Marina's Rolls Royce

So what has now changed? However you interpret Nige's recent comments towards his employers or their accuracy- "he isnt going to slag him off is he" is precisely what he has now done albeit in not quite so vernacular terms.

Thank for the penultimate sentence. So here's the thing about money and I've called this one out before when another poster stated similar, imo, fanciful talk of Lansdown making a fortune when he sells up. You said of me: "yet another one who cannot distinguish between the 225,000,000 quid spent on "Bristol City" over 20+ years, and the 750,000,000 quid the Lansdowns will make when they sell the ground, land, offices and shops. Oh and the hotels, and apartments and houses on the ex-brownland site...." I want to know the breakdown of how he makes almost THREE QUARTERS OF A BILLION POUNDS profit from BCFC/BS? As Ashton Vale is no longer part of any stadium development and was bought with his own funds- what the hell has that got to do with us whether he makes profit or loss? Another poster even mentions his land in Botswana- again what possible relevance is this to the club? It is naive in the extreme to lump the Lansdown's assets/investments as if they were a direct result of Bristol Sport or somehow connected. You have stated that SL will profit by three quarters of a billion pounds by selling Bristol Sport and I have asked for a breakdown of how this 750,000,000 is made rather than just a random figure to maintain a narrative. Steve is worth c. £1.7 billion and you have stated he's going to increase that by a third when he sells Bristol Sport. I say this is utter nonsense and delusional. Please explain exactly how you arrive at these the figures and then please explain what assets you consider to be effectively as a direct result of Bristol sport. Last time I asked this a few weeks back - the poster went missing. I'm really interested in you posting these figures and will be even more interested in how you get hold of them.

You cant have it all ways- It's a constant theme- anything good is someone else ( whoever) and anything bad is Ashton . So Ashton didn't choose Pearson but he did choose LJ , the players and the wages? Everything good or bad will always lead to SL. IMO Pearson already has been given signs that his position is increasingly under consideration and he's adept at his own narrative. You don't speak out against your employer unless you feel you have little to lose.

Explain the figures to me- the ones where he'll walk away 'quids in'.

Quite right. Let someone else invest in the club and pay off the losses.

Well- it looks like the Chairman wont be on the bus. He'll be under it with Bakinson. Am I really in the minority to think this has all the hallmarks of a very difficult looming situation? Whilst I'm fairly ambivalent about Nigel's future at City, I also think this may not end well for all the wrong reasons. Neither of them should have said what they said without context. Biden and Putin come to mind.

It's hard to see how the financial mess will pan out. If FFP rules stay in place without some Covid exemptions then we are in really difficult territory. If we sell our best players/up and coming youth then we are destined for L1 with or without a points deduction. To try and ditch players who are with the benefit of hindsight overpaid and underwhelming is going to be vv difficult. Who on earth would take Palmer with his wages? If we start paying up contracts then we just add more debt. If FFP rules are relaxed then SL , however reluctant, will have to bail the club out but as he was partly responsible for our current mess- I think he'll have little option. To rely on Webster/Kelly/Brownhill as some have suggested is fanciful, imo. Meanwhile, Np has got to mend and make do. I dont expect miracles but the squad we currently have, even with the injuries, is capable of better and its his job to sort out the increasingly desperate defensive frailties. We have 14 games in which to guarantee our survival for a second season which shouldn't be too difficult but I'd really like to see a 0-0 or 1-0 or anything nil really soon. I'd love us to score and to think it matters again as opposed to ok- so how many are going to be coming in reply?

Thanks- forgot to attach link!

Another very interesting albeit highly uncomfortable read from James Piercy. He is , as usual, balanced in what he says and feels NP should take significant credit for developing play in the final third. He also points to our rapidly deteriorating defensive ability and suggests that we are potentially on target to have the worst defensive record in 10 years since DM/SOD when we finished rock bottom with 84 goals against- we are in danger of shipping 83. this season. James is not suggesting that Nige should go or even hinting this should be the case. He does question that if Nige cant turn it around ("make definitive improvements") in the remaining 14 games then this will give reason for doubt about whether he can do it over the medium/long term. Painful reading but definitely worth a look and written with careful thought backed with facts not guess or emotion.

So let me get this right: The players who are doing well are because of NP and his coaching whereas the players who aren't doing well is because they are not delivering and to quote NP are a "cop out" ( good luck with trying to sell players who you name and shame). So, who other than Viner and COD who have been not great at any time are the ones not delivering? As for the players who have come through the ranks such as Scott , Pring and Benarous then I really think that the accolades for this are shared and Tinnion has had a big part to play and would be a natural development under any manager. Weimann has been a solid performer for us since he signed whilst Massengo was signed before NP and whilst has had some incredible performances has not always been a nailed on starter for any manager including NP. It cannot be that our best players are good because NP made them so whilst the others are bad because they were always bad. I think some players may well have benefited from NP and some have not but we shall see how things go and no matter what we think- its not in our power to influence matters. We'll have a new manager within a couple of seasons and a different team- that's football.

That was said by many last summer. Our thoughts diverge on the issue of what a manager is and isn't responsible for and for how long. After over 50 games in charge, I don't buy into the fact that he'll create an efficient defence by magic this summer but whatever either of us say about that is pure speculation and personal opinion of where the water is in the glass. We can only judge on results and performances to date. I think we have a bang average team who perform below their ability with a bang average manager who performs in line with his ability- an opinion honed by trudging to Ashton Gate for post covid home matches since NP was appointed.

Hmmm- I'm really not sure about the 4-5 points. When we look at those last minute shockers we've suffered then add +6 minimum ( I think!) and also the truly shocking nailed on penalties we have been denied add may be another 3 ? My point is ( and made above to @HappyClapper)is that we are pretty much a bang average Champ team but playing like bottom feeders due to a terrible defence which , surely, is for the manager to manage?

Yes I'd accept they were abysmal some of the time and pretty good on occasion pretty much the same as now. What I cant accept is that the core of our first team are not up to Championship standard on a regular basis or at least any more so than almost half all the teams in the Championship.. We will not get relegated, I believe, and were't last season either so we are clearly Championship standard. The question is should we be doing better with the players we have and I believe the answer is yes.

Thanks for this . You're right in that it doesn't answer the question which I'm genuinely interested in. As far as Sean Dyche goes- it's not even comparable because what he's already achieved at little Burnley is nothing short of a miracle which is why they actually named a Pub after him. Any club as small as Burnley that has managed to stay in the Prem as long as they have is amazing- like Howe and Bournemouth. The point being that those are exceptional circumstances because the Manager has achieved the remarkable with the improbable.

I genuinely cant answer that any more than if we had appointed a different Manager- would we be in the same situation (WLD wise)? Could a different boss get a different tune from the same players? The recent starting line ups are all the same players as Holden had at his disposal except Klose. Atkinson, Tanner, Simpson, James and King are all Nige's signings and all injured (except Simpson who has excluded) which is a bit worrying in itself. So hypotheticals are another matter because we are where we are. On another matter, Dave, would you have available stats that show if there's a Manager in the EFL who has a record to date over the last 45-50 matches that is as poor as Nige? I'd be really interested to see whether there's another owner/chairman as patient as SL and a set of fans who have been as supportive.

So that's W 10 D 7 L 15 this season. Last season's 14 league games with NP were W2 D3 L9 So that's a total record of W12 D10 L24- 46 matches. There hasn't been a back to back victory since NP took charge and despite some players going, some new ones coming it still remains the fault of the players etc. My thoughts are that despite the rare occasion when we look really good which gives us all hope for the future- the reality is that we are a bottom feeder and that it is not unreasonable for fans to be asking some serious questions of the Manager as well as players and owners. My additional thoughts are that NP should see out the season but if I was SL ,I'd be very nervous to allow NP to "get rid" of all the players he doesnt like , aquire new ones ( he hasn't really convinced me he can get the best out of players including the ones he's brought in) whilst he's achieved naff all so far. That is my opinion.

Spot on

You are going on ze list. Don't tell 'em your name,Jon.

Sorry to butt in but if most players dont need some sort of motivation then why bother with a manager? How do some really mediocre teams become so much more than the sum of their parts? Why did Barnsley make the play offs? Why do bog average teams suddenly become world beaters?

And I'd argue that any professional manager who consistently can't motivate his squad after over a year isn't fit to manage long term. Since when has BCFC become the home of players who wont play for their shirt yet the manager is beyond criticism and in some way beyond responsibility? Osman, Ward, Delboy, Johnson, Millen, Pemberton, Holden, O'Driscoll- all never got the forgiveness that Pearson has on otib. Yes, players got serious stick but it always came down to the Manager and now in the "OTIB through the looking glass"- it's all about the players and poor ol' manager who has been dealt a shit card. And out of genuine interest- exactly how many matches have you seen live this season? because you know full well that a game on telly does not begin to show the full picture as a live game where you can watch players off the ball as well as connecting with fans who turn up week in week out. P.s there are about 100 posters on here right now and about 480 on the MDT today which is near maximum. There are over 12000 ST holders and the great disconnect is obvious as are the polarised opinions of otib.

Wrong thread- let's just stick to football please

Quote me- the record is there for everyone to see. How sad for you that you are so one dimensional that you feel questioning management , performances and results is an agenda. How silly that you didnt quote my post of 15 mins ago about sacking NP : " what would that achieve?" The Agenda is yours. I'm just a fan who goes to the home games and dont like what I see more than I like what I see.

It's the player's fault again

Hahahahahahahaha! He's really very good at that! It's like groundhog day.

And a message for all the delusional . What has happened to calling a spade a spade? What has happened to being allowed to question poor management? A year on and we still look a really really poorly organised team over 75% of the time. Our defence is the worst its been since we joined the Championship. It's not treason to ask questions.