Merrick's Marvels

Without wishing to dwell on this sorry chapter, I'd suggest Steven Davies is misremembering.

Do you think Nakhi Wells wants to spend next season sat on his arse for 46 games? If you don't, join the dots...

Mick Harford. We sold him to Brum in March 82 for £100K but never saw a penny of it. Brum sent the money straight to Newcastle - to settle what we owed Newcastle after buying Harford for £160K just 6 months before going bust.

Not watched it yet, so without giving the game away did he win with a horse he owns or on a bet he placed? A propos of nothing, I always think the comparison between Brighton's owner and ours is instructive. Both are professional gamblers (the stock market merely being a more respectable form of betting than the horses at Kempton or the dogs at, er, Eastville) but there the similarity ends. For Brighton's owner is a raffish gambler at the races as well as a poker player, Racing Post in one hand, vodka martini shaken not stirred in the other, a tall tale or two to tell. Probably with a leggy "companion" on his arm. Wiki even tells me his nickname is The Lizard! Say no more. Meanwhile Uncle Steve, an accountant, peers at his Xcel spreadsheets (sorry Mr Fevs?) and watches his stocks and shares, FT in one hand, cup of tea in the other. There are no tall tales to tell, never mind leggy companions. His nickname is Uncle. Sexy Brighton, dull Bristol - the owners, that is, but also their football clubs. To make matters worse, both bet the house on young, up and coming, English coaches that no-one had heard of. Brighton are now in the Premier League. We are not. PS. A nag called Dr Duffy ran in the 2.50 at Cheltenham yesterday. Pulled up lame ?

He is doing okay - by selling a young striker to a Prem team last summer for £15M and also making good use of the loan market. Perhaps that will be the way for us to go this summer, too?

Which is why we have to sell at least 1 of the talented youngsters.

1. Posters are disagreeing with the statement "worst team in 40 years" 2. By doing so, no-one's saying they're happy 3. No-one's saying we're any good, most rational supporters understand why we're 18th 4. I don't disagree with some of your points but most of the negatives you list are not of Pearson's making 5. Yes progress is slow but anyone with a brain can work out this summer will be the manager's opportunity to straighten us out 6. In doing so, he might have to sell some of those youngsters you clearly don't rate - so happy days for you, eh? 7. In the meantime, enjoy the bed wetting

F me, there's some bedwetters about tonight

Non-magnetic, too!

But we still gifted a Blackburn player a free header from 6 yards at a set piece (ok, it was Williams who lost his man but Atkinson should still have dealt with it)!! On any other day that's 1-0 down and a different game. We are still finding ways not to do the basics right.

I wanna see the clip where he asks Pearson. Can you imagine the reaction?

Yep! We've a lot to lose if it turns out he hasn't.

But does Gould have this skillset, I wonder - compared to, say, a Steve Walsh or an Ian Pearce who are both proper "football men" with insider knowledge and a "been there, done that" t-shirt to match?

The FA Cup home defeats were undeserved. We played as well as the opposition and deserved a replay on both occasions. The visitors scabbed smash and grab victories in both games. As I said intensely annoying - compounded by the fact they ran onto our pitch celebrating wildly both times. **** off! Almost as if they'd won the darn Cup there and then (they went on to do so in 95 - Joe Royle's "dogs of war" team which tells you how much football that team played, ie not a lot. Harry Catterick's School of Science they were not. Mind, having twice applied to be our manager and twice been rejected at least once without the courtesy of a reply if memory serves, Royle probably considered that 95 result a little payback. Tinged of course with regret, given his time here as a player and the friends he continues to have here all these years later. I digress. Oi, scouse la - get off our bloody pitch y'thievin junkie tw** Yes, I'm still annoyed, 25 years later! If they're relegated I'll laugh my backside off. Literally.)

To suggest 2 of the bottom 4 will overtake us by season's end seems improbable to me. That's not to be complacent, merely realistic. Not that I expect us to get 50 points either, mind you. I predict us finishing 20th, 19th at best, which means a painful end to the season that gives more ammo to the anti NP brigade.

Wouldn't want them in the Cup anyway - been there, done that twice in short order, both intensely annoying afternoons. A league game at Goodison is different though, albeit you'd have to be quick to get a ticket - an over priced ticket for a seat with a crap view probably on a midweek night at a ground we seldom win at. Welcome to Goodison Park!

Only seen Klose once - the Cov game. Looked up to scratch to me, although I wasn't paying particular attention that evening to his communication skills tbh. With so many other areas of the team needing work, CB isn't top priority so I'd be inclined to retain him for another season despite his age. Which is hardly a ringing endorsement but there we are.

Plus, Pearson said in his pre-Birmingham presser we wouldn't be making a new appointment in the summer, just tweaking the existing structure. Sadly.

He'll be going into the last year of his contract this summer..... Fwiw, my priorities at CB would be: 1. Aerially dominant 2. Excellent communicator 3. Leader Not sure how many of those boxes Kalas ticks. Well I do actually - not enough of them. Given that Tanner and Pring look like the future at full back and given at least one, if not more, of Scott, Massengo and Benarous will make up our midfield for the foreseeable - that's a lot of young, naive, promising apprentices in the team. What young lads learning the ropes need more than anything is older heads guiding them through games - and when I say guiding I mean talking to them, non stop, for 95 minutes. That's why, for me, the team needs at least one, if not two, CBs who are excellent communicators. I'm not sure we have a single one. The absence of leaders - vocal leaders - in a team that is relying so heavily on it's young players, is a major negative for me. And just another example of a dysfunctional set of players who don't gel as a squad.

Like the comments you get below the line on Bristol Live, you mean? That special place for seriously special people?

Quite apt, really.

Bravo

Wow, my bet was right! Let's hope my luck holds for Cheltenham.

From what you've learnt about Pearson in the last 12 months, do you think he's the sort of manager who signs players for no other reason than he's their mate? In fact, do you seriously think Pearson is "mates" with anyone he's managed, past or present?? Your post is either badly worded, you've an agenda or you're thick as shit. I'm betting on all 3.

Then we're stuffed! Which is why I'd take the regrettable decision to sell the family silver.