Jerseybean

Thanks pongo88 I for one didn’t know that! I have fond memories of that ‘deadly partnership’

Happy New Year fellow-Reds, marking it with a photo from this little rock (nine miles by five) in the Channel and one from Bristol. Last season we lost away and won at home against them. https://youtu.be/yqYUmkshcvo https://youtu.be/gx72GLB0eCw In our first away game of this season a battling City performance was rewarded with a late winner from Matty James: https://youtu.be/14aT6bCzb84 and https://fb.watch/mrHrhiTkPL/ On deadline day they took their summer signings tally to eight with loan deals for Allan Campbell and Ryan Longman. Benik Afobe left on a free transfer in 2023 and joined Hatta he then moved to Al Dhafra FC a team that was established in 2000, as part of a policy to promote sports across the country and the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi had no team, so Al Dhafra is the first and only club to be located in the western region. Others who played for for both clubs include Gerard Lavin, Marvin Elliott and Joe Bryan. George Saville will be missing following his red card last time out (a 1-0 home win against Norwich.) Post match Millwall head coach Joe Edwards said: "We've been in a run of not a lot of wins, so when you get one like we did on Boxing Day (against QPR) it was important that we took that confidence and tried to build on it, particularly when you get the busy Christmas period and you get two home games in a row. An opponent came here that were really dangerous, they're good with the ball, can control games but they score a lot of goals as well. We had a clear plan that it was down to us to block those holes and frustrate them, but massively important that we still did it with a bit of aggression, still offered a threat going the other way, and I thought we got that balance perfectly and deserved the win." Head-to-head record Won: 38 Lost: 35 Drawn: 33 LM’s notes: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/liams-notes-millwall-h/ Officials Referee: Tom Nield Assistants:Mark Stevens and Andrew Fox Fourth official: Sam Barrott Match preview: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/city-men-news/preview-millwall-h-2/ My neighbour is a big Wall fan he had this to say ‘Rowett leaving was definitely because he’d taken us as far as he could. We were getting results but playing boring football so as soon as results were not great, there wasn’t as much credit built up as you’d expect. The new guy is promising more entertainment but our last few results have been based on the old solid defensive teamwork. Two wins on the trot have definitely improved things but after my pre-season enthusiasm, I’d be happy to finish mid table and see what Edwards can do next year. That all said we’ll obviously beat city!!’ Their MDT: https://millwallonline.com/forum/threads/bristol-city-v-wall-match-thread-3pm.54944/ They are 13th in the form table (we are 4th) having won two (their last two games), drawn two and lost two of their last six games. History 1885 - The club are founded as Millwall Rovers by workers of JT Morton's factory on the Isle of Dogs. Millwall Rovers' first game was against Leytonstone side Fillebrook and ended in a 5-0 defeat. 1886 - The club begin playing at the Lord Nelson Ground, an area of land behind a pub, the Lord Nelson. 1889 - The club is re-named as Millwall Athletic after relocating to The Athletic Grounds. 1900 - Millwall Athletic reach the FA Cup Semi-Finals, losing to Southampton after a replay. 1901 - The club are on the move again, this time to North Greenwich, a relocation which is unavoidable as the Millwall Dock Company wanted to use their land as a timberyard. 1903 - The club reaches its second FA Cup Semi-Final in just three years, this time beaten by Derby County. 1908 - Millwall are crowned champions of the Western Football League. 1909 - Their Western Football League championship trophy is retained. 1910 - In an attempt to boost attendances, the club move once again, this time to New Cross, naming the new stadium ‘The Den’. The first match is against Southern League Champions Brighton & Hove Albion, who win 1-0. 1920 - Now known just as Millwall, the club are invited by the Football League to enter its new Third Division for the 1920/21 season. Millwall's first game ends in a 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers on 28th August 1920. 1925 - Millwall put together a run of 11 consecutive clean sheets, a Football League record shared with Reading and York City. 1928 - The club win the Third Division South title, scoring 87 League goals at The Den alone – a Football League record that still stands. 1937 - Millwall reach the FA Cup Semi-Finals for the third time. They are the first Football League club from the third tier to do so. Earlier in the competition, the Fifth Round visit of Derby County attracts a record attendance of 48,762. 1938 - The club announces that His Grace Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, agrees to become its first-ever President 1943 - The Den suffers severe bomb damage during World War Two, forcing Millwall to play games at rival clubs' grounds in London. 1944 - Thanks to the work of several volunteers to help re-build parts of the ground, the club return to play matches at The Den. 1945 - Millwall play Chelsea, losing 2-0, in the Football League War Cup (South) Final at Wembley in front of 90,000 spectators. 1957 - Battling for survival at the bottom of the Third Division, Millwall shock First Division giants Newcastle United in the FA Cup Fourth Round, winning 2-1. 1962 - Having become founder members of the new Football League Division Four in 1958, Millwall win the Fourth Division title in 1962, but are relegated two years later. 1964 - Millwall begin a record run of 59 home games without defeat, consisting of 43 wins and 16 draws, which comes to an end in January 1967. During the unbeaten run at The Den, the club score 112 goals, conceding just 33 with 35 clean sheets. In the process, The Lions win two promotions, finishing second in Division Four in 1965, and then runners-up again in Division Three a year later (1966). The remarkable record is eventually broken by Liverpool in 1981. 1967 - A shock 2-1 home defeat to Plymouth Argyle – The Pilgrims' first away win of the season – is the result which ends The Lions' unbeaten run at The Den. 1972 - The class of '72, which included Bryan King, Harry Cripps, Derek Possee and Barry Kitchener, the club's longest-serving player, miss out on promotion to Division One by just one point. 1974 - The Lions host the first-ever game played on a Sunday, when they entertain London rivals Fulham at The Den. 1982 - Millwall legend Barry Kitchener plays his 602nd and final game for The Lions at Home Park, Plymouth. 1983 - Manager George Graham guides Millwall to the final of the Football League Trophy, where they beat Lincoln City 3-2. 1985 - Millwall reach the FA Cup Quarter-Finals and earn promotion to the Second Division after finishing the season unbeaten at home. 1988 - Led by John Docherty, Graham's replacement as manager, Millwall gain promotion to the top-flight of English football for the first time in the club's history. After beating QPR 3-2 on 1st October, The Lions top the entire Football League. Millwall's first season amongst the elite of English football ends with a 10th place finish, the lowest position occupied by the club at any point during that campaign. 1989 - The club pay their record transfer fee of £800,000 to bring Paul Goddard to The Den from Derby County. 1990 - After topping the table again on 9th September, Millwall struggled to match their form from the first season in the top-flight, and are relegated back to the Second Division. 1991 - New manager Bruce Rioch guides The Lions to fifth place in Division Two but they are beaten by Brighton and Hove Albion in the Play-Off Semi-Finals. Teddy Sheringham scores a record 38 goals that season. 1992 - Bruce Rioch departs to be replaced by player/manager Mick McCarthy. 1993 - The club move to The ‘New’ Den, the first all-seater stadium built in England after the Taylor Report recommendations following the Hillsborough disaster. American John Kerr scores the first-ever goal at the club's new ground in a friendly against Bobby Robson's Sporting Lisbon. 1995 - The Lions knock giants Arsenal out of the FA Cup in a Third Round replay, winning 2-0 at Highbury. They then beat a second top-flight outfit, Chelsea, on penalties after another replay before losing to QPR in the Quarter-Final. Nottingham Forest had previously been beaten in the League Cup, making it three Premier League scalps for Millwall that year. 1996 - Not long after being displaced from top spot in Division One, which was formed at the end of the 1993/4 season, McCarthy leaves his post to take over as the Republic of Ireland's new manager. Jimmy Nicholl is appointed as McCarthy's replacement, but he cannot stop the club eventually slipping into the third tier of English football. Millwall drop into the bottom three for the first and only time that season, at the final whistle of the final game, a 0-0 draw at Ipswich. 1997 - Theo Paphitis arrives at The Den, bringing The Lions out of administration. He appoints Billy Bonds as manager, who is later replaced by Keith Stevens. Alan McLeary is his chosen assistant, but he is later promoted to the role of co-manager alongside Stevens. 1999 - The duo guide The Lions to the club's first-ever official appearance at Wembley to face Wigan Athletic in the Auto Windscreens Shield Final. The Latics win 1-0 in front of 47,349 Millwall fans amongst a 55,000 crowd – a record number of supporters from one club at Wembley. A year later, a young Millwall side featuring the likes of Tim Cahill, Neil Harris, Marc Bircham, Steven Reid, Paul Ifill, Lucas Neill and Richard Sadlier reach the Second Division Play-Offs, losing to Wigan again. 2001 - Under the guidance of Mark McGhee, Millwall win promotion to the second tier as Division Two champions with 93 points, a club record. 2003 - Ex-England international Dennis Wise becomes caretaker manager after McGhee's departure, eventually becoming permanent player-manager at The Den. 2004 - Wise leads The Lions to the club's first-ever FA Cup Final, with a 1-0 Semi-Final success against Sunderland at Old Trafford on 4th April. Manchester United win the Final 3-0 at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff against an injury-hit Millwall side who are only the second team from outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup Final since 1982. As a result of that Final appearance, The Lions qualify for the 2004/5 UEFA Cup, losing 4-2 on aggregate to Hungarian champions Ferencvaros in the First Round proper. 2007 - After a period of instability on and off the field, American John Berylson leads a takeover of the club, becoming major shareholder and Chairman. His first big decision is to appoint Kenny Jackett as new first team manage. 2009 - On 13th January 2009, Neil Harris scores at Crewe to beat Teddy Sheringham's all-time goalscoring record in his second spell at the club. It was his 112th Millwall goal and he went on to notch 138 in total. Kenny Jackett leads The Lions to the League One Play-Off Final at Wembley where, despite a Gary Alexander wonder goal, they are beaten 3-2 by Scunthorpe United. There are 49,661 Lions fans in attendance – a record from one club at the newly rebuilt national stadium – meaning Millwall hold the record at the old and new Wembley. 2010 - Millwall return to Wembley for the League One Play-Off Final and beat Swindon Town 1-0 thanks to a goal from captain Paul Robinson. Promotion marks an end to a four-year absence from The Championship, known previously as Division One (and prior to that, Division Two). 2012 - The Lions enjoy a 13-game unbeaten run in the League, including a 4-1 victory away at Nottingham Forest which marks Jackett's fifth year at the club. 2013 - Millwall reach the FA Cup Semi-Final, where Wigan Athletic are the opponents. The Latics run out 2-0 winners at a rain-soaked Wembley. A month later, days after The Lions secure Championship survival, Jackett resigns as manager and is replaced by St Johnstone boss Steve Lomas. He leaves the club on Boxing Day, with all-time leading goalscorer Neil Harris and Academy Director Scott Fitzgerald placed in caretaker charge. 2014 - With the club sitting 21st in the table, Ian Holloway is appointed new Millwall manager and successfully leads The Lions to safety, ending the campaign with an eight-game unbeaten run. The positive mood continues at the beginning of the 2014/15 campaign, but a season that starts so promisingly takes a dramatic dip leading to Holloway's departure in March 2015. Neil Harris and Dave Livermore are installed on an interim basis and although too late to avoid relegation, the duo are appointed as the new management team on a permanent basis in May. 2016 - Harris and Livermore introduce a number of promising young Academy products into the squad and after a difficult start, the team hits its stride in the New Year to put in a strong challenge for promotion, ultimately finishing in fourth place. Reaching the Play-Off Final after beating Bradford City over two legs, The Lions are pipped by Barnsley in a fourth Wembley appearance in seven years. 2017 - The Lions set up a return to Wembley once more after a 17-match unbeaten run and nine consecutive games without conceding a goal secures a sixth-placed finish in League One and a two-legged Play-Off Semi-Final win over Scunthorpe United. Steve Morison's late winner defeated Bradford City in the Final and promoted Millwall back to The Championship after two seasons away. 2019 - Harris led Millwall to a superb eighth-place finish in the club's first season back in The Championship. The following campaign, 2018/19, was more of a struggle, but The Lions ultimately still secured safety in the division with games to spare. Several new players arrived at The Den in the summer of 2019, but Harris and Livermore departed the club in October and two weeks later, Gary Rowett was named as the new first-team manager. 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic changes the world in which we live in, as football is halted for three months. The final games of the season are played out in front of empty stadiums. 2021 - Almost the entire 2020/21 campaign is played behind closed doors as The Lions finish 11th in the Sky Bet Championship. 2022 - They flirt with the top six in The Championship during the 2021/22 season but fall just short, finishing ninth in the League table. Today - they are 16th on 29 points. Gary Rowett was their manager. As a player, he was a defender, and played in the Premier League for Everton, Derby County, Leicester City and Charlton Athletic. He also played in the Football League for Cambridge United, Blackpool, Birmingham City and Burton Albion. His professional career ended in 2004, through a knee injury. He left by mutual,consent in mid October, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/18/the-time-just-feels-right-gary-rowett-leaves-millwall-after-four-years He was replaced in November by Joe Edwards as Head Coach. The 37-year-old joined The Lions alongside Andy Myers, as Assistant Head Coach. Adam Barrett - who oversaw four matches on a caretaker basis - and Andy Marshall, remain part of the club's backroom staff. A youth team prospect at Chelsea, Edwards made his first foray into coaching with The Blues at the age of 19, overseeing FA Youth Cup victories before being promoted to the first-team set-up under Frank Lampard. There are some on their forum keen to have Rowett back: https://millwallonline.com/forum/threads/rowett.54897/ An American businessman and founder of Chestnut Hill Ventures LLC John G. Berylson was their chairman. He was formerly an active US Marine, and a passionate fan of the Boston Red Sox. He died from injuries in a car crash in July last year, when his vehicle overturned and hit a tree in the United States. His son has become the club's new chairman following his father's death. James Berylson says he is "passionate" about Millwall and is determined to continue his father's legacy. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/james-berylson-new-millwall-chairman-father-john-b1094354.html We will shortly be facing their local rivals West Ham United, which allegedly is one of the fiercest and oldest rivalries in English football. Over to you Big Tone

Think Pring would have anticipated AM making contact with the ball (as most of us would)

AM miss https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/bristol-city/13039280/how-did-he-miss-anis-mehmeti-header-misses-open-goal

Lots of good comments in this thread and although there are some polarised observations I tend to agree with most of what’s being said. Historically we have struggled to breakdown teams who set up to defend (which Brum certainly did) noteworthy that we failed to manage a shot on target. If we’d beaten Brum 4-1 and drew 0-0 with Watford think everyone would have been chuffed. The challenge is to find a way of penetrating teams that set up to defend and hit us on the break, it’s more typically something we face at home and Millwall will likely employ this approach. Reinforces the need for more creativity in midfield and a different kind of striker for me. Also highlights the realities of BCFC and the Championship - superb team performance v Watford with all player ratings higher than average reflecting this and at best an average team performance last night (ratings around 6/7 for most) against an inferior team who are struggling.

Player ratings…https://www.bristolworld.com/sport/football/bristol-city/bristol-city-birmingham-efl-championship-4461401?page=3

Beeb stats say we didn’t have a shot on target

A poor game, nevertheless, a hard earned point away from home. In truth, neither team deserved to win that. It was sloppy, scrappy and stuttering throughout. Just one moment of quality football was all it would’ve taken, but alas, neither side could manage that. I don’t think there was a single offside in the game, which is quite unusual. On the positive side, we extend our unbeaten run and take a point away at a ground that historically we struggle at. City fans were magnificent.

First half reflections. 45 minutes of poor quality football, which was sloppy, stuttering, and frustrating. Their press has made us look uncomfortable at the back on numerous occasions, And so far key players in the attacking third have been uninspiring, AM should of at least hit the target with his header on the edge of the 6 yard box. Knight, Memheti and Sykes, the players who often spark a bit of creativity, have been found wanting so far. Feels to me like we need to get the ball out wide quicker and more often so that Memheti and Sykes can really attack down the wings. Plenty for LM to focus on in his halftime talk, we can play much much better than this as we showed last time out.

https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2023/12/bristol-city-rely-on-benefactor-owner.html

Bristol Rovers are set to bring in Jamie McAllister as a coach.

Interesting piece on us from Birmingham City https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/the-robins-records

Thanks Italian Dave knew there would be more

Rob Dickie ahead of the game….https://www.bcfc.co.uk/video/interviews/rob-dickie-birmingham-press-conference/

LM presser ‘Naismith has had a set back’ https://www.bcfc.co.uk/video/interviews/manning-previews-blues-away/

We will have the backing of a sold out away end. The full allocation of 2,000 tickets for the fixture have been snapped up with Blues confirming there will be no additional allocation and no pay on the day for away supporters. Kick off is 745 pm. In October they parted company with head coach John Eustace after 15 months in charge. At the time they were sixth in the table. Today they are 19th on 27 points. Wayne Rooney took over and had this to say: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67090933 American-owned Blues had been linked with Rooney, who had just left his role as coach of Major League Soccer side DC United. Known as the city of a thousand trades, Birmingham in the West Midlands was once a manufacturing powerhouse. With the jewellery and gun quarters, and the extensive canals built for goods transport, the city proudly displays the results of its amazing growth during the Industrial Revolution. Birmingham is the second largest city in the United Kingdom in regards to population and one of the most densely populated places in the country outside of London. One of the most interesting facts about Birmingham is that the population is on average younger than the country as a whole. The average age in the UK is 40.3 years, where as Birmingham is just 32.6. This is partially due to the large student population. They finished in 17th place last season (on 53 points) their highest league position in seven years. In the corresponding game last season they inflicted our heaviest defeat of the campaign, https://youtu.be/sk-gr8pC4fo Brum are 22 in the form league with one win, two draws and three defeats in their last six games. On Boxing Day they lost at home to Stoke and were booed off at half time. Rooney said, "Ideally, you wish you could have 11 subs - as I could have changed all 11 players at half-time." And “Apart from Romelle I’m not happy with one player. Every player’s position is up for grabs because that is nowhere near good enough.In the dressing room I used young Romelle as an example, a young 17 year old kid who comes onto the pitch, wants the ball, plays with character and aggression. When I'm using a kid as an example to some senior players in there, if I'm a senior player that's a concern. They should be setting the example for Romelle, not the other way around." They have a long injured list https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/birmingham-city-injury-marc-roberts-27366424 and Krystian Bielik is suspended. There are sure to be more but the only player I can think of who played for both clubs is David Cotterill. Famous fans include: Jasper Carrot - Comedian. Colin Buchanan - Dalziel and Pascoe star. Roy Wood - Xmas-loving frontman of Wizzard. David Harewood - Actor (Homeland). Mike Skinner - Singer from The Streets. Robert McCracken - Former boxer, turned trainer. Simon Fowler - Singer (Ocean Colour Scene). Jeff Lynne - ELO legend. Guide to the ground: https://footballgroundguide.com/leagues/england/championship/st-andrews-birmingham-city.html Towards the end of August they made their ninth summer transfer window signing by bringing in striker Jay Stansfield on loan from Premier League side Fulham. Blues said they had beaten off "more than a dozen" clubs to persuade 20-year-old Devon-born Stansfield to move to St Andrew's for a season-long stay. On deadline day they took their total of summer signings to 13 by adding the loan signings of Leeds United's Cody Drameh and Scotland international Oliver Burke. Our head-to-head record isn’t very good Won: 19 Lost: 38 Drawn: 17 We have won our last three games and in the last two games scored seven with seven different scorers! The last time we won four consecutive games was September 2018. They were comfortable winners at our place in August my immediate thoughts posted on here were that it was ‘a very underwhelming, poor and frustrating Bristol City performance, both collectively and individually, we were second-best throughout the entire game. Our opponents are an ordinary championship team, but they were running the game and in control, not due so much to their own endeavours but largely thanks to our wholly inept performance. We consistently failed to look after the ball, our passing and distribution was embarrassing (our pass completion data will be telling) and our intensity, press, energy and drive practically nonexistent! There were two recurring themes when we had the ball. Firstly, we either passed it square or backwards in our own half or around the half way line in a very pedestrian manner which meant creating absolutely nothing and secondly, we resorted to launching a very hopeful, long ball forward, which in the majority of cases was either inaccurate or quickly and easily snuffed out by Birmingham. In fact their second goal resulted from exactly that scenario, I think it was Naismith trying to play a long ball forward which was easily intercepted and resulted in Brum breaking and adding a second goal. It was actually painful to watch at times and I am very disappointed by that performance. I don’t mind the City losing, but I do mind when we lose without performing. We didn’t have a single attempt on goal, nor did we ever look particularly dangerous, creative or in the ascendency. Without wishing to be dramatic it was one of the poorest performances I can recall under Pearson’s stewardship.’ Highlights: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/video/extended-highlights-bristol-city-0-2-birmingham-city/ Officials Referee: Geoff Eltringham Assistants: Shaun Hudson and James Wilson Fourth official: Thomas Kirk Pubs About a 15 minute drive from the ground is the excellent Old Joint Stock https://www.oldjointstock.co.uk, 4 Temple Row West, Birmingham, B2 5NY (0121) 200 1892 Opening hours Weekdays: 11-11 Saturday: 11-11 Sunday: 12-6 This is an impressively flamboyant setting for a pint and a pie a Grade II listed building opposite Birmingham Cathedral, with chandeliers hanging from the soaring pink and gilt ceiling, gently illuminated busts lining the top of the ornately plastered walls and a splendid cupola above the centre of the room. Photographs of its historic past as a library and the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank line the walls; there's also a big dining balcony reached up a grand sweeping staircase. It's notably well run: staff remain efficient and friendly, even when it's busy. You'll find Fullers London Pride, Olivers Island, HSB, Seafarers and a guest or two on handpump, Cornish Orchards Gold cider, 17 wines by the glass and 36 gins; background music. The small and colourful back terrace has nicely quirky seats, tables and heaters. There's a purpose-built, first-floor theatre and you can book a two-course pre-theatre meal in advance. The popular food (special diets catered for) includes breakfasts plus sandwiches, small or sharing plates, crispy squid with coriander and chilli jam, dirty halloumi fries, Vietnamese spicy chicken wings, black pudding scotch egg, Fullers Frontier-battered haddock goujons, chicken madras, speciality home-baked pies, and puddings such as chocolate brownie sundae with buffalo milk ice-cream and caramelised apple pie with vanilla custard. The Cricketers, Little Green Lane, Birmingham, B9 5AX The Anchor Digbeth, 308 Bradford Street, Birmingham, B5 6ET, https://www.theanchordigbeth.com Real ale buffs flock to this red-brick street-corner boozer for its ever-changing beer menu. The Square Peg, 115 Corporation Street, Birmingham, B4 6PH, https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/west-midlands/the-square-peg-birmingham Spoons. The Shakespeare, Lower Temple Street, Birmingham, B2 4JD, https://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/eastandwestmidlands/theshakespearelowertemplestreetbirmingham#/ The Sun On The Hill, 23 Bennett\'s Hill, Birmingham, B2 5QP, http://thesunonthehill.co.uk The Wellington, 37 Bennetts Hill, Birmingham, B2 5SN, https://www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk Hand-pulled real ales and ciders draw in aficionados to this cream-fronted pub with outside decking.

Their forum….https://wfcforums.com/index.php?threads/watford-fc-1-4-bristol-city-26-12-2023-ko-15-00.60688/page-3#post-3299684

My ‘man of the match’ is the BCFC squad today - everyone had a very solid game and played well.

First half reflections Not wishing to speak too soon, but that first half was one of the most complete City performances I’ve seen this season, in fact, for a long time. If we had shown a little more composure in and around their penalty area, we could’ve been ahead by more. As per my opening words, let’s hope we can keep this going and continue to take the game to them. I would hate for us to sit back and defend a two-nil lead. So far we have made them look very ordinary. Let’s carry on doing that for the remainder of this game. The City fans have been a great credit and really seem to be enjoying themselves.

https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/features/bristols-oldest-fancy-dress-shop-is-moving/

Remember it well proper old school shop.

TY I wondered if it might be but couldn’t see anything to confirm it had closed

Season’s greetings City oz. Hope you are well, I look forward to mentioning lots of new pubs! Mate of mate of mine from here in Jersey has done a house swop with my mate in Perth for Christmas, seemingly they are both having a great time

Thank you Red from afar, hope you too had a great day.

Happy Christmas City fans wherever you are. https://youtu.be/1yetCBdy4sE Let’s have your favourite Christmas cracker joke, to get things going…. What’s the difference between a goldfish and a goat? A goldfish mucks about in fountains … What do you know about Christmas steps? 15 facts can be found here: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/features/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-christmas-ste/ Which band played Christmas Steps? Answer at the end. Pay on the day will be available for the game. Tickets can be purchased from the Away Ticket Office located next to the Away Turnstiles and will be sold for cash only. Collections and duplicate requests will also be available to collect from here. We lost 2-0 at Vicarage Road last season in a game which Ole summarized neatly ‘City completely controlled the Hornets. Nigel Pearson's men will play a lot worse and win and Watford surely will play better than they did today in a game they won despite City dominating in all phases.’ Highlights: https://youtu.be/OOHoToXbzAU They are fourth in the form table with 13 points from four wins, a draw and a defeat in their last six games. We are 15th with three defeats, two wins and a draw (7 points from last six games.) At the end of last season they announced the transfer of João Pedro to Brighton and Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee, https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65502319 They finished last season in 11th place on 63 points. In May they appointed former Barnsley and West Brom boss Valerien Ismael as their new head coach. The 47-year-old replaced Chris Wilder, who was appointed in March on a short-term deal through to the end of the season. Vicarage Road guide: https://footballgroundguide.com/leagues/england/championship/vicarage-road-watford.html and supporters guide: https://www.watfordfc.com/news/supporter-information-watford-v-bristol-city-1 They scored in the 83rd and 87th minute on Saturday to win away at Blackburn and are currently 7th on 34 points (two more than us.) Head-to-head record Won: 37 Lost: 31 Drawn: 31 Officials Referee: John Busby Assistants: Richard Wild and Andrew Dallison Fourth official: Matthew Donohue Pubs The Oddfellows, 14 Fearnley Street, Watford, WD18 0RD, https://www.facebook.com/OddfellowsWatford Unsurprisingly, the closest pub to Vicarage Road is the most popular on match days; 'Oddfellows' on Fearnley Street can get very busy as it offers decent priced drinks, a beer garden. The pubs on the High Street lack the atmosphere of other Watford fan pubs but are well worth checking out. The Moon Under Water, 44 High Street, Watford, WD17 2BS (Spoons) is extremely popular so be sure to get there early otherwise you may have to wait a while to get served. The Moon Under Water welcomes well behaved home and away fans. Watford’s exclusive away fans pub is Macs Bar, around a five minute walk to the stadium, 14 Fearnley St, Watford, WD18 0RD. Slug and Lettuce, 66-68 The Parade, Watford, WD17 1AH offers a decent bottomless brunch. Watford warblings England manager Gareth Southgate was born in Watford. Jimmy Perry teamed up with BBC comedy producer David Croft to write a sitcom about his experiences in the Watford Home Guard during World War II. The programme? Dad's Army. The chestnut staircase, which once belonged to the now-demolished Cassiobury House, is on display in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Simon Le Bon, lead singer of Duran Duran, was born in Watford. Watford FC played in blue and white until 1959 when it then changed to gold/yellow shirts and black shorts. Watford Rovers, as they were originally known, were founded way back in 1881 and their first competitive match came in the 1886 FA Cup against Swindon Town (Watford Rovers lost 1-0). The club then merged with Watford St Mary’s (who were attracting booming crowds of up to 500 supporters!) and they became officially known as Watford Football Club in 1898, as it has remained so to this day. But, what about their nickname? In their early years, Watford weren’t known as the Hornets. Instead, they were referred to as the Brewers, in honour of local brewery, Benskin’s, who became a club benefactor after the First World War. Apparently, some fans weren’t happy with being associated with a brewer and so when the club introduced a new kit with blue shirts and white shorts in 1927, they became known by that rather unimaginative of nicknames: the Blues. It was all-change on the kit front in 1959, however, when the club unveiled a new gold and black kit, which made their nickname somewhat illogical. Despite delving into various archives, can’t find evidence of who came up with the idea of changing the nickname to the Hornets, but it was clearly based on the resemblance of the new kit to the largest eusocial wasps. Note that as well as being referred to as the Hornets, Watford are also sometimes known as the Golden Boys, Yellow Army or the ‘Orns. In recent years, however, these monikers have been used less frequently, with most knowing the club as the Hornets. Elton John's ownership of Watford Football Club (he was born nearby in Pinner) was a transformative and influential period in the club's history. His tenure as chairman, which began in 1976 and continued until the early 1990s, saw significant changes and successes for the team. Gary Lineker in conversation with Sir Elton: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gvpqzy Wishing all the traveling fans a great day, be loud and proud, as you, hopefully, cheer us on to three points. The answer, Mogwai and here it is: https://youtu.be/i1HZm5KhuGk here’s the backstory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Steps_(composition)