The official Bristol City v Preston North End Match Day Thread 18

[Nogbad the Bad]

4th disappointing and frustrating home league performance of the season - along with Millwall, Burton and Leeds - but this was the worst.

Truly crap from City and just an awful game all round.

Why the hell was Patterson playing, they have all sorts of methods to guage players' match fitness these days and he was clearly unfit to start.

Couldn't even be bothered to cheer our goal. 

[Shtanley]

Thought Smith was woeful tonight. Pack was needed in the second half. Bailey Wright’s lack of ability going forward is becoming very obvious. 

[AppyDAZE]

5 minutes ago, ScottishRed said:

That is probably one of the most conceited arrogant posts I have seen on this forum.

Who are you to decide what football supporters can and can't do pal?

People pay their money and can decide to stay or leave - it's their choice!

Nice to call those exercising their free will "pathetic".

Time to walk away from the keyboard until you learn some respect.

I agree. After all, the focking team left with 20 minutes left too

[eardun]

13 minutes ago, BRISTOL86 said:

The more I think about the game tonight the more angry I get. So much wrong. 

To have Djuric on the pitch and only feed him from the ******* centre backs all game was criminal. Game completely bypassed the entire midfield because we insisted on lumping it long at every ******* opportunity.

Midfield 4 might as well not have been playing. Had the talent and personnel to play through them and impose our game on them and let them dictate the play all night. 

Really shockingly bad performance. 

Sounds like LJ similarly angry about us just lumping it to Djuric:

 LJ: "We played big Milan Djuric and we decided to pump 100 long balls to him. I had to take the option off them.” 

[AppyDAZE]

Just now, eardun said:

Sounds like LJ similarly angry about us just lumping it to Djuric:

 LJ: "We played big Milan Djuric and we decided to pump 100 long balls to him. I had to take the option off them.” 

I'm with you. I don't blame LJ tonight. The blame lies fully with those picked tonight. How many can go home and say to themselves they gave it all? 

[Esmond Million's Bung]

5 minutes ago, Shtanley said:

Thought Smith was woeful tonight. Pack was needed in the second half. Bailey Wright’s lack of ability going forward is becoming very obvious. 

And was himself woeful.

[BRISTOL86]

Just now, eardun said:

Sounds like LJ similarly angry about us just lumping it to Djuric:

 LJ: "We played big Milan Djuric and we decided to pump 100 long balls to him. I had to take the option off them.” 

I’m a fan of LJ but that comment annoys me - it’s up to LJ to define the tactical approach pre game. 

If the players are ignoring his instructions that’s another matter but LJ needs to make it clear that just because you’ve got a big man on the pitch doesn’t mean every single pass from the back has to be lumped aimlessly his way. 

We’d have had much more success working short, sending a winger inside then whipping in a cross for Milan than Flint and Wright lumping it 60 yards to him and constantly asking him to win it in no mans land where even if he wins it, it’s ineffective. Not rocket science is it....then FINALLY we get a wide man willing to take on a full back and whip a ball in, and Bobby Reid’s the tallest striker on the pitch  

[PHILINFRANCE]

34 minutes ago, Nibor said:

Frustrating game.  We played poorly all over, didn't win anything, regressed into that idiotic habit of asking central midfielders to collect it off centre halves and then wondering why we have no outlets. 

It was right to bring Pack on at half time but Bailey Wright should have come off for him and Korey Smith played at right back because he doesn't get a nose bleed on the half way line and that was a real problem.  Do we really not have a right back that can do better?  I would be surprised.

Best put that utter shit behind us and get on with the next one.

Possibly, but he was commentating this evening so unavailable.

[Shtanley]

2 minutes ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

And was himself woeful.

You can’t possibly use the same adjective to describe the 2 performances. Smith was really far off the pace. Pack actually got some moves going and allowed us to give the wingers time on the ball. 

[Offside]

Poor performance from City tonight. The first half was very lacklustre and although the introduction of Eliasson gave us a bit of spark we deserved to lose.

Credit to Preston (despite the timewasting antics) who pressed us well and defended stoutly.

[AppyDAZE]

19 minutes ago, Shtanley said:

Thought Smith was woeful tonight. Pack was needed in the second half. Bailey Wright’s lack of ability going forward is becoming very obvious. 

This is all because on Saturday night (after shall we say several), I claimed he was better than Bannan.

[RedLionLad]

1 hour ago, Greedo said:

don’t see anything in Woodrow. just doesn’t look like there’s a goal in him. 

Quick, delete it whilst you still have chance........

[Esmond Million's Bung]

7 minutes ago, Shtanley said:

You can’t possibly use the same adjective to describe the 2 performances. Smith was really far off the pace. Pack actually got some moves going and allowed us to give the wingers time on the ball. 

Well I can and I do, Packs first touch of the game early in the 2nd half resulted in a Preston breakaway, twice he managed to misplace a 3 foot passes to Flint and as if we were slow enough he slowed it down even more, what I will always concede with Pack is he never shirks a tackle and always gives 100% bu so does Smith, IMO they were both abject tonight.

[AshtonGreat]

8 minutes ago, BRISTOL86 said:

I’m a fan of LJ but that comment annoys me - it’s up to LJ to define the tactical approach pre game. 

If the players are ignoring his instructions that’s another matter but LJ needs to make it clear that just because you’ve got a big man on the pitch doesn’t mean every single pass from the back has to be lumped aimlessly his way. 

We’d have had much more success working short, sending a winger inside then whipping in a cross for Milan than Flint and Wright lumping it 60 yards to him and constantly asking him to win it in no mans land where even if he wins it, it’s ineffective. Not rocket science is it....then FINALLY we get a wide man willing to take on a full back and whip a ball in, and Bobby Reid’s the tallest striker on the pitch  

What I don't get is that these are supposed to be experienced professional footballers. Even in the six a side kickabouts with my mates on a Wednesday, people play with more imagination.

[AppyDAZE]

4 minutes ago, RedLionLad said:

Quick, delete it whilst you still have chance........

Yes, people can say what they want about Woodrow, but tonight's strike was one the best hits we've seen from a City player this season. Took it very well indeed.

[Lrrr]

I can't understand why we abandoned our tactics that have worked so well for us, we stuck Djuric upfront and every attempted attack became a long ball forward to him... without any success. Any ball he did initially win we then didn't win the second ball. I find it astounding that 11 professional players and our coaching staff who were all professionals couldn't see that every ball that went forward came straight back at us. Weirdly we didn't start playing our style of football until we were two down by which time it was too late. I had assumed it was a deliberate change of tactic until I heard Johnson's interview after the game which showed that it wasn't and seemed to be down to the players playing that way. Hopefully just a blip and we get back on it. 

[JamesBCFC]

1 hour ago, pnefcok said:

Robinson's been having a poor season so a surprise to him him pop up late on with that winner but a very welcome one indeed.

Don't want to sound boastful at all but thought it was a fully-deserved win. We didn't play amazingly well but it was a solid away display against an underwhelming Bristol City side.

Thought Pearson and Johnson were class in CM for us. Liked the look of O'Dowda for Bristol City.

Also, think Brownhill needs to confiscate his dad's phone during games! https://twitter.com/gbrownhill56 

I thought both teams were dreadful!

[pnefcok]

1 hour ago, RedSA said:

What a little ***** that Pearson is. Bad sportsmanship charging Joe full on in the chest with his shoulder, nowhere near trying to play the ball. Joe had to go off. 

 

That's the type of player he is. Hated by other fans but loved by his fans. He got booked for that I think and is now banned for 5 yellows. Take away the debate about sportsmanship/him being a knob though and it's clear that he's a top midfielder in this league.

1 hour ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

A well deserved win no doubt but the time wasting was of epic proportions and an incredibly weak referee allowed it to continue.

We did but we hadn't won in almost 2 months and needed to do whatever it took to get a result. Time wasting is one of those things in football which fans on the receiving end say is cheating etc. but when their team do it, it's seeing the game out well and good, professional game management etc etc.

[AppyDAZE]

Just now, JamesBCFC said:

I thought both teams were dreadful!

City worst. Ref next, PNE third worst.

[AppyDAZE]

1 minute ago, pnefcok said:

That's the type of player he is. Hated by other fans but loved by his fans. He got booked for that I think and is now banned for 5 yellows. Take away the debate about sportsmanship/him being a knob though and it's clear that he's a top midfielder in this league.

We did but we hadn't won in almost 2 months and needed to do whatever it took to get a result. Time wasting is one of those things in football which fans on the receiving end say is cheating etc. but when their team do it, it's seeing the game out well and good, professional game management etc etc.

Burton were worse, but don't take that as a compliment. You have become a real Hoodoo team ever since we pipped you to the title and picked up our little double. Almost wish Swindon went up....  kidding, kidding

[JamesBCFC]

Just now, AppyDAZE said:

City worst. Ref next, PNE third worst.

Probably about right, not a lot between any of them.

For me a draw would have been the fairest result, both teams dire and we did have 3-4 shots that beat Maxwell only to be cleared away by a defender.

Ultimately the difference was they were more clinical in front of goal.

 

Also I hope I never see that referee again, not blaming him for the defeat, we were bad enough, but downs league is too good for him.

[AppyDAZE]

1 minute ago, JamesBCFC said:

Probably about right, not a lot between any of them.

For me a draw would have been the fairest result, both teams dire and we did have 3-4 shots that beat Maxwell only to be cleared away by a defender.

Ultimately the difference was they were more clinical in front of goal.

 

Also I hope I never see that referee again, not blaming him for the defeat, we were bad enough, but downs league is too good for him.

You saw the Burton game? That one made tonight's look OK

[SedRA]

10 minutes ago, AshtonGreat said:

What I don't get is that these are supposed to be experienced professional footballers. Even in the six a side kickabouts with my mates on a Wednesday, people play with more imagination.

The players were lazy tonight both in terms of energy and imagination. Having Djuric on doesn't help with that, it's easy to lose your edge when you have someone like him as an easy out all the time. 

[Esmond Million's Bung]

1 minute ago, pnefcok said:

That's the type of player he is. Hated by other fans but loved by his fans. He got booked for that I think and is now banned for 5 yellows. Take away the debate about sportsmanship/him being a knob though and it's clear that he's a top midfielder in this league.

We did but we hadn't won in almost 2 months and needed to do whatever it took to get a result. Time wasting is one of those things in football which fans on the receiving end say is cheating etc. but when their team do it, it's seeing the game out well and good, professional game management etc etc.

I can't offer much of an argument other than there is time wasting and then there is what happened tonight, a stronger referee would have warned your captain early in the 1st half and immediately started to take action in the 2nd half, you are the 3rd team to visit us that started to time waste from very early on Millwall and Burton the other 2 but you are without doubt the best and that's not a compliment, when you played football you were by far the better team.

[JamesBCFC]

1 minute ago, AppyDAZE said:

You saw the Burton game? That one made tonight's look OK

Wasnt at that one.

Been to Plymouth and Stoke, had a ticket for Palace but had to pass it on, Leeds and tonight.

So if someone gets me a ticket for the United game I'll stay away from League matches for the rest of the season!

[AppyDAZE]

1 minute ago, JamesBCFC said:

Wasnt at that one.

Been to Plymouth and Stoke, had a ticket for Palace but had to pass it on, Leeds and tonight.

So if someone gets me a ticket for the United game I'll stay away from League matches for the rest of the season!

Aha,  i sort of guessed you weren't there   because he was the worst ref I've seen in years, and many agree. Tonight's had a crap game, but that bloke that night was borderline bent.

[wendyredredrobin]

We are getting to that part of the season where injuries take there toll.  Fam and Eros have been out for a while, Joe, Nathan and Patto looked half fit from the start, though Milan looked fairly OK. Milan won a lot of flicks, but nobody was picking them up.

I thought packing the midfield after half time and bringing on a winger was a good call, but it didnt pay off.

For some reason, we were second to the ball all night and were not pucking up the loose balls.

We were going sideways and backwards.  Didnt seem to want to play our normal positive game at all.

1 point from the last 2 means we need to pick up a lot from the next 2 or 3 difficult games.

We will need to bring a few in some January just to provide cover rather than play injured players.  I guess Joe will be out for a while now too.

Perhaps the 2 young fullbacks need to have a game or two.

Refereee was dire.  Ignored a clear penalty for handball in the first half along with a free kick just outside the box.  Also ignored a lot of timewasting and play acting by their centre forward in the second.

Hopefully things will get better, but MU would get into double figures if we play like we did tonight.

 

[SedRA]

20 minutes ago, pnefcok said:

That's the type of player he is. Hated by other fans but loved by his fans. He got booked for that I think and is now banned for 5 yellows. Take away the debate about sportsmanship/him being a knob though and it's clear that he's a top midfielder in this league.

We did but we hadn't won in almost 2 months and needed to do whatever it took to get a result. Time wasting is one of those things in football which fans on the receiving end say is cheating etc. but when their team do it, it's seeing the game out well and good, professional game management etc etc.

Not sure I saw that to be honest. He's definitely a ***** though. 

[eardun]

38 minutes ago, BRISTOL86 said:

I’m a fan of LJ but that comment annoys me - it’s up to LJ to define the tactical approach pre game. 

If the players are ignoring his instructions that’s another matter but LJ needs to make it clear that just because you’ve got a big man on the pitch doesn’t mean every single pass from the back has to be lumped aimlessly his way. 

We’d have had much more success working short, sending a winger inside then whipping in a cross for Milan than Flint and Wright lumping it 60 yards to him and constantly asking him to win it in no mans land where even if he wins it, it’s ineffective. Not rocket science is it....then FINALLY we get a wide man willing to take on a full back and whip a ball in, and Bobby Reid’s the tallest striker on the pitch  

Yes he seems to be saying that. More quotes from twitter:

LJ: "I didn’t recognise us. We lacked our identity. It was very frustrating.” 

 LJ: "It could have been anyone I took off at half-time.”

LJ: "I can handle losing but not if we aren’t playing to our identity.” 

[ChippenhamRed]

48 minutes ago, ScottishRed said:

That is probably one of the most conceited arrogant posts I have seen on this forum.

Who are you to decide what football supporters can and can't do pal?

People pay their money and can decide to stay or leave - it's their choice!

Nice to call those exercising their free will "pathetic".

Time to walk away from the keyboard until you learn some respect.

I respect people’s right to make their own decisions. Doesn’t mean I have to respect their choices. Two different things. Nothing to do with me deciding what people can and cannot do.

If people’s “support” for their team is conditional on them winning and performing well every game then that’s not the sort of support that earns any respect from me.

Throwing the toys out of the pram and walking away after 75 minutes, with fully 20 minutes of football still to play, is childish and petulant. There was still time for the team to get something from the game and the potential for that to happen would have been greater with more fans in the stands.