We’re pretty confident in predicting that Nigel Pearson has never been a smoker nor has he probably ever worn a neckerchief or donned leather gloves. However, you’d forgive the Bristol City manager for mimicking Colonel John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, placing a lit Panetela cigar in his mouth and uttering his immortal eight-word catchphrase before breaking into a deeply satisfied smile.
We’ll refrain from debating exactly where Brian Tinnion, Phil Alexander and Sean Gilhespy sit in the B.A.-Face-Murdock dynamic but quite clearly the Robins’ early summer recruitment plan has very much come together over the last two weeks - just nine days, in fact, with Haydon Roberts expected to be confirmed as their third new arrival shortly, after Ross McCrorie and Rob Dickie.
In that period of time the Robins have brought in a proven Championship performer in Dickie, an emerging international approaching his peak in McCrorie and a hugely talented former England youth international in Roberts who showed enough on loan at Derby County, along with his progress at Brighton & Hove Albion, to indicate he’s a very exciting young talent with an exceptionally high potential ceiling.
All can be considered defensive-minded players, and all collectively address a sizeable area of need for City, which was one of their biggest handcuffs during the 2022/23 season - depth.
Once the Robins lost Tomas Kalas and Rob Atkinson in quick succession to injury, joining Kal Naismith on the sidelines in late February/early March - roughly around the time their unbeaten run was ended by Manchester City - as well as their patched-up and reconfigured defence performed, there proved just too many holes in the dam to plug efficiently and results suffered.
In truth, City were operating near the edge for much of the season in that area of the field due to Kalas’ issues, the realisation after the first few months that Naismith was best deployed in midfield, Timm Klose had lost his mojo and that Joe Low wasn’t quite ready for first-team action, as for a long time Zak Vyner and Atkinson were their only recognised and specialist centre-backs operating at the required level.
Such a concern shouldn’t hang over this squad for the season ahead given the sudden breadth of options at Pearson’s disposal, there are at least 10 different iterations of what City’s defence could look like and that’s even before we introduce the concept of Kalas agreeing a new contact, Pearson switching to wing-backs and/or another centre-back signing - potentially Jake O’Brien - and/or left-back - maybe Jack Currie - joining.
With the greatest of respect to the man, who performed, as he always does, an understated, selfless and urgently needed role at the time of crisis, the great Andy King centre-back experiment of 2022/23 can be one for tales around the campfire in front of the grandchildren.
McCrorie is able to cover as a right-back, to the right of a back three and in defensive midfield, Dickie is a more orthodox centre-half but has, at times during his career, also played as a full-back while Roberts is a left-sided central defender by trade who over the last 12 months has been converted into a left-back and left wing-back.
Exactly what he’ll end up specialising in is unclear, similar to McCrorie in that sense, but the flexibility, raw attributes and versatility solve numerous issues for Pearson and it’s fascinating to see how they’ll develop and which route they’ll take.
This all should be caveated, of course, by the fact that City have missed out on one prime defensive target in Joe Bryan who could, perhaps should, and up to a point, would have been part of this conversation only to seek his future beyond these shores.
It will still irk those in charge at the manner in which discussions fluctuated so wildly, and even removing nostalgia and romance, Bryan would unquestionably have been a strong asset, it’s not a collapse of a deal to have caused an avalanche. It appears to be something City have pivoted and moved on from very quickly and efficiently.
Phase one complete
If you’ll briefly indulge me a personal analogy. My brother, who turns 40 next year but I assure you is a functioning human being with a son, a proper job and even friends, still eats his roast dinner in sections: green vegetables, then the root variety (your parsnips, your swedes), followed by the meat, then the roast potatoes, and culminating with the Yorkshire pudding. No cross eating and each one meticulously consumed as per its classification.
You can question this logic - numerous people have and still do - but his reasoning is a) you build up to the most beloved and important aspect of the plate but, and we’re getting to the relevant part here, b) you get each element in it’s best state - the vegetables while still warm and tender, the meat having soaked in juices and the potatoes and Yorkshire suitably softened and bathed in gravy.
There is no right, wrong, correct or any kind of textbook way to conduct your transfer dealings as each club hasn't different personalities, needs and methods, and all are trying to reach the same conclusion where they end a window stronger and more well-equipped than how they entered it.
But getting people in early is good for a number of reasons - to settle in the area and the simple fact they are ready for pre-season - but sometimes clubs, particularly those in the EFL, have no choice but to wait until the tail end of the window because that is when opportunities that weren’t there in the first weeks of June become available.
From City’s perspective, Pearson, as he repeatedly stated towards the end of the season, needed defenders and depth and he’s attacked that part of the strategy first on the plate and, albeit with one or two maybe still to go, has achieved what he set out to do with the official start of pre-season more than two weeks away.
Addressing the Robins’ needs in sections - akin to the aforementioned roast dinner - seems to make a degree of sense when you consider priorities and the nature of the position required. It’s not going to happen - at least nobody hopes not - but if the transfer window was to close by the end of the week, the Robins would, at the very least, have ensured they have a stronger squad than they ended the last one.
There’s plenty more work to do, of course, but the fundamentals have been secured and the first step reached.
What’s more is, working with defenders and a defence is markedly different to that of strikers, midfielders, wingers, even goalkeepers (to use basic groupings): they have to be the least free-spirited of the squad, the most switched on in terms of in-game requirements and, most importantly, have a greater knowledge of what and who their teammates are.
Having good individual defenders is one thing, creating a strong collective defence is another. It needs time. To build habits, understanding, chemistry and how those players need to think depending on the situation that’s placed in front of them with reference to what their manager and coaches are telling them.
Attackers and midfielders have to follow a strategy and process, of course, but that also requires them to think off the cuff a little otherwise it becomes too predictable. The opposite is true of a defence, you want all the boring adjectives like organised and reliable.
The longer they are in situ to work on the above, the greater chance of success. Pearson will now have the new trio for all of pre-season and each of their seven matches between July 12 and the start of the season. It’s an easy example to offer but there’s a good reason why Mark Sykes looked so dialled-in when he began last season. The Irish midfielder signed on May 16 and was therefore able to subscribe to all the above theory.
It also reduces a degree of pressure on the Kalas decision. City have made their offer, which appears, relatively speaking, a low one (for obvious reasons) but, for now, they don’t have to worry about having to retain the Czech for an un-economically sensible contract.
To compare it to Nathan Baker two years ago, while City were delighted to bring the defender back, it was a decision also made amid a transfer window in which they were unable to land some of their targets. That isn’t the case in 2023 and Kalas returning will increasingly be a bonus, rather than an essential component.
Having got phase one out of the way then, Pearson, Tinnion and the A-Team can focus on reinforcing other areas of the squad - defensive midfield, goalkeeper and further up the pitch should Alex Scott be sold.
Trying to manage all that while knowing you have to sign defenders makes each task that little bit more fraught, where less-calm heads can make decisions they wouldn’t have made in other circumstances.
That shouldn’t now be the case and all can settle on putting in place another plan in a different area of the field, which can hopefully also come together.
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