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Bristol City v Coventry City Match Day 1


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2 hours ago, bcfc01 said:

There were a few positives from the game;

Kalas looked back to his best

Semenyo getting more minutes

Martin looking classy

Bakinson doing a decent imitation of Cisse

Finishing the game strongly and on top

But there were also a few negatives;

That first half was shocking with seemingly just a kid in midfield

Diedhiou doing his donkey impression

Paterson doing his invisible man impression for an hour

But 3 points in the bag without a number of genuine first team candidates unavailable or not chosen for the squad is a good days work.

 

 

 

Some good positives for sure.

The performances of Moore & Vyner were a negative for me as well. 

Neither look up to it. 

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3 hours ago, petehinton said:

No excuses needed, 2-1 win against a good side used to winning games with an experienced manager, loads of first team players unavailable and we won the game after bringing on two academy players. Perfect. 

Unconvincing wins in the last season and a half of LJ's reign weren't as promising as they seemed...

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The records report we won (a battle not the war.)

We didn't deserve so to do.

Comprehensively mullered in midfield (if Walsh was their best midfielder last term God help us, they passed us off the park.)

Bakinson a beacon of hope when he came on.

Bentley saved us (every pun intended.)

Unfair to single out midfield for criticism but our coaching has ruined Massengo's career. Those who maintain Weimann is a quality player miss the fact he costs us & costs us & costs us & has done so for the past few seasons.

I've absolutely no idea why we ever invested in Wells given we don't play his game. If he's relying on speed of service from the likes of Weimann he needs to learn to play at half pace. Our inability to run the line was woeful.

Some of those high profile 'fixtures' on the teamsheet need to be made to sweat.

It wasn't pleasant to watch.

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5 hours ago, mozo said:

Unconvincing wins in the last season and a half of LJ's reign weren't as promising as they seemed...

Agreed- will await with interest as one but only one measurement, the xG. Winning is good but it has to be built on while the going is good, from a position of strength- LJ last season on at least two occasions after a promising run singularly failed to do this- one notable failing tactical. He failed to tactically build on useful results and help it grow into something better- short termist- when instead he should've been looking at the positive elements and expanding them, and looking to adjust the weaker points while the going was decent and acceptable results wise. Bit of confidence growing, a useful sequence of results- that is the time to build, especially when we could all see results and performances were not on the same level!

4 hours ago, BTRFTG said:

The records report we won (a battle not the war.)

We didn't deserve so to do.

Comprehensively mullered in midfield (if Walsh was their best midfielder last term God help us, they passed us off the park.)

Bakinson a beacon of hope when he came on.

Bentley saved us (every pun intended.)

Unfair to single out midfield for criticism but our coaching has ruined Massengo's career. Those who maintain Weimann is a quality player miss the fact he costs us & costs us & costs us & has done so for the past few seasons.

I've absolutely no idea why we ever invested in Wells given we don't play his game. If he's relying on speed of service from the likes of Weimann he needs to learn to play at half pace. Our inability to run the line was woeful.

Some of those high profile 'fixtures' on the teamsheet need to be made to sweat.

It wasn't pleasant to watch.

I think some of this is a bit harsh, but certainly agree we had some fortune.

For a period we were mullered in midfield but seemed to pull it back- Walsh I think can be quite good this coming season in the right shape- Coventry as Dave mentioned in his match preview thread play a certain box midfield style- they could cause a few issues in midfield.

Liked Bakinson, was thinking loan him out for another full season of experience but he showed a lot today.

Was good, crucial saves- at 1-0, 1-1- could've slipped back badly.

I'm not going to criticise them as individuals so much- yet. What I don't get is why we persist with Weimann as one of the three. A CM he has not been, is not and likely will not be! Seems odd that Weimann will start as one of the 3 over two International central midfielders being rested after all of 2 games, or even if we thought they needed a rest, then Bakinson- Bakinson-Massengo-Paterson may have been an option!

Just personally I'd not be starting Diedhiou, Weimann and Wells same side- balance is wrong and Massengo was left to fire fight by himself for good periods. I'd drop Diedhiou and pair Weimann and Wells up front, well I'd have done so today anyway. The other good thing about Weimann as one of the CFs and Paterson in midfield is that in some phases Paterson will pull wide to help LWB and Weimann wide to help the RWB- that protects the wing backs, or can help them combine in an attacking sense- I'm not saying it's a perfect solution but it's surely better than what we saw for good chunks of today in midfield! Sort of a 3-4-2-1 in phases like this. Weimann-Wells may have a bit of partnership and combination potential- see Middlesbrough away. Weimann-Wells=assist-goal x 2.

I think we have some players who can help Wells- quicker passing, more emphasis on the ball- 2 genuine yet technically good CM alongside Paterson will help this prospect. OTOH for some games, Martin- another good addition I reckon- can be a focal point for runners off him. Could he hold it up and lay off to Wells in some phases?

One thing I would add though, a positive. We appear to already be somewhat decimated with injuries and absentees. We got through a game, a potential banana skin vs a side a lot more refreshed and with some momentum. No it wasn't good, no the tactics weren't good but consider:

  1. Mawson- Not yet in the back 3. He is both a ball playing and a ball carrying CB. New signing, will get up to speed no doubt.
  2. DaSilva- More of an outlet, quicker, younger- better basically than anything we have at LWB- technically good too.
  3. Williams- Bit of bite and not bad technically either.
  4. Walsh- Was Coventry's Player of the Year last year- think he has the technical ability to flourish, we saw glimpses- think 2nd half at home to Stoke in 2018/19 in a 3- something I believe suits him and both many others that we have best. Also at QPR we saw the good...and the bad- in the Cup. Goal, assist- but IIRC gave away penalty! In a 2, and that emphasised the odd weaker point- but I now believe he's ironed out some deficencies.
  5. Morrell- Been growing with Lincoln and Wales- shone in a couple of Cup games.
  6. Nagy- Strong technically. Like Walsh, like many probably best suited to a 3. He showed some useful defensive signs for Hungary vs Russia the other week and got quite a bit of praise from Turkey fans on social media for his performance in Istanbul prior to that. I question whether we've seen his best in the main here.
  7. Baker- Not necessarily in my first choice back 3 due to not being the best suited to a medium-high line, ball-carrying etc- but if fit far from poor option to have.

Any 4 and maybe 5 of these start any given game I think. On paper if we utilise correctly, we have real power and variety to add. Then consider Sessegnon, competition for Hunt at the very least- maybe will overtake, and Martin- far more of a platform than Diedhiou.

Things suddenly look somewhat more promising if we utilise the squad and utilise it well! No more Weimann in CM though, except in absolute extremis- that for starters!

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15 hours ago, petehinton said:

First game with a new manager With 5 first team players unavailable ffs. Coventry have had continuity for years too

:clap:

PH gets it.

 I wrote on here before that ,when people were saying it was an easy start to the season , I preferred to play the newly promoted sides a little later when the adrenalin rush has been replaced by the harsh reality of the divide in class. 

They looked like what they were , a very successful,highly  motivated team that were used to winning.

They reminded me of our double winning side who played with swagger and confidence only to be undone by inferior teams with that little bit more nous in the Championship.

 I wish them luck and I am sure that they will ruffle a few feathers .

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15 hours ago, petehinton said:

First game with a new manager With 5 first team players unavailable ffs. Coventry have had continuity for years too

Yeah, but no. Had games at the end of last season where he played the same system with the same core of players.

15 hours ago, Victory Park Reds said:

Very pleased with the win and especially for Dean Holden.

This was a potential banana skin with Coventry coming up and being on a roll.I thought they were excellent although they ran out of puff in the second half.I think they will be in the top half at the end of the season.At half time I was very worried.

I felt sorry for Han Noah as he was so outnumbered in the midfield.Fair play to Dean  for changing it and bringing on Tyreeq and the unit that is Chris Martin.Within a few minutes we seemed a changed side and generally had the best of it.

With the injured players coming back I am quietly optimistic about our chances .With all the options (in next few weeks)we do have in the middle of the park I don’t want to see to many first half’s like that again.

Onwards and upwards for me. 7/10

 

 

 

Exactly, and at a time they were fully on it , as @Davefevs pointed out they play with a 'box' basically 4 players against Massengo, a No.10 and a striker dropping off.

 

10 hours ago, BTRFTG said:

The records report we won (a battle not the war.)

We didn't deserve so to do.

Comprehensively mullered in midfield (if Walsh was their best midfielder last term God help us, they passed us off the park.)

Bakinson a beacon of hope when he came on.

Bentley saved us (every pun intended.)

Unfair to single out midfield for criticism but our coaching has ruined Massengo's career. Those who maintain Weimann is a quality player miss the fact he costs us & costs us & costs us & has done so for the past few seasons.

I've absolutely no idea why we ever invested in Wells given we don't play his game. If he's relying on speed of service from the likes of Weimann he needs to learn to play at half pace. Our inability to run the line was woeful.

Some of those high profile 'fixtures' on the teamsheet need to be made to sweat.

It wasn't pleasant to watch.

Agree with a lot of that.

If that was under Johnson we would have changed the system to compete with their 2DMF & 2AMF, who knows what would have happened. Fitness told and we did dominate later on. It was the sort of game Eliasson would come on as they tired and left gaps, and would have looked brilliant, the perfect time for Bakinson. He won't always get the time and space he did yesterday, but he showed vision and his weight of pass was good, something we missed for long spells earlier.

In defence of Holden he was working with one hand tied behind his back due to players missing.
TM looks poor on the left side, Weimann shouldn't be in MF, Rowe is no JD. There was pressure on the younger ones yesterday. Massengo playing as DMF with little support, and TM & ZV are still fairly new to this level , and it took a very good game from Kalas to keep us in it.
Not sure how DH sees the line up when everyone is match fit, but hopefully we will start to look less like Johnsons side from last year, which for much of yesterday we did.

Hard first game against a decent side newly promoted, always tough. I expect a few changes, some to give players chance to get fit and some to protect players. We have too many players and until DH has got people fit and thinned the squad out , we won't know how we are really shaping up. At least we can guess the formation under Holden, one less variable than under LJ.

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6 hours ago, Robert the bruce said:

Got away with that today...

Square pegs in round holes,,,like watching a Johnson side.

If Coventry legs hadn't gone by the 60th minute wed've lost.....

Playoff's anyone??..be lucky to trouble 'top half.

Playoffs anyone?? and you come to that conclusion after one game? after watching City for over 55 years I have learnt that we should never judge them after 10 games let alone one.

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Having reflected on  our opening game I end up here....

There is much room for improvements.

We we’re fortunate to win, Coventry were the better team in the first half and half-time came to our rescue not to mention Bentley on several occasions.

Our first half performance was very poor and frighteningly reminiscent of last season, with poor-decision making, sloppy distribution, lack of intensity/creativity, too much sideways and backwards play and laboured forward movement, on another day we would have been punished and the game lost by half time.

Although not the only one HNM was too often guilty of giving the ball away cheaply.

The substitutions certainly made an impact and it was good to see TB shine. Well played DH for introducing them when he did.

Of the players not selected KP stands out and I anticipate he will be departing this window.

Our starting front line didn’t provide much of a threat and certainly in the first half we were overwhelmed in midfield.

I have a bad feeling about the JSD injury - really hope I’m wrong.

Despite all of this we won at home!

Deano and co will need to quickly address our many shortcomings. 

We have several proven, quality players to come in as well as hungry young players. 

I know it’s only one game and it was great to get a win, however, there is clearly lots to work on and I hope we can improve as a team very quickly, otherwise this season is likely to be another tough watch.  

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Jerseybean said:

Having reflected on  our opening game I end up here....

There is much room for improvements.

We we’re fortunate to win, Coventry were the better team in the first half and half-time came to our rescue not to mention Bentley on several occasions.

Our first half performance was very poor and frighteningly reminiscent of last season, with poor-decision making, sloppy distribution, lack of intensity/creativity, too much sideways and backwards play and laboured forward movement, on another day we would have been punished and the game lost by half time.

Although not the only one HNM was too often guilty of giving the ball away cheaply.

The substitutions certainly made an impact and it was good to see TB shine. Well played DH for introducing them when he did.

Of the players not selected KP stands out and I anticipate he will be departing this window.

Our starting front line didn’t provide much of a threat and certainly in the first half we were overwhelmed in midfield.

I have a bad feeling about the JSD injury - really hope I’m wrong.

Despite all of this we won at home!

Deano and co will need to quickly address our many shortcomings. 

We have several proven, quality players to come in as well as hungry young players. 

I know it’s only one game and it was great to get a win, however, there is clearly lots to work on and I hope we can improve as a team very quickly, otherwise this season is likely to be another tough watch.  

 

 

 

Just watched the highlights...every scoring opportunity for Coventry, which featured, was proceeded by (1) us passing to them (2) a set play that resulted from us losing possession (3) us failing to clear effectively (4) us losing the ball. In simple terms we were the recurring theme in all of their goal attempts and in their goal! 

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I don't think matters that City had players out etc. There was absolutely no differences in the way and style City played. There was nothing...that is what is worrying. Coventry played simple pass and move football, City just played well...I don't know what. City have no structure to their play or pattern, its very hit and hope all round.

Even with more experienced players out, the team selected on Saturday should of been able to display what DH wants, but clearly to me DH is currently LJ in disguise. Nice bloke (just like LJ) but won't take us forward.

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