CheddarReds

Glad I wasn't the only one pulling my hair out! 

Thought there were 3 or 4 occasions he should've booked their players and didn't but jumped at the chance to book ours 

He was fab at Watford. Williams is now putting in performances I hoped he would when we signed him. Hope the improvements continue

Hi all,

bit of a stab in the dark - my partner and I are keen to get over to Oz for a couple years and give living and working abroad a try. 

We're starting to get our heads around Visa's but I wondered if anyone on here has been through the process semi-recently?

If so, I would be really grateful if you could drop me a DM!

Thank you.

Q2 and Q3 are the interesting ones for me.

Over the last few years the group of friends I go with have started to lose confidence we'll be more than a mid table Championship club under Lansdown's ownership. The sacking of Pearson has only cemented that view for us all.

Personally I'm feeling more despondent than ever and the my thoughts re new ownership has certainly tipped toward excited and away from wary.

Gutted. Was a big fan of Nige personally and admired the job he's done in the circumstances. 

I've been saying for a while it might be the man who comes in after Nige who benefits from his work... pressure on the Lansdown's to get his successor right. I'm not holding my breath. 

I wonder if it has crossed the minds of the Lansdown's that the results might have been better if Nige was able to spend a small proportion more of the money brought in by Scott and Semenyo sales.... I doubt it. 

1 hour ago, lenred said:

Finally managed to get on the train after being kettled like an animal outside the station for well over an hour.  And the less said about the shit show at the stadium with the stewarding the better.   But anyway, enough of the tiny violin!
I can’t believe some of the deluded comments on here again tonight.   What did people actually expect today with our threadbare squad?  To smash them? We played well second half and could’ve and maybe should’ve come away with a point.   It was a good display in really trying circumstances. Get behind the team! 

What happened at the train station?

I live in Cardiff and waited 45 mins to walk down Sloper Road before I eventually gave up and walked round the long way. Sounds like Cardiff fans were kept waiting to walk down Sloper Road for over an hour after the game and I wondered if delays getting City fans on the train at Cardiff Central was why

2 minutes ago, The hand of RO'D said:

Must’ve been sat in the more quiet part of the away end today but I thought our support was poor until the start of the second half. Just seemed a bit flat tbh.

Agree

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Progress, slow progress admittedly.

Getting there imho.

Like this viz!

21 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Haha, I had them to come second!

My expectations were that they’d get another bunch equally decent from one of Carrick’s former clubs.

Happy to be completely wrong

In fairness Carrick and 'Boro got a lot out of last season's loanees so there's some logic in thinking they'd get the pick of the next batch! 

Entertaining to see 'Boro have a dip, but my manager is a 'Boro fan so if they could pick up their form a bit it might make the 9-5 a bit brighter

41 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

This is what happens when you rely on loan signings 

I was surprised how many pundits were optimistic on 'Boro in pre-season given losing Giles, Archer and Ramsey meant they had to replace 30 ish goal involvements.

Not a loanee but similar point, Akpom was looking likely to leave and has done so if you include him as well you're talking about 50-60 goals Boro are having to replace!

54 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Interestingly the guys at NTT20 have just written this:

FWIW it doesn’t mention City, and it’s clear they are focused on the more possession heavy sides in describing its execution.

If it’s what Nige is aspiring too, then great.  It just doesn’t feel like we are ready for it.

Thanks for sharing this. Why is it you're not keen on our forward 3? You don't think we have the players with suitable attributes for it?

4 hours ago, Harry said:

Because I watch men’s football, cricket, Cycling and NFL, have a full time job and a young family. I don’t have time for any interest in anything else. 
But the question is : why should I have to explain that? Why would people ‘expect’ me to enjoy women’s football just because I enjoy men’s football? 

For what it's worth I'm not judging you or calling you a dinosaur or whatever, it's just an interesting one and I think some people might be confused why you'd have interest in men's but not women's as it's the same sport which is why I ask the question.

I think the answer around what sports we watch isn't as black and white as 'I like men's sport and not women's'.

Like yourself, I don't have time to watch every sport so today I chose to watch the women's world cup final over Premier League games because it was a game attracting more attention and felt like a bigger event. Week to week, however, I'll tune into the Premier League over the WSL because the standard is higher, there is more media interest, I'll have more conversations with friends about it etc. Same reason I'd watch the Premier League over the men's Japanese League. 

Of course the discussion then becomes 'if women had equal media attention then the standard would be higher, you'd have more interest and conversations about it...' at which point it becomes complicated balancing equal opportunity with actual demand.... I certainly don't have the answer to that

2 hours ago, Harry said:

The simple answer to the opening question lies in the TV deal for the womens World Cup. 
In many countries, there were no TV companies who were willing to pay what FIFA were demanding. 
That evidences quite clearly that the TV companies didn’t want to throw money at it, and I guess the BBC only picked this up and paid for it in the latter stages once they knew they’d get some decent viewing figures. 
 

As a wider point - my opinion on women’s football is neutral. I’m happy for the team that got the final and I’m happy that many more girls are participating in the sport. That’s fantastic. I’m happy for everyone involved and everyone who will get involved in the future. 
 

But…. I started out with basically zero opinion on women’s football. If women want to play football then that’s great. I’m not gonna try to stop you and I wish you all the very best. 
What actually turns many people against it, is the constant push push push by the media to make us ‘HAVE’ to like it otherwise were sexist. 
 

As said, I personally have no interest. Haven’t watched any of this World Cup and didn’t watch any of the euros last year. And I don’t think I ever will. 
That should be fine. But it’s not - the media are making it appear abhorrent if you take no interest in womens football. 
 

I take zero interest in womens sailing, but a quick glance at this summers world championships and I see that a large number of British women performed exceptionally in a number of disciplines. 
I didn’t see a huge media clamour for everyone to watch the women’s kite or dinghy finals. Why not? Those girls have done equally as well and worked equally as hard to get to the very top of their sport. 
 

The reason we weren’t all encouraged to watch the womens windsurfing world finals was because the tv companies know that there isn’t enough interest in it. And that’s fine. The women who compete in those sports no doubt are fully aware of the wider viewership and interest in their sport and it doesn’t stop them persevering and competing to their very best. 
 

This is the whole crux of the matter for me. For those people, like me, who have no interest in watching women’s football, it’s very difficult to ignore it, as we hear about it almost every day in various media outlets and we are being almost forced into being aware of its existence. 
I had no idea of the existence of the womens sailing championships. Why am I being cajoled into having to appreciate one and not the other? 
 

It’s not just women’s sports though. I have absolutely no interest in men’s rugby league. I have absolutely no interest in men’s snooker. I have absolutely no interest in many other men’s sports. But I’m not expected to and am not judged because of it. With womens football, for many years it was there and people who wanted to enjoy could do so. But in recent years it’s become the political ‘football’ that you absolutely must engage with or you are a bigot. 
 

As I said at the start. Good luck to every single woman or girl who plays football. Excellent. I love it. But good luck too to all those girls who are sailors, gymnasts, athletes, rugby players, squash players, table tennis, paragliding, rowing, swimming etc etc. The very best of luck to all of you. I won’t be watching your particular chosen sport (maybe the occasional Olympic final) but please, enjoy yourself and have a great time. 

I guess the argument is you have an interested in men's football so why not women's, whereas you don't have an interest in snooker regardless of which sex is competing. 

2 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

Exactly, hence why the answer to the problem isn't signing one striker. When you have the information here, and the resulting shit/xG numbers, then you can see where the chain broke today.

That's still a link that needs fixing though, and that's the challenge. A new player could be part of that...but personally I'm not convinced.

So you're thinking the issue that needs fixing is more related to coaching? Have I interpreted this correctly?

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Very interesting point about consistency.

I had a meeting with Dave Rennie just before they want off to Austria.  He approached me (I was a bit shocked) because he’d read some of my stuff on twitter and here, and wondered if it’d like to meet up to chat about “data in football”.  As you can imagine I jumped at the chance.

We met up and had a best part of 2-hour natter about all manner of things, mainly football, a fair bit about data.  We talked about Leicester.  In particular he talked about that first season up in the PL when they got out of jail avoiding relegation.  Before the West Ham game (after they’d lost to Spurs 4-3) some of the staff went to Nige and said “we need to change things, we are going down”.  Nige’s response was “do you really think so”.  Staff response was “yes, we do”.  Nige was disappointed and responded “if you really think we should do something different, you should’ve suggested it last summer when we’re planning this season, not now”.

Nige could see it was coming together, he thought they’d started to find the consistency FoxPunter above mentioned, and he stuck to the plan.  They all thought it was the right plan when it was conceived, he wasn’t gonna change it.

The rest is (kinda) history.

Bet this was a fascinating chat. Nice to have your efforts recognised too. 

What were some of your key takeaways (that you're able to share publicly)?

For the most part that's a fair and informed perspective from the outside looking in so fair play to him. His point around our fan base's satisfaction would've been supported further if he mentioned Pearson manging while the club reduce the disparity in and total cost of wages. However, that's not his expertise or the point so I don't want to be overly critical of that.

He did a good job of articulating what many of our fans feel is the difference in culture between Johnson and Pearson. Where one was fascinated by the game tactically but had lots to learn managerially, the other wants the foundations in place first. His theory of Pearson's foundations being complemented by Ranieri's tweaks at Leicester is an interesting one too. 

Only other thing I'd add on culture and personalities which he didn't touch on was around Pearson's ability to frame challenges as 'opportunities'. If we had a poor run of form under Johnson it wasn't uncommon for him to tell Radio Bristol that the next game was a "must win" or he would be going back to "players he could trust". These are statements that can provoke nerves and poor performance. Whereas with Pearson it's noticeable that he uses phrases like 'opportunity to put it right' or 'opportunity to build on good form'. A small difference but it ensures everyone in the club is accountable for performances and their roles within that, and reduces feelings of nerves by focusing on the getting the processes right to take that opportunity, rather than pilling on the pressure to get a desired result (probably another reason why we fans are happy despite finishing lower half of the table).

On 31/07/2023 at 14:44, Nogbad the Bad said:

Bristol City F.C.

1) Where will City finish this season, Top 2, 3rd - 6th, 7th-12th, 13th - 18th, or 19th -24th? 7th-12th

2) What will be City's exact final League position?  7th

3) How many points will City get this season? 69

4) Will City win 18 (or more) league games this season? Yes

5) Will City score 60 (or more) League goals this season? Yes

6) Will City concede 60 (or more) League goals this season? No

7) Who will finish as City's top scorer, League & Cups? Tommy Conway

 How many goals in total will City's top scorer (whether the player named in Q7, or not) get? 18

9) Who will be City's 2nd top scorer, League & Cups? Nahki Wells

10) How many goals in total will City's 2nd top scorer (whether the player named in Q9, or not) get? 14

11) How many academy graduates will make their City debuts this season in League or Cups? 2

12) Who will make more 1st team apps. in all competitions, Harvey Wiles-Richards or Stefan Bajic? Wiles-Richards

13) Will City sign a new goalkeeper this season, either permanently or on loan? Yes

14) Will Alex Scott still be a City player on the last day of the season? No

15) Will Zac Vyner still be a City player on the last day of the season? Yes

16) Which of the new signings, McCrorie, Dickie, Knight & Roberts, will make the most appearances. this season in League & Cup? Knight

17) Which of these 4 players will make the least number of appearances? McCrorie

18) Will Jason Knight score 5 (or more) goals in all competitions? No

19) Will Anis Mehmeti score 7 (or more) goals in all competitions? No

20) Will Harry Cornick score 8 (or more) goals in all competitions? No

21) Which month will Ayman Benarous make his first on - field 1st team appearance for City this season? November

22) Which month will Rob Atkinson make his first on - field 1st team appearance for City this season? January

23) Will City sign a striker either in this window, or the January window? No

24) Will Seb Palmer-Houlden score 10 (or more) goals for Newport in all competitions? Yes

25) Will he be recalled in January? No

26) Who will be City's player of the season? Tommy Conway

27) What will be the Official attendance for City's first home League game against P.N.E. to the nearest thousand? 24k

28) What will City's average League attendance be this season to the nearest thousand? 21k

29) In which round will City be knocked out of the F.A. cup? 4th

30) In which round will City be knocked out of the Carabou Cup? 2nd

31) How many City players will be sent off in all competitions this season? 2

32) Who will be the first City player to be sent off this season? Tanner

33) How many penalties, in all competitions, will City be awarded this season? 5

34) How many penalties will City score? 5

35) How many penalties will be given against City this season in all competitions? 5

36) How many penalties will the opposition score? 5

37) Will any City player score a 1st team hat-trick this season? Yes

38) Which young City player out of Araoye, Yeboah, Leeson, Knight-Lebel, Francois & Taylor-Clarke, will make the most 1st team apps, in all competitions? Araoye

39) Will Nigel Pearson still be City manager on the last day of the season? Yes

Gas    

1) Will Rovers finish in the top half (1-12) or bottom half (13-24) of League 1? Top half

2) What will be Rovers final league position? 11th

3) What will be Rovers official average League attendance to the nearest thousand? 8k 

4) Will Kane Wilson score against Rovers? No

5) Will Joey Barton still be Rovers manager on the last day of the season? Yes

Rivals, Cardiff, Swansea & Plymouth

1) Who will finish higher, Cardiff or City? City

2) How many points will City get against Cardiff, 0,1,2,3,4 or 6? 6

3) Who will finish higher, Swansea or City? City

4) How many points will City get against Swansea, 0,1,2,3,4, or 6? 3

5) Who will finish higher, City or Plymouth? City

6) How many points will City get against Plymouth, 0,1,2,3,4 or 6? 4

Lee Johnson's Hibs

1) What position will Hibs finish in the SPL this season? 6th

2) Will Lee Johnson still be Hibs manager on the last day of the season? No

Ashton's Ipswich

1) Who will finish higher, Ipswich or City? City

2) Will Ashton still be at Ipswich at the end of the season? Yes

Old Boys

1) Will Joe Bryan score for Millwall against City this season? No

2) Will Antoine Semenyo score 7 (or more) goals for Bournemouth in all competitions? Yes

3) Will Kasey Palmer score against City this season? No

4) Will Callum O'Dowda score against City this season? No

Championship

1) Which club will finish top of the Championship? Southampton

2) Which club will finish bottom of the Championship? Sheffiled Wednesday

Good luck to everyone taking part, and good luck to City for the new season! 

 

Has shared some of his story with Players Tribune: Oh Shut Up, Ramsdale! by Aaron Ramsdale | The Players’ Tribune (theplayerstribune.com)

Nice words.

Another reminder that footballers have extraordinary talent but are ordinary humans, so think twice before getting on their backs. 

Thousands locked outside I've heard

Looking at the updates it sounds like Scott and Bell are on fire?

6 minutes ago, Selred said:

Do you know when they are announced? Hoping to go in October! 

I've never been to a game abroad before so really wanting to scratch the itch this year!

If you're not fussy about where you see your game abroad, I went to Barcelona in May and getting tickets there was super easy. You can do so via their official website, just need a passport to secure the tickets against (in case you're trouble I assume)

What an incredibly open and honest interview. He should be incredibly proud of himself. Fantastic to hear he's making progress