Nogbad the Bad

Only time I've been there was April '78, Ipswich's last home game before their (winning) appearance in the F.A. Cup Final. Pretty well a full house with Wembley flags prepared and waving, not many City fans. City lost 1-0 and Bobby Robson was on the pitch at the end - unusual in those days - as the Ipswich fans gave their team and manager a noisy and colourful Wembley send off.

Please keep politics off our football forum chaps. It ruins threads and no one's interested in your political views anyway. Cheers.

I wouldn't say that, many very much liked the look of Szmodics, couldn't understand why LJ had never given him a proper chance, and thought the club would regret letting him go. Others just said he was an Eisa/Adelukan type punt which hadn't worked out and well done the club and MA for making a profit. There was a general acceptance that we had too many midfielders, DH wasn't going to play him (either), so better for all parties if he moved on ... but make sure there was a good sell on. That's my take anyway from what became his departure thread from Aug/Sept 2020:

My disenchantment with the club goes back a long way now to the day they sacked Steve Cotterill. I was reinvigorated by the unexpected and excellent appointment of another great character and leader in NP, then just as the heavy lifting has been done to correct their horrendous errors of the past, and we could look forward with some degree of optimism and excitement, they boot him out too. If the aim was to completely deflate and piss off fans like me they could hardly have done a better job.

In a managerial career spanning 26 years Cotts has never overseen a relegation and no doubt in my mind he'd have kept City up that season. A disgraceful decision to boot him out of AG, on a par with getting rid of NP, 2 managers far more capable than their successors. A hell of as job to take on at FGR but if anyone can keep them up Cotts can.

As Bristol Boy he was miles ahead at the top of the leaderboard when he stopped posting and iirc remained there for a number of years before being overtaken.

Leicester & Leeds promoted. Ipswich, Southampton, West Brom & Hull play offs. City 12th on 57 pts. Sheff. Weds, QPR & Rotherham down, though Wednesday & Stoke both on 44 pts.

Sorry, I know you're just articulating your thoughts but if you think, 'Manning in the main has served up a one dimensional turgid crap brand of football.' and 'I think he is out of his depth and one dimensional and taking us backwards' why would you give him the pre season and a number of new signings when he - his uninspiring personality, and, as you say, his turgid style of football - seem to be at the root of the problem? These things seem very much ingrained and unlikely to change and, if we allow LM to shape next season's squad we'll have lumbered the next coach/manager with new signings he may not want with little or no more money to make further changes, and it's another frustrating and wasted season ahead. I cannot see things improving significantly, some managers fit AG, some very much don't, and the board need to be decisive and ruthless for once, whether it's soon or at the end of the season. Oh, I forgot, they were pretty ruthless with Cotts and NP.

Manning may have lost the team but it's more JL & BT who have lost the fans, and I expect the club to get a big shock when it comes to ST renewal.

Never heard NTTDS sound so utterly pissed off on RB, things must be bad.

He's on one hell of a new contract, he needs to earn it now, not regress.

I think many of them were upset by Nige getting booted out and are missing him just as much as the majority of fans.

As supporters we can't do much about which division City are in. What we remember are great games, outstanding goals, players who got us off our seats, and in that respect the division we're in is of secondary importance.

And Living for the City at no.19 too!

Yep, I was at Corinthian Casuals in '83 when Millwall turned up. Was this the start of the long running feud you talk of? There had always been an air of trouble when City played Millwall, I remember it in the 70's and I've heard stories going right back to the mid 60's, but this was on match days and Millwall's yob element had stronger rivalries with other clubs, so why did it become a long running feud with City in particular? At the time of the Corinthian Casuals match we'd only played Millwall in 1 season - 81/82 - since '75, so did something notable happen at one of those games in 81/82 to start it off?

I've given up watching most sports, even football apart from City. I find the PL and international football really boring these days. Maybe an age thing - the passion of youth probably helped to keep me going to AG throughout our descent down the divisions, but that was a long time ago and these days, while some success would be obviously be welcome, getting to the play offs is not the be all and end all for me, or even 'season ending' because we accept we're not getting there - enjoying going to AG because the football on offer at least has some entertainment value is much more important. Let's start by thrashing Cardiff and Swansea please LM!

Dave gets his enjoyment from watching football (studying it in his case) in a different way to me which is fair enough. I think the average fan sees it in a much less analytical way and craves excitement but I am also largely happy as long as we win - at least we must have had a goal to celebrate, and have succeeded in defending a lead. Agree about GJ, not that many goals in that play off season but he got the most out of committed team, lots of excitement and a very enjoyable time to be a fan.

Over 25 arrests at that game, always stuck in my mind because the atmosphere and amount of trouble was completely unexpected. Millwall, and apparently others turned up, but no idea why this game was chosen, it's not exactly a common event for fans of different clubs to mix like that, especially with Charlton and Millwall being less than 5 miles apart and rivals themselves presumably. Remember watching the replay from the East End on a big screen, another grim evening at the Gate.

It's a very well written article but I'm afraid I don't share Dave's fascination with tactical aspects of the modern game. High block, transition, possession percentages, passes per sequence etc etc leave me cold. I just want to see City set out to play attacking football at AG with as much goalmouth action as possible. In other words to be entertained. Modern coaches like LM should remember football is a spectator sport and if their cagey approach doesn't at least yield the 3 points - the one consolation for a dull match - it can more often than not be a frustrating bore for the average fan who's gone down there to see some action, let off some steam, and be entertained.

Not bothered about QPR but would welcome a break from Millwall, let Rovers enjoy their company for a year or two. Ideally, however unlikely, Stoke or Swansea to join them, with QPR and Wednesday staying up.

Hammy causing problems again - sounds like another exciting episode of Tales of the Riverbank!

Looks to me that we're right near the top with 4 long term injuries (Atkinson & Bell expected return dates need updating)

Each to their own, I enjoy the pod. No one's putting them on a pedestal or thinks they're special, they're ordinary knowledgeable City fans with strong opinions. I would also class myself as having strong opinions and knowledgeable when it comes to City - after 50+ years, so I should be. The difference is they've got the gift of the gab and could talk about City on a pod all day and that certainly doesn't apply to all of us. The pod seems to get good listening figures, ever rising last I heard, so they're obviously doing something right that appeals to a fair number of City fans. That much of it is 'the sort of conversation you'd have with mates down the pub' is surely a good thing? Anyway, very easy to knock it but a lot of time and effort clearly goes in to it which it's appreciated by many fans, and luckily for you watching, listening, or even commenting on it is not compulsory.

Indeed, but what about the points I raised, i.e, ridiculously OTT introduction on official site leading to completely unrealistic expectations, and looks like a last minute deadline day punt when all other signing options exhausted, just to announce a forward?

Didn't help that he was introduced on the official site with a great fanfare as an exciting potential season changer. Looks like he may have been just a last minute deadline day punt, with City determined to get a forward in, and all other options exhausted. Very concerning display yesterday, but if he does prove to be completely out of his depth the fault lies squarely with the club, not Mebude.