned is more of a testament to Alex Scott’s ability and form rather than an overriding criticism of his recent performances.
But you can’t shy away from the fact that the wonderkid has been off the boil in the last month or so.
There was a period around the beginning of February where Scott was consistently outstanding when the transfer rumours of Premier League scouts and interest from the likes of Leicester and Everton were in full swing.
However, since the defeat at Nottingham Forest five games ago, Scott hasn’t been able to have the same impact on his side. Pearson opted to stick him at right wingback on Saturday, where his positioning was found wanting on numerous occasions. He moved into the middle in the second half but when City needed those moments of quality to spark their attack, Scott couldn’t provide them.