Johnny Musicworks

Renewed my tickets today after much deliberation. I have decided that I would miss the social aspect of match days too much, the football itself much less so. I was hoping Manning would be gone as my enthusiasm and expectation are very low but at 70 I may not get many more seasons. It will probably be another wasted season but as a City fan what else is there ?

As a long time Yate resident I always drove to Ashton Gate but this season started driving to Brislington P&R which is actually quicker and less hassle. I would certainly welcome a service from Yate P&R. The Ladden Garden village development has a lot of build-to-rent properties that seems to have encouraged many people to relocate to Yate (cheaper rents than Bristol) so potentially many more fans who might use the service.

So he came over did his pre-season, now gone home and will be back for another pre-season presumably

Sadly Manning is everything that I don’t want my football club to be. Soul less, lacking in passion and sleep inducing. 60 years of supporting with the occasional highs and short periods of success and yet always enough to sustain my passion. Many have said, me included, that with Bristol City it’s the hope that kills you. In truth it really isn’t. It’s the hope that keeps you going and no matter how many times the hopes are crushed our love of our team remains to keep those flickering flames of hope alive. More enduring than most of our other interests as we age and more enduring than most marriages and friendships for many of us it is our most enduring love. In our later years that love may lack passion for long periods but then along comes a win over Manchester United or a Steve Cotterill season like a dusty pack of viagra to give life meaning once again and remind us how wonderful life can be. So there we were, after years of abstinence along came Nige rousing that fading passion in us only to be snatched away and replaced by Liam. It’s like being sold a cheap packet of knock-off viagra by Delboy. Ah well the moment has passed now. We can only hope Liam goes with it before the advance sales period for season tickets has gone.

Much like Mannings interviews, tactics and game management!

Could history repeat itself twice in one season ? Cardiff defeat led to Nige being dismissed after 2 wins in 7. Lose against Cardiff next week and it’s 2 wins in 7 albeit with 2 more points from 7 games

Is it too early to have a stick or twist poll for Manning yet ? He finally gets his wish to have more time training on the grass and if today is the result then it does not bode well. Personally this is the earliest I have ever wanted a manager gone. He just seems out of his depth and has for most of the time since he has been here. Lose to Cardiff and it may get quite toxic next week.

Not being a betting man it was the one and only time in my life that I have put a bet on a football match. Living in Hampshire at the time and I went into the local bookies to place the bet. The guy there smirked and said “ Bristol City to beat Leeds at Elland Road, I can see that you don’t understand how this works “. I left the shop thinking it would be the last time I ever set foot in a bookies. Going back the next day and collecting my winnings was pure joy.

In other times a performance like that would have raised comments of the manager losing the dressing room. Manning seems to have got a team in his own image, rabbits in headlights comes to mind. He and they seemed scared and out of their depth tonight. As someone else said it was the most comfortable 1-0 that you will ever see. There was clearly a massive gulf between the teams but we could have at least tried to put up some kind of fight. I don’t doubt, as others have said that the likes of James, King, Williams and probably Wells will not be with us next season but where will be the experienced players to lead the team ? Tonight we were like a rudderless ship without any direction on the field or off it. It was though only 1-0 so there was always the chance that we could have sneaked an undeserved leveller. Unfortunately it seems our players failed to realise that you have to get the ball in to the opposition’s box to score. Our free-kick that almost led to a Leeds goal summed up the night. Any team can turn up for a cup match but anyone that thinks a a few signings for the future will bring us a team that can be consistent and challenge for the top six next season is sadly deluded.

Whilst I go to every home game I rarely go away and never watch away game streams or on Robins TV. Consequently I follow OTIB for in game comments and to get a perspective on the game, accepting that every goal scored and conceded brings an onrush of either over-positive or hyper critical responses. Despite being hardened to the swaying between ecstasy and doom I gave up on last night as the comments directed at the likes of Max and Sam seemed to be largely agenda driven and dismissive of two of our own products who IMO deserve better. No doubt the same sort of people who said Antoine would never make it and want Sam loaned out to a lower league club. It did seem even more toxic than usual last night on here or maybe just a lack of accurate insightful contributors.

I just wonder how long before a couple of ‘trialists’ arrive from their Kuwaiti Academy to be signed and the manager is given instructions to play them.

Undoubtedly his distribution from open play was very poor yesterday but that I think will improve massively once our players start adapting to his ability. Our style has until now been very predictable and easy to set up against. He adds extra attacking options that we have not had. The half time analysis against West Ham identified how many times our players failed to spot the runs Conway was making. Twine will improve that and improve goal opportunities for Tommy. As for the loan deal, Whilst we wanted a permanent or a loan-to-buy like TGH I see this more as a ‘Try before we buy’ option which serves to convince us to spend the money in the Summer when many anticipate the purse-strings will be loosened.

Asked if option to buy Nixon said ‘Nothing in writing’

Such a great night in Coventry. My elder brother and I (after experiencing all the lows and highs imaginable in one game) were watching City and Coventry play out the game with neither side trying to score. Meanwhile our younger brother was leaving Goodison where, despite losing, Sunderland fans were celebrating staying up as they thought Coventry had won. He told me that one moment Sunderland fans were walking away from the ground singing ‘Staying up’ and the next moment the final score from Coventry was announced whereby Everton fans were mocking Sunderland singing ‘Going down’. For me unequalled as my most unforgettable night supporting City with the largest away following for a league game that I can remember.

Pointless playing Conway without a second striker. Their CB’s had a free pass today. The euphoria of Watford has unsurprisingly soon evaporated and it’s all so ‘Bristol City’. Welcome to 2024 with that deja vu feeling. Williams, James and Weimann together and nothing whatsoever created. Surprise Surprise !

It’s a painful watch with Manning interviews. All so very dull with nothing of substance to say. He may turn out to be a decent coach but his lack of passion and inability to make eye contact in his interviews do not bode well. He sounds like a manager on his way out rather than one who has just come in.

100% renewing after 50+ years. I am probably an outlier in that I never watch any football on TV apart from an occasional England game (which I usually regret). Fortunately I don’t have Sky etc so Ashton Gate is my only football fix.

The impatience of some fans is understandable. For the last few years we are used to seeing other teams come to Ashton Gate and dominate possession. The real problem has been that, at least in the recent past, our players have been impatient too. When they have got the ball they have attempted to get it forward too quickly, more often than not conceding possession within 2 or 3 touches. Criticism of Max and his distribution and lack of confidence in our defenders to play out from the back leads to a noticeable nervousness for many fans. Mistakes will be made but first the fear factor needs to be removed from the players and criticising the likes of TGH for pass-backs doesn’t help players gain confidence. Fans won’t suddenly become patient overnight but with the right coaching players can. One poster mentioned that historically Ashton Gate doesn’t like that type of football. One could argue that historically Ashton Gate has yet to see Premier League football and maybe that’s not unconnected.

This time last year Luton took on Rob Edwards and few thought he had the experience (Just 10 Championship games) to take them up with a hardworking but not especially talented squad. It can work !

Awaiting Bristol Live reaction !

Ah my dyslexic moment. IDK refers of course to me

Anybody expecting a Geoff Twentyman more forensic style interview will be disappointed of course. Just like with Nige, Geoff is gone and will be missed. However Joe is a passionate fan not a Journalist and his style is to relax the person he is interviewing. Many City fans may not be in the mood for banter from Joe but the majority of his audience tune in for that. The interesting bits for me so far have been the unusually long breaks the players were given during the International Breaks. Had LJ done that followed by an injury crisis then there would have been pandemonium on here and rightly so. Secondly that the list of possible candidates put out by the bookies and media are apparently very wide of the mark. Some of our IDK’s have seemingly correctly dismissed names like Lampard but unless I have missed something they don’t seem to be coming up with the names that are under consideration. That suggests their knowledge is more at the level that those IDK’s in the media have but not any more than that. I’m always glad to read their input but does anyone actually know who is under consideration ? Finally and not surprisingly that Communication these days is hampered more than helped by a toxic Social Media. That unfortunately is not limited to football clubs but all in the public eye. I think more frequent interviews with the likes of Radio Bristol without using it just for damage limitation as appears to be the case of late and also to improve communication with our Supporters trust. Personally I am disgusted with the way things have been handled by the club but I will keep an open mind and listen to the whole interview to see if anything in any way lessons the anger that I feel as a supporter of 60 years.

People like Kid and Harry are just such Kiljoys. Still it’s been a nice 24 hours distraction so maybe it’s served its purpose for someone.

Whatever the validity of the Lampard rumours it’s certainly brightening up a very dull day for many of us I think. Storm Ciaran will be nothing if we announce Nathan Jones later.

Past his sell-by date for many in the media unfortunately