Sandhurst Red

You mean the fairytale football dream on the South Coast.... I couldn't agree more. The narrative that is often overlooked by the media (and their fans alike) was the Russian money pumped into the club. They were effectively (and it is ironic they play in black and red) a roulette table for 24 months. Had they not gone up that season, then they would have crashed and burned and would be in League One now. They gambled and got away with it, but not without overspending and playing the system. Ruthless and gutsy - perhaps. A south coast fairytale/miracle - absolutely not.

You start the chant tonight, and I will follow. It would be quite the day that we finally get a penalty (even when it is blatantly not one) and Stroudy is the man that gives it. Would just sum up the whole farcical stat.

Oh no..... Just when things had started to look up, guess who is turning up to spoil the party tonight.

Agreed on Cardiff and Brum - still annoys me to this day that we failed to send them down on the last day of the season when Redknapp was in charge a few years ago. No issue with QPR - ah honest, proper football club with an old skool style ground. Would I want to go every week, no!, but it has some charm about it. It is also funny how Brentford have leapfrogged them (and us...) as it really winds up the hoops fans - seeing as they used to play a yearly friendly with Brentford to give them good ground receipts. I'd much rather Reading or Watford went down - Reading for just being about as plastic as you can get. Fans, Stadium, Atmosphere - all of it is just wrong and the local area only cared when they were in the Prem. And Watford deserve a stint down another level for just being moronic in how they operate the club. I feel for the fans, but the owners need to be taught a lesson.

A very good friend of mine is a QPR season ticket holder, and I often go to Loftus when it doesn't clash with a City match. Saw them at the start of the season v Hull City and they looked outstanding. Went again when they played Luton over Christmas and the contrast between the two was huge. Same players, different system - and they looked hopeless. Critchley is on borrowed time, but so is Les Ferdinand who is DOF. The lack of investment in the squad has been huge, but also the mindset and direction is wayward. Charlie Austin was not given a new contract as he was deemed too old (32). 6 months later, QPR sign Chris Martin (34) til the end of the season.... Despite XPG, they need points and quickly - and though a few wins and draws from their remaining fixtures should be enough, he's adamant that they are in a relegation dogfight and that they will need something vs us at Loftus on the last day of the season to stay up. If that scenario does play out, I may make my own way there - opposed to car sharing. Not sure I would want the awkward drive home, if they did go down.

At present, it's enjoyable heading to AG and this month the mileage will be racked up big time. A 200 mile round trip started to take its toll at times last season, and our patch of form in November and December. That said, plenty to look forward to with home games a plenty, including the Man City cup tie and also Cardiff away. I'm excited about Wigan, and hope we get the same support going as we had on Saturday. I brought a friend who had never been to Ashton Gate, and was blown away by it. Genuinely makes you feel proud of what we have, and dare I say it, sometimes take for granted. Makes me so happy that in an area that we live, where Reading, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool and the current craze, PSG kits are a plenty, my 8 year old son proudly wears his Bristol City kit both at football training and when out in general. Being half term, he's allowed a mid-week away game for a change, albeit even the wife has allowed him to come to the Man City game. I pity his teachers the following morning, after a 12am bedtime!

I thought that Children were not allowed in there? It looks mega from our upper Lansdown family tickets, devoid of almost any atmosphere whatsoever ?

I was so much in a hurry to get 3 tickets, I didn't even see there was an option between seats and safe standing. Assume it will be ok for my 8 year old son to see from?

Tickets just gone live to buy for all ST holders

What many don't realise and see, is what he is doing behind the scenes. As unselfish a footballer as you could meet - he is actively giving coaching and advice to both Conway and Bell. He will go on to be an excellent coach, and wants to support the other strikers at the club (whom he could think would take his role at any time). To think this is the club where he has spent the longest part of his career is strange, based on how icon status at other clubs and though he was pricey and his wage was high, we will see the dividends from his impact at the club in years to come.

Which in itself is odd, considering Blackburn have yet to draw a game all season. 14 wins and 13 losses.

They can be awarded for a variety of reasons - and yet in BS3, are often not!

Ask them when will we next get a penalty......

Arguably still more advanced than what you experience at the North Bristol Gazebo.

On a slightly different note, can someone clarify or confirm my thinking with regard to linesmen/women. This season in particular, they seem very hesitant to make any type of decision - even when it is directly in front of them. Be it a foul, offside or even a corner kick. They always seem to look at the referee, await their decision, and then raise the flag in the necessary direction to back up the Ref's choice. Has anyone else noticed this trend, as I do wonder if there has been a directive from the PGMOL that they follow this approach, and let the ref make the majority of the decisions during a game.

Got a mate who is a ST holder at Loftus and have been a few times over the last few seasons when we've not played mid-week as it is local to me. They are a team in transition who simply ran out of steam at the end of last season. They've kept all of their squad - Willock is up there in top 10 players for the division, CB Rob Dickie is a threat from set pieces and can also strike a ball and on his day, Chair can torment defences. I think we will win, but it will be tight, as they are well organised and tactically sound. 3-2 is my prediction.

Happy to help, as annoyingly I'm away for what is my closet game of the season. Go past the bloody place for every home match at Ashton Gate. Send me a DM and will help out. When do they go on sale?

I'll be driving back to Berkshire. Can drop you at Reading or Wokingham if that helps?

I could not disagree more with this comment. I respect your views but I do feel the alternative to a monarch, is a far poorer option. I do however agree with you and believe that some of the protocols could be reviewed again and the need to have such a pause culture in respect of death, is perhaps outdated. But to abolish the monarchy altogether, would take away a huge amount of British symbolism and identity. The net gain (commercial and positive view of UK) from having a head of state, of monarch dynasty, generates incredible revenue and also acts as a figurehead for respecting the faith of society. A vast majority of children in this country attend CofE schools, which through history (rightly or wrongly) has been a large proportion of what state and kingdom has come to represent.

I think we will end up with a topsy turvy league table for a large period TBH. Some teams will be behind by around 4-5 fixtures as we enter March. We're lucky with the facilities we have at AG, but other clubs (more L1 and L2) struggle with bad weather and multiple games in short periods of time. For the players, the season will feel relentless. However, it is unlikely (Semenyo aside) we lose many during the W/C break, so a time for a rest and some training work allowed. I actually think it will help us this year, and other teams will have what happened to Leeds/Bielsa and a huge fall-down around March, where the players are just shattered. The bigger clubs in the division (Ex-Prem) with money and international talent, may really struggle and I just hope we will be able to capitalise from it.

No that is off too, it's included under the 'weekend fixtures' which does make sense. You have to cancel them all, or it looks an even more ridiculous decision.

The question now will be, when will the Preston game get played? Next obvious gap is October 11th/12th - meaning we have 4 Home games in the space of 14 days, with a trip to Brum thrown in as well After that, it looks like October 25th, between Reading Away and Swansea at home. After that, could be 2023 as the W/C schedule will kick in, which is less than ideal as we will also have FA Cup and potential league cup 4th round to deal with. Busy times ahead.

We'd still not get a penalty!

They still have Ellis Simms, who ripped us apart on his debut. It will damage them, but they still have talent in that squad.

Very few fans understand how a football club operates, let alone what happens on the field. The amount of inane comments I hear at games, baffles me tbh. I'm all for people having an opinion, but some talk absolute rubbish and lack any sense of objectivity. At Blackpool, someone near me wanted Wells substituted as he had not scored within the first 30 mins....