Alex Pearce

[cmonurz]

I'm just not very happy that McDermott is not picking Pearce for non-footballing reasons. You can't fart about in this league, and Morrisson has proven nothing but that he can have a decent game against Taraabt and Cisse - that's not to knock Sean, this is a big step up and he has performed well, but Pearce is a better player. I am, personally, getting a little sick of 'principle' coming before common sense.

[maffff]

I'm just not very happy that McDermott is not picking Pearce for non-footballing reasons. You can't fart about in this league, and Morrisson has proven nothing but that he can have a decent game against Taraabt and Cisse - that's not to knock Sean, this is a big step up and he has performed well, but Pearce is a better player. I am, personally, getting a little sick of 'principle' coming before common sense.

I'd say Morrison is more an unknown quantity than Pearce necessarily a better player. They're very different.

That's like saying Federici is better than McCarthy because McCarthy is a youth player and therefore inexperienced. The last few games have shown that he can very much hold his own, if not better.

[ZacNaloen]

I hope he stays, Pearce & Morrison would be a fantastic CB pairing imo.

[West Stand Man]

I'm just not very happy that McDermott is not picking Pearce for non-footballing reasons. You can't fart about in this league, and Morrisson has proven nothing but that he can have a decent game against Taraabt and Cisse - that's not to knock Sean, this is a big step up and he has performed well, but Pearce is a better player. I am, personally, getting a little sick of 'principle' coming before common sense.

I can't be bothered to read the whole thread. Is there any hard evidence that the exclusion of Alex Pearce is due to non-footballing reasons or is this simply a supposition to explain a player not being in the team even though you (and others) think he should be?

[Barry the bird boggler]

McDermott says the contract situation is nothing to do with Pearce's non selection. Tabb and Hunt are in the same boat, being out of contract in the summer, and they're still being selected. Be interested to know why Pearce is now seen as 4th choice though if that's not something to do with it... meanwhile Brendan Rodgers is watching the situation closely (allegedly).

[cmonurz]

I'm just not very happy that McDermott is not picking Pearce for non-footballing reasons. You can't fart about in this league, and Morrisson has proven nothing but that he can have a decent game against Taraabt and Cisse - that's not to knock Sean, this is a big step up and he has performed well, but Pearce is a better player. I am, personally, getting a little sick of 'principle' coming before common sense.

I can't be bothered to read the whole thread. Is there any hard evidence that the exclusion of Alex Pearce is due to non-footballing reasons or is this simply a supposition to explain a player not being in the team even though you (and others) think he should be?

On the previous page.

“We shall see what happens this week. There is a possibility that there will be talks between Alex, his representative and Nick Hammond. When I first made the decision to leave Alex out (his contract situation) had no bearing whatsoever.

“Alex has a choice to make and so does his agent. Sean Morrison is now in the team, proved a point and proved he can play at this level. He is very much in contention to play because we know he can do it. He’s committed and has a three-year deal.”

The implication is pretty obvious here.

[Royal91]

If Reading FC want Pearce to sign a new contract, how does dropping him, pissing him off and unjustifiably making him the 4th choice CB encourage him to sign?

[Greatwesternline]

A lot of people are saying Morrison had a solid performance against QPR, McDermot said "he has shown he can perform at this level"

He's played two games, in one the team conceded 7 goals, despite being ahead for large parts of the match and as such should have had a reduced defensive burden (all the time we were attacking the defence doesn't have to defend)

In the 2nd game, his poor positioning, misguided attempt at a diving header where he missed the ball, allowed Cisse to tap a goal in.

If a goalie had made such an elementary mistake people would be calling for him to be dropped.

In which way has Morrison shown he can perform at this level, and in which way has he had a good performance?

He is young, but his mistakes and organisation and positioning as yet haven't bene good enough to be labelled solid, and capable at this level. Certainly not if holding him to the same standards of evaluation as one would a goalie. My opinion anyway.

[melonhead]

If Reading FC want Pearce to sign a new contract, how does dropping him, pissing him off and unjustifiably making him the 4th choice CB encourage him to sign?

if hes talked to another club, and agreed to go there in jan, how would playing him help us in any way

[cmonurz]

If Reading FC want Pearce to sign a new contract, how does dropping him, pissing him off and unjustifiably making him the 4th choice CB encourage him to sign?

if hes talked to another club, and agreed to go there in jan, how would playing him help us in any way

Because better footballer = better?

[melonhead]

A lot of people are saying Morrison had a solid performance against QPR, McDermot said "he has shown he can perform at this level"

He's played two games, in one the team conceded 7 goals, despite being ahead for large parts of the match and as such should have had a reduced defensive burden (all the time we were attacking the defence doesn't have to defend)

In the 2nd game, his poor positioning, misguided attempt at a diving header where he missed the ball, allowed Cisse to tap a goal in.

If a goalie had made such an elementary mistake people would be calling for him to be dropped.

In which way has Morrison shown he can perform at this level, and in which way has he had a good performance?

He is young, but his mistakes and organisation and positioning as yet haven't bene good enough to be labelled solid, and capable at this level. Certainly not if holding him to the same standards of evaluation as one would a goalie. My opinion anyway.

not personally responsible for any of the goals vs arsenal, and the diving heasder when he should have stayed on his feet to block the upcoming shot is the one tiny blip on his sheet for me
if hed have got his scalp on it, it would have been a goalsaving challenge

[melonhead]

If Reading FC want Pearce to sign a new contract, how does dropping him, pissing him off and unjustifiably making him the 4th choice CB encourage him to sign?

if hes talked to another club, and agreed to go there in jan, how would playing him help us in any way

Because better footballer = better?

i meant help us going forward, having had no chance to really assess morrison etc
and i just dont think pearce is SOOO much better than the other three that his incl;usiomn would automaticaly change our fortunes. didnt seem to help much earlier in the season when he was playing

[Hoop Blah]

if hes talked to another club, and agreed to go there in jan, how would playing him help us in any way

Because better footballer = better?

i meant help us going forward, having had no chance to really assess morrison etc
and i just dont think pearce is SOOO much better than the other three that his incl;usiomn would automaticaly change our fortunes. didnt seem to help much earlier in the season when he was playing

To be fair, if he is better than the other centre backs*, I'd rather he was in the side now until this mythical January move as there's too many points to play for between now and then and we need our best side out on the pitch.

* I'm not convinced he is, but I've not seen anywhere near enough of Morrison to say he is, although on the evidence I've seen I'd back Pearce everytime. Mariappa is good at covering the ground but too many goals came from his man/area of the pitch for it to be a coincidence I'm afraid.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

If Reading FC want Pearce to sign a new contract, how does dropping him, pissing him off and unjustifiably making him the 4th choice CB encourage him to sign?

if hes talked to another club, and agreed to go there in jan, how would playing him help us in any way

Because BMc could challenge him to show how good he is and how much he deserves a valuable contract with the other club - just as Coppell did so brilliantly with Sidwell.

[Barry the bird boggler]

Pearce is not allowed to talk to any other clubs without the permission of RFC before January 2013

[El Diablo]

If Reading FC want Pearce to sign a new contract, how does dropping him, pissing him off and unjustifiably making him the 4th choice CB encourage him to sign?

if hes talked to another club, and agreed to go there in jan, how would playing him help us in any way

Because BMc could challenge him to show how good he is and how much he deserves a valuable contract with the other club - just as Coppell did so brilliantly with Sidwell.

And so poorly with Hunt , Doyle & Shorey

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Because BMc could challenge him to show how good he is and how much he deserves a valuable contract with the other club - just as Coppell did so brilliantly with Sidwell.

And so poorly with Hunt , Doyle & Shorey

Those were different cases - or at least Hunt & Shorey were. they were both pissed off because they'd been made offers which we declined as being too low.

What was the case with Doyle? No transfer/contract related shenanigans there ... he just lost form, got it back and left ...

[West Stand Man]

“We shall see what happens this week. There is a possibility that there will be talks between Alex, his representative and Nick Hammond. When I first made the decision to leave Alex out (his contract situation) had no bearing whatsoever.

“Alex has a choice to make and so does his agent. Sean Morrison is now in the team, proved a point and proved he can play at this level. [i]He is very much in contention to play because we know he can do it. He’s committed and has a three-year deal.”[/i]

The implication is pretty obvious here.

Not to me. There are 2 issues raised in that statement. One is that Alex Pearce is in discussion over a new contract. The other is that he is in the squad but not in the team. I do sense that there is a lot of supposition in many of the stories that excite so much attention of here and that this might also be such a case.

As has been said, we are not in a great position in the league at the moment. Why would any manager not pick a player he thought was best for the team simply because he might not have him in th squad in 2 - 3 months time? Maybe, just maybe, in this case the manager doesn't think he is the best option at present? We may not agree but we don't pick the team.

[El Diablo]

Because BMc could challenge him to show how good he is and how much he deserves a valuable contract with the other club - just as Coppell did so brilliantly with Sidwell.

And so poorly with Hunt , Doyle & Shorey

Those were different cases - or at least Hunt & Shorey were. they were both pissed off because they'd been made offers which we declined as being too low.

What was the case with Doyle? No transfer/contract related shenanigans there ... he just lost form, got it back and left ...

Sidders had a pre agreement with Chelsea, but he wanted to prove a point that he was a great player. He kept his reputation intact, not Coppell. His contract with Chelsea had no bearing on his performances - it was all but signed months before he left. Alluding that Coppell expertly managed him is nonsense.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

He couldn't legally sign a pre-contract agreement until the January - Coppell challenged him at the start of the season and his first-half-of-the season performances were what got him that pre-contract agreement.