Post by Macmoish on Dec 13, 2010 7:54:24 GMT
Hull Daily Mail
HULL CITY: Pearson keeps faith with misfiring striker Simpson
Jay Simpson at Palace, where the Tigers failed to fire.
NIGEL Pearson has vowed to keep faith with Jay Simpson despite seeing the misfiring striker extend his barren run for Hull City.
The 22-year-old is yet to open his account since signing from Arsenal in August, a run that now stands at 15 appearances without a goal.
The mounting pressure told again when Simpson spurned a glorious one-on-one chance as the Tigers drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
But while Pearson accepted Simpson's form will be a cause for criticism among supporters, he offered his support to the out-of-sorts youngster.
"It's clear that he needs a goal at the moment," said Pearson.
"If the circumstances were a wee bit different, there's no question he'd be a lot more clinical.
"That's how it is at the minute but I have to stick with the players.
"There's lot of strikers that have been in his position, I'm sure you could think of some very big names in recent times, but he has to work at it and be able to cope with the criticism.
"Criticism comes all of our way at some point and you've got to be able to deal with it."
Simpson has gone over nine months without a goal and including the tail-end of last season on loan at QPR, his drought stands at 26 games.
Asked if he saw a lack of confidence in Simpson, Pearson added: "No, not always.
"But it's about performing on the big stage and the big stage is the games. You have to work through these difficult periods.
"He's a striker and he's got to keep going because when you go through a difficult period when you're not able to do the things you like doing, you've got to work hard at it. It's as simple as that."
Simpson's missed chance early in the second half was City's best opportunity as they ground out a drab 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
It was a fifth game without defeat for the Tigers – their best run of the campaign – but not enough to improve their lowly league standing of 19th.
Palace, who missed the chance to leap-frog City, looked the more likely winners once the Tigers' bright start had faded and Pearson was eventually content with a 23rd point of the season.
"The way the second half went it would be a bit ungracious of me to suggest I'm unhappy with a point," he added.
"I'm disappointed we couldn't replicate the first half performance because I think we were the better side.
"We played some good football, our movement and our shape caused them an awful lot of problems.
"But we weren't able to sustain that so maybe a point is fair.
"I'm sure George (Burley) will feel that with the second half pressure that they had they were probably more likely to win it.
"It remains frustrating for us not to score enough goals to win games but it's another clean-sheet."
www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/hullcityhome/hullcity/HULL-CITY-Pearson-keeps-faith-misfiring-striker-Simpson/article-2997242-detail/article.html
anyway good luck to Him on His Journeys. Just keep it going UrrrrSSSSS. 
