bearded_red

Right here's my take from tonight's game.

We actually started the game ok. For the first 15 we were on top but after it went downhill fast. The rest of the game was a non event. So poor.

Interesting team selection. Yes Osbourne scored but why square pegs in round holes from the start at RWB again? Scored a great goal to be fair.

Flint will get slaughtered for the OG but I wouldn't blame him. Shortly before he dealt with a ball very similar that Parish should have come and claimed, but no, as is always the case rooted to his line. 5mins later cross comes in, Flint can't trust him, tries to deal with it....disaster. We seriously need another keeper if Fielding is not worth another go. Parish just can't be trusted.

3 incredibly weak goals conceded again tonight and we just couldn't live with Brentford's movement. At first I thought we looked solid in a 3-5-2 under SC but we have looked anything but now the honeymoon period is over. I think El-Abd is the type of defender and character we have needed for a long time but I just don't believe he can play on either side of a back 3. He was absolutely carved to shreds first half. Admittedly Osbourne going off injured didn't help him out at all (even though he shouldn't be RWB) but time after time Brentford got in behind El-Abd and caused us an awful lot of problems down that side of the pitch. For me El-Abd either needs to play in the centre of a back 3, or as one of only 2 centre halfs, so that the full backs can tuck round and cover. I'm sure he will be a good signing for us but so far he has been horribly exposed when either side of a back 3.

For all those calling for JET to be dropped in favour of Barnett....seriously get real. This was apparently because Barnett would be 'hungry' or have a 'point to prove'....all based on a few non existing sub appearances and he's suddenly deemed fit to start over our main man? I suggest you pay a bit more attention in the future, because tonight you got your wish and it didn't work at all. I accept he's short on match practice and when fit will be a good addition but as a pair Barnett and Baldock were never even close enough. SC must have been watching a different game to me, he said Barnett 'worked his socks off for 90mins'....ummmm well Steve if that's work rate then it makes JET look like he has the work rate of Roy Keane in his prime. Barnett couldn't trap a bag of cement tonight and at 1-1 missed an absolutely glaring opportunity. He won a few good headers but hold up play very poor and didn't take any pressure off of us when needed.

The only player that can come out with any kind of credit was Marv. Purely on effort, nothing more.

Had we kept it at 2-1 until HT we may have had a chance but as per silly mistakes. The second half was gutless and as bad as I've seen all season. Absolutely no fight what so ever and apart from a snap shot from Barnett created nothing.

What worries me most is under SC I didn't think we would be so gutless and lacking fight. Hope tonight and Wolves are a one off. I personally don't buy the whole bollocks of....'oh well what did you expect' or we were 'never going to win' it doesn't excuse that tonight. We need to buck up our ideas and fast.

Excellent post and I agree with everything you have said.

However, the opening goal wasn't Flint's or Parish's fault as it was actually mine! Just after successfully clearing the one beforehand that you mention I decided it was a good idea to pipe up with 'at least Flint has stopped scoring own goals'. So yeah, egg on mine and I take responsibility for the own goal. Sorry everyone.

Feel sorry for Baldock personally. Runs his socks off every game. As hes said is just going through a bad patch atm however has still scores a decent amount of goals. Imagine how many he will get in this league when hes inform. People need to remember hes still young as well will get better.

Baldock when hes not scoring offers work rate and stretches the game with some clever off the ball runs. Same cant be said about jet who when he has an off day offers nothing. That being said we have two of the best strikers in this league the defence and midfield lets us down sadly.

Apart from his off day Saturday that involved creating a chance for Cunningham that he should have done better with and 2 chances for Baldock that helped to spark the debate on this thread on whether he wastes too many chances.

I've seen players have good games and do less.

I don't understand this prolific rubbish that keeps coming up. He has never ever been prolific. Maybe this is why people expect more. His 2 goals at the weekend has just equalled his best ever season. Which suggests to me he is improving as a goal scorer and making more chances for himself.

You have to avoid Stockhausen's poetic licence!

Expect Fontaine and Wilson to leave now, and Carey to take a back seat, leaving Brundle to be able to fight for first team.

Thenthe CBs would be:

Osborne, Flint,Williams, EL-Abd, Brundle, Carey(taking a back seat)

That would of course be the ideal scenario.

Although shifting Wilson and Fontaine (both of which still on contracts given to them when we were in The Championship), as we have seen in many other examples will be easier said than done.

Strange area of the team to be looking to strengthen.

Osbourne has been impressive since he initially came on loan, Flint has been excellent since Cotterill's arrival and in Williams we have a real talent. If we were to revert to four at the back anytime soon (which interest in wingers would suggest we may) one of those would already have to sit on the bench before we take into consideration Carey, Fontaine, Brundle, James Wilson (yes still here) and now El Abd. I would say we have much weaker areas in our squad than centre half at the moment.

As for El Abd, I won't claim to be an expert on him, but he has always appeared a nasty player and a bit of a wind up merchant. I think I'm right in saying that he got Ricky Lambert the only red card of his career though, so he deserves some respect for that at least. I wouldn't look too far into us doing a job on Upson and Bridcutt in the game at Ashton Gate last season and forcing El Abd to bring the ball out of defence as an example of suggesting he is is poor on the ball though. I would suggest that says more about Upson and Bridcutt's quality and the way Brighton looked to play rather than any slight on El Abd.

We have been too soft for too long though and if Cotterill sees him as the type of character to make us tougher and more difficult to beat then that is fair enough I'd say. I would be concerned though that working withing the SCMP constrictions we would be much better off spending the wages we will likely to be paying El Abd strengthening elsewhere. It is of course unfair to judge that until the window shuts though.

In the first half there were 3 or 4 moves of similar length that led to shots on goal.

Petulant or just defending personal abuse and insults by all the billy big balls on here.

Puff your chest out and keep fighting Steve.

Que....abuse

Could you lead me to this 'personal abuse' you speak of?

I personally thought he came over really badly.

My two personal favourites were admitting that the board didn't volunteer for interviews at the unveiling of Cotterill because of criticism they'd received from the press and that people 'make too much of the 5 pillars'.

Now I'm only an occasional reader of the post, but I must have missed it's hard hitting journalism. If the criticism the board received after the SO'D sacking was enough to make them play the 'fine we wont talk to you' card then I really do despair. I would suggest they go and find a job in a company slightly less in the spotlight if they cannot deal with criticism from the press. Imagine the stick a manager would get if he refused to talk to the media because they criticised his team selection the week before. Pretty embarrassing from grown adults in all honesty. Gary Johnson's response to the Post after the Orr/Brooker/Partridge/Brown incident was spot on and entirely called for in my opinion, this however is nothing but pathetic.

As for people 'making too much of the 5 pillars', well he better tell his son because he keeps emailing me about them! I actually agree with his base point in that all they actually are is a guide to how a club should be run and I do think that some fans are guilty of making too much of them (comments such as 'would the new manager buy into the 5 pillars'). But this has only happened because the only things we hear from the board are banging on about the bloody things. Following this up with 'maybe we've been too open with the fans' was beyond belief.

At one point he tried to assure everyone that he has 'thick skin' but some of his petulant responses to the criticism aimed at him and/or the board would suggest he has anything but.

All in all the icing on a pretty s*** day. 

I thought we gave a decent and wholly professional performance, combined with a bit of Emmanuel-Thomas magic.

At times the football wasn't fantastic, but I don't think we were too guilty of lumping it from back to front and the pitch and Tamworth's rather overzealous tackling (I don't blame them and would expect the same from us should we play opposition 2 tiers above, but the referee was a joke) made it difficult to really play any sparkling football.

One thing that is heartening for me is how well we stood up to their physical threat and although they are obviously poor opposition I think we have all seen City teams get bullied enough to appreciate when we stand firm and in my opinion defend well. I haven't seen the game back on TV yet, but the common opinion seems to be that it wasn't a goal? And I felt the clean sheet had we taken it would have been fully deserved.

At the start of the second half we should have scored a couple of goals and had we done so it could have ended up a Cricket score, but once we didn't and Tamworth started throwing a few men further forwards I felt it was right that Cotterill bring Pack on for Taylor even though I had enjoyed JET playing in behind two strikers. For a period just before Pack came on it was more like a Basketball match than a football one and as the team in the lead and possessing the greater quality it made sense to try and calm the game down.

Obviously JET will grab the headlines, but I thought Marv and Flint both had good games and went a long way to blunting any threat Tamworth had.

Let's look at his jobs:

Bristol Rovers - play offs, mid table, sacked. FAIL

QPR - relegated, promoted, mid table, sacked. EVENS

Plymouth - quit to go to Leicester and later admitted to being dishonest - FAIL

Leicester - relegated, sacked - FAIL

Blackpool - promoted, relegated, play offs, left. - SUCCESS

Crystal Palace - promoted, left. EVENS

To qualify the last one, he signed so many players in the summer and made a right mess of things and then resigned as he couldn't handle it. Hardly an overall success.

So, one success out of six.

Amazing that some fans want this man at our club.

But he's a City boy through and through and he'd have passion for this club.

Oh no, my mistake. He's odious gas scum who shouldn't be allowed in BS3.

If Holloway was ever accepted City manager I would not only give up on this club, but with football in general.

If somebody like that could be welcomed in and cheered by the Ashton Gate crowd, then football as I know it would be dead. While we're at it, why don't change our kit to Pink and Yellow spots and go and play in Cornwall. Because at the end of the day nothing really matters does it?

What do we stand for as a club? Because if Holloway could ever be our manager, then I would argue we stand for absolutely nothing. I simply do not understand what the people that want him here see in football in the same way I will never understand Cardiff fans that are happy to play in red.

There are plenty of candidates for this job that I don't like and/or think are poor managers, but should they be named I would be fully behind them. But not him. Never.

Nonsense decision.

I often wonder whether free speech is all it's cracked up to be.

This forum would benefit from anyone suggesting that odious gas cretin as manager receiving an instant ban.

Anybody who falls for his built for media persona of 'Oh look at what a jovial and happy chappy I am' needs their head testing.

He is an odious little cretin and our fans should know this better than anyone else.