pongo88

Rueben McAllister, son of Jamie, is now on loan at Kelty Hearts ( average attendance approx 600) in Scottish League 1 

47 minutes ago, Countryfile said:

Wish I had the memory others display, I was at the game and knew he had scored four, but couldn’t for the life of me remember any of them

 

Hope this jogs your memory 

The first resulted from a long ball up the left wing by City that went out of play by the Shrewsbury’s penalty area. A defender threw the ball back to the keeper, but did he see big John lurking? No he didn’t because Atyeo nipped in to intercept the throw and glide the ball into the net from a narrow angle

The second and fourth were similar, coming from moves down City’s right wing. With one a high cross came over and Atyeo rose to beat a defender and glance a header into the net. With the other the cross was low and Atyeo nipped in front of a defender to side foot the ball into the net

The third was as described above 

40 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

What was so important about those goals and the 2 points for a win. We also won the home game v Shrews the next day and on the following Saturday a 2-0 win over Oldham at Ashton Gate meant we won promotion by goal difference over Mansfield.

PS, it wasn't goal difference but I can't remember how it was calculated.

30 minutes ago, trickytimes said:

It was decided by goal average - number of goals scored divided by the number of goals conceded.

26 minutes ago, beaverface said:

I quite like the sound of that, as without thinking about it too much, seems to calculate a proportional representation of how your defence compares to your attack.

Is there any downfall to this calculation compared to goal difference, or goals scored etc?

City finished the season with goals for / against of 95 / 55 giving a goal average of 1.73

Mansfield, who were third, had goals for / against of 95 - 61 giving a goal average of 1.56

If goal difference had been applied City would still have been promoted as the goal difference was 40 against Mansfield’s 34

I remember that match. I'm glad the article mentions Atyeo flicking the ball over his head and volleying it to score as I've often wondered if my memory was deceiving me. Sometime, with the passage of time, you remember goals as being much better than they were, but not in this case. What the article doesn't mention is Atyeo was marked by the centre half which was why he flicked the ball over his head. He also had to run around the centre half to volley the ball as it came down. City supporters behind the gaol went crazy!

I remember that match. I'm glad the article mentions Atyeo flicking the ball over his head and volleying it to score as I've often wondered if my memory was deceiving me. Sometime, with the passage of time, you remember goals as being much better than they were, but not in this case. What the article doesn't mention is Atyeo was marked by the centre half which was why he flicked the ball over his head. He also had to run around the centre half to volley the ball as it came down. City supporters behind the gaol went crazy!

28 minutes ago, phantom said:

 

 

It wouldn't matter who is in charge etc 

He's gone
 

It does matter who’s in charge as, with the present set up, he won’t be asked to come back. If he’s not asked, he can’t answer the question. As I said, even if there was a change in ownership, and was asked, he would probably say no 

5 minutes ago, phantom said:

This is where things are getting a bit stupid on here and people need to get a grip 

Pearson is gone and isn't coming back, seriously people need to start dealing with that 

Absolutely true, he’s not coming back. For him to do so it would require SL to sell the club and the new owner to sack Brian Tinnion. By the time this happened Pearson would have settled into his new relaxed lifestyle and wouldn’t have any interest in giving it up 

Great report as ever. I particularly liked the description of Mehmet.  It’s perfect:

“the diminutive Mehmeti who looked like he was a bloke crossing a local park trying to briefly impersonate a footballer yet also desperately trying to avoid coming into any contact with the ball.”

1 hour ago, Galley is our king said:

When Pearson left we were 4 points off the playoffs....

We are now 11..

 

 

With an injury ravaged team! 

I can’t face travelling to away matches anymore as the amount of dull motorway travel isn’t justified by the performances. It’s also possible to watch every away match on numerous sites but I’ve given up on that as well. Going to every home match is more than enough suffering. I’ve almost given up on OTIB posting as I can’t think of anything positive to say. As you get older “the good old days” seem  to be much better as you tend to only remember the good bits. Unfortunately, now the good bits are few and far between 

Some people are more susceptible to hamstring injuries than others. Quite a few years ago an England wicketkeeper (Alan Knott?) had regular hamstring problems which he solved by doing non stop  exercises to stretch the hamstrings. He did this in his non playing time and throughout each match, making him look as though he had ants in his pants. Cricket is different to football but the principles are the same as, being a wicket keeper,  he would have to do sudden sprints to get the ball. The City’s medical staff are obviously qualified but it begs the question as to whether or not they are drafting preventative exercises for the players to follow, particularly those returning from long injuries. 

As I was bored I had a look at the Rovers forum and found this recent classic:
 

“Although he was only manager for just over a year Denis Rofe had us playing the best Football and probably the best Rovers team I've seen. If he was appointed before the season instead of Martin Dobson we could very well of got promoted into the new Premier League.”

Someone actually believes that Denis Rofe, as manager, would have got them into the Premier League! 

8 hours ago, Back of the Dolman said:

Or we should have recruited somebody whose philosophy was more aligned to the squad we had.

like Nigel Pearson fits the bill

Do the opposite of what we did today. QPR set up with a rigid 4-5-1 to defend, score on the break and win 1-0. (Admittedly City was so poor they became more adventurous in the second half and could have scored more). With a game plan like QPR’s it’s hopeless playing lots of slow motion passes in midfield as this allows the opposition to retain its defensive shape. It needs players who can beat a defender with a bit of trickery, some pace through the middle and on the wings. City had some success with Bell’s pace before his injury so the substitution of Cornick as a replacement defies belief. He wandered around a bit but was never going to trouble a packed defence. City should have tried to get McCrorie and Roberts into the game more as attacking down the wings forces defenders to turn towards their own goal. Sykes would have been a better sub earlier assuming he was fit. 
 

A proper plan B would also help. LM brought on a lot of subs but was there a proper plan? I don’t think so 

1 hour ago, Back of the Dolman said:

I agree with you, but there’s plenty on here who think differently.

For me he’s got no pace, can’t beat a man, his final ball is poor and his awareness for his defensive duties is lacking.

Not championship standard 

There one extra failing you didn’t mention - whenever there’s a 50-50 ball he turns it into a 40-60 ball in favour of the opposition. He’s got no strength, is easily pushed off the ball and isn’t prepared to fight for the ball. 

Is he Louis Diony’s long lost brother?

It’s impossible to answer the question in a logical way as there is nothing logical in the purchasing of football clubs. The majority of clubs down the leagues lose money so the majority of owners lose money. The only thing that varies is the about of money. So why buy a club - vanity, insanity, dodgy owners from abroad with obscure source of funds? Obviously reaching the Premier League brings in big money but there’s no guarantee of getting there or staying there. Lower down the leagues there are a few well run clubs that live within their means but the chances of success for them is limited. Being specific about City / Bristol sport,  there’s no logical reason to buy the club

It was only a few minutes on the pitch but he showed good ball control. There’s no need to get carried away by such a brief appearance but he did all that was expected. 

36 minutes ago, Baldyman said:

Just not enough players around anymore called Burt , Hugh , Derek , Brian or Les

The entire City squad for that game have names from a bygone era. That’s probably because it is a bygone era. 

26 minutes ago, DolmanGaz said:

exciting bench tonight! looking forward to see mebude 

It’s interesting with the choice midfield & attacking players but a bit thin with defenders 

11 hours ago, mozo said:

In Boro's last 3 home games they have picked up only 2 points.

Let's forget that they beat Chelsea at home in that time.

Still though, after a 6-1 drubbing last week and a disappointing draw on Sunday, they won't be brimming with confidence. 

So, based on how City play in these circumstances, City to lose by 2 goals 

4 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Tinnion said he himself should be starting!

What, Tinnion should be starting? I’m all for experience, but…….

25 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

7385  sods   80 cods 

That’s an excellent crowd under the circumstances. “Art’s Widest Momment; Mannerism”, narrated by Waldermar Januszczak was on Sky Arts at the same time. It’s obvious that the thousands of more cultured Rovers fans decided to stay in to watch it instead of going out in the rain 

1 hour ago, phantom said:

I hate to be the one to ask, but what actually is it? 

It’s obvious John Atyeo’s left hip joint 

10 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

I think the day is coming soon, as a lot have been dancing round it, when a LM stay/go thread is put out there in view of performances. I’m kind of sick of the “he’s not got his players” or “give him time” arguments.

I’m clear that the review point is end of season (and for avoidance of doubt if no discernable improvement I’d bin him then based on current trajectory as I don’t think there would be a compelling reason to give him funds), but Duff got sacked by Swansea after this number of games. Unlike 10 years ago, we all see every game - the pressure comes quicker. And to be clear that isn’t again a Nige vs Liam thing, it’s a “you took over a playoff contender and what did you do” thing 

Unfortunate we’ve got Steve Lansdown, Jon Lansdown and Brian Tinnion. They’re not a trio to admit they were wrong so unless there is an unbelievable set of poor results for the rest of the season I’m sure Manning will survive. That said, City are currently 23rd in the form table with 3 points from 6 games. If that continues then I might be wrong about Manning’s survival 

40 minutes ago, formerly known as ivan said:

Can do one!

If you are getting outclassed on the pitch and you have a chance to lump one into the box with a free kick 20 yards in their half, do it!!!

How many times were we in a position like this and three passes later it’s back with Max or we’ve given away possession!

FFS!!!

To do that effectively you need players who are good at accurately crossing the ball and players who can bear tall defenders. City’s crosses usually get cut out by the first defender and the only person who looks likely to win a header is Dickie. Unfortunately he can’t play in defence and attack at the same time 

That was the most one-sided 1-0 I’ve seen for years. But for Max and casual Leeds finishing it would have been a massacre. Too many City players with no strength or pace and, tonight, passing to someone in a red shirt was next to impossible