Dr Balls

1 minute ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

It is far less of a financial drain than football but the latter is far more of an enticing entry (I won't say investment as how many will turn a profit).

There is no way to make a profit from rugby as it stands. But it is possible with a Premier League football club. And SL needs to accept that he’s not going to recoup all that he has spent out in the past 20 years. Otherwise he’s not getting a sale. And of course selling a Premier League club guaranteed parachute payments may explain the need for promotion this season, hence the comments from JL when Manning was appointed.

17 minutes ago, Andy082005 said:

Problem is they only want to sell the lot - and no one really gives a shit about the rugby, women’s team, basketball etc 

Ironically the rugby club (SL’s preferred sport and team) are actually the biggest problem in terms of a sale. Top level rugby in this country is in a complete mess financially. Plus the rugby club have first dibs over fixtures at Ashton Gate. It’s written into the rules of the Guinness Premiership that any rugby team sharing a ground with another team, even one playing a different sport, must have fixture priority. So it’s a mess. But then this complicated structure with Bristol Sport and the stadium was of course SL’s doing, so he really has no one else to blame if it’s not attractive to potential buyers of the football club, which is the one part that could make money. And the lack of investment in the women’s team, despite some of the biggest crowds in the WSL, says everything you need to know in terms of an owner who doesn’t want to put in any more money.

10 minutes ago, OldDolmanRed said:

Once Ipswich had a sniff of victory we were undone. As someone previously said we were beaten by pace pure and simple. Just like against Leeds we could not handle it. It gives defenders nightmares. 
I thought we played well overall - just were beaten by a better team who didn’t dwell on the ball and just pushed forward at every opportunity especially in the 2nd half.

Somehow we need to pick ourselves up. It’s frustrating as hell being a City fan but we have to get behind Manning and believe in his vision. We have some talented young players in the squad and although the gap between us and relegation has closed of late we are far from being one of the 3 worst teams in the league.

Win 3 out of the 4 home games against Swansea, Blackburn, Huddersfield and Rotherham and pick up a point or two elsewhere and we will be safe.

Then see what happens in the summer transfer window. But give Manning time - he will come good.

 

I can very confidently predict that we will not win 3 out of the 4 games you have mentioned. We might win one but any team wanting to get a result at Ashton Gate just needs to defend deep and either hit us with speed on the break or nick a goal from a set piece.

And Manning won’t come good at this level with us. It’s the equivalent of Kompany at Burnley in the Premier League - the wrong tactics for the players considering the level at which they are playing. And the same results - defeat after defeat!

3 minutes ago, Loosey Boy said:

A better performance……yes

Another defeat……yes

Sunday bigger for Manning than us, overall…..yea, I think it will be

We/he simply must get a win on Sunday as after that, we have WBA away and then Leicester home.

Now the only six points off of 2nd bottom with many teams below us, picking up points.

Lets hope that WBA and dare I say, Cardiff can do us a favour tomorrow night!

We are already hoping that other teams will do us a favour. That’s worrying in itself. 

Another worry is that we are sleep walking into relegation and the owners will do nothing to relieve the situation because sacking Manning would prove that they got things very wrong. So the next worry is that they won’t do it. And even if they did pull the trigger, I have no faith that they would get someone decent in even on a short term basis. The worst option would be Tinnion as a caretaker manager, but I wouldn’t even put that past them because they seem to know so little about football, seem in thrall to  Tinnion, and are so unaware of the opinions and feelings of supporters.

I don’t think Manning will be sacked if we lose on Sunday. But lose that game and the game against West Brom that would be 6 games lost in a row and the PPG would be down to 1 exactly, which is usually quoted as relegation form, achieved over exactly half a season. That really should lead to a parting of the ways, even for the Lansdowns. With an international break after the West Brom game, that would also be the ideal time to get rid of Mannjng and his team so as to bring in someone experienced short term just to keep us in the Championship.

3 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

No Matty James appearance for him to get himself a new contract then! 

Really beginning to wonder if this contract issue and number of starts/performances is true…

12 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Brian Could narrate. Voice of our childhoods. 
 

Yes but could he commentate? I don’t think the combination of John Motson, Barry Davies, Brian Moore and even our very own Jonathan Pearce could make some of the performances under Manning anything other than a snoozefest of tedium!

Talked about this the other day and the question of “risk and reward”.

Playing out from the back and using the keeper as a sweeper is potentially high risk against a pressing team but the supposed reward is you have possession and if you get past the attackers you can move the ball into midfield. However the rewards are very low if you can’t get past the attackers - passing it along the back line - but the risk still remains.

By contrast a long ball out by the keeper into the opposition half is a lower risk as the ball is now a long way from your goal. You may lose possession especially if you don’t have a target man up front so the reward may not be any better than having possession 30 years further back except that you are closer to the opponent’s goal. The problem is that with our current 4-2-3-1 formation we don’t seem to get any of the second balls, which is a problem.

However kicking out to the wings for McCrorie or Pring is not a bad tactic and if the ball goes out there’s little to be lost. Anything is better than the garbage that’s Manningball!

That Rob And Max are probably the only players in credit at the moment says a lot for the issue that there has been very little “front foot football” being played by our team at the moment…

26 minutes ago, Selred said:

We will win 1-0. It's what Bristol City do.

If (an absolutely enormous “if” that is so large it can be seen from space!) we win tomorrow, I can guarantee it won’t be because we will have been playing “Manningball”!

18 minutes ago, Alessandro said:

Excellent post and the fact that this similar thing keeps happening over and again at the club - suggests something about the Lansdown’s.

I read a quote recently from SL, can’t remember exactly what it was, but something like:

”we’ve created a direct line of communication from owner to manager” 

or something on those lines - and that’s the rub for me:

He can’t have people of experience and talent in those roles of JL and BT because frankly no one good would put up with the meddling. 

Hence the pile up of bodies fired or people jumping ship - Burt, Cotterill, Ashton, Gould, Alexander, Pearson in not many years.

We may not hear from SL anymore, but his fingers are all over the current set up and situation IMO.

 

There’s the other view the Lansdowns want the glory and they want to own it themselves.

Hence why they’ll experiment with bringing in their ‘own men’ and running the show themselves, but then when they’re in a mess, go back to basics and get someone with experience in to fix it.

When we’re back on an even keel, they go back to the ego move of saying “we can do this ourselves again now”, but they can’t and we get in a mess again.

What next?

The list of those with experience leaving AG under Lansdown goes back further than that. The Coppell “cameo” showed that a real football person with a brain (degree in economics iirc) took a week or so to work out that there was something very wrong with the way the club was run by the owner. The owner who brought in  David James as goalkeeper on an enormous contract without informing the manager!

1 hour ago, Jerseybean said:

I used the word ‘sterile’ too yesterday immediately after the game in the MDT. My sense is those who are led tend to reflect some of the characteristics of their leader, LM comes across as sterile, robotic, lacking in charisma and dull all of which our style of play has become under him. 

So while I acknowledge the OPs point that he was set up to fail the nature of the failure seems to me to be down to his persona and attributes.

Sadly our hierarchy won’t be doing anything, anytime soon to address the miserable situation they have created. How long was it between LJ being called out on here and him actually departing?  

But the whole point is that Manning’s persona and attributes suit the Lansdowns. He’s not going to challenge the hierarchy at the club. He’s a “yes man” who rather than admit he’s not up to the job will blame the players for his failures. Unfortunately the reason for needing to appoint someone and then his particular appointment are a reflection of the poor leadership at the club.

1 minute ago, Fuber said:

He was gone the second they sacked Pearson.

1 minute ago, bpexile said:

I think TC had such a close bond with Nige & deep down hasn't forgiven the club for what happenned to possibly the best manager in my 76 yrs.

Clear that Nige was a bit of a father figure for Tommy, in part because he had the confidence to play him up front at such a young age, plus pairing him with the experienced Nakhi. And the way that Manning wants the team to play would frustrate any forward. It’s Guardiola pre-Haaland, when even Aguero was sacrificed so that they could play some kind of 4-6-0 formation.

2 hours ago, REDOXO said:

It is clear we are not playing well to a point where we aren’t just plucky losers that aren’t having the ball run in their favor, but just bad!

One of the biggest issues with me right now is we have a manager that is openly saying that he can’t get the players to implement what he’s teaching them!

That I thinK is probably true on some level, but what concerns me is how do you motivate players (people) that you are making plain even in the media you don’t want. 
 

So I was thinking about when I was under threat of being made redundant and how I got myself up to work! 
 

How would people on here seriously be approaching the players (or employees) to get results under those circumstances? 

Play 4-3-3/4-5-1 with Tommy up front, 3 in midfield (to include both TGH and Knight) plus Mehmeti on the left and Sykes on the right. Try to overload them in midfield and play on the break. It’s not ****ing rocket science - play the players the way that best suits them, play the best players in each position, and stop trying to make them play to some principle that you have but that just doesn’t work on the pitch. And if you want to catch them out or give the team more space, try playing some balls from defence over the back line that make the opposition defenders turn and that Tommy (or others) can run onto.

3 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Brentford can play or have vs middling and lesser sides more of a possession game but they switch m between two shapes for the opposition in the PL.

Thinking when all fit and in their 4-3-3 vs some oppositon they can.. vs better sides it is more of a back 3, counter attacking, perhaps more direct.

Brentford have some decent players but at times this season they have struggled, whatever system they have played. And let’s be clear Manning is nowhere near Thomas Frank in terms of coaching/managing ability. Nor is he as honest about his own mistakes as Frank when it doesn’t go well on the pitch…

8 minutes ago, mason said:

anyway hows the rugby team getting on? no relegations this year is that right?

Yep. But SL can still manage 2 out of 3 this season. Not exactly maximising his investment!

13 minutes ago, Rocking Red Cyril said:

Yeah there seems enough chances to get enough pints there. But if we keep on this run surely BT and crayon boy have someone lined up for the keep us up crisis replacement manager. Or will they watch as we drop?

I honestly don’t think they will act before it’s too late. That would be an admission of failure on their part. So is there a real risk that we could go down? Under Manning and the hierarchy at the club, absolutely. And if not this season, then next looks even more of a struggle if Manning stays.

Look how Burnley have struggled under Konpany in the Premier League. This way of playing needs considerably better players than the opposition, which actually means it’s not easily transferable without considerable investment, potentially more than a club can actually afford without significant additional financial means, either being owned by a Petrostate or in the Championship, parachute payments.

1 hour ago, Numero Uno said:

I think we have been sleepwalking for two months now and I’m hopeful that fan reaction to yesterday in particular, Sid and Jon will be well aware of it now they have a direct line in to the sage of Bristol football, will wake us up a bit. Sid’s career is on the line and Manning will be made aware this week that what he’s producing ain’t good enough. Not even the clowns running us can be so naive that they let it run.

@Numero Uno I am afraid Crayon Boy and the Accountant are that naive. For goodness sake they made Tinnion Technical Director. Does that suggest switched on footballing folk? A failed League 1 manager, who helped develop the Academy but has done little else. There is no way that they are going to sack Manning this season, even if we are relegated. They have made their decision and they are going to stick by it. Anyway Manning has guided a team to the playoffs in League 1 , so by their reasoning he would be the perfect coach to get us promoted again. That’s how divorced from reality they are!

And here’s another team that are proving that just because Guardiola can make it work with the very best and most expensive players doesn’t mean that his acolytes can with lesser resources:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/mar/03/burnley-bournemouth-premier-league-match-report

The victory against Southampton was because it played to the strengths of the squad (I.e. quick transition / on the break) developed and honed by Pearson rather than the way Manning has consistently said he wants the team to play (I.e. dominate possession).

As well as a real risk of a relegation battle this season, what really worries me is that Manning will be given the nest egg this summer to blow on players for his system, whichever division we are in, when I have no confidence that he knows how to actually manage players properly, or has any other set of tactics than boring the opposition to death with our lateral and backwards passing, while creating zero scoring chances of note.

5 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

That’s true but the ground is never as full as the number of ST sold.

We have skewed these figures by the cheap additional ST for a kid but they make little impact on our cash flow.

If I was in charge of marketing I’d be very interested in the number of full price ST we sell & if that falls then I’d be concerned.

Can’t see the Upper Lansdown from where I sit but given the number of empty seats in the South Stand each game, I’m guessing quite a few in what are some of the cheapest seats won’t bother renewing if they aren’t coming now.

3 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

Ok, sorry I thought you were asking a different question.

I don't have a precise figure, but would estimate the answer would be something between £500k and £1m.

Then the relative cost is small compared to even the amount Manning and co are costing us in player sell-on valuations. An owner who was serious about success and appropriately concerned about the failures on the pitch would be making calls right now. Which tells me won’t do anything until mid-April, by which time things could look a lot worse and the options for change a lot less.

4 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

Manning has lost the fans and players trust from the outside looking in,

He's continuing to blame his players and not look at his coaching methods

95% of the time it's the system/organisation that's the problem, not the people with in it

This bullshit starts at the top of the club, that needs to change now, no matter what they've done in the past, they've taken the club as far as they can and need to leave,

They lost the trust, once that's gone there is no way back

 As the saying goes “a fish rots from the head down”…

18 hours ago, mjd said:

I believe there is a lot of dissection in the rank and file at the moment.

Disaffection? Yes agree there were a lot of unhappy players out there yesterday having a go at each other. McCrorie was livid with Sykes in the second half and vice versa. It all suggests that the strong, happy bonds that appeared to have been created under the previous managerial regime have gone. Doesn’t help when the new coach constantly blames the players rather than taking any blame himself for the defeats.

4 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Comparing Conway to Haaland I love it. 

Processes Major, processes. It’s the one word that Manning learnt from Guardiola!