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‘The football club excelling at everything except football ‘


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This is a piece by Gregor Mc

I thought it was a good , well written view / piece  , by somebody who is pretty close eyes to what goes on , but without the anger that many of us fans feel


Thought I’d post it for those that otherwise may miss it

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Bristol City verdict: The football club excelling at everything except football 

Bristol City's ambition burns bright. But that red glow you see is not the sun on the horizon but the reverse lights after the current team crash from Championship defeat to defeat. The direction of travel is not so much south west. Just south.

Everywhere the team goes or whenever they play host they impress. Whether it's food donations from the Robins Foundation, the club's imminent plans for moving into state of the art training facilities, to their top-class stadium, hospitality and concert programmes and burgeoning sports quarter plans.

The work of the academy is regarded as top notch and there is talent constantly being pushed into the senior side (we'll come onto this more in a second) attracting attention elsewhere. Both the CEO and media teams have won industry best-in-class awards of late.

But the club is simply not impressing where it matters most: on the pitch.

Every year the mission is to go up or at the least be 'competitive' as Mark Ashton explained recently. The club is now failing on that account and it doesn't take a backroom team of analysts to work that out.

If this writer is being harsh given that Manchester United were beaten not so long ago, then put down the cider and wake up to 2021. We're four years on from that point. The club has wasted those talents that forged those heady nights and the current squad looks way off the pace.

Saturday's capitulation, the worst for a decade, will at least see BS3 gilded cages rattled and hard questions asked. Jon Lansdown gave up tweeting about Bristol City some time ago but after a fourth league defeat in a row, but a ninth in the last 12 games, there will at least be some discussion behind the scenes.

City's relegation form for the last three and a half months (only Birmingham and Wycombe have taken fewer points than City since 1 December) demands it. Alarm bells will ring around super hub Ashton Gate after this one and a vaccination for incompetence needs be sought, after the defending reduced a club legend to swearing 'f****** hell' on live broadcast.

By some twisted quirk, the Robins are still just one point off seventh position. But to acknowledge that is to dismiss the ineptitude of recent matches and a side that is in freefall. It was just one shot on target by the end of Saturday's one-sided contest, making it nine in total in the last five games, less than two per match. Savior them, Bristol City fans, as you're liable to have to wait around an hour of drab match action to see another.

Indeed, given that City recorded an Expected Goals total of 0.02 of a goal at Carrow Road against Norwich City, this was a comparative feast of attacking football as Han-Noah Massengo shot low at Daniel Bachmann in goal eight minutes from the end to finally warm the Austrian's hands on a chilly day.

It certainly was an attacking display of splendour going the other way up the pitch though, as City were once again outclassed. Ismaela Sarr was the star turn, but Ken Sema and Joao Pedro can have thoroughly enjoyed this one too.No-one comes out of Saturday's trip east well for the visitors, despite the Robins heading to parachute-payment enhanced opposition and a side who had a full week to prepare. City by contrast looked like they'd had a full hour.

Watford were backslapping to the tune of John Barnes and Nigel Callaghan on the wings following this game, as the home side recorded their biggest margin of victory in a league game since 1982, when Eye of the Tiger by Survivor was top of the charts and Graham Taylor in thrall at Vicarage Road.

But there was little fight on show from the Robins. Survival was gone after just half an hour of play, being three down. And to think that some critics have lambasted Mark Ashton for never solely helping the Hertfordshire club to achieve anything...

Questions will be asked of Holden, Ashton, the board and the strategy going forward, and so they should be.

This was men against boys stuff. Quite literally with 18-year-old Ryley Towler looking a good talent but why on earth would you put him on the left against arguably the best winger in the entire division, courted by Manchester United and Liverpool? For his second league game ever. Having not played that position ever before in a league game. And likely no team ever, bar last Wednesday.

Perhaps if Alfie Mawson had been behind the academy graduate it may have been worth the risk, but an untested young talent thrust into the senior side because of injuries and not on ability was a recipe for disaster.

Taylor Moore had a regrettable afternoon and the fact that he was on for a hat-trick of own goals and not mentioned by the head coach after the game tells its own story (Lee Johnson would have publicly rebuked; Holden takes the flak now).

As for the head coach, he looked shell-shocked in his post-match press conference. We don't suggest that there will be a replacement as the message from the club has been that this is an extraordinary season and Holden has not yet had a fair crack of the whip.

There are other reasons for the drop-off in form of late too: poor recruitment, a threadbare squad ravaged by injury and more, while the club seem happy to bumble along until pressed to actually do something.

For City, things could rapidly deteriorate in the next games ahead with some difficult fixtures to come at home against Reading and away to Middlesbrough and Swansea City, with confidence having taken an almighty Harry Wilson-like stamp to the mid-drift. Things change very quickly in football and further humiliating scorelines may force a quick rethink.

Mark Ashton explained ahead of the season that "challenging for promotion is definitely the aim". "It's definitely more than achievable," he added.

Jon Lansdown expected a promotion challenge too. "I believe we had a squad last year that should have been challenging for the top six and I think going into next year, there's no reason to think that we can't be in that bracket again. We want to be at the right end of the table challenging for promotion," he said.

What do you say now, chaps?

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That’s Gregor banned from Ashton Gate now then.

Spot on though.

There is a lot right about the club from an infrastructure point of view. So, if you want to split it, the “Bristol Sport” side of the model. And the academy/ loan management etc look to be going well. It’s the medical and first team football sides where there are big alarms

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14 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

This was men against boys stuff. Quite literally with 18-year-old Ryley Towler looking a good talent but why on earth would you put him on the left against arguably the best winger in the entire division, courted by Manchester United and Liverpool? For his second league game ever. Having not played that position ever before in a league game. And likely no team ever, bar last Wednesday.

In a great piece, this takes the biscuit. Has Towler really not played LWB before? And it’s not as though we have many other options, but that itself says enough about our dire recruitment.

If it’s been an extraordinary season, fine. They’re right. Our number of injuries has been extraordinary. If Holden doesn’t need changing, whoever is responsible for this mess does.

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3 minutes ago, RonWalker said:

In a great piece, this takes the biscuit. Has Towler really not played LWB before? And it’s not as though we have many other options, but that itself says enough about our dire recruitment.

No Ron - Never played left wing back before his debut (At any age , not just as a pro)

And I’m pretty sure playing Left back is new to him

He was a central midfielder converted to a Centre Back

 

In fairness we do have a ridiculous of injuries in that position but the fact we basically throw Towler to the Lions with no protection is the issue in that particular issue IMHO 

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6 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

That’s Gregor banned from Ashton Gate now then.

Spot on though.

There is a lot right about the club from an infrastructure point of view. So, if you want to split it, the “Bristol Sport” side of the model. And the academy/ loan management etc look to be going well. It’s the medical and first team football sides where there are big alarms

I thought it was a level headed balanced post Silvio

Its actually a piece that , I would think , maybe naively , that even the strongest critics of the set up at AG , and the most ‘forgiving’ would struggle to take issue with

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16 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

This is a piece by Gregor Mc

I thought it was a good , well written view / piece  , by somebody who is pretty close eyes to what goes on , but without the anger that many of us fans feel


Thought I’d post it for those that otherwise may miss it

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Bristol City verdict: The football club excelling at everything except football 

Bristol City's ambition burns bright. But that red glow you see is not the sun on the horizon but the reverse lights after the current team crash from Championship defeat to defeat. The direction of travel is not so much south west. Just south.

Everywhere the team goes or whenever they play host they impress. Whether it's food donations from the Robins Foundation, the club's imminent plans for moving into state of the art training facilities, to their top-class stadium, hospitality and concert programmes and burgeoning sports quarter plans.

The work of the academy is regarded as top notch and there is talent constantly being pushed into the senior side (we'll come onto this more in a second) attracting attention elsewhere. Both the CEO and media teams have won industry best-in-class awards of late.

But the club is simply not impressing where it matters most: on the pitch.

Every year the mission is to go up or at the least be 'competitive' as Mark Ashton explained recently. The club is now failing on that account and it doesn't take a backroom team of analysts to work that out.

If this writer is being harsh given that Manchester United were beaten not so long ago, then put down the cider and wake up to 2021. We're four years on from that point. The club has wasted those talents that forged those heady nights and the current squad looks way off the pace.

Saturday's capitulation, the worst for a decade, will at least see BS3 gilded cages rattled and hard questions asked. Jon Lansdown gave up tweeting about Bristol City some time ago but after a fourth league defeat in a row, but a ninth in the last 12 games, there will at least be some discussion behind the scenes.

City's relegation form for the last three and a half months (only Birmingham and Wycombe have taken fewer points than City since 1 December) demands it. Alarm bells will ring around super hub Ashton Gate after this one and a vaccination for incompetence needs be sought, after the defending reduced a club legend to swearing 'f****** hell' on live broadcast.

By some twisted quirk, the Robins are still just one point off seventh position. But to acknowledge that is to dismiss the ineptitude of recent matches and a side that is in freefall. It was just one shot on target by the end of Saturday's one-sided contest, making it nine in total in the last five games, less than two per match. Savior them, Bristol City fans, as you're liable to have to wait around an hour of drab match action to see another.

Indeed, given that City recorded an Expected Goals total of 0.02 of a goal at Carrow Road against Norwich City, this was a comparative feast of attacking football as Han-Noah Massengo shot low at Daniel Bachmann in goal eight minutes from the end to finally warm the Austrian's hands on a chilly day.

It certainly was an attacking display of splendour going the other way up the pitch though, as City were once again outclassed. Ismaela Sarr was the star turn, but Ken Sema and Joao Pedro can have thoroughly enjoyed this one too.No-one comes out of Saturday's trip east well for the visitors, despite the Robins heading to parachute-payment enhanced opposition and a side who had a full week to prepare. City by contrast looked like they'd had a full hour.

Watford were backslapping to the tune of John Barnes and Nigel Callaghan on the wings following this game, as the home side recorded their biggest margin of victory in a league game since 1982, when Eye of the Tiger by Survivor was top of the charts and Graham Taylor in thrall at Vicarage Road.

But there was little fight on show from the Robins. Survival was gone after just half an hour of play, being three down. And to think that some critics have lambasted Mark Ashton for never solely helping the Hertfordshire club to achieve anything...

Questions will be asked of Holden, Ashton, the board and the strategy going forward, and so they should be.

This was men against boys stuff. Quite literally with 18-year-old Ryley Towler looking a good talent but why on earth would you put him on the left against arguably the best winger in the entire division, courted by Manchester United and Liverpool? For his second league game ever. Having not played that position ever before in a league game. And likely no team ever, bar last Wednesday.

Perhaps if Alfie Mawson had been behind the academy graduate it may have been worth the risk, but an untested young talent thrust into the senior side because of injuries and not on ability was a recipe for disaster.

Taylor Moore had a regrettable afternoon and the fact that he was on for a hat-trick of own goals and not mentioned by the head coach after the game tells its own story (Lee Johnson would have publicly rebuked; Holden takes the flak now).

As for the head coach, he looked shell-shocked in his post-match press conference. We don't suggest that there will be a replacement as the message from the club has been that this is an extraordinary season and Holden has not yet had a fair crack of the whip.

There are other reasons for the drop-off in form of late too: poor recruitment, a threadbare squad ravaged by injury and more, while the club seem happy to bumble along until pressed to actually do something.

For City, things could rapidly deteriorate in the next games ahead with some difficult fixtures to come at home against Reading and away to Middlesbrough and Swansea City, with confidence having taken an almighty Harry Wilson-like stamp to the mid-drift. Things change very quickly in football and further humiliating scorelines may force a quick rethink.

Mark Ashton explained ahead of the season that "challenging for promotion is definitely the aim". "It's definitely more than achievable," he added.

Jon Lansdown expected a promotion challenge too. "I believe we had a squad last year that should have been challenging for the top six and I think going into next year, there's no reason to think that we can't be in that bracket again. We want to be at the right end of the table challenging for promotion," he said.

What do you say now, chaps?

Surely G McG must have a new job lined up. I can't see the Politburo taking kindly to such counter revolutionary propaganda, from that running dog. ?

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5 minutes ago, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

Surely G McG must have a new job lined up. I can't see the Politburo taking kindly to such counter revolutionary propaganda, from that running dog. ?

And the irony of that (And as I understand it GMC is on the black list for Ashton already) is that it’s actually a well written and measured piece that is less critical and mildly constructed than many of us on here may write !

There are many journalists, especially in the North East , Merseyside etc that would be writing daily stinging attacks if it was a Club in their area

GMC is hardly a controversial rebel is he - pretty balanced I’d say


As I’ve said , personally I thought it was very sensible and measured post

 

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4 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

I thought it was a level headed balanced post Silvio

Its actually a piece that , I would think , maybe naively , that even the strongest critics of the set up at AG , and the most ‘forgiving’ would struggle to take issue with

Agree - I think it’s an excellent piece of writing, and is the right side of constructive. The trouble is we know MA takes any opinion that even is slightly critical as if you’ve just taken a crap on his doorstep so no doubt he’ll be seething

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I don’t blame Holden for giving Towler a chance as it was obvious Mariappa on that side wasn’t working (I’m sure 5 goals came from that side between Brentford & Cardiff games) as he was the only left sided defender available (circle pegs in circle holes and all that) - it could have worked had he been played in his favoured/natural position alongside some experience, but seems like he was thrown to the lions yesterday, given no support/help against one of best players on division and had to be hauled off at half time. 

The idea was good, but in true Holden style, the execution was awful......

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Is a really good article and refreshing to read. Be good if Twentyman reads it out in front of Ashton on a Monday night . No more decent human no more vigorous rigorous no more process no more dna bullshit . Time for some proper answers and action. I never felt so disconnected from Bristol City than I currently do now. 

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5 minutes ago, brad blit said:

I don’t blame Holden for giving Towler a chance as it was obvious Mariappa on that side wasn’t working (I’m sure 5 goals came from that side between Brentford & Cardiff games) as he was the only left sided defender available (circle pegs in circle holes and all that) - it could have worked had he been played in his favoured/natural position alongside some experience, but seems like he was thrown to the lions yesterday, given no support/help against one of best players on division and had to be hauled off at half time. 

The idea was good, but in true Holden style, the execution was awful......

In a similar boat re playing Towler. Mariappa wasn’t working. The set up was wrong though and this is where the management are falling down. Towler was thrown in and offered zero protection in front of him. As a few of said 4-4-1-1 or 4-5-1 for me and go back to basics. Be solid again. 

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Simples.

The most important person at a football club is the MANAGER. The highest paid employee at the football club should be the manager.The Club stands or falls on the manager’s performance. 

 

It’s not the CEO. Nope. The CEO works for the football manager. The CEO does what the manager says. 

Not the centre-forward either. The centre-forward works for the manager and team. 

 

If Steve doesn’t realise the rise and fall of the value of the football assets (players) he trades fundamentally relies on the quality of the manager, and not the CEO, we will never get anywhere. Until we appoint a quality manager who is in charge of football matters  we are doomed to ‘also rans’ In the Championship, more likely being a big-City embarrassment in League 1. 

 

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15 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

“I’ll just stick Towler in there and hope it works out.” Is pretty much Holden’s managerial style in a nutshell. 

We’ve basically got a head coach who just hopes all will be fine. 

FFS why are we in this mess again?!

It’s this that shows Holden is a little out of his depth. You need more at this level just to say “Come on lads, we go again” in the changing room. I honestly don’t think Holden has the tactical nouse or capability at this level to outthink the opposition. 

We’re currently struggling to outfight the opposition, let alone outthink them! 

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1 minute ago, ciderwithtommy said:

Also interesting to note GMcG liked a tweet last night stating “fans need to wake up and stop believing the PR from the club”. 
 

fair play, maybe he is turning more rebellious 

In the wake of this piece it would be good to hear him on OSIB this week @Shtanley

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40 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Did Tinnion really say “******* hell” on a broadcast? ???

He said loads of unconscious, emotional remarks. He cares.

Although the swearing was hilarious, the ‘oh god’ in the build up to one of the goals was more saddening in the respect of its realization of the impending doom

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