"That's something you can ask retrospectively, if that is the case, rather than preempt it because the young players that we have are very capable players. "We'll see what the performance is like if he (James) doesn't make it," Pearson added, in response to whether or not City have the personnel to compensate for the control James would usually bring. The manager could bring Zak Vyner into a defensive midfield role, with the 24-year-old having played there under Dean Holden but he too is largely inexperienced, with options beyond that being more attack-minded players such as Kasey Palmer or Callum O'Dowda - who played centrally on occasions under Lee Johnson - or teenagers Ayman Benarous and Alex Scott. Tyreeq Bakinson and Han-Noah Massengo would be the obvious choices to be selected at the base of midfield but their pairing on Tuesday in the wake of James' injury contributed to City's downfall as neither was able to retain any sense of shape or structure.
And before Tuesday night he had completed 90 minutes in all of the Robins previous 15 Championship matches. But he's a good pro, a very good player and we're lucky to have him."Īs evidence of his importance, only Andi Weimann (1,440) has played more minutes than James (1,403) this season among all of City's outfield players. "When you consider Andy or Joe haven't been available recently, there's a lot of emphasis on Matty to keep that area of the pitch in some sort of order. Kingy is a different type of player, but those types of influences within in the dressing room are very important. "He's a very important player, as is Andy King. Yeah, they have the benefit of youth, energy, athleticism and willingness but what they don't have is the knowledge to go with it. "It's a lot to ask of some of our younger players to play with control. He's the best midfield coach we've got at the club, basically, because when he's on there and playing with some of the younger players, they're always looking to him to give them balance. "Because it's pretty obvious to me he's among the most influential players we've got. "For a person who is highly regarded, highly respected within the game and amongst his peers, I never hear anyone shouting from the rooftops about his performances which really does quite surprise me. "It would have been relatively obvious when he went off (his importance) as there was no control," Pearson added. Matty James receives instructions from Nigel Pearson during Bristol City's 3-2 win over Reading (Rogan/JMP) James' departure at St Andrew's led to an alarming lack of authority and organisation in City's midfield with Birmingham ripping through a Robins side which Pearson went on to describe as a "soft touch", given how easy they succumbed to the hosts abrasive style in the second half.
We could do with a positive result to go into the international break so that would be very beneficial but the longer-term situation is more important to the club." "I'm not going to make decisions for the sake of one game that would put a player's longer-term fitness at risk. "Matty's had this knock on his foot which has proved problematic for him over these last two games so we'll see whether he's able to make the game because they're got a short break before the next fixture," Pearson said, with the visit of Blackburn Rovers to Ashton Gate on November 20 following the Coventry game. But with veteran Andy King out until next month having undergone hamstring surgery and Joe Williams doubtful after only returning to training this week following his latest injury issue, it would leave City light on numbers, experience and leadership in a key area of the field.