headhunter

This latest episode of the FBC Podcast reviews the Coventry shambles: https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/city-achieve-a-new-low-coventry-a-reviewed/ Shoot me down by all means but the sudden, unexpected [?] availability of Neil Warnock, aka Colin, presents City with an opportunity that should they take it is not as daft as it seems. Nige, despite a shocking record in the 30 or so games he has been in charge, still garners a lot of support from many City fans but clearly he has some health issues - in over 50 years of watching City I can't recall a single time when a manager has missed a game through ill health. Can anyone put me right on this? Nigel is now on his 2nd spell of sick leave in less than 4 months and it makes one wonder that when he took the job was he fully recovered from his bad health issues he experienced in Summer 2020. Is it Covid again? If it is then he's had it 3 times now - unlucky or what? As Ian suggested on the podcast he could well be suffering the debilitating effects of long Covid. My suggestion is this - the club allow Pearson to take 6 months off on sick leave and bring in veteran boss [at 72 he's 14 years older than Nige] Neil Warnock to stave off relegation. Give him a £1m bonus if he does it - the cost of relegation would be at least 5 times that. On the podcast some said "but Lansdown doesn't like Warnock" - that's not the point, you are bringing him to do a specific job. In my day job I have parachuted in to companies many executives who would never be the CEO's choice for a permanent role but when there is a specific job to do you hire the best available to fix the problem on an interim contract. Come the summer Nigel should be fully recovered and he can resume the project - I can see him taking a job upstairs with a new young coach and an experienced Head of Recruitment who can deal with the slime ball characters that he doesn't want to deal with - the agents!! Anyone got a better idea? No-one loses face with this suggestion and who else has the experience to get a performance out of this bunch of wasters! We must be on 25 points at the half way stage so that the transfer window allows the 3-4 signings necessary and to achieve that we should actively be looking to move on one or more from Bentley, Kalas or HNM.

It ain't going to happen. Join us for a live FBC @ 6.00 PM : https://www.podbean.com/lsw/voj3TKjf6G?lsid=w3KoMUqgu83

54 years for me!!! Fitness ...... improved, really - how many late goals?

We'll discuss this and more in the FBC Live Podcast @ 6.00 PM: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/voj3TKjf6G?lsid=w3KoMUqgu83 A half time lead and opposition down to 10 men yet we still contrived to throw it away. Where is the weakness, is it a mental thing? This latest international break can't come soon enough.

I'm more worried about THIS season !!!

This is a recording of last night live FBC Podcast: https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/more-of-this-and-a-whiff-of-relegation-will-become-a-stench/ Ian, Mark & DaveP discuss an appalling 2nd half at St. Andrews and assess City's chances of avoiding the drop. We may have won on Saturday but as many have said this merely papered over the cracks of what is looking like becoming a season which will see us roller-coaster towards relegation unless something changes. Pearson's going nowhere unless SL acts in similar ruthlessness to how Levy treated Nuno at Spurs. Our experienced manager is doing himself no favours in some fans eyes by remaining in the directors box which he did for the full 90 minutes last night. The bottom line is City need 10 more wins that give or take a point or three more should secure Championship status. Can they do that? Can anyone see 6 points from the next 6 games taking us to 25 by the half way stage. Even that right now is looking a big ask!!

Listen live: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/voj3TKjf6G?lsid=Le2KWTJrcwN So poor it almost beggars belief. Where has the spark gone? Did it go out on December 29 2017 with only the odd flicker since?

As the OP I had him in a midfield 4 to add pace and width: Bentley / Tanner, Kalas, Atkinson, Pring / Vyner, Massengo, James, O'Dowda / Scott / Wells

Your midfield 2 will get overrun - you need Vyner to provide break up opposition play. If fit Williams, Massengo, James & O'Dowda looks a good midfield combo with Scott [Palmer] / Wells [Weimann] in front. Dasilva & O'Dowda is weak physically

Noooo - ffs let's try something different. I recall reading Scott ran further than anyone against Forest and that was just in 65 minutes.

up front!! Weimann & Martin upfront isn't working is it, even though Nige plays them week in week out. Both need a rest having featured in every league game this season. Neither were prolific scorers in their prime and both are past their best. Weimann has scored 4 goals but that was two braces so apart from that he's scoreless in 12 games. He's top of the assists chart here with 2, both against QPR and whilst the pass to Wells for the winner was sublime, the real credit for Martin's goal was HNM's surging run. Supporters defend AW by saying he runs around a lot but that's just not enough - would you associate him with the term controlled possession? The ball always seems to be running away from him, it doesn't stick - compare him to Grabban the other week. Foot on the ball, look up pass. Based on players currently available I would pick this against the Tykes on Saturday in a 4-4-1-1 [I'm no fan of O'Dowda but he fits in this set up and Pring offers more physicality on that left side than Dasilva; time for Vyner to come off the naughty step as IMHO he's more energetic than Bakinson]: Bentley / Tanner, Kalas, Atkinson, Pring / Vyner, Massengo, James, O'Dowda / Scott / Wells. After 70 minutes you could swap Scott & Wells with Weimann & Palmer As an aside, take a look at these stats from the BBC website, it ain't pretty : https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/top-scorers

A reason why Coppell was such a failure at Ashton Gate is that SL said he must keep on Keith Millen as his No. 2 rather than bring in his own team. At Reading, where Coppell enjoyed so much success, he was supported in training by Wally Downes, a member of Wimbledon's Crazy Gang and who worked under Coppell for many years as a coach at Palace after injury cut short his playing career. Off the field activity, i.e. transfers, were handled by former goalkeeper Nicky Hammond. Talk was that Coppell was rarely seen on the training ground but would inspire a winning mentality in the dressing room on match day. When Nige arrived here the transfer dealings were handled by MA and he was expected to work with relative newcomers Downing & Simpson. Were Craig Shakespeare not assistant to Dean Smith at Villa I think Nige would have had him here like a shot and were he available I think we'd have had Steve Walsh here in player recruitment despite the extra cost compared with what we have now. We're not seeing the best of Nigel IMHO because he doesn't have Shakespeare's support - maybe that could change if Villa go on a bad run and Smith is axed along with his team!!

Agree with everything you've written here

It is looking like both Hughton and McCarthy along with Steve Bruce are living up to the dinosaur label and sadly Nigel is in that category too with an outdated approach.

He will never walk as that means forgoing the pay off from the 2.5 year period left on his contract if he were fired or left my mutual consent

FFS Dave, what with this and the content of the message you sent me on Twitter ?

We'll discuss this in a live FBC Podcast at 12.30 this lunchtime. Listen here: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/voj3TKjf6G?lsid=xzj0eC7gupo Just before Christmas 2017 we beat Forest to move to 3rd in the table, 5 days later we turned over Man Utd The team that best Forest bar Steele in for Fielding was the same that had that famous cup success : Fielding / Wright Flint Baker Magnússon Bryan / Pack Smith Brownhill Patterson / Reid 5-4-1 : Solid foundation, one man up front with pace. Who of that line up would walk into our current team [injuries apart] . I'd pick this blend playing the same formation: Bentley / Tanner Kalas Flint Baker Bryan / Williams Brownhill Smith Scott / Reid Playing this formation, 5-4-1 with what we have now: Bentley / Tanner Kalas Baker Atkinson Pring / Williams Massengo Scott James / Wells No place for Weimann or Martin who appear undroppables and, quoting Ian on Radio Bristol last night, they are both culpable in the ball not sticking which is why the midfield and are always chasing the ball and the defence is under pressure

Is that the area that needs most strengthening then in the January window?

With everyone salivating over Jamie Patterson's performance yesterday with the expected "why did we let him go" cries of outrage, plus Korey Smith & Marlon Pack both featuring in the same game, it made me think further about our two ex Leicester starlets and question what they've brought to the midfield that we didn't have before. King & James were very, very disappointing on Saturday offering nothing offensively or defensively as I saw it, the game often passing them by with the movement & pace of the visitors. I thought both looked off the pace. We've yet to see the best of them or should we just accept they are with us because those better days are well behind them? There has been little evidence so far from either in terms of stunning free kicks or greater threat from corners. Again we seem to have the numbers in this area of the field but injuries [Williams], inexperience [Scott] and application [Bakinson] make it less effective than it should be. Massengo should be the first name on the team sheet but with Williams out for x weeks we don't actually look this strong in that area of the field. Interesting that Bournemouth rained in 22 shots on Saturday, add that to the tally in previous games [apart from P'boro] and we are offering a lot of teams shooting practice - that to me is down to midfield not defence.

I agree Dave but let's say we D-W-D the expectation rises and we'd expect to beat the TYKES at home after that before two away games which, with our record, we'd expect more than 2 points. So, before the next break let's say it goes D-W-D-W-L-W that puts us on 27 points with 1/3 of the season gone - its the hope that kills! Wasn't it MA who said when we were riding high at the turn of the year in 17/18 that we "weren't ready for promotion" - showed that with an unimpressive January window, a squad that either wanted away or bought into that mantra of failure is acceptable.

It begins with a Bournemouth side who will want to regain top spot and maintain their unbeaten start and then Tuesday it is a resurgent under Steve Cooper Nottingham Forest who will provide a stern test. Even more daunting is a trip to the Hawthorns a week today where the home side will be looking to cement their position in the top two. 2 points from 9 and whilst I genuinely believe we won't be in a relegation scrap a 13th - 18th end of season position beckons. Anything above 5 points and do we dare to dream that 6th [you can predict a top 5] is achievable? We'll discuss the match action in our live FBC Podcast at 6.00 PM: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/voj3TKjf6G?lsid=NeD6LF0Kuk7

Under the guiding hand of the *ock MA.

This is a recording of the podcast: https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/city-successful-on-the-road-again-in-a-5-goal-thriller-at-soggy-peterboro/ In addition to discussing the game we review a tough trio of games in 8 games after the international break [ B'mouth & Forest home, WBA away] and what if we maintain our current position or better at the half way stage - will it affect the type of activity that takes place in the January transfer window.

We'll debate the action in our live podcast at 6.00 PM. Listen here: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/voj3TKjf6G?lsid=Yn8G2cxYugY A deserved 3 points for City who displayed great team spirit to leave them in 9th with a 1/4 of the season gone going into the next international break. Despite two clever goals Sammy Szmodics was denied the chance to put one over on City. Tanner played well enough scoring his first goal for the club but for me the star was Joe Williams with a battling display when he rode three tackles before setting up the chance for Martin to score the decisive goal. I'm not a fan of O'Dowda but he did OK until going off with injury but Scott did well as a sub and his saving tackle on Kanu as the home side went looking for an equaliser in the closing stages showed a new side to his game. We'd take 9th in May after the trials of last season but can we do better than that???

If you missed our live podcast last night here's a recording: https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/we-lost-and-it-was-poor-a-review-of-millwall-a/ Can't believe the love-in from some on here for Weimann! What did everyone think of COD's substitute appearance? Impact sub my *rse! Bakinson - lacked energy Tanner & Pring - both good Martin - needs a rest [a long one] On the pod we talk about this club's obsession over the years with the proverbial big man up front. We fondly recall Robbie Turner, Steve Torpey, John Kerr [RIP], Wayne Allison, Steve Johnson and some other long forgotten names get a mention. Sadly, whilst me, Mark & Ian could be classified as old gits none of us witnessed Big John Atyeo grace the Ashton Gate turf