ciderwithtommy

That was nothing more, and possibly less, than a training exercise. We did everything we needed but the quality and intensity of opponents needs to go up a fair few notches to really gain any insight. 
 

Conway looks an absolute beast, if we get £25m for Scott and keep him, we could be in a great spot 

I think it’s us who leaked the bid, to drive interest - Ipswich 25m bid incoming 

2 minutes ago, BlowerBCFC said:

Sun reporting we’ve slashed the price to £20m. Hopefully that’s the time we will do negotiating 

Excellent source of credible info 

Hmmm - Bournemouth, it’s one he would really have to think hard about. If he goes there, plays well (he will) and they get relegated then next summer they want £50m or else he has to suck it up like brownhill did. He is better than this move, surely an established team will pip them to it, or stay with us Alex! 

1 hour ago, LondonBristolian said:

In fairness to him, there's a lot of people from Bristol who don't really know the derby because it's so rare that we play them! I'd actually quite like us to get a cup draw against Rovers again at some point (although, as @Port Said Red said, it wouldn't be appropriate as a "friendly") as I think a more competitive derby rivalry would help get kids from Bristol supporting Bristol clubs instead of PSG, Man City, Liverpool or whoever else but, with derby games so rare, the first one we play after a decade would be a bit of a powder keg. 

Totally agree re wanting to play them in a competitive game, and the gap since the last one is generational, which is funny and relevant. 
 

I just think he is in for a major shock if he thinks this is some watered down, soft derby. I also think he believes he is the big draw, and bigger than the game itself. He’s not. They have to earn the right to play us, as does he. Next time they come the AG it will be anything but friendly. 

Barton stating he pushed for a derby this preseason - “it would be great for the city, families going to the game”. Cracks me up, scouser with not a single clue of the Bristol derby, and what it means / creates. No surprise the OB said no chance, but the arrogance of scousers (and others) thinking they know the Derby, when they have no clue makes me laugh. Ask Holloway how friendly it is, he nearly died mind hahah 

10 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

The only problem there is, I actually agree pretty much with what you have written, if we don't go up how much would Scott's value fall by next summer? He's happy here, enjoying it as SL said, having fun- and I believe one more year here with the stability of the environment would serve him well.

Playing devils advocate - how much would Scott be worth in 12 months if the footballing gods gave him an “atkinson/benarous” situation? What would that mean for his financial life after football? I would love to keep him, but the only way it makes sense is a sale/loan back, which “could” play out depending on the purchasing club and their vision. Ultimately the pull of the prem, and what would a 25m player get paid a week for that? It’s life changing. 

Not sure if this maybe needs its own thread, however Scott v Burnley deserves a real send off from us should it be (sadly) his last game at the gate in red. 
 

From my nearly 40 years of watching he is up there with the very very best I’ve seen not only for us, but against us. He will go to the top as long as the footballing gods are kind, but more importantly he just comes across as a top top bloke, someone we can be very proud of, and I think we will always be closely connected to him. 
 

when he runs down the wing….

Totally agree on the point that jays limitations are non negotiable “must haves” for Pearson, he will no doubt move on. I am pleased to see we have a plan we are building against, sadly that does mean some good players may not fit. He leaves with my best wishes (if he wants them haha)

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Me too

Just received mine would love an issue 1 n all 

Scary how naive we are. One if the reasons we went 500 games without a pen, we make the refs life so easy. There two in CM must’ve committed 5+ fouls each, including one of them jumping on max, and we don’t seem to know how to get yeh ref to help us. 
 

Got to say I really think Luton are a vile side, nothing fairytale about them. Tight pitch,  aggressive,  play acting, it’s just frustrating we can’t square up to that and win. 

Wow - as bad as Blackpool were at ours, we make that performance look superb. 
 

lost count of how many times we gave the ball away. Not athletic enough to compete, which is the basics at this level. Could be 4 or 5 and no complaints. 

Vyner has proved one thing throughout his career, and that is he learns and improves consistently. Last night was probably as hard a game as he will ever have in terms of opponents, not just in possession where Man City are obvs world class, but out of possession where they are equally as adept. 
 

they set traps that Vyner and others fell in to, he will learn from that. It wasn’t him being “poor”, but more he was learning the hard way, something that he has shown he has the character to do. Want to get better at any sport? Play against better players, and learn. 

10 minutes ago, Vidal said:

Cough ODowda

Puts odowda in context doesn’t it. A more expensive deal, mehmeti has more quality and added more in his very brief career then odowda in 5 years. 

Great report as always! 
 

I would like to see scuffing/hacking the penalty spot being made a red card offence. It’s such a pathetic thing to do, and in line with the rule of attempting to stop a goal scoring opportunity. Booking isn’t a big enough deterrent. I would also feel the same if it was us doing it, haha. 

Towler imho 

Ffs a CEO talking about tented stands, in 2023. Beyond parody. As a city fan who started supporting in 89, it really is something  to behold just how far the gap has grown. Millets FC 

I just don’t get us going long for the last 10 minutes with bell and wells up top. Played into their hands.

5 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Two incredibly vital headers from right wing crosses, one in each half.

100% this. So important, underrated and a sign of a true defender. Excellent work by him 

Cunningham one so much worse 

Red zone or whatever it’s called has just been uploaded to YouTube. 3 x red cards for PNE missed, no 14 on Scott and then bell in quick succession. But the one by Cunningham on wells is an absolute shocker, he should be ashamed of himself. And then the lovely mr evans, clear punch right in front of the ref. So glad we won, hope Cunningham does his acl next game, cowards tackle by him. 

QPR - my word his agent needs a knighthood!  Great guy and great servant, but really looked like his legs had gone, fair play to all involved but thought he was heading to league 1/2.

I hope it’s both, asking any one player to come in and replace Ant is very tough.

But more importantly, Cornick is the type you want when we play against a “possession” team, will press and work and has quality when we win it back. Mehemiti (sp) offers us something when teams come here to sit back, ala PNE, millwall etc. 

two different options, enabling us to solve tactical problems and also change in game as and when, it’s great business. 

It’s very tough to recruit young players now. Regarding the steak analogy, we aren’t able to recruit the very best steak as we are cat 2, even offering them a “pathway” is not enough for the elite youngsters. So we are looking for the late developers, the good eggs (steaks) and the ones who have maybe lost their way a bit. And the club has done a fantastic job of that, Scott, and semenyo alone being likely 40m of talent. 
 

really excited to see the next 3/4 years of talent, the bar looks really high now. So I would say the club is overperforming right now at a very difficult task. Fair play to them

It’s is character, and what he demands from others, which is as important as his ability. He makes 3/4 of the players around him much better, and that’s invaluable