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If we finish higher than 14th then this has been a GOOD season


headhunter

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As things stand we are closer to 6th than 22nd but let's not get carried away with talk of a stupendous run of form troubling that higher ranking!

In terms of relegation Derby's defeat yesterday classifies them now as gone along with Barnsley and it remains a three way fight between Cardiff, Reading and Peterborough for the final relegation spot now that Hull have created a 6 point cushion.

We are 14 points clear of Peterborough who might have two games in hand but we have them at home and a vastly superior goal difference which collective could stretch that by a further 4 points.

So is now the time to look up rather than over our shoulders. I don't think we need to be doing the latter but how we got on in the next run of 5 games, 4 of which are away will in my view shape the balance of the season and whether we finish between where we are now and the heady heights of 9th which are only 5 points ahead of our 33. That may be a pipe dream but we do seem to be heading in a positive direction and even if in May we are just 2 places above where we are now then, IMHO, this has been a good season

This and more is discussed in the latest episode of FBC PODCAST: https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/martin-double-gives-city-severnside-bragging-rights/

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16 minutes ago, headhunter said:

As things stand we are closer to 6th than 22nd but let's not get carried away with talk of a stupendous run of form troubling that higher ranking!

In terms of relegation Derby's defeat yesterday classifies them now as gone along with Barnsley and it remains a three way fight between Cardiff, Reading and Peterborough for the final relegation spot now that Hull have created a 6 point cushion.

We are 14 points clear of Peterborough who might have two games in hand but we have them at home and a vastly superior goal difference which collective could stretch that by a further 4 points.

So is now the time to look up rather than over our shoulders. I don't think we need to be doing the latter but how we got on in the next run of 5 games, 4 of which are away will in my view shape the balance of the season and whether we finish between where we are now and the heady heights of 9th which are only 5 points ahead of our 33. That may be a pipe dream but we do seem to be heading in a positive direction and even if in May we are just 2 places above where we are now then, IMHO, this has been a good season

This and more is discussed in the latest episode of FBC PODCAST: https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/martin-double-gives-city-severnside-bragging-rights/

Yesterdays results confirmed our status as a championship club for next season. Hopefully Pearson can start to focus on next season and maybe even blood another youngster or two. We’ve got some real talent coming through it would  appear 

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What we all think is a good season is entirely subjective. For me back in August, 18th or above would be a good season. Anything else is a bonus, so I’m enjoying seeing youngsters develop this year (all while we slowly bomb out the wasters) even if it does bring inconsistency. 

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We had a good idea of what to expect this season and the difficulties involved.

Hearing a lot of people talking as if we’ve done enough now and another season in the Championship is a certainty…..don’t agree with that. Think Barnsley and Derby are gone and it’s nice to have a 14 point cushion but until we’re mathematically safe I’m not taking anything for granted.

At that point we’ve had a satisfactory season as far as I’m concerned. Anything mid table or above would be a big bonus but survival is fine by me given our current circumstances.

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9 minutes ago, daored said:

Yesterdays results confirmed our status as a championship club for next season. Hopefully Pearson can start to focus on next season and maybe even blood another youngster or two. We’ve got some real talent coming through it would  appear 

Agreed about the young talent coming through. The problem is that some, if not most, are likely to be sold sooner rather than later.

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3 minutes ago, The Gasbuster said:

Agreed about the young talent coming through. The problem is that some, if not most, are likely to be sold sooner rather than later.

All we can do is enjoy them while they’re here. Hopefully their ages may give us an extra couple of years to build around them - but agree unlikely to happen 

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16 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

If/when we stay up it will be classed as a good season

We've signed next to no one but the effort being put in is better then anything we've seen in a very long time

great effort recently. I predict a 10th spot. it will be a typical season where we have more downs than ups. We will start winning a few on the trot and by the Easter busy time we will be around six points off of the top six. Alas like many times before we will settle out and fall short of the top six positions by around nine points at the end of the season. This will give us hope for season 22/23.

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23 minutes ago, headhunter said:

how we got on in the next run of 5 games, 4 of which are away

Agree this is an important period, including the Barnsley game, our record since having overcome our home record bad habit is

Home: P8 W5 D1 L2 F14 A11 P16

Away: P5 W0 D1 L4 F6 A16 P1

Any vague improvement in away form and we can look up, but if our home form drops at all, we’ll be heading the other way (albeit significantly protected by points deductions).

Challenge is extent to which defence and attack are linked, lots of players up the pitch helping us score goals, but exposing us when we lose the ball. Don’t think it is this, we’re not constantly being undone on the break, our ability to stop and deal with balls into the box is key. Martin helps massively from dead ball situations, but we need a better answer in open play.

16 goals conceded in last 5 away games, so whilst Fulham an anomaly, the other 4 games were 3, 3, 2 and 2. We can’t rely on our much improved attacking game to score 3 or 4 each game, in 3 of those 5 away games we’ve scored 2 and come away with one point overall. 

More optimistically, if we can fix our defending, even a bit, the future looks very bright. 

 

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The mood and attitude is changing around the place, and that’s down to Nige and the younger players coming through. Finishing higher than 14th would be a good season considering the changes and financial issues the last year or so.

We’ve set the mark now. With some shrewd additions in the next couple years, we could be set very nicely.

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Yes we should be considering ourselves mid table and looking upwards rather than fearing being caught by those below us. And the home form since Barnsley is pretty impressive if you consider it averages 2 points per game and both losses were to teams on form and in the top 6 (Huddersfield and QPR) plus the latter of those was a gift to the opposition from the referee. We have also found an attacking edge that has been missing for a long time.

The concern is 2-fold but linked. Our away form has fallen off a cliff and we can’t keep a clean sheet. Until we achieve the latter, we are going to struggle to get anything much from away games. Playing 3-5-2 with 3 in central midfield with Semenyo and Weimann starting up front would make us more solid and less likely to concede, plus have pace on the break. The real issue now is do we have 3 fit central midfielders and what happens to 3 at the back if one of Kalas, Pring or Vyner now gets injured? The options are looking very thin.

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I'm still of the opinion that anything above 21st is still a good season

Whilst I don't think we will go down there's a lot of football left to be played and that's not me being negative at all. Been so proud of this squad and what they have done this year, believe we have the perfect manager for this scenario and have complete faith. But this is football and anything can happen, the club was in a horrendous mess and to be where we are is incredible really!

Just hope some of the over zealous criticism on social media eases and people see the bigger picture.

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14 minutes ago, The Swan and Cemetery said:

Agree this is an important period, including the Barnsley game, our record since having overcome our home record bad habit is

Home: P8 W5 D1 L2 F14 A11 P16

Away: P5 W0 D1 L4 F6 A16 P1

Any vague improvement in away form and we can look up, but if our home form drops at all, we’ll be heading the other way (albeit significantly protected by points deductions).

Challenge is extent to which defence and attack are linked, lots of players up the pitch helping us score goals, but exposing us when we lose the ball. Don’t think it is this, we’re not constantly being undone on the break, our ability to stop and deal with balls into the box is key. Martin helps massively from dead ball situations, but we need a better answer in open play.

16 goals conceded in last 5 away games, so whilst Fulham an anomaly, the other 4 games were 3, 3, 2 and 2. We can’t rely on our much improved attacking game to score 3 or 4 each game, in 3 of those 5 away games we’ve scored 2 and come away with one point overall. 

More optimistically, if we can fix our defending, even a bit, the future looks very bright. 

 

Also worth noting (imo), that if we had James and/or Williams in those games I honestly don't think we would have conceded that many, as there certainly would have been more linked up play. All ifs and buts, but we are heading in the right direction, players seem to know what they are doing now, and we finally seem to have a bunch of players who are committed/right attitude - players also know if they are not committed then they will be gone. I honestly think the attitude that Pearson requires is now starting to show.

All I wanted from this season was to stay up, but was hoping we would not be in a relegation scrap with 5-10 games left. Hopefully that is the case, and the manager can have a fair few games not needing to win and can try a few things out, and also more youngsters getting minutes and gaining experience.  

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30 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

If you extrapolate Derby and Cardiffs results over the season then knock off Derby's deduction then they finish about a point behind Cardiff.

They aren't down yet 

I agree. I think Derby will catch Reading (unless they go into liquidation of course). As for us, I’ve never felt we’d be relegated this season - seen enough competitiveness to feel we won’t be in the bottom 3. However, because of our injuries, I do feel we need to recruit a CB this month. 

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17 minutes ago, hinsleburg said:

I'm still of the opinion that anything above 21st is still a good season

Whilst I don't think we will go down there's a lot of football left to be played and that's not me being negative at all. Been so proud of this squad and what they have done this year, believe we have the perfect manager for this scenario and have complete faith. But this is football and anything can happen, the club was in a horrendous mess and to be where we are is incredible really!

Just hope some of the over zealous criticism on social media eases and people see the bigger picture.

im with you on all you have said. i also think that without pearson and what hes done,we could easily be down this season. its been like an overgrown unattended allotment,a lot of hard work to make it usable with the first signs of produce appearing

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I won't feel confident we won't go down, until we can't go down.
Just like I don't like commentators saying " that surely seals the win for City" when you know there's plenty of time for us to lose.

Nice to think we are 11 points from  a Playoff place, and 14 away from a Relegation spot.  I have much more confidence that we won't achieve the former , than thinking we won't edge closer the latter. 
It would be great to get a couple of wins on the bounce now, put a little momentum into the season. Reality is, Luton will be tough and PNE just as tough. 
I'd be really pleased with Top ten, the young lads showing promise and some genuine sense of improvement and hope for next year. That, would be a very good year. Top half would still qualify as a good year. 
To get 

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35 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

I won't feel confident we won't go down, until we can't go down.
Just like I don't like commentators saying " that surely seals the win for City" when you know there's plenty of time for us to lose.

Nice to think we are 11 points from  a Playoff place, and 14 away from a Relegation spot.  I have much more confidence that we won't achieve the former , than thinking we won't edge closer the latter. 
It would be great to get a couple of wins on the bounce now, put a little momentum into the season. Reality is, Luton will be tough and PNE just as tough. 
I'd be really pleased with Top ten, the young lads showing promise and some genuine sense of improvement and hope for next year. That, would be a very good year. Top half would still qualify as a good year. 
To get 

We usually get no points from trips to Luton and Preston, so anything else will be a bonus IMO. We’ve had far better, more experienced teams go to those places and return empty handed. That’s not to say we can’t get anything, though.

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44 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

I won't feel confident we won't go down, until we can't go down.
Just like I don't like commentators saying " that surely seals the win for City" when you know there's plenty of time for us to lose.

Nice to think we are 11 points from  a Playoff place, and 14 away from a Relegation spot.  I have much more confidence that we won't achieve the former , than thinking we won't edge closer the latter. 
It would be great to get a couple of wins on the bounce now, put a little momentum into the season. Reality is, Luton will be tough and PNE just as tough. 
I'd be really pleased with Top ten, the young lads showing promise and some genuine sense of improvement and hope for next year. That, would be a very good year. Top half would still qualify as a good year. 
To get 

Take your point but if you look at the bottom 5, with the exception of Derby (& no one knows what will happen there), all of them are in abysmal form.

Cardiff are even worse at home than they are away (they have lost 8 of their last 9), Reading are imploding, Peterborough even make us look good defensively (atrocious away, too) & Barnsley are one of the worst Championship sides in memory.

We hardly need any more points to stay up, we are short of players I admit & might have a poor run at some point but we’re as near as dammit safe already.

No chance of top ten in my opinion but steering well clear of trouble whilst blooding so many youngsters will do me.

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1 hour ago, Monkeh said:

If/when we stay up it will be classed as a good season

We've signed next to no one but the effort being put in is better then anything we've seen in a very long time

 

This is it.  After the omnishambles of last season, we can see progress.

People not interested have either left or are being sidelined. Players are gaining confidence. Skills are being sharpened. There seems a better understanding between the team. Passing is becoming more instinctive. 

It really is a team in transition. Pearson has been able to halt the calamitous decline - and he's done it largely without being able to spend, utilising young talent. 

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I said 17th with 53 points at the start of the season, and I still think we'll be near that.

We've generally slowly improved through the season, but I think we're still well capable of losses, soft goals, and other issues. There's a lot of defensive issues and frailties that don't look like being solved anytime soon.

We've not managed back to back wins all season. We've had only 3 clean sheets in 27 games. We concede an average of 1.74 goals a game (xGA is 1.67), and most commonly (ie the mode) it's 2 goals a game.

Stats like that make it damn hard to get points. I'd be happy if we can continue our 1.22ppg, which would see us end on about 56 points. 

14th or above is pretty optimistic imo.

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11 minutes ago, Sturny said:

I’m very confident we won’t go down. We’ve proven we can beat the teams around us and the crap ones below. My original exceptions was just to stay up and I think we’ll end up mid/low mid table  

This kinda sums it up for us.

image.png.07a39d5ff7ff732db1e90eac129d45eb.png

Beat all the teams below us, mix against those around us.

8 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

This is it.  After the omnishambles of last season, we can see progress.

People not interested have either left or are being sidelined. Players are gaining confidence. Skills are being sharpened. There seems a better understanding between the team. Passing is becoming more instinctive. 

It really is a team in transition. Pearson has been able to halt the calamitous decline - and he's done it largely without being able to spend, utilising young talent. 

That second goal resembled a training ground session….in fairness Flint resembled a mannequin! ?

Edited by Davefevs
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38 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

I was expecting us to have a decent enough season. Though I was hoping Williams would be back to partner James which would be right up there in midfield pairings at this level imo. So seeing so little of Williams has been a real shame.

 

That was my thinking at the start of the season but the emergence of Scott plus the energy of HNM makes me think  we could line up like this when all fit in a 3-4-3

MOL / KALAS, ATKINSON, PRING / SCOTT, HNM, JAMES, WILLIAMS / WEIMANN, SEMENYO, MARTIN

I'm no tactical expert but I can see that looks a little unbalanced on the left side in particular; how do Chelsea do it, are two of their 4 in the middle conventional wing backs

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