Loan players recalled

[Lrrr]

17 minutes ago, Ivorguy said:

Great signings? if we look at it that way as two new players arriving, I think not. Two fringe players from Division 2.  
 

Have we really come to this?  We need urgent enquiry, as many suggest, to answer question as to why we have so many injuries.  Lots of suggestions on Otib from nature of pitch to tactics, from fitness preparation to poor medical team.  Only a proper enquiry will provide answers.  It simply is not acceptable.

Okay someone had better ask why but we probably won't get an answer...

[Sheltons Army]

36 minutes ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

I`d argue Jonny Smith too, it would give us another option at least.

Out of all the players we’ve loaned in recent seasons he’s shown great attitude , performed in each one , and surely is the next to deserve his chance 

I can’t think of anyone who’s performed better on loan 

[Sheltons Army]

Is my memory playing tricks but have all ? or virtually all ? of our major injuries in last two seasons been at AG or at Failand ? 

Mawson 

Weimann

Afobe

Williams

Walsh

....

I actually cant recall one suffered away from home ? (Sure I must have overlooked one ?)

 

Councidence ?

One If the first things I’d consider looking from the outside

Our recoveries from injuries also concern me - we don’t get many , if any , back on time , let alone early 

One of the quickest for the injury suffered was Afobe who did his rehab back in London ( And worked bloody hard tbf)

[GrahamC]

1 hour ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

I`d argue Jonny Smith too, it would give us another option at least.

You can certainly make a case for Adelakun as well, he hasn’t done too much in his very limited opportunities for us but had played over 100 times for Scunthorpe when we shelled out £600k for him (I know, I know), he has since had loan spells at Rotherham, who got promoted & at Hull, who are 3rd.

He is 24 now, so no kid & is a big old unit for a wide player.

For all the fantasy land stuff about a collection of 18 year olds facing the likes of Brentford & Norwich, he is a much more realistic option.

[Lanterne Rouge]

24 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

Out of all the players we’ve loaned in recent seasons he’s shown great attitude , performed in each one , and surely is the next to deserve his chance 

I can’t think of anyone who’s performed better on loan 

Absolutely this 100%. If anyone deserves a chance it`s him - he`s put in the hard yards, never complained and has been a hit wherever he`s been sent.

Any news @Garycpos? I appreciate you probably can`t say anything though!

[Lanterne Rouge]

6 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

You can certainly make a case for Adelakun as well, he hasn’t done too much in his very limited opportunities for us but had played over 100 times for Scunthorpe when we shelled out £600k for him (I know, I know), he has since had loan spells at Rotherham, who got promoted & at Hull, who are 3rd.

He is 24 now, so no kid & is a big old unit for a wide player.

For all the fantasy land stuff about a collection of 18 year olds facing the likes of Brentford & Norwich, he is a much more realistic option.

If he comes back and plays he must realise it`s make or break for him - or I hope he would anyway.

As you say, he`s 24 now so not a kid any more, time to step up.

[Wade Wilson]

19 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

Is my memory playing tricks but have all ? or virtually all ? of our major injuries in last two seasons been at AG or at Failand ? 

Mawson 

Weimann

Afobe

Williams

Walsh

....

I actually cant recall one suffered away from home ? (Sure I must have overlooked one ?)

 

Councidence ?

One If the first things I’d consider looking from the outside

Our recoveries from injuries also concern me - we don’t get many , if any , back on time , let alone early 

One of the quickest for the injury suffered was Afobe who did his rehab back in London ( And worked bloody hard tbf)

Honestly my first thought is to go “Is it to do with ground sharing with the Bears?” but that would also effect away teams. . . Maybe not as much but still. 
 

Most of our injuries (Weimann & Afobe at the very least) were just freak incidents. The other problem is that injuries beget injuries, with our remaining squad basically being played until they break cause we have no other options. Just some classic 2020 dominoes. 

[Gratz260689]

2 hours ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

The other one of course is Louis Britton. Will he come back now after his dad`s slightly ill-advised tweet the other day?

Louis is back, as apparently is Jennah from Newport but is injured!! (Seems to be injured a awful lot) 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, JonDolman said:

People say how can we blame anyone for injuries. But the players will be doing injury prevention training. So if nothing could be done to stop injuries, then they wouldn't need to do that! Could be that we get that wrong, or maybe training is too intense with all these games every week too. Players not being tested enough. Who knows.

My gut feel like you’re suggesting Jon is that it’s a combination of things brought about by a non-standard pre-season where we probably got it wrong.

I’m sure each club usually runs it’s pre-season along similar lines, bit of hard slog, gradually reducing as ball-work increases, introduction of friendlies to get minutes into the legs.  I’m sure it’s far more scientific than that, but it won’t deviate much from that club to club.

The players usually get 6 weeks off, keeping themselves topped with individual plans, weight check progress, etc, etc, before getting 6 weeks pre-season (above).  Something like that anyway.  You get the picture I’m sure?

But take this summer.  Just 2 weeks off, then 4 weeks condensed pre-season.  But also on the back of a mini pre-season in June when we returned to football as part of last season.

Maybe we just got it completely wrong in trying to fit it into 4 weeks, or got the blend wrong.  Maybe other clubs that started the season slow, played a longer game than us and didn’t cram it into 4 weeks?  Would be interesting to know how other club’s approached it.

Now, I most definitely agree there needs to be a review, but my biggest concern is that we haven’t had any little injuries.  Why are all the hamstring injuries 2-3 months.  What’s happened to the old-skool strain that you’d miss one or two games through?  Why aren’t we picking up players getting close to fatigue.

Why wasn’t O’Dowda’s just a tightening of the hamstring that he could flag to the sidelines and come off before making it worse?  Why did it just “pull”?  Why is Pato’s hip something he can play on for a few games, then suddenly becomes significantly worse.  Are we missing the signs?

Those aren’t questions we can answer, nor are we likely to get a full-blown explanation either.  But they should be asking these questions internally. 

Its more than frustrating....I do know that.

[alexukhc]

3 hours ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

The other one of course is Louis Britton. Will he come back now after his dad`s slightly ill-advised tweet the other day?

What did he say?

[Lanterne Rouge]

1 minute ago, alexukhc said:

What did he say?

Called Gannon Stockport`s manager a right bell end and told Louis it was time to come home.

[bpexile]

3 hours ago, M.D said:

Isn't Edwards two footed and can play either wing?

I hope they all have two feet !

[pongo88]

3 hours ago, Sheltons Army said:

Is my memory playing tricks but have all ? or virtually all ? of our major injuries in last two seasons been at AG or at Failand ? 

Mawson 

Weimann

Afobe

Williams

Walsh

....

I actually cant recall one suffered away from home ? (Sure I must have overlooked one ?)

 

Councidence ?

One If the first things I’d consider looking from the outside

Our recoveries from injuries also concern me - we don’t get many , if any , back on time , let alone early 

One of the quickest for the injury suffered was Afobe who did his rehab back in London ( And worked bloody hard tbf)

Lee Johnson insisted on measuring the height of the grass and cutting it to his specification.  Therefore all injuries are obviously his fault 

[Toffee dog]

2 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

Lee Johnson insisted on measuring the height of the grass and cutting it to his specification.  Therefore all injuries are obviously his fault 

Perhaps we have let the grass grow!

[Mr Popodopolous]

Makes me think it'll be quite a quiet window.

I don't expect great things but if we're not going up or down, some valuable minutes at this level might be possible. 

With regards Morton, isn't he out of contract in the summer? Should only really look to blood in any great numbers once safety secure.

[Lrrr]

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Makes me think it'll be quite a quiet window.

I don't expect great things but if we're not going up or down, some valuable minutes at this level might be possible. 

With regards Morton, isn't he out of contract in the summer? Should only really look to blood in any great numbers once safety secure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49833612#:~:text=Bristol City midfielder James Morton,National League South play-offs.

[Toffee dog]

13 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Makes me think it'll be quite a quiet window.

I don't expect great things but if we're not going up or down, some valuable minutes at this level might be possible. 

With regards Morton, isn't he out of contract in the summer? Should only really look to blood in any great numbers once safety secure.

Thought he signed a new deal in 2020

[GrahamC]

18 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Makes me think it'll be quite a quiet window.

I don't expect great things but if we're not going up or down, some valuable minutes at this level might be possible. 

With regards Morton, isn't he out of contract in the summer? Should only really look to blood in any great numbers once safety secure.

Nope, signed a 4 year deal in late 2019/ early 2020..

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

Nope, signed a 4 year deal in late 2019/ early 2020..

Thanks- possible was getting mixed up with someone else, we have a LOT of players out of contract in summer 2021, including some young ones.

[bcfcnick]

If Jonny Smith isn't brought back and given an opportunity at age 23 and after successful loans then you have to question City's development thinking and why he has been retained.  He is the type of player who, if given a chance, might seize it. Not sure if he has had to play a more defensive role than previous loans, but hasn't got so many goals this season but has had some good wrote-ups for performances.  It wouldn't be hard for him to improve on some our other attacking players goal scoring record and with O'Dowda out, Wells wasted  and unsuited to playing wide then he needs to be brought back and given a chance.

 

[ScottishRed]

15 hours ago, Sheltons Army said:

Is my memory playing tricks but have all ? or virtually all ? of our major injuries in last two seasons been at AG or at Failand ? 

Mawson 

Weimann

Afobe

Williams

Walsh

....

I actually cant recall one suffered away from home ? (Sure I must have overlooked one ?)

 

Councidence ?

One If the first things I’d consider looking from the outside

Our recoveries from injuries also concern me - we don’t get many , if any , back on time , let alone early 

One of the quickest for the injury suffered was Afobe who did his rehab back in London ( And worked bloody hard tbf)

I was thinking the same to a large extent. 

Of our longer termers both now and in the recent past, very few are in games, clearly some are but we do seem to get a lot of serious injuries in training which needs to be looked at IMO.

I am also getting frustrated at the lack of updates. I understand that you can’ t put an exact date down for a return to availability but we seem to treat this information as if it’s a state secret.

We are hardly giving away any competitive advantage by being a bit more open e.g. saying at the pre- match briefing that X may be back or is available doesn’t mean they will start. It’s not as if we have Messi in our squad and his availability will make the opposition change their plans!

[Sheltons Army]

17 minutes ago, ScottishRed said:

I was thinking the same to a large extent. 

Of our longer termers both now and in the recent past, very few are in games, clearly some are but we do seem to get a lot of serious injuries in training which needs to be looked at IMO.

I am also getting frustrated at the lack of updates. I understand that you can’ t put an exact date down for a return to availability but we seem to treat this information as if it’s a state secret.

We are hardly giving away any competitive advantage by being a bit more open e.g. saying at the pre- match briefing that X may be back or is available doesn’t mean they will start. It’s not as if we have Messi in our squad and his availability will make the opposition change their plans!

Interestingly - I noticed , looking at Wycombes forum the other day they were commenting on  / moaning about their secrecy around injuries - I wonder whether there’s been a directive / guidance about disclosing personal information about players injuries across the game

 

Going back to our injuries , and the pitch - I’ve been on our Desso pitch and was amazed how thick / lush it was - it literally felt like a very thick pile carpet and must have an effect on the body / mechanics

I know many other sides have Desso pitches , but I wonder whether ours is slightly different to cope with the extra (rugby) use

Many have commented on how good the pitch is , even after a rugby game , and it is - but that suggests that maybe it’s also the equivalent of a heavy / lush weave with the Desso system to cope  

And of course we have Desso pitch(s ?)  at Failand

Players , prior to desso wouldn’t expect to be playing on thick lush pitches all season round

It doesn’t surprise me that we have joint or muscular injuries with desso pitches tbh , it’s the number that is really alarming 

 

[Robin101]

14 hours ago, Davefevs said:

My gut feel like you’re suggesting Jon is that it’s a combination of things brought about by a non-standard pre-season where we probably got it wrong.

I’m sure each club usually runs it’s pre-season along similar lines, bit of hard slog, gradually reducing as ball-work increases, introduction of friendlies to get minutes into the legs.  I’m sure it’s far more scientific than that, but it won’t deviate much from that club to club.

The players usually get 6 weeks off, keeping themselves topped with individual plans, weight check progress, etc, etc, before getting 6 weeks pre-season (above).  Something like that anyway.  You get the picture I’m sure?

But take this summer.  Just 2 weeks off, then 4 weeks condensed pre-season.  But also on the back of a mini pre-season in June when we returned to football as part of last season.

Maybe we just got it completely wrong in trying to fit it into 4 weeks, or got the blend wrong.  Maybe other clubs that started the season slow, played a longer game than us and didn’t cram it into 4 weeks?  Would be interesting to know how other club’s approached it.

Now, I most definitely agree there needs to be a review, but my biggest concern is that we haven’t had any little injuries.  Why are all the hamstring injuries 2-3 months.  What’s happened to the old-skool strain that you’d miss one or two games through?  Why aren’t we picking up players getting close to fatigue.

Why wasn’t O’Dowda’s just a tightening of the hamstring that he could flag to the sidelines and come off before making it worse?  Why did it just “pull”?  Why is Pato’s hip something he can play on for a few games, then suddenly becomes significantly worse.  Are we missing the signs?

Those aren’t questions we can answer, nor are we likely to get a full-blown explanation either.  But they should be asking these questions internally. 

Its more than frustrating....I do know that.

Interesting, I wonder whether our harder pre-season was the reason we won our first four games... but could also be why it’s gone so terribly wrong since.

[Bristol Rob]

Just to throw a positive out there in amongst the sea of doubt...

All of these changes will have made it something of a challenge for the opposition to have scouted us and to have prepared a report on how we are likely to play!

[steviestevieneville]

I know we’re down to the bare bones but Morton has only played 9 times for a very poor 4th division club . If he’s genuinely going to get game time here , then we are ****** 

[IAmNick]

16 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Now, I most definitely agree there needs to be a review, but my biggest concern is that we haven’t had any little injuries.  Why are all the hamstring injuries 2-3 months.  What’s happened to the old-skool strain that you’d miss one or two games through?  Why aren’t we picking up players getting close to fatigue.

Why wasn’t O’Dowda’s just a tightening of the hamstring that he could flag to the sidelines and come off before making it worse?  Why did it just “pull”?  Why is Pato’s hip something he can play on for a few games, then suddenly becomes significantly worse.  Are we missing the signs?

Those aren’t questions we can answer, nor are we likely to get a full-blown explanation either.  But they should be asking these questions internally. 

Its more than frustrating....I do know that.

I'm no expert at all, but haven't you ever got that popup in Football Manager (yeah I know I know) that says like "Joe Bloggs has a sore leg. You can rest him now and he'll miss two games, or risk him for one more game and there's a 40% chance he'll do more damage and be out for two months".

Could it be that we were making hay while the sun shone early in the season - fantastic results, pretty settled team. Players picking up the odd small knock or tightness due to the frequency of games and we tried to take a risk and keep going to the international break, or an "easier" game to rotate them? Then ended up unlucky (if you can call it that) and they got more injured. Perhaps Holden or his coaches didn't have the confidence to change a winning team for a perhaps underestimated risk to a player.

So is it possible we did pick up the players getting close to fatigue or O'Dowda's tightening hamstring but took a calculated risk to continue regardless... if he could have pushed through say Wycombe and Brentford (being rotated for Luton) they'd then have a bit of a break with just a single cup game in two weeks to try and sort it?

[Garycpos]

4 hours ago, bcfcnick said:

If Jonny Smith isn't brought back and given an opportunity at age 23 and after successful loans then you have to question City's development thinking and why he has been retained.  He is the type of player who, if given a chance, might seize it. Not sure if he has had to play a more defensive role than previous loans, but hasn't got so many goals this season but has had some good wrote-ups for performances.  It wouldn't be hard for him to improve on some our other attacking players goal scoring record and with O'Dowda out, Wells wasted  and unsuited to playing wide then he needs to be brought back and given a chance.

 

Very frustrating for me to read all the posts... Jonny has never been given the opportunity here, and he has both earned it and deserved it. No mention at all of a recall, and I only believe he was extended to get a better sell on price.

Is he good enough... Yes

Does he have great pace ...Yes

Is he technical ... Yes

Would he fit in the team ...Absolutely

Came 3rd overall in the Team bleep test... Age 23 !!

I would put him on par with some well know wide men at Bristol, and only the defending strength part to be worked on.

Two injuries this season for the first time in 18months has kept him out 5 weeks in total and returns on Saturday against Wigan for Swindon.

I would LOVE to see him in a Bristol City Shirt on the Pitch as he has still got the ability to improve further and done far more than other players who have been given the opportunity.

Frustrating.... as you can gather by my tone...

Happy New Year All, I still believe we can hit that last automatic slot or at least the play offs with a bit more luck on the injury front....

Keep the faith....

[Lanterne Rouge]

2 minutes ago, Garycpos said:

 

 

I would LOVE to see him in a Bristol City Shirt on the Pitch as he has still got the ability to improve further and done far more than other players who have been given the opportunity.

 

 

Believe me Gary, there are an awful lot of us who feel the same.

[GrahamC]

2 hours ago, steviestevieneville said:

I know we’re down to the bare bones but Morton has only played 9 times for a very poor 4th division club . If he’s genuinely going to get game time here , then we are ****** 

Superficially that’s possibly true, but firstly look at Joe Morrell’s career.

We sent him on loan to Margate, he couldn’t get a game there & they sent him back.

LJ then had to beg his Dad to take him on loan at Cheltenham & he only got his first start there because someone pulled out injured prior to the kickoff, he then played for Lincoln.

Morton is considered more of a first team prospect at present than those who are regulars on the bench, Pearson, Zac Smith or Towler, how do I know that? Because he was the one sent on loan to a league club.

We aren’t expecting any of those we recall from loan, except possibly Palmer, to go straight into the side & start games, they are to strengthen a bench that of late has had 4 or 5 with absolutely no first team experience on it.

If we gets a couple of games, others get a break then he will have done his job.

[Harry]

2 hours ago, steviestevieneville said:

I know we’re down to the bare bones but Morton has only played 9 times for a very poor 4th division club . If he’s genuinely going to get game time here , then we are ****** 

I think the retuning loanees are here to solidify the bench, rather than be challengers for first 11 spots. 
A bench of Morton, Edwards, J Smith & Pring, each with some experience of league football, is a stronger bench than Towler, Z Smith, Bell and the other Edwards brother, all of whom have pretty much zero league experience. 
 

I don’t think anyone believes these youngsters to be our saviours, just to provide a stronger and slightly more experienced bench during the injury crisis.