Numero Uno

19 minutes ago, BrizzleRed said:

3 points for a win and the play off’s were a couple of other notables that boosted entertainment and increased attendances.

At the moment, there’s loads of TV money sloshing around and clubs seem focussed on that and don’t appear to worry about providing entertainment.  If that TV money dries up, you can bet your bottom dollar that clubs’ attention will turn back to pleasing their fans and getting them through the turnstiles again.

It WILL happen. Football is traditionally reactive rather than proactive, doesn't really think things through and only learns it's lesson the hard way (i.e. no bums on seats and feet on terraces). This has always been the way. The game has really lost balance in terms of being corporate but what the corporates do not seem to understand is when Johnny on the Street has had enough because he/she is spending a hell of a lot of money to watch a product that is dull and stops going (and so do his/her mates) then a day out in a half empty stadium will be a pretty shite experience. The billionaires and corporates then take notice and pull out just as fast as they arrived, spending their dough on the next trendy thing, and it's back to a cheaper financial model and finding a way to get Johnny to come back.

2 minutes ago, mozo said:

Coventry 2-2 springs to mind, and dlfew 2-1s either way. I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary. 

We've won 1-0 seven times this season. Of those, 4 were under Manning, 3 were not.

 

We have one of the best defensive records in the division and a poor goals scored record. That alone tells you it's binary for the major part.

Football attendances are cyclical. Numbers will reduce in time, it's just a case of when not if, and at that point football will have to reinvent itself again based on the negative feedback before numbers go back up to recent/current attendance levels. Not only do you have the issues outlined above you now have managers who think that entertaining fans is for mugs and that their principles are not the most important thing, they are the ONLY important thing. They will get their answer in time because that's what has always happened.

Plenty of people were going to football pre-1980's and took a break (when attendances dropped like a stone) before giving it a go again in the 90's. The last major reset we had was the back pass rule in 1992 because people had a guts full watching teams like Liverpool make going back to their keeper an art form when leading 1-0.

17 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

Why does Manning (hopefully) doing well also always seem to mean that Pearson had to be shit? Or if you think Pearson was doing well, then Manning has to be shit?

How about Pearson did a good job for us, progressed us, Manning took over, had a wobble as he found his feet, and now will hopefully go on to do a good job next season and progress us again. That's what we all want isn't it?

It's only a dozen or so posters looking for attention or needing to bask in the glory of coming on here and proclaiming "I was right" or "you were wrong" in reality.

7 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Can't remember anyone moaning at the time, an ex-England keeper and a manager that won the Championship with a record points total that still stands today, hindsight is a wonderful thing 

I can remember a few moaning re: James as it happens (not me) and they were shouted down. If you go over the head of the manager and buy a Goalkeeper as the focal point of your recruitment and he doesn't win you 8-10 points that season then you get judged in hindsight end of story and you deserve the flak that comes your way too. In terms of hindsight, nobody was moaning when Pearson was appointed blah blah blah..................it was only when Danny Simpson arrived that a few decided he was finished for good. No criticism of the Owner who was happy to pay said player's wages though.

9 hours ago, mozo said:

Of course, under Manning we've won 5-0, 4-1, 3-2 (twice) and 3-1, so it's not likely that we'll become a dull 1-0 team next season.

.........and the rest of the games have been Binary in terms of our goals scored, bar a 3-2 defeat at Ipswich, haven't they?

4 minutes ago, Chairman Mao said:

I was about 14 and convinced my dad (a Man Utd fan who idolised Coppell as a kid, proceeded to nearly get in a fight in the  Eastend about 5 games in for the fact he was screaming so much abuse at David James, so he settled in well..) to get a season ticket for the first time that year.

While there are some good memories, John Stead scoring a banger versus QPR on a Friday night, Adomah being Adomah and David Clarkson lobbing the Leicester keeper from about 40 yards at an extreme angle. I'll never forget the lowlight of seeing David James and Nicky Hunt deliver some of the most inept and unprofessional displays you will have the misfortune of watching. Maynard was injured for most of the season which didn't help. 

Guess who decided to bring David James in? Clue....it wasn't Steve Coppell.

12 hours ago, Cole Not Gas said:

Do what? What would have impressed you in any manager having to take over a Pearson (basket) case 6 months ago? The summer will go well because the club (ie owners & senior, respected managers will back Liam) so you have no reason to have a bad feeling. And what the hell do you mean by regression? Since when, since Cotts or since Johnson? There has been zero regression since Pearson lef; the players are happier, the cup run, we beat or draw with top teams, we smash poor teams etc etc - sometimes the negativity of you (and others) posts is simply baffling. What regression can you possibly mean?

I bet you couldn't stop laughing to yourself when you logged off last night.......................

23 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Haven’t seen them so maybe I shouldn’t comment, but still embarrassing.

Two stonewall penalties and one Everton couldn’t have complained if it was given. Still a daft statement BUT Forest were very hard done by.

12 minutes ago, JP Hampton said:

Yes that’s definitely been our weakness and definitely what we need to work on. If we can sort that out, then we should see real change. 

Next week will be interesting. Rotherham will defend deep, disrupt the game and launch balls forward early. I want to see us beat these next week and put this “issue” of struggling against poor sides to bed with 7 points in three home games against lower ranked sides (plus the three points at Plymouth).

Bearing in mind that Cambridge technically need 2 more points to survive I would be raging that a player misses the rest of the season because of that headbutt it if it was my club. If it was a club threatened with Premier League relegation you would be seeing a potential law suit being mentioned.

3 hours ago, eardun said:

Off the ball head-butt according to Taylor on Radio Bristol! 

Head butted a young Cambridge player who was spewing up all night and missed their final games due to concussion protocols.

6 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

Not sure I agree really. We played ok, at times we were on top, but equally I don't think Norwich were on top of their game. I also didn't see us impose ourselves on the game consistently. I said earlier in the season that I think our performances are basically defined by the opposition, and I think that happened today.

I thought we were good but I didn't see much to increase my feelings of top 6 next season.

We were away from home to a Top 6 side desperate for the points. Not sure we were ever going to impose ourselves on the game throughout. However we did have good spells on top and didn’t allow them to hit top form. When the oppo fans are happy with a point at home you’ve done well unless you are playing a bottom three side.

I don’t think it’s right to lambast some very poor performances, forget results, and when we do play well overall, forget the result, dumb it down.

Just now, pillred said:

And considering we have absolutely nothing to play for except pride as well.

Against a team that most certainly does want the points.......

To people who say results are the be all and end all it's performances like today, however it ends up, that give you hope we might improve a few things next season not scrapping some shite 1-1 draw in the last minute with a dodgy penalty at home to Huddersfield or that awful 1-0 win at home to Swansea..

Just now, IAmNick said:

Just a really poor shot I think:

Sitter. Compose yourself, hit the corner and it's 2-1.

Sounds like we are putting in one of those largely missing "performances" today.

Just now, BCFC Rich said:

Definitely looks tighter than I first thought. 

Doesn't matter how tight it is. He's off.

That's just plain incompetence from the lino. If he's in line he can't miss that.

What a finish that is. Caressed it into the bottom corner.

Sounds like we are playing well.

1 hour ago, ashton_fan said:

Players tend to be much briefer with their comments if they're not happy. You have to accept that most players and many fans are happy with the coach, accepted not on this platform which is becoming increasingly disfunctional.

Don’t agree with the last bit. Firstly the players don’t pay to watch the football so have a completely different perspective. Most fans bar one or two will give Manning a few months next season to see what he is going to bring to the party and form a view then. Whether players being paid to produce are happy or not if we’re paying to watch crap football that will be mentioned.

Secondly the players appear to have enough nous to realise they couldn’t play the Manning way without new players coming in. Given the second part I find it astounding that an ex-player who basically runs the football side of the club either didn’t realise this or if he did still commented the opposite for reasons only he knows.

Just now, eardun said:

To be fair to @FNQ he thought that there hadn’t been any press conferences (he had just missed them; he wasn’t complaining about the format)

No, I realise that in terms of @FNQ personally. I'm just saying that had there been a pile-on of the club in the circumstances everyone would have looked daft.

Just now, FNQ said:

Can’t argue with that, the work the club does with the community is above and beyond. But not giving a regular weekly update is too much?

I think at this stage of the season and our circumstances  of nothing to play for an "audio-only" interview is fine. Back to normal next week I'm sure.

1 minute ago, Galley is our king said:

In the article..... he actually quoted Nige...

 

 

I'm sure that went down a storm eh?

Media Training refresher course on it's way to Nakhi.................