The Journalist

“Sorry Nigel, but you did say you didn’t want any last-minute funds…”

About to be announced. Bit of extra cash for us to not spend on the team, which is handy.

This was a pretty depressing read after a day away from it all. On the plus side, bloody good forum this, innit? Eight pages of superb debate. We don’t know how lucky we are to have this community.

I think my concern with us is we put Naismith in the holding role expecting everything to come through him, they put someone up against him, he drifts deeper and deeper, creates bigger and bigger gaps between the midfield three and our centre-halves are looking at each other thinking "now what?". Next thing you know Vyner's clipping the ball straight out of play trying to force the pass himself and the moaning and groaning from the crowd begins. You can basically play the whole thing out in your head before it happens, can't you?!

The centre-back thing is interesting. Naismith's the third-best defender out of him, Vyner and Dickie but I also think we're a better team with Naismith there - I've always liked having a quarter-back type at centre-half because it gives you a completely different dimension in possession. It forces the other team to change how they press/defend against you. Naismith playing as the CDM can obviously have a similar impact, but I think it's easier to defend against if you're relying on all of your play to come through him so it often then becomes about how well you can use the CDM as a decoy to open up other passing lanes. I think it'll be fascinating to see which route Pearson takes.

Yeah, I do appreciate that. I’ve always been supportive of Lansdown - although I’ve become less fond of many things he says - and I’m not demanding he go on a spending spree. It’s his money and he’s in charge. But if you’re giving me the option of going for it or being conservative, I’m going for it every time.

Good teams win games! The 2014-15 season being a case in point - Ashton Gate was a mess with only three sides open and you just know some fans would’ve trotted out the whole “the disruption derailed our season” line if we’d not gone up. As it was, it was never even discussed because we were a better team that everyone else!

For me, being a football fan is all about moments and memories. What’s the point, otherwise? I never really understand fans who are content with economic sustainability and bobbing along in the middle of a division being secure. I support a football team to escape the real-life worries of security and sustainability! Let’s give it a crack. I’ve been a Bristol City fan for 25 years and at some point I’d like to see us on Match of the Day, to visit Old Trafford for a league game and waste £30m on some French striker who is supposed to score the goals to keep us up. Life is too short. Way too short.

He could score in the World Cup final and I still wouldn’t change my opinion on him. Just one of those I’m doubling down on no matter what! ?

Yeah, he’s certainly not a natural footballer. I like him, though. (Watkins wasn’t a footballer at all and was lucky to get in the Bath City team when I covered them in my very early BBC days!).

I know he’s not had the easiest start but comparing him to Marley Watkins feels overly harsh… ?

If he was at centre-back for the Birmingham game I bet you’d have seen a very different team performance. Sure, we may look less secure, but we look so much better in possession. For starters he pins the right full-back further back because he hits the diagonal so well, which then opens more space inside the full-back etc.

Was the Wells offside goal actually offside? I missed the replays and discussion at the time. FWIW, when it happened live I thought he was off and was surprised the flag didn’t go up… then it did.

Cornick looks far better down the middle than playing off the side. He gives you a genuine focal point and actually plays like the number on his back.

Just as we were last year, we’re a better team going forward with Naismith at the back. I appreciate that’s not how it’s supposed to work but alas, it does. Also thought Bell was quite poor and, while a threat with his constant running and pace, looks a passenger in possession. He just doesn’t make it stick. Still think he gets a bit of a free pass simply because he’s an academy product

Essentially the polar opposite of us, a club whose infrastructure has expanded too fast for its team to cope. ?

I think a big part of the problem is that, in his eyes, nobody did bid the requisite amount. He continues to phrase any answers about the Scott sale in a very specific way - and he’s no idiot, he words things very deliberately. The next 12 days will be interesting. If the relationship behind the scenes hasn’t broken down already it may be about to.

That was a pretty dull evening until the final minute of stoppage. That’s the worst VAR non-intervention I think I’ve ever seen. You also can’t imagine we’ll be seeing much of Michael Salisbury in the future, the VAR tonight… given he was also stood down for a game last season after missing that high-profile penalty in the Tottenham-Brighton match. Full GON piece up now - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66506026

I couldn’t agree with this more but there’s a simple explanation for the lack of credit for Pearson… that would be to admit mistakes were made in the first place. The man comes across as utterly arrogant, increasingly so with each public appearance. I’m a huge supporter of his, but I certainly don’t like a lot of what he says anymore.

Exactly what we all needed after last Saturday and the departure of Scott. Well done all. Never forget we’re all on the same team here

Haven't read all the other comments, so apologies, but the jibe about Luton getting promoted with "far less talent than we have in our squad" was ******* poor.

I must admit, I had no idea he was a Bournemouth fan growing up. That does alter the angle on it a bit for me.

From Bournemouth's announcement: "While in negotiations with Bristol City, we were made aware that Alex had sustained a knee injury during a recent training session. During the medical, scans revealed the injury to be more significant than was initially reported." Remember when Nigel Pearson was "lying" but actually it turns out if anything he was playing down the injury? ?

I think I'm right in saying a £25m deal makes him the fifth most expensive English teenager in history? That puts into context the size of the transfer. (Behind Ryan Sessegnon, Luke Shaw, Jude Bellingham and Wayne Rooney).

Only 25 out of the 343 Ashes Tests played before this series ended with a winning margin of three wickets or fewer/50 runs or fewer. That’s a remarkable stat when you think that four out of five here ended like that, with the other a draw. I think both teams will have a lot of what-if moments - chucking a 2-0 lead away and the Manchester rain for starters - but for a neutral there’s a good argument for that being the greatest Ashes series of all time, isn’t there? (Notwithstanding the obvious recency bias in that statement!)