Fuber

9 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Was confirmed by Nige it was a clause in Martin’s favour, ie, if he made x appearances he could trigger an extra year.  Nige said (even though he didn’t sign him) that it was something he quite liked, paraphrased, it’s a nice carrot for the player to push himself to get another year.  Would imagine that is what Klose has in his “option”, e.g. if he makes x appearances he can trigger another year.

Fair enough - I had no idea.

12 minutes ago, The Bard said:

This is what winds me up no end.  We didn't choose to offer Martin a deal.  He got an extra year due to a clause in his original contract.

Everyone has the right to an opinion but base it on reality not some imagined situation.  

We renewed/extended his contract in the summer, didn't we?

There was no mention of any clause in the official announcement that I can recall.

If I'm incorrect then fair enough. 

On 01/11/2022 at 23:16, Better Red said:

I thought we played well tonight and we were actually the better team so this is not about the game tonight.

Also to be clear I like NP and I am not asking for a change in manager but..

5 Simple mistakes that I am not sure why he keeps making.

I also think he is now costing us points.

1. Nakhi Wells needs to stay on the pitch when we are chasing a goal. Effort is brilliant, team contribution is brilliant and a goal scorer at this level. Bringing on Sam Bell Saturday for him was a crazy decision and taking him off tonight was equally as bad.

2. Chris Martin should never be brought on when we are chasing a goal.
Slows game down. We go long and lose our pattern and shape up front literally kills any chance of a goal.

I would happily let him go on a free in Jan and pay some of his wages just to get someone else in.

3 Sykes is not a wing back - I think Tanner would be better

4 JD is not a wing back - Pring would be better.

Seen enough in the last 2 games re 4 and 5 to think both would do a better job. Delivery has been poor from both most games and Skye’s could be better used as a sub in a more forward position. Both Tanner and Pring are also better defenders than both.

We also played Scott there which was ridiculous to waste him in that position when clearly needs to play in the central role in Midfield.

Wilson never got a chance and he is a natural wingback again madness.

Wiemann played there tonight - that is also ridiculous.

Nige has to sort out wingbacks it’s a problem he has had all season.

And finally

5. Playing Max in goal.
I know controversial but Bentley makes game saving saves. Max has not done to bad in fairness but I also don’t think he has had a lot to do at the same time.

Bentley will win you points Max has not done that for me when he has played.

We need to get points at the moment and Bentley will win you  more than Max. Maybe this is about his contract but I think it’s costing us points.

Again not about tonight as thought we were good value for at least a point if not all three.

 

 

Issue being none of the points above address one key fact - fitness.

We can't play neither Tanner nor Pring where suggested due to the number of injuries to centre backs.

As for Bents - he was rightly dropped after a couple of pretty horrific games. O'Leary hasn't done near anything wrong, even the Kalas incident was arguable - I actually think the whole reason our makeshift backline hasn't looked so bad is due to his clear communication, which Bentley never does. You could hear all his shouts clearly front the stands.

Only point I 100% agree with is Martin. But then the only other option is Bell (when on bench). In retrospect the decision to offer him a new deal was likely the wrong one in the summer in my opinion.

2 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

Wells Conway Weimann Semenyo is more than enough bloody strikers in the squad

Nige needs to find some control and cuteness from the midfield / wing areas when we are chasing

Wing backs. Period. 

Sykes is.inconsistent. Jay can't cross not shoot.

7 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

Bristol City 0 is the problem. We have lost our scoring touch. Our balls in are dreadful and dead balls we should just give them a goal effing kick. 
 

The three at the back did well except for being under the ball for the cross. 
 

I’ll settle later but we are the usual soft touch complaining about officials. News flash is they are pony every week, but if we can’t cross or score it’s bloody irrelevant!

Exactly as above

Mostly because of Scott. Need James on set pieces imo and stop the short corners.

New LWB on loan wouldnt hurt. 

Don't mind Jay, but his end product so often let's us down. Sykes isn't much better, but he had the excuse of having an unsure Tanner behind him tonight.

1 hour ago, And Its Smith said:

That’s your opinion.  Don’t give an opinion as a fact, it makes you look silly.  Look at the players we are able to select and ask yourself are they better or worse than recent performances.  When we are bad we are terrible. The squad is better than that.  

Is that in itself not being stated as fact then?

We have a squad that, on balance, is not that experienced at this level; and experienced players (Looking at Bentley and Kalas) who are simply not pulling weight.

We have a squad that, on paper, many neutrals predicted bottom 6 for a reason. 

For example, to give a better idea of both our squad depth and balance, lets say - hypothetically - we lose Atkinson, Scott, and Semenyo in Jan.

We'd basically be relegation candidates. Some individuals may be better than their performances today, but disagree on the squad. This whole mess is being caused due to wage and spending cuts, end of story. Look at what happened to Sheffield Wednesday once FFP hit - from play-off contenders to relegated in two seasons.

On 19/10/2022 at 11:06, JoeAman08 said:

Let’s slow down. For me he chops and changes far too much and he eventually gets a response. The lack of consistency still plagues the team well into his tenure. Last night was great but it was one game against a side low on confidence. I remain unconvinced with NP. 

Are we really forgetting Lee 'Tombola' Johnson who would drop players randomly who had a good game?

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I've never really got the flak for James.

Experience, stability, technically sound. Glue that can hold the midfield together at times.

Same ilk as Skuse and Cisse for me.

People moan about output, but the unnoticeables as I call them, are vital. Marking, communication, anticipation, decision-making, and positioning

2 hours ago, Simon bristol said:

He was supposed to be the bargain of the season when we got him, but he hasnt lived up to expectations,,, to weak defensively, pretty much zero goal threat, or assists and doesnt really influence much. Similar to palmer then.  Seeing as we are so poor defensively, giving pring a go would seem a no brainer

Never recovered any form since his injury imo.

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

Will we see the best of Wilson this season? Adjustment issues at a higher level, then a medium term injury on top- unsure how much I am expecting from him this season tbh.

My hunch is that the Knee issue has been plaguing him late preseason based upon lack of selection, and fitness issues when subbed on.

Speculation of course, but trying to be optimistic.

1 hour ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

So much wrong with this post.

JD - can beat a man, can cross, seen him do both many times this season

Sykes - usually goes outside, but does sometimes come inside.  Nothing wrong with that.  I went to today’s match with a friend who doesn’t usually watch City and he thought Sykes was by some distance our best player in the first half.

The suggestion that both are ‘useless’ and offer ‘nothing going forward or at the back’ is remarkable given how good both have been in other games this season.

Going four at the back reduces the number in midfield.  Three at the back allows you to play five in midfield.  That’s why so many managers like it.

I’d love to hear your justification for Naismith being ‘the best passer in the team’, especially given how many passes he has had intercepted this season.

Max had a great game on Wednesday, Bentley was awful at Birmingham.

The issue today was not the quality of the players.  They are the same players who have played some excellent football this season.  The problem today was - for whatever reason - their resilience, their ability to pick themselves up when they go behind, and their attitude, and possibly motivation.  Their heads dropped, and no one was able to lift them.  There was a significant lack of leadership on the field and off it.  To add to that, Pearson’s substitutions we’re awful. The match was crying out for an extra presence in midfield but Pearson does his usual thing of throwing on more strikers, while taking off Sykes (who had a decent first half) and moving the most out of form player in the side (Weimann) to wing back.  After that there was no shape and no creativity.

Amazing how one (or possibly two) bad performances can turn a player from hero to zero.  The real question for me is why Pearson cannot explain today’s performance.  Why are they not doing what he wants them to?  Why has he not identified the problems and put them right?  The one thing I don’t feel I’ve yet seen Pearson do is to lift a team which is misfiring during the course of 90 minutes.

I'll bite.

Jay is probably my most disappointing player the last handful of games.

He's constantly targeted and does OK, but going forward I cannot remember the last time I saw him actually beat a man.

And his crossing and end product is farcical, never beats the first or second man, any shot from outside the box is a conversion, every time.

The only metric he beats Pring in is passing and ball control. But every other metric (pace, crossing), I'd rather have Cam.

Someone can feel free to correct me, as I may be spouting rubbish, but his end product is rubbish.

Isn't it something like 8 assists in four years?

4 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

When Naismith and James are back I think we can improve.

I'd add a fully fit Wilson (granted that won't be until late Jan).

1 hour ago, Logical-City said:

 

The comparison to O’Driscoll is the negative speech I hear in pre/post match interviews,limiting our expectations and ambition based on said the size of our club …our finances  in comparison to others…being “realistic”

Clubs we have competed with at League 1 level in the last 20 years have been promoted to the championship before us , promoted to the premier league , experienced back to back relegations Blackpool, Wigan…Luton went all the way back to the conference, hell Rotherham look as likely as us to compete or better this season. 
treading water for decades  

Gary Johnson took us from League one for 7 years to a Championship play off final in 3 years…with belief 

Pearson is unfortunately and I want him to succeed not inspiring the fan base and in turn the players to be ambitious for this club, he has unearthed, improved and polished some great young players but clubs like us need a spark rather than a sensible head in my opinion,

LJ was sacked because we weren’t breaking in the top 6 …Pearson has been in the top 6 with us once in 3 years…for 5 days 

We need to dream again not be “realistic “

Recommended solutions:

Nathan Jones

Garry Rowett 

 

 

Why would either touch us?

Both in-around or above us in the league with better FFP situations.

1 hour ago, maxjak said:

Have just seen the 2nd goal again on ITV highlights.... O'Leary is totally  100% culpable for it.  Ridiculous stupid run to the edge of the box, when all he had to do was stay on his line.  2nd game in.........and he has already phecked up.  He will never make it as 1st choice keeper ...which is a shame . 

That's incredibly harsh.

Bentley's gets pelters on here for sticking to his line. We can debate this point all day, but when a defender is given a clear concise call by the keeper, it doesn't matter where in the box it is - Max will only ever call if he's certain of the claim.

Its basic communication - something Bents never does when punching, for example, ever. He never gives a shout.

If O'Leary doesn't call then fair enough, his mistake, but he's given an early clear shout (and definitely loud enough).

I can't criticise a keeper who has communicated effectively and is attempting to command his area in a game when we're losing the aerial battle. Doesn't matter just because it's on the edge of the box. You listen to the call. Its basics.

Again biased as a keeper, but that's just my view.

2 hours ago, Sheltons Army said:

You obviously didn’t hear Twentyman’s view , as an ex centre half

Good for him. I agree with him if their was a Millwall player challenging 

There wasn't.

If that's Klose in place of Kalas, it's an easy claim, or he shouts back 'Away' telling Max he's dealing.

Said it once before and again - Kalas doesn't communicate.

1 hour ago, RedRaw said:

WTF. “Therefore it’s a perfectly acceptable decision to come and collect”

He didn’t, yet you blame kalas! Dear oh dear 

He's very clearly called for it - the clip shows as much.

As a former keeper - I'd be very ****ing livid with Tomas on that one. There's no Millwall player near, Rather him catch it and build a phase of play rather than it be headed out and having to contend a second ball. I've said this before, but Kalas time and again both giving and receiving shouts is awful at communications. That was one of the reasons we signed Klose in the first place - who actually communicates. Let alone the fact it also meant Rob got partially wiped as well.

Its being towards the edge of area means nothing, he's not leaving the area whatsoever, its HIS area, he's completely in rights in make that call.

On a serious note - 

How I wish Niki Maenpaa hadn't been so injury prone.

1 minute ago, AppyDAZE said:

Do you think they are queuing up to manager Bristol City in the current state it is in?

Can you at least give us a name or two of the type of manager you believe we should replace him with?

 

This is the issue of those espousing Pearson to be sacked. There is utterly no point doing so if the prospective appointment is Jason Euell.

All well and good wanting him replaced, but there aren't may many managers I'd be gunning after at the minute and no matter what we do its a risk - Personally - I wouldn't mind Wilder in spite of what happened at Boro, but aside from that I have no clue, at best probably the likes of Rob Edwards - but we would have to be able to beat out the likes of Boro, Cardiff, Huddersfield, and Hull, among others, who are all mostly in a better and more flexible situation than us from an FFP standpoint.

All of a sudden the next two games are of much more importance.

The other issue is just how many players are out of contract again next season - slightly concerning that there's been no update with regards to the like of Bentley and DaSilva's contracts, It's basically another reset.

If we're going to change, make the decision after Millwall, no excuse to not get 3 points from the next two fixtures at minimum.

For all that I rate JD, his crossing has never been convincing, and even when it beats the first man, doesn't the second.

Personally think Pring has better delivery and pace, but Jay better for interplay.

Depends, if we're on about only L2 to CH.

As I can think of a couple up to us in League One, i.e. Basso from Woking for example.

O'Dowda, Bolasie, two off the top of my head.

12 hours ago, hinsleburg said:

Actually think Tinnion summed it up perfectly, if it's given for you you'd agree and if it was given against you it would be soft!

I thought it was a pen personally, but don't look at it in the same way as some of the other ones we've been turned down over the last 18 months or so. If there was VAR I don't think they would have overturned it

If against us I'd have been annoyed. Sure, would have been slightly soft. At worst.

Equally however Hanley was completely clumsy. If we were in the PL that's gets given on VAR you would have thought.

Not a truly dangerous position, not going towards goal, just a stupid stupid challenge.

If that was Atkinson making that challenge I'd be swearing.

12 hours ago, firstdivision said:

The best football since we returned to the Championship came in Sept-Dec 2017 under LJ when we  shot up the league and reached the s-f of the LC. We scored goals and, here's the difference, stopped the opposition scoring.

One night stand outs: 2-0 at Fulham on 31 October. Our football in the first-half was superb. And we didn't give goals away. We also had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Another moment that stands out: Jamie Paterson's stunning goal at Sheffield United. People focus on the shot, but the build-up was superb as well. We played superbly at Ipswich in that spell as well. We won at Sunderland. And we beat Manchester United with a couple of excellent  goals. We also came from a goal down to bear Derby 4-1. Amazing how the memory can fade.

We are quite fun to watch but I hate being 'patted on the head' by Norwich fans. And we lost. We gave them stupid goals. That is not good football. 

Also, when the game had one goal in it last night, we didn't look like scoring. Norwich sat back and tried to hit us on the break. They played quite pragmatically - and successfully. 

Even during that spell unde LJ, especially that Sheff Utd game, I feel that breakdown is slightly rose tinted.

That Sheff Utd game for example, we were pretty toothless before Pato's goal, and struggled went they went down to ten men.

Same applied to the Cardiff win in the same period, labouring in open play to create opening at time, scoring from a Magnússon long throw before Bogle(?) Got sent off. A mixture of cataclysmic defending, poor ball retention and urgency almost saw Cardiff equalise.

I'd argue this period under Pearson, as each game passes, makes me think we're much more consistent with regards to a playstyle than we ever were under LJ when in open play. Add into that we clearly are playing to a system which was never settled under LJ for a prolonged period, due to rotation, injuries, and selection changes. On balance, they're equal.

The only thing stopping this this being ahead of the LJ period mentioned, is individual errors, for me, but that's just my opinion.

On 08/09/2022 at 17:06, Rob k said:

Agreed - It’s got  to the point when i don’t think you should be allowed to be anonymous on there anymore such is the level of hatred 

This is the key thing. I use Twitter and only have friends posts and news sources on my feed. 

They just need to verify users ideally. 'But mer fredums!'

Which is ironic as you'd still be able to post pretty much whatever you'd like, it's just that like in real life, you'd be likely facing consequences. Think before posting etc.

32 minutes ago, Riaz said:

Lee Johnson wasn’t the money man. Ashton and Steve Lansdown we’re responsible for finances. There was also a pandemic which ruined many clubs finances. Bit ridiculous to blame our financial difficulties on LJ.

poor bloated squad with over-paid players? Yes.

we’re in debt because of LJ? no. 

We were in the mess with regards to recruitment mostly due to his lack of identity and playing style that was instilled into the squad. Clubs in bag etc.

He wasnt the total cause of the debt, but he was definitely partially responsible through his lack of direction, and as manager would have had access to the same material Ashton had to determine financial position. He also indicated multiple times that it was himself as head coach that signed off on signings.

I split responsibility between all three of them. In the same manner of stars aligning may mean we get a playoff push, so two did they aline with dumb, dumber, and dumbest in LJ, MA, and JL respectively.

18 hours ago, Superjack said:

There you go, Robbored. Can you keep it to this ****ing thread please?

Mods - pin it.

Irony being he wasn't a proper manager.

A proper manager corrects off field issues or disciplinary problems.

Wilson never did so. Arguably the off field problems such a sthe drinking culture were by far away their worst under Wilson - something ironically GJ had to correct.

A proper manager is our current one. Correct culture, there for the players, shields them allowing to get on with it - a proper man manager.

3 hours ago, Robbored said:

Scott Parker has achieved two promotions to the PL and that makes him a proper manager Imo.

He's a very overrated manager, but that's just in my opinion.

Tactically stubborn, Inept read of how to alter a game, no plan B.

Lucked out at two squads who had by far the best resources and some of the best coaching amd playing staff for the tier. We'll see how good he is under the same conditions outside of the PL without Parachute payments.

With a similar squad, so far at least, Silva is doing much better and has them playing much more effective football, and getting more out of Mitrovic as well.