Tin Soldier

21 hours ago, Calculus said:

Agree with all that, but why on earth should anyone put money into the club if SL is still the final decision maker? 

And, by the way, what would they by putting money in?  Just football? Just the ground? Bristol Sport? Bears? Basketball? The thing seems to be unsaleble to me as a whole and the individual sports elements uninvestable.

A gurt mess...

100% correct. The whole Bristol Sport idea is doomed to fail as far as the football club goes. Been saying it for ages. Back that up with a club with a “cushty” owners attitude, no metal, weak underbelly, roll over and die player attitude, and you have what’s called Bristol City.

Fed up with it.

Rather not hear from them as they have not got a clue how to run a successful football club. Embarrassing.

Just now, REDOXO said:

It’s true! It’s as if as a club we don’t think we are good enough. Plus we have had so many players that have taken the piss we are used to being third rate as supporters. 
 

Pearson said himself he loved playing at our place because we/our players were so docile.

The last time I remember us not being docile on the field or in the stands was the early 70s 

I get lambasted for repeating it but the Bristol Sport ideaology prevents a clear focus and direction of the football club. The whole club has a weak underbelly, too many easy rides for some players. NP has alluded to it on several occasions. Culture needs to change at the top down.

10 minutes ago, Waconda said:

They wouldn't, would they ?

There would be a massive drop in ST sales if he came back. But it is the sort of mistake SL would make (again).

1 hour ago, tin said:

The Lansdowns are entirely responsible for the situation we’re in — for sacking Cotts, for letting that crook Ashton have anything to do with the club, for appointing LJ, for taking six weeks to appoint Holden. 20+ years and what’s changed on the field? Very little. They refuse to structure the club properly, with a sporting director or DoF, no scouting network, no long-term plan at all, limping from one crisis to another. They are the problem and nothing will change — for better or worse — until they are gone. 

The Happy Clappers will disagree but you are so right. Mistake after mistake. The facts speak for themselves as you rightly state.. People on here say we might get bought by a dodgy Arab (blah, blah, blah) but this club needs new owners with the correct pedigree quickly because Bristol City are heading for relegation next season.

Would not be surprised if Lansdown sells soon TBH.

Think most fans have woken up to the Lansdownes mistakes in recent seasons. Changing the manager will make no difference as the “problems at the top”will still be in charge.
Real shame, because if we kept some of our best players we would be in the top 6 - fact. No guarantee of promotion I know but we would be challenging.

26 minutes ago, KegCity said:

 

He’s bang on. Standards are painfully low from top to bottom. It’s absolutely criminal that the 17/18 failed to get promoted and was then allowed to be dismantled, and it was accepted because “every club sells players”.

If we were Brentford we’d have sold Toney after his first season because it’s impossible to reject a bid. 

FACT If you sell your family silver, you are left with monkeys = Bristol City FC

1 hour ago, Red Army 75 said:

More interested in new owners hopefully. Our football club is stale as ****

You are so right. The club is dead.
We need new life bred into this club at the very top. I respect what the Lansdownes have done but they have run there course with Bristol City. Bristol Sport concept is killing this club. Losing interest fast.

12 hours ago, billywedlock said:

Yet so many idiots do not understand what a £38 M loss really means . Too many used to signing  many players with fees . Love or hate Nige , he is dealing with an awful situation but is getting in with it . No complaints just strong pragmatism. At least we have a fighter with us . It just amplifies how disastrous the previous regime were . But we will come out fighting . This recovery is going to take time , the priority is not being relegated , then we can breathe and build . Build with inventive and hungry players . That will take us far  . We lost our way .

support needed . But when you see players fighting , as fans you get behind it . You cannot underestimate the mess we are sorting 

Well said. Just ignore the idiots who don’t understand how bad Ashton, Johnson and Co were.

Neither as watching Debbie goes to Dallas.

There is only one legend in that list - Sir Paul Cheesley!

What a player, drove the midfield engine for City. The comments on here says it all.

1 hour ago, billywedlock said:

Fans want overnight fixes to complex problems . It’s tiresome that so few understand the depth of a mess we have at the club . Change feels good because it means you enter another phase of uncertainty and something has happened . But if you keep doing that without fixing deep rooted issues at the club it matters little . We have done this for 20 years . Yet here we are again with a group of average over paid  players . In the past we got relegated during this phase . 
 

the issue this summer is not Pearson , it is recruitment . 
 

Agreed. The club has been run abysmally for many, many years. It is a shithouse of a setup impacted by the “Bristol Sport” ideaology and the eagerness to sell any decent family silver that come along, and more often than not replace with monkeys - LJ/Ashton era.

Getting rid of NP will make absolutely no difference until the deep rooted problems within the club are addressed, which NP and RG are trying to address. Ignore the idiots on here.

1 hour ago, Redstart said:

Unfortunately though you pay peanuts, you get monkeys - if there is no decent transfer budget available to Pearson in the summer window then I dread what kind of squad we will start next season with. 

If no serious improvements to the squad, City will be relegated, simple! Been coming for a few seasons IMO.

Can’t believe some of the comments. NP is trying to sort out the mess from the last encumbrances. Give him time. This time next season, he will be judged, but not now.

Lansdown took his eye of the ball, sold all the family silver, allowed too many monkeys to be signed, expect more Barnsley style performances and results. Big shakeup coming in the summer.

15 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Which is why you watch a player over several games before reaching an initial conclusion…and that may change over time too.

Most of my posts about Cundy from his previous game and a half were positive, i.e. he’s played decently, but tempered with, “wait and see”.  Last night was not on the same trajectory as the previous games.  Hopefully he will learn from last night.

I wonder whether there are a few people a bit more sheepish this morning about their proclamations?

We are just too quick to praise and criticise.

Not just us!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60752340
 

Firstly, I agree with lots of the sentiments / questions you raise.  I’m not happy either.  Incredibly frustrated with last night’s performance and result too (but I didn’t go overboard about Saturday’s win either).  I think your opinion is pretty popular at the mo’.  A lot of fans are “down on” Pearson.  I get why that is too.

My simple (general) answer to your series of Qs is we don’t get enough players playing well in the same game, we don’t get enough players to win their battles against their opponent.  When they do, we are competitive, when we don’t, we play like last night.  Individuals make too many mistakes - concentration, technical, physical, etc.  That to me says the players aren’t good enough, and by good enough I mean good enough to play at the required levels often enough.  They can all do really impressive stuff in odd flashes.

Its no good saying we have players who are good enough to be top 10, it’s the managers fault.  It’s pretty clear (to me) that this bunch of players (as a collective) can’t hit those heights often enough.  It is why we are where we are.

Thats not excusing Pearson either.  I’ve posted many times that I think he’s made mistakes, but it’s not like it’s just the young kids who are inconsistent, it’s pretty much everyone.  In fact you might argue that some of the youngsters have been more consistent that the senior players.  He’s had mixed “success” in recruitment, that needs improving.  He has “wasted” wages in the likes of Simpson and King, not fees and wages, nor are either player burdening us on 2/3 year contracts either.  That’s tempers some of the “failed” recruitment.  Compare that with Wells and Palmer for example.  Small crumbs???

If I felt the golden ticket was to replace the manager, then I’d say “go for it”.  It might be the right decision, but the financial mess is a huge burden….and any replacement is going to have to deal with that.  I really didn’t want to bring history into this, but the previous years of steady progress on the pitch (in the main), consolidate into a middle eight team, was covering up a meltdown behind the scenes.  We over-spent to become a middle eight team.  We are paying the price for that now.

As painful as it might be, I’d rather the experienced Pearson sails the ship through the early part of the rebuild, even if that means another season like this, next season. This first 18 months is not a phase for inexperience, too many costly mistakes can be made.  See my para above re Simpson and King compared to Palmer and Wells.

He is doing more than just managing the first team…and I think that is almost as important as results.

I’ve often stated that I don’t think he will see through the 3 years as first team manager…he will hand over the reins to someone else.  Whether he moves upstairs into a more oversight role, or retires to Devon, I don’t know, but it is clear that there is more to his life than football, especially after health scares.

So, I’d stick. Thats my honest view.

In hindsight - yes, you’re about to be shocked - looking back at where we are now, I’d have kept Lee Johnson (as divisive as it felt at times), got rid of Mark Ashton, and told LJ:

• Cut the budget by 15-20% each year (run with a tighter squad) for 3 years
• Grow the academy / prove the pathway is there
• Recruit to a clear plan
• Improve what you have by coaching 
• Maintain middle-eight status

Over to you Lee.  By year 3 our budget should be 60% of what it was….then we could fairly compare how we are doing to Luton, Coventry, Millwall etc.

However I don’t think SL runs Bristol City with enough critical analysis.  And there lie some of the problems.

 

Good points raised.
I’ve mentioned it on here many times but the whole Bristol Sport plan just dilutes the importance of a successful football club at AG. The players are allowed to steal a living too easily. For me there has been too little focus for many years on the strategic direction of the football club, transparency of senior management and the effectiveness of the Board (joke) at City. The club needs a root and branch external audit to expose the weaknesses that many know exist. Just been far too comfortable for far too long at this club.
The ground looks great, the team looks shite - I would much prefer the opposite.
Real shame. Just watch season ticket sales flop for next season. 

To be fair, City have been shite for the last two and a half seasons.Relegation written all over City next season unless something BIG changes. You do reap what you sew in football and selling all the family silver is no recipe for success.

Should have followed up with the boot.

I would take a 2-0 defeat today. Can’t see anything else but a defeat. 

50 minutes ago, phantom said:

Of course I have plenty of times, this isn't about a match day it's about a short timescale either side

If people are happy to pay an inflated price just to drink there near to kick off that is fine, but I know myself and many others wont be

Try and see it as supporting a very long standing local football pub, rather than wasting your ££ on expensive drinks in the ground for Bristol Sport. I think/hope the Rising Sun will do well actually.

5 minutes ago, frenchred said:

I really don't see the problem? Pub has to make profit and historically it hasn't!

Rather buy there than in the ground

Agreed, the ground is a rip off.
Used to stay in the Sun all game at times and have a few beers with a few City. The Sun is a typical local pub trying to survive when 100s of other pubs have been closing. I hope the Sun does well.

Don’t see it as a rip off on match days compared to AG drinks prices.

The UK government should seize all his assets before he sells anything. Completely corrupt Russian. Everyone knows it.

Batteries not included.

1 hour ago, Oh Louie louie said:

I read a book years ago on roman.

I think it was called the billionaire from nowhere. sorry if wrong.

Many think he put himself in the public eye for good reason.

Pretty sure you are correct.

Abramavich was “placed” in to the UK public eye via Putin according to book Putins People. Abramavich has had plenty of “dirty £££” from Putin. One of the schemes Putin help set up, was to sell Russias core commodities (oil, wheat, gas, etc) to a “middle man/broker” at a vastly reduced price into the world market. And the middle man then sold at top dollar to the customer. The profit made then went to Putin and his oligarchs. The Russian state got very little.

Think it’s called corruption!

22 minutes ago, RedRock said:

The only way this will end is for Putin to be overthrown.

Never agreed with mixing politics and sport. This, however, is an exception. The Russian people are fed a narrative by their Government. The Government can’t ‘spin’ being thrown out of sporting competitions by a united world. This can help build opposition to Putin.

While we too are fed a view of the world by our own Governments and there is corruption throughout the West too (just look at our bunch of wasters with their snouts on the trough) - Putin and his cronies has over-stepped the mark. He could have played this differently. I’m sure there were atrocities against Russian speakers by Ukrainians ‘ultras’ but he could have dealt with that in a way that would have garnered support rather than using his usual ‘go to’ iron fist. All about bravado though with him. 
 

Maybe, just maybe, this could be the end for Putin and all politicians throughout the world - many part of the UK Government - who work in their own interests rather than serve the best interests of humanity. Here’s hoping. 

 

Agreed. Putin is ex KGB, he is closely entwined with crooks such as Abramavich and many others. If anyone wonders what Putin is all about, Catherine Belton has written a compelling, fact based book called Putins People.
It is brilliant!

Been to Budapest and Prague. Both are great cities to visit. Budapest is my favourite.

The city bus tour is good as you can see loads if on a time restricted short city break. The torture chambers where the Russians captured and tortured the locals during the occupation is well worth a visit. Hard to find though and not really very well advertised. 
The New York hotel is also good for food. Inside is amazing and just like going back to the 60s.
If good weather, an evening stroll down the Danube is always good. Lots of locals out enjoying themselves.

Budapest is one of the best cities in the world IMO. So much to do.