robin_unreliant

13 hours ago, Fjmcity said:

Know this is from Monday but has struck a chord. Imagine sinking that much of your own money into something each year, although all relative to wealth and getting such a poisonous and obnoxious set of fans in return. ouch 

Steve seems to get more positives from the rugby fans. Maybe he prefers to hang out with them rather than the City crowd. Can't say I'd blame him if so, he's only human and we all like to be appreciated.

22 minutes ago, One Team said:

You make some pretty good points there and I’d agree, he’s got no honeymoon period, a few losses on the bounce and it could get toxic.

It may get toxic on here but I suspect the crowd at AG will be more patient than that.

22 minutes ago, petehinton said:

£120 up here in BS4. Straight in the coffers for Bristol City related Christmas presents for nephews and nieces, just the way our lord & saviour Steve Lansdown intended.  

Just asked to give a few fellow supporters something to celebrate today. Seems to be a lot of negativity on here.

So - who cleaned out the bookies then? 

2 minutes ago, extonsred said:

Probably it won't be today, rumours start that LM has turned us down, and we all realise the circus is back on track for the 6 week option!

Does seem a bit odd that last night LM was still saying he had heard nothing.

1 minute ago, Sir Geoff said:

Go and listen again. He said promotion with this squad of players this season 

Exactly this. We don't want to just bumble along for the rest of this season. The squad is good enough and deserves a chance of promotion so we need a change. Pretty clear what he said so no excuses.

Whoever posts next.

Ready

Steady...

According to Sky it is gonna be 'finalised in the next 48 hours'. So to save replacing my F5 key I will have to give this thread a miss until Wednesday.

2 hours ago, hinsleburg said:

 

By all accounts Manning likes playing 3 at the back which could be the Conway answer (but then limits Sykes and no Tanner who was excellent defensively Saturday...)

Yeah, let's go back to three CBs. We all remember how well that worked for us, right? Plus we have tons of cover at CB, so no worries there.

16 minutes ago, transfer reader said:

There's so much snobbery on here over Manning.

 

His points per game over his career is about 1.62, a total that over a season would be about 50% chance of getting to the playoffs.

A near 50% win rate at all clubs he's managed.

 

He's not managed in the Championship? OK, he's 38 for ***** sake, are you expecting him to have just walked straight into a Championship or Premier league side as his first job? The ones that do that are the exceptions usually because they were a big name as a player (Lampard, Rooney) but neither of them have been particularly good as managers, and I'd far rather give Manning a try than either of those.

We all know the step up from L1 to championship is huge. Look at how many of the promoted teams struggle. You are on dodgy ground quoting win ratios when none of it is at this level.

Where is the evidence it's him - have I missed something?

2 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

Manning doesn’t want the job. Only reason radio Bristol put a piece out the club were considering manning was to try and publicly turn his head. The problem City have with their so called shortlist, is none of them want the job. 
hence lansdown saying the message wasn’t understood ! 
there are people who want the job, and there are people who City like, who aren’t interested. 

I assume that means we are nowhere close to an appointment then?

18 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

I was really disappointed with Conway, he struggled big time v their CB’s. Looked distinctly average and made me think ‘we actually miss Wells’ 

I agree with this. Both Tommy and Bell are struggling to match the hype from BT about being having sorted our strkers for years to come.

4 hours ago, Countryfile said:

Echo all of that, Curtis was sacked after the game yesterday.

Anything official confirming this yet?

2 hours ago, Taunton_BCFC said:

Gotta be Ralph Hasenhüttl hasn’t it.

Hope so but can't see him wanting it.

Not surprising that the performance was pretty much 'more of the same'. First game without Nige after all. I liked that CF started the returnees and subbed them early, not sure Nige would've done that.

However,the coaches that have set our style of play are still here (apart from JE), so why would we expect anything different? NP said repeatedly that he isn't a coach. I think we need a talented coach to get the best out of the squad.

So, how's the mass protest and 'Lansdown Out' chanting going at the Gate?

9 hours ago, Spike said:

23/24 - Spend - £5.41m / Sold - £23m
22/23 - Spend - £0 / Sold - £10.31m
21/22 - Spend - £1.875m / Sold - £0m

These are the figures for the last three seasons transfersleaving out the following due to no confirmed fees:

Out
Adam Nagy - Unknown
Tyreeq Bakinson - reported "five-figure sum"
Ryley Towler - reported "above 50k"
Kane Wilson - Unknown

In
Mehmeti £1m + future payments based on landmarks
Cornick - Undisclosed

Meaning, we've brought in a minimum of £33.31m and spent around £7.01m- £9m.

I fail to see how the club expects to be in a top-end, challenging position having spent less than £10m over the last three seasons but has seen 28 players leave the club in that time including Alex Scott, Antione Semenyo, Han-Noah Massengo, Daniel Bentley, Famara Diedhiou etc

To me it feels like Pearson was allowed to make changes but ultimately he was restricted a lot and the club seemed to be under the illusion that with that kind of spend, all whilst selling some of the top talents we were going to end up being a top-end team? I'm not surprised Pearson was frustrated.

When asked if he thinks will the new appointment be an exciting one for the fans he replies with:

 

This irked me a little, I mean one hundred percent confident that they'll solve the puzzle of getting us to their goal of us being a top-end team. I mean they had a man who was already doing that in many fans eyes had an injury crisis not hampered our good start. That aside, I still find it hard to believe they will "solve the puzzle" when he openly states that they're going through a process and that a lot of people have put their name forward. I feel like if they had the man who could solve the puzzle so to speak then they'd not be going through so many names and looking at people putting their name forward, I mean if you have the answer to a question, you don't keep looking at other answers.


He also goes on to re-affirm that we're looking to get to the Premier League this season, to me this is deluded and very short sighted. If this squad were to manage a promotion we all know that we'd have to spend to strengthen to have any chance of survival, but usually when a team get promoted to the Premier league and survive their first season it is because they were so much better in terms of quality of players that they began that building process on. Looking at our squad if we were to get promoted this season who would realistically be good enough to compete in the Premier League? I think we have a hand full at best and none of them would make a top half team which means we'd be going into that situation with an almost guaranteed return to the Championship.

I just do not believe this talk of the Premier League goal at all, the investment is less, the manager who took the club when it was an utter mess and made it capable of competing was let go against the fans wishes, the sale of Scott so close to the beginning of the season etc. I think this is damage control, they are talking up the want to do better to wash over the anger and frustration of the fans about letting Pearson go, to add to that they have no clear candidate lined up which they have made clear, which again does not sound like a board that let Nigel go with a man to replace him in mind. 

A further frustration:

I still think this makes the club look more inept, this doesn't reassure me, it does the opposite because any football-minded person who knew the status of our squad, the form of the opposition, the fact it's a derby game and every other factor would have expected us to lose it, some would suggest they'd have expected us to lose it in a much more damning fashion. I think considering the squad situation we looked a very competitive side, I mean we had multiple players playing out of position and a teenager making his debut just to be able to field a side and the game wasn't over by any means until it was almost full time and the second went in. Based on the past that performance was better than many we saw before Nigel when the squad only had a few injuries so essentially the board saying "win this game or you lose your job" in those circumstances is ludicrous, especially when the next game is bottom of the league at home, if Nigel lost that game then you could fully understand the decision as I think many of our fans would look at losing to the bottom of the league with less injuries as a far more worthy stackable offence.
I think the decision to terminate after Cardiff also seemed to lack the understanding of football fans for another reason, no fan of a club wants to see their manager sacked after a derby game, it gives the fans of the rival club a chance to gloat and to further upset the fanbase. Had we lost to a bottom-of-the-league team who aren't rivals I think a lot of fans would have accepted the decision and it wouldn't have been so frustrating but I feel that is this board through and through, they can talk a good game in a setting where they are prepared and can re-record their statements but the second they are under pressure and need to stand up and speak without that buffer they are nowhere to be seen.

Another double down was

I found this to be the most insulting thing that Jon Lansdown said and is doubled down on here. He does mention Alex going out but when you mention one player going out and five coming in, it does make it sound like there was a good investment. That does, however, lose it's weight when you see that actually six players went out, including Alex, which included a very hefty signing in Tomas Kalas going out for free, another costly signing in Han-Noah Massengo going out for free as well as Kane Wilson who never got a chance and Dasilva going out too. Now I know at that point these players probably needed to go, but it's still a lot of big signings going out the door and arguably only Knight and McCrorie would be considered players who were likely to hit the ground running with us. Roberts is a gamble, Dickie was arguably not as good as he once was with many QPR fans not being bothered about him leaving. The saving grace is that I think Nigels signings have all been good this pre-season but I wouldn't look at this pre-season and see £5.41m spent on those players as a "significant investment", more of a shrewd-ish one, especially when you look at the players we let go for nothing.
 

When asked about what it will take to actually get this club to the Premier League:

I felt like this was another clever turn on the situation, I mean he's essentially saying "look at all this awesome stuff we have, ignore the fact we still can't do it when other clubs have managed it without all of this". Obviously he words it so that it sounds like it's just unfortunate but I think realistically it says is that whilst we may not be the biggest club in the league we have a lot more than other clubs in terms of resources and we've still not managed to achieve that goal. To me that is just an admission of failure, spun to make it sound like it's inevitable that we will succeed when the truth is there is no guarantee of that.

What I will see after seeing this interview is the professionalism is far superior to the Jon Lansdown interview and although there is a little more to this interview than that one I still think the club are putting a very strong spin on the whole situation and I still don't believe they are being honest with the fans in regards to their aim being to make the Premier League this season, I feel that was the constructed lie to give the sacking of Pearson "validation". When mentioned about the Lansdowns bearing the brunt of the blowback for sacking Pearson he also mentioned that they'd look into how they handled it with the fans but again, I think the reason it was such a big backlash was the timing and any fan of football would understand that before pulling the trigger. If they haven't learned how to handle the timing when firing and hiring by now then they simply just don't have it in their skill set because the timing was about as bad as it can get, after a derby match, with half the squad injured and despite all of that next to no fans asking for it to happen and the most frustrating part of it all is that they still don't seem to understand that.

My interest now lays with what the board will say if they bring in their puzzle solver and they end up no where near their goal, will they sack the new man at the end of the season if that happens, after all, they belive we have a squad capable of being up there, right?

I'm glad some people feel a little more comfortable after watching this but I just see better PR at a piss poor decision and even worse handling of the situation which has forced the extra damage control PR machine to be rolled out. I still don't believe their goals for this season that they have stated and I still think the decision was not about football but more about not having control of the narrative with person refusing to play the yes game to the board. Our next appointment certainly won't be bad talking the club and how it is run, I can be sure of that, so that will allow them to keep pulling the strings, controlling what the fans hear and what they don't which is what this change of management was really about.

 

It is meaningless to quote transfer fees v spend without taking account of the wages. Fact is we have been spending more than we earn every season for years and we all know it. Maybe Lansdown doesn't want to go straight back to the FFP limit. I can't blame him for getting fed up with bankrolling the club when he gets very little excitement and a lot of stick. If he can find a willing buyer then best for everyone.

10 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

Evening;

I said I wouldn't post until he was announced, but I have to raise my head and say, I'm a bit annoyed with the stance the post made, saying that Lampard was not currently under consideration.

I will say, I'm not Roy the bloody alien though! I do think his posts re Lampard have been after my thread on Monday am, where I said that he wanted the job. His post yesterday am, was around 4 hours after what I posted on here, and he copied it. He also said in a tweet Jody Morris would join him, then deleted that tweet and posted later about Michael Johnson.

I felt embarrassed to be blunt yesterday. I was working doing a VIP experience in my field of work yesterday when I saw the post report (How I know my contact who is friends with Frank, I arranged a VIP day for the blokes family and I've done a few days for his family and friends and we talk a lot, as I've been trying to get help from him on other matters).  No, he hasn't discussed matters with me because he knows I'm a City fan, but because we are close mates.

I'm reluctant to say too much, but this is not dead in the water is all I'm gonna say, and the club have not been truthful.

I have been told, and I'll be 100% straight on this.

Lampard contacted the club on Monday through a member of the staffing team to express his interest. (The club in the post report said he was not currently under consideration, and they hadn't contacted him. I feel this was to play down speculation, and may have been their stance, the approach came from Lampard).

On Tuesday, Lampard was told to apply for the job, if he was interested.

On Wednesday, Lampard had arranged to meet the club.

Yesterday, he did not meet the club. I was told he was due to meet the club at 11am, but the club cancelled this meeting, as they informed him, that they believed they would be able to approach their first choice.

Last night, Lampard was informed that the clubs first choice, declined the approach from the club and had no interest in joining Bristol City.

That was the last I heard. 

I have asked my friend, if he had heard anything, as there is rumours he was at the HPC today. I have been told that he hadn't spoken to Lampard since last night, when he said, that Lampard told him, that City's first choice had snubbed the club, and that he had applied, but was disappointed that his meeting with the club had been cancelled.

That's all I know,

On Tuesday / Wednesday, from what I was told, I was 100% confident he would be our manager. Lampard wants the job, that I do know. Maybe the club don't want him, maybe the club have been rejected by people they wanted, that maybe now they would rather someone who wants the job, and is keen to work with talented youth.

Quite frankly, I know sod all about events of today, but I do know, Lampard has openly said to a good friend of his and a friend / very big client of mine, that he wants the job. 

I've not made anything up, and quite frankly, I wish I never posted in the first place, given the abuse I've received on this thread. I was only passing on, what I had been told, and I have my own mental health issues, that reading stuff and being ridiculed, has made my feel really Carp tbh.

I decided to post, as I just wanted to put out there, what I was told, what I trusted and what I believed / expected to happen based on what I have been told, by someone who wouldn't mess about, or get a kick out of stuff like this. 

I'm not someone to gloat, or shout in the know, and as for being outed as a gashead, behave..... I've supported City all my life, rarely get to go to games, because my business takes up all my time, and my mental health is often fragile.

I try to contribute to the forum as and when I can on a number of threads, and was happy to pass on insight, in good faith.

Take care everyone, and I hope we get 3 points tomorrow.

I'm gonna take a break from the forum for a while. 

If Lampard is appointed, great, at least we will have a manager that wants to be here, and has belief in the club. If he isn't then good luck to whoever it is. I just hope Jon, Brian etc know what they are doing.

I watched the interview this morning, and the gentleman asking the questions just was a bit too cringy for my liking, and whilst it could have been very good, I would say the interviewer tried too hard to be Jon's mate, then do the task at hand. 

If they approached their first choice and were snubbed that pretty much sums them up. No plan in place, sack Nige and um um um. 

27 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Had someone turned round to you and said twenty years ago "a new Owner is coming in and pumping in £200m plus over the next twenty years" would have thought "mmmm, that will at least guarantee us perennial lower mid-Championship football then."? You can't question the investment but for me we should have done a lot more with it than we have. For all that investment we are still only a division head of our ramshackle noisy neighbours who wear poverty as a badge of honour. Not good enough for me.

Isn't that what the Lansdowns are saying though. With the wages we have been paying, contributing to the losses, we should be doing more. Maybe they have got fed up with being patient too.

1 hour ago, ashton_fan said:

 

Social media platforms not as useful as they used to be for communicating with fans

Translation - we used to like it but now all we get is supporters slamming us for all the awful decisions we've made.

I gave up on this when the story was that Frank had cancelled golf today to be interviewed. Golf. In 80 mph winds. Right.

2 minutes ago, DT The Optimist said:

 

Re this Head coach v Manager.  Some time earlier this year at a senior Robins lunch down the Gate,  Steve Lansdown was guest speaker.  As always came across very well.  I actually asked him when he was on the floor, taking  questions, why NP was a manager and the previous incumbents were Head Coaches.... what was the difference.  He actually replied to effect.. None and he was not bothered what they called themselves, all a bit strange and I was none the wiser 

That seems rather odd. NP said on numerous occasions that he doesn't see himself as a coach. That isn't his strength. So, if Tinnion is heading recruitment and they want someone who actually coaches the players then you are looking for a coach, not a manager. Seems a fairly clear distinction?

5 minutes ago, Harry said:

Please refer to my post last night on page 10. 
Derby did have a decent team. But they lost their strike force (Vydra, Jerome, Weimann), a stalwart midfielder (Ledley) and a reliable full back (Baird). 
It wasn’t a straight forward matter that they’d finish in the same position the next year. 
You also put a lot of impetus on the Mount & Tomori signings. They were 19 and were new to this level of football. Good players, yes. But still virgins at this level. I assume that us having Scott & Semenyo last year means we should have made the playoffs, because clearly 2 premier league players should make all the difference? 
 

 

Anyway, it’s not gonna be Lampard. I know someone who has applied for the job who has worked here before. And I think it might be him. 

Not a job for Cotts surely?

Can't see this happening now Roy has gone all-in. Just as well as I suspect it wouldn't last long as the Lansdowns have proven they aren't the right kind of owners for a high profile manager.