Kid in the Riot

For any City fan, or indeed fan of english football, the preference has to be Ipswich. Every time a parachute club goes straight back up, it's another kick in the teeth for the rest of us. A non-parachute club going up gives us some hope, at least.

Finishing ahead of Cardiff is all we have to play for

West Ham (h) was the best atmosphere I've experienced at AG since the Man U win in 2017. Proper old skool up in Dolman, what was block B.

Agree with this. Bringing in "cover" makes the situation potentially very messy. And if you already have a club owner that has very different ideas on how to run a club to the manager and "doesn't always see eye to eye" with the manager (Steve's exact words), and that manager is out of contract at the end of the season, then the reality is they are going to make a clean break.

No-one has done that though. You said some people were calling for Nige to be sacked because of health issues, which is not true. For starters, at the time of his sacking hardly anyone (myself included) wanted him sacked. And secondly, the full extent of his health problems and the seriousness of them were not known. There's enough criticism to be levelled at the club and their handling of the sacking without retrospectively making stuff up which didn't happen.

That's odd, as you appear to have just quoted me? Just another lie, I guess...

I mean this sounds like another massive lie.

You make it sound like Anne in admin has got tendonitis and we need to find cover for a fortnight. This is a somewhat different scenario, finding cover for a football manager? I am not saying the club have consciously or literally "done him a favour", however given the seriousness of his condition I'd say him being out of work (paid) and able to fully relax and recover is better for him long term than working at City under a couple of clowns. They definitely should have been more honest, however mentioning ill health as one of the reasons for dismissal is tricky for obvious reasons. He was clearly of the view that he could continue to carry out his duties as manager, the club disagreed. It happens. One thing is for sure, he wasn't working in the same way as he was pre-illness.

Couldn't agree more. Absolutely hopeless comms, both to Nige himself and the fans. But then what's new on that front? It's always been the same under the Lansdowns, because guess what? They aren't very good communicators. And we're now left in a bizarre vacuum where they won't even employ someone decent to do the comms for them!

Absolutely. And in doing so they have martyred Nige and created a whole load of mistrust. Read what I said properly and don't slur me, you moron.

I think he knew he couldn't carry on due to health issues. I recall in one of his last interviews he said he just needed a quick op and would be in and out of hospital in "48 hours". That was disingenuous, I believe, and he knew the situation was much more serious. He spent a week in hospital having tests in Nov/Dec and we know that as of early Jan he still couldn't walk. For a fact, he would have had to take more time off from the job to get treated. Whatever anyone says, that is a less than ideal situation for the club, and frankly not good for Nige. He won't see it this way, but ultimately the club may have done him a favour so that he could fully concentrate on getting better. Seems he's still not 100% fit so I've no idea how or why people think he'd have been able to see the full season out here.

This thread is about Pearson, not Manning?

Yes Manning was 100% Tins appointment, and as you say he was clearly instrumental in Pearson's removal too.

Depends if he buys you a coffee, or not?

I don't think Tommy Conway, Rob Atkinson or Alex Scott, to name but three, would.

Can anyone spot the Man City fan on this thread?

Blimey, this seems incredibly harsh. I think you're looking for something that just isn't there.

Ah, of course.

@Silvio Dante did you do these for all of Nige's pressers? I can't recall.

Now we're talking! I was there in 2010 in a little square with several hundred locals crammed around a 32 inch TV watching the world cup final - partied late into the night! Granada is another cracker for its gratis tapa and flamenco caverns

Over-rated. Been several times and never had a particularly good experience. Much better cities to visit in Spain such as Sevilla, Valencia, Madrid, San Sebastian.

Meanwhile Inter secure the scudetto in this evenings Milan derby. Amazing Banksy inspired tifo from Milan though...

I like rugby too, though at this point it's probably even more data driven than football. Data and AI will have a big impact on football going forward. I'd imagine AI will determine a teams tactics, and they'll be less need for coaches as AI formulates bespoke training sessions that best suits players' fitness and can be tailored dependent on who their next opponent is. I expect it's already being used or trialled at some of the bigger clubs.

Apparently he was offered a severence payment initially (post Leeds away) thought to be six months pay. But he turned it down knowing when sacked he'd get an extra month or twos pay on top of that.

Also, is it true that Ben's mum is called Tracey, or has someone been on the wind-up?