JoeAman08

Can’t argue the squad looks strong especially 1-15. I know NP has said about lack of depth but imo it is probably how most championship clubs should look. A strong XI with a few on the bench that could easily start. Then a few younger faces who can contribute in small spells as they get better.

For me he plays in a way that takes some getting used to. It is very easy to remember the mistakes. How many times has he done a cruyff out of trouble or picked out a good forward pass to a strikers feet? No one can tell you the number but it has been done plenty of times. The pass last night is something I do not think he repeats. The one against Sunderland may happen again. That has to be understood with how we are building up play. He has been given tons of responsibility and imo is thriving. The odd bad thing will happen to him but you can tell he sets a high standard for himself by his reactions to his mistakes. That is leading by example and he is also quick to let others know when the have a lapse. For me, he is a massive reason we look as good as we do early on. Dropping Martin helped take us up a level but we looked good before that and KN a big reason.

I swear only city fans can turn a good thing into a negative? It is his second full season as a CB. His first playing in the middle of a 3 as a playmaker. We look so much better in possession now with him. Van Dijk, Dias, Thiago Silva and Sergio Ramos have all made mistakes passing the ball or spending too much time on it. Relax and enjoy us being comfortable in possession. For a converted winger, I think he is outstanding back there. Only going to get better with more minutes. His pass last night I think was a moment where he thought he could get away with it and did not. Lesson learned and we move on. We are 7th. We have had 3 straight 2-0 at home. We look a threat not only as a countering side but much better in possession and more of a set piece threat. We have had the lead in every game on top of all that. The positives are everywhere and they have been hard to find the last 3 seasons and yet we are getting threads like this.

I find it a bit irritating myself. It is a public walkway as far as I know. Can I not go to the sports bar without a ticket? What if I have to pick up a ticket? What if I want to buy at the ground? I show up with a city top, red sunglasses, red trainers and probably a city jumper or bobble hat. What do you think I am doing there? Oh well, I am sure there is a reason for it.

Overrated? ?? He is not overrated. He is a young player who has his ups and downs like every young player. We play him in a 2 where we have seen experienced players like James, Williams and King struggle. However he offers mobility and work rate better than all 3. Alex Scott is a freak so forget him. He has been a big part of the squad under 3 managers since he joined at 18(just turned 18 btw). We have never given him consistency as a starting player. For example, he has not met his high standards the last couple. So what will we do? We’ll probably send him to the bench instead of living with a few bumps and bruises of getting him to the next level. Semenyo was with the u23 and bath around the same age. Tommy Conway is only a year younger and just become a regular. I am glad Conway was brought up though. Everything you love Conway for, is what Massengo does. The constant drive, effort and energy with a surprising amount of grit and toughness despite being on the smaller side. Conway is asked to score goals and Massengo is asked to constantly harrass and disturb opposition on the ball. Joe Williams isn’t a prolific goal scorer or playmaker. Why aren’t we beating him with that? Is it because he just sits in the middle of the pitch to do what he does well? All in all it is opinions but this one comes up from time to time and I will never get it. His 4 years here have been turbulent with 3 managers, different roles, a pandemic and a team that has basically been on a downward spiral since he joined which had nothing to do with him. Probably the only player I have seen give multiple 9 or 10/10 performances in that position under NP. Yes he’ll give you a 5/10 too but you give that 5/10 with those good performances in mind. Yet we will praise a 7-8/10 from James or Williams because they rarely offer much in a given game.

Bristol City match day thread. 800 mentions of liverpool ?

Not sure anyone would have thought he’d have 5 goals with 3 in league before September. I do think he had plenty of fans going into the season

We aren’t the most physical side. Which is fine as we found a way to play with quicker and nippier players. Kalas coming back would help or another cb coming in. Not watching this one but seen the goal and all we can do there is react a bit quicker and close down after Madine(?) control the ball in. Sounds like we are still creating though which is good

Gives us a competent wide man who can take his man on until Sykes is back. Not his best position but feel it is necessary. He was quite poor in the first half. Much more confident and effective 2nd half. Not sure it was enough to earn a start in the league

Agree 100%. Tbf to him when it is pumped up I think the plan isn’t necessarily win the header. Instead he often puts the cb off and it gets headed out for a throw in or not where aimed. It is just dreadful to watch and I feel like he has lost something in this sense too. He is quite clever when the ball is played to his feet. Feel better about it closer to the edge of the penalty area rather than the halfway line though.

Exactly and I want to stress it is not as much an anti CM but more a pro Wells/Semenyo/Conway thing

You are in here. You are aware of where we were playing last night. Probably kept track of the score. You are a fan. Just because you might have other things to do on a match day does not make you less of one. Does not matter where you live, where you were raised or what you have going on.

No I am saying I have been with that opinion for a long time. He affects the way we attack and defend and generally play football. Our attacks are quicker and more fluid. Our defence can actually close down quickly and force them into mistakes. We pass and move much more fluidly in the final third. All things I have mentioned in the pass that we just can’t do with playing Martin. He had an ok statistical season last season. I always thought there was more to it though. The way we were playing lead to higher goals and assists for all of the front 3. A career year from Weimann and breakout year for Semenyo. Martin had what? An average season for a striker that played as much as he did? This season you can look at the form table and it coincides with Chris Martin playing. Maybe it is an anomaly but it looks convincing. Starts Hull, Sunderland, Wigan and Wycombe. We get 1 point and 1 win and the win was a draw until he was subbed off. Bench for Coventry, Luton and Cardiff. 6 points and a convincing cup tie win where we scored 4.

I can agree with that. A lot of rust but closing down to win the ball back leading to his goal is always going to bump your rating up. Scott was different class though and the game changed in our favour immediately. I think the midfield scores are maybe a bit harsh. None of them played particularly well but the first half they mostly watched the ball fly over their heads from both sides. Made it very difficult to affect the game. Felt a bit sorry for Kadji as we probably could not see what he was really about but a debut, an hour and a goal is a good day.

The comments have been around. He should not have played as much as he did last season. WSM was a thing because NP was was trying to set an example with Wells and wages. Clear to see Wells offers so much more than Martin and we likely missed out on points last season because NP why trying to send some sort of message. During the last two wins we have used 1 new player. Naismith is great and makes a difference but we could have seen this style of football so much earlier. Keep in mind we have been down two of our best players from last season as well.

Will his time come again? If everyone stays, he is quickly finding himself 5th option. I don’t think it was a coincidence our play was pretty poor with him back in the side. The ball routinely was pumped up to him and repeatedly came straight back. Didn’t take long to score when he come off and his replacement pressed them into a mistake and got a goal as reward. As for him personally, it may be tough. His career is coming to an end at this level imo. Think maybe hitting him some? He’ll still be able to make an impact at times but it has to be frustrating being dropped, watching your replacements thrive and then not taking advantage of lower level defenders. I’ll never question his attitude. If he did not clap and went straight down tunnel I hold no ill will. Everyone is allowed to he frustrated sometimes.

Not at our best tonight but professional performance from a lot of players who are not regulars. First half I thought we played down to their level so to speak. Second half, especially after the first subs, we took control of the game. Think it shows NP has found his best XI of the current group of players we have fit. As for the draw, anything is good. Some prize money and extra income from ticket sales. All should help surely? Need to win and try and get a big draw to help out a bit more. League is more important and a lot can change between now and the third round but lets take the positives now.

How can we praise NP for all the good he has done but question releasing a player who had about 20 minutes in a nothing game? He got sussed out. Clearly had a chance to impress when NP first arrived and did not. Pearson didn’t even have him training with the first team last year when he was giving opportunities to almost anyone. He wasn’t good enough and was not going to be good enough. Why are we still bringing Britton up? NP gotten everything right except releasing a bloke who has ended up in the Irish league?

Thought he could have contributed more than he did last season. That said, some minutes here and there and full time training in first team has probably done him the world of good. He looks physically ready which was my worry for him

You sure you were at Ashton Gate today? ? honestly, it was brilliant today. Luton was quite good too. Sunderland was maybe a bit quiet at times but first game nerves that is down too

If you can finish 10th you can finish 4th. The league is too competitive. We see it every year. 2-3 teams pull away at the top. 4-12 is a difference of 10 points or so. We arguably played better on Tuesday without Williams. Yes midfield could get light but that is the championship. A bit of luck this team could 100% finish higher than 10th. Bad luck can still be in a relegation battle. It’s the championship.

Last 2 have been the kind of performances I have been begging for since NP has been here. Minus Naismith we could have played this team for the last 12 months. I am glad the epiphany has happened now though. High energy, well organised and quality on the ball. This is a side, with some luck, you can see growing into the season and pushing a playoff spot with still 2 of our 5 best(most likely) players to return. We went from being the side with a good 10-20 minutes spell to the side that has to deal with the other sides best 10-20 minute spell. The game was almost over after the first goal and you could feel them sink into surrender mode after the second.

Idk about that. Covid and the lack of money means a lot of championship clubs have had to rely on youth a lot more than before. Scott would 100% be playing no matter who was here. And credit to NP for making the changes but we did not start with an exciting, powerful and quick XI. I don’t mean to be negative but there is a lot of conjecture lately. For the positives of playing Conway and Scott. He has been reluctant to use Wells and Massengo might not have been playing if James never got injured.

I don’t think Ghana is on his mind at all. What is he on 4-6k a week? Palace would be offering 30-40k a week I am sure. The difference annually is 200-300k to 1.5-2m. That would be first on anyone’s mind. He’ll be 26 next world cup if does not work out for him this year.

I was going to ask how many penalties have we had since NP was appointed? I can remember the one last season. Any in the 10-12 games in the season he took over?