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Good for him. Hopefully he helps a lot of other young people.

The phone line broke up a couple times so I might have missed something but here's the bulk of what Nige said: - says Mark Sykes has the qualities he wanted. That is that Sykes has something to prove and is ambitious. - 4 players have been told they aren't in the plans here. Nige said these players need to make a career choice to stay and pick up a wage without game time or go and play. Says the club don't encourage them sitting and picking up a wage. Wells isn't one of them. - says he's slightly behind where he hoped on the 3 year curve. NP said it's been a tough year but that the work that's happened this year will pay dividends. - Said if we are serious about making a cultural change it has to have a lasting effect. Thus, what's important for his role is that we move in the right direction rather than the prem in three years. - he is delighted with how we've developed as an attacking team, but not the defensive side as a team! He doesn't want pats on the back for the progress so far, rather he acknowledges the progress and work left to do. - Nige says it's been satisfying and rewarding for the coaching staff to see the availability of Martin and Weimann this season - Injury length has reduced, availability up. Says Joe Williams has been available for 70% of the year, and that we're much more likely to win or draw with him in the side. Said Joe is a good player and a nutcase who has worked hard to get back to where he is. - Says Semenyo is self-aware, is ambitious, a good listener who is receptive, studies his own game, doesn't waste time and energy when injured and this is why his development has blossomed over the season. Says he has the natural tools, but his finishing is improving and he practices in a professional way. He says he'd be disappointed if we weren't worried about losing him and in time we'll have decisions to make about him. However, it'd have to be the right deal for us and he hopes Semenyo will be here next season. - Nige says an aggressive and tight culture at Luton is a reason for their success. He says this will be achieved when we hit targets of wage bill and people know what their job is and where they sit. Says Luton might drop next year as the players and agents will cash in on a good season and this is the reality of it, so it might not last. However he focuses on us rather than focusing on Luton or anyone else. - Nige bans Sky Sports in his house so he can relax! - he says our identity is being formed now and next year we will be competitive and better than we were this year just gone. - to our fans he says: he will try and keep fans updated in a realistic way but this won't be with speculation and there's a lot of fake news in football. Overall it was nice to hear a manager who's down to earth and direct. If he doesn't want to answer, he is comfortable to say that and explain why, or Re O'Dowda he simply said we thank CO'D but it's time for change. So refreshing to hear that interview following plenty of buzz phrases from Ashton and a lesser extent Johnson.

Players do come and go, however do remember that they are no different than you or I and have feelings etc. Callum was amazing when he met my son, giving him so much time and encouraging him to pursue a dream of playing football. Last week was mental health week, and many don't know about some of the injuries that Callum has faced as he is quite a private person. Many may say he should/could have delivered more, but I will say this - from what I saw, he gave his all and both he, and his family cared deeply about this club. He also did a lot in the community that was unnoticed and unreported, and represented Bristol City as a professional at all times. Good luck Callum and I for one hope you go on to achieve more in your career.

I thought the most important point to come out of the interview was his point that any change in culture had to be continued ie Post him and that the plan was still to make Premier League , and pointed out that may not be under him , but in a continuation of the journey In my years we’ve had maybe a couple who attempted / started to change the culture of the Club as a whole , in Joe Jordan certainly , and Steve Cotterill , ( and to some degree Gary J) On neither occasion did we continue with , or build on , that culture change - It’s a reminder that the appointment after Nigel Pearson will be an extremely important one. Whatever anyone’s issues with results , league position , selections ...... I’d be surprised if there was anyone who can’t see he’s having an impact in trying to change the mentality - However long he stays in post it’s going to be extremely important that we retain , and build on that IMO It can’t always be driven by the Manager / Head Coach , it’s a culture and mentality the whole Club and all the staff , needs to foster if we are to ever achieve

Do some people on here not understand what a contract is?

Not really as he is still under contract

Players do come and go, however do remember that they are no different than you or I and have feelings etc. Callum was amazing when he met my son, giving him so much time and encouraging him to pursue a dream of playing football. Last week was mental health week, and mayn don't know some of the injuries that Callum has faced as he is quite a private person. Many may say he should/could have delivered more, but I will say this - from what I saw, he gave his all and both he, and his family cared deeply about this club. He also did a lot in the community that was unnoticed and unreported, and represented Bristol City as a professional at all times. Good luck Callum and I for one hope you go on to achieve more in your career.

About 15 years ago, I was mocked on this very forum for creating a thread saying that I felt uncomfortable with homophobic chants… some of the responses were vile. Now a player comes out as gay and the response is overwhelmingly supportive. If this forum is representative of our fanbase, it shows how much more inclusive we are at BCFC these days! Jake Daniels’ coming out is rather bittersweet. In one sense, it’s a sign of progress that a player is comfortable enough to come out. But it also shows how far we still have to go because in an ideal world, this wouldn’t even be newsworthy.

It’s difficult to thank him for his services, because in the main he’s been shite and uninspiring. He has been here 6 years, SIX! And I can only recall 2 moments of quality. I think just a goodbye would suffice…

I think the difference for me is that both LJ and Johnson Sr used "clubs in the bags" to have multiple options in the same position, which ultimately tended to leave us with an oversized squad full of players that we didn't work as a coherent unit. I see this more as getting a player who can cover a lot of positions (but hopefully) fits with how we want to play wherever he is situated. I know nothing about him but it feels like that is the intention from what I've read about him. I don't necessarily think it means that Weimann is off either. The major issue with Weimann (and Martin and Semenyo) is we don't have anyone who can replicate them or play a similar role. (That's not to knock Wells, Bell or Conway - just that including them instead of Semenyo, Martin or Weimann changes the system due to the fact that they are different players). If Sykes can provide a similar energy to Weimann it means we've got cover and an option to take him off in games if needed without rethinking our entire playing style. The other thing I'd say is that I think it bodes well to be making a signing this early. That gives the impression that NP knows what he wants and - at least in this case - has managed to get his first choice target.

From the Semenyo article .

COD new contract ???

Couple of points I picked up that haven't been mentioned yet, I don't think: - We had player unavailability due to injuries for a total of approx. 250 days last season, that's down to around 75 days this season. So undoubted progress on that front. - When talking about success of Luton he said something along the lines of "they have equality in their wage bill, which we don't have yet". Thought that was a really revealing comment and hints at some of the dressing room issues he inherited in that first season. Also points to more financial mismanagement under Ashton. Must admit I've been pretty disinterested these last few months, but that interview was encouraging, and Nige sounded very confident we'll be better next season. Definitely going to be interest/offers for Antoine though.

Those Oxford lot are little slugs. Little slugs with no personality and they're just jealous because we're better than them at everything.

Radio Bristol from 6pm on Monday 16th May

A bit unfair to Gary Johnson who I think achieved the biggest culture change in my lifetime, effectively destroying the alcohol-fuelled culture that thrived under Wilson and which Tins was unable to deal with.

Apart from.when he's creating, or tracking back or holding up the ball or making Intelligent runs or drawing players out of position Apart from all that he's quite anonymous

Palmer , Vyner, Bakinson and Moore I reckon.

About time too. Let’s hope others feel they can follow suit.

How about we don’t ?

That's COD's lot then. (Someone had to)

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/city-announce-retained-list/ ? CITY ANNOUNCE RETAINED LIST MONDAY, MAY 16TH 2022 City today announced its Retained List following the conclusion of the 2021/22 Sky Bet Championship season. Callum O’Dowda (pictured above) has been released following the end of his contract while discussions with Will Buse, Robbie Cundy, Timm Klose and Andy King – about a player-coach role – are ongoing. All our released players leave with the club's best wishes and thanks for their contributions. Players Over-24 released Callum O’Dowda Players Under-24 released Khari Allen Louis Britton Barney Soady Nathaniel Williams Contract discussions ongoing Will Buse Robbie Cundy Andy King Timm Klose Under contract in 2022/23 Players Over-24 Rob Atkinson Nathan Baker Dan Bentley Jay Dasilva Matty James Tomas Kalas Chris Martin Taylor Moore Max O’Leary Kasey Palmer Cameron Pring Zak Vyner Andreas Weimann Nahki Wells Joe Williams Players Under-24 Ben Acey Tommy Backwell Tyreeq Bakinson Sam Bell Zac Bell Ayman Benarous Mac Boyd Tommy Conway Owura Edwards Marlee Francois Prince Henry Duncan Idehen Saikou Janneh Dylan Kadji Jamie Knight-Lebel Harry Leeson Joe Low Han-Noah Massengo James Morton Josh Owers Seb Palmer-Houlden Sam Pearson Joe Porton Alex Scott Antoine Semenyo George Tanner James Taylor Omar Taylor-Clarke Ryley Towler Harvey Wiles-Richards Callum Wood

?TWO ANTOINE SEMENYOS, THERE'S ONLY TWO ANTOINE SEMENYOS ?

Excellent summary. A couple of other bits: On the contract offers - No time limit on players making decisions, but we will have to move on if things don't move quickly enough and we have other options. King as a player/coach is a no brainer, intelligent guy, bright future in the game as a coach or manager and we want to help him work towards that. Cundy is a bit of a risk because of his injuries but he deserves a contract, has offered a deal to Klose and it's with him to decide if it's right for him. Summer plans were finalised a couple of months ago (presumably once we knew we'd definitely be in this division) and are now being put into action. Things won't always go to plan and won't always happen in the order that people want them to - mentioned Sykes (so pretty safe to assume he's signed) when he's gone on record as wanting defenders and people may wonder why those aren't coming in first. Towards the end he came back to the players who've been told they can go, will have an impact on what we can and can't do this summer if they don't go. Doesn't blame the players for the money they're on or begrudge them it, the club has offered them those deals. Didn't rule out paying them up if neccessary. Owners are supportive of what we're trying to do but we have to be mindful of the bigger picture, can't overspend etc

Its so refreshing isn't it, no bullshit catch phrases.

Bakinson?

It’s a bit sad that in the 21st century that it’s deemed newsworthy. Good luck to the lad and all others who have the courage to openly be who they are. We only get one life.

I won’t give myself a heart attack with anger at Callum, like several appear to. He’ll get a decent move. Right decision for us and him.

Bit gutted he didn't kick on into the player he could have been, he has the attributes, just lacks that all important consistency and arguably confidence. Good luck CoD

That's a hell of an assumption that Bristol 'live' have a proofreader. In the age of click bait it's all about how many articles you can get out the door and then before you know it it's half way down the page replaced by equally nonsensical might/could/maybe postulating nonsense. I really don't know why anyone reads local news anymore.

Maybe he just loves himself?

Delighted, Nathan Jones is the most obnoxious manager in the division. Weird that someone who bangs on about being a Christian then spends most of the 90 minutes calling the linesman a ***. Vile man, horrible team. Would love them to struggle badly next season.

I don't care what the message is, but if you say it in a straightforward manner, and don't pull your punches, then you earn respect. I didn't find anything to disagree with. Thanks Nige.

Did I miss hear him refer to ‘that shit’ (Was it about Sky ?) He makes me laugh - he’s a grumpy sod to interview but you can see where his openness and other attributes gets the right players onboard

Might be a clause in his player insurance that he needs to continue receiving treatment/assessments for them to pay. Villa had a similar thing with Micha Richards, everyone knew he wouldn't play again, but there was a lot of box ticking involved before the insurance would accept that his career was over.

Kasey Palmer being retained is noteworthy

Cheerio COD ?

O'Dowda gone!!

Just the mere sight of that man's name has ruined my day. It should be added to the swear filter ?

Not sure that’s the best question I’ve ever seen! ???

He's gone. He's really gone. Who's popping the champagne?

I was there that day with my late Father, who was Wrexham born and bred. We were at home to Wimbledon. So glad I chose the Wrexham match, however I drove to Selhurst park to watch us beat Wimbledon in the replay.

The bloke who invented cats eyes, would’ve invented the pencil sharpener had the cat been facing away from him!

I would guess he's been bought to play 10 or either side of a front 3. Wilson will be the one to compete with Tanner...

But not the last but one?

Was reading there forum the other day about this. Thing with football fans like Oxford now if he signs a new contract with them they would be over the moon. But cause he doesn’t want to play for them he’s this and that. I trust NP and hope MS is as good as the last Oxford player we signed .

Having a medical today according to Pete O'Rourke

Would assume the retain list will be out today

Some people complain about Steve Lansdown avoiding tax by living in Guernsey but the truth is obvious. He’s prepared to suffer the hardships of living on this small island so that he can act as City’s Channel Islands chief scout. Well done Steve

I’ve never seen him and wasn’t impressed.