BrizzleRed

Absolutely crazy.  If the owners saw that manager’s record as a failure, what the hell were they expecting from him to consider him successful???

That’s really taking madness to another level.

21 minutes ago, Red Billy said:

Sometimes you think you are safe and that the results needed to create the swing won’t happen.  Some times you think fifty points will see you over the line.  Some times you laugh so hard you have tears that roll down your cheek. 

Particularly when you have a pitch invasion to celebrate reaching ‘safety’ and pushing your hosts into the relegation spots, only for them to leapfrog you the next week, after you’re beaten at home by a team wearing your spare kit.

That’s a gift that will be savoured for ever, as I can’t see something so unbelievable and totally hilarious ever happening again!

We should be forever thankful to the 15ers for that absolute gem.

7 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Yet another thread being hijacked 

Is it bollux ..... its relevant and is pointing out how history repeated itself over a 9 year period.  

That '14/15 season was absolutely brilliant and we had that same sort of momentum as we'd had under GJ in our Play-Off season, or more recently you could look at the likes of Ipswich this season.  Shows the big difference when a manager is backed by the owner, compared to one who isn't.  Shall I just also point out the sale of Alex Scott and not allowing it to be reinvested in the squad and instead, creating a very large nest-egg as another comparison?  

5 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Although Cotts telling him “to f++k off out my dressing room” probably didn’t help!

I bet it didn't and I'd have paid good money to be there and witness that ..... and then shake Cotts's hand afterwards!

45 minutes ago, Superjack said:

It wasn't a togetherness throughout the club though. The hierarchy couldn't stand him. I had it on very good authority that they thought that he was a 'nutter' and a nightmare to work with. 

Which basically translates as he wouldn't tolerate their bullshit and suck up. 

Fast forward nine years. Oh... here we are again!

Difference is that Cotterill may have been a bit of a 'nutter'. 

I went down to the Lloyds Amphitheatre where the team were appearing after the promotion.  I couldn't believe it When Steve Lansdown got on the mic to speak to the fans, when he was spouting about our wonderful season, but somehow managed to avoid giving any credit or acknowledgement to Cotts for his part in it.  I thought at the time it was really odd and classless how Cotts was blanked, and the events of the subsequent season showed Lansdown's actions were definitely no accident.  It seemed pretty obvious Lansdown couldn't stand him and it seems to be a very similar situation with Nigel Pearson.

Ironic how two of the most popular managers with fans for decades, were actually so thoroughly disliked by the owner. 

5 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

What makes you happiest when you are walking away from a match at Ashton Gate?  Having played poorly but scraped a victory; or having played well and lost.  I know which I prefer.

If we’re playing poorly most of the time, we’re statistically far more likely to be “walking away after a match at Ashton Gate” having lost, rather than won.

If we’re more often playing well, the win to defeat ratios are likely to be reversed, so in fhe longer term, better performances are likely going yield better results.  

One ugly win game taken in isolation doesn’t make a season, does it.

4 minutes ago, TonyTonyTony said:

To be honest mate this season has been hard to keep up much optimism with all the BS we have been through, as fans. I will always support my team but sometimes i dislike the club if that makes sense. There is a sense we are drifting with nothing to play for. Its all a bit Meh.

Go and stuff Rotherham 5-0 will do me

Oh, I’m right with you on everything you’ve said there.

We’ve clearly got Manning for the forseeable, so although he’s saved himself with a couple of ugly wins lately, I’d like to see some performances that would at least hint at something better next season.

As you say, giving someone a stuffing would be great but equally, if we aren’t up for it, I can see Rotherham nicking a win as a passing shot to the Championship, to just cap a really shit season!

16 minutes ago, TonyTonyTony said:

Surely you have to try and get as many points as possible? 
 

Id like to see us take apart a team at home. That’ll do me and we have 3 opportunities to do so.

But without the performance, that’s much less likely to happen.

Scraping a few more points to finish the season is all very well.  I think it’s even more important to be putting in some decent performances over the final matches.  

Surely that will give far more reasons for optimism for a more sustained improvement next season, than just points alone?

11 minutes ago, mozo said:

2021-22: 15 wins, 62 goals, -15 gd

2022-23: 15 wins, 55 goals, -1 gd

2023-24: 15 wins, 46 goals, -1 gd

So we can improve on wins and gd this season, but goals continue to decline. 

…… well, we’re certainly consistent, but unfortunately, it’s just consistently dull.

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Apparently attacking intent only comes if the opposition allow that.  It’s not about “us”, according to Hoggy (who sings from the same hymn sheet as Manning).

That’s a slightly facetious comment, but with a large element of truth about it.

That’s what we have, a team / game-plan based on what the opposition allow us, rather than us imposing our style / identity.

I can’t wait!  

That’s certainly what we’ve witnessed so far and I’d hoped that was just while we transition to Manning’s proposed style.  

Unless I’m misinterpreting Hogg’s comment, having our attacking style dictated by the opposition is an awful indictment of our passive tactics and lack of ability to impose ourselves on the opposition.

Can’t see it ending well if that’s an indication of the extent of Manning’s ultimate ambition and tactical prowess.

52 minutes ago, Jimmyjimmy said:

Be surprised to see him land a Championship gig.

Really, why's that??

3 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

The real Madrid and barca model, they both have multiple sporting teams under one umbrella 

The thing is they have a world wide rep when doing this, we didn't 

Amazing how many occasions Lansdown has tried to copy what another club is doing.  

Trouble is, he seems oblivious to how to actually achieve it, or if it’s even possible in our circumstances.  Yet more money spunked on a fatally flawed plan.

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Yeah I get it, perhaps not so much the money as the hassle and principle. Albeit in Cash terms subject to purchase price and debt it wouldn't add a huge amount and especially in context of football.

That WBA purchase price was inclusive of certain debt I think. Yes SL needs an exit strategy unless the dreaded scenario is for Jon to inherit it all fully..??  

The one that really sticks out like a sore thumb, incredibly pricy for the level is Ipswich up to £100m or similar for 40%. No brainer for those who purchased Ipswich but...

I’d really like to know what Lansdown’s original plan for BS was, as I’d always thought he wanted to create a sporting legacy for south Bristol.  

That doesn’t look to be the case any more, as he’s cut off the funding and a feeling of neglect is starting to creep in.  It’s not difficult to work out what’ll happen to any sporting organisation where cash has been pulled, or greatly reduced, so there could be some very difficult times ahead for all the teams within the BS group.

Lansdown now appears to have completely lost interest in his sporting project and as he’s made the group pretty unattractive to potential investors, he seems to have painted himself right into a corner.

I can’t imagine his original plan involved presiding over a group of stagnant, loss making clubs under the Bristol Sport banner, where even his flagship new stadium still manages to make a loss.  The fact he has shackled all these teams together into a pretty unattractive package is looking like really poor judgement on his part and not leaving him a way out without a big financial hit.

I wonder what he privately thinks of what he’s achieved, when balanced against his investment.  I can’t imagine he’s exactly glowing with pride, though if he’s somehow convinced himself he’s done well, that’ll surely provide conclusive proof of where our problems really lie!

2 hours ago, Numero Uno said:

The highlighted bit is why I am so anti-hierarchy and would still want Tinnion's arse kicked out of it if we won the Championship with 108 points and reached the FA Cup Final next season. It was the hierarchy who allowed the bollocks being spouted by the "Anti-Nige" mob to gain traction because they put their careers above the truth and barely gave him any credit when relieving him of his duties, in fact it was the opposite with the Snake and Crayon Boy actively looking to shout every negative from the rooftops in order to defend their position (one they had to defend once they quickly realised they had royally ****** up with the majority of fans).

A sensible statement along the lines of that released by Plymouth Argyle the other day would have been better but instead they went on the attack. They have peddled this narrative that Nige had all the time anyone could want to build a squad........and a small number of idiots have gone along with it because Liam hasn't given them enough so far to say "see, told you I was right".

Spot on NU

Regarding the anti Nige mob, I always try my best to view them just as people who have a different viewpoint to me and have completely bought into the bullshit put out by the club hierarchy.  The problem for me is, they so closely mirror the official club line, I can't help questioning if some of them are actually club employees.  It's sad when you get to the point of being suspicious of what may actually be genuine fellow fans, but that's just how bad things have become.  As you say, the fanbase has been divided and polarised and that is clearly down to the shit put out by the club.

The biggest issue for me is my complete breakdown of trust in the club and specifically Stephen Lansdown.  Whilst the club could regain that trust with the right appointments, for me, that can only ever be achieved with Lansdown gone.  We've all witnessed the constant churns of various plans, managers, head coaches and players at this club over the years, with the same outcome ....... mediocrity.  As we all know, the only constant is Lansdown himself.  I've long accepted he couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, let alone a football club, and his ego and stubbornness will always hold us back.  The cynical, vindictive and downright disrespectful way Nige was treated really was the final straw with me though and finally confirmed this club is in far from safe hands.  At that point, Lansdown went from being just a massively underachieving and misguided, egotistical owner, to being a creeping, controlling disease that is gradually killing this club.   

As has been said many times, we've witnessed City in infinitely worse positions on the field over the years, but in my 60 years of following the club, I've never felt remotely close to the total lack of trust and despair in the hierarchy and I'm ashamed to say, my feelings towards Lansdown are now bordering on hatred for being responsible for that.

2 hours ago, Ian M said:

I've said this before, the list of billionaires who wish to own a football club is quite small already.

Imagine how large the list of billionaires who wish to own a football club and a rugby club is?

Now reduce that further by producing a list of billionaires who wish to own a football club, a rugby club and a basketball club.

 

Especially when none of those individual entities manage to show a profit.  

In spite of the stadium upgrade and the massively increased matchday and corporate revenues coming from that, we still can’t even produce a profit in that area

It’s little wonder Lansdown can’t find a buyer!

4 minutes ago, JP Hampton said:

And no matter how many times someone explains this, it’s convently forgotten. 

I think its pretty clear now that unless they’re exceptionally stupid, they’re deliberately ignoring the facts.  There also seems to be a complete denial of the awful state this club had got into and the sheer scale of the job Pearson had, just to keep us in this division, let alone mid table.

Some of our fanbase really depress me at times and makes you wonder if they can actually see past their noses.

35 minutes ago, Topper 123 said:

These moaners , the anti manning mob need to take a look at Luton manager rob Edwards who was manager at FGR then went to Watford they SACKED him after 4 months he then made them look silly by taking a less fancied team to the PREM -LUTON TOWN 

So FGR and Watford are run by idiots and Luton are run by someone who actually knows what they’re doing?  Sadly our own owner regularly demonstrates he’s pretty much as useless as the people running FGR and Watford.

I think you’ll find the majority of your ‘moaners’ have way more of an issue with how this club is run, rather than with Manning himself, even though he’s far from inspiring.

On 02/04/2024 at 07:58, Numero Uno said:

The first two thirds of Pearson's time in charge was either rebuilding a bomb scare of a squad or working to a strict FFFP budget. That is fact isn't it? "Some" is certainly a significant minimisation of the situation to make a point and with a lesser manager we would almost certainly have been in League 1 and not challenging to get back out until next season imo. If you can't acknowledge that then I think you have colours nailed firmly to the mast. I do agree that the football was uninspiring but for me nothing he produced was as bad as those Cardiff and Swansea games recently, that dials straight back to "end of Dean Holden levels". However that should be behind us now (it had better be tbh).

The reason some people are less patient is that Liam did not have to "fix" anything and the purse strings are being slowly relaxed for him to "add and improve". He's been dealt a decent hand coming into a new club in effect compared to most managers who are often inheriting a car crash. Ultimately Liam will get his chance next season whatever even his biggest detractor thinks and we'll all judge him on that now with many people considering that he has been brought in by the club to give us "a greater chance of success". That means "matching the last manager" and being on 18 points after 14 games next season will not cut it. He has to exceed the performance of the previous manager and show real signs of improvement next season otherwise he's not hitting target and some fans will have their own opinion on that whether you agree with it or not.

Funny isn’t it.  For all the accusations of some supporters being ‘Nige fanboys’, it’s ironic that those making those accusations are a very vociferous group who are in a distinctly ‘anti Nige’ cult, who refuse to admit to it.  

They have refused to give him any credit or understanding of the size of the task he had to deal with and the restrictions he was working under.  They have been crying out for his sacking at every possible opportunity, then pathetically claiming it’s the whole fanbase who wanted him out, not just their cult group.

In spite of their selective myopia, we are now supposed to cut LM a load of slack and ignore some really shite performances with a solid squad, unlike their treatment of Nigel Pearson with a makeshift squad of crocks and Academy rookies.

******* priceless!!!

5 hours ago, KingHillRed said:

And what is wrong with that statement exactly?  I know what I would do if it was my money too - I'd do as I see fit

I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that statement.

This is OUR club and collectively, the fanbase have invested way more into this club than he has during their lifetimes.

The big problem is, he’s made sure that he’s the only one with the power to make the important decisions, which usually involve pissing away £millions and he doesn’t take any responsibility for his huge mistakes along the way.

Being run by a control freak certainly isn’t doing us any favours and we’re still no closer to on-field success after two decades of his ownership.

30 minutes ago, Jose said:

Look where Brighton were and where they are now. I could name a few more. All while we have been festering under SL stewardship. 
 

Take note Steve. That’s how to run a football club. 

It’s like chalk and cheese.  They’ve gone from struggling with ground sharing, then that awful Withdean Stadium and look where they are now.

In contrast, what have we done over the same period?  Other than stadium and training ground improvements and a bit more focus on the academy, we’ve done next to bugger all, except piss away £millions, lose ownership of our ground and massively increase our debts.

I think it was Bloom who spoke up for us at one of the planning meetings for Ashton Vale at the Council House and I was massively impressed with him then.  He had a clear plan and has stayed focussed and carried it through.  

For me, he’s a brilliant example of what a great owner looks like and what we totally lack.

2 minutes ago, The chief said:

Yep, good to have cause for optimism with improved performances and good use of subs and tactics last 2 games. Perhaps a ray of light for manning at least. 

Fundamental issue is the total lack of experience, contacts, vision and know how in those above Manning. No football club leadership nouse whatsoever with JL, BT and GM, which means that we’re still likely to suffer with poor decisions and strategy- likely this will impact recruitment , contract extensions and even minor annoyances like communications,  the splat robin and kit debacles .
Gonna be stuck with this in the short and longer term. Can’t see how this will change either. 

 

 

Absolutely with you Chief and just trying to see some positives in the shit situation we’ve been put in by SL, as we are where we are

My own opinion is we’ve dumped a vastly experienced and qualified manager for a complete rookie and if that isn’t bad enough, we’ve been saddled with a right pair of jokers for Chairman and Teckie Director, so not a great combo.  Hopefully Manning grows into the job, as that’s probably the only hope we have.

In the long term, I’m convinced this club is going nowhere until we get an owner who values experience and ability, over yes men who won’t question him and his massive ego.

Feels like we’re stuck in limbo at the moment and sadly, my sights are set on just  surviving in the Championship next season and we should really be looking for higher than that.

Wouldn’t it be great to actually support a professionally run club, rather than some extraordinarily wealthy but delusional blokes part-time plaything?!!!

9 hours ago, Sandhurst Red said:

Do some forget that NP was given more time than many managers at other clubs would have been allowed? On 2 occasions there were consistent calls from the fanbase he should go... And yet he was stuck by; until the 3rd time. 

Irrespective of the fact he was doing a rebuilding phase during some of this period, the lack of consistency was alarming. Also, so many seem to forget the football was woeful to watch at times.

I struggle to understand some of our fans who have allowed Manning less than 20% of the time NP had and yet want him gone. Give the bloke at least a preseason and the first 15 matches of the 24/25 season to judge him. 

For one thing, if they’d dumped NP earlier, how many potential managers would have been crazy or brave enough to take on the shambles that Pearson was tasked to sort out?

As for lack of consistency, did you really expect anything else, with our injury crisis and small squad, meaning a number of young, inexperienced players having to be thrown in the deep end, hoping they would be able to swim, rather than sink??

The last two games under Manning have thankfully shown a bit of promise, but nobody is going to convince me that NP’s sacking was anything other than for personal reasons by those above.

58 minutes ago, Fredford89 said:

If an opinion winds you up that’s your issue I’m afraid and again I don’t know who you think I am but you sound crazy 

Funnily enough, you weren’t actually one of the posters I had in mind, though you do have your moments!   From what I’ve see, you give your opinions and while I may often disagree, that’s healthy and got no problem there.

It’s people who are being deliberately provocative and have a deliberate aim to just start an argument and cause general conflict that boil my piss.

Don’t think there’s anything crazy about that tbh.

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

Did you read Phantom’s reply, have you read the forum roles about accounts / multiple accounts?

I’m trying to help solve a problem of a person who has been banned over a dozen times and turns this brilliant forum into a something less than brilliant.

There is no irony whatsoever!

But if that’s what you think, fine.

Absolutely this.  

I detest cancel culture and totally believe everyone should have a right to express their views, whether popular on not.

That’s a very different thing to tossers who keep reappearing on here under a variety of different names, with the sole purpose of winding people up and trying to ruin what is a great forum. 

Maybe they get a twisted satisfaction that they’ve achieved something, but it detracts from many more peoples enjoyment of this board.
 

2 minutes ago, RedRock said:

As I was, and started in the third division prior to that particular ‘dip’ to the fourth.

I have, however, little doubt the current Owner and The Board wish to achieve success. 

Certain parts of their ‘model’ seem to be heading in the right direction. For example, not many Championship Clubs had attendances at their grounds over the last couple of days exceeding 46,000, with the stadium and support receiving glowing praise from a national broadcaster. 

I do think the football side needs work still and I remain sceptical that the current set up off/on field will deliver success. I would love to be proved wrong.

Tbh, it just feels to me like the owner is trying to build a sporting empire, but with little interest in the football club itself.

As you say, the football side definitely needs work and I see precious little desire from SL to improve what we’re seeing on the pitch.

I think we’re actually pretty much where he wants this club to be.  Safe in the Championship, so getting the higher TV money etc, but without the crazy costs and pressures involved in the Prem.  As long as we keep a few young players trickling through to be sold on, I think he’ll be happy.

I suspect a lot of us fans have ambitions a bit higher than that, though I think we’ll ultimately be disappointed under his ownership. 

It would be lovely to be proved wrong though