cotts on sky

[exAtyeoMax]

41 minutes ago, CyderInACan said:

Was that during your longer than expected stint of babysitting!? Blame the bar staff (no change there!) 

Bless him! He's a little love. Shouting "Daddy" right across the SB… He won't be able to hear you, I say…

Did he enjoy the game?

[Carey 6]

A comment I've seen an awful lot since Cotterill departure is that we were bidding for players way out of our league. 

Andre Gray at the time was at Brentford. Not some huge premier league club. 

I don't recall many on here at all (and please correct me if i am wrong) saying at the time how much of a stupid bid it was. 

I'll always love the bloke, and just like all of your pointless predictions that he would've taken us down. I reckon he'd have kept us up if given Tomlin/Odemwingie/Golbourne.

  

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Carey 6 said:

A comment I've seen an awful lot since Cotterill departure is that we were bidding for players way out of our league. 

Andre Gray at the time was at Brentford. Not some huge premier league club. 

I don't recall many on here at all (and please correct me if i am wrong) saying at the time how much of a stupid bid it was. 

I'll always love the bloke, and just like all of your pointless predictions that he would've taken us down. I reckon he'd have kept us up if given Tomlin/Odemwingie/Golbourne.

  

Grey and Maguire at least... They were clearly ready to join us. And it's funny isn't it - apparently the profile of Andre Grey was beyond us but fast forward 12m and a relegation battle and we can attract a player of Tomlin's profile?! 

If stature of the club was a big deal, I don't think you'd find Flint going to Birmingham. 

[Spud55]

2 minutes ago, Carey 6 said:

A comment I've seen an awful lot since Cotterill departure is that we were bidding for players way out of our league. 

Andre Gray at the time was at Brentford. Not some huge premier league club. 

I don't recall many on here at all (and please correct me if i am wrong) saying at the time how much of a stupid bid it was. 

I'll always love the bloke, and just like all of your pointless predictions that he would've taken us down. I reckon he'd have kept us up if given Tomlin/Odemwingie/Golbourne.

  

Doesn't matter where Grey was, it matters who wanted him and what they wanted him for. 

Sometimes you will get a player who has interest from a bigger club as you can offer him football, whereas the bigger club can't. Burnley just relegated from the prem and others at the top wanted him as their main striker, he was never going to choose us over them. 

It would have been like us wasting all summer trying to get asombalonga and ignoring famara, when he would never choose us over boro.

[1bristolcity]

25 minutes ago, sodburyred said:

Didn't we start last season in similar form. We also started the season greatly under McCines. 

But our goal difference wast vastly inferior, and we all knew where we were going with McCines McWinnless  McDonalds  what ever his name was. Nah! we are gonna walk this league, did you see how rubbish Villa were last night,? We are the new Barcelona, I'm telling you....

[Carey 6]

1 minute ago, Spud55 said:

Doesn't matter where Grey was, it matters who wanted him and what they wanted him for. 

Sometimes you will get a player who has interest from a bigger club as you can offer him football, whereas the bigger club can't. Burnley just relegated from the prem and others at the top wanted him as their main striker, he was never going to choose us over them. 

It would have been like us wasting all summer trying to get asombalonga and ignoring famara, when he would never choose us over boro.

At the time we had our bid accepted for Gray, various news outlets were reporting it was us and Hull interested, but only us who had actually made a bid. Nothing about the Burnley bid, so who's to say the club even knew Burnley were after him? 

Using this bid as a stick to beat Cotts with as many do, is ridiculous. He wasn't backed significantly enough in the transfer market to give us a real chance in the division, and that's pretty obvious when you've seen the money Johnson has been afforded.

[Major Isewater]

42 minutes ago, 1bristolcity said:

And if some had had their way he would be a gonner, and we would not be top of the league and progressing nicely in all cup competions. 

The first part of your sentence is fact the second part pure guesswork. 

[Spud55]

6 minutes ago, Carey 6 said:

At the time we had our bid accepted for Gray, various news outlets were reporting it was us and Hull interested, but only us who had actually made a bid. Nothing about the Burnley bid, so who's to say the club even knew Burnley were after him? 

Using this bid as a stick to beat Cotts with as many do, is ridiculous. He wasn't backed significantly enough in the transfer market to give us a real chance in the division, and that's pretty obvious when you've seen the money Johnson has been afforded.

Bit bids for Grey and Gayle clearly show otherwise?  the club were prepared for Cotts to spend 15 mill on 2 strikers, it's a strange world where that doesn't count as being backed in the transfer market considering that net that is around what Johnson has spent in 3 transfer windows.

Johnson has been afforded the same backing, it's just we have moved for targets that we have been more successful in getting Cotts failed miserably in this aspect.  

[Carey 6]

2 minutes ago, Spud55 said:

Bit bids for Grey and Gayle clearly show otherwise?  the club were prepared for Cotts to spend 15 mill on 2 strikers, it's a strange world where that doesn't count as being backed in the transfer market considering that net that is around what Johnson has spent in 3 transfer windows.

Johnson has been afforded the same backing, it's just we have moved for targets that we have been more successful in getting Cotts failed miserably in this aspect.  

We were after Gayle then we moved onto Gray. You cant add the both of those amounts together. The offers to sign these players was a hefty amount yes, but the wages we were prepared to offer them to get the deal over the line obviously wasn't. 

You saw how quickly Lansdown opened his chequebook as soon as Cotterill went with those January signings. We also spent millions in the summer pre Kodjia/Bolasie money anyway.

To say Cotterill was afforded the same backing is laughable. 

[JBFC II]

11 minutes ago, Carey 6 said:

We were after Gayle then we moved onto Gray. You cant add the both of those amounts together. The offers to sign these players was a hefty amount yes, but the wages we were prepared to offer them to get the deal over the line obviously wasn't. 

You saw how quickly Lansdown opened his chequebook as soon as Cotterill went with those January signings. We also spent millions in the summer pre Kodjia/Bolasie money anyway.

To say Cotterill was afforded the same backing is laughable. 

Lansdown only opened the chequebook because players like Tomlin, Odemwingie and Goldbourne wouldn't have fitted in Cotterills stubborn 3-5-2, I love the man for what he did in getting us to the championship but we would have certainly gone down if we'd kept him here, we were getting torn apart every week and that was because of his stubbornness in sticking to a formation that didn't work, no matter what players we used

[Spud55]

1 minute ago, Carey 6 said:

We were after Gayle then we moved onto Gray. You cant add the both of those amounts together. The offers to sign these players was a hefty amount yes, but the wages we were prepared to offer them to get the deal over the line obviously wasn't. 

You saw how quickly Lansdown opened his chequebook as soon as Cotterill went with those January signings. We also spent millions in the summer pre Kodjia/Bolasie money anyway.

To say Cotterill was afforded the same backing is laughable. 

And you think we pay top wages now?  there is a reason we are getting young players or players who have a reason to accept non astronomical wages, Even Tomlin wasn't on mental wages as he's a basket case who cannot command massive wages.  Wages are where we can't compete with other bigger clubs, hell we had a lower wage budget than Brentford in that season.

How many players 9 million Bids have we put in since Cotts left? We have barely spent 1/2 of that on our current record signing, the support is the same as it's always been, come to me with names and we will look to get them, MA and LJ have gone to SL with multiple names that are achievable and we have got them.  Cotts went with a list of players, we tried but couldn't get them.  Just the same if LJ went to them and said I want Britt Asombalonga, we would have bid for him, but we wouldn't have got him, if we had arsed around all summer trying to get him and went into the season with Reid and Engvall as our only fit "strikers", would we have blamed the board for not backing him?

[reddoh]

14 minutes ago, Carey 6 said:

We were after Gayle then we moved onto Gray. You cant add the both of those amounts together. The offers to sign these players was a hefty amount yes, but the wages we were prepared to offer them to get the deal over the line obviously wasn't. 

You saw how quickly Lansdown opened his chequebook as soon as Cotterill went with those January signings. We also spent millions in the summer pre Kodjia/Bolasie money anyway.

To say Cotterill was afforded the same backing is laughable. 

Money moved on too, we will never know what went on.

shall we just draw a line in the sand and get on with life?

[old_eastender]

29 minutes ago, Spud55 said:

Bit bids for Grey and Gayle clearly show otherwise?  the club were prepared for Cotts to spend 15 mill on 2 strikers, it's a strange world where that doesn't count as being backed in the transfer market considering that net that is around what Johnson has spent in 3 transfer windows.

Johnson has been afforded the same backing, it's just we have moved for targets that we have been more successful in getting Cotts failed miserably in this aspect.  

Sorry what you say I think is tosh. It's been done to death on here before, but the story is that soon after end of Promotion season Cotts has targeted Gray & McGuire, had verbally agreed fees (only around £3.5m Gray and £2.5m McGuire) and wages. He then went off on holiday and Pelling, presumably with board's OK, thought we were paying over the odds and tried to renegotiate the deals, pi55ing off both players and Brentford / Hull. Hull then said they would not do business with us and Brentford said if you want Gray now the price has double to £7m. This is why people say Cotts was not backed.

[chipdawg]

Cotts didn't get the backing he should have done, but then he refused to pick the players he was given to prove a point. Cotts just kept ploughing on with a formation that wasn't working and players who weren't performing. So while he certainly had one hand tied behind his back, it was his failure to use the free hand that ultimately got him sacked. The bloke gave us one of the great seasons, but he was as responsible for his own downfall as anyone else

[Frenchay Red]

8 minutes ago, old_eastender said:

Sorry what you say I think is tosh. It's been done to death on here before, but the story is that soon after end of Promotion season Cotts has targeted Gray & McGuire, had verbally agreed fees (only around £3.5m Gray and £2.5m McGuire) and wages. He then went off on holiday and Pelling, presumably with board's OK, thought we were paying over the odds and tried to renegotiate the deals, pi55ing off both players and Brentford / Hull. Hull then said they would not do business with us and Brentford said if you want Gray now the price has double to £7m. This is why people say Cotts was not backed.

Nail on head, though include the Lansdowns with Pelling's actions.

Plus Cotts wanted to run things his way but SL was keen to get LJ in as he would have less power and less involvement in the financial side of players coming and going.

[Spud55]

26 minutes ago, old_eastender said:

Sorry what you say I think is tosh. It's been done to death on here before, but the story is that soon after end of Promotion season Cotts has targeted Gray & McGuire, had verbally agreed fees (only around £3.5m Gray and £2.5m McGuire) and wages. He then went off on holiday and Pelling, presumably with board's OK, thought we were paying over the odds and tried to renegotiate the deals, pi55ing off both players and Brentford / Hull. Hull then said they would not do business with us and Brentford said if you want Gray now the price has double to £7m. This is why people say Cotts was not backed.

Yes a story with no evidence to back it, (nothing was reported anywhere in the media about this initial "agreement") and Brentford put the price up again straight after did they? said it will cost us 7 mill oh no hang on make that 9 as that was the bid we had reportedly accepted?  more likely 6 in the end as that is what Burnely paid, so they said double it and then take a bit off?

I fail to believe that Brentofrd are so incompetent that they would undervalue their best player to the tune of 6 million quid but suddenly realise after we've messed them about, i'm sorry but if that is not total and blatant bollocks I don't know what is, also if that were the case and we'd ****** about Grey why did he talk to us?  Surely if we'd messed him about he'd have just picked Burnley and not been on the verge of signing before opting for Burnley?

Some people go on about not believing everything the club says and then go on to swallow complete and utter bollocks because it fits their thinking.

[WolfOfWestStreet]

2 hours ago, 1bristolcity said:

And if some had had their way he would be a gonner, and we would not be top of the league and progressing nicely in all cup competions. 

Blimey thats a hard on of a statement, If this was December I'd join you in the johnson love in, but as its August i'll wait at little bit longer as i dont even have a semi on yet. 

[JoeAman08]

36 minutes ago, Spud55 said:

Yes a story with no evidence to back it, (nothing was reported anywhere in the media about this initial "agreement") and Brentford put the price up again straight after did they? said it will cost us 7 mill oh no hang on make that 9 as that was the bid we had reportedly accepted?  more likely 6 in the end as that is what Burnely paid, so they said double it and then take a bit off?

I fail to believe that Brentofrd are so incompetent that they would undervalue their best player to the tune of 6 million quid but suddenly realise after we've messed them about, i'm sorry but if that is not total and blatant bollocks I don't know what is, also if that were the case and we'd ****** about Grey why did he talk to us?  Surely if we'd messed him about he'd have just picked Burnley and not been on the verge of signing before opting for Burnley?

Some people go on about not believing everything the club says and then go on to swallow complete and utter bollocks because it fits their thinking.

Exactly my thoughts. No way in hell did Brentford value Gray at 3.5m and Hull had only bought Maguire for the same fee a year earlier and clearly was one for the future as he would've had to go from L1 to the premier league at 21 years old or so. The Maguire one I think was always derisory and Gray I think we got the fee but couldn't offer the same wages or opportunity to go to the premier league. Plus Gray would've been leaving a team that had just been in the playoffs for a team that was just promoted. Would've been a sideways step at best. 

There is no doubt LJ has been backed but a lot of that is spending a lot more astutely. There are a few gambles but the squad had to be filled out as SC left it bare. Remember he let Cunningham go. He didn't offer Wade a new deal to help us in the new league. He didn't help himself too much is what I mean by this. Great time he gave us but he put himself in the position to be sacked. Ok, SL a lot more patient with LJ but probably has a lot to do with LJ doing the things behind the scences to help progress the club like working on the academy and trying to better young players which I don't think was ever on SC's agenda. 

[petehinton]

3 hours ago, Spud55 said:

What that Grey never wanted to come here and chose to go to a much bigger club and end up in the Prem with Burnley?  Unless you are advocating that we should have kidnapped him then i'm not sure what there is to regret, we tried to sign a player that was out of our league and strangely failed.

The failing of support for Cotts in that summer was not having someone in place who could point out the fact that he was being an idiot with the players he was bidding for and wasting all of his time on unrealistic options meaning he ended up with sod all.

He may as well have spent all summer bidding for Messi all the good it did.

The failing on the clubs part was not having someone like Ashton on board who could take the list of players that Cotts wanted and gone for any potentially realistic options that may have been on the list of targets.

This has been done to death but for anyone who knows what happened that summer knows how badly the coaching/team management staff were ****** off by personnel in charge of 'securing' recruitment targets 

[Kid in the Riot]

28 minutes ago, petehinton said:

This has been done to death but for anyone who knows what happened that summer knows how badly the coaching/team management staff were ****** off by personnel in charge of 'securing' recruitment targets 

Quite. Gray was agreed by SC in principle (fee £4m from memory) and wages also agreed early in the summer. But some at the club thought they knew better and wouldn't sanction the signing until other options had been looked at. I think once SC realised he wasn't in charge of signing players things were only going to go one way.

At least they have a head coach in charge now who doesn't mind players being signed for him and hey, if that model works best for us (and I suspect with the Lansdowns in charge it is the only model that will work with any longevity) then great.

[Spud55]

2 minutes ago, petehinton said:

This has been done to death but for anyone who knows what happened that summer knows how badly the coaching/team management staff were ****** off by personnel in charge of 'securing' recruitment targets 

Of course they were upset, as they got sod all of them, but how much of that was down to the club and how much was down to putting unrealistic targets (or simply too few targets) meaning when they fell through we had little to fall back on.

You can guarantee that we did not get all of our first choice signings this summer, but we most likely had a solid list of recruitment targets and simply adopted a next one up policy.

As I said this was a failing on the clubs part as well as clearly there were not enough targets identified or the targets were out of reach and someone like MA should have been in place to either tell SC to lower his expectations or ensure there was a solid list that would ensure that we would recruit the right players even if we did miss out on our first targets.

That summer was clearly the reason we went out and got MA back, as it was successful the previous summer when working with SC to recruit players, and without him there it all went to shit.

 To say that Cotts wasn't backed is just simply bollocks, as the money was there in terms of transfer fees, just as to say that the club didn't make mistakes in that summer is also total bollocks and was identified and rectified by getting MA in as COO.

That whole summer was a total cluster**** but to absolve either the club or SC from blame is just stupid.

[havanatopia]

Pelling should have been pelted was the phrase I heard. I think Cotts might have agreed. Either way, that summer was the downfall of both moresthepity of the latter in my opinion. 

[CyderInACan]

3 hours ago, exAtyeoMax said:

Bless him! He's a little love. Shouting "Daddy" right across the SB… He won't be able to hear you, I say…

Did he enjoy the game?

Yes he did thanks, although how much of that was just the football is debatable! Great result!

[shelts]

Never known a manager so successful divide opinion among his own supporters . I wonder why ?

[Phileas Fogg]

10 minutes ago, shelts said:

Never known a manager so successful divide opinion among his own supporters . I wonder why ?

That's a good question, you're right. 

I guess because we had two polar opposites - amazing form with massive and absolutely horrendous form where we looked doomed.

If Johnson achieves success with us, he'll be remembered in the same way.

[shelts]

14 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

That's a good question, you're right. 

I guess because we had two polar opposites - amazing form with massive and absolutely horrendous form where we looked doomed.

If Johnson achieves success with us, he'll be remembered in the same way.

I would like to think so , but ain't sure about how loved LJ will be , he will have to take us into the Premiership!!

[Xiled]

How many of our U23 or U21 players made it into Cotterill's squads? The promotion season showed he was only interested in working with the smallest, tightest group of players.

That wasn't sustainable especially when the following season he refused to name a full bench. What message did that send to the academy?

Great manager for that one glorious season but sadly not "one for the future".

[Phileas Fogg]

2 minutes ago, shelts said:

I would like to think so , but ain't sure about how loved LJ will be , he will have to take us into the Premiership!!

Well yes, I did say 'if he achieves success'. 

He'd have to get promotion and have a good cup run (quarter finals onwards) to be seen as a success by some.

[1bristolcity]

6 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

The first part of your sentence is fact the second part pure guesswork. 

No, the second part is fact, but strange how some can't see that was tongue in cheek. 

[RedEyez]

Have been intruged to know since the end of last season whether LJ and Cotts shook hands at the beginning/end of the game or did LJ blank him again?