Dan Robin

Hmm, not an ideal date. We'll have to face 4 teams involved in the relegation battle in a row (Hull, Cardiff, Huddersfield, Blackpool): let's hope to arrive there in good conditions... ?

Many names so not easy to choose. Talking about present, for quality of play of his teams, nice personality and win ratio in national cups, I'd say ? ...

I guess £12m + £3m add-ons would be tempting for the club and not bad all things considered (except having to find a reliable substitute this month) Adding virtually £20m+ for Scott next season would be good business...even if as a supporter I'd really like to see them at City for a longer period.

It seems that we got tired legs (Extra Time) AND an injury (Pring, hopefully not serious). ? Positives: we got some money (not much) and players morale will be up before the next game. Great night for Bell ? and Sykes form is good news with Andi out.

This match counts nothing compared to Blackburn and the next ones in the league, and the injuries in the last cup match should be an alarm bell for Nigel...but he seems not keen on doing turnover, so I fear this game will cause us more problems (new injuries or tired legs) than benefits. If the players on the transfer list won't be used (why not?), I'd give at least a chance to the likes of Idehen, Kadji and Bell as subs.

A really precious win and some points gained on our rivals. Good job lads!

And Hull too.

Other results going our way too, apart from Hull-Hudds (a draw would be better). Glad that Sykes is taking his chance in the new role: other tests needed, but it coild be a good option, especially when Wilson will be back in comtention.

Another penalty against us?!? ? Anyway, GET INN!

Great start of the second half, lads!

And another penalty given...to a team tha is not called Bristol City! ?

Hudds 1 up at Hull.

Ans it's TWOOOO! ?

YEEESSS!

Our Player Of The Season not long time ago, so in normal circumstances I would have no doubts about keeping him and playing him instead of Max. However, our situation is really complicated at the moment, so difficult choices are required: with three goalkeepers available and the short lenght of his contract, I see the logic in this potential move...

Yeah, the main doubt is about Klose. Overall Martin has been very good last season, and except for a few bad days, Klose seemed to have a positive influence on our defence....so seeing both becoming out of favour at the same time sounds strange from a footballing perspective. The difference is that Martin's situation could be linked with Conway's unexpected explosion, whereas for a defence with many injuries and mistakes in it, the Swiss could have been more involved on paper. Anyway, both could be at least reliable reserves...so I guess the problems could be the following: A) not being able to guarantee a consistent level of fitness anymore; B) wages and/or contractual reasons (obstacle to trasnfer plans?); C) a mix of the two factors. Another option could be a fall out with Pearson or other players, but they both seemed to have a professional attitude, so I'd be surprised if that was one of the reasons. Massengo is a different matter, and the B option should be the simple answer.

Stats that speak loudly. Much more than unbalanced, much more than a simple anomaly...

I guess he's not ready for regular Championship football yet. If Martin is set to leave and Nigel doesn't want to use Weimann as a pure striker, we'll need a loan striker as reserve (Semenyo + Wells + ?).

Some of us discussed it here recently: the more realistic reason would be betting, not necessarily involving only City. I don't have data about all EFL clubs, but let's suppose that at least 2-3 other Championship/L1/L2 teams are getting strange refereeings (ex: 1 team never get red cards in their favour, another one have far more penalties than others, etc.): you can bet for every little aspect of a football game, and for a referee it is not so difficult to control/direct main episodes, especially without VAR. My other theory was even worse (more dirty), but probably less realistic in the English Football scenario: the EFL wanting to harm some clubs to favour others. It could be a simple case of corruption, or maybe the aim could be having a more "glamour" Championship, that could virtually mean more money from TV, sponsors, etc. Maybe Bristol City and the clubs Y and Z are seen as less "profitable" than the likes of - examples - Sunderland (bigger despite having being in L1), Birmingham, Huddersfield (recently in the Premier League) and talking about L1, the likes of Wednesday, Derby, etc. That being said, I was not convinced by this second theory for 2 reasons: 1) recent points deductions to other clubs, some of which could be considered "big" on paper; 2) if the EFL and co. wanted to damage us, they could firstly hit us on the financial front, given our problems. This maintains the focus on referees. And here we have two options: A) our club did something in the past that hugely irritated referees, and almost all of them hate us and consiquently punish us (unrealistic) ; B) they do what they do (denying us almost every favourable call, mainly penalties) because of a personal advantage (more realistic, right?). Unfortunately my experience of Italian football and other bad sports stories read in the past have made me more aware of how money and personal interests can influence sports - mainly football - in many ways. Others may laugh and think that it is pure fantasy, but in many cases suspects prove to be right, partially if not totally. Obviously I'd be really happy to be proven wrong and to see normal refereeings back for Bristol City, but I just can't see any standard reason behind the referees behaviour towards us seen in the last seasons.

Obviously not?!? Not so obvious, considering the scandals around football, some of which have involved referees. Anyway, I'm glad that something is finally moving. Every true supporter should be behind the club for this issue.

@sinenomine It would probably be impossible, because on many highlights videos those episodes are not shown (a really stupid choice). Some years ago, the club uploaded the full matches on the Robins TV page, and that could have been the perfect source to find/record penalties claims, reds not given to opposition players, etc. I imagine that the club media department keeps all the match videos somewhere, so I guess the only chance to make relevant clips is involving someone at the club, by suggesting it directly or indirectly, by talking heavily about it on social medias... My only concern - maybe the board's one too? - is that making public/strong complaints would lead to a revenge by the EFL, and in our financial situation it could mean points deductions. This is the only reason I'd understand the silence of the club about refereeings...

I don't know who did this but...I fully approve the idea! https://www.bristolcitypenalty.co.uk/ How about copying it more times on the facebook pages of EFL, BBC Sports, Sky Sports page, etc.?

Shame that we didn't do turnover: I understand that the cup can bring money, but I can't see us doing a cup run at the moment, so maybe it was not worth the risk. That being said...I wouldn't risk Weimann and Conway in the next match if they're not 100% fit: Semenyo + Wells, with Scott/Sykes behind them and Bell/Martin on the bench. I'd not be surprised to see King back in defence, after Rob's error.

Not much, with one more match to distract us from the league, injuries and another defensive error + goal conceded. I'd say Semenyo finding the net again: his lack of form and goals have been a problem recently, because he is one of our best weapons. Not sure if he will stay, but even in case of a sell, more goals would mean more money.

Waiting for the betting value of "penalty given to Bristol City" to further increase: when it will guarantee a great amount of money, one of them will give us a penalty - probably an invented one, like a a handball after a corner - and the referees involved will pay - and gain - a lot of money (obviously asking a close person to bet for them). Risky, but if cheating players can do it...why not? It's the more realistic explanation. If there is another one, surely it's not "oh well, they are poor" or "ah we are so unlucky" anymore.