Numero Uno

So now a lot, myself included, have decided to renew last minute we await the impact of the "message we sent" from the club. We can surely expect to see a contrite CEO and Director of Football realising they've really ****** a lot of people off and change the communication to something that is more inclusive of rather than antagonistic towards the fanbase. Clearly they won't continue to think of fans as "customers", "know-nothing punters" and "mugs", they won't feel "they've got away with it" and it won't be an indicator that "it's only a load of hot air on OTIB" and that they can simply go back to taking people for granted will it? We all know that Bristol Sport are better than that.......................... Whilst this is all happening we can also expect to see pigs fly, the Few serve "genuine" Fanta and Liam ditch the word "behaviours". I wouldn't expect the ear-plug wearing executives at BS Towers to have the faintest idea but they really do need next season to improve significantly imo, certainly in terms of the "matchday experience" on offer anyway. You can only continue to bore a majority of people for so long.

With a totally self-centred, poltically-motivated cock of an owner to boot.......................real old school football experience that.

They do now otherwise you wouldn’t have seen numerous academy lads step up in recent years. Norwich aren’t allowed by FA rules to scout in this area now.

When the Gas took 75 to Fleetwood and it was expressed as a percentage of their home support and then multiplied by the "nothing riding on the game" co-efficient it was actually the third highest away attendance in the history of the game....................

If Premier League clubs didn't want replays then if they are drawn against lower league clubs in Rounds 3-5 the lower clubs should get choice of venue imo.

£1.25 (don't know if that is per ticket) but either way it should cover the non-productive overtime costs of their staff signing on here as bots......................

You've got one guess and one guess only....................

Goalkeepers, horses, all fair game for the the Gas Shit Squad……..

Well, we hammered all these teams in pre-season last year and it didn't help us break down teams at CHAMPIONSHIP level who are better coached and more tactically aware than the likes of Newport County and FGR................. You might be able to find a local side to play you in an unofficial training game where the specifics are that they park the bus whilst you try and break them down. That only works if the manager of the opposition is actively trying to coach his side on how to park the bus otherwise nobody would be interested. Perhaps you have scenario games in training that are 11 v 14 where the 14 have seven strung across the back? We could do that if we had a squad of 30 players!! I haven't got a clue tbh in terms of how you would coach it at pro level but we certainly haven't found an answer yet.

Yeah, that's the nearest you'll get to playing against good sides that play a Championship style I reckon. Neither would park the bus against Bristol City but it would be realistic to a Championship game in style at least.

Who do people suggest though? Unless you can find a high end League 1 side that play that way you are reduced to playing teams like Forest Green that park the bus and you beat them 6-0 anyway. Nothing learned whatsoever, just a nice run-out for everyone. No Premier League side will come down and park their bus.

It's an uncomfortable truth that what he will have ended up losing annually, once he sells the club, as a percentage of his overall wealth will very likely be similar in many cases to the percentage of their wealth that most fans put into the club in the form of season tickets, merchandising and the like every season. Some of our fans on minimum wage will be putting in (not investing) a far greater percentage of their "wealth". I don't know about tax breaks but I do know that owning a football club as a billionaire will lead you to meet people and open doors to pursue other interests in your life that are not necessarily quantifiable in simple money terms. I also know that Steve's money will be working very well for him so if he pumps £15m of his own dosh into the club this year he will almost certainly be spending money that is effectively "Investment gain". It's not about being ungrateful, it's just recognising that a local billionaire has CHOSEN to do something with his money that HE WANTED TO DO, WASN'T FORCED TO DO and ultimately will cost him around the same, in proportion terms, as any hobby that people on this board pursue. The main difference is that in the pursuit of my hobby I'm not able to turn round and say "it's mine"................ As I've said before, if I had Steve's investment nous and was a billionaire, I would 100% be happy to buy the thing off him and waste a couple of hundred million doing something I would love doing.......I don't though. I'm sure quite a few on here would do the same.

I'd like to see Dewsbury Hall in a far better side than Leicester City. I think he's a player.

I think Liam was as close as two defeats away from the sack and had the Leicester and Plymouth games been defeats he couldn't have complained about it either (albeit the real problem at the club would remain imo). Since then he hasn't lost a game so it wouldn't make sense for fans to keep calling him out albeit performances are still very mixed from week to week. I think the majority of (not all) posters on here will change their minds if someone or something gives them reason too. You can call it backtracking as if its some form of weakness (real weakness is refusing to change your opinion/admit you got it wrong in the face of compelling evidence to the contrary) or you can call it being plain reasonable as new/different facts present themselves? Happens all the time at work, you start down one route and end up choosing another as facts change, nothing to be ashamed of. However, before anyone has to start eating humble pie and other bollocks, he's got pre-season and the first three months of next season to successfully negotiate, no two ways about that. Come through that period unscathed, playing some nice football/looking upwards and people can start talking about pies and how they knew better all along................ I can only think of less than a handful of posters, at most, that simply won't have Manning under any circumstances.

It changes the dynamics of the game for Max and our two centre halves..................

Does that mean Manning has to give the lads the Hand Drier treatment at half-time?

Very interesting points you make. What people are missing is that the bloke who has lobbed £200m into the club (we are all very grateful before someone loses it) is ALSO one of the best investors in the country. So no doubt the £200m he's put in (or £10m per year on average) will have been recouped just from his investment knowledge not to mention he will recoup probably half of the capital investment when he sells up. Like I said before, owning Bristol Sport is no more than an expensive hobby for him. £100-£150m net at worst over the best part of 25 years for a billionaire. He won't be destitute at the end of it all.

Weston Super Mare is an obvious miss, Clifton St Vincents, De Veys and Totterdown United..............I think that covers it in terms of decently supported opposition in this region.

Not sure about Mehmeti THIS SEASON. However there is a good chance next season might be his breakout season if he carries on recent improvements. He's at least showing us what he's about at times now..........took a while.

I know he's nowhere near the finished article but we've missed Bell imo. One thing I will say about him is his movement is very good and if we can get a decent passer of the ball signed I predict he will have a decent season next time round. Biggest issue for me with him is "upstairs".......he allowed a poor run of form to go on a bit too long for my liking then was just starting to show something when he got injured. Your Big Winners list is right imo. However, I always felt Max was better than some on were claiming (Goalkeepers make mistakes that lead to goals conceded now and again shocker) so the biggest winner for me is Tanner who has come on a long way (and has still got plenty of room for improvement).

The problem is picking the right sides. Top end of League 1 is the nearest we'll get in terms of opposition being good enough to sit in and give us a challenge (Oxford maybe............).

If you want decent opposition that might be happy to play us and is realistic to the style of play we will encounter in the Championship then get up to Scotland and play against Rangers and Celtic......... We will obviously have the usual Newport, Cheltenham, Swindon and Exeter fixtures with Aldershot sprinkled in. If people want a Prem team at the Gate the pond we would be fishing in would include Luton, Palace, Forest and Bournemouth. The problem with playing Prem teams is they all want you to cover their expenses for the "privilege" of playing them (which probably won't be covered by 7K watching us play Luton).

The last point on ST sales is still the most interesting one. If ST sales meet club expectations (which have to be less than this season given what has transpired) he will be given time next season. If they fall considerably short i.e. 2-3K then I think his time shrinks too. This time next week we will know where we stand on that.

Thought I would revisit this and it looks like Liam has at least got close on the targets I would have set him......

I did use the word IF on the basis that if you are going to feed information out to certain fans to try and convey a club agenda I'm not sure the person concerned would be the greatest choice. The way he comes across to me in publically available media I think you would struggle to rely on him to always withhold sensitive information. This is the most basic reason you just do not go down that route and if this has happened (and I mean with any fan who has a media or social media presence not just a particular one) I would 100% stand by my comment that a Director of the club couldn't possibly continue in post in an organisation that genuinely wants to run things professionally.