The Journalist

I thought we played really well. We were on the ropes a bit for 15 minutes or so after they scored, but we deserved at least a point over the piece.

I’m genuinely really chuffed for not just the manager and players for everything they’ve put in but also the fans who’ve stayed behind them home and away.

It’s been a long three years for City fans, really - football without supporters thanks to Covid and then, by and large, some pretty poor stuff since. It’s not been easy following that lot up and down the country, I’m sure.

But I feel like, after a long time putting the foundations in among a whole lot of subsidence caused by previous incumbents, the walls are finally starting to go up and everyone’s got something a bit more tangible to look at - a young, hungry team playing good football and getting the results they deserve.

Well done all and hope you all have a good night. Enjoy it, it’s been a while coming.

Just feels like he hardly ever gives the ball away, wherever he receives it and whether he’s passing short or long. He’s a really good player.

It's genuinely difficult to pick our front three on Saturday and it feels like it's been a long time since we were last able to say that. I think you can make a good case for Mehmeti or Bell and whoever gets left out will feel hard done by.

I'd probably edge towards Bell purely because his movement is so good and, in my opinion, he could offer more on transition when you're looking to break.

But, I mean... quite exciting either way, innit?

29 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I didn’t say there was a conspiracy, I said we were being treated differently.

I reckon we have had 7 decent penalty shouts this season, none awarded.

That’s being treated differently.

It’s not being treated differently at all - it’s seven referees making seven isolated snap decisions, as they do dozens of times every game, all of which happen to have gone against us.

It’s only being treated differently if you think they’re linked.

28 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Maybe.

Problem is no matter how dispassionate you try & be (& I’m far more so on here than at games) then the fact (not opinion) that we are being treated completely differently from other sides certainly colours our judgement, doesn’t it?

The penalty thread shows that.

For what it’s worth I think there are about half a dozen really poor refs & for reasons I don’t know, they seem to hang around at our level without ever being demoted/replaced.

So Eltringham, Linington, Doughty, Andy Davies, Whitestone, Webb, Robinson, all really poor.

Is it a fact we're being treated differently to other sides? That would suggest there's a genuine conspiracy of some description behind it all and and I just don't buy that for a second - outside of the Bristol bubble we're a complete non-entity.

Unless a member of the board has slept with the wife of the chief of referees I'm just not seeing anything other than an amazing - but not unprecedented - statistical anomaly.

46 minutes ago, frenchred said:

Refereeing at all levels in England have plummeted, ours refs used to be looked up to all around the world, now they rarely get selected for top European games, this impacts the levels and performance throughout the pyramid

Looked up to around the world? Really?

Only one European referee has taken charge of more Champions League games than Michael Oliver this season, who also had a World Cup quarter-final.

I just think the line you're pedalling is nonsense, sorry.

Few people saying the standard of refereeing has fallen - do fans really think this? I think it's a complete myth.

In 25 years of watching football I've never thought "oooh, refereeing is particularly good at the moment".

In truth, the vast majority of referees get the vast majority of decisions right the vast majority of the time - despite the game now being harder to referee than at any point in history.

I say harder because the game is now quicker than ever before and referees now also have to make far more decisions during 90 minutes than ever before.

You can argue whether the above is positive or negative - and, indeed, whether the laws of the game have improved or otherwise - but I'm not having it that the actual refereeing has got worse.

Stopped playing between the two goals. That’s the difference between a side pushing upwards and a side not. Would’ve won that otherwise.

For as bad as he is, if anyone is going to give us a penalty it’s Keith Stroud. Would absolutely relish being the referee to finally do it.

If you’re trying to improve culture, is having bad apples train with the most impressionable group of people within a club - the young players - going to ultimately be a positive thing?

12 hours ago, ralphindevon said:

Bell’s second goal reinforces my opinion that he’s the most exciting striker prospect to come out of our academy.

The first goal was well taken but probably every player on the pitch has the ability to score that.

The second goal very few on the pitch would have been capable of that, that’s pure striker instinct, going at speed after a brilliant first touch then to bring out a cool chip like that. I’m not sure you can learn, you’ve either got it or you haven’t.

I realise this is a fairly worthless thing to say, but Semenyo wouldn’t have finished that second goal. He has neither the touch nor composure to have scored from that position.

There’s obviously plenty that Semenyo has than Bell doesn’t - but almost all exclusively physical attributes.

30 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

He's the most talented player we have had in the modern era.

And Its not even close.

We are blessed to have him. 

He’s the most complete player I’ve seen play for us in 25 years of watching - especially when you consider he’s doing it in the hardest position on the pitch and at the highest level we’ve played during that time.

I just can’t think of another player who comes close to his all-round game? And he’s 19!

Wish Alex Scott would just give us one more full season.

What a first touch. Made that look much more routine than it was.

Excited to see how he does. Hopefully it all clicks into place for him because has all the attributes and seems a good guy. I thought his goodbye message was lovely - felt unusually genuine for that sort of thing.

At that level, the key bits will be working on that first touch and being able to look after the ball when it’s played into him and adding composure to his finishing. He’s always struck such a clean ball, but is miles too wasteful for the Premier League currently.

It’ll be very interesting - he has a lot to work on but good luck to him and I think it’s a good deal for both parties.

44 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

100%.

I would offer him a new two year deal, he’s 26 in May too so should be coming into his best years.

Can’t believe wages would be an issue & as I have highlighted before, has a brilliant availability record, so is reliable on that score.
 

Versatile too. Clearly settled well into that right-sided centre-half role, but also did well in the middle of a back three and can play at full-back and even as a defensive midfielder too.

We’ve had a pretty settled team for a fair while so probably easy to forget how many options he actually gives you.

Worth adding for full disclosure - until this season I didn’t think he had the mentality/concentration to play at this level, but he’s stepped up for a consistent period. No doubt confidence has played a part, but fair play to him.

11 hours ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

Including the Championship and Premier League. I know they've sponsored in Scotland but isn't it about time Specsavers sponsored refs and linos in England. 

So basically all referees are really poor?

It’s almost as if it’s a really difficult job.

On 19/01/2023 at 13:42, GrahamC said:

Only spending £210m in the process, an incredible achievement with such limited resources.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not - £210m in today's market doesn't get you much if you're trying to build a team to get into the Champions League!

Genuinely, their recruitment has been excellent and building a team - and bearing in mind they were absolute relegation fodder for a sustained period time - in that short space of time is much, much easier said than done. You only need to look at the sort of money other clubs/managers have wasted to appreciate that.

(Apologies if you're being genuine!).

Eddie Howe has done fantastically. I really questioned whether he was the right appointment for them, but I think player-for-player he has them probably overachieving currently. To turn them around that quickly has been remarkable.

9 minutes ago, BigTone said:

Glad to hear they achieved their goals. Along with the "Ultras" it has been a great weekend showing exactly what the fans / customers are all about and the club should beware. The bell ends are revolting!!!

Would you go for the sugary ones or plain? So many variations to choose from now.

On 12/01/2023 at 10:04, Percy Pig said:

Yes, but "supporter not customer" should be a mindset. I understand voicing displeasure, but I cannot understand doing it during a game. Surely you concede that getting on the players backs will make things worse? In your profession would you improve your productivity and performance if you were encouraged? Or would your performance suffer if every mistake, however small, was met with the sound of groans, boos and sarcastic chanting from thousands watching? 

I just don't understand it. Home advantage is a thing but that comes from the idea that 10-30k people are in attendance wanting the players to play well. Sometimes I feel like sections of our fans enjoy venting and moaning more than they do us winning. As if the club is a facility to express their real life personal frustrations. 

I don't view myself as a customer. I pay a contribution to the players wages and see that as an investment. If I invest in the stock market I'm not then going to sit in the offices of whatever company I've invested in and abuse and belittle the staff there as they try to improve said company and therefore increase the value of my investment. The difference is the increased value of my investment in City is joy rather than pounds or pence.

I'll never get it. I'm not old enough to remember 82 or the Cooper rebuild, but everything I hear about the 4-10k who stuck around was that they were loyal, positive and backed up a club that almost died. 

There's precisely nothing to be gained from airing the frustrations we all feel at times. So why do it? 

If the players had given up I'd sort of get it, but they are all, to a man, putting in the effort for the shirt. The goalposts always move. It's "just want a team that tries" or "just want a team that's entertaining" or "just want us to be solid and hard to beat" or "just want us to have a team of academy players we can love and relate to" or "just want us to invest and give it a go". Well we've done all those things in the last decade, and every version of City is met with the same people moaning about different things. In the end, maybe they're the problem? 

Superb. Both making excellent points and absolutely delicious.

19 minutes ago, chinapig said:

Though Rashford didn't take any action, obvious or otherwise. The ball being in playing distance doesn't constitute an action.

I don't see anything in Law 11 that equates to a player being active if the goalkeeper is unsure who might play the ball. To capture that you would have to make yet another change to the law, though how a referee could judge whether a keeper is confused by the presence of an inactive (as defined) player is unclear.

I guess it’s interpretation isn’t it? I think Rashford continues to move towards the ball even if he doesn’t swing a boot at it.

On 14/01/2023 at 15:00, phantom said:

Exactly why the goal stood 

Even the linesman realised straight away that he flagged in error and spoke to the ref to confirm the goal should be given 

I’ll tell you why the goal should’ve been disallowed on this point, IMO, albeit it’s slightly nuanced with a goalkeeper’s head on but…

On 14/01/2023 at 14:55, chinapig said:

making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.

Immediately before Fernandes strikes the ball it’s still within striking range of Rashford.

Because of the angle at which both approached the ball, both players would’ve had to hit it with their in-step across the goalkeeper - so if Rashford strikes it he goes to the keeper’s left, if Fernandes strikes it - as he did - he would go to the keeper’s right.

On this basis alone it should’ve been disallowed because Ederson is unable to anticipate which corner the ball will end up.

I recognise you’ll only likely understand this point if you’ve played in goal, but it’s 100% valid IMO and it should’ve been disallowed.

On 12/01/2023 at 15:56, italian dave said:

We haven’t had a penalty in front of a crowd at Ashton Gate since 2019! 

That is extraordinary. Who was that against?!

1 minute ago, Selred said:

The owner and chairman who oversaw the damage are still at the club though.

I am conscious a lot was due to Ashton, but he should of been managed far better, and never been allowed to get us into the state we are.

But the club is up for sale, isn't it? What else can he do at this point?