Nigel Pearson - Manager

I'm basing our chances more on the form we showed around the new year, than during the last couple of months of the Gracia era and QSF's disastrous spell.

We still have seven what I consider to be quite winnable games left: Newcastle (h), Southampton (h), Norwich (h), Brighton (a), West Ham (a), Burnley (a), Palace (a). Newcastle and/or Southampton could be safe by then, Brighton and West Ham are hardly better than the Bournemouth side we battered recently, Burnley are incredibly hot and cold, Palace don't score many goals and we have a good record at them in recent years. You might think I'm deluding myself after we just blew one of our more winnable games in spectacular fashion. BUT if we have Sarr back sooner rather than later then we still stand a good chance, if not, well, we just have to hope Nige can do something in the meantime to cure the mental frailties and awful game management of the squad of late, as sort those out (easier said than done, of course) and we're still a capable team without Sarr.

 

We certainly do have 7 winnable games left, and if we only needed to win 3 of these I'd feel very confident. The fact we need to win at least 5 leaves very little wiggle room now. We probably have to win 5 and draw the other two. This is assuming we'll lose to the other teams such as City (h ), Arsenal (a ), Chelsea (a ), Leicester (h ), United (a ) & Liverpool (h ). It's not impossible to get a draw or two from these games. We've picked up 6 points from big sides already and have got close to getting something against Leicester and Liverpool, and beating Arsenal and Spurs....even nearly got a point against Chelsea. So I suppose we shouldn't really discount these games completely.

I've gone from completely down to thinking maybe we do still have a small chance. West Ham are in big trouble and Brighton and even Palace are in bad form. Bournemouth were in bad form so that could return at any time. They are very much as erratic as us. Villa looked like they about to go on a good run then lose to Bournemouth. So it's still all to play for.

Until it's mathematically impossible, we must all believe it's possible. No point in being negative now. If we go down we go down. Very little fans can do about it anyway. It will play out as it plays out. I cannot score a goal or save a penalty for Watford. I can only helplessly watch.

 

Time will tell.

After two games apparently Haller was a game changer for West Ham...

 

We can all pluck stats out of the air. We've won 4 in 8 league games. In less than a month and a half. Isn't it more about that?

Who knows, time will tell, it's 50/50 for me.

* Also we've won ten league games by by my reckoning over the last calendar year which is probably about twice as many wins as we need

 

"we'd need the players to show abilities which were well on show with Sarr in the team around a month ago"

To claim us surviving from our current position would be miraculous is a massive exaggeration and you must admit that. We are 2 points off safety. If that is your barometer for a miracle then miracles a a very common occurrence.

Indeed just checking the betting odds shows 4 teams are deemed more likely than us to be relegated. I guess they are building in the Watford-Miracle-Factor.

The thing is - we are competing against teams just as bad as us. It's not 5 in 13, its can we do better than West Ham, Brighton, Muff, & Villa. And they have plenty of games that you would say are as close to unwinnable as you're going to see too.

Football is a crazy game which often throws up anomalies (aka Spurs getting 4 points vs Man City when it should have been 0). But how many points do you hing West Ham, for instance will get over the next seven games?

 

Why was Hughes not used on Saturday Mr Pearson? He was the natural replacement for Chalobah when he had to off through injury , and I really believe had he been brought on instead of Success, we not only would not have lost that game, but quite likely would have won it!!!

Overall NP you have been a breath of fresh air for this club, but your choice of substitutions seems to be your "Achilles Heel" and needs vast improvement IMO.

 

Bookmarked to smear in your face after we get relegated with 3 games to play.

 

Blimey. 6/4 to go down. Thought we’d be odds on. Going to put £1200 on and more than happy to lose the money.

 

My mind hovers between two extremes as to how the season will pan out - we go on a Leicester-style run starting with Brighton and finish the season in the top half with us wondering what the fuss was all about, or the recent run of wins will have turned out to be no more than the new manager effect, Pearson loses patience and falls out with his players and we finish the season in the bottom two, proving Pearson's and our players' detractors right in the end. Or somewhere in the middle, ie we scramble to safety in 16th place, ending a season we're very relieved to put behind us and looking for yet another manager, which IMO would hardly feel better than if we were relegated but retained Pearson.

Personally, it would be a huge shame if the second scenario or something close to that were to play out. Despite the very disappointing downturn in form of late, NP has made more than enough impact in his short spell to suggest that the winning start was more than a flash in the pan. He has got a team organized, fighting for each other for the most part, many key players back into form (including some many of us thought were finished) and playing with confidence, spirit and no little ability, and unless previous Pozzo managers he has taken a real interest in the bigger picture, giving youngsters a chance and bringing Mullins and Stack into the fold. We've had more excitement (if with a fair bit of stress thrown in), the bad spells included, during the 11 games he's been in charge than the second half of the Flores season and the whole of 2016/17, and only twice has a team scored the first goal against us - Liverpool who are beating everyone and Tranmere vs a total reserve team. The other reason is simpler, that I don't want to go back to the Championship. I don't want to be playing 46 games with midweek matches vs the likes of Rotherham, Wycombe and Peterborough and the same old stuff we've played countless times (Preston, Cardiff, Forest, Wednesday etc). In previous seasons, I could understand why others missed the Championship if not necessarily agree with it, but now I've had a taster in the last couple of seasons of how much more enjoyable the top flight can be and how good our team can be when every key player is fit and in form, I don't want to go back.

 

You do notice I have't even said we will stay up. Just that it won't take a miracle. So I'm not sure what exactly what your point is?

 

I think he was trying to put there defence under pressure and we didn't need 3 in midfield anymore. He went for it and it didn't work but we've had so many managers that wouldn't have gone for it and you just end up wondering what might have been. We need wins and playing against 10 men with 20 minutes to is an opportunity to get that win. Unfortunately it went very Pete Tong

 

That's not how this works. You're either with us, or against us.

 

It’s been my greatest honour to serve with you General. But like he said. It’s over.

 

Et tu Jumbe?

 

For some reason the bookies are massively over-estimating our chances of staying up. Before the Everton game the odds were 12/5 on Watford getting relegated. Its as if the bookies do not realise that without Sarr we are not the same team.

 

fair enough - it’s my opinion.

By most clubs not needing to splurge I assume you are excluding our direct competitors for the drop who also need it - we aren’t special. Or are they all well stocked compared to us? Mmm that sounds like your opinion to me.

spending money doesn’t necessarily strengthen the squad. Villa spent something like £100m in the summer, and some on here suggested that would mean they wouldn’t be dragged into the relegation zone. An extra player may or may not make a difference.

I’m not sure Villa have had a massive injury crisis? Similar to ours. Same number of players injured as far as I can see. Newcastle have been hit hard of course.

I’m not in a dreamland. It is just very difficult to buy a player that will have an impact in the short period of time to the end of the season. I would have loved it if we did, but we didn’t. You don’t need to twist what I say to mean something else.

It was unlikely we would buy big in the window. I’m pragmatic about it. That doesn’t mean I live in some dreamland.

 

Wow. How are you with your enemies?

 

Pearson out .

How many more games are we going to give this muppet .

Gets a few wins early on and then thinks he can put his feet up whilst we walk blindfold into relegation , in the full knowledge he ll still get his payday .

As for his substitutions !!!!!! When I play Watford on FIFA 20 I make really good substitutions . Why can’t he do the same !!!! Wellbeck has a rubbish card , only 76 pace , why did he bring him on .

That’s zero points from our last 2 games . Extrapolate that form over the rest of the season and we are down and probably into bankruptcy and liquidation .

Sort it out Gino . You had all of January to buy loads of really good players who would score
lots of goals and stop us conceding and everything . What is he doing ?

 

I'm not sure anyone expected us to "buy big". However a recognition of the danger we are in resulting in couple of mutually beneficial loans for players on the fringes of the big clubs and looking for game time would have made sense. It was our last chance to strengthen the team and improve our chances of survival given we are second bottom, but we didn't bother.

 

I guess sometimes things just aren’t as funny when you write them down.

 

Buzzing for the game on Saturday, if Pearson makes the same mistakes as Villa and Everton we're officially allowed to start booing him.

 

Ahh I’m sorry , are your feelings hurt Jumbo ?

 

Nah of course not. If you want to busy yourself with humourless crazy posts knock yourself out fella!

 

Literally everyone except Pearson saw it coming today. Everyone.

The whole of the second half. We were never holding on.

And yet nothing from the manager. No subs. No tactical changes.

Is there some kind of blind spot from pitch level where they see something different?

Totally unbelievable that he saw zero reason to stop the onslaught in some kind of hope we'd keep them out long enough.

What is wrong with him?

 

It can't keep being the managers fault.

It's beyond a joke our choice of defence includes Cathcart, Dawson, Mariappa and Holebas. The chickens are coming home to roost, we're heading for the championship, the team will be broken up and the club will have to start all over again. And that will probably involve sacking yet another manager.

 

Yeah Mariappa humped it into the top corner, but today was another disasterclass from Pearson. Great man manager but he's slow to react, his subs are almost always wrong and the football is dreadful. He's really starting to look a bit clueless and it's worrying because he seems like the guy who would know what to do when the brown stuff hits the fan.

 

Well yeah, the people running the club can't take responsibility. Especially with half the fan base ******* them off still about stuff they did 7 years ago.

 

No, you can't blame the manager for Marriappa's mistake, but you can blame the manager for the way we sat back and invited pressure. Our defence is OK, but not great, so we should protect them more - by being a bit more positive after we go ahead. Creating problems up their end is the best way.

 

Potter made 3 changes that forced and changed the game. Pearson made none until we went a goal down.

Who made the better choice?