Merrick's Marvels

6 minutes ago, grifty said:

And especially as his game isn’t based on hard or long running like say Knights is.

I think the phrase the first few yards are in your head is perfect for James.

I think you've identified the "footballing" reason behind his likely release - running. Imo, they want all our midfielders to be athletic, hard runners. And that is James' only weakness - if he was mobile and athletic he wouldn't be playing for us as the rest of his game is top notch.

Factor in the "non-footballing" reason - a saving on wages can be made - and there you have it. Cheerio to a top, top player. To be replaced by one 9 years younger, cheaper and who's played a lot of football.

That will be the reasoning, whether we agree with it or not. The proof will be in the pudding I guess. 

Here you go:

Date was 7 April 73.

City scorers - OG (14 mins), Rodgers (20), Gow (27, penalty), Gould (81)

Carlisle scorers - Laidlaw (5)

Attendance - 10,588

City team was Cashley - Sweeney - Drysdale - Emmanuel - Rodgers - Merrick - Fear - Ritchie - Gillies - Gow - Gould (Tainton unused) 

15 hours ago, Davefevs said:

                  O’Leary

Knight Knight Knight Knight

       Knight Knight Knight

                   Knight

             Knight Knight

" He's here, He's there, He's every*******where, Jason Knight, Jason Knight"

6 minutes ago, The Swan and Cemetery said:

In a world of maybe, just maybe… availability of Dickie and Vyner (and Max to be fair) is what worries me most. 

Aye. Dickie was shattered at the end.

We could really do with Naismith getting fit and staying in one piece for a bit, if only to give Dickie a well earned rest.

Vyner is just a supreme athlete.

18 minutes ago, Southport Red said:

Vyner’s probably looked bad at full speed, but, yeah, he didn’t get near him. 

I think the ref's line of vision was obscured by Williams(?) at just the crucial second.

So, in fact, he was guessing and booked Vyner for something he didn't actually see.

He'll be embarrassed if he bothers to watch it back because Vyner was nowhere near making contact.

We could actually have done with VAR it was such a "clear and obvious error" but as no such thing exists (I think) are we able to appeal a booking like that?

Rob Dickie foot perfect.

Again.

What an absolute steal he is.

And back in the top half.

The table always looks so much better that way.

Top notch from everyone in centre mid tonight.

Controlled the game in and out of possession.

Bravo.

Hey! Dan.

Or Don.

Excellent cameo from Mebude too. Got a good head on his young shoulders.

Well played son!

2 minutes ago, cotswoldred2 said:

Exactly 'who cares' lighten up.

**** off mate I'll post what I want

2 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

 

And this is why @ExiledAjax titled the thread as he did - great work fella!

Chicken

2 minutes ago, Bristol Oil Services said:

Alan there tonight?

I believe so with boys and brother. I offered a beer but heard nowt. Wont be hearing much now neither! Not sure he's ever seen Saints win at The Gate. Not in recent times anyway.

A relief to see the real Haydon Roberts step forward. Well played fella. Hope he kicks on now.

Good effort that. Saints not at their best but who cares. Well played City!

24 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Our lack of conviction in and around their area is tragic.

That's more like it!

6 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Reckon this might be the quietest I’ve ever heard AG.

Manningball. v. Martinball innit.

Our lack of conviction in and around their area is tragic.

2 hours ago, GrahamC said:

My hunch would be just like the number of points we have, we’re slap bang in the middle with regard to our number of injuries.

I think we understandably focus on ourselves but as an example on Saturday for West Brom Daryl Dike suffered his 3rd major injury in only his 5th game in the last year & Kyle Bartley went off injured, too.

I remember seeing Leeds having 9 out injured & Millwall as well struggling with injuries. Cardiff too, O’Dowda out injured since August..

Our issue has been the policy of running with so few senior players which exacerbates this.

Yes you're probably right.

Saw the story about Dike today - certainly opens the door for Weimann. He might just make himself a hero up there if WBA go up. 

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Our xi is 11

Very good.

2 hours ago, CityReds said:

So the HPC and Ashton gate pitches are Desso Hybrid pitches, the synthetic fibres are plugged into the soil which helps promote root growth and strengthen the root beds. They’re prepared in the same way a full grass pitch is and is used in most of the major pitches in the world. AG, St James Park, Nou Camp, Old Trafford, San Siro, PSG, Twickenham and Wembley to name a few. Every year the organic grass is removed and relayed but the fibres will last 6-8 years.

 

So, as per Fevs, couldn't be further from the truth then.

2 hours ago, CityReds said:

Couldn’t be further from the truth in reality

I'm asking a question but thanks.

2 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

The dataset required is huge and hard to obtain.

You need to know which types of injury occurred on which type of surface. You need to know if it was in match or in training. If training well what type of training was it? Specifically what was the player doing when the injury occurred. Cross reference injury type and player action and pitch surface and maybe you'll get somewhere.

Trouble is this isn't freely available information, clubs and medical teams are secretive about it for commercial reasons, professional reasons, and most importantly for the privacy of the players involved.

Then, if you did manage to get that data out of our club well to make a comparison you need a big enough sample size to draw sufficient conclusions from. You need data from many clubs, over many years, on order to draw a meaningful conclusion.

Every club would love to know which combination of pitch and training leads to the fewest injuries and if that isn't available then I expect it's because it's such a massive job with such difficulty in obtaining the required information.

Thanks.

So something there's no real data for, by the sound of it.

HALLELUJAH!

Have we opted for a pitch at Ashton Gate that doesn't need renewing every summer because we want to maximise concert revenues during those months?

If this extremely firm surface - replicated as it is at the training ground - is contributing towards our endless injuries, have we prioritised non-matchday revenue streams above player fitness?

Cart before horse, if so.

Although how our injury list compares to other clubs would be good to know.

There must be data for it somewhere, there's data for everything these days - let's call it xi, expected injuries. What's our xi compared to others?

It's a stupid question.

The sort only a juvenile intern who isn't really a fan could ask - posting clickbait shite, with no genuine interest in the answer so long as there's social media traction.

So **** off non-fan whoever you are.

It's impossible to say one is better than the rest.

Hereford 86. Donovan 91. Pompey 76. The first ever game under lights against Wolves. The list is endless. Stupid bloody question

The night Gordon Owen tore Swindon a new one. Liverpool 77.

On it goes. Anybody who's actually been there as a fan for even 5 minutes wouldn't ask such a dumb ass question.

How about the night the Saints didn't go marching in 2024? 

I somehow doubt it but we live in hope.

"And now you're gonna believe us, the Welsh are f00kin shit".

"Yorath is back, Yorath is back, hellooo, hellooo..."

Still makes me laugh like a drain every time I think of it, even after all these years.