handsofclay

If he continues at this rate I can see him scoring at least 42 by the end of the season.

My main concern, of several, is that international football whether that's playing for one's country in tournaments or playing for one's club in European matches, will eventually become so taxing on players due to the increased workload that domestic competitions will take a back seat. Similar to cricket where international players rarely play for their counties, indeed, at times they'll turn out for a completely different county if there's a match in the build up to a Test or T20 etc and they need a run out. I can see domestic competitions being used to blood promising youngsters and the old guard who are past representing their country. The standard will become diluted. Unless the tail stops wagging the dog. I wouldn't mind if World Cups etc were consigned to history. Much prefer the domestic club competitions and European and possibly world club competitions, but as long as they aren't played to the detriment of the domestic game

I visited Shepton Mallet prison and seen where the military prisoners were executed by firing squad in the prison yard. This isn't a joke what I am about to impart, but the firing squad executions had to be changed to indoor hangings at the prison because the locals complained about the noise. I can imagine Mrs Smith ordering Mr Smith in their terraced house in Shepton Mallet to knock on the prison door to ask them to keep the bloody noise down.

Well done Jerry. That is some achievement. I found him a great help when he sorted out my parking fine problem a couple of months ago.

I think it's outrageous. Bilic has been their manager for five months and not one mention of a testimonial being organised to mark this achievement.

The Times have got that wrong, then, if it's FA Cup Semi Final appearances since 1925 then City should be on 0 not 1, as our last Semi Final appearance in that competition was in 1920.

The next match v Sheffield Wednesday was 13 days after the crash. Harry Gregg played but not Bobby Charlton. Still a short amount of time after such a tragedy and in Gregg's case he was definitely hauling survivors, and possibly bodies, from the wreckage. I had the 1958 cup final on DVD a few years ago (Bolton v Man United) and what surprised me was that although the crash occurred just three months earlier it wasn't mentioned once by Kenneth Wolstenholme in the commentary. Maybe just 13 years after the horrors of the second world war the stiff upper lip and not pandering to those in grief mentality still prevailed.

I think it makes the cup that little bit more special. Each player knows that once they don a shirt and play in that year's competition that that is it. If his team is knocked out he no longer has the opportunity to progress further. It would seem all wrong if a player was knocked out playing for Rochdale in Round Two, but got a transfer to Nottingham Forest (who hasn't??), then suddenly found himself back in the cup and playing in the final. The only tweak, perhaps, could be if a player had played in an earlier round for one club and transferred to another club and both clubs were still in the competition when the switch was made. Then he could play for his new club because he hadn't played for a team that had been knocked out of the cup

I buy them then cut them in half so no longer have both teams on and then sell them to fans of both clubs who have very narrow necks.

Wigan probably had a better shout for a pen with the Tanner handball in the area.

I would like to think that if we are awarded a penalty, hopefully after the record is broken, that our captain will decline it and say, 'Pah, we're Bristol City we don't need penalties to win games.'

Wigan should not be underestimated. Scott should play and I reckon it might be an idea to pick ten players alongside him too.

Better still, seeing that we have had plenty of yellow and green second strips over the years, just stick a Bristol City badge over the Norwich City one.

I rather hoped when the bid for Currie was rejected on transfer deadline day that we would've put a late bid in for Cunningham. He is experienced at this level and brings that element of s**thousery that most successful teams need. However, the main reason I would've liked him here being taken up onto the roof on Tuesday night is because hopefully someone would've then pushed the bleeder off of it.

Clive Whitehead eventually went to WBA as a left back. I am probably in the minority here with the view I am about to express. Don't get me wrong, some of those Eight players deserve adulation for their contribution in gaining promotion to the top flight and then keeping us there for four seasons. However, they stayed too long. The team wasn't refreshed and the panic over the Collier freedom of contract move prompted the ridiculous knee jerk reaction of offering ludicrously long contracts to players, some of whom were already on the downward slide. I don't blame the players for accepting those contracts. But it has to be remembered that their performances contributed to City's downward spiral from 1980. I hear terms like they 'selflessly tore up their contracts to save the club,' but their contracts were with what would have become a bankrupt company. They were worth diddly squat. I believe the creditors of the company, which they would then have become, received 5p for every pound they were owed. Meaning, effectively, that players that had three years left on their contract would have received about six weeks wages had they not been torn up. By tearing up their contracts they were offered assistance by the PFA and the proceeds of a testimonial game. But it also meant, rightly or wrongly, they then wouldn't be blamed for killing off Bristol City. Either way they were greatly out of pocket but one route offered the chance not to be blamed by supporters. It was a horrid time. Eight men didn't have a dream they had a bloody nightmare. It must've been awful for them. I have every respect for them but I don't buy into how history has now mythologised the story and made it fit a narrative of selfless devotion to a club by eight of its players. This is how the story is sold now. But this wasn't the case. Let's look at how the players were regarded at the time in 1982. I mentioned a testimonial match played for them by two top flight clubs at Ashton Gate (Ipswich and Southampton). Surely with such selfless devotion the City fans at the time would've packed the ground to the rafters to show their appreciation. But no, the attendance was something paltry like 2,500. That fact would not fit the narrative this story has adopted now. Plus, none of the eight players, despite becoming free agents, were taken on by clubs at a higher level. Indeed, only one, Jimmy Mann, was taken on by a club at a similar level in the football league. Please, again, don't get me wrong, I admire most of those players for their earlier contributions to the club on the pitch and I feel for what they had to go through in making the decision they did. But I felt at the time, and subsequently, that they had little option but to do anything else and I certainly don't buy into the narrative that they were heroes for making that decision.

That was on Sky Sports

You are correct about that rule.

Apparently it's not being announced for a few days to keep Preston guessing about our team line up on Saturday.

Gabbidon has had an awful few days as a pundit, on Sunday he gave the Man of the Match award to Mullin of Wrexham saying that he had capped it all by scoring the winning goal. Of course there were still about three minutes of added time to play.

That's bang out of order on Edwards' part. Judging by earlier comments on here it might've been the only half decent odour the Cardiff lads would've sampled since their arrival in Luton.

If he's any good then we can take him on in August.

Correct

Just remembered another one Tamworth 1 Bristol City 2 in the second round (I think) of the FA Cup in 2013. Live on nationwide ITV. JET scored the winner.

The league match v WBA in 2010 was the season where the BBC bought rights to show EFL matches and experimented with Championship matches live on Sunday afternoons. I recall West Ham being on a lot. But they didn't get good enough viewing figures to persist.

I believe we have been live on NATIONAL terrestrial TV just four times to date. The 1989 League Cup semi final second leg v Nottingham Forest on ITV, a league match in 2010 (I think) on BBC 1 when we beat WBA 2-1 and the FA Cup games in 2013 away at Tamworth (2-1 win) on ITV and in 2015 v West Ham also on BBC 1. Other games on ITV were just shown on HTV and whatever region the opponents hailed from but not nationally