Merrick's Marvels

He played 46 games that season.

Not the pitches they train on though?

Very well written but unlistenable. Needs to hire a narrator or is he deliberately trying to sound like some Alan Partridge type?

From a Bristol Football Club supporter of 40+ years standing... it's appalling. Just because his dad's money has kept them alive, doesn't mean CrayonBoy can desecrate the team's kit. You'd like to think.

Me too and it takes me all week! I've taken to leaving all the supplements with the newsagent and just buying the news/sports bits. And it still takes all week!

Sideways is generous!

That shouldn't have come as a surprise though - surely we work on what to do when this happens? It seems not.

No, Columbia

Yup (run out of likes for the day). Naismith for Scott, though? Bloody hell.

I kind of agree but would make this observation: Preston's central striker was thin as a rake, no more than 5'11" and had no pace - yet every single ball into him stuck. So we don't need a "big" striker - we need one that's better than Wells or the boychild Conway at hold up play (they're both basically "finishers" and not enough else). Conway had a wake up call today - he was dismissed today as an irrelevance by their CBs. I'd have picked him start though! So what do I know.

?

I agree 100% (out of likes for the day). Today Conway looked like a child playing a man's game - which is what he is, tbh. Weimann is NOT a midfield player - certainly not one in a team that wants to keep the ball. He's a forward- a good one. Substitutions? How about Sykes for Cornick after 5 seconds or here's an idea... Sykes from the start. Not that he's Tom Finney, either.

And you didn't sit on him until he signed a new contract? You've had a nightmare! ?

They spunked all their energy waving flags and throwing smoke bombs on West Street 3 hours before kick off mate. Given the weird mixture of booze and coke that was probably ingested at that time, they all felt flat as a pancake by 3pm. Cos it's not the old East End, Dolman or Grandstand that gets the place rocking is it? So respect to S82 and we'll let them off today. Alternatively... what was there to get excited about once we'd kicked off? What comes first, the chicken or the egg?

On a day when there are too numerous targets to have a pop at, starting with the Manager and every one of his coaching staff, it's good to see someone has their priorities right. Yes indeed, today was all about the pies, not the eternal mystery that is Harry Cornick, our complete lack of a pattern of play, our piss poor fullbacks who we rely on so much, etc etc etc So here's a positive! At half-time, they briefly played some "lounge muzak", not only that but played it at an appropriate volume - so that for a blissful 10 minutes I could actually hold a conversation with the person sat right next to me, ie about 12 inches away, without having to shout myself hoarse. Thank the lord for small mercies.

Today just highlighted what a brilliant player Scott is. Well, for us at any rate. Whether he joins Bournemouth, Wolves or whoever, he's unlikely to stand out quite so much - which only tells you how far we have to improve and how ordinary we currently are.

Why? Because our pre-season was a piece of piss, a stroll against opponents too inferior. Would be my guess. I'm not looking for us to play Ajax again, cos we won't see the ball. Again. But teams somewhere in between them and FGR and Cheltenham is what we need - something to give us a proper work out. As I say, would be my guess.

Very. Pring blowing out his sphincter after 10 minutes!

This is where stats are bollox though because if there's one player who needs a boot up the arse after that (not the only one) it's Conway.

Positives - a composed but aggressive Vyner. Aggressive! More please. Negatives - the rest of it, including the coaching staff who reckon we're fit and the staff who've spent pre-season not bothering to work on patterns of play, of which there was precious evidence compared to Preston who were infinitely superior in virtually all facets of play. God help us if the absence of 1 midfield player has reduced us to this level of mediocrity. Only another 45 games to go!

Yes clear handball. As in the ball hit his hand - I'm assuming the ref decided his hand wasn't in an unnatural position so there was no infringement. I would argue they gained an unfair advantage from it but that doesn’t have anything to do with it, it seems. Like others, I've really no idea what the rule is anymore - I mean, their Left back kept taking foul throws, with one heel way off the ground like a schoolboy but do you think the ref or sh!t lino noticed? So they don't know the rules either! Or are just sh!te, maybe. Probably. Anyways, a point was the least Preston deserved as we were abysmal after scoring, so I think we should be grateful we got something from the game and move on to next week. But if there isn't a quantum improvement in the meantime, I predict a hammering at The Den or whatever their godforsaken bearpit is called these days.

No. Unbearable lightness has been sat on the shelf for 30 years - unfinished! ?

Yes, my experience has always been that - once you get through! - the service is always first rate.

Yes. Do you think he wants to be playing in the Champ? Is he worth paying what Saints want for him? Yes.

Perhaps he's retired and just not told anyone. Would be a very Kalas thing to do. The unbearable lightness of being a modern day footballer. What would Milan Kundera (RIP) make of that, I wonder.