Tin Soldier

I was in the Dolman B Block as a kid that day, my dad bought us season tickets. The video shows the ball was still rising as it hit the back of the net. What a goal.

Well played City and Nige P. Great win for the Ashton 8 today.

@Davefevs Agreed, Well said Sir Geoff. What a legend.
People need to remember what Bristol City is all about to most of us.
There was a double page on the AG8 in the WDP last weekend. For those that don’t remember those dark days, worth reading the digital copy if you haven’t already. The way they were treated at the time was nothing short of scandalous. The club was so badly run at the time. Seems to be an ever reoccurring problem at AG.

56 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

You know this Steve, but Pearson & I are exactly the same age.

You do reach a point in your professional life when you have a fairly rounded view of your own worth & the stage of proving yourself to others is well in the past.

Pearson knows he has a decent track record overall (most managers have a blot or two by then) & I genuinely think he was intrigued by the challenge & that’s why he took it on.

He’s definitely not stupid though & has made a good living from football that he is far too smart to have frittered away, so he is very comfortable in saying it as it is & if that means they don’t like it & so part ways as a result, he won’t lose sleep over that.

He is far more popular with the majority of our fan base than his results would suggest for good reason, there is an honesty & substance here.

It would be so typical of us having finally appointed someone who has walked the walk that it ends because he upsets the cozy & uncritical atmosphere they clearly want to keep.

Post of the day for me. Absolutely correct.

On 16/02/2022 at 23:58, Kid in the Riot said:

I think in 15 or so years of him being part of the club hierarchy, I can't recall a single interesting thing he's ever said.

The sooner him and his father sell the better imo.

Not long now. 

Agreed, would not be surprised if the Lansdownes will be gone in next 2 years. Obviously lost interest in the football club. It will all be about recouping there investment from now on. 

2 hours ago, ray savino said:

I think you may be right. When I first read the story, it smacked to me of someone pissed off like any fan that we have conceded too many results which would have put us further up the table. No more, no less.

If I had to be a bit more cynical then it was in part to put over a bit of populist fan frustration and a PR quote to keep onside with the fans, particularly with the problem of season ticket renewals having to be soon.

It’s probably somewhere between both. Bit of a misinterpreted off script gaff, that was possibly a clumsy deflection from the mistakes that have to eventually stop at the owners, decision makers and recruiters at the top. Ultimately, judged on results the project in its many many incarnations has failed. This is not a nice thing for people who have built their reputation on success to easily take.

However, there is no doubt that fans will start to question the decision making, wasteful recruitment and ultimate failure of management regimes to live up to the ultimate sales pitch of getting to the Prem. And not even making the play-offs when we have surrendered good positions to do so. Particularly in 17/18, 18/19 and 19/20 when we fell away badly, despite appearing to have better investment in being able to recruit and real votes of confidence for the management at these times. Didn’t LJ, I think in his final weeks of his tenure here, cryptically mention about people knowing the full story of behind the scenes, but wait till his book came out? Or something along those lines.

I have always had this feeling that NP may be the O’Driscoll of this era, coming in to discover a bigger shit storm than they thought, beginning to do the clear out, knowing what should be done, telling quite a few home truths to the owners, but ultimately not the person who will have the benefit of managing in a better financial climate for the club. 

Trouble is, Mark Ashton should have been that character. The Lansdowns appeared to trust him and no doubt his tenure has left the club in a backward trajectory. I would be amazed if the owners don’t see this, however painful, and ultimately they have to take responsibility for this.

I love Bristol City and supporting them. But it can be painful because let‘s be honest here, historically results and performance wise we are so bang average. Won’t stop me from supporting them, too late to change now! But would just like to see our club reach the top level again by having a realistic plan and the conviction to stick to it.

I hope this perceived spat is nothing more than misunderstandings and they can both stay on the same page with a real plan and sense of reality for rebuilding this club, preferably in the Championship. It might just give us the chance of a few more brighter days to come.

 

 

 

 

Agreed. Just read it.
What I have really enjoyed this season is NPs honesty with the fans. It has exposed what a fair few on here suspected. We might not like what he says sometimes but NP wears his heart on his sleeve. Most City fans will like this and if NP was to leave/get pushed out by the Lansdownes (another manager goes again), I suspect they would have a high % of City fans kicking off about the way the club has been run.

The biz model the Lansdownes were/are still using just ain’t fit for purpose and the chaos NP refers to, clearly exposes the constraints he now has to work within.

For Jon Lansdown to then question the performance of the Team after they have been selling off all the best bits in recent years is laughable. Quite frankly, Jonboy should not be allowed anywhere near the football club IMO.

I know it is a gamble, but hopefully a fresh pair of eyes and new ownership/leadership will come along as I’ve had enough of the mistakes SL makes with the running of the club. Shambolic.

FACT The Lansdownes have not got a clue on how to run a football club. Which is why BCFC is part of this Bristol Sport. There  is no identity, no association, no direction, when Bristol City FC is part of this bloody Bristol Sport ideaoligy.

And where is the success model/plan to just keep selling your best players every year and replace with monkeys. Shambles, and has been for years. No manager can produce a successful team with that policy.
Nige P is just exposing the frailties when asked at interviews. 
The Lansdownes will hate the fact that Nige P is not a Yes man and will talk honestly to the Press. 

As for Jon Lansdown, what a joke!!

12 hours ago, Greedo said:

Think we’re quite entitled to hear from him relatively consistently considering the wage he’s taking from us to be honest. 

Jon Lansdown doing an interview is a bit like the Queens son Andrew doing an interview. Dangerous.

Have to ignore the Jordan/Lansdown fallout.

But for me, keeping more of the “family silver, buying less monkeys” would have meant Premiership football by now IMO. Real shame how one prat led Lansdown astray. SL took his eye of the ball. Fatal in biz.

1 hour ago, Wiltshire robin said:

Annoying thing is if we had a few seasons in the prem our away support would definitely grow and not be as little as 400 up north. For us to be a team who get 20,000 plus (pre covid anyway) our away support can be pretty embarrassing at times .

In recent years, the hard core City fan home and away, has been replaced by the Happy Clapper City fan.

2 hours ago, TomF said:

Should stop the away fans getting brave and giving it the big one down Ashton Road as well. 

Agreed, a good few of the old skool City drank in there and you are gonna need a few to take that pub on. Seen a few try and it usually ended badly for them (allegedly).

Just now, CyderInACan said:

Yeah ran past last week & they were repainting the exterior. 

That would be brilliant news if it reopens. Best place for a few ciders pre/post match. Always enjoyed the pub.

That’s him gone in the summer!

Another picture from Reading away in the 80s. RIP to my old mate in that picture, well known down AG. Great days.

Didn’t you just love football in the 80s compared to the watered down shite you get today. Watching City was always fun (highs and lows) but we did have a laugh back then. That picture just sums it up. Just look at the City fans faces.

14 minutes ago, Super said:

What does Hampshire Red think of this?

He has been very quiet lately for some reason.

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

He isn’t gonna take a low paid job like that, nor would he get day to day involvement.

Its a bonkers sacking don’t get me wrong, but I’m not sure where LJ goes from here.

He will be writing a book on “Man Management Skills”

6 minutes ago, Curr Avon said:

Sorry Cameron, but your non-shot, non-pass, non-run to the corner in the 95th minute that led to Preston's equaliser will give me nightmares.

 

Disappointing for Cameron, but not as disappointing as the 5K+ Sunderland fans at Bolton today. They deserve better than Johnson.

Can’t remember which game but went to Deepdale one season. Car load of us decided to go. Good 4 hour drive up the M6 to get to Preston.
Got there early doors, found a pub fairly close to the ground. Drinks sorted, sat down having a chat thinking not many City arrived yet. Then all of a sudden 20/30 odd geezers stroll in. Thinking to myself “don’t know any of those faces”. It was apparent they were Preston. There were 5 of us. Preston were known to have an active mob in those days.
Think probably the only time where I was glad to get out of a pub before a football match.
There were quite a few City there that game so may have been the promo game, but my memory is fooked nowadays. We just landed at the wrong pub.
Following City away was never boring back in those days.

Never liked Cardiff. For those old enough to remember when England v Wales derbies at AG were really passionate.

Bakinson’s attitude will kill off any skills. Football is a team game and you play as a team. His lazy attitude to being played in a role he does not like ain’t on. Well done Nige. Get rid of the dead wood and players with attitude. 

2 hours ago, Wiltshire robin said:

Nice to have a manager who says it how it is instead of just saying he’s going on loan to get game time .

Agreed, Bakinson is a lazy tnuc, get rid Nige.

1 hour ago, spudski said:

That's an interesting comparison.

I was a regular at a watering hole for many years. As were all my local friends. One by one, people started to leave and frequent another watering hole. Most odd...what was going on. It was our 'home'...where we felt comfortable...and loyal to it.

Then the owners took their eyes off the pub, and started up another one. Standards dropped, prices went up, beer was kept badly, people started to complain, staff underpaid and under valued, locals who had supported for many years taken for granted. Instead of people chilling and relaxing in the pub, all you'd get was locals and staff complaining about everything, every day. Not a nice experience anymore.

Before you knew it, pretty much everyone that made it ' home', had moved to another pub and made it ' home'.

You really can't do that with a football club you support. But you can make change. Just stop going. 

If people stopped going instead of just complaining and still going, then Clubs would have to change.

Money talks. Why pay into something that we don't agree with. Why put up with mediocre? Why be overcharged for crap food and beverages? Why buy ridiculously overpriced advertising made of polyester and wear it? The more we pay and keep going...the more owners will just take fans for granted.

It's no surprise non league football attendances are going up.

The sooner fans start complaining with their feet, the better. Let's get this system to implode...it's totally broken.

Sooner the better imo. No reason why our club wouldn't start up again like every other club. At least, maybe we would have an equal base to start from, rather than now.

Put it out of its misery. I'm totally up for starting again. It's broken.

I would have disagreed with you a few years ago,

BUT the last few seasons at AG/Bristol Sport/Derby County & others and you realise that a lot of what you say is true. IMO Football in the Championship is most likely going to implode very soon. The Premiership is great with the £130million you get but you then have a “feast or famine” scenario where players wages are completely out of control in the Champ versus what income the club gets, so they then treat fans as punters etc. Parashute payments when relegated are causing this to snowball also, and players agents know this.

I have started watching local sport on a Saturday rather than go down AG and get ripped of by Bristol Sport every home game. Not really missing it much at the moment which is what has surprised me. Just decided to give it a bit of a rest this season. Quite a few others I know are doing the same.

1 hour ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Exactly - they have no desire for AG to be particularly hostile or atmospheric.. despite it being exactly the sort of thing that gets people hooked on football.

It’s to the detriment of the team too. Such a shame, it’s embarrassing getting out sung at home and the club don’t help that situation change. 

Just another example of how out of touch the owner has been with true fans. I can hear Cardiff already “It’s like a library”. Used to be the best derby match for me. Nowadays I dread them as has been so quiet during games at AG.

2 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

To be fair, i think that’s been in the concourse for over a year

Yeh, meant the 40th anniversary, sorry. Good that the club are acknowledging also.