Jump to content
IGNORED

Halfway through the January window


Wolf Island

Recommended Posts

9 hours ago, Hare Island said:

FA cup tie with the European and world champions squandered

Out of the play offs and dropping like a stone

No signings and humiliated by an Arsenal youth team player

What will it take for the Lansdowns to make changes???

 

As stated on this forum yesterday, to make a statement to the LANDSDOWNs, say it with your feet on Saturday, stay away, 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 I’ll be going getting behind the boys. It’s not over till it’s over.  We are all frustrated with being in a solid position prior to Christmas. Then to hit poor form.  You can see in Lee’s interview the other night that hurt him.  Let’s hope he’s working hard behind the scenes. Not just at the players his coaching staff and himself.  I believe he needs to add something more to his coaching staff.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't hold out much hope of being propelled us back into the top 6 this weekend.

All but one (Hull) of the teams around us have home ties to bottom half opponents - one or two might slip up but not all.

It does mean a win is very important though as it will be very easy for us to sink to 11th or even 12th without one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, handballbygordonparr said:

I don't hold out much hope of being propelled us back into the top 6 this weekend.

All but one (Hull) of the teams around us have home ties to bottom half opponents - one or two might slip up but not all.

It does mean a win is very important though as it will be very easy for us to sink to 11th or even 12th without one.

Great minds ?

Ahead of a difficult trip to QPR, a win would make a big difference. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

I reckon LJ will be here next season. The injuries - to Afobe, Kalas, Nagy, JD - have been significant enough to warrant some leniency from SL. Add to this not getting Eddie (assuming that was not LJ's fault/responsibility).

It might be one last chance/season, though: play-offs, or piss off. 

Five seasons without once making the top six, even SL will clock that it's just not happening. Thing is, if Lee sneaks us into sixth next season, we lose at the semi stage, and Steve thinks: we're getting there. It's on.

And so we go again. With Lee. Until 2023.....

 

In fairness, if we make the play offs then he will merit another shot . 
#progression 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

Why have we had so many long term injuries in the last few years?

Simply bad luck? Or is/are there reasons/actions that are responsible for so many?

Is it coincidence that many of the long term injured are new arrivals at the club? Is it coincidence that it's happened to Johnson signings? Whereas the Cottrell side played a couple of seasons with hardly any injuries, as far as I can remember.

Without looking up stats, here are some of the long term injuries in the last four years.

Kalas, Dasilva, Nagy, Adobe, Adelakun, Marley Watkins, Janneh (twice), Matt Taylor, Diedhiou, O'Dowda, Fielding. There may be others that I've not remembered. And the frequently injured Baker. 

Bad luck or other factors?

Wasn't Pisano out for a while?

Djuric too, Hegeler...Nagy this season for 2-3 months was it. That's medium term at best.

Training, tactics? Two possible reasons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Hare Island said:

FA cup tie with the European and world champions squandered

Out of the play offs and dropping like a stone

No signings and humiliated by an Arsenal youth team player

What will it take for the Lansdowns to make changes???

 

A hedgehog apparently.... 

Spiny Norman? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking around - not many Championship teams have made much progress in this window...usually deals are done in the last week and this is the hardest window to get players in.

REDANDPROUD - 'Making a statement to the Lansdowns' - who have spent millions on the club...given us a beautiful stadium...wiped off debt...trying to make us self-sustainable. What on earth!

We have become a top half team in the Championship, fleeting with the play offs. We are not an ex-premiership club with millions to spend under FFP.

Effing Relax!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, DirtySanchez said:

Looking around - not many Championship teams have made much progress in this window...usually deals are done in the last week and this is the hardest window to get players in.

REDANDPROUD - 'Making a statement to the Lansdowns' - who have spent millions on the club...given us a beautiful stadium...wiped off debt...trying to make us self-sustainable. What on earth!

We have become a top half team in the Championship, fleeting with the play offs. We are not an ex-premiership club with millions to spend under FFP.

Effing Relax!

Maybe FFP- or should I say, proper enforcement of FFP, is starting to bite a bit?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Redandproud said:

As stated on this forum yesterday, to make a statement to the LANDSDOWNs, say it with your feet on Saturday, stay away, 

Yeah, great shout! Let’s boycott the game to show our displeasure about possibly moving back in to the top 6..! 
FFS some people on here need took take a look at themselves..! 
 

IF we win on Saturday, yes it’s an “IF” based on recent results - we’d very possibly be in the top 6. We’d have won 3 of our last 4 league games (albeit against lower table opposition) and be averaging pretty much 1.6pts per game over the 28 games played. Which is right on the cusp (the season average) of taking 6th place, over the course of a season, despite having had a bad run recently, although not forgetting very few defeats during the first half of the season. 
 

So, IF we win on Saturday, we’d be well placed, probably punching above our weight, again, and hopefully with much needed extra firepower on its way for the remainder of the season. 

And many of you want to sack the manager that’s got us in that position..?! 
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Up The City! said:

Lansdown has a history of not firing the gun until things go badly. I fear we will be stuck with LJ until our playoff chances have diminished.

Lansdown is too loyal, I feel that I should be quoting Einstein here. Whilst LJ has delivered year on year improvement, let's not forget we have bottled it time and time again in those years and we should have finished higher. The reality is when there is a big must win game, under LJ, more often than not we bottle it. Again I feel I should quote Einstein here. 

The Shrewsbury game was a watershed moment for me. Once again we lost a big game. 

I was sitting in a pub near the ground after the game in Shrewsbury on Tuesday, sharing a quiet pint with Einstein and reflecting on Dave's missed chances. He said 

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing".

He always talks sh1te when he's p1ssed

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, Redandproud said:

As stated on this forum yesterday, to make a statement to the LANDSDOWNs, say it with your feet on Saturday, stay away, 

Did that for the Shrewsbury home game, but Barnsley is already paid for. 

Aiming to amble down on Saturday, albeit with very little enthusiasm, but that's been the case for a while now.

I see Barnsley as being potentially a very interesting afternoon for lots of reasons so well worth turning up. Outside chance it might even be enjoyable!

ST renewal will be my time to make a statement, if necessary.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Maybe FFP is starting to bite a bit?

I think so. It doesn’t help that the Prem teams sign decent Championship strikers, stick them on big wages and when it doesn’t work  it’s almost impossible for Championship sides to meet their wage demands let alone the transfer fee, for example Dwight Gayle £60k , Che Adams £50k, Andre Gray £70k, Glenn Murray £35k (quick google searches). It’s a very very tough time to sign anyone.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Major Isewater said:

In fairness, if we make the play offs then he will merit another shot . 
#progression 

I think if we finish 7-12th Johnson would have the excuse that we had a transition season with raft of signings, and an injury crisis. 

He would probably then go into 2020-21 with a lot to prove, and limited patience at the club.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Hare Island said:

FA cup tie with the European and world champions squandered

Out of the play offs and dropping like a stone

No signings and humiliated by an Arsenal youth team player

What will it take for the Lansdowns to make changes???

 

No changes this season.

We won't get relegated and the owner will give his man the chance to salvage something from the season so that a positive spin can be made of the term.

If we improve league position then "he told us so"

If we finish just below last seasons effort, reasons will be cited for the slip (injuries and bad luck with loan deals)

If we end up around 15th then maybe a tearful joint press conference where undying love and respect are proclaimed and an amicable separation occurs.

Jamie Mac unveiled as the new head coach straight afterwards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just cannot get behind Lee anymore, people saying that we are only 1 pt off the playoffs really need to have a stock check, we were 3rd at one point and yet again Lee with inconsistent formations and lack of knowledge around best 11 (why we aren't playing 4-2-3-1 I don't know, seems taylor made for our best players) its embarrassing. I haven't been going this season, but checking the scores and line ups and what I hear from people that do go it seems Lee is out of ideas, like he is every time we have a bad streak, which he inevitably does, year in, year out. How Elliasson isn't first name on the team sheet is beyond me, one of the best crossers in the league, and he gets benched because we worry about nullifying the opposition so much. Weimann and Deidhiou dont work up front together, playing 3 behind Deidhiou would likely work better as he would have more players working off of him, ideally we would replace him, but looking less and less likely we will get a starting centre forward in this window, in classic city style. We have known our weaknesses for years now, when is Lee going to be able to build a balanced squad? Hes had enough transfer windows now.

 

As you can tell i have lost faith, yes, we have had year on year improvement in league position, but at the same time we have squandered genuine chances to finish top 4 let alone play offs.

It needs to change, I genuinely think that a change in manager resulting in a more settled formation and starting 11 would immediately return results. And also, we need a name that can attract a decent centre forward as we are truly lacking there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know I've said it before but I think people underestimate how ruthless and unsentimental Steve Lansdown is. I suspect Lee Johnson is still the manager for one reason and one reason only - which is that Steve Lansdown believes he can succeed as a manager at the club in the long-term. I suspect that's why he stuck with him during the losing streak and why he has not acted so far.

But facts are only true until they change. If you go back just over a month to the 7 December, we had won 4 of our last 5, produced hugely impressive performances at home to Huddersfield and away to Fulham and, if Lansdown had sacked Lee Johnson after the Fulham game, everyone would have been livid with Lansdown for getting rid of the manager when we were fourth in the table and looked as well equipped for promotion as we had for over a decade. Just over a month later, the picture looks very very different. But it is still explainable as a blip if things improve.

The reality is that, whatever you think about Lansdown's time at Bristol City, nobody can doubt his success in finance. And ultimately you succeed in finance by holding your nerve during temporary blips and riding out the difficult periods on the basis of trusting your instinct that things will improve.

But then also taking action if that instinct proves wrong.

People talk about Lee Johnson as though he gets special treatment but Steve Lansdown has a track record of backing managers longer than other Chairmen would. The signs were there that all was not right with Cotterill from late August onwards. No change was made until January.  SOD started the 2012/2013 season terribly but held his post until December People were clamouring for McInnes to go for at least two months before he did.Tinnion was allowed to start a second season after a disappointing first one.

The reality is, throughout his time here, Steve Lansdown as never rushed to sack a manager and - Steve Coppell aside - no manager has left until even people who were sympathetic him have accepted things are not going to change. The fact Lansdown has stuck by Lee Johnson now isn't because Lansdown has a blind spot for Lee Johnson but because he does not rush to sack managers and never has. 

If things do not improve, Lee Johnson will be out. Simple as. It's up to LJ to prove over the next few weeks that this blip is temporary. Personally I don't think he will but I accept I have been wrong before...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Wasn't Pisano out for a while?

Djuric too, Hegeler...Nagy this season for 2-3 months was it. That's medium term at best.

Training, tactics? Two possible reasons.

Thanks for the extra info Mr P. I've been following City for so long and cannot remember any time in history when we have, consistently every season, had so many long term injuries.

Training, tactics are two possible. So is just sheer bad luck.

Old adage was "the harder you tackle, the less chance of serious injury." Could it be because players are not going in hard enough, or are they so desperate to be seen as tackling hard, that they are too reckless? Reckless because of the consequences if management see them as not trying hard enough?

And are the injured being brought back too early? Amazed at LJ saying that Dasilva stress fracture is not completely healed (or words to that effect).

All very puzzling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The winter window is never easy. Agents tend to hang on until the last minute and they all know that City are desperate for a striker and may well be playing a waiting game in an attempt to get a better deal.

I’d be no surprise if bugger all happens until the last day of January.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

I know I've said it before but I think people underestimate how ruthless and unsentimental Steve Lansdown is. I suspect Lee Johnson is still the manager for one reason and one reason only - which is that Steve Lansdown believes he can succeed as a manager at the club in the long-term. I suspect that's why he stuck with him during the losing streak and why he has not acted so far.

But facts are only true until they change. If you go back just over a month to the 7 December, we had won 4 of our last 5, produced hugely impressive performances at home to Huddersfield and away to Fulham and, if Lansdown had sacked Lee Johnson after the Fulham game, everyone would have been livid with Lansdown for getting rid of the manager when we were fourth in the table and looked as well equipped for promotion as we had for over a decade. Just over a month later, the picture looks very very different. But it is still explainable as a blip if things improve.

The reality is that, whatever you think about Lansdown's time at Bristol City, nobody can doubt his success in finance. And ultimately you succeed in finance by holding your nerve during temporary blips and riding out the difficult periods on the basis of trusting your instinct that things will improve.

But then also taking action if that instinct proves wrong.

People talk about Lee Johnson as though he gets special treatment but Steve Lansdown has a track record of backing managers longer than other Chairmen would. The signs were there that all was not right with Cotterill from late August onwards. No change was made until January.  SOD started the 2012/2013 season terribly but held his post until December People were clamouring for McInnes to go for at least two months before he did.Tinnion was allowed to start a second season after a disappointing first one.

The reality is, throughout his time here, Steve Lansdown as never rushed to sack a manager and - Steve Coppell aside - no manager has left until even people who were sympathetic him have accepted things are not going to change. The fact Lansdown has stuck by Lee Johnson now isn't because Lansdown has a blind spot for Lee Johnson but because he does not rush to sack managers and never has. 

If things do not improve, Lee Johnson will be out. Simple as. It's up to LJ to prove over the next few weeks that this blip is temporary. Personally I don't think he will but I accept I have been wrong before...

This is the thing that really gets me with Johnson and this "identity" thing. 

After the great Huddersfield and Fulham wins (more importantly performances), you knew he just had to tweak the formation, when there seemed to be nothing wrong, and everyone knew their jobs and most fans would say that it was our best starting 11. Bring forward the tweaked formation for Millwall and it was terrible (granted I have to give Millwall some credit), change again against Blackburn and again poor. Then rather than go back to the Huddersfield/Fulham tactics/formation he drops Eliasson, Massengo & Nagy and has a completely different midfield and we are part of one of the worst games to be watched this season.

So yes the picture looks very, very different, but because (in my opinion) he overthinks every game and cannot just leave a side alone. Where has the passing game gone? We now look like a side who have just met eachother and do not know what we are doing as individuals, let alone as a team.

He either somehow gets us an "identity" and just sticks to it extremely quickly, or he has to be let go and someone else has to come in and get the best out of the players we have got - playing decent attacking football. Away from home I can accept the grinding out results etc, but at home I cannot - unless there is some excitement between now and the end of the season at Ashton Gate I can see tickets sales dropping, and then Lansdown will be forced to do something about it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We’re soft. 

We appoint compliant managers and coaches. We buy lightweight and weak-minded players. We’re a shambles. 

 

We’ve seemingly got  players who don’t want to be here, don’t want to play for the manager, probably get leg strains from stiff clutches on their latest flash cars (remember Giggsy), players who only want to turn out when its sunny and warm, players who hide when the going gets tough..... it goes on. 

We know we’re stuck with ‘the genius’ for the rest of the season. Increasingly likely now that we are going to do our normal disastrous January window, so may as well experiment - just go for the ones that have delivered (with us or on loan) and might have, or are proven to have, a bit of bottle.

 

                          Bents

K Smith       Wright    Taylor Moore       Dasilva

    J Smith      Morrell   Rowe      Eliasson

                     Fammy  Taylor

 

Would suspect that team to have dealt with the likes of Shrewsbury over two legs and at least would put in a united shift worthy of support during league matches.

Frankly, **** poor that we’ve ended up with scraping a team together given the effort put into identifying our transfer targets, setting aside the £millions spent. 

 

If I were Lansdown, I’d send the rest of the squad down to Lympstone for 6 weeks commando training to toughen them up a bit. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, RedRock said:

We’re soft. 

We appoint compliant managers and coaches. We buy lightweight and weak-minded players. We’re a shambles. 

 

We’ve seemingly got  players who don’t want to be here, don’t want to play for the manager, probably get leg strains from stiff clutches on their latest flash cars (remember Giggsy), players who only want to turn out when its sunny and warm, players who hide when the going gets tough..... it goes on. 

We know we’re stuck with ‘the genius’ for the rest of the season. Increasingly likely now that we are going to do our normal disastrous January window, so may as well experiment - just go for the ones that have delivered (with us or on loan) and might have, or are proven to have, a bit of bottle.

 

                          Bents

K Smith       Wright    Taylor Moore       Dasilva

    J Smith      Morrell   Rowe      Eliasson

                     Fammy  Taylor

 

Would suspect that team to have dealt with the likes of Shrewsbury over two legs and at least would put in a united shift worthy of support during league matches.

Frankly, **** poor that we’ve ended up with scraping a team together given the effort put into identifying our transfer targets, setting aside the £millions spent. 

 

If I were Lansdown, I’d send the rest of the squad down to Lympstone for 6 weeks commando training to toughen them up a bit. 

 

 

Korey right back, Jonny and Morrell straight in, Taylor back? Not for me thanks.

Whether or not they would or should have beaten Shrewsbury is a different matter, the side we put out should have. But who coaches them to play how they did (without it just being an off day)?? Man United should have beaten us, that isn't the point though.

If I was Lansdown I wouldn't give Johnson another penny for any permanents unless players are gone out the door. How many more does he want to buy, when is it going to click, what is our identity? Desperation springs to mind.

As many seem to want to name Brentford as what we should be like (me included), I would say if we had their manager at the start of the season, we would definitely had a shaky start like they did, and we may be around the same league position we are now, but the future performances and chances of getting cemented in the top 6, and a possible promotion would be a lot higher - I know it isn't that simple though. I am just baffled by the tactics/formations of our coach who has had years to at least show us what he wants, yet it changes by the week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, wood_red said:

Korey right back, Jonny and Morrell straight in, Taylor back? Not for me thanks.

Whether or not they would or should have beaten Shrewsbury is a different matter, the side we put out should have. But who coaches them to play how they did (without it just being an off day)?? Man United should have beaten us, that isn't the point though.

If I was Lansdown I wouldn't give Johnson another penny for any permanents unless players are gone out the door. How many more does he want to buy, when is it going to click, what is our identity? Desperation springs to mind.

As many seem to want to name Brentford as what we should be like (me included), I would say if we had their manager at the start of the season, we would definitely had a shaky start like they did, and we may be around the same league position we are now, but the future performances and chances of getting cemented in the top 6, and a possible promotion would be a lot higher - I know it isn't that simple though. I am just baffled by the tactics/formations of our coach who has had years to at least show us what he wants, yet it changes by the week.

he came through all youth levels at norwich as a right back to be fair 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, mozo said:

Looking at the fixtures, I strongly doubt that a win will propel us into the top 6:

Millwall v Reading

Preston v Charlton

Sheff Wed v Blackburn

Swansea v Wigan

Could be a bad time to drop points!

Reading..Away win,  Preston..Draw,  Sheff Wed..Draw, Wigan..Away win...........This the Championship, the only certainty is?......there is no certainty!  ??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, maxjak said:

Reading..Away win,  Preston..Draw,  Sheff Wed..Draw, Wigan..Away win...........This the Championship, the only certainty is?......there is no certainty!  ??

but it will go 

Millwall win (undefeated in the last 4 winning 2)

Preston D both teams are out of form

Wednesday win (though draw is a good shout as both teams form aren't great)

Swansea win (too strong for a poor wigan side and are in form)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...