mozo

13 minutes ago, phantom said:

I hate to say I wouldn't have wasted your time, you'll never be able to work it out that way

Exactly that, I'd say more people wouldn't renew because of the uncertainty of our fixtures 

If people are simply not renewing because of crap football I'd ask who they think they're actually watching, and apart from a very small handful of seasons in the past 50 years when we did 

Are tickets back on sale yet? 

Not really, why is it so important to you that you know how many season tickets have been sold months before the new season staers

I'd imagine rising mortgage repayments won't help.

3 hours ago, phantom said:

I know it is interesting to know how sales are going but does it really matter that we don't know?

 

Yes because we can't jump on the narrative that the events of season have lost a big chunk of the fanbase.

1 hour ago, pongo88 said:

When he started playing regularly for the City first team he looked as though he had a great career ahead of him. Then it went pear shaped. It can’t be ability as he demonstrated he had it. As with a lot of jobs you need more than natural ability to be successful 

The thing that was a revelation was his forward passing. We forget how crap we used to be at passing the ball forwards, that when Tyreeq started doing it, we were in awe.

19 hours ago, DaveInSA said:

There was an interesting LinkedIn post I came across the other day, which I will summarise as : DATA is making the world more boring.

They cited several examples, but a couple stood out. In the NBA, nearly ALL of the teams play the same way, points are scored from very specific areas of the court and it’s become dull and predictable as a result. The second was the music industry, within a given genre (pop, country etc) the diversity of music has decreased, there is less innovation and music is working to a “formula”.

What does this mean for football. Well, probably something similar isn’t it? Football is becoming dull. I’m sure that there is a multitude of reasons why, but definitely a cause will be the statistics around “most likely methods to score from” - I think that is called xG for or something.

What I’ve seen with my eyes is something completely alien to me at times. It’s structured. Ponderous. Boring. My enjoyment of football comes from chaos, a lack of structure and being able to thrive in the midst of all of this. I like passion. I like both teams going at it.

I like rugby more than football now as a spectacle. 

Interesting what you say about basketball, because my understanding was that in the NBA 3 point shooting was increasing, which is higher risk. Is that a good thing for the game or a bad thing? From the NBA games I've watched in the last couple of years I didn't notice anything dull about it, but I presume the writer follows the sport a lot closer than I do.

2 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Came back from u17 World Cup with a “this isn’t what I play football for” type mentality apparently. Hated all the noise, stress and media around it. Probably explains why he wanted to stay at non league level basically forever thereafter. 

Thats understandable tbf. Not everyone is psychologically fit for that kind of stuff. That's why I didn't become a pro footballer and decided to instead write shit on a football forum...

...that and I was rubbish at football...

4 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Think the latter is already planning on going back to Guernsey. 
 

The one that’s really stood out to me in recent years is Opi Edwards. From what I saw of him for Weston this year, would honestly say he’s probably toolstation level, if that. 

On the checkout?

Supporting City is rarely boring and always ridiculous 

15 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I wasn’t referencing a “side”, just saying there are those who can’t divorce the two and those that have agendas.

Agree.

Yep, totally agree, and I was just elaborating on your point from my own perspective. 

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

Because some people are incapable of divorcing the two, do not understand context, nuance, etc etc. And some have agendas too!

And likewise, there are a number of OTIB regulars that I could name that have been pretty busy posters after Manning's less convincing games, and yet have seemed to have lost their log ins during and after the indisputably decent performance v Norwich (and other games previously). Was the same under Nige who had his haters on here.

I've been backing Manning simply based on how I've interpreted the football, but I've written here many times that if I turn out to be wrong, I'll come on and say it. I think for some people, it's more important to pick a side and win an argument, than to present a fair assessment.

1 hour ago, IAmNick said:

Why does Manning (hopefully) doing well also always seem to mean that Pearson had to be shit? Or if you think Pearson was doing well, then Manning has to be shit?

How about Pearson did a good job for us, progressed us, Manning took over, had a wobble as he found his feet, and now will hopefully go on to do a good job next season and progress us again. That's what we all want isn't it?

But that's not a culture war. It'll never work... 

5 minutes ago, petehinton said:

A nige groupie? I’m honoured!!

Do you have a big tattoo of Nige on your chest? "I'm just a fan Nigel, your biggest fan!"

7 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

I agree, but he comes across as a very thoughtful bloke and I have no doubt he'll be choosing his words very carefully to remain professional but also provide a few subtle nods along the way as well. He's not going to outright say anything rude or stupid of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if he makes what he wants to known as well.

We'll see!

One thing he said during his time with us that surprised me was alongside lines of: "At Watford, we knew what the owners are like so when the opportunity came we thought, yeah let's have some fun with it while it lasts." I suspect that will come up on the pod.

5 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

We have one of the best defensive records in the division and a poor goals scored record. That alone tells you it's binary for the major part.

So we need to be more creative and clinical in the final third,  which I guess is why we are strengthening our attack in the summer.

28 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

.........and the rest of the games have been Binary in terms of our goals scored, bar a 3-2 defeat at Ipswich, haven't they?

Coventry 2-2 springs to mind, and dlfew 2-1s either way. I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary. 

We've won 1-0 seven times this season. Of those, 4 were under Manning, 3 were not.

12 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I’ve been quite outspoken about whether we should try to match the possession sides or not, and fallen on the side of “not”, because in the main those sides are the monied teams.

Saw this reply to a thread started by a PNE fan and journo:

 

The thing that stands out to me when we come up against the more technically talented teams is the speed of thought of the players, and the consistency of execution.

We've got players like Bell, Mehmet and Sykes that are capable of top quality attacking play (in different ways), but you can't depend on them to execute consistently. 

In a lot of our games under both Manning and Pearson I've seen a midfield capable of high quality build up play, only for the possession to break down in the final third.

So it's not just a case of having a set style, it's also dependent on who's playing, and what version of that player turns up.

The general passing style might be consistent, but other variables may change depending on personnel. For example, if ball carrying defenders like Atkinson or Dickie are on the pitch, the passing options in midfield increase, and the sum of the parts is different. 

Equally, Roberts can be trusted on the ball in defence, whereas Vyner might be better off launching it under pressure. 

I'm rambling, and I guess trying to make the point that whether you play a possession based style or a mire direct counter attacking style, the effectiveness will always depend on variables, and for that reason, neither Pearson nor Manning have been able to garner consistent performances. 

When either style works, it looks beautiful. When Nigeball was bad, it descended into long balls and wasted energy. When Manningball is bad, it looks tentative, ponderous and negative.

The challenge for the head coach is to pick a style (identity etc), and to make it work with all the limitations that our players have. 

I genuinely think that quality in the final third has been letting us down for years; ever since Andi Weimann decided he was going to be Andriy Shevchenko for a year.

It's interesting, I'm not sure what my one question would be... 

Would like to hear some suggestions?

Of course, under Manning we've won 5-0, 4-1, 3-2 (twice) and 3-1, so it's not likely that we'll become a dull 1-0 team next season.

Pearson used to talk about process too. Its obvious what they're saying; do the right stuff, and you'll get the right outcomes. But if the right outcomes don't happen all the time, don't give up on doing the right stuff.

2 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

What would be really embarrassing if we’d agreed a clause saying he had to be in the squad or we’d be penalised financially, then also agreed a clause saying we’d have to make the deal permanent if he was in more than 10 squads….

Even if that's the case, I've got no issue with him being in the match day squad for the unlikely event that we get a flurry of injuries and need an extra forward. He's not doing any harm sitting there. It's just disappointing for him that he didn't prove himself during his stay.

39 minutes ago, eardun said:

I can understand anyone taking a break from a season ticket - I’ve done it in the past too, but that’s been to do with personal circumstances rather than performances, owners or club staff. 

At the moment I have the time and money to commit and I do enjoy watching Championship football. I’m pleased we are seeing some stability at this level for once as that can only help us in the longer term. I also expect to watch some poor City performances from time to time - such is life! I’ve been in my current seat since the South Stand opened (so 10th consecutive season next season) and I do like its location so that would be hard to give up (especially as it may not be possible to get a season ticket in the SS in future). My Dad sat next to me until he passed away last year and now my wife does (or my daughter when my wife can’t make it). Ashton Gate holds lots of memories - for example given that other thread on here, I still have vivid memories of my feelings as I walked to the ground with my Dad before we beat Portsmouth to clinch promotion to Div 1 48 years ago (plus the after-match celebrations of course!). 

I must admit that I’m more uneasy about the impact of the new TV deal and whether that will have an impact on my attendance as I live a fair distance away - more mid week evening kick off times might be a challenge and make it easier for me to switch on the TV. 

Anyway, I fully expect us to be promoted in 2026 - 50 years after last time - so I have to stick around for that! 

Love this post! Can't wait for 2026 now!

53 minutes ago, archie andrews said:

Ive always thought vyner could play the defensive midfield type role..... 

He's not good enough passing in  crowded areas

9 hours ago, Davefevs said:

After one game of the season!!!  Well that sums up OTIB agendas perfectly doesn’t it?

And after the Birmingham and Stoke games to be fair.

But yes, OTIB is insane.

21 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

You may like this thread?

 

Love it mate!