BUTOR

Cornick. Oof.

Beaten team now, they're knocking it around well, crowd on top of it

Williams does some dirty work for us but can be such a calamitous midfielder at times.

Bell has neat little moments but nowhere near the standard required to lead a Championship line yet. I'm sorry. A good player in the making, but Wells has to come on now.

Mehmeti is a little wind up merchant, the type you’d hate on another team. One who can play too. We’ve needed something like that for a while.

The conspiracy is real

Ah shite. That could really kill us that, not just today either.

I think setting up the way they did Wigan would have ground out a point at pretty much any other team in the Championship tonight. Not a pretty game to watch but we didn’t lose it. We looked quite likely to go on and win it after they scored as well. Still signs of progress tonight if not as emphatic as recent weeks.

Never works out once they turn all celebrity. He’s like a caricature at this stage

Do Norwich fans get a scarf with their ST’s? Genuine question. I’ve never seen so much coordination in a group of away fans. Replica shirts cardigans and scarves galore

I don’t get the partisan nature of posts like this and the lack of respect for a well crafted opinion. Simply pointing to ‘performances’ is just as easy as pointing to results. Many teams have had poor seasons and have been relegated with a whole bunch of good performances. It’s always more nuanced than that. There were long-stay problems that were persisting and had been there from the day he walked in, an inability to hold onto leads, consistently poor substitutions, strange positional choices, one dimensional football and a lack of tactical impact during games. All culminating in a downward trend which saw fractured relationships between manager and fans. It’s not just the formation that has changed, going on what is available to us it seems NP’s approach has too. Far more positive, a forward looking persona focused on installing confidence in players, and (less importantly) much more sincere and thankful when speaking about the fans. He is sure of himself, certainly, but he has clearly taken criticism on board too and that is an incredibly commendable trait from such an experienced individual. Pearson is extremely aware of what is said despite the fact he may present otherwise. We seem to have turned a corner which is fantastic, but why is there such intolerance to the fact that there were differing opinions to yours during a period that saw us drop closer to the relegation zone than we’d been in Pearson’s entire tenure? There are always differing opinions on managers, that’s football and it will forever be so. I’m just glad it’s coming together.

Ultimately my case was built from the thought process that whilst Pearson had been important in laying down much needed foundations it was time for a new manager with fresh energy to benefit from them. Similar changes at similar times have given this club success in the past. In terms of league position we had not progressed, could not hold a lead, problems from day one of his tenure were persisting and it was far from ridiculous to be suggesting that we could go to game with the right to expect much better than what we were being served up. Ultimately, it has indeed been fresh energy, fresh ideas and a change of approach that has led to the bulk of this run and a rejuvenation, just from the existing manager. I’m over the moon that is the case as I’ve never wanted something to work out as much as I want NP to succeed. I don’t believe those wanting a change (after a toxic afternoon which saw manager and fan relations heavily strained) were ‘ridiculous’, just wrong. At worst short sighted. Differences of opinion are what make this game what it is.

Issue in A Block today too. I like the movement and the effort but some of those kids are proper nasty shits

I would have pulled the trigger on Nige after West Brom on Boxing Day, most clubs would have pulled it long before that. It felt like we were miles away and regressing. Games felt toxic. Today it became clear to me that only now are we seeing a Nigel Pearson constructed Bristol City. Today’s performance was the archetype of my expectation when he arrived. Patience is a virtue in football.

It’s true that some of the questions, particularly as they get towards the work experience kids, are poorly executed, but it’s hardly their fault that they’re being thrown into Championship press conferences. Perhaps we are just too used to seeing teenagers with talent beyond their years. Why do you think they are there? It says more about the companies they are working for than it does the journalists themselves, so I find personal abuse towards individuals pretty bad form. For the majority, delivering quality journalism is just as much about experience as any other profession. That’s why James Piercy’s interviewing technique is head and shoulders above the rest in our pressers. And did we ever hear Pat Murphy fronting up to Nige whilst he was in college? It appears that some of you don’t seem to know/believe that there is a difference between casually posting on a forum with no restrictions and writing questions on behalf of professional outlets to be asked in real press conferences, not the ones you absolutely nail in your head when you’re daydreaming in City pyjamas. Always easier than it looks.

Sounds like he could be out a while. What would be the preferred midfield now? Personally, Scott back with James and Andi in front would be preferable to Williams but I think he’ll get his chance this weekend. I’ve never seen James and Williams as a good partnership, but signs of a return to form from the latter in recent games will earn him his spot. He’s got a chance to step up now and prove why he should be here next season. Either way, Naismith is important to us and we’ll struggle not to be worse off in his absence.

Because they’re there on merit and can be knocked out. Are you really asking that question?

For the visit of Wigan on the 15th. CSF will be waiting for them in the dairy aisle

Last point your best one. I love the fact I am still here on this earth to watch my football club through exciting times. Isn’t it nice being here to wake up on a Saturday morning and know you’re going to Ashton Gate. The rest is just a bonus.

Great move for him and he will play as QPR are desperate for a striker. With all our young talent he was nowhere near the eleven and rightly so, however well this move goes not one to regret. Good outcomes for everyone

It’s time the Premier League grew a set of balls and ordered them to play their under 12’s in the fifth round of the FA Cup

You’ve got until Friday. Have a Monday morning cider, relax and call tomorrow when it’s calmed down

Which would be a shame. He was nearing legend status and 4? goals from getting his name on the all time top scorers list. But his future is looking increasingly limited here

Who cares etc etc but on a side note Antoine rated Bournemouth’s best player today by BBC

What a spiteful little club they are. Used to like them but they’ve become a nasty little tinpot outfit