Outside of a droll sense of humour and an occasional dour demeanour in press conferences, Andy Murray and Nigel Pearson may seem unlikely allies, but the three-time grand slam winner and Bristol City manager have a unique shared experience.
It was commonplace, prior to his first Wimbledon win, that to the wider public Murray was referred to as British when he was triumphant in matches or tournaments, and Scottish when he lost. Once he had conquered his Everest at the All England Club 10 years ago, it soon thankfully slipped into knowing parody.
Granted, we’re a world away from the professional tennis circuit and Britain’s strange relationship with that particular sport, and we’re also not speaking on nationalistic lines here, but it’s becoming increasingly apparent that when City are victorious in the Championship, or at the very least competent, the man at the helm is glowingly referred to as “Nige”.
When the Robins slip into wretched mode - as was the case against Stoke City on Saturday - his moniker becomes a more formal “Pearson”, a name evidently more open to attracting vitriol. Try as you might, it’s tough to get angry at someone who you consider a “Nige”.
As mentioned, Murray’s success at Wimbledon helped, in part, rid him of such an affliction. For Pearson, exactly what he needs to achieve is, in a way, of equal significance - the Premier League.
However, what the 59-year-old has been afforded that the former world No1 probably wasn’t for much of his career, is the concept of time, and the realisation that climbing such a peak requires patience on the understanding that it has to be achieved through incremental growth.
The Boxing Day visit of West Brom will be Pearson’s 89th in charge, the loss to the Potters on Saturday means his win percentage has now dipped below 30 per cent to 29.55 - of teams he’s managed for 20 or more matches, that’s the second lowest of his career, and at least Carlisle United had their Jimmy Glass moment.
City have won back-to-back fixtures under his management just three times (Saturday was an opportunity to make it a fourth), maintaining the steady to-and-fro rally of one name to another, and while there was understandable optimism at how the Robins started the season - as was also the case in 2021/22 - that seems to have since largely ebbed away.
Probably, for the first time in his tenure, the cries of “Pearson” are drowning out those of “Nige”.
We go again
City seem right back where they started: 27 points after 23 games, 18th in the table, 12 months after lying in exactly the same position ahead of Christmas. City were ranked 22nd for goals conceded at that time, and they are 20th this year. At least there has been improvement in attack as the Robins were the 14th highest scorers following 23 games last term and now rank fourth for the same metric.
Of course, we’re talking in raw terms regarding the league table. There isn’t reason to be completely down on everything Bristol City-related; Alex Scott, Tommy Conway, Zak Vyner, Max O’Leary and Rob Atkinson are all having good to very good seasons, the Under-21s keep on winning - delivering further hope for the future - and all the boring stuff like the wage bill are a little more under control than they were 20 months ago. Brian Tinnion’s appointment as technical director also provides a much-needed sense of continuity after the chaos, as regrettable as it is to be losing CEO Richard Gould to the ECB.
Yet, there is a nagging feeling - externally, at least, and ultimately that’s all the vast majority of fans have to go on; their money is invested in a matchday experience and that is the only true barometer for which them to judge the health of a club - that City are, at best, treading water.
We don’t want to go over old ground but, yes, there are mitigating circumstances for all of this; Covid and the collapse of the Lansdowns’ business model around transfer trading being the primary one. Pearson has been a firefighter, wrecking ball (mostly in a positive way… we think), cultural guru, architect and construction manager all at the same time.
Being that all-encompassing pure “manager” was partly why he was employed in 2021, amid the ashes of the failed Dean Holden project. The owner wanted an organiser and a true football man; a grizzled old captain to steady the ship.
We are now approaching his fourth transfer window in charge. Since his arrival 10 players have been signed on permanent transfers, no loans, of course (and that figure is pretty low, all things considered), and 17 who have made at least one first-team appearance have departed either by sales or the end of their contract.
Those numbers are relevant because why, undoubtedly, Pearson would have wanted to make more additions to his squad over time, we should be getting much closer to his conception of what he believes is a consistently competitive squad. At the risk of stating the obvious, after January, we have the summer and eight players in his squad on expiring contracts - with the club holding options on a further four - and then we’re into the third and final season of his agreement.
Yet, based on the manager’s irritation post-Stoke - and while, yes, you may hold him personally responsible for the defeat based on his selection and not appreciate the way in which he analysed it on the radio, you can also surely understand he was annoyed, hence the tone - this squad, a number of individuals within it, is still not want he wants.
The challenges to Atkinson, and presumably the lesser-spotted Timm Klose, the defence of Andy King, culpable for both goals and the praise of Phil Jagielka; a exceptional footballer, professional and fabulous servant to the English game over the last 20+ years but, at 40, probably as far removed from the idea of what City are trying to be, at least in profile, as you can get, in the context of the Championship, at least.
We don’t want to over-egg it too much, for obvious reasons, but there seems to be an ever-so-slight disconnect, or at least a growing one. Because while the manager may want players of Jagielka’s ilk, and has them to an extent in the form of Matty James, King and Klose - although, evidently, no two players are the same and you can’t lob all players over the age of 30 into the same category - that’s not going to offer much in the name of resale value or potential ceiling.
Plus, at 3pm Jagielka was part of a Stoke team below City in the table who, themselves, have been pretty poor for much of the campaign.
January is never a straightforward window because of the stage of the season, the limited time to conduct business all the while matches are being played and therefore situations change quickly - injuries etc. Values are inflated, clubs only want to lose players who aren’t contributing, therefore are either out of form or not playing, and you tend to have to wait until the end for the full picture to emerge, and often by then it’s too late.
Factor in the chronic lack of available money in the Championship, therefore clubs trying to deal in swaps and loans, and you don’t have a recipe for much of a fluid marketplace.
Which is precisely why, over the last two January windows around the pandemic, the Robins have brought in just one player - Klose on a free, the Swiss having not played competitively since the previous season. (Yes, you could count Duncan Idehen here but hopefully the point still stands).
Pearson clearly desires signings, plural, but can only achieve such if there is a sale negotiated. Which could be Antoine Semenyo, maybe Alex Scott, possibly even Tommy Conway, but almost certainly won’t be Han-Noah Massengo, unless somebody really, really wants the midfielder and is willing to pay a nominal fee now rather than gamble with an approach for a free in the summer where interest will be higher.
Along similar lines, other assets such as Dan Bentley and Tomas Kalas simply no longer have much value as their agreements expire. Why would you pay money for players in their late 20s, when the flexibility and freedom of the summer window is but six months away.
Cryptic clues
It was understandably missed amid the Atkinson-related hullabaloo but in his interview with BBC Radio Bristol on Saturday, Pearson also made this comment on January: “We need some more quality in the ranks but when we can do that will depend very much on circumstances that I can’t really go into after a game, in a press conference.”
How cryptic you view that is up to you. It could mean many things from - and we’re playing here so don’t take this as gospel, please - simply needing to sell someone (although he has made abundantly clear before so it would seem strange to fudge it this time around) to the status around the Lansdowns’ ownership of the club.
Actually, why not. While we’re here, it needs to be addressed and, to some extent, lies at the heart of the stasis City find themselves in. The club has, in effect, been “for sale” for at least 18 months now.
Steve Lansdown said in August that, “I’m looking for people to come in and invest but someone might want to come in and do the whole thing and then that would be another discussion,” having previously admitted he’s looking for further external investment. Running a football club is stressful and expensive and possibly not something you need as you approach traditional retirement years when you want to enjoy the fruits of your labour.
There have been whispers of consortiums and investors for months now, none of which have come to fruition, with America - as is the case throughout the Premier League and EFL - the most likely source of fresh funding.
The belief is the Lansdowns are essentially against the concept of an outright sale of the club and want to retain a stake due to their personal attachment and affection with the city and what they’ve built, particularly over the last decade. Concluding such a deal is not easy. Most of the recent takeovers up and down the divisions, particularly from America, have tended to involve an outright purchase (Ipswich, coincidentally, not such an example given Marcus Evans still retains 5 per cent).
Now, this isn’t to say that their current commitment to the club isn’t absolute or wavering in practical terms - Steve Lansdown’s personal investment stands at £240m - and the club have done well to keep a bit of a lid on any uncertainty that might be created, it does tap in to the idea of City almost being a bit stuck in the mud. Or, possibly more accurately, waiting for something to happen. When? Who knows… but it will happen, won’t it?
This transfer window therefore has an air of greater significance because it arrives amid the backdrop of Pearson’s previous near cast-iron popularity falling, no longer any visible sign of progress on the field - City trapped in some kind of feedback loop of individual defensive error after individual defensive error - and, perhaps most concerningly, relegation an increasing murmur.
Huddersfield Town look in real trouble but this is not a Championship with more than one team noticeably worse than the rest. Picking a three to go down right now would no doubt yield very different results if you were to poll 100 random fans.
That clear and present danger is what proved Holden’s downfall, as he lost 33.3 per cent of his total defeats while in charge, in the space of just 17 days. We’re not going there just yet with Pearson but it’s an important aspect to consider with January ahead of us.
Let's also not ignore the fact that pitching to investors the prospect of signing a "stable Championship club" isn't as easy when you're teetering around the bottom three and with all the future financial uncertainty that threatens.
If the defence is the problem, what’s been wrong with the ones he’s signed previously? Who’s to say a silver bullet to the Robins ailments lies in the month ahead? The manager will have ideas that there is but to do so, needs to move on one of the crown jewels.
It seems an inevitability that one of, if not both, of Semenyo and Scott - and quite possibly Conway based on present trajectory - will be playing Premier League football at some stage in the near future, but is now the right time to move them on?
Even in the case of Semenyo, selling now compared to next summer may be worth a little bit more in terms of transfer value (that 12-month option will be exercised eventually) and therefore allows a purchase or two to follow, but how about the next five months on the field? What could they be worth if he catches fire again. In the words of King, he can be the best player in the Championship, and that alone would very much help ease those fears of League One.
These are conversations shaped by the figures presented by rival clubs - money, as in life, tends to talk loudest - but in the case of the Ghana international, he’s an increasingly tougher sell than he was in the summer and that proved a challenge in light of his shin injury while on international duty. Albeit, that World Cup exposure and gravitas will have helped.
It’s an unpredictable window to be stepping into. But should City stumble into it, while in the depths of the division - which, as a side point, doesn’t always present the best selling point to a potential signing - and the manager be granted his wishes in terms of incomings (or as close to what is possible), admittedly with the need for outgoings, then it will confirm one certainty - the Lansdowns retain the utmost faith in what he’s trying to do at the football club.
If he isn’t, then the end for Pearson could well be Nige.
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