Cov 77

1 hour ago, LondonBristolian said:

I don't really get what will have changed since January, though. Bird will have known all along there was a good possibility Derby would go up and he'd have known about Bristol City, who our players were and what our results were like. We've got the same manager as January and results have improved rather than got worse.

Bird would have had the option in January of staying put to the end of the season and seeing if Derby went up or if he got other options. He decided not to do that and to sign for us. To be honest, pleased though I was he did that, I was also a little surprised.

But, surprised or not. the fact is nothing whatsoever has happened since then that has materially changed the facts so I don't understand at all why people think he would have changed his mind. 

Because as usual they are talking crap 

5 minutes ago, Sleepy1968 said:

I'd offer £2m plus a £4m PL promotion bonus. C'mon Burnley, you know you want to.

(I fully appreciate that Fevs and Silvio have mentioned better value options, but LM only has eyes for ST.)

There seems to be a conviction on here that Burnley want him if they come down, nothing I see or hear makes me believe that is the case , their squad pissed the division last time and they probably think will do again , I honestly believe if we want him a deal will be done at around 2m plus bits ( not 4m !) but time will tell 

2 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

 

I will have to go and listen again as I took it to mean they wanted to sell more than last year , to get over 15k at the start of the season . I didn't think they wanted to limit it to just over 15k

They have to hold a certain % back for PotD , but you would think that having a guaranteed 18k every week would be preferable , then you would be near sell out every game if the PotD interest kept up. 

 

I get it but not just us many clubs leave a lot of room , more than we would think sensible for POTD , make more money ? 
Don’t agree with it but heard this lower figure spoken about before 

5 hours ago, JBFC II said:

Don't the club have to keep a certain number of tickets back for pay on the day anyway?

Let's say we have 22000 seats available for home fans, we'd probably be looking to max out at 18k season tickets and then leave the rest for general sale.

The issue with the south stand was the number of unused season tickets. From what I heard, despite being sold out it was at around 60% capacity on average, the club had to do something. Season tickets are still of huge importance for a club like ourselves, can't see there coming a time in the near future where we won't have them

I don’t think they want to sell anything like 18k if previous utterings are anything to go by, I think nearer 15k tops , whatever their reasoning . 
 

To be fair I think fans groups have also pushed the changes regarding the south stand as a way to improve the atmosphere, to many cheap kids tickets not always attending for whatever reason leaving big gaps . 

21 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Personally I don't like it. It's the approach the big clubs are doing now. Prioritising potd. 

When we ultimately struggle again then the club will be begging fans to buy season tickets and I'll laugh at that. Need to get the balance right. 

 

Do you ever stop ?

2 minutes ago, formerly known as ivan said:

How is any reduction in ticket sales “gone very well”? This is a football club. It’s not like buying tickets for something where there are multiple options that can impact sales. If numbers are down, it’s because people either aren’t happy or have been priced out of going. Neither is a good thing.

Long way to go of course. General sale might be booming and good luck to anyone wanting to invest. Just find that particular comment strange.

Year on year this is up and you know it , 10k this time last year, you have your view but it’s the truth well up at this stage 

1 hour ago, formerly known as ivan said:

No one will greet it with glee. In fact I would say the opposite. Many becoming that disillusioned with the club they feel they can’t renew. 

Having said that, not lining SL pockets so he invest in anything but football isn’t the worse thing.

If yourself and the seagull don’t renew that’s up to you , good luck to you , but what it does say is that this forum does not necessarily speak for the general fan base, it’s been awful on here for  months yet tickets have gone very well 

1 hour ago, Street red said:

So is 12000 down on last year before general sale? I would of thought if everyone renewed it would be nearer 14k I can't remember the actual figure for this season.

Announced a year ago to the day 10k sold , so better at this stage by 2k I guess 

1 hour ago, REDOXO said:

Is that about a 15-20% drop on last season Dave?

That was last week , it was 10k sold a year ago tomorrow so we will see soon as a lot will have done it late for various reasons , I do hope any drop is not greeted on here with glee , we are City fans at the end of the day and more people in the ground helps us whatever people’s agendas 

15 hours ago, Dr Balls said:

Finally decided to renew my season ticket, against my previous judgement, and tried last night online. Wouldn’t accept any of my cards. Tried again today and same problem.

Then spent 1 hour on hold today before getting through to customer services (I started at number 20) and when they put through my original credit card it worked fine.

So the warning is that it may take ages tomorrow morning to get through to speak to someone if you don’t use the online system or if the online system plays up and it won’t accept your card.

Said the other day , they will wait for moving day tomorrow, I reckon earliest will be the 25th Thursday again 

14 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

Someone further up the thread said something like "........you can see by the season ticket sales" (not in a good way) Anyone know how we are getting on ST wise, i.e. is it much worse , same or..................?

Honestly they don’t know, because no numbers realised they are guessing and think it’s a sign , maybe, maybe not , of crap sales , I think it’s Tuesday for keep your seat and the next day for moving should have some idea soon after that .

The club announced 10,000 on April 25th last year , which is basically same date outlined above  , there seems to be some momentum as always late on in the deadline but we will see 

17 minutes ago, BrizzleRed said:

It’s weird isn’t it?

I know there’s been a general suspicion that the anti-Nige views on here are generally being posted on by Bristol Sport employees.

It’s pretty clear there are a few guilty of that, but I’m beginning to wonder though if we actually have a significant element within our fanbase who just have a completely different and skewed view of reality.  It seems their negative views are so deeply entrenched that regardless of any evidence presented to them, they’re determined to view Pearson’s time here in a negative light.  

They play down or deny the restrictions he was working under, or the very real danger of us crashing out of this division, due to having to throw so many inexperienced youngsters in at the same time.  Their determination to view Nige maintaining our Championship status at a time of massive cost-cutting and squad upheaval as some kind of failure, rather than an undoubted success is really odd.  

Possibly they expected Nige to be some kind of miracle worker, who could wave a magic wand and instantly wipe away years of mis-management of this club and it just wasn’t happening quickly enough for them.  It’ll be interesting to see if they show the same degree of impatience with LM, particularly as most of the heavy lifting has now been done.

I still can’t get my head round how some fans can still hold on to such negative views about a bloke who somehow dragged this club out of some really deep shit, caused by the very people who eventually sacked him!

Prior to Nige arriving here, if I’d been compiling a list of the most potentially divisive managers we could bring in, he wouldn’t have been anywhere near that list.  

It’s a strange old world!!!

 

Actually see it differently most of the rabid posts on here coming from pro Nige / won’t have Manning camp , every good win is played down , every poor or even average performance savaged , I loved Nige and he did all you say , but like it or not some on here must move on and give this bloke a proper chance , as others have pointed out the negativity on here from some has reached a ridiculous state 

24 minutes ago, Henry said:

I don’t think any of the fans would disagree that Manning is a nice bloke, loves football, committed and wants players to improve.

some fans just don’t agree he’s good enough.

The people on here who don’t like him  will keep saying the same things, painting Manningball as this thing which is not really true as many as have pointed out we have played different styles and formations , but listening to Wells  and a couple of Oxford fans I know there is something of the Eddie Howe about him , very dedicated and detailed , scoff if you want but we will see 

8 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

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.

True but they they shout loudest and must have a lot of time on their hands because boy they are on here all the bleedin time

4 hours ago, Sir Geoff said:

Will be too late for renewals by then. My mind was made up at half time on Saturday.

Ok fair enough but a crap first half Saturday made up your mind instead of a good win against the league  leaders two weeks ago or a 5-0 win on Wednesday? 

7 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

The only way it’s in any way likely to happen is after next Tuesday the numbers renewing season tickets are way down on the clubs expectations (and I think they will expect/accept a dropoff of 5% ish from this year - that can be hidden behind cost of living, new TV deal etc)

If, however, they see a 10% plus drop in ST sales then I could see Steve emerging to try and do a communication. Dont forget that the last time he was at a home game was the rattling around the stadium at Swansea. That was explained away as mother’s day(!) - if he then sees ST sales down markedly a bit of protecting his investment income kicks in…

I think the first season ticket deadline is about 10 days off , the same seat renewals and then a move your seat day, a LOT of people will leave it late for two reasons, one is yes wavering , although for some it has become a social thing as well , but also leave it to the latest moment to send them a warning shot , a lot I have spoken to say they will give them one last chance to get it right but numbers will still be down a bit , but agree it would be right to hear from one/ some of them to I guess say at least ok we did not get it totally right but let’s push on and we appreciate you etc , at some stage we all have to go forward or we are really ****** 

Someone said to me on Saturday it’s a but shit but could be worse , when asked how said had friends from Portsmouth, Blackpool, Reading and Coventry who have been through hell to be honest and are coming back in various degrees, fair point . 

6 hours ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Yes I am being very serious and I note others on here have said the same. That Blackburn win was the least exciting 5.0 in the club history, we were average and gifted the game through error after error from them. Majority of second half was fall asleep mode. We’ve played much better this season like Stoke at home under Nige where we played them off the park and somehow lost. 

God honestly you will say anything to justify your agenda , yes they made mistakes but we pressed them from the off excellently and took our chances , we were very good , inconsistency I will give you but behave 

10 hours ago, wendyredredrobin said:

Being only 4 points off the drop zone, I'm expecting Blackburn to come here and park the bus for 90 mins and might even get a goal against the run of play.  We will probably have 70%+ posession and be unable break them down.

My money is on a boring nil nil draw.

On the other hand, as we have nothing to play for, other than to perhaps sell a few more season tickets, we might go completely against the grain and try to play some attacking entertaining football, but I wouldn't put money on it as it doesn't mention playing that way in the FW coaching handbook.

The only certainty is that we will bring on substitutes at 60 minutes irrespective of whether we need them after 20 minutes, 45 minutes or not at all because it does say that in the FA coaching handbook.

I am a little concerned that our back line looked a little shaky without Rob Dickie last time out, so not sure if that can be fixed - perhaps by swapping Roberts and Pring.

Who do you play up front?  Conway, Wells or both of them? 

Tbh I can’t see them parking the bus at all, they are only three points clear from the drop and will be desperate and well up for it , they ‘ went’ for it at Sunderland and won 5-1 ! 

We literally have nothing to play for so hope we can get up for it , probably not huge crowd etc so could well be a difficult night , hopefully not

8 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

Give what a break ?

Criticising the god awful football, or the lies espoused by those in charge of the club.

No, not until they're all gone.

 

So  you’ve made it obvious for months , you have an agenda I get , I was pissed off with Nige etc but it gets repetitive all the time tbh , the Southampton jibe is one thing but it just goes on and on , 10 points from 5 games ( 4 clean sheets) is at least an improvement results wise but never going to make any difference to you and a lot of the same old posters on here .

We will see what LM does on the summer but can’t see him going anywhere, it’s how it is at least for now , I guess if thats not for you so be it , seems a few are off to Forest Green or even B& Q from the sound of it. Good for them

6 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

And 6 goals scored since the famous Southampton win, 9 games ago.

Scintillating.

Will you ever give it a break 

43 minutes ago, redkev said:

Personally I’m looking for some sort of consistency in our performances , obviously want us to win it but would deffo take a good performance draw with a style of play , 

thought tactically we got it right against Leicester and the Plymouth game despite a few on here having kittens the first 20 mins when we’re under the cosh a little ( that was always going to happen in my eyes ) so today a team lacking confidence and what can be a toxic crowd sometimes I would like us to try and take control of the game , think the first 10-15 might be a bit sticky as I would thought there would be some sort of reaction to there 5-1 loss last week .

big game for me as hopefully we can build on the last 2 and try ( TRY ) to get some positivity moving forward but if we morph back into a poor lasklustre performance the knives will be out for him again big time 

To be honest a point each from the next two games would be decent , Sunderland a wounded animal and not as  bad as the last result ( won 2-0 at Cardiff game before ) and Blackburn hot at present 

5 hours ago, Wanderingred said:

Argyle are in deep relegation trouble and they hate Bristol City. Their players and fans will be 100% up for this. Any faffing around, any passengers in the team, any lethargy or tactical mistakes and we’ll get murdered. 

Have some mates who are Argyle fans , this is massive for them, 2 points out of the relegation zone, so please before the regular meltdown on here realise this is their cup final, will be very tough and hostile 

48 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

I think most of us probably expected us to win today. Because thats what we do under Manning. 

Today's result changes nothing. 

WHEN we can beat the teams that plays in a low block, then things will change.

Just like the thousands of others that are not renewing?

You must be ****** gutted 

4 hours ago, Dizz said:

Exactly this...

Also amazes me how no one could be arsed to support the team but found the energy to boo

Absolutely spot on , supporters are supposed to support, some around me started booing early on , first half was dire but the intention appeared to be to boo at every opportunity, the vitriol on here is incredible, was pissed off as anybody when Nige went but it isn’t Mannings fault , this massive negativity is not helping ‘ flowing football’ as it was obvious from comments and interviews afterwards meant we went out with an intention to do anything to get a result and because of the reaction last week and that the tactics reflected that.

30 minutes ago, TinMan's left peg said:

I was actually thinking how quiet (our end, saints were loud at times) it was in the first half and how many empty seats there were.  The turnstiles were quiet, was really easy to get to my seat which normally takes ages for a big crowd.  Whole rows empty in the south stand and Lansdown and around us in the Dolman.  Must have been way under the 24k sold.  Anyway, once we got ahead and the nerves settled the atmosphere was brilliant.  

To be honest sat between two sets of fans, Saints were loud at times but as with us away 3k is always going to make noise, as our corner etc is what 800-1000 always going to be difficult to match , but actually thought it was decent , one of the problems with people who only watch on tv and criticise ( not you ) it doesn’t come over as well , but certainly grew and grew, spoke to two people last night and this morning who don’t go that often said the whole atmosphere was great