NickJ

I reserved judgment on NP for a long time, until the beginning of this year when I got what he is trying to do and could see that he is doing it, and is an extremely good judge of footballers. I particularly liked his criticism of the ridiculous "buy young players to make them better and sell them at a profit policy", and his observation that he could be sacked but it wouldnt make any difference because the process would remain the same. Nevertheless, all this criticism of Lansdown stalling on giving NP a new contract - for all we know there could be a grand master plan. I'm hoping he's in talks with Cotts.

Thanks and yes agree. Based on that interview, really like him. Especially liked the comment nobody will out work or out fight us. That was evident today. I sometimes despair of modern football and modern footballers, people like him rekindle my love of football and City. And lastly signing players like that, shows what a great judge of character NP is.

Not too bad where I am, just watched some of the Bham WBA highlights

Quite a trek from Bucharest. Nice town though, flew in from Odessa and spent a couple of nights a few years ago, before heading north where it’s like going back in time a 100 years.

Thanks for the heads up NTTDS. Im in East Africa, didn’t occur to me I’d be able to watch City, having carried out some research there’s a bar stool with my name on it at 5pm (2 hours ahead of UK).

Exactly and my point has always been what benefit is a rich owner in Division 2 to a moderately rich owner in Division 2, a lot of people look at the stadium but I’ve said it before and will say it again, around 20 Years ago BCFC had planning permission to build a 12,000 seater stand wrapped around the East End and Williams, at a cost go the club a fraction of what has subsequently been spent, half funded by the Football Trust, and the stadium would have still been owned by the fans. Always struggled to see what there was not to like about that.

I grew up late 60’s, 70’s, until 1984 never saw City in anything other than the top 2 divisions, never division 3.

Way I see it, 2 extreme ownership models. One is owned by the fans, which in my view is how it should be, but slack controls over FPP means that doesn’t work. So all football clubs have migrated to option 2, owned by a rich person or persons. You would think that rich persons are clever people and hence are the best people to run a “business”. But it’s illuminating how often that isn’t the case. With all respect to Steve, you would think that had he really wanted to, and had the ability to, the 20th richest person in the country could have steamrollered us into the Prem. He hasn’t, hence my comment, doesn’t really matter who owns us, it will just be a roll of the dice.

Not that much different to the current ownership then mate, the club and the stadium is no longer owned by the fans who baled the club out all those years ago, apart from investing in bricks and mortar to increase the property value, we haven’t really improved that much on the playing side, so I don’t think we should be too bothered who owns the club

Yes cold windy rainy night, Hull City, one bounce and straight over Jeff Wealands (I think) and history I think Cash was only the 4th goalie ever to score in a league game

With respect, there isn't a subjective definition of vitriol. It means what the English language says it means. I say he is a blagger, that is my opinion, and again I would ask what word you suggest I use which conveys the same message which isn't (in your opinion) vitriolic. It seems to me that the LJ defenders have themselves descended to sledging of posters who have expressed perfectly reasonable non vitriolic criticisms.

As I pointed out to @Leveller a few posts up, there appears to be a misundertanding of the word vitriol. A few people seem to have taken criticism of any kind as vitriol. Your posts are not vitriolic, neither are mine, nor are the vast majority on here, as defined by the word vitriol. Saying he's a crap manager or was a crap player, is not vitriol. To suggest he benefitted at Bristol City from nepotism (player) and mysterious favourtism (manager) is not vitriol. There would need to be an element of gratuitous malice. Words such as blagger, fraud, charatan, inept, incompetent - for those who have tried to say otherwise, they are not malicious and therefore they are not vitriolic. What is obvious from this thread and others I have seen on Sunderland and Hibs (I do, as clearly do many others on this thread, take an unexplainably perverse interest in his career) is that the vast majority of commentators think he is a crap manager for all sorts of reasons, and he is widely ridiculed. I'd say that many on here defending him do so from a sense of perceived unjustice, which is very laudable, but I could list a page or more of examples why he is ridiculed, and I really do not understand how anyone who isn't really taken very seriously can hope to succeeed in management of any type.

Well, let's start with one I have used, blagger. It's my opinion. What word would you suggest that conveys the same message but isn't (in your opinion) vitriolic?

Vitriol would include abusive or malicious language. Words such as blagger, charlatan, inept, incompetent, aren’t vitriolic they are simple assessments and/or opinions.

Saw that inteview, Wilbs was careful what he said but plainly thought LJ was not someone he could take seriously. I've heard, and heard of, other players take the piss also. He's a blagger and doesn't in general command respect as a football manager, because he is is the reincarnation of David Brent. Blamed losing 3 league games at Hibernian to inferior opposition on "fixture congestion", caused by a "European run" which involved beating a team from Andorra and another from a small Swiss town. There are 2 teams in Scotland "bigger" than Hibs, and 2 others more less the same, and yet he managed to lose more games than he won during around 50 games in Scotland, despite being given, by their standards (where have we heard this before), a transfer budget which far exceeded previous managers. Measured by win ratio, his most successful period as a manager was at Sunderland - where with the resources of that club in division three Mike Bassett would have got them promotion. And yet Sunderland sacked him while they were in the play-off positions. Why? It came immediately after a 6-0 defeat, but there was more to it than that. Wherever he goes, he's an unusually divisive figure, but judging by what I've read, mainly disliked and/or ridiculed. How can somebody possibly be a successful manager under those circumstances? If Fleetwood are mad enough to gve him the job, they will probably be relegated, or he will be sacked before that happens. I'd like to say that will then be the end of it, but he will pop up again at somewhere like Newmarket having bamboozled some unfortunate non league chairman, still convinced he's a future England manager in waiting.

Well that’s not correct, I’ve all along been against the model and the structure implemented by Steve Lansdown. It’s ridiculous - you’re Steve Lansdown

With a 35% win percentage

They didn’t love him they just stopped posting stuff, waiting for the inevitable next bad run. Skimming through it, I’d say in the few days prior to your post and ever since, 80% want him out and over half of them are posts which are a mixture of hatred and ridicule. It’s a repeat of what happened here and at Sunderland, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such vitriolic comments aimed so consistently at a manager. To quote some of the Hibs comments, slaver (Scottish slang look it up), charlatan, fraud, David Brent, clown, imbecile, imposter, that’s just the one word comments then you get comments just as you did here and at Sunderland the players don’t like him. Fairly sure he once said the only thing his dad was good at was man management, the irony and the sheer stupidity. it’s really interesting seeing so many supposedly intelligent people fooled by the blather and then take so long to see it for what it really is.

But played him full back every game in the promo season wtf?

So we’ve overtaken Carlisle?

Who have we overtaken?

I understand that, but personally I'd rather support the local businesses many of which offer quality products but still - due to VAT, rates, cost of living crisis, etc - still struggle to make a decent profit. Money into the club just means paying very well paid footballers being paid even more. Just my perspective. Fair comment, dont know which entrance you use but the Clarks van outside Ashton Park is always an option and is cheaper, better (in my opinion) quality, and you rarely have to wait longer than a couple of minutes.

Don't understand why anyone would get so irate at crap products - anyone had one of those awful hot dog things, I did when desparate one game - being unavailable at Ashton Gate when there are literally dozens of quality pubs, bars, restaurants and takeaways within walking distance of the ground. Is it actually that difficult to go 2 hours without a drink or a snack?

Have tried very hard to stay away from his thread, had many a diasgreement about LJ in the past. Nevertheless, Robbored is getting slated, deservedly so for some things, but not deservedly for pointing out that somehow or another, Lee Johnson was constantly selected ahead of unarguably better players. When Johnson got injured towards the end of the 2007/08 season, Gary Johnson would have been desperate to start him in the final, but was sensible enough, after the Palace play off games, to realise that had he dropped Carle or Noble, or Elliott, and we'd lost, both Johnsons would have been hammered for it. The travesty was the Orr injury and Gary Johnson's desperation to get his son on the pitch. The obvious substitution was Vasko on and Carey to right back. Unfortunately bringing Johnson on and moving Elliott - who let's not forget had been named as the central midfielder in the divisions team of the season - to right back was ridiculous. It took away the very essence of what had made us so difficult to beat, something which to be fair to Johnson Senior he had achieved by recognizing and bringing out previously underrated qualities from Elliott. I'm fairly sure I'm right in saying that Gary's loyalty to his son is what was the catalyst for the incident at Plymough and ultimately cost him his job, which is a shame because after Cotterill, Johnson was the best manager we'd had since Alan Dicks. I will never forget turning up at Barnsley following a midweek win where Johnson had been left out, to see Johnson on the pitch and Hartley on the bench. Explained by Johnson Senior as due to our "rotation policy", a phrase not heard at Bristol City before or since. Yes he could play a short pass - usually sideways or bacwards - but thats about all he could do and you have to ask the question, when could you ever remember him making a significant cotribution. A goal, an assist, a killer pass, a goal saving tackle, a brillant cross, a mazy run, anything to make it difficult for the opposition. Being the "cog" that keeps the ball moving sideways and backwards is not that difficult and I had to laugh at one of the comments above "had exceptional vision, he was on a different wave length to a lot of our players." ? There's no way he would have played so many Championship games if his dad hadn't been manager, possibly none at all. As for management, the biggest skill Lee Johnson has is promoting the "Lee Johnson" brand, and that's about it. Have had a look at the Hibernian forums this week, and apart from the personal comments seen many times before - "David Brent", "slaverer" (apparently Scottish slang for someone who talks gibberish) - "coward" "smug" are just some of the politer ones - the talk is eaxtly as it used to be on here and indeed at Sunderland. Tactically inept. Throwing players under buses. Results not aligned with being given more money to spend that any other manager previously. Fraud. The thing is, David Brentisms aside, he is articulate and seems capable of talking intelligent people into believing that not only is he the man for the job, but also should be given almsot unlimited funds to spend in order to do that job. When LJ was a Bristol City player and manager it used to anger me, but now I just think, good luck to him, it's a free market economy and he's managed to achieve not only a well paid Championship playing career with extremely limited ability for that level, but now also a well paid managerial career with extremely limited credentials.

Must have been a child genius mate you weren’t even 2 years old for Brazil 1970??