Merrick's Marvels

On more than one occasion (Pearson at least once) the injury/infection has been described as "delicate".... And given it seems no-one from the club wants to talk about it in any detail.... The mind boggles. If surgery is being considered, for an infection that antibiotics hasn't cleared up, things must be quite serious and I get the horrible feeling we won't be seeing him for a good while yet. Which would be fine, if Tanner was seizing the chance to make the position his own....

Off the top of my head - To have a better plan than the current owner, who's had over 20 years to think of a winning one. To have a better understanding of what it takes to run a football club. To be a better communicator. Not to make appointments based on nepotism or favouritism. Not to make pronouncements that go "it's my club". To have a better antenna for bullshitters and snake oil salesmen. To understand that, appointing people just because they're easy to get on with, is not the basis on which to run any business let alone a football club. As I say, that's just off the top of my head. Give me a bit longer and I'm sure there's more.

Does anyone think Pearson is the type who starts by saying we lack an identity so spends time establishing us as a 4-3-3 team and then, in less than a year, chuck it all away and go 3-5-2? No, me neither. When Leicester were bottom of the Prem, everyone there was clamouring for a change in system. He stuck to his guns and they were the first team to avoid relegation after being bottom at Xmas. If he didn't blink under that pressure, he ain't gonna blink after a couple of poor games here and not with another 43 opportunities to put it right. Even if it might cost him his job. He's not so insecure or self-serving - unlike some we've had - to make decisions just to save his own arse. What he'll continue to do, is make decisions based on what he thinks is best for the football club and his players. If only some of our previous employees had been as honest and straightforward. Happy birthday, Nige. Age is just a number, baby!

Jesus H Christ. Are you thick?? On ignore you pop.

If, as ManUre's statement says, "Mason did not commit the offences" why are they getting rid of him?? Stupid question, really.

He had no interest in BCFC at all !!!!!!!! His son badgered him into taking him in the late 1980s. The only memories Lansdown might have of the 1970s are of going to Eastvile !!

We've reduced our quality as well. Semenyo, Scott, Kalas, Baker would walk into any other team in our division. The various reasons for them leaving are not the point. The point is that none of them have been replaced with equivalent quality. That's fine if you give their replacements time to develop but how realistic is it to lose players of that quality, mostly replace them with lower league greenhorns, and still talk about the play-offs? Put another way, how many teams have ever been promoted with a side full of inexperienced novices and cheap pick ups from the lower leagues? Personally, I'm fine with finishing 10th (optimistic, judging on performances so far). I get why the official line is "we can make the play-offs" as you've got to be seen to be ambitious and pushing standards upwards. But a team that has so many players still "learning the game" doesn't strike me as promotion material. I get why we have so many of these types - just think we, the fanbase, should be more realistic about what they can achieve in the short term.

He has. But he also has the turning speed as described.

How is this goalscorer going to score when we create nothing some games, precious little in others???? We need a better midfield - at least one, if not two, mobile players who can receive and pass the ball without everyone holding their breath in trepidation. Then the goalscoring will take care of itself.

You've forgotten this season's no.1 tactic - "we were fitter than them".

There's a website called bristolslostpubs.com Takes a bit of wading through, especially on a Friday night after a pint or two! But... I've found a record of Hollis running 2 pubs in the Old Market area between 1914 - 1928 and 1934 -1938. And talking of great grandfathers, just a stone's throw from where mine worked as a Wheelwright! I'll keep looking for him running pubs in BS3 ?

Good stuff ? Yes, signed him for Bedminster in 1899. They finished above both City and Rovers that season as Bristol's top professional club, before amalgamating with City in the summer of 1900. Their last ever home game was a 4-1 win against QPR at Ashton Gate. Your great grandfather opened the scoring on 2 minutes, described in the history books as "a fast drive" - whatever that is, a Walshy piledriver perhaps? Here's to him. Cheers!

Yes. My first reaction, before looking at it closely, was this might be the 1901-02 team simply because that was our first season in the Football League - and this would seem to be an appropriate occasion to mark by producing a pin badge. As for Clay - I think he is there - take a look at the middle row, 2nd in from the right (in front of the chap who's been distracted by the Away End!) - it's a young looking Clay for sure (he'd have been 20) but I reckon that's him. He signed in November, debuted in December, so the photo would have to be mid-season but I still reckon that's him and 1901-02 is a strong possibility. The badge detectives are helping to narrow it down to this season too.

Yes, it was called The Southville Hotel, better known to us - until turned into flats recently - as The Imp. No. 2, Alpha Street, Southville. Hollis was the licensee from 1906 to 1911. The bit you've quoted above which says "having previously run a pub between 1899 and 1909" is obviously wrong. Good old Wikipedia! I reckon this should be 1901 not 1909 - which would tie in with his first and second spells as manager. I don't know what pub this was but will keep digging! The book by Leigh Edwards and David Woods 'Bristol City FC The First 100 Years' also states he was a local publican after leaving City for a 3rd time in 1913 and remained so until his death in 1942. Need to find out about that, too! A final note on Hollis: He was born in Nottingham - same as our current manager. He was one of the best managers we've had - same as our current manager. He left in 1899 because of interference from the directors and conditions they attached to the offer of a new contract - er, same as our current manager????? Let's hope not! He joined local rivals (Bedminster) but lost his job when the two clubs amalgamated - I think we can safely say this one won't be happening. History might repeat itself in one other way though: The work Nottingham-born Hollis did laid the foundations for a new manager to come in and lead us into the top flight of English football in 1906, Championship runners-up in 1907, FA Cup finalists in 1909. What does fate have in store for Nottingham-born Nigel Pearson? Like at Leicester, will it be someone else taking all the glory? Let's hope not!

Wow. That's old! Looks like Sam Hollis in the suit, standing to the Left - he was manager 1897-99, 1901-05, 1911-13. No Wedlock there by the looks of it, so it's pre-1905. So between 1901-1905. (Can't be 1897-99 as that's Ashton Gate and we didn't start playing there until amalgamating with Bedminster in 1900.) Harry Thickett played Right Back for us for 1 season 1904-05 before taking over as manager in 1905. Can't see him there, so it's probabaly pre 1904. So 1901 - 1904. Look forward to having a closer look tomorrow ?

Who is that, asking the second lot of questions? A spectacular upgrade on anyone else who's quizzed Pearson in the last couple of years - give that man a knighthood!

Yes it is. In the centre of the 6 yard box, just to the left of Wedlock as we look, is Joe Cottle our Left Back. 2 months before the Cup Final he won his only cap, playing for England against Northern Ireland in a Home International match. Billy Wedlock also played in that game. Imagine that - 2 current City players playing together for England, 2 City players born and bred in Bedminster as it happens. Local heroes, indeed. On retirement, both then ran pubs - Cottle 2 pubs on East Street long since gone, Wedlock the, er, Wedlock's! (The Star). What is it with our England internationals and pubs? Billy Jones, our first ever international, capped by England in 1901, ran The Barley Mow when he retired - a pub that hasn't changed much since 1901! But we digress. The City player nearest the foreground, with his back to us, is likely to be our Right Back and tallest player, Archie Annan. The other 3 in the 6 yard box are likely to be our Half Backs ("midfield") - Wedlock played in the centre with Pat Hanlin and Arthur Spear (leaning over) either side of him. Our 2 players furthest to the right are possibly Inside Forwards - Bob Hardy nearest, Andy Burton on the edge of the area. Harry Clay is in goal, as he was for over a decade. We were missing 2 key players for the Cup Final - Reuben Marr from midfield and no. 9 Willis Rippon, who scored regularly in this Cup run, most notably 2 penalties in the semi-final against Derby (one in the 90th minute). Heroes all !

Well, I will be posting here eventually. Right now though, I'm still trying to get my head round the suggestion on another thread that our owner has been meddling in our transfer negotiations. I don't know whether I'm dumbfounded or unsurprised at the minute and am left wondering what our new CEO made of that - I mean, what the hell did he ever do during 25 years at Crystal Palace?

Like most things, it ain't rocket science (although the science of this i find interesting). It just comes down to creating an environment - wherever you work - of trust, belief and respect. It's there in Pearson's recent interview with The Athletic. Pearson has created an environment where the players will run through brick walls - for him, for the team and, thus, for us. Because they trust him, believe in him, he commands their respect. Do players similarly trust Lee Johnson, believe in him, respect him? Do they ****, given enough time. You reap what you so. Pearson would be a great leader whatever job he had.

I think we know why Steve Cotterill's like he is! His Dad died when he was a kid and his playing career was ruined by injury. Interesting video though.

Agreed ? He's substantially more "risk averse" than they are. Cautious, conservative, call it what you will.

Bloom is the opposite of good mates with Benham!!!!! You're right to say Benham used to work for Bloom but they're mortal enemies now. Bloom refuses to be in the same room as him and when Brighton play at Brentford, he stands in the away end.

Yep because he's a chip off the old block and simply cannot deal with criticism. His performance at a fans Q&A at The Gate years ago now, probably the SOD era, is still fresh in the mind - the slightest hint of criticism in a question wasn't met with a measured, logical response but instead one that was exasperated and aggressive, basically saying "shut up and leave it to us". Since then, he's been promoted! And his daddy doubled down by telling us "it's my club". Thanks for the bricks and mortar. Genuinely, thanks. But it's time for fresh ideas.

Mind you, he could say what a great job the coaching staff are doing at developing our young players - how many Academy lads has Pearson given a debut to? But even that seems beyond Lansdown or Jon Boy. Perhaps the new CEO might like to say a few words? The silence is deafening. And ominous, for Pearson supporters.

I know where you got that from, cos I've watched that video too. But does Fleming actually say "Yes, when he's fitter, we'll definitely be sending Benarous out on loan"? I'm not sure he does. He seems to talk in generalities and agrees that a loan might be an option but nothing has been decided yet.