Merrick's Marvels

Hold me coat.

The Villa goalie dicking around??? Who knew he was a prize pr1xk? Oh look, Everyone.

Can't happen soon enough. Sorry to disappoint.

Fair enough fella. But in a season when everyone - everyone - at City hasn't been good enough, bar Dickie, the idea of "awards" is a bit of joke, quite frankly. I can only assume you're about 12 or alternatively happy to accept utter mediocrity ad infinitum. Some of us aren't. That is, about 12 or happy to accept utter mediocrity. But no worries, knock yourself out. But as far as I'm concerned the last 9 months might as well not have occurred. If you think we've made a step forward from where we were 12 months ago, fair enough. If you think this warrants awards and celebration, fair enough.

You need 5? From the minute the owner decided not to re-invest the Scott money - a decision no doubt taken well before he was actually sold - and from the minute the owner decided to not renew Nigel Pearson's contract - a decision no doubt taken long, long before he was actually sacked - this season has been a waste. A waste of everyone's time, money and emotional energy. A waste of the aforementioned that a lot of us, including the pensioner owner, can ill afford. So can we just get on with it please. Get on with not wasting everyone's time, money, energy. Get on with having a season where it isn't just one player - Rob Dickie - deservedly hoovering up every single award going. What a joke end of season awards are when all you've done is spend 9 months pissing players and fans off.

Well played City!

He's better than what he's shown so far, imo.

Hope you're right. He's what we need - if fit!

Yes they might do, bearing in mind parachute payments and the fact they'll need to build a stronger team this time round than the last one that was in the Championship but has proved well out of its depth in the Prem. However, they won't be giving him away or offering him around on the cheap. So we'll have to negotiate well, box clever, persuade them to lower their price. Who will be doing that for us? Tinnion? Junior? Oh sh*t. £5 million it is then.

No more puff pieces about how well Bristol City are run then.

Next season has the makings of a car crash at this rate. An injury-prone squad light on numbers, lacking quality, lacking leaders who actually know what success looks like, coached by an inexperienced, negative, charisma-free robot, answering to a teknikal director who's one and only attempt at building a squad, in 2005, was a total failure. Meanwhile, an invisible owner has cut the purse strings and left his manchild, know nothing son in charge of the whole sorry mess. What could possibly go wrong?

Lost me after the first 20 seconds of sh1te that came out his mouth. And quite frankly, this pod is better suited to the radio.

Naismith isn't out of contract - 1 year left. I agree about not including him though! I'd sell this summer. Sykes is one of our most consistent performers, one of the first names on the teamsheet. So for me he's not an understudy to anyone and certainly not to one of our most inconsistent performers. Him, McCrorie and Tanner are sufficient numbers on the Right hand side, I would have thought - if we are continuing with a small squad. For the same reason, we don't need a deputy for Dickie as him, Vyner, Atkinson and Roberts, with Tanner and Pring as emergency cover, should be enough numbers even with our wretched injury record. Roberts can also cover Pring. I don't think Bird hasn't signed for us to be an understudy either. I guess one of James or Williams will be allowed to leave - I'd go with you and keep James. Which leaves the No.10 - the critical position to fill this summer it seems. Well firstly - big ask, no pressure - but I'm not giving up on Benarous. If we signed Twine or similar and Benarous was back to full fitness, that's your starting 10s. Mehmeti as cover but I have my doubts about him because the problem is not with his talent but what's between his ears. Having said all that - we still can't be sure how Manning plans to line up - will it be 3 at the back or will it be 4 - will it be 2 no.10s or just 1? But whichever way he does line up, it seems we can be sure it will be a lone striker and at least 1 no.10. Which means there's one other puzzle to solve: What to do with Sam Bell. I find it hard to believe we'll jettison him just yet but where he fits into the above is a bit of a head scratcher.

Is Naismith going into the last year of his contract? If so, it seems we're not exactly rushing to offer new terms, unlike Conway for instance. No surprise there. Personally, I'd lose his wages in the summer if we can. Especially if it meant room in the budget to retain James (not that cost is the driving factor in releasing him it seems) or if it meant increasing our ability to splash out on a really good, ie costly, no.10. Because, let's face it, we've already proved we're good enough to beat the likes of Saints and Leicester without him. And is he the answer to breaking down the teams that set up to park the bus and hope to nick a win - which is the important improvement we have to make next season - beating teams at AG who park the bus? Personally, I think not. Roberts is the future for starters, not Naismith. And while allowing a lot of experience to walk out the door this summer is not something I'm in favour of - especially for a club that puts so much emphasis on young players - there's a crucial difference between King & James leaving and Naismith. Because King & James know what winning looks like, what being successful in the Championship and in the Prem looks like. They know what it takes to achieve what our owner says he aspires to (but even then will be released because they make the owner's lapdog, or teknikal director if you will, feel very small and very inadequate just like our previous manager). Naismith, meanwhile, knows what playing for Accrington Stanley looks like. Compare and contrast. Truly, this owner and his lackeys do not deserve success, never mind know how to achieve it.

FotMob don't know their arse from their elbow based on those ratings for us!

Well done, and commiserations, to all the players involved in this Cup run. One or two highly promising lads coming through Well done, and commiserations, to the people who've coached these lads - Bell and Challis, as I understand it. Note who isn't involved in any of that, btw. Credit is due where it's deserved, nowhere else.

Well played City.

Ok, I'll give you 5 minutes of my time before you can **** off. And don't bother sending me threatening PMs this time, y'***t. So, to answer: It's because that's where HE has said HE wants "HIS" club to be aiming for. No-one's put a gun to his head. No-one's asking him to risk the existence of the club. But more than 20 years is long enough to get it right and he hasn't. So now it's time for someone else to have a go. There you are. You can **** off now. Again.

Asking a lot of Seb but would love to see it happen! He certainly fits the strong, mobile runner Tinnion has said we're after but I wouldn't want to be relying on him for Championship goals. Let's not burden the lad with that just yet. Prefer to see him have another loan next season, play as first choice striker for someone, be the main man, hit double figures for a season. Then we'd know we've got something. He's certainly doing all the right things so far, though, isn't he?

For clarity - if Conway leaves do you think we'll sign 2 centre forwards? Only because I get the feeling Lansdown has drawn in the purse strings permanently and will spend a minimum going forward, might it be a case of Conway is sold and next season our lone strikers are New no.9, Wells and Cornick? A very brave alternative being sell Cornick, buy new No.9 and hope Conway-Newbie-Wells gets us promoted. The risk being in 120 months, Conway leaves for nowt but compensation. Mind you, the way Manning is playing him, Conway's value can't be much more than that now anyway! Re midfield, assuming James is allowed to leave (face palm), I'd still sign a proven centre mid, even if Williams stays as TGH, Knight and Bird is short on know how for me.

Wrong question. The arselickin OP should be asking Liam - if we continue with 3 at the back and 2 10s, where does Sam Bell even fit in? Because unlike other wide players, such as Sykes and Mehmeti, he can't play as an ACM. He might play in a 2 up front - eventually - but our dogmatic Coachbot seems to be wedded, indeed welded, to playing just a lone striker. And that will never be Sam Bell at this level. We have some good players at our club. If only we had a pragmatic, flexible Coach whose focus was using a system to get the maximum out of his players. Not one dogmatically focusing on his system - especially when, like he said again after yesterday's game, the system is, first and foremost, about how to stop the other team playing. How boring, negative and uninspiring is that. Start by asking- how can we get the best football out of these players? This would surely bring better results and better football. Great to see both Pring and Roberts in the team yesterday - that's a start.

Well said. This bears constant repetition- until our loans manager goes back to being exactly that.

I honestly don't give a monkeys what he did previously - what's he doing right here, right now is my concern. There's enough evidence available to us now to be forming an opinion about his ability at Championship level. I honestly don't give a monkeys how he got on playing Accrington Stanley. The evidence so far is 2 wins from 14? attempts to beat Championship teams below us in the table - some of those at home, against teams having terrible seasons..... who beat us. Personally I feel it's pretty pointless pulling the occasional excellent performance out of our backsides if, most of the time, we are dull and mediocre. Forget season tickets for next year, people are already voting with their feet this season - that's the most telling verdict on this Coachbot. People aren't interested in him or his football. And he's going to need some miraculous summer transfers and a flying start to next season to convince people he's got what it takes.

If promotion is the aim, why have we appointed a manager who can't beat teams below us in the league? How do the geniuses running our club square that circle? Perhaps they could also explain why they've appointed a manager so boring people are staying away in their droves? Empty seats for all to see. And let's not hear "Oh but it was Mothers Day", "Oh but it was Easter". That's pathetic gAsshole sh1te.

Chris Vui. Yann Thomas.