Nigel Pearson has reiterated the fact that he’ll have no money to spend in the January transfer window, unless Bristol City sell a player, but admits that once he has suitable transfer resources his main area of focus will be on the defence.
City were undone by Sheffield United on Tuesday night as a miscued defensive header by Zak Vyner - who otherwise had a good game - was compounded by George Tanner being drawn to the ball which left goalscorer Iliman Ndiaye unmarked.
The Robins fielded a makeshift defence of Vyner, Tanner and Cam Pring, with the latter two players full-backs by trade, for the second successive game as Kal Naismith and Tomas Kalas (both calf) and Rob Atkinson (illness) were ruled out, while Nathan Baker announced his retirement last month having been unable to play since last year due to successive head injuries.
With Timm Klose also recovering from the flu, although Pearson also noted the Swiss’ lack of consistency this term, City’s defensive options are light and with Tanner now under a three-match ban, that situation has been further exacerbated ahead of their trip to Middlesbrough this Saturday.
Beyond just numbers, though, Pearson has regularly bemoaned the lack of quality and efficiency at that end of the field, claiming he wants more defenders who go about their business over the 90 minutes, error-free, and without being noticed.
City had the third-worst defensive record last season in terms of goals conceded and expected goals against (xGA), and have the second worst goals against in 2022/23 and rank joint bottom for xGA as the worrying trend continues. At their current rate, the Robins are on pace to concede 68 goals by the end of the campaign, which would represent a marginal improvement on last term’s 77 and matches the number in 2020/21 - far, far away from where they need to be as a team.
However, the solution will not be immediately found in the transfer market due to a lack of available money to spend, unless one of the club’s prized assets, Alex Scott or Antoine Semenyo, are sold.
That’s unlikely to be in January, but the situation could change next summer, and Pearson made it abundantly clear the types of defenders he wants; albeit having already signed three centre-backs - Atkinson, Naismith and Klose plus full-backs Tanner, Kane Wilson and Danny Simpson - during his time as City boss. Baker was also retained on a revised contract before his unfortunate injuries last term.
“I won’t have the opportunity to do that, of course I won’t,” Pearson said, on the prospect of addressing the problem in January. “There won’t be money to spend unless we sell. In the meantime, we just have to keep working hard to try to rectify.
“We’ve made another defensive error and we lose the game 1-0. I can’t fault the players’ effort and commitment but until we are able to field defenders who are able to be efficient so you don’t even notice them, we will be that type of a side. We’ll be a side that always concedes soft goals because we don’t have the quality back there.
“When I get the opportunity to spend money, I’ll be spending it where we need it and that is at the back.”
When asked as to what the solution will be, without the means to reinforce that area of the pitch in the market, the manager added: “Well, I’ll just have to get my head down and work with the players. But you know that already.”
City may not, in Pearson’s eyes, possess enough reliable defenders but in Atkinson, Naismith, Pring, Tanner and, to an extent, Vyner have players will to take the ball forward and be progressive in possession from centre-back which, as the manager has previously noted, comes at a risk.
There is a slight contraction therefore whereby the Robins have signed and are producing defenders to play a certain way - with Joe Low again part of the matchday squad, Ryley Towler and Duncan Idehen out on loan and Under-21 centre-backs Raphael Araoye and Jamie Knight-Lebel continuing their impressive progress - but with very evident flaws across the first-team in the very basics, something which the manager demands.
Of course, defenders aren't ever one of the other, and the real sweet spot is when you get an equal amount of both qualities. But Pearson's very public frustrations on Tuesday night, having previously excused Naismith's aberrations, for example, are that he has too much grace and not enough grit.
There is a caveat to this in the sense, due to financial considerations, City have to now shop in a very specific market, and by buying younger defenders, by their very nature they will be inconsistent. As a ready-made Championship centre-back low on mistakes costs a lot, if not in transfer fees then definitely in wages.
As evidence by Sheffield United’s back three on Tuesday of Chris Basham, John Egan and Jack Robinson, who were in contrast to the above approach as the Blades kept it simple with how they defended their box, held their shape, and just played the percentages maintaining a distance between the ball and Wes Foderingham’s goal.
When asked whether the visitors, who boast the joint second-best defensive record in the Championship, are the model for how he would like to shape his own defence, Pearson added: “Let’s be honest, I would never sign a defender who brings the ball out, he’s got to be able to defend. That’s the profile of defenders. Defend first and then what you get from them is something different going forward.”
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