cidered abroad

7 hours ago, billywedlock said:

Agree that this should have been done in the summer . There is a lot wrong at the club and the correcting of Ashtons mess is proving more painful than anticipated . It is a time to be brave. If the true story ever came out the fans might be more accommodating 

You apparently have some close contact in the club and as a very long standing supporter, I appreciate your comments.

We've had enough dressing room problems over the years, the days of Rance and a useless Board in the First Division. I consider that the worst one was the Doherty management in 1958 when he created a totally split squad due to an inability to understand that a promise from HD was sacrosanct. Relegation followed that event and it is possible that the same will happen this time.

Nigel Pearson appears to be one of those who will build us back again and I'm almost praying that we can keep away from the drop zone until he can get a couple or three in in January. Otherwise he'll need a Third Division promotion.

1 hour ago, MelksRed said:

I was at the game yesterday and agree that some of the behaviour was deplorable. I agree with the majority of comments that condemn this behaviour.

I would equally argue that it wouldn't take much for Pearson to walk over and thank the fans.....something he NEVER does. We travelled a good couple of hours....spent good money and he couldn't walk 30 yards across a park to clap us for the effort....is that or does that show respect?

I never saw Lee, bloody wonderful, Johnson do anything other than disappear down the tunnel when we lost a league match! When we won he would be leading the players.

Pearson has a terribly difficult job to sort out the mess we are in. He doesn't need to a visit to the away end for a foul mouthed slagging by those foul mouthed, flares in corridors morons.

@MelksRed

If he's not considered first choice, I would have thought he should be on the bench.

That is the best post in decades. Good on yer!

11 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

1-1, weren't it ?

Yes Sunderland got a late equaliser.

30 minutes ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

 

Yep, I was most certainly there.

I mentioned the match in the recent thread about favourite away matches - it was just after the 0-0 draw away to Sunderland, two very tense matches that were so important and integral to our promotion.

Actually just before the Roker match but that's me being pedantic.

Albion chucked everything at us in the second half. The crowd at the Brummie Road end did their best to suck the ball into the net. One effort from Johnston hit a post, then crossbar and then the other post.

But the most amazing thing of the evening happened at the Hawthorn pub before the game. It was jammed with red and one of our group of four, got on his knees and crawled to the bar. Four pints returned about two minutes later!

My Uncle lived most of his married life in 5, Gigg Lane. No longer with us but I'm thrilled for all Bury fans.

I have come to the conclusion that we are our own worst enemies in home games. We play a sensible game plan in the first half and sometimes, as last evening, get a half time lead.

We then from second half kick off, defend deeper and deeper. Rare occasions give us a break to attack but as the whole team becomes two teams with only a couple or three attacking and the rest on half way line at best. We concede possession to the opponents and get squashed into our own penalty area by 70/75 minutes. Non possession of the ball is very tiring and by the last five minutes as a team we are completely shot. Unable ro do anything other than lump it forward to nobody in red. There was one example yesterday when we had a shot at Forest goal and about ten seconds later a Forest player is through one on one with Bentley. We are too tired to chase back!

This has to change immediately otherwise every home game result will be the same - lesding 1-0 or level yet conceding goal/goals in the last ten minutes.

I have great respect for Nigel Pearson and what he is doing to repair us but maybe a bit braver in second halves to consolidate rather than to hang on in our own penalty area.

7 hours ago, TomF said:

Throwing a bridge swing as a major event is exiting is BCC stupidity at its finest. Given they’re not allowed to have bridges swings at peak hours how is this different 

It's the fault of AFC Bournemouth!

It was their fault in 1955 when on Easter Monday at about 2pm, the old little bridge by the Pump House and Nova Scotia pubs, was swung to welcome several large cargo ships to pass into the dock. The larger swing bridge did not exist then

Many of the Bristol and South Glos special buses were held up in the queue that went all the way to Whiteladies Road. Crowd that day was over 33,000 as a 0-0 draw took City a bit closer to the Third (South) title.

22 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Think Vyner could come in ahead of Bakinson on Tuesday if push came to shove.  Was 19th man on Saturday.

I think Atkinson will be back, and I think Nige will go with a 352 as a result.

So, assuming:

DB

GT / TK / NB / RA / JD

Then you could go James / Vyner and play Scott or Palmer off if whoever the 2 up top are.

Id much rather Vyner alongside James than Bakinson.

You beat me to it @Davefevs.

I know that he is not every supporters favourite but, unless he is injured or fallen out big time with NP, I consider he should have been on the bench recently as a versatile defender.

Since the arrival of Tanner, could it be that he is being groomed for another position? I can't believe that Pearson has given up on him (yet keeps picking the ineffective ROI international!)

3 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

It is very difficult to see the wood from the trees at the moment. Due to the abject behaviour of the new Ipswich CEO and two appointments of novice managers, we would be in severe trouble with FFP if we had splashed out in the last close season. So no blame attached to Pearson for not bringing in a new team in pre-season.

He has begun the job of rebuilding the team, it's spirit and a unity that has been sadly missing for several seasons. Not an easy thing to do.

I realised, like many others that we would lose to B'mouth whatever we did on and off the field. We have a squad of players with fewer injuries than those last season but we are still, for various reasons, short of at least four to six who could be in the match squad. Atkinson was out, Williams pulled up very early in the match and King later. Add to them Conway, Semenyo.

I am assuming that Pearson also realised we would lose whatever we did. So bearing in mind that we have three days later another game that we can reasonably hope to get the long awaited win, did he instruct the team not to play a very high pressing game that would use a lot of energy. Not to go crunching into tackles, try to keep the score down and so on to save ourselves for Forest. B'mouth helped us to earn a minimal defeat with some appalling misses in the second half, but we still look forward to Forest with another two injured, Williams and King.

 Most of us expected we would be in bottom six all season so it's a minor relief at present to be in top half with only four defeats from twelve games and a goal difference of only minus one. We are not where we want to be but yesterdays performance was a lot better than the rubbish we had to watch last season. We did a reasonable job of keeping our shape, nobody let their heads drop, we worked as a team as best we could and even created a couple of second half openings that could have been more profitable with some good fortune.

Keep the faith everyone because if we start moaning at them during a match, it could diminish the wholehearted effort that all squad members appear to be giving at present.  

@Red Exile and @ScottishRed

What does the flame mean please?

Is my post a load of tosh or bang on?

It is very difficult to see the wood from the trees at the moment. Due to the abject behaviour of the new Ipswich CEO and two appointments of novice managers, we would be in severe trouble with FFP if we had splashed out in the last close season. So no blame attached to Pearson for not bringing in a new team in pre-season.

He has begun the job of rebuilding the team, it's spirit and a unity that has been sadly missing for several seasons. Not an easy thing to do.

I realised, like many others that we would lose to B'mouth whatever we did on and off the field. We have a squad of players with fewer injuries than those last season but we are still, for various reasons, short of at least four to six who could be in the match squad. Atkinson was out, Williams pulled up very early in the match and King later. Add to them Conway, Semenyo.

I am assuming that Pearson also realised we would lose whatever we did. So bearing in mind that we have three days later another game that we can reasonably hope to get the long awaited win, did he instruct the team not to play a very high pressing game that would use a lot of energy. Not to go crunching into tackles, try to keep the score down and so on to save ourselves for Forest. B'mouth helped us to earn a minimal defeat with some appalling misses in the second half, but we still look forward to Forest with another two injured, Williams and King.

 Most of us expected we would be in bottom six all season so it's a minor relief at present to be in top half with only four defeats from twelve games and a goal difference of only minus one. We are not where we want to be but yesterdays performance was a lot better than the rubbish we had to watch last season. We did a reasonable job of keeping our shape, nobody let their heads drop, we worked as a team as best we could and even created a couple of second half openings that could have been more profitable with some good fortune.

Keep the faith everyone because if we start moaning at them during a match, it could diminish the wholehearted effort that all squad members appear to be giving at present.  

So do I. Appears to be a good honest guy who isn't afraid to call a spade a shovel!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58822497

An article about one of the most exciting players I have ever seen. A brilliant footballer who was probably decades ahead of his time in football terms and who suffered the racially abusive society that still exists even if not quite as openly obvious as it was then.

England are boring, unadventurous, backwards and sideways among the defensive players. What do Rice and Mount bring to the party? Sterling is a shadow of the Man City version because he rarely sees the ball. Much more excitement in The Great British Bakeoff!

9 hours ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

Back in City’s promotion year (to what was then the First Division) we had two consecutive away games against two of our promotion contenders, Sunderland and West Brom.

A 0-0 draw with Sunderland was followed (or preceded, I forget now) by a 1-0 win at The Hawthorns.

Holding on for that victory, under a constant barrage of crosses and shots, especially knowing how important it was to our promotion hopes, was nail biting to say the least.

What a night that was at the Hawthorns. They threw everything at us but we got lucky and three points.

Wins at Old Trafford, twice, Arsenal, Leeds and Liverpool in FA Cup, and tons more over many years. All of these were as the underdog and so good to watch and savoir.

But the most important, IMO, was at Chester City in 1984. What an atmosphere we brought to the game and how those players responded and worked so hard.

PS, I remember in the same vein, a Forest fan telling me the most important game for him, was the one that got them promoted before they won the First Division, two European Cups and a string of success to follow.

Wins at Old Trafford, twice, Arsenal, Leeds and Liverpool in FA Cup, and tons more over many years. All of these were as the underdog and so good to watch and savoir.

But the most important, IMO, was at Chester City in 1984. What an atmosphere we brought to the game and how those players responded and worked so hard.

PS, I remember in the same vein, a Forest fan telling me the most important game for him, was the one that got them promoted before they won the First Division, two European Cups and a string of success to follow.

3 hours ago, The Bard said:

Selection for this level is clearly a stitch up. There's probably a quota system In place unofficially to appease the big clubs so their youth players have value.  Makes Alex's inclusion all the more of an achievement 

Cynical sod! Nail directly on the head. Nice one Bard.

@The Bard

I saw Wayne Elliott playing in U 23 pre season friendly at Taunton the season after promotion. He was a tremendous help to Vyner, Kelly and O'Leary and also the rest of the side, none of whom made it to league status as far as I know.

Very good idea.

As an elder City fan who is quick to remember and praise the nostalgia of my young days in the late 1940's and 1950's, this is an astonishing example of how special training on Weston Beach and players who smoked 20 a day has developed into the present day.

It's easy to say that Pearson may take us to the Premier League but we should never forget those people in the background and their modern methods that are making it a real possibility. My great respects to Rennie, all the other backroom specialists an NP. Hoping that Nigel makes a full recovery from his latest bout of Covid. What a manager of people he is. Always WE and never ME.

18 hours ago, downendcity said:

To give us our full and proper name, as used by opposition fans,  we are Bristol We Should be Beating These) City.

As @Olé and @Davefevs have said, I’m sure we all want to see City stroking the ball around the park a la Man City. However, I also think we have to accept the reality of the sh1t hand that Pearson was dealt when he took on this job.

It’s a bit like the old joke when a motorist stops a farmer to ask the best way to wherever,  and the farmer replies “ well if I was going there  I wouldn't start from here”. If SL had told Pearson that he wanted a City team to play entertaining, attacking passing football, I suspect that Pearson would have said well I wouldn't start from this position - numerous players out of contract, a shambles on the pitch and demotivated and non-performing and mainly injured players.

However, start from there he had to, and his first step was to bring old hands in that he knew and trusted to bring experience and know how and that would influence the squad, with the right way to do things. Pearson has also put in place his plan, which I’m guessing was initially based on working with what he had, given the financial limitations, with an immediate priority  to change attitudes and mentality. I think that most agree that there has been a noticeable change in attitude, with a team going out showing grit and determination, so that we are no longer the soft touches of last season.

He’s said about Martin that he’s interested in what he can do, not what he can’t and I suspect he’s taken a similar view of other players, so has organised a way of playing that plays to our strengths, i.e. getting players to what they can do and not asking them to do what they can’t. It might not be giving us the sparkling football we ideally want, but it is certainly more effective and has made us a harder team to beat, but I’m hoping that we are currently seeing is only the first step along the road of developing Pearson’s own team, which I reckon will look a lot different, not just in personnel, but in playing style, even though it might take a while to get to that position.

While I never expected things to be as bad as the tale end of last season, I did expect us to be rattling around the bottom end of the table. That we are where we are is perhaps down to some luck along the way but also reflects the huge improvement Pearson has already made, and much quicker than I thought was possible. Now if he can just crack the home win jinx....................... 

 

 

Well said @downendcity

12 hours ago, pongo88 said:

It doesn’t matter if there is only one midfielder who doesn’t score often, but it does matter if the entire midfield is bereft of goals, which was the point I was making. To be successful a team can’t just have a couple of good forwards. Most of the other players must chip in with a few goals here or there. That isn’t going to happen with the current crop of midfielders, good as they are. 
Joe Williams - 2 league goals in 102 appearances 

H N M - 2 in 78

James - 10 in 78

Semenyo - 8 in 93 (only 2 at Championship level)

The best, in terms of scoring are Weimann with 57 in 335, though a lot have come when he’s played as a forward, and O’Dowda with 57 in 335

There has been a lot of talk about the need to sign a 20 goals per season. We do, but we also need to sign a goal scoring midfielder. Put this new player with Williams, HNM, and James and we’d have a good midfield 

Callum O'Dowda, career record according to Wikipedia.

262 games. League/Cup/Internationals

22 goals.

I did not know him personally but like most of us, it feels like we've lost a brother or cousin. We all have to face it one day but until then just for John and his family, let's do it one more time.

Come on you Reds!

2 minutes ago, daored said:

We ain’t going up and we ain’t going down, let’s just enjoy an entertaining game of football. We’ve seen enough dross for too long now 

Are we not? We have to beat the teams in the bottom six to ensure that your assumption becomes reality.

1 hour ago, cidered abroad said:

Smzodics is absolutely certain to score at least one today!

Told you so. Should have put a bet on it!