Edgy Red

8 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

On recent performances the term “show pony” comes to mind. Thinks he is better than he is , but really isn’t all that good. Gave the ball away countless times today, offered little going forward, and had a shot near the end that was just a “look at me” punt when there were far better options available. He’s lucky we got the penalty or otherwise he could be up for belters over that one!

Would I shell out £5+ million on him in fees and many thousands per week in wages on the basis of what we have seen so far? Absolutely not. He’s very lightweight and easily robbed of the ball at this level. He may have torn up League 1 a couple of years ago, but on a similar level, scoring all those goals in League 1 didn’t make Kieron Agard a championship level player.

Agree with this... we need some pace and physicality at the top end of the pitch and Twine hasn't shown enough to justify a hefty transfer fee.

We still need a couple of new attacking players (pace and power) despite the result tonight, but IF we can keep our key players fit next season then i think we can push for a top 10 finish.

Blackburn didn't turn up tonight but they are no mugs. We played well and pressed from the front. I'm really pleased for Manning

Red button working on Virgin now

2 minutes ago, Dollymarie said:

Virgin red button not working?

Nope

16 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

No it wasnt. Millwall A was excellent. Swansea A, we battered them. Plymouth H, 4 goals. Stoke H 2 goals up and threw it away, but it wasn't poor.

End of last season QPR A, Burnley H we were very good.

No I don't think the football was poor before Manning was appointed. Inconsistent, yes. Poor definitely not.

But you're just hand picking some positive results/reasonable performances there Sir Geoff, which we can do for Manning too (Middlesbrough x 2, Hull, West Ham x 2, Leicester, Southampton).

What about Nige's home games this season against Preston, Birmingham and Coventry (I appreciate we won 1-0 but it was robbery and Cov battered us. In fact it was going to be shown on Crimewatch that night)

The football under Nige was largely uninspiring and he had the best part of 3 years to build a team. Aside from Scott, Semenyo and maybe Kalas, i don't really think he lost anyone else of note.

I have no idea how the Manning reign will pan out, but he deserves some time and a few of his own signings before we should properly judge him.

I appreciate my post goes against most fans views on here, so please don't get angry with me, its just my opinion CTID

And.... this is still Nige's team.

Let Manning bring in a few of his own players in the summer and then we can start to judge him properly.

The over the top criticism he has received has been unfair in my opinion.

I understand that many fans were unhappy with the way Nige was removed, but that was not Mannings fault. He is the manager of our football club and he deserves our support.

He's been a great professional but his best days are behind him.

West Brom are a better side than we are, with intelligent players like Wallace, Swift and Diangana, so i'm sure he will find it easier to play in their team.

We need to move on from him now and this summers recruitment will be crucial.

1 minute ago, BCFC31 said:

Mrs manning is that you ?

Very good

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

They were mixed under Manning but they seem to be mainly heading downwards now sadly.

More bad than good and increasingly so.

Under NP this season most weeks we looked cohesive. Under Manning of late not particularly. Had McCrorie not hit side netting v QPR maybe but really things are trending badly.

I respect your posts Mr P so i will respond. As i said, i have no idea how Mannings tenure will pan out, but the huge negativity that is currently engulfing the club does not help anyone, most of all the management and players inside a toxic Ashton Gate.

Manning isn't stupid and he will know what he signed up for after Pearson was dismissed. I just feel he deserves some time.

I fully appreciate that i'm swimming against the tide with my thoughts, but i have been supporting the club for 40 years and i have seen many more downs than ups.

I just wish we could all get behind the team because it really can make a difference.

Just now, Ivorguy said:

One word in response. RUBBISH

I guessed that would be the type of response i'd get... i'll await the rest

4 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

So you don't disagree then that time is up? 

Ok, (i know i'm stupid) i'm going to respond.

Results and performances under Manning have been VERY mixed, but if we're all being honest, it was no different during Nige's 3 years in charge.

I have no idea how things are going to pan out under Manning but he deserves a summer to recruit some of his own players. If after 15 games next season there is no obvious improvement then questions can be asked, but give the guy a f****** chance!

He has been on the back foot with many fans since day one, but he's trying his best and deserves our support. Lets get behind the team and support the football club, and not individuals.

Injuries aside, i've not been overly impressed by Naismith and i'm still not sure what Nige's plan was when he brought him in?

He's clearly not mobile or physical enough to play as a centre back in a back 4, so i can only think that Nige wanted to play a back 5 all the time?

I can remember numerous times when he gave the ball away which led to us conceding, and for the wages he's reportedly on, he's been a bit of a disaster really.

His one successful season at Luton appears to have got him his nice final big contract before he moves on a free to Partick Thistle!

I've still got some reservations about Tommy's all round game but there is no doubt that his finish last night was pure quality.

I think he will leave in the summer, but goals like the one last night should keep a lot of clubs interested in him and may add a few quid to the fee.

Mehmeti certainly has his flaws but at this moment in time he is the only player capable of creating something by beating his man.

I said on another thread that we have lots of honest, hard working players, but you need a sprinkling of magic at the top end of the pitch.

Max has both positives and negatives to his game. The pen save was fairly straight forward and he couldn't do much with the goals.

We could certainly bring in a better player in his position but that applies to the 10 players in front of him too.

2 hours ago, Back of the Dolman said:

I used to love watching Dave Smith fly down the wing and send over a cross for Bob Taylor or Nicky Morgan to head home

Dave Smith and Mark Gavin gave me some of my earliest City memories. Proper old school wingers.

He's having a very good season but he's not shown this level in the Championship previously. I would hazard a guess that this is a bit of a one off season for him?

He's pushing 30 years old and it reminds me of the Weimann season with us a few years back.

If he backs it up with another 20 goals next year then i'll eat my words, but i doubt it.

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Not really.

I said I’d make my first evaluation at the end of the window.  At that point he was roughly keeping pace with my expectations.  These (below) are my expectations, not anyone else’s admittedly (least of all the hierarchy’s), although I think they seem fair:

At that point there were some little worries about how his changes were being played out in the pitch, and the underlying numbers were something I was watching too.

Since then we’ve gone 2 wins / 3 defeats, so not alarming in itself, but the mix of performance level has us fans ranging from - he’s got it sussed, we are heading the right direction (after Southampton) to the bloke’s a fraud we are in a relegation battle (after Sheff Wed).

I think he’s somewhere in between, so willing to watch which way he trends.

In many respects I am disappointed that he’s not brought any real cohesion to our attacking play, because that was the area I expected him to make a difference.  The playing style I was looking forward to seeing hasn’t materialised and from my point of view games have actually become more sterile by and large.  But others may disagree.

So sat here today, he is starting to trend down in my view.  But I couldn’t tell you whether that is gonna continue or not.

Ill let you know Saturday at 14:30

Thats a very balanced post Dave and it echoes most of my thoughts at present.

Sadly, the point you raise about the cohesion in our attacking play, i believe, is down to the lack of quality we have in that area. I'm not sure Pep Guardiola could greatly improve what we currently have.

Twine was recruited on loan to help and has obviously been injured, but we really don't have any "clever" players in the final third, or a physical threat as a plan B. I think Mehmeti has some ability, tho he doesn't look ready for the challenge of Champ football at present.

The rest are all "hard working" and "honest" professionals but lack the X Factor that we need.

51 minutes ago, Mendip City said:

His criticism of the players is a massive gamble. Only two weeks after those same players were outstanding against Southampton…. Should the players not like what he’s said, it’ll end badly. 

To be fair, Nige regularly criticised individuals and i don't recall many times (if any at all) that he took responsibility for a defeat. If anyone has any post match interviews of Nige where he accepted that his selections/decisions had cost us the result, please post it.

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

He also inherited a shitshow Edgy, and was accepted point for pound less time than Lee Johnson when weighed for about to back in the market.

Are Manning's results and direction of travel relative to inherited position so different to Edwards v his and Beale v his?

Most managers other than Rohl and Cifuentes have not notably improved their side this season.

I'm not Manning out but let me put it another way..if we get it wrong, rip it up somewhat then we could go backwards, slide back into the bottom 3rd and perhaps even scrapping v relegation.

All fair points Mr P... Who knows how things will pan out with Manning but i just feel he deserves a decent crack of the whip.

I liked Nige but i was nowhere near as invested in him as many fans appear to have been.

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

Will the summer window risk ripping up the string culture that was left by NP, Fleming etc.

It could make matters a whole lot worse if handled without significant care.

We should be building on solid foundations, anything else would be alarming.

I agree to an extent Mr P but football (and life in general) isn't really like that anymore.

We live in a fast paced, now now now society and football managers are not afforded time if results aren't going well. Just look at Sunderland and Millwall in the last week.

To be fair, Nige had 3 years in charge which is pretty rare nowadays. 

20 minutes ago, Charlie BCFC said:

Are you honestly trying to say we never had poor performances under Pearson? We had plenty, in fact results like today have been a regular occurrence since we’ve gone back up. I’m willing to give Manning the benefit of the doubt considering he’s only had one window to correct it

100% correct... i liked Nige and if he was still in charge i would be fine with it, but the quality of football was largely dire (and i don't mean Mebude).

Manning deserves a summer window and a pre-season. If it doesn't work, then so be it, but its not fair to be judging him and writing him off after 3 months.

I've been following City for 40 years and there have been many low points in that time (far lower than the current situation).

The quality of football has been indifferent for about 6 years but we have established ourselves as a mid table Champ team and i think our match day experience is now one of the best in the league, which is backed up by many visiting supporters.

I'm as disappointed as the next fan when we lose, but considering we've achieved very little in over 100 years, i don't think our current league position is that bad.

I'll put my tin hat on!

8 minutes ago, Simon bristol said:

Its not hard to predict we would get turned over by qpr and sheff weds, cardiff will beat us as well, and we will look decent again against swansea. Chapter 2 of the coaching manual explains how to play against physical battling teams, but liam hasnt got that far yet

This has been a problem for the last 4 or 5 seasons and goes back way before Mannings time. If you take Dickie out of the current team, we are a small side by Championship standards. We have never really replaced the likes of Flint, Baker, Pack and Diedhiou.

1 hour ago, RollsRoyce said:

What is Manning's philosophy? 

He wants a posession based team that presses high.

The modern game is dominated by teams that can retain controlled posession. That will mean passing around at the back and from side to side until spaces appear and we can play through the lines. I hear the moans and groans from fans already when we do it, but the alternative (which we frequently did under Nige) is to play 50 yard high balls to Conway and Wells and then watch it come straight back.

Manning needs time and a few of his own signings before he can be judged.