Davefevs

RIP Andy. Thoughts with Steve and his friends and family at this time. Andy and Steve sit few seats down from Joe and myself, so this one is a tough one. ???

Did I? Really? I think that’s the cautious side of me, start strong, hopefully get a lead, then sub off. But if I did, then I wasn’t unhappy at 6:45pm either.

Can you just explain what you mean re “bin off the high earners”? And do you mean in January?

I agree with your post and your earlier ones too, but I don’t think Nige was sending a message…it has no upside at all, all downside. I don’t think it was like Cotts when he played 442 at Derby to prove the fans wrong! It’s an interesting comparison in line ups. I was all for a a combo of youngsters and resting the odd player (not gonna say I wasn’t) but that’s not to say that when I saw the line-up I didn’t have a little worry. Why? Mainly because I saw a load of out of form, out of match practice players alongside them. I did have a little fear pre-kick off, but I was happy to go with it. I’d have been mighty pissed off if Williams and James had started and picked up an injury, likewise Conway or Wells. Pring had only just come into the side, so sensible too that he didn’t start. So it’s a tough one. That side above is better than last night’s on paper…but also in form / sharpness / confidence too. Was a tough decision, Nige probably got it wrong, but I see why he did it.

This is it in a nutshell. It’s why it’s a squad game. You don’t get to play your “best xi” week in week out, sometimes you never get to play it at all. And that’s where depth comes in, or in our case, doesn’t come in. What we tend to see (generalisation) is that the better players also seem to have the better characters too. It’s probably why they are / will be successes.

Antoine now been represented by his father too. ???

Also a huge gripe of mine. SL - how’s it going Jon? JL - Mark says it’s going great SL - great, you’re doing well Jon i joke, but I’m staggered an accountant couldn’t see the mess / mess building up. Are you saying you think we’ve been better since he’s been out? Or am I misreading it? I couldn’t disagree more.

Good OP @robinforlife2. My very simplistic (because I’ve done chapter and verse elsewhere on other occasions) thoughts on the squad are: if you gave 15(ish) Championship quality players, if you then compare a team with the best 11 (lob off the worst 4) of those 15 to a team with the worst 11 (lob off the best 4), how different do those two teams look. Considerably!! And that’s what we are seeing through injury / loss of form…a weakened unit because those 4 that come in aren’t anywhere near the 4 that aren’t available. Keep the best 4 and perm the 7 from 11 and you get by. Essentially I’m saying we have a small number in that 15 who can raise the levels of others, but in the sane breath, when those 4/5/6 aren’t players the rest aren’t capable of raising each other. We can pick off players one at a time and say they’re Champ level (which they are), but it’s who you put them with that makes them.

This is where I am too, pretty much. When the accounts come out later this week (hopefully) we can see how big a mess it is. Contracts have to be honoured…this summer all the pre-Pearson players are OOC bar Joe Williams. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we can mad either. The losses still hang around because of the 3 year cycle, unless the new FFP rules become clear and give us a get-out! It’s quite possible next season’s squad is weaker than this. That sounds implausible doesn’t it, but it could. I think what we’ve witnessed is how important individual players are to us, or more importantly, the more of them you can get in the eleven, the better chance we have of competing. Naismith, James, Weimann. Naismith injured, James injured, but back, Weimann out of form, hopefully coming back to form. Semenyo and Martin pairing were a big part of last season’s attacking success. Both are nowhere near at that level. Thankfully Conway and Wells have stepped into the breach. Last night was a combo of a couple of youngsters not ready and the likes of King, Martin, Klose, Semenyo, Sykes, Dasilva not being good enough / in form enough to raise their games to cover others. It shows zero depth. Much as I think the WC is coming at a good time, I do worry that giving the players a holiday is too good for them / some of them. Nige needs to galvanise what he has over the next month. Could really do with getting something Saturday. No shit Sherlock.

Would be pure guesswork, but I don’t think an 18 year old comes to Bristol City from Monaco unless we paid him a princely sum. £10-12k p.w. ??????

Andy King went over to him and had some words of encouragement.

What have I learned tonight? In Saturday Nige is picking: O’Leary (no slight on Bajic) just that he’s our no1 Vyner and Pring (and Atkinson if fit) James, Williams, Scott and Weimann which means one of them will have to play at RWB (sorry) Conway and Wells Thats pretty damming isn’t it. Sykes and Dasilva may get a reprieve through lack of numbers. Klose is a good pro, but seems to struggling with his movement, but maybe needed too. Eff me!!! ??????

Low on a yellow too. Harsh as it is…welcome to proper men’s football Joe.

It wasn’t £7.2….that’s often how French press report fees, as it the whole thing (fee, wages, add-ons). It was around the €3m mark, and that is a reasonably reflected in the accounts when you add up other fees that season. I’d have him in also, I think he’s a million miles better than Kadji imho, but that’s Nige’s decision…I don’t think it’s anything other than what I posted above.

Just a simple Q. Do you think we’d bottomed out at the point of Holden’s sacking and everything from that point on should be “upward” (even if slowly upwards)? Im interested. My view is that we still had to bottom out, and that happened in the summer as we released several players. Therefore I think it’s “unfair” to start the comparison at Feb 2021. You may disagree. But I’d like to know your thoughts. For info, Wilder might be out of a job, but I bet Boro are still paying him, and his payoff would instantly make him completely out of our reach. I like Duff, I’m a bit apathetic to Bowyer if I’m being honest.

No, but I’d hazard a guess that Kalas is on £20-25k p.w. and Dasilva on £12-15k p.w. Let’s split the difference and say combined £35k p.w. £1.8m p.a. in wages plus £2.5m p.a. in amortisation ???eek!

Nothing I write on here about Nige tonight us gonna change anyone’s opinion, so… …tonight he picks a mix and match team. His decision. His responsibility. It performed awfully in the first half, left the subs with a mountain to climb. I’m not gonna mention any positives, it’s futile, and they’re inconsequential in the aftermath of this type of result and performance. But… …we were all pretty excited by thoughts of Low and Kadji starting pre-game, very few (if any) shouts of “play your best(ish) team, get ahead and then introduce the youngsters”, so we all bought into the risk of the team that was picked when it was announced at 6:45pm. And now we are behaving (in some cases) that we did t understand the risks of such an approach. That’s not excusing Nige, he did the same. But we saw how a couple of youngsters mixed in with the wrong team can struggle as an opposed to a couple of youngsters with the best team. I’m not digging out Low and Kadji, but, I’ve been consistent in my view that at their current development stages: Kadji - is Bakinson-lite. He doesn’t want the ball, he doesn’t create angles to receive, and he doesn’t really put his player under any pressure when he closes down. That sounds harsh, but I’ve seen him enough times to think he needs a lot of improvement and effort if he’s gonna make it. Tonight was a wake up call. @Sheltons Armywhat did you think? Low - not seen anywhere near enough of him, but I’ve yet to see him in u21s have a tough opponent, either one who’s physical, or one who’ll spin in him behind. So until tonight I’ve reserved judgement. Tonight was “welcome to EFL football”…it was just a bit too quick for him. But he’s a big lad, still growing into his frame. I’m not writing either off, and I hope they both take tonight onboard and see where they need to improve. Both are plenty young enough to improve. Sounds harsh to start on them, but I’m almost too angry to write about Dasilva and Sykes. You can see why neither started on Saturday and Nige resorted to playing Weimann and Semenyo at WB. Sykes was a mess positionally, Dasilva won’t be earning a new contract on recent form. Nige is undoubtedly under pressure from the fans. The “game in hand” teams stole a match tonight, and we will see what it means for the board. I still believe in Nige. Tonight ought to make no difference, silly old cup game, but I believe going through was in some ways more important than Saturday v Watford. There are players who’ve made Nige’s selection very easy for Saturday.

Paraphrased from Nige: - he’s looking at other options - he’s a great lad - he will keep himself fit and if he’s needed he’s said he’ll be ready It appears to not just be a case of not committing to a contract (like others???), but actively looking at options…I assume as early as January (whether that be sold, loaned, pre-contract, who knows). Nige is using these games to see what he has here. Kadji failed his audition tonight imho. More on him in another thread.

Let’s hope he’s alright. Fingers crossed.

What was the attendance?

I think he’s carrying an injury, he hasn’t got a run in him. Can’t remember which game it was 4 or 5 games back, but he took a whack. Might sound like and excuse for him, but I reckon he’s struggling with something.

Did we have anyone younger than Morrell in the 1982 days?

Here’s the next frame: one club!!!!

First glimpse.

Change it up before they get to the airport!!!