Nigel Pearson - Sacked

I’ve said in previous posts that the reason I’d want Pearson to stay is that the owners have no plan or strategy when it comes to appointing managers, so it’s just a lucky dip as to who we get. I think they view the head coach position with the same disdain that they do defensive positions, it’s just a hole to be plugged with someone vaguely suitable. It would simply be better the devil you know rather than anything else. That would be my only reason to keep him, my utter lack of faith in the ability of the owners to change the way the look at the managers role and importance within the club.

 

Whilst I get the broader point you’re making, I’d still want someone who is better tactically and makes proactive changes. If he was making the right selections, and trying different things to arrest the slump then I’d maybe a agree. But the monotony of what he does isn’t endearing him to me in terms of him keeping the job. He’s had the chance to make better subs, change line-ups, change tactics and he’s done none of it. If we are destined to continue being a club who bring in a different coach every year, I don’t agree that it is ‘better the devil you know’ - because this devil isn’t doing enough. Get someone else in for a year who will do these things. Get Jokanovic back for a year even if we go down...

But I think all talk of keeping Pearson or not, or bring anyone else in, is incredibly futile - anyone working under Giraldi’s control is destined to fail. The focus should be on getting him out.

But as I’ve said elsewhere, we are a mute fanbase and the owner very likely cares not for fans opinion on footballing matters. Most fans of a club carry a unifying voice when they want things to change at a club they support - we don’t have that. The owner has managed to get a large percentage of our fan base to not blame him for our current travails because of what he’s done in the past.

I’ve said it constantly for the past few weeks - more than the manager needs to change. The whole ‘model’ stinks now and is taking us backwards.

 

I’d certainly be happy with Jokanovic if (when) we go down, but again it’s short termism. He’d be a complete disaster in the PL with our policy on defensive recuiment so we’d have to dispense again as and when got promoted and it’s back to square one. We need longer term thinking but I don’t think we’re ever going to get it.

 

What is there to counter? You want him to go and I think he should be given the chance to see if he makes a good job of it. The two points will never be squared off.

I've learnt from this forum, it's pointless to converse with people with a polar opposite view as it always ends up with personal insults. So I'm skipping the middle man and cut to the chase. You want him to go, I'd like to see if he can build something. The two views are perfectly fine.

 

I know. But my post was based around what to do if short-termism is the only option being thought of. I don’t think you’ll find any Watford fan who doesn’t want a long-term approach taken now.

But IF it’s a continuation of the short-term outlook, my argument is that we shouldn’t keep Pearson because of ‘better the devil you know’. He’s not doing enough when the chips are down. He had us firing when we looked to be fighting a lost cause - but now it’s in our hands, he looks all at sea. I’m thankful to him for giving us a chance - but not at all thankful for the way he’s wasting it.

Same tactics every game.
Dreadful to watch again.
Beyond questionable substitutions.
Strikers sat on the bench or LW when the one continually chosen underperforms and isn’t fit.

I’d rather have another short-term option who doesn’t do the above things, if a short-term option is all we are allowed to consider.

 

As a neutral observer, to be fair Chumlax came back with a very well reasoned and detailed reply to you, there were no insults that I can see, apart from maybe the Curbishley comment at the end, that was more sarcastic than insulting, though.

 

I say we all support Brentford or Wycombe instead.

My heads hurting with everything we have to fix, need so many new players, we need a new technical director, a new captain, a new manager. Rather just support another club.


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That first sentence is a good point. I thought background research was standard homework at this level these days; but perhaps not. But I suppose players, who are basically spoilt young men, change as the years go by.
I'm not at all sure all the Burnley players are average. Their MOM against us was Rodriguez, basically their third choice striker.

 

Who is better than any striker we have coincidentally.

 

I don’t think it’s something they worry about, in fact it’s almost part of their strategy. Look at players like Bobby and Capoue, they’re classic and deliberate pozzo signings, the reason they play for us in the first place is they can be lazy and mentally weak.

 

...and ‘only’ cost them £10 million.

 

It's not so bad with the strikers. On our books we have Welbeck, Deulofeu, Pererya, Pedro, Suarez, Cucho. These would all attract other clubs, even clubs in European competition. Then we have Deeney, who is past his best admittedly, but he is still a very useful player. So it's not all a bag of crap. Pussetto is a good "squad" player and I like him.

Sema I think could still do a job for us, certainly if we were to go down. Where we need to offload are players like Gray, Success & Sinclair. They've not worked out.

Signing someone like Batshuayi, Origi, Mitrovic or someone of that ilk, would do wonders for us.

What I'd like to see is a striker like one of those I've listed above, plus Todibo and someone like Gibson. Add Suarez, Cucho and Estupinan to what we already have, then move out Gray, Success, Sinclair, Holebas. Probably also Gomes and sign a new number 1/2, then I think we'd be very good. Probably Mapps as well, but I'd have no problem in keeping him as a useful squad player, which he is.

We're not too far away from being a very decent Premier League side, pushing for Europe. It doesn't look like it right now, and that's because we've allowed ourselves to go stale.

If we're smart and stay up of course, Selling Pereyra, Gray, Success and maybe a couple more fringe players, plus the Premier League money, I think we could sign three quality additions. Two defenders and a striker.

I believe that's all we need to progress from the mess we currently find ourselves in.

 

Pointless signing anyone whilst Deeney is untouchable

The idea of selling our turds like Gray, Success assumes anyone is stupid enough to want to buy them

 

His whole thing is supposed to be getting the players ‘fired up’. Not seen any of that since Liverpool. This joker can’t even do his own USP.
Stubborn faith in underperforming players, no tactical plan in games so far as we can see and no ability to react and change a game in our favour. Move him on ASAP.

Time to finally set out a long-term plan. What kind of coach do we want? What style of play do we want? Recruitment has to be focussed on finding players who can contribute, rather than who might turn a quick profit. With our model, we need a head coach who will put trust in youth and can develop them. Why stockpile all these players who have ‘potential’ just so they rot away and never flourish.

The way the club is currently run is so disjointed but unfortunately I can’t see relegation changing things.

 

Championship clubs would take Gray in an instant. Leeds were falling over themselves at the prospect of getting him in the last window.

I could see Brentford certainly going for him, especially if they go up.

Success, not so obvious that we’d get our investment back on him though.

 

Leeds were not falling over themselves to get him.

 

Why would Brentford sign Gray if they go up when they already clearly have better players?

 

Gray isn’t going anywhere, no PL club would be mad enough to touch him with a barge pole, and no championship club would even consider paying his wages.

 

The club will have to plant something in Grays locker (like drugs or stolen goods) then sack him

 

Deeney is a bigger part of the problem than Gray.

 

Gray is certainly not a means for us to recoup any money, but he’ll be a perfectly adequate striker in the championship

 

Lol.

 

He scored 25 when last there with Burnley, that is adequate enough.

 

As always when we talk about our players and acceptable performances - years and years ago.

He looks a shadow of whatever sort of player he used to be, who genuinely can't even complete the most basic footballing tasks or connect with a football properly.

Whatever pace he had is also gone, he's slow. This highlights exactly the problem we have with our squad, this horrible "he'll do" attitude. No, he won't. It's exactly why we are in this mess.

 

He’s 29, he can’t have ever been that fast as most people don’t lose pace at that age and he’s never been particularly fast since we’ve had him. Likewise I doubt he’s suddenly just lost the ability to control the ball. It’s not like his premier league record is actually that bad considering the game time he gets. It’s a vastly inferior league, he’ll be adequate, certainly adequate back up. It’s not like he’s going anywhere unless a club takes complete leave of their senses.

 

Isn't Gray supposed to be on £70,000 a week? He won't leave.

 

On that showing - yes.

 

How many goals would Deeney and Gray get in the Championship? Serious question. I would wager they'd do better than many give they credit for. Would
Expect 15 a season from Troy. Potentially similar from Gray.
Not necessarily a positive, as Pozzo would probably stick with them as our main men next season, which is no good for long-term development.

 

If we are to replace Pearson, I'd get Daniel Farke in.

Won the Chumpionship at a canter, can actually motivate players and plays some pretty decent football.

 

Why?

 

All true. Unfortunately, we are also not far away from being an average Championship side.

 

#stevebruce

 

Plenty of players have slowed down by their late 20's. Peoples and athletes physical primes vary, and to me he already looks past his.

He also hasn't "suddenly just lost the ability to control the ball", it's something he never seems to have mastered in the first place. There is no denying that his technical ability is extremely poor and it's something that's been picked up on over and over again. In the past he has made up for it through pace, willingness to run and an ability to get into goal scoring positions.

That pace is now shot, his technical ability actually seems to have regressed if anything, he's barely kicked a ball all season because even in our current state he's nowhere near good enough and he's got zero confidence or momentum. Again, trying desperately to find positives where there aren't really any. If we are once again foolish and arrogant enough, even in the Championship, to continue with the idea that the likes of Andre Gray (Deeney, Femenia, Cleverley etc. etc.) could play any sort of substantial and/or positive role, then we will end up straight back in the same position we are now, just a division lower.

 

I have been backing Pearson but my patience has worn thin. If he and Shakespeare are here next season they will get my support. But if I were in the boardroom I would be expecting Pozzo on his knees begging big Slav to come back.