handsofclay

4 minutes ago, BCFCGav said:

3.5 year contract. Paying him out would be very very pricey, and a catastrophic waste of money. Not an option for me.

Problem is it could be even more catastrophic keeping him in place. Damage limitation. 

Holden was dispensed with pretty quickly when it became apparent he was out of his depth after the Lansdowns had undergone a meticulous and lengthy process to hand him the job as the outstanding candidate. 

We are so poor even the commentator is calling us Bristol Rovers now

5 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

SL bought them

That's what I thought as they are of little use to anyone else while he is a large majority shareholder.

I bought a handful of shares in 1982. When Scott Davison took over in the mid to late 90s I received a letter saying I had the right to sell them for double the price as that's what the new investors had paid for their shares. But Davison requested shareholders for the good of the club not to do this. So I didn't.

However, like a lot of you other shareholders by about 6 or 7 years ago I thought the shares were pretty worthless and made enquiries and was told that someone was buying them, I wasn't informed who, and they were bought at the price I paid in 1982. 

Plus I have a fear with the new tactics being adopted throughout the club that any veggie sausage roll I ordered will be passed around endlessly between the BS staff, particularly those at the back, and by the time it reaches me it will be stone cold.

This is the time of goodwill to all men. Please give Manning a chance in the job of managing/coaching the club.

I'm going to post the above on the Portsmouth forum nearer Christmas in the hope they come in and take him off our hands like they did with Pulis years ago. Hopefully, we will soon be spared of this turgid football Manning and the Lansdowns have foisted upon us.

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

Exactly what happened.

Roberts was told not to go, as we were fighting Watford for top spot & then he totally ignored Ward & did so.

McCarthy, who admittedly wasn’t great, battled away in every game for us, played & scored at Preston on the last day of the season, even though his father has passed away that week.

No surprise why Ward went with him, most managers would prefer a bloke prepared to give you everything over someone who thinks he’s better than the club, especially if he’s only on loan.

But that was AFTER Roberts had been inexplicably dropped in favour of McCarthy after his match winning performance on debut at Oldham. Yes, it was petulant. But I rather think had it not been for the fact he was dropped he would've acted differently. 

The proof of the pudding is that not long afterwards Roberts was playing and scoring in the Premier League whereas I was watching McCarthy playing for Truro v Mangotsfield United at Cossham St.

2 hours ago, Dizz said:

I remember a very 'un-Jason Roberts like' replacement from Oldham called Sean McCarthy who we brought in when the very 'Jason Roberts like' Jason Roberts decided to disappear on us. (Less said about that the better )

To be fair, just think he was more rubbish than unpopular...

Roberts and McCarthy were signed on loan roughly at the same time, iirc as replacements for Shaun Goater. Roberts made his full debut in a televised game at Oldham and scored in a win, teaming up well with Gregory Goodridge. We played Carlisle next at home and John Ward inexplicably dropped Roberts and replaced him with McCarthy who looked overweight. McCarthy did very little. Roberts came on as a late sub in a one nil win and I remember the Carlisle defenders were bouncing off of him. He was very impressive.

Trouble was his nose had been put out of joint being dropped for the unfit McCarthy, simply due to the latter's experience and went AWOL. I blame us going up as runners up instead of champions on that decision. Didn't understand it at the time and still don't.

3 minutes ago, maxjak said:

Wish Henderson would hop on a camel and get lost in the desert?

I think that would be unfair on the camel

2 minutes ago, Malago said:

Gareth Southgate is like a man whose been gifted a Ferrari and who is scared to change up beyond 3rd gear go more than 30 mph.

In Wales that would be considered rather daring.

9 hours ago, Ian M said:

If they played in UEFA competitions they’d have to adhere to FFP regulations. That includes sponsorship deals rated at market rate. So good luck squaring off Ronaldo’s £173m a year wages on crowds of 20k.

Nige would sort it out.

10 hours ago, 2015 said:

Thanks for correcting me Sounds better!

No worries, it's an easy mistake to make. I used to use the question about the only non-league club to have won the FA Cup (since the FL started in 1888), that being Spurs in 1901. But stopped using it when I came to realize that Spurs were a fully professional club in an alternative league to the Football League. So weren't really 'non-league' as we class it today and since 1919. Nowadays non league means below the four tiers of the Football League, but back then there was no pyramid at all. In fact many of the early charity shield matches were played between the winners of the Football League and Southern League. 

4 hours ago, 2015 said:

Pretty sure Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers were Southern League (Amateur Level) Until around 1922 when the League's merged with the 1st and 2nd Division. Southern League became the 3rd Division.

Swindon and Rovers have always been historic rivals because of their similar league positions since the early 20th Century. Still historically third tier clubs (Despite Swindon's current position).

City were one of the only Southern Professional clubs in the very early stages of the 20th century. 

We've underachieved.

The Southern League wasn't amatuer. When Bristol City were in it before joining the Northern based Football League in 1901 the players were professionals. Basically, back then there were two professional football leagues, the Southern based Southern League and the Northern based Football League. The Football League had the strongest teams and eventually won out after the Great War when many of the Southern League sides joined the much expanded Football League. But the Southern League had many strong teams the equal of Football League sides, hence Tottenham Hotspur winning the FA Cup as a Southern League side in 1901.

11 minutes ago, Sleepy1968 said:

Kiss of death. 0-0, no talking points. Two editorial shots of a menacing seagull perched on the main stand.

You've spoiled it for me. Couldn't you have included a spoiler alert?

I'm somewhat with Sweeney's Penalties on this one. Okay, several of you give examples of countries that play in colours not on their flag. However, the home nations, England excepted, all play in the colour that is predominant on their flag, Ireland also being the case.

England play in the colours of The Union Jack, not the flag of St. George. England are also the only nation that plays the anthem of Great Britain and not an anthem for England. It rather smacks of England promoting being British with their kit and anthem while the other countries that are part of Britain project their own national identities in both the colours of their kit and their anthem. 

It should be easier for Spurs to employ the offside trap now.

14 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

That’ll be 8-10 weeks without van de ven. 

I remember doing mine trying to stop a quick single. I had no experience of torn muscles so I got straight back up and tried to go field the ball. Completely purple from knee to buttock. 

You should've just waited until the end of the over, like the Aussies, and let your wicket keeper run him out when he left the crease to chat to his fellow batsman.

1 minute ago, Ian M said:

I think it has widely been agreed since that Becks should have only got a yellow for that kick out?

VAR does not get involved for yellows.

Good point, I actually thought it didn't deserve a red in 98, hardly any force behind the kick, it was more a flick that then pole axed the usually robust Simone. 

1 minute ago, Port Said Red said:

I'm not watching, but I thought you couldn't give a red and a penalty?

It was serious foul play plus he was fortunate to be still on the pitch after a petulant kick on a Chelsea player minutes earlier. Similar to Beckham in 1998.

I will be looking to increase the confidence of the Bristol City players. I thought I had achieved that earlier this season when they put five goals past my team at Ashton Gate.

The day of reckoning will be May 4th, when we have either made the top six or we haven't.

2 minutes ago, Sandhurst Red said:

I've simply provided info that someone I trust has given me, from an outside club source

I'll take all pelters if it's wrong. 

Fair enough, nothing against you personally and if it proves to be correct more power to your elbow and thanks for informing us. But there have been several ITKs dropping hints for instance that the new head coach has German connections and cannot find any German connections with Manning. (It will probably be revealed later that his house was wired using material made in Berlin.)

2 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

What's happened that some are suddenly convinced it's Manning?

Someone came on and said that it's definitely going to be Manning and provided a time frame for when it would be announced. That's all it seems to take.

Thank goodness social media wasn't around in the blitz. There'd be constant ITKs telling us when the next air raid was due. We would never emerge from our shelters. Although, thinking about it that wouldn't happen because if an ITK got it right about the next raid they'd be promptly arrested, tortured in the Tower of London and hung as a spy within a week. 

1 minute ago, Red Ferret said:

Need some OTIB people to hang around at Bristol Airport to stalk the incoming flights from Germany, as is tradition 

Not arriving via the airport, jumping out of a plane over Ashton Court, being picked up there. All kindly thanks to Leeds United who have provided some of their parachute payments.

1 minute ago, Fpcity said:

Didn't sky sports news have a breaking news that Chris Houghton was going to be our manager? 

He was interviewed for the position so that was more than just speculation.