Dr Balls

1. Our midfield cannot continue as a 2 whoever plays there. We need 3 in the middle or we will continue to be over run and our defence will continually be under pressure. 2. Even though he is only 18, Alex Scott is probably our best central midfielder. 3. The lack of threat upfront without Semenyo is really worrying. Other than score the scruffiest goal ever, Martin did nothing today. He certainly did not give their centre backs a hard time, while in contrast the 2 Sunderland forwards gave our defenders a torrid time. 4. We have yet to work out our best formation and how to fit our best players into one that actually works, assuming that the coach even appreciates who the best players are. 5. Zak Vyner is not a championship centre back. When your best contribution as centre back is assisting for a goal that is actually damning with faint praise. 6. If we lose Bentley in this transfer window, we will concede even more goals. At this level, we can’t keep expecting a keeper to make a couple of world class saves every game, and even then we are still losing. 7. Likewise we can’t afford to lose Weimann. He is the Duracell bunny/human dynamo and has clearly continued last season’s form into this. He was yet again the City MOTM today, IMHO. 8. Massengo has not improved since the day he arrived at Ashton Gate. If any scout was watching today’s performance, they will be reporting back that he is not up to playing at this level and is more of a liability than an asset. 9. Nothing much has changed from last season, but then we are playing pretty much the same team and formation so what did we expect? We continue to score but concede even more, which suggests that the pundits who had us down for another relegation battle were right. A potential top 6 finish, although far from impossible, looks extremely improbable on today’s performance, even given how tight this league can be. 10. Other clubs boost themselves in the short term with loans. Pearson may not like them per se, but we appear to be missing a trick here. We supposedly can’t afford to buy anyone better than what we have got, so surely loans are the next best option to bolster the squad.

Seri and Figureido are both decent enough players at Championship level. The rest are unknown quantities and creating a team out of so many new arrivals, especially a few who have arrived relatively late, sounds somewhat unlikely. Lewis-Potter and Honeyman, who were their 2 best players last season have both left, which also suggests that they might struggle. If the above is true, then he was the same dodgy keeper who let in 5 at Ashton Gate in the last home game of the season.

As someone earlier put it, my first reaction on seeing this topic was “Oh no!”. RIP Stoney - that trademark red fedora will live long in City fans memories. No one else could carry off that look so well!

Yes but… If 3-4 teams from a particular league automatically qualify for the league stages of the Champions League then immediately that league is going to do better than a league where only one team qualifies for the qualifying stages and has to get through those even to make the group stages. Basically like so much of life these days it pretends to be meritocratic but actually just reinforces privilege by skewing things right from the start. If all the teams from the “bigger leagues” of England, Spain, Italy and Germany had to go through qualifying they wouldn’t all make it to the group stages through a knockout process, because football often throws up surprising results. That’s the joy of cup competitions, which those who want a guaranteed income stream hate of which the ultimate would be the breakaway European league.

Chatting to a couple last week who lived in the same block as MA on Pembroke Road when he was in Bristol. Would seem their (non-football) opinion of him was very similar to most on here…

As well as former finalists (Malmö), Sheriff Tiraspol who beat Real Madrid at the group stage last season are also having to go through the first qualifying round. Amazing!

I know that this won’t be popular with everyone on here but there are many who are concerned about the links between football and gambling, and the risks and serious downsides of gambling addiction. Anyone who has heard Peter Shelton talking recently will appreciate the problems that it caused him and many other professionals, let alone the effect on supporters and their families for those with gambling addiction. On that basis if you do want to get betting advertising and sponsorship out of football, please consider signing this petition: https://www.change.org/p/end-gambling-advertising-and-sponsorship-in-football/psf/promote_or_share

Apparently North Somerset promising £10 million of £25 million shortfall. Dan Norris is reported to be looking to see what WECA can offer. But neither of those are Tory run, unlike our incompetent government, many of whom seem to have only one role which is bailing out the lies of BoJo the clown, rather than actually doing anything constructive…

Apparently also played a couple of cricket games for Scotland as a bowler (before they started playing at their current level). Always thought goalkeepers would be wicketkeepers but apparently not. RIP

They truly are the “Second City Sags”! Whatever our concerns about finances and point deductions etc this season, there are definitely at least 2 Championship clubs (Brum and Reading) which are in a complete mess with only 4 weeks until the first game of the season.

Politicians dithering and delaying things so that the project is now likely to cost much more due to inflation and may not happen at all. No surprise there then. Far more chance of us making the Premier League than anyone being able to catch a train to Portishead any time soon. As for the flooding issues, at least Portbury and Avonmouth Docks will be substantially bigger!!

Maybe we should suggest building the whole line in a tunnel that can be made waterproof!

Only if Southgate actually hoped to win this match and has so few other alternatives. It can hardly be because he needs to see how Kane plays for England. Sure did tonight! ?

The problem is that the only forward that we have playing in a top 4 Premier League team is Kane. And then we have the issue of making chances in the first place. This England team aren’t great at that either any more!

We have often played friendly tournaments during the summer. It’s nothing new. Playing this badly in 4 games in a row is.

I will say it again: Southgate is just a lucky “Shteeve” McClaren. Is he getting the best out of these players? No. Even Harry Kane can’t dig him out of a hole at the moment. 4 games - no goals from open play. That’s the most damning statistic - along with 2 defeats to Hungary, a team who didn’t manage to qualify for the World Cup.

Runs TFW trains on it, so I assumed it was funded by them. Whatever it can’t be cheap to repair, and certainly having more spent on it than the Portishead line as it stands.

Rather glad my walking of the Wales Coast Path and using the rail line between Aberystwyth and Pwllheli is this week. Also helps that the weather is beautiful! On that note, many millions have already been spent on repairing the Barmouth Viaduct and more will be spent this autumn to complete the job. Of course, transport is a devolved issue, so the Welsh can decide where they want money spent, so they maintain vital lines even if only small populations. And they have reopened lines and stations relatively quickly while at the same time the arguments about the Portishead line have been going round and round but getting nowhere thanks to Network Rail and the Department of Transport. Just proves having a Tory MP in a “safe seat” gets the electorate nothing from Johnson and co.

Ouch! Even being 4th or 5th choice for your country is still an achievement for a young keeper who is not our first choice.

Couldn’t see it mentioned anywhere on here but it would seem Max was on the bench for the Republic of Ireland win against Scotland. Previous call ups in 2019 and back in March haven’t yet led to an actual appearance, which would seem to be the curse of the goalkeeper Next game for the Republic is away against Ukraine on Tuesday. What chances of a debut for Max?

For all the love there has been for him since the 2018 World Cup, and he did go one further than Terry Venables at the Euros, unlike most previous England managers who had usually won something, Southgate’s record as a club manager would suggest “below average to average” at best. Maybe he’s just a lucky version of “Shteeve” McClaren! Although neither of them could beat Croatia when it mattered….

No the Hungarians twisted the rules to bring in 1000s of children and then of course a certain number of adults to “look after” them. The penalties from UEFA were the same, except being British, we followed the spirit and the letter of the law.

Because of a-holes lighting flares in their a-holes and gate crashing (literally) at last year’s Euro finals.

Tbf to the Grauniad it’s from the Press Association. I wouldn’t trust Mike Ashley with a pub team but I guess after the sports-washing Saudi buyout of Newcastle he has some money burning a hole in his back pocket. If true, (big if) it’s a bit like Ken Bayes going to Leeds. Out of the frying pan into the fire!

However much Derby as a business deserve everything and more, I am not sure that even Derby fans deserve this! https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/11/mike-ashley-tells-derby-administrators-he-is-willing-and-ready-to-transact