The last time we played well?

[Super]

I do worry for people who thought we played well. We were ******* dreadful.

[Tinmans Love Child]

13 hours ago, glen humphries said:

Why can’t we have both?

Easy as that

[BCFC Grim]

1 hour ago, Badger08 said:

No, I'm not taking the piss. I must have been watching a different game. I thought we dominated the ball, played defensively well and created chances.  The only thing we lacked was a finish. 

I think people need to be able to separate frustration and actually playing poorly.  If we'd had an out and put goalscorer, we could have scored 3 today.  

So, I'm not taking the piss, I'm just not having a complete and utter meltdown as we haven't won the game.  

Not one shot on target all game......at home......against 10 men. If you're happy with that, then fair play to you. We are predictable and dull to watch. No meltdown by me. I'm starting to expect the football to be the dullest part of my Saturday. 

[22A]

Ever noticed how after a break any fluidity in the team's play disappears.

A long Summer break - 1st game of the season = defeat. The October international break - 1st game afterwards = defeat. The November international break - 1st game afterwards - a 0-0 draw.

[Numero Uno]

48 minutes ago, Cowshed said:

Bristol City  are not a particularly aggressive team out of possession. That is an opinion I would base on its players intensity, pressing approach.

Looking to just retain it. The stats do not back that up. City in general have less possession than the opponents. Play a lot of long balls, through balls and are not keeping it. Possession is not a principle of City's play. 

Agree with the non aggression out of possession. First half was like watching a training session where Forest were allowed to have the ball and we were only interested in keeping our shape and playing on the counter. Almost like a perfect away set up but the problem was we were at home.

Are Forest that good or our players so limited that we had to play that way? Those tactics are ok if you grind out a 1-0 but if you don’t then people will inevitably moan. For us season ticket holders we can take it in the round but if your game of football was called off yesterday and you parted with thirty odd sheets to watch that are you coming back in a hurry?

[bcfcredandwhite]

14 hours ago, scrumpy88 said:

I honestly can’t think of the last time I’ve come away from a game thinking we’ve played well. Its all boring and predictable football. 

We must be an opposition managers dream as we are so easy to play against. 

Theres no fluency to our game just the same boring side to side football week after week 

I get that the football isn’t pretty at the moment, but if we are an ‘opposition manager’s dream’ then only 2 of them have had their dream fulfilled so far this season and all the others must be feeling bemused at how they failed to beat a team so easy to play against and who must only be joint 4th by a continuous run of lucky flukes!!!!

[RedRock]

West Brom, home last season (or was it the season previous?), for the first 30 minutes the most enjoyable football ever. But we couldn’t sustain it for the rest of the match let alone the next game. Therein lies a problem.

[pillred]

10 hours ago, RedLionLad said:

We've lost just once at home. Drawn 3 against Boro, Swansea and Wigan, and beaten QPR, Charlton and Reading.

Unbeaten in our last 6 home games......with injuries and a suspension.

It's not the results I know there not terrible, but even you must admit we have not played well yes we have had injuries but a lot of our players were back yesterday and we still looked like we could have played all day and not scored as I said in an earlier post so far I have been to 5 home games and not once have I left the ground thinking what a great game to me it's not all about results.

[DT The Optimist]

when at the Gate , in the final third we are,  as a rule of thumb , ponderous at best, with no real cutting edge, and our home form is poor to average with no real expectation of a win  when we play.  Yes Afobe loss massive in that.  
Yes, we r better away from home, we can hit teams with pace on break outs from defence. 
As a home team  I expect to see us stretching the opposition.  I have not seen that. Last  time we did that was Stoke last season, we slaughtered them (and lost ) and their keeper world class on the day 

we have grinded out a few home wins this season, still to come alive. 

[cidered abroad]

2 hours ago, 054123 said:

The football at home has been poor for 18 months or so now, with and without injuries.

For much of my city supporting life the social aspect kept me hooked, along with an off the pitch scene that was fun when I was younger.

Middle aged me now takes 3 kids down and the focus is solely on the pitch and after yesterday I’d reached the point where the thought of coming down next Saturday to watch city play like that again, absolutely seemed like a chore.

Of course I will go, I love City. My love for City is the only thing that keeps me interested in sterile, money driven, modern football. I would honestly start watching Keynsham or Bath if city didn’t exist.

It’s not City’s fault, this is just the football we have to play to ensure we finish somewhere in the top 12, whilst never having enough quality to go up.

Agree totally, except the last paragraph. It's not entirely City's fault but if we had more intention of attacking instead of this fear of defeat, it should be more entertaining. I don't understand why Johnson is so afraid. He should not be because he is certainly the most secure in his position in the Championship.

I won't stop going. At 76 I have little to look forward to except City, Bristol Bears and death. 

[BCFC1512]

QPR

[glen humphries]

1 hour ago, Tinmans Love Child said:

Easy as that

Not saying it’s easy but it’s possible, you happy watching us at home, do you think it’s entertaining?

[Red Exile]

2 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

One answer only!

Tactics and a fear of losing. We play at home like a side that is afraid. It is so boring, devoid of creativity in attack and how any team at this level can fail to have one effort on target is unbelievable.

We have the stadium, we have a good owner who backs the club financially, we have an Academy that is producing quality, we have the best squad at this level for forty years.

So what are we lacking? It does not take me very long to find the answer.

Absolutely spot on! Although I accept it is possible that we might be thinking of different answers...

...a management upgrade might be needed. 

[mozo]

This has again created an argument between the perceived over negative and the perceived over positive.

The result against Huddersfield might unite the two, one way or the other.

[Sir Geoff]

3 hours ago, Super said:

I do worry for people who thought we played well. We were ******* dreadful.

If we were as dreadful as you say any decent side (and Forest are more than a decent side) would have battered us. You clearly didnt watch some of the 'dreadful' football in the early 90's when we had players that couldnt even control a ball or play a simple 5 yd pass. Now we have a team littered with Internationals who are technically adept footballers. Just appreciate what is in front of you, we won't always be near the top of the Championship.

[Davefevs]

I enjoyed yesterday.  A bit of cat and mouse against a good Forest side, who under Lamouchi, are very well organised, with a front 3 capable of moments of magic.

Of course it’s great to see goals, that forms most people’s opinions, but I thought it was a good tactical battle.  Had the shot that hit the post gone in, people’s perspectives would be different, and probably mask the type of game it was.

But fully accept, it wasn’t a lot of people’s view of entertainment!

[Robbored]

The first half was dreadfully drab largely down to Forest tactics. Second half was much better and City could/should have won the game but Lady Luck wasn’t on our side..........

What found frustrating was the lack of City players running directly withe ball. CoD did once in the 41min....... but apart from that I’m struggling to remember any other runs. Such play excites the crowd and improves the atmosphere.

I do wonder what LJ says to the players about what their jobs are and if those instructions inhibit their desire to express themselves. 

[cidercity1987]

Great we’ve only lost two but three draws is also the equalivent of 2 defeats if the third is a win. A failure to grasp that is killing our season. We MUST be more gung ho at home, if we have to risk the odd defeat to get more wins then that’s what we have to do

[Super]

42 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

If we were as dreadful as you say any decent side (and Forest are more than a decent side) would have battered us. You clearly didnt watch some of the 'dreadful' football in the early 90's when we had players that couldnt even control a ball or play a simple 5 yd pass. Now we have a team littered with Internationals who are technically adept footballers. Just appreciate what is in front of you, we won't always be near the top of the Championship.

Complete rubbish. If we were the worst team in all 4 leagues i would stilexpect a shot on target against any team at home. Its poor and has been for a long time at home. 

[Sir Geoff]

so by your definition we would not have been ****** dreadful if Rowes header had been on target and saved or Rodri's overhead kick had been blocked on the line. The game is played over 90 minutes and not just a few odd moments. We were NOT or anywhere near dreadful. If you want to watch scintilating attacking football may I suggest a season ticket at the Etihad or Nou Camp (I'm sure you would still fail to be pleased at those stadiums if you didnt see a minimum of 10 shots on target,though)

This is a tough league with a lot of good sides that make it difficult to break down to get those shots on target. Wake up and look at the bigger picture and quality that is on the pitch in front of you. It hasn't always been there and won't always be there in the future. We have a good, quality squad, enjoy it while you can, as I said before we are not always going to be near the top of the Championship table.

[BS4 on Tour...]

59 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

You clearly didnt watch some of the 'dreadful' football in the early 90's when we had players that couldnt even control a ball or play a simple 5 yd pass. 

Are you sure you mean the early 90s? In the first few seasons of that decade we had players such as Bob Taylor, Jacki, the vastly underrated Nicky Morgan, Martin Scott, Mark Gavin, Gary Shelton, David Rennie, Rob Newman, Joe Jordan, Andy Cole, Brian Tinnion, Mark Aizlewood etc, etc - I think all of them could control a ball and pass it five yards ...

[Son of Fred]

18 hours ago, sticks 1969 said:

Darby at home

So where's Joan??

[ZiderEyed]

16 hours ago, Rossi the Robin said:

Not sure what our identity is at all now. Pressing seems to have gone from extreme to zero over 3 seasons

Are we a counter attacking team or something else?

This is the thing for me. What is our identity? Johnson has had a very long time to settle on an identity and how he wants the team to look, but we've gone from "clubs in the bag", to Bobby Reid charging down centre halves while the rest of the side sits in a medium block, to this. We do not have a consistent identity. 

For the record, I'm happy with the result, but serious questions need to be asked of our recruitment and of what the plan is.

[Red Exile]

Personally - and I appreciate that this isn't a widely held opinion - I think the questions need to be directed at the chap managing a squad containing many of the most talented players the club has had. I gather from twitter that Darren Way is in line to join as u23 coach. Another job for the boys/mates if true. Does it really seem plausible that the best possible u23 coach available is a chap who wasn't much cop at Yeovil? All appears so cosy and comfortable.

I'd have thought that such massive investment in the ground and playing squad required a similar investment in a manager and coaching staff with proven experience of game management and league success...but as I say, I know that's not a widely held view.

[Davefevs]

6 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

Personally - and I appreciate that this isn't a widely held opinion - I think the questions need to be directed at the chap managing a squad containing many of the most talented players the club has had. I gather from twitter that Darren Way is in line to join as u23 coach. Another job for the boys/mates if true. Does it really seem plausible that the best possible u23 coach available is a chap who wasn't much cop at Yeovil? All appears so cosy and comfortable.

I'd have thought that such massive investment in the ground and playing squad required a similar investment in a manager and coaching staff with proven experience of game management and league success...but as I say, I know that's not a widely held view.

I raised a similar question a week if so back, when I heard Way might come in.  I appreciate you need staff you can get on with / trust, and I got the Macca appointment because of the affinity with City.  But Way just seems too cosy from the outside looking in.  Why not give Alex Ball the chance and review in a Jan / end of season?

[Robbored]

16 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I raised a similar question a week if so back, when I heard Way might come in.  I appreciate you need staff you can get on with / trust, and I got the Macca appointment because of the affinity with City.  But Way just seems too cosy from the outside looking in.  Why not give Alex Ball the chance and review in a Jan / end of season?

If Way gets employed by LJ as an academy coach then it will surely smack of “ jobs for the boys” and his critics will think they’ve won the lottery.

[Frenchay Red]

At Senior Reds Dave Storr, the Head of Safety, said it is important that people should stay seated for safety reasons.

LJ is assisting with this by ensuring that the football we play doesn't get us too excited and out of our seats. 

[Up The City!]

8 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

No absolutely not. But shooting at the goal at least once in 90 minutes isn’t so unreasonable and even less so when they play most of the second half with ten men. 

We had our chances, we hit the post did we not?

[mozo]

2 hours ago, Robbored said:

The first half was dreadfully drab largely down to Forest tactics. Second half was much better and City could/should have won the game but Lady Luck wasn’t on our side..........

What found frustrating was the lack of City players running directly withe ball. CoD did once in the 41min....... but apart from that I’m struggling to remember any other runs. Such play excites the crowd and improves the atmosphere.

I do wonder what LJ says to the players about what their jobs are and if those instructions inhibit their desire to express themselves. 

You say lady luck but the quality wasn't there either. We wasted chances and good attacking positions.

Weimann shanked a shot in the box, Rodri didn't connect with his overhead thing, Rowe fluffed a free back post header, Brownhill bad chip into the box x2, Eliasson ballooned a cross late on, Pereira too.

Those are just the ones I remember, there must be plenty of others!

We were lacking when attacking!

[LondonBristolian]

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I enjoyed yesterday.  A bit of cat and mouse against a good Forest side, who under Lamouchi, are very well organised, with a front 3 capable of moments of magic.

Of course it’s great to see goals, that forms most people’s opinions, but I thought it was a good tactical battle.  Had the shot that hit the post gone in, people’s perspectives would be different, and probably mask the type of game it was.

But fully accept, it wasn’t a lot of people’s view of entertainment!

Indeed. I am not defending our performances in general and we were poor first half yesterday, but I did not think the second half was anywhere near as dreadful as people are making out. It wasn’t great and there are no excuses for no shots on target but we did create opportunities.

There is no doubt we need to improve and the second half was there for the taking but I do think Dasilva missing has had a massive impact on our ability to play a back four which has a knock on effect on our attacking play, especially as Moore and Kalas were both missing and are both more comfortable on the ball than Baker or Wright.  

I do want to be entertained more, especially at home, but I accept it is not a disaster if we scrape through to January playing poorly and keeping in touch with the top six, as long as we push on after the transfer window. That said, we keep playing like this once players are fit and I will feel very differently.