Davefevs

Would be interesting to hear the EFL’s part in this (if at all), or at least their view. I think it gets the potential of an ugly problem re the new EFL tv deal and now there won’t be any potential for too many games close together. @ExiledAjax - I recall you have concerns about this on the tv deal thread.

I didn’t get charged a booking fee this time, tickets for Joe and me.

I know there’s a thread for this, but this… …saves the hassle of replays and midweek rd5 matches causing a headache re new broadcast times.

Did mine this morning, no probs. Did it from my iPad, which it recognises as “trusted device” so no further authentication required. At what point did you get stuck?

The OHMIS forum (One Hello Maginazine in Showbiz) is a great source!

I think Aden split up with Mrs Pack’s sister and started going out with Chanel Cresswell (actress).

Nooooo, let him concentrate on his own game. (Imho)

We played Celtic in summer 21/22….at the HPC.

But not converted?

he wins 72% of his defensive duels (proxy for 1v1s) that puts him in the top 10% (8%) of 170 players who’ve played FB / WB in the champ this season.

@Numero Uno brilliantly described.

Was certainly trying to be positive / open-minded. I hadn’t spent any real time posting my thoughts on OTIB about who the manager would be, because I knew whoever it was I’d be able to spin it, so I wanted to avoid that. @Harry had done his LM appraisal earlier, so I sat and waited for it to become an almost “done deal” before putting my thoughts on twitter (replicated on here). I guess my disappointments on his tenure so far focus on the things I thought an “on the grass” coach would improve, but haven’t improved, in some cases gotten worse - no hugely, but enough. Now is not the time to go through it all again. He will be here next season, I hope he creates improvement / progress, not just in the team, but in his own skillset too.

Think of all that tax he’s saved too!

Good OP. Funny how fans perceptions change too…sometimes when the player is missing, sometimes when they’re in the team. I think the “Steady Eddies” have shone through this season, Tanner, O’Leary, Jamo (6 or 7 out 10 every week). Dickie has been steadily excellent (7, 8, 9) But we’ve also had some world beater / panel beaters too. Pring has had some very good games, but some bloody awful games too. And then some that fall in between, not always consistent, generally decent, but the odd shocker. Bristol City in a nutshell.

Message to self - do not underestimate the promoted teams. Lesson 1 - Sunderland 22/23 Lesson 2 - Ipswich Town 23/24

FWIW Nige had a different approach to a lot of managers / head coaches for pre-season. Get the players away to do the hard yards, no euro friendly games, basically bonding and getting the players fit. Then a series of friendlies interspersed with training to refine fitness and tactics. He didn’t want to waste time abroad prepping for friendlies and the lost time afterwards. Its not necessarily right or wrong, just different. Will be interesting to see how LM goes about it.

@BrizzleRed written just before he was appointed.

One of those players I only recall from the cards I collected. As soon as the name was mentioned, I thought “blond lockes”. Bizarre to remember a player when I was 7/8, and can’t remember what I had for tea! No idea he was from Bristol.

It wasn’t the wages that Pelling interfered with, it was the fees. He wanted to pay lower fees. If only, eh?

Keith Burt managed the football budget, his role remit given to him by Keith Dawe. He would’ve put the bids into Brentford and Hull and had them accepted. £6.5m (over 3 or 4 year contracts) plus £14k for Gray and £8k for Maguire would’ve added circa £3.0m to that years costs. We probably spent that (and some) on loans for players we had to give back. How much did Gladwin, Odemwingie, Tomlin and Matthews cost. Pelling went in over Burt’s head. +++++ Cotts should’ve walked.

This was my end of transfer window expectation. After we’d played Coventry (a) at end of January (GW29) we had 38 points and 7 points off of 6th in 13th place. Just below my points expectations, but I hadn’t seen the discernible playing style shining through. My “Sack Manning” view came after Cardiff (h) (GW35) where we had 44 points and 12th points off of 6th place in 14th place. Only 6 points off of 22nd, although I never thought we’d go down. I wrote this on 14th March: I still think results have exceeded performances, not by much, but enough. Clean sheets against Leicester and Sunderland show that. And a stuffing of Blackburn with 3+ xG skews the trend a little, but ultimately, I think LM’s impact on our football has been unimpressive. I’ve been hugely disappointed with his inability to improve us in build-up phases, and results have been gained through winning the ball high up or counterattacking. We are no longer efficient from set-pieces. I think he’s missed a real trick in not pressing higher and harder, because he is risk averse. And that bears out in other aspects too. He wants a structured game, because he can analyse that. He knows how to react to that. So recent results haven’t changed my mind. Because there is no noticeable method / style / identity, there is no willingness for City to influence. I’d hoped Leicester and to some extent Plymouth were the new norm. They weren’t.

I’ll try and listen back to that SOTC later. edit: bugger, they only stay on for 25 days. will check the thread

Cult hero….and an excuse for me to trot out the photo I took at West Brom. Looks like him and the mascot are trying to avoid being captured by the men pushing the goalnet!

I think you’ll find my shouting at AG is a bit more “base” than my musings on OTIB! It was more along the lines of “Oi Manning, get your effing hands out of your pockets, and effing change something” (Swansea home when their keeper was stood on the ball for 5 mins without any press)