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City goal (Naismith): https://streamja.com/gwwyz

3 games people. 3 games

Everybody talk about, Pop Muzik...

City’s long and distinguished record of getting knocked out in the first round of the League Cup met its match at Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium as Championship rivals Coventry City, who had previously insisted on us meeting them there tonight, decided not to bother turning up until we had the match more or less won. Match Reports from away games are always an acquired taste but it’s literally impossible to put into words any sort of detailed match report when it looked like a training exercise at 30 degrees with the sun blinding me, and with only a brief spell of opposition at the end of the first half and about 20 minutes second half. After weeks of ROBINS UNCUT we finally got the prototype for a match that plays out the same way as those pillow soft, edited City videos - hosts Coventry literally putting the cones out and insisting that they would never stray out of their own half until Pearson’s dominant visitors were 3 (BRACKETS THREE) in front. The opener came from a left wing City corner taken while bathed in the stunning sunset, at the second attempt Kai Naismith nodding down and into the bottom right corner. The visitors were camped in their nomadic hosts half and yet regularly miscuing the final ball down either flank with a chance to break more often. Despite this the confused hosts rarely breached the improbable and imaginary forcefield that separated the Coventry half from the Bristol City half and the away side continued to dominate - in fact the disorganisation of stewards outside the last minute ground was more than matched by the team occupying the ground. In less than 10 minutes it was two - Han-Noah Massengo, who became one of City’s star players and desperately needed a performance, threaded an inch perfect pass through Coventry’s casual defence, for which young striker Tommy Conway nicked in to skip past the last defender and apply the finish in the box. At 2-0 up and with former teammate Kasey Palmer struggling to link up with his side and - in the 28th minute - literally being robbed of the ball on halfway by the dominant visitors, it was creeping towards a one sided scoreline as the football remained in the Sky Blues half, and within minutes an amazing third arrived. On the half hour Nakhi Wells did well to prod the ball away from a developing Coventry passing move in their own half, and youngster Conway, buoyed by his goal, simply ran at defenders, jinking into space and then into the box, before drilling another low shot that rolled for an age inside the keeper, into the bottom corner. Before the half the supposed hosts started to find a pattern of play to advance but too often it relied on former City midfielder Palmer to pull the strings when in fact his teammates seemed to lack the enthusiasm or foresight to threaten their visitors. Twice before the break his through balls were met by no one in particular. The second half was a more balanced affair with Coventry probing the City box and yet inside the half hour it was Kane Wilson, on his full debut for City who centred a left wing corner that was flicked back beyond the near post and Wells cute back heel skewed just inside the upright. A threat, largely against the run of play. Coventry pulled a goal back after the one time a ball was played into the box with room to finish, but on the midway point of the half City proved they were still the more dangerous as top scorer Weimann exchanged passes with Wells, raced inside his marker from the right channel, and steered just past the left post. With Tanner on for Wilson, just before the final switches (Scott for King and Sykes for Conway) the away team flashed an opportunity in front of goal as Conway took on the left back, Wells recovered the loose ball and saw his first cross shot blocked but at the second attempt all action midfielder Massengo nearly headed in. By the end it was finally all the hosts, followed by more than 2000 visitors to this temporary Burton home, and apparently largely silent as they probed for a desperate second to put the match in doubt. The entry of Alex Scott and Mark Sykes probably did for them, restoring City’s advantage and conviction attacking on the break. Against the run of play with minutes before full time and in front of the noisy 300 City fans Sykes won a free kick on the right wing and then in injury time a ball over the top into the same space on the right was controlled by Weimann who drove inside his marker, into the box and prodded a shot through the keeper for a fourth. At the wrong ground and in unseasonably un-British weather this was like a summer football tournament style upset amid humid and blazing sunlight, and yet in truth despite the disorganisation at their temporary ground, “hosts” Coventry provided Bristol City with by far their easiest (and for now only) win of the season so far. Bentley 6 Vyner 6 Naismith 7 Atkinson 6 Massengo 8 King 6 Wilson 6 Pring 7 Weimann 7 Wells 6 Conway 7 Tanner 6 Scott 6 Sykes 6 Bell 6

2-0.

…off an running after two defeats Defended resolutely if a bit deep at times. Vyner had a good game, Conway very good, should’ve sealed the 3 points with his 6 yard header. His pace at times was a surprise to me, I knew he had some, but he’s gained an extra yard. A few quiet performances, but stuck at it. Will give confidence that we didn’t concede and another ref determined to make it harder for us. How he didn’t red card Bennett is a disgrace. Violent conduct…full stop….red card. Their manager knew it, hence subbed off at h-t.

City goal (Weimann): https://streamja.com/qL130

So, I'd just like to say to all the cockwombles on here with your glass half full ideas that we're going to walk into the pray-offs this season you need to literally give your heads a wobble. FFS, just get a grip. Those billy big bollox who look at the likes of Florist and Crapdiff and think we've a right to be there well I've news for you petal; we're still clearing deadwood. We may be a sleeping giant but we're a country mile from there. Fact. All these happy clappers just boil my piss. Melts. We've been a basket case for too long now and if we could find a manager to get us to our rightful place then I'd drive him to the club myself. It wasn't a job for Cotts, and it's a waste of time checking who's at the Avon Gorge hotel - at the last presser SL made it clear that NP is going nowhere and that NW will never get a look in. So get real pal. It's not that we're bad per se, but we've got too many bedwetters with agendas who won't get behind the club when they need it and come over as real belters. Source, you say? OTIB. Good night.

For what it’s worth I thought Pearson made the perfect substitutions tonight, and I’ve been very critical of his subs in the past. And as bcfc01 has pointed out: 2-0!

For every glory hunting kid at school in the nineties, this is for you

Conway and Scott would be nowhere near the squad under another manager. Turned Scott and Semenyo into £15m+ players, that will get us out of the deep shit that Holden, LJ & Ashton left us in. Been ahead in every single game this season. I’ll start worrying if that stops happening and we start conceding goals that aren’t individual errors, in no way linked to coaching, or shit penalties/deflected goals.

W15 D10 L21 after shifting 14 players & nearly halving the wage bill. Why weren’t we top six!

The turning point was when Pearson arrived. Success sometimes takes a bit of time and a lot of hard work. Look what the blokes done without spending a lot of money

How do you know they are a load of shit if you don't read them? @Jerseybean clearly does a good bit of research to try and match old Hav's work and you are being very disrespectful in calling it shit without cause. If you don't want to read them, fine, it's not like it's a surprise what they are about.

Wasn’t sure whether to stick this on the Pearson thread or the match thread but I thought I’d add a new one with a focus purely on the tactical substitutions after the red card. It was the most baffling set of substitutes I think I’ve ever witnessed. In the end; we got the win, but it was more because Luton were absolute dog-mess rather than our post-red card performance. 2 main points. 1) We have 2 specialist right backs sat on the bench. 2) Luton’s back like were all over the place due to the fantastic runs and movement of Wells and Conway. After the red, the first thing we did was stick Scott to right wing back. That immediately surrendered the midfield. 5 minutes later, Pearson realised this and changed it, putting Scott back in the middle and bringing Weimann to right wing back. So that was 2 changes, before any sub was made, meanwhile you still have 2 specialist right backs sat on the bench. Now the subs begin. Martin & Williams. For Wells & Conway. Still no sign of any of the 2 specialist right backs. We decide to take our front 3, who had been dangerous all night and had Luton soiling their pants, and we remove 2 of them from the pitch, stick the 3rd one at right back and bring on Martin. This surrendered the whole game. Our threat all night was the movement up front and getting their defence turned. What the game didn’t need was a target man. If we were to be conceding more possession and territory due to the numerical disadvantage then the one thing that would keep their defence on their toes would be the continued threat of a striker making runs behind them. They were scared all night. As soon as Martin came on their eyes lit up. Bradley knew that was much more his game, and he needn’t worry about running toward his own goal again all night. All it would take was a ball forward into the channel, one of Wells/Conway/Weimann to pressure the corner, win throws/corners/free kicks in the opposition half to relieve the pressure of the numerical disadvantage. We didn’t have anything going forward for the rest of the match. Next, another sub. Klose in, Scott off. Still no sign of either of the specialist right backs sat on the bench. And now, he sticks Vyner out there instead and puts Weimann back into midfield! Finally King comes on for Weimann. We went from threatening their back line with pace, movement, passing, with 3 willing runners up front and 2 youngsters with energy, legs and passing ability in the midfield, to a central 3 of Martin, Williams & King. Poor old Williams - we were supposed to be resting him in midweek games. He finds himself as the one expected to chase and press in the midfield, having to make a number of lengthy sprints, and at one point I thought he’d injured himself again. We took away the one thing that was threatening them all night and gave their defence an easy ride in the last half hour. We didn’t need to surrender the game like that. We could have kept at least 1 of Wells, Conway or Weimann up top to keep them on their toes and still pose a threat in behind. Yes it’s hard with 10. Instinct is to defend. But we didn’t need to do that. Luton were terrible. A better team comes back and draws that game tonight. If I’m Tanner or Wilson I’d be majorly pissed. We played 3 different right backs and used all of the subs bar those 2. The right back was sent off and we had 2 on the bench, yet somehow played 3 other players in that position within 20 minutes! I was really really enjoying that game up until the red. And then I was incredibly pissed off. First at Sykes for being an absolute dick and losing his head, and then for how we contrived to offer the game up to them with the odd substitutions. I’m glad Luton were so poor. And I hope they go down. A better team comes back tonight after that red.

Thank goodness for that, another post slagging off Martin. The bloke who scored in his last start, had another kicked off the line & got 12 goals & 7 assists last season as part of by far the most effective part of our side. It is excellent for us that Conway is off the mark this season but it was virtually a second string Coventry side last night (8 changes). Last season Saikou Janneh got 2 at the same stage, & whilst FGR probably aren’t the same standard as a weakened Coventry side, there isn’t a world of difference. Martin cannot play every game, last night’s break will do him, Conway & the team all some good.

Attention, it looks like Ian Gay has hacked Harrys account.

I can see the point here but also see Pearson’s logic. - Scott to RB made sense in the immediate aftermath of the red. Work out what to do and play him somewhere he can play - After that, taking one striker off makes sense. You can’t go 3-3-3 and you always keep Andi on for the high energy press so you take a striker off to fortify the defence. That means one of Wells or Conway goes, and if you then think you are playing one up top, Martins the “out” - so the subs are again logical - Scott off, Klose on. Game into last ten, big balls in box expected - tall, good header on (at this point our shape was excellent. We were Martin than two banks of 4 and they couldn’t break us down) - Weimann off and King on. Last five, looking to sit deeper and act as barrier I understand the point made but I thought what NP did made total sense as well. More than one way to skin a cat.

Having won well on Wednesday evening confidence will be up, so let’s hope we can perform well, get our first league points and start to build some momentum. Why are some football clubs called athletic? It’s a traditional name for a football club coming initially from track and field clubs. A team bearing this name has never won the league, although Oldham and Charlton have both finished as runners-up. Wigan’s history Established in 1932, the club would establish itself as a big name in non-league football over the forthcoming 46 years, claiming four Cheshire League and Lancashire Combination titles, as well as two Northern Premier League honours shortly before their election to the Football League in 1978. Former Latics player and European Cup winner Larry Lloyd helped achieve promotion for the very first time in 1982, moving into the Third Division where they remained until 1993 before suffering relegation back to the bottom tier of league football. In 1985, victory at Wembley was tasted for the first time, defeating Brentford in the Freight Rover Trophy Final 3-1, with Mike Newell, Tony Kelly and David Lowe scoring the goals for Bryan Hamilton’s team. As for league competition, the club’s rise from the foot of the Fourth Division to the peak of the Premier League was unique, and was catalysed following the arrival of local businessman David Whelan, who bought the club in 1995 and powered an incredible rise through the leagues in the space of ten fantastic years. When Whelan’s football career, as an uncompromising defender at Blackburn Rovers, was cruelly cut short after breaking his leg in the 1960 FA Cup Final against Wolverhampton Wanderers, he used the compensation to build his JJB Sports business empire. He purchased Wigan Athletic for around £400,000, and invested an estimated £100 million into his home-town club. The enduring legacy of his backing is undoubtedly the DW Stadium. Opened in 1999, the 25,000 capacity all-seater stadium replaced the club’s former Springfield Park home and provides a setting fit for the Premier League. He forecast shortly after his arrival that Wigan Athletic would one day be playing Premier League football, and although many scoffed at the thought, the vision became a little clearer in 1997 when the team were crowned Division Three Champions under the guidance of Manager John Deehan. Two years later, Latics were back at Wembley to contest the Auto Windscreens Shield Final against Millwall with Ray Mathias the man in charge. Paul Rogers’ late goal sealed another victory for the club under the twin towers where they would return barely a year later to take on Gillingham in the Division Two Play Off Final, now managed by John Benson. However, it was a heartbreaking final, losing to Gillingham 3-2 after extra time, despite a late equaliser from Stuart Barlow to take the team within touching distance of the second tier. That honour would have to wait until a record-breaking 2002/03 season in which 100 points were put on the board as Paul Jewell’s side swept aside all before them and were crowned champions – destined for the First Division a huge step closer to Whelan’s Premier League dream being realised. 2005 marked the club’s ascension into the top-flight, finishing second in the newly-named Championship to clinch an automatic promotion place into the promised land of the Premier League. Over the following eight years the club would continually defy the odds, and the critics, to remain in the top flight and, before their relegation in 2013, proudly stand as the ninth longest serving team in the division. 2013 of course also marked the year of one of the club’s greatest achievements...being crowned as FA Cup winners for the first time after a dramatic Wembley win against Manchester City, the likes of which the famous competition has rarely seen nor will see again. Roberto Martinez, at the helm for four years guided the team, led onto the pitch at the start of the day by Whelan, to glory against one of the world’s richest clubs with a starting eleven assembled after spending over £100 million. Ben Watson’s injury-time header was the difference, not only closing a remarkable chapter in Wigan Athletic’s history, but also one in the Chairman’s returning to the venue of one of his darkest days to celebrate one of the proudest. Sadly, relegation from the Premier League followed days after the FA Cup win and manager Martinez left to join Everton. Uwe Rosler followed Owen Coyle’s brief reign as Latics boss and took the club back to Wembley again in the FA Cup semi-finals, where his side lost to Arsenal on penalties. Having also competed in the UEFA Europa League for the first time, Rosler’s side battled to a play-off place in the Sky Bet Championship but their race was won as they lost to eventual promotion winners QPR over two legs. A season later and a second relegation in three seasons was confirmed as Latics dropped to the third tier for the first time in 12 years. Whelan handed over the chairmanship of the club to his grandson, David Sharpe towards the end of the 2014-15 campaign after over two decades at the helm. Sharpe’s first big decision saw him appoint former captain Gary Caldwell as manager ahead of the 2015-16 League One season. Caldwell immediately repaying Sharpe’s faith as he led the club to the title and a return to the second tier for 2016-17. Unfortunately, though, a return to the second tier was ultimately unsuccessful; Caldwell was replaced by Warren Joyce midway through the campaign but the former Manchester United coach couldn't produce the results and his spell as manager lasted just five months. Former Latics player Paul Cook was appointed as manager the following summer, having just won promotion from League Two to League One with Portsmouth. Cook oversaw an overhaul of Latics' squad and produced a record-breaking first campaign with the club as he won the Sky Bet League One title and led Latics to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals, notably beating Pep Guardiola's Manchester City 1-0 in the Fifth Round, ending their hopes of an unprecedented treble. On 1 July 2020, less than a month after a change of ownership, it was placed into administration and was relegated from the Championship due to the subsequent points deduction. In March 2021, the administrators were in advanced talks with a consortium, Phoenix 2021 Ltd, led by a Bahrain businessman, Talal Mubarak al-Hammad, and a takeover was agreed on 15 March, subject to EFL approval and finalisation of paperwork. Under the proposed deal, Al-Hammad would become chairman, and Mal Brannigan (previously involved with Dundalk and Dundee United) would be chief executive. EFL approval for the takeover was confirmed on 30 March 2021. In May, the former administrators repaid £171,000 raised by supporters to keep the club going when it first went into administration.The club finished the 2020–21 season in 20th position, one point above the relegation places. Then having narrowly avoided relegation to League Two Wigan won the League One title for a fourth time last season when they topped the table with 92 points. This article explains their remarkable turn around under boss Leam Richardson, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61245705 They have started life in the Championship with draws against PNE and Norwich, on Tuesday they were away at Fleetwood in the EFL Cup and made 11 changes from their draw against Norwich, Fleetwood had one effort on target and won 1-0. Our head to head record against them is won 13, drawn 9 and lost 6. Our last encounter against them in 2020 saw us winning 2-0, here are the highlights: We signed Joe Williams from them back in 2020. Williams was born in Liverpool and joined local side Everton at the age of seven, progressing through the age groups to become a first year scholar in June 2013. In July 2017 he joined Barnsley on loan. On 23 August 2018 he joined Bolton Wanderers on a season long loan. In July 2019 he signed for Wigan Athletic. On 20 August 2020, Williams signed for us for £1,200,000 signing a four-year deal. He represented England at under-20 youth level. Wigan facts Wiganer George Formby was given a top award by the Russians who loved the humour in his films. In the 1830s Wigan became one of the first towns in Britain to be served by a railway. Ian McKellen's father, who worked in Wigan Corporation's Engineers' Department, was killed in a car crash. His sister Jean died in a fall down stairs. Once the centre of the Lancashire coalfield - in the late 1800s there were 1,000 pit shafts within five miles of the town centre - Wigan no longer has any collieries. The last pit, Bickershaw, closed in 1992. The Verve were Wigan's most famous musical export since ... George Formby! The band were all from the Wigan area and met while at Winstanley College, a sixth form centre on the outskirts of town. In the 1960s and 70s, Wigan Casino was the spiritual home of 'Northern Soul' music, attracting thousands to its famous all-nighters. The casino burnt down in the early 1980s. In the 90s the town gained a reputation as a centre for jazz and now hosts an international jazz festival every summer. Literary links include George Orwell, whose unflattering portrait of the town at the height of the depression in the 1930s, The Road to Wigan Pier, angered many, and American thriller writer Martin Cruz Smith, whose 1996 novel Rose was set in Victorian Wigan. Thomas Beecham first manufactured his famous pills in Wigan. On 2 December 1997 Wigan Athletic and Bristol Rovers matched an English record by receiving a total of five red cards, four of them in the first half, the Gas picked up four of the five reds! Marks and Spencer was born in Wigan when Michael Marks joined forces with Thomas Spencer in 1894. For three years the town was the firm's headquarters. Famous Wigan food products include Heinz baked beans, Pataks Indian foods, Potters herbal remedies, Uncle Joe's Mint Balls, and De Roma ice cream. Away guide from Jack Phillips: https://jackphillipssport.wordpress.com/ Pubs The Red Robin, Robin Park, 1 Anjou Boulevard, Wigan, WN5 0UJ, https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/lancashire/red-robin/ Wigan Central, Arch 1, Queen Street, Wigan, WN3 4DY, https://wigancentral.bar The Anvil, Dorning Street, Wigan, WN1 1HE, https://www.facebook.com/TheAnvilWigan/ The Moon Under Water, 5–7A Market Place, Wigan, WN1 1PE (Spoons) The Berkeley, 27-29 Wallgate, Wigan, WN1 1LD, https://www.facebook.com/The-Berkeley-Pub-Wigan-184477628267588/ Best chip shops in Wigan, https://www.wigantoday.net/lifestyle/food-and-drink/these-are-the-12-best-fish-and-chip-shops-in-wigan-according-to-tripadvisor-3261286 Wigan is rightly proud of its pies, here are the top ten…. https://www.lifeofpies.co.uk/buy/the-top-ten-pies-in-wigan/ They have just recruited to their vacant mascot position! https://www.sportbible.com/football/wigan-athletic-are-looking-for-someone-to-be-their-new-mascot-20220630 The job add read….Do you want to be part of our Wigan Athletic journey? Are you a bubbly, enthusiastic and a fun individual? If yes, we have an opportunity for you! Crusty the Pie’ is our Club Mascot and the purpose of Crusty is to proactively engage with supporters whilst making people smile with positive energy and passion. Ensuring supporters leave remembering a remarkable day and to help promote the Wigan Athletic Junior supporters club, by engaging with our younger fans at various events located across Wigan and Leigh. Working hours: flexible to work 4-6 hours per match-day working home matches [including evening, weekend and bank-holidays] plus events which require Crusty. Contract type: Fixed-Term [for the duration of the football season] A giant pie was revealed as Wigan Athletic's new mascot at the start of the 2019-2020 season. More than 90 primary schools were invited to submit ideas - with over half of the entries opting for a pie. Crusty The Pie was chosen as the winner of the competition.Local children Cayden, eight, and Neve, nine, designed and presented the quirky mascot "We designed Crusty like this because everyone in Wigan loves pies," the schoolchildren said. And finally, it’s my birthday on Saturday, the best present would be a good team performance and a win! Enjoy the game, COYR.

The usual fascinating insight.

I knew we would get back to Danny Simpson in the end. He was a mistake, Pearson realised it, so brought in Tanner & let him go. According to some he was on an incredibly low salary. Andy King this year will have resigned on a very similar sum. Under LJ we paid a million for Marley Watkins who was on £15k a week, he started 10 games for us in 3 years & left for free. £600k for Hakeeb Adelakun, £9k a week, 5 starts in 3 seasons, left for free.. Million for Liam Walsh, 8 starts, left for free. But “Danny Simpson”, eh?

They’re still trotting out the season on season progress….where did it get us? HERE. A club fighting for its Championship status with eff-all money to recover. A CEO long gone, courting investors for another club whilst working here. I’m fed up of the entitlement of certain posters every Saturday evening when they come on here demanding the manager gets sacked. I want us to play better, but we are still in recovery mode. We should be grateful we have a manager and CEO with zero-Ego trying to recover this club. I don’t think some of our fans deserve them.

(Piggybacking on you Q…but to all City fans on here, not you per se) A manager who was happy to take on a shit-fest of a situation, have players leave OOC with little to no money to reinvest. There’s your answer. He deserves loads of time imho. He’s rebuilding a club for the club…not himself. People should be a bit more grateful. The CEO pissed off, remember that, courting a set of owners for another team…don’t forget that. We are competitive under Pearson, it’s hard work getting points in the Champ. We are fighting an unknown transfer window, hoping to be in-tact when it ends. Get behind him, be grateful we finished in the Championship last season, rather than going down…that’s the history of Bristol City, get into Champ for a few seasons then wallow as a 3rd tier club too big to be in it, but who takes several seasons to get back up. We are so entitled. We can’t wait to blame a player, we can’t wait to blame the manager. Have a word with yourself.

5 pounds isn’t nearly enough for this forum. We are really spoiled by a top quality format, free of pop ups and the work the mods do is fantastic. It should be at least ten pounds and contributors should be really grateful for what they have.

Giving it both barrels over the standard of officiating in general. When they upload I’ll link but in general… - No complaints over Sykes but Luton should have had man off - Atkinson was a penalty - Apology received re Hull where there’s wasn’t a pen and we should have had two - Standard consistently poor and undermining games integrity - Thought of walking away as standard that bad - No point in seeking explanations - Expects to get in trouble but “someones got to say it” Interview not really about our game but was a measured, calm, total slating of current standards

2 - 0 up at half time. Luton come out with three changes and a flea in their ear from Nathan Jones. They were probably also told to remember that we have a reputation for shrinking like a salted snail if put under pressure in the 2nd half. They tried to up their tempo, but we just took complete charge of the game. Great pressing, superb movement and exceptional passing moves, the only thing that didn't quite come were the goals, which I honestly believe we're on their way, until the sending off. But still, they couldn't live with us and I think that's possibly the best we have played under Pearson.

He’s not wrong though. Comes to something when the best ref of the season so far, by some way, has been Keith Stroud.

How many times do we need to explain that you cannot sell someone if no one bids? Kalas (who has been injured since March), Bentley, HNM, there are NO bids. This is Football Manager stuff.

We haven’t been a ‘good side’ at this level , except for 4 months or so , since we got promoted Pearsons not pulling up any spectacular trees, but the surgery he’s having to do wouldn’t be palatable or acceptable to many managers , to have a manager who accepts the difficulties and is prepared to take it on is a plus for a start. I really wonder what some expect Maybe , like you , I’ve become very used to City’s trials and tribulations over the decades We've had decent periods in all three league games and I’d be more concerned if we had just been thumped at Rotherham for example

Really? I thought we saw it out reasonably comfortably considering.

Nathan Jones is an A grade *****. He moans about everything, last week he actually said it was too hot to play, on the opening day he said Luton had had less preparation time than their opponents because they made the playoffs. He did the usual “they celebrated like they had won the World Cup” one when they faced Huddersfield, forgetting that he ran across the pitch & into the stand after Luton won a game last season. Classless, whining Cardiff *****.

Only three games in and there is a clear and repeated formula for City's stuttering start to the new Championship season. Come out convincingly, get in behind the opposition on both flanks with quick combinations, race in front and look comfortable and in control for a period, then by half time lose composure, sink deeper, surrender midfield and end up clinging on desperately for even a point. At promoted Wigan's DW stadium it was the same story and against limited opposition - in fact despite a dominant opening led by summer signing Mark Sykes and capitalised by Andi Weimann's fourth goal from Tommy Conway's centre, in the end this looked like two teams that will struggle as this level as City clung on grimly both up to Will Keane's equaliser and the hosts one sided finish. It was Nigel Pearson's men that looked by far the better from the outset and in the first minute Jay DaSilva was sent away in acres of space on the left, seemingly tripped in the box but managing to stay upright only to put the ball out for a goal kick. It was typical of counter attacking visitors that had come out of the blocks flying and were linking up well out of midfield to pin back their hosts. Just past five minutes City roared in front. Sykes stole the ball off his opponent on the right and after a quick exchange released Conway clear down the right who strode in on goal before squaring intelligently to meet Weimann's late run, the irrepressible striker smashing past the keeper and into the top corner from close range. 4 games 4 goals - last seasons' heroics now far from a one off. After 12 minutes another transition as City stole the ball back off a throw in on the right and Conway again danced into the box only for a defender to lean in and send him to the ground, no penalty given. Five minutes later an even greater controversy as Joe Bennett aimed a kick at Joe Williams while prone on the ground, sending the midfielder flying - a clear and seemingly inevitable red card. Yet the referee looked uncertain, then took an age to wave away players and consult his linesman before producing only a yellow card - a remarkable conclusion from match officials operating in the 6th biggest league in the world and yet somehow concluding of the incident not that they *hadn't* seen the offence, but that they had and decided off the ball violent conduct isn't a sending off. Buoyed by their lucky break Wigan started to threaten with balls into the channels over Rob Atkinson on the left of City's back three. Inside half an hour Zak Vyner slipped as last man tracking Magennis run but was able to recover and get the ball clear. Minutes later Bennett got inside Williams on Wigan's left to sweep the ball across the box for Callum Lang to steer past Bentley but also the far post. City could have been further in front before half time with another rapid transition - as a stunning curling deep ball lifted down the right wing put that man Sykes clear and his early centre was collected brilliantly in stride by Conway who drew the keeper and poked the ball inside but off the near post. In injury time Magennis slipped clear on goal for the first time but stabbed his shot wide of goal. As with City's other Championship games this season, the second 45 minutes was a completely different contest, Pearson's side second best, on the back foot and unable to unlock the same combinations that served them well early on. On 55 a deep right wing free kick after a trip on Conway was skewed into the air by Atkinson and Alex Scott was at his combative best to prevent the break. After the hour Weimann wriggled away on the left to the byline to lift a dangerous ball across the six yard box which was cleared and spun to DaSilva on the edge of the box but the wingback was caught in possession. At the other end Magennis spun clear on the halfway line forcing defender Atkinson into a tactical challenge, the centre back booked, sustaining a knock and replaced by Klose. Wigan were growing in confidence and after 66 minutes raced into space down the left, City's star man Sykes matching the runner and forcing the ball out of play for a corner. But from the set piece pinball in the visitors box, the away side unable to clear their lines and the inevitable equaliser arrived as Will Keane eventually converted low into the far corner to seal a period of home pressure. Against the run of play and City should have gone back in front immediately. Scott turned his counterparts in midfield and spread wide to that man Sykes running free on the right and with his first touch he looped an early cross into the box which Conway stole in at the near post to head home easily, only to agonnisingly nod down and the wrong side of the post from l yards out, a painful miss. City, for whom coach Jason Euell appeared more and more agitated on the touchline as the game appeared to be going away from his side, replaced the striker and Scott for Nahki Wells and Andy King. With just over 15 minutes left Klose hauled down Lang and from Power's free kick into the box Keane steered well over the bar from close range although the flag was up for offside. It was now a grim finale, all Wigan and King amongst the worst culprits for giving the ball away over and over with aimless punts to no particular person upfield. By now City faced all out assault and with ten left Bentley had to beat a Lang shot away at his left post as the Latics forward turned in the box. There was no outlet as Pearson's men struggled to build any attack and defended desperately. Despite this City actually contrived chances either side of the 90th minute - first a break from a long ball to their frontmen, Weimann linking up with Wells who turned a defender and saw his shot blocked behind. Then top scorer Weimann brought a high ball down and released DaSilva who got to the edge of the box only to play a tame ball across the D that was easily cut out as City pushed up. Before the end of 7 minutes injury time the careless wing back seemed to rob the ball off his opponent deep in his own half only to give it away immediately, Wigan into the box to force Bentley to half push away the first attempt, James McClean steering his follow up shot over from the right. This was now a case of City clinging on desperately for their first point against a side that will struggle. That does not bode at all well, and just like last season, despite having no problem with scoring goals, their propensity to surrender an advantage and apparently lose ability to compete in the second half, and up against three of the less fancied sides in the league, suggests a much harder campaign than the pre season mood suggested. Mark Sykes at least is the bright spark - a total revalation. Bentley 6 some good saves some awful distribution Atkinson 6 they found it easy to draw him and knock balls over the top Naismith 6 miscued passes out from back Vyner 6 made mistakes but recovered from them, probably pick of back three DaSilva 5 every game this season he wastes opportunities going forward Sykes 8 by far out best player with and without the ball Williams 6 started well faded badly Scott 5 almost completely bypassed Weimann 7 led the press caused problems and kept going until the end Conway 7 did not look out of place and carried a real threat Martin 5 didn't hold the ball up or offer any threat Klose 6 Wells 6 King 4

@Marina's Rolls Royce @BigAl&Toby @firstdivision Not aimed at you three, but just reading the latest quotes back to me, but it’s an interesting insight for me. I read pretty much every OTIB thread and try to read every individual post, although sometimes I scroll quickly…and generally see tonnes of negative bollax written, baseless bollax written, etc, and people think it’s fine. So I thought I’d start a thread with an element of positive bollax and see how it landed. One thing is for sure and I’m no Freud, is that It’s easy to write negative, baseless stuff. It’s harder to write substantiated stuff whether it be positive or negative. I love conversing with those that put a bit of effort in. MRR - I don’t really care how my perceived pro-Pearson view works out. It’s not really pro-Pearson, for me it’s the reality of a very difficult situation he’s taken over in….and I think he deserves to have the time to at least get a chance once the shit has been cleared up. That may be next summer - contract talks with the usual suspects might define that timeline to be a bit quicker. He might not get that time. I think he is steadying the ship, and whoever replaces him, whenever that will be, will pick up a football club in a better position than it was in when he took over. For me it is already in a much better state…but financially we have the “legacy” of SL / MA / LJ still lingering over us. Next summer there won’t be any players that Nige hasn’t had a chance to move on or re-contract. Not many managers get that full timeline of seeing all the players out they don’t want. But he will also have lost players he probably would’ve liked to have kept around, plus he isn’t able to bring in much beyond free transfers, bar Naismith, not even free transfers proven at this level. That’s a major drawback. When LJ had to sell players he was able to replace. Generate £23m transfer profit on Webster, Pack, Brownhill and Eisa, spent at least £25m in fees on 17 players….and a hefty wage bill increase that went with it. Christ, £5.5m amortisation of this season’s amortisation is LJ / MA recruitment. He deserves some slack…imho. He far from perfect, but he’s sorting us out for a better future. When the time comes to appoint a new manager, we might be seen as an attractive opportunity.

It seems to me that the mess is largely being cleared up and IMO that is what Nigel (and Gould) were brought in to do. It’s no coincidence that MA conveniently moved on soon after. Financially as other have said the MA/LJ era got us into that mess. Ironically really after failing to back Cotts. Forget the sound bites’Premier League in 3 years’ because as we now see that is not likely nor feasible. Gould came in to steady the financial ship rather than plan for a cruise into the Premier League and it seems that he is doing that. If we take a points deduction then it will be part of the ‘steadying strategy’ where a limited hit could be manageable. Nigel has probably come in with the same ‘ship steadying’ philosophy along with several targets and I doubt that promotion is high on the list. His job involves getting rid of the deadwood which is progressing nicely. At the same time reducing the wage bill, now down to under £20m pa so also progressing nicely. Having shipped out the deadwood then it’s to then find bargains (ie Sykes, Naismith, Wilson and hopefully Bajic) and to improve the Pathway from Academy to first team. Not going bad either on that front at all. With all this the key ingredient is not promotion but maintaining Championship status and if that is seriously threatened then no doubt plan B is Nigel gets the bullet. If we avoid relegation and achieve the rest then what do we have ? We have a Championship club just possibly moving towards a profit making situation in a couple of years (the real 3 year plan) and a much more attractive prospect for investment or takeover. Being a similar age to SL I know thoughts turn to legacy. SL has probably realised Premier League football is unlikely to be his legacy now and let’s face it even if we did make it then relegation and another restructuring would probably follow 12 months later and that involves several more years commitment. Instead his legacy will more likely be a fairly strong business model with excellent stadium, training ground and Academy. That is where I believe we are at. Not so much a mess as preparing for the next owners to pick up the baton in the next couple of years.

Tuesday at 1945 it’s Ashton Gate under the lights for the visit of Luton Town. They have drawn two and lost one so far and have scored just once. https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/match-preview-luton-town-h/ Our starting line-up will be interesting, guessing no Williams and Atkinson and Massengo are both doubts. It will be fascinating to see how Nathan Jones approaches the game, whilst he may be hoping to make a few changes, he indicated in an interview after the Preston defeat, that a number of first-teamers have picked up knocks. Potential starting line up shown below. The ref is Leigh Doughty. Over the last 12 months he has refereed 34 games, comprising 25 Championship games, 5 League Two games, 3 League One games and 1 EFL Cup game. In addition he has been the Fourth Official 39 times. During this period he has issued 125 yellow cards at a rate of 3.68 per game and 4 red cards at a rate of 0.12 per game. The Hatters were perhaps the surprise Championship team last season finishing sixth on 75 points and making the playoffs before losing out in the semi final to Huddersfield 2-1 on aggregate. As this article explains their success last season was after years of struggles: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11717/12585687/luton-town-championship-play-off-contenders-rise-from-non-league-exile-to-verge-of-premier-league In fact they were only promoted back to the EFL in 2014 after a five-year exile in non-league football! Of course we signed KN from them back in May on a free. Losing him to a club who finished 11 places and 20 points behind them in the Championship and who they’ve lost to only once in the last 13 meetings dating back 20 years caused a bit of a stir among their fan base! He certainly holds Luton and their manager in high regard ‘Luton were unbelievable for my career, the manager was absolutely brilliant, he was amazing - I can’t thank that club enough. Honestly, I will always love everyone at that club. Nathan Jones is an incredible manager, he’s going to manage at the highest level - I have absolutely no doubt about that; how hard he works, how much he goes into detail, the coaching staff he has - Chris Cohen is an exceptional young coach, Mick Harford, I can’t speak highly enough about.’ They signed Luke Freeman on a free from Sheffield United in July, he recently made headlines off the pitch: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/luke-ayling-leeds-united-pride-27715913 Their other incomings so far: Alfie Doughty - Stoke City, undisclosed Matt Macey - Hibernian, undisclosed Carlton Morris - Barnsley, undisclosed Cauley Woodrow - Barnsley, undisclosed Louie Watson - Derby County, compensation Ethan Horvath - Nottingham Forest, loan Tobias Braney - Bowers and Pitsea, free Daniel Idiakhoa - Newport Pagnell Town, free Jayden Luker - Lambeth Tigers, free After their recent Carabao Cup defeat against League Two Newport County Nathan Jones said: ‘You've seen one of the worst performances ever at this football club.’ A brief history In January 1885 Luton Wanderers changed their name to "Luton Town" at a secret meeting of their committee. Although a “Town” club was needed, the secret manner in which it was achieved was frowned upon. John Charles Lomax and George Deacon arranged a public meeting at the Town Hall for the 11th April 1885 to form a “Town” Club by democratic means. This was opposed by the instigators of the secret January meeting who said there was already a “Town” club and there could not be two. The tense meeting at the Town Hall, attended by most local football lovers, heard from many speakers. The overwhelming majority voted down the secretly formed club and for the creation of the Luton Town we know today. Early games consisted of friendlies, but a strong committee pushed behind the scenes and took the foresighted decision to pay three players in 1890, the first club in the south to do so. Founder member of the Southern League in 1894 the Town finished runners-up to Millwall in each of the first two seasons but the ambitious club wanted more and made a bid for election to the Football League. Their initial proposition failed and a season had to be spent in the United League before they were accepted into Football League Division Two in 1897. Unfortunately after three years of increasing struggle, in a predominantly northern based league, the club took the brave decision to rejoin a, now much stronger, Southern League which eventually formed a new Division Three of the Football League in 1920. By the mid-1930’s, such was the growth in population in Luton and surrounding area, that the Board of the club felt that they could afford to push the boat out and spend some money on the side, safe in the knowledge that spectator support would be forthcoming. With this decision taken, great changes were made within the club and players that would normally have been outside their reach were taken on and, as predicted, the crowds increased rapidly. Promotion to Division Two was narrowly missed in 1936 but the team made no mistake the following season when they won the Division Three championship on the back of a superb home record and the 55 goals of Joe Payne. Further promotion in 1955, buoyed by the goals of record goalscorer Gordon Turner and the versatile talents of Bob Morton, saw the Hatters in the top flight for five seasons which included a trip to Wembley in the 1959 F A Cup final. Sadly, this prefaced a slump which saw the team drop to Division Four by 1965 but they then bounced back to enjoy ten years at the top after winning the championship of the old Division Two in style in 1982, aided by players such as Ricky Hill, Brian Stein and Mal Donaghy under the managership of David Pleat. April 24th 1988 will forever go down as a red letter day for all Luton supporters as the Town won the first major trophy in their long history with Brian Stein sweeping home a last minute winner as mighty Arsenal were beaten 3-2 in the Littlewoods Cup final. An artificial surface laid at Kenilworth Road in 1985 was ripped up six years later just as the club was about to be relegated from Division One and the riches of the Premier League, which the Hatters were founder members of but unable to compete in, commenced. Since that time the club has enjoyed F.A.Cup semi-finals and promotion to the Championship but on the other side of the coin a draconian points deduction saw the club cruelly relegated from the Football League in 2009 and despite valiant attempts to return it proved more difficult to regain past glories than originally anticipated. In 2014, however, after five years away, the team won promotion back to the Football League in glorious fashion. Since returning to the Football League the Hatters have made strong attempts to achieve further promotions which finally led to a highly successful 2017/18 campaign when the team finished runners-up to Accrington. This was followed by a scintillating 2018/19 season when the championship of League One was achieved and with it Championship football for the first time since 2007. As mentioned in 2021–2022, they finished 6th in the Championship and earned a spot in the play-offs but were beaten in the semi-final by Huddersfield Town. The club's nickname, "the Hatters", reflects Luton's historical connection with the hat making trade, which has been prominent there since the 17th century. The nickname was originally a variant on the now rarely seen straw-plaiters. On 28 May 2020, Nathan Jones was reappointed as Luton Town manager, almost 18 months after originally leaving the club to manage Stoke. He replaced the outgoing Graeme Jones, who left by mutual consent the month before. In his first press conference, Jones spoke of his "regret" and "remorse" over the way he initially left the club and that he understood the mixed fan reaction to his exit and return, with hopes that he could earn fans' trust back. Jones went on to successfully guide Luton to Championship safety on the final day of the season with a 19th place finish, despite the club lying in 23rd when Jones re-joined. In the following season, Jones achieved a 12th place finish after scoring 62 points – Luton's highest points total in the second tier since the 1981–82 season. In January 2022, Jones signed a new contract with Luton until 2027. Results continued to improve under Jones, with him leading the club to finish 6th and qualify for the playoffs at the end of the season. Though the club ultimately lost 2–1 on aggregate to Huddersfield Town in the semi-final, Jones was widely praised for his management and was named the 2021–22 EFL Championship Manager of the Season at the league's annual awards ceremony. Jones is a devout Christian who credits his faith with getting him through bad times. He has several religious tattoos on his body including praying hands and the crucifixion on his left biceps and forearm, Jesus Christ on his right biceps, and Michaelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam' across his back. "It keeps you grounded. There's a lot of temptations, a lot of pitfalls nowadays, especially for a sportsman – and I think through God's guidance I've been able to steer clear of them. Through the hard times I've always had the stability of the Lord in my life and my family background has kept me on the straight and narrow." Nathan Jones does not hide his faith and is very open to mentioning it during press conferences, occasionally appending 'god willing' to his hope that his tactics work. Jones is bilingual, able to speak both English and Spanish. Over the years we have been evenly matched, we have lost 23, won 22 and drawn on 18 occasions. Last season we drew at home and lost away:

Really think the switch to TC and Wells made a huge difference.

"Game-changing" Luke Ayling hailed after making Premier League history at Leeds Pride - Mirror Online Thought this was worth a share. Good stuff Mr Ayling.

Well we may not be up there with FGR, but good to see the club making these initiatives. To be honest I would think a few may be as surprised as me as to how much we do already, I have never noticed the solar panels from the aerial shots of the ground for example. https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/city-launch-project-whitebeam/

Funny isn't it, you look at the headline figure of £170m spent in a single decade, the stadium redevelopment and the HPC, and you assume that all along the aim must have been to reach the Premier League. Then you consider we settled for Academy Cat 2 status, when we could have gone for Cat 1 (outside of FFP spending too), and look at the managerial appointments - particularly Millen and Holden, and we can argue about a few of the others - the lack of any football direction off-field, and the self-sabotage of the summer transfer window of 2015, and think, was the aim really & truly to reach the Premier League? I have never been convinced it was, and still am not. If it had have happened then I think it would have been more by luck (2008) than design. It will be very interesting to see, when all is said and done and the Lansdown's depart, how much of a "loss" they really will have made on the club (including the real estate), if any.

If you didn’t just catch it , the post match interview with Tommy Conway on Radio Bristol is a great listen Highly recommended to anyone who wonders what it must be like , (or dreamt )to grow up dreaming of wearing the red shirt and scoring at Ashton Gate Everyday , Dreaming of scoring in front of the fans for the first team ..... , in front of his family Its a wonderful & heartening listen , guaranteed to raise a smile Excellent performance TC , and brilliant interview Fine player , great attitude * Trying to remember the last time we had a home produced forward who made such a good impression in his first few outings

Amazing. When asked "is it lack of consistency?" "no, no, no, they're consistently poor". He's been reading otib!

You’re gonna lose your head when you pick up a book for the first time, now they are mad!

I hope you dopey lot on here who keep mentioning these tossers are happy , their taking the piss out of you TAKE IT DOWN

I really don’t get all the negativity around Chris Martin. Sure and he’ll agrees that he doesn’t score enough goals as a CF but what he does bring is vast experience and nouse. He bullies defenders, most of whom hate playing against him and he occupies at least one and often two defenders creating space for likes of Weimann and Conway. He also contributes when defending set plays in much the same way Famara did. I think he’s underrated by too many posters on here,

What a genuinely unpleasant post! Well done @Jerseybeanfor taking the time and trouble to do a comprehensive MDT opener. It's all part of the match day experience and is invariably well researched with the odd nugget of new info. My only negative comment is that I think 24 hrs prior to match day is more than enough. Perhaps ( Mods?) it could be formalised to prevent a general free for all ? If someone has the time and ability to do a good MDT 'opener' then they should get the job. Mind you, anyone who posts loads on here and can't even be bothered to spend £5 to become an OTIB supporter speaks volumes imho. Eh @Meh?

Matty James adding nothing again tonight

That's the spirit.