When Nigel Pearson replaced Dean Holden last season, there was unanimous agreement amongst our fanbase that an experienced replacement had been required. It’s rare to see a fanbase in such unison on the suitability of their club’s new head coach. Arguably the most well received new manager in a decade or so. Perhaps since Steve Coppell… Let’s move on. On a serious note though, finally someone who’s been there and done it. Who was the last appointee with experience of getting teams out of the division we were in? Ah, Steve Coppell… Let’s move on.
We had just lost our sixth game in a row when Nigel Pearson was finally announced. The despair amongst City fans was clear for all to see. Add in the fact that we weren’t able to watch the games in person and you’ve got a pretty depressing picture. The benchmark could not have been lower at that point, any slight uptake in form or performance would have been a minor miracle.
You’d have thought ending the season without a win in ten games would warrant a fair amount of discontent from supporters. It didn’t, evidence of that low benchmark I suppose. This was Nigel’s time to assess the playing squad, to work out who should be sticking around next season. The team was at the end of its life cycle, seventeen first-team players were released in the summer. Many would have released more.
The Blame Game
The blame for on the pitch failures has rarely been laid at his door, more often than not the players are the ones getting the flack from disgruntled fans. “He’s doing as well as he can with the players at his disposal” is a regular opinion. If the players are underperforming, they’re the ones at fault. If the players are performing but simply aren’t good enough? That’s the fault of our former CEO. City fans need no invitation to have a pop at Mark Ashton. Despite leaving us for Ipswich, he’s still a regular talking point in the discussion about why we’re in this mess. Whilst any of his signings are still here, whilst they’re still mainly underwhelming us, his name will continue to be brought up.
I’ll say it again, Nigel Pearson has avoided most of the criticism and rightly so. He’s had the fans backing, even whilst the players haven’t. Since the last two fixtures, I fear that’s starting to change. The majority of Bristol City fans don’t get to away games. Time, money and energy are in short supply for most. Their only proper viewing of City is at Ashton Gate. If that’s the one source of live football you’re getting, it’s understandable your patience is wearing thin.
The Forest capitulation was unforgivable, the sort of defeat that happened numerous times last season. The sort of defeat we didn’t think we’d see again for a little while, we all thought City had turned a corner. The anger at full-time was new. The polite clap to the despondent players was replaced with palpable frustration at their efforts. Players came over to applaud the fans and were met with loud, clear anger.
Focused on the task ahead.
pic.twitter.com/9XJpXQYTdd
— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) October 29, 2021
At West Brom the Mood Changed
At West Brom, there was that anger again. Thankfully most fans expected nothing from that game, so when we got nothing they were okay with that. Sure our performance was weak and the fight was not there, but most fans were still comfortable with being outclassed. The substitution of George Tanner was something the fans were not comfortable with, when he went off I noticed a switch in mood amongst the supporters. Pearson has previous, taking off Ryley Towler and Alex Scott in the first half of games too. Like Scott’s substitution, Tanner’s was met with general bemusement. What had he done wrong? Is it really necessary to sub someone off in the first half?
A few chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” may have come from a small pocket of over-exuberant fans, but they could represent a change in mood towards Pearson. Suddenly his tactics and decisions are under scrutiny. What if it’s not the players underperforming, what if he’s to blame? As well as chants questioning his substitutions, chants of “sacked in the morning” arose. Now I’m hoping that anyone reading this thinks agrees that those chants are completely ludicrous. They came from a beard up, rowdy and vocal minority. The chants were more than audible nonetheless. Even if this minority are alone in their opinions, they still feel strongly enough to voice them. They still have enough people in agreement to get these chants going.
Suddenly the focus of the fans is switching from the players, to Nigel Pearson. If he doesn’t get a win tomorrow, these chants, this anger and these opinions will spread. If he’s not careful, he’ll lose the one thing he had behind him from the start: the fans.