Jerseybean

My immediate reaction - a better performance but another defeat. Having led twice we were ultimately undone by some weak defending and an inability to create any chances when chasing the game. If NWs effort had gone in it might have been a different outcome. Watched it with two Ipswich fans, which was interesting for a couple of reasons (1) it was available on Ipswich Town TV, not sure how they can show it while Robins TV couldn’t (2) they were genuinely astonished by how many of our throw ins went directly to an Ipswich player!

Anybody got a reliable stream please?

Yep my thoughts too. Personally don’t rate AM and think he adds very little and HC is pretty hit and miss. In keeping with quite a few on here I’m hoping for the best, but fearing the worse tonight. Must try harder to remember the mantra of playing front foot football and being a top end of the table team.

From an Ipswich supporting colleague… What a time to be a town fan! It's hard to believe our league position 18 months ago. Despite being in the promotion battle, collecting enough points to be mathematically safe from relegation just a couple of weeks ago was still an important milestone in our first season back in the championship. There are some really obvious parallels between this season and last season: * We made a really strong start to our campaign. * A drop off in form over the Christmas period. * Some really good signings in the January transfer window. * A run of wins in February have reignited our season. New signings Jeremy Sarmiento, Lewis Travis, Ali Al Hamedi and particularly Kieffer Moore have been superb in lifting our performances. In the past few weeks, the teams around us have dropped points, including an awesome showing by Bristol City against Southampton. Suddenly we find ourselves in 2nd, but there are so many tough games to go. When Town met Bristol City earlier in the season, City were arguably the better team for big parts of the game, so we go into this game taking nothing for granted. Big Kieffer Moore and Connor Chaplin, our form players in attack, will be looking to do some damage at Portman Road on Tuesday night. However, we need to work hard to avoid conceding early in the game, something we have struggled with so much this season.

No pay on the day https://www.bcfc.co.uk/city-men-news/ipswich-away-set-for-priority-sale/ No Twine, Tanner or James either

Here’s a guide to Portman Road: https://footballgroundguide.com/leagues/england/league-one/portman-road-ipswich-town.html Prior to our 1-0 home defeat back in October https://www.bcfc.co.uk/video/highlights/extended-highlights-bristol-city-0-1-ipswich-town/ we last played them in March 2019 when it finished 1-1, Adam Webster scored for us before Lloyd Kelly put through his own goal. They confirmed promotion with 6-0 thrashing of Exeter City at the end of April, https://youtu.be/goV6BzFO4IM Their nickname “The Tractor Boys"was coined during the club's brief period in the Premier League when the team regularly competed against more fashionable clubs. The nickname is an example of self-deprecating humour referring to Suffolk's agricultural heritage. Ed Sheeran is a huge fan and sponsor, Town CEO Mark Ashton: "Once again we are delighted that Ed has agreed his sponsorship of the men’s and women’s first-team shirts. Ed has shown his passion and commitment to the Club and the wider community. We cannot wait to continue working with him and enhance our relationship." Ipswich has its fair share of famous former residents, it’s not just Ed Sheeran locals associate with fame and fortune! Actor Ralph Fiennes was born in the city, who is well known for many films including Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, and In Bruges. Actor and director Richard Ayoade, known for many roles including Moss in the IT Crowd, was also from Ipswich, as well as Hunger Games actor Sam Claflin. A great motivator for any local budding thespians! The statue of Sir Bobby Robson is on Portman Road opposite the Cobbold Stand where away fans are located. Further along the road, diagonally opposite the club shop Planet Blue, you will find the statue of club legend Kevin Beattie. Diagonally opposite Kevin you will find the statue of another Town great, Sir Alf Ramsey. All three statues are the work of local sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn. The stadium is just a short, 5-10 minute, walk to the town centre, with shops, cafes and restaurants. The waterfront area is around a 15-minute walk from the ground, with a yachting marina and a range of cafes and restaurants. Note that the only pub that officially welcomes away fans is the Station Hotel (details below). Many pubs and bars in the town centre are strictly home fans only, whilst others are more relaxed – this does vary from match to match though. Just beyond the town centre, 15 minutes’ walk from the ground, is the beautiful Christchurch Park, with a renowned art gallery within the Tudor mansion building. Head-to-head record Won: 23 Lost: 30 Drawn: 14 Their MDT: https://tractor-boys.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&p=1035570 Officials Referee: David Webb Assistants: Alex James and Mark Russell Fourth official: Dean Whitestone In December striker George Hirst was ruled out with a "significant hamstring injury". The 24-year-old, suffered the injury against his former side Leicester. In January they confirmed the loan signing of Brighton winger Jeremy Sarmiento until the end of the season. The Ecuador international spent the first half of the campaign at WBA scoring twice in 21 appearances, before being recalled by the Seagulls on 1 January. They also signed Blackburn Rovers captain Lewis Travis on loan for the rest of the Championship season. The 26-year-old midfielder has made 200 league appearances for Rovers, scoring six goals. Pubs The Station Hotel (formerly the Riverside Hotel) is opposite the station, and is the official away pub. It has a garden and TV screens, and up to four beers on pump, mostly from the Greene King stable. https://thestationhotelipswich.co.uk/index.html 2 Burrell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 8AL Might want to try: Isaacs on the Quay, 7 Wherry Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1AS, https://isaaclord.org The Lord Nelson Inn, 81 Fore Street, Ipswich, IP4 1JZ, https://thenelsonipswich.co.uk The Dove Street Inn, 76 St. Helen's Street, Ipswich, IP4 2LA, https://dovestreetinn.co.uk Facts Clerical connection - Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was born in Ipswich in 1475. He started his education at Ipswich School, before moving to Oxford’s Magdalen College School, and then to Magdalen College, Oxford. Famed as King Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Wolsey rose through the Church’s ranks to become Archbishop of York in 1514, and then a cardinal a year later. Doing the rounds - St Lawrence Church, Ipswich, houses the oldest circle of church bells in the world. Known locally as Wolsey’s Bells, they were cast in the 15th century – meaning their sonorous chimes would have been heard by the young Cardinal himself. Cutting it fine - The world’s first commercially available powered lawnmower was built in Ipswich. Produced in 1902 by agricultural machinery manufacturer Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, the machine was driven by an internal combustion engine. On the rails - In a further display of engineering prowess, Ipswich’s Ransomes and Rapier constructed China’s first railway. The Woosung Road, which opened in 1876, carried passenger trains through the city of Shanghai until its dismantling by the Chinese just a year later. Voyage’s end - St Clement’s churchyard, Ipswich, is the final resting place of naval architect Sir Thomas Slade. Most famous for designing HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, Slade has also lent his name to a stretch of Australia’s Queensland coast. Admirable Admiral - On the subject of Lord Nelson, the Admiral himself was appointed High Steward of Ipswich from 1800 to 1805. He numbers among only 24 men to have held the office since 1557. On the ball - Two successful England’s football managers, Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson, have both managed Ipswich Town FC. Under Ramsey’s stewardship from 1955 to 1963, the club rose from the third to the top division – defying the odds to become 1961-62 Football League Champions. Robson, too, led Ipswich Town to some significant victories during his 13-year tenure. These include beating Arsenal to win the 1978 FA Cup, and claiming the UEFA Cup just three years later. Novel location - Charles Dickens visited Ipswich several times, and used the town as a setting in his 1836 novel, The Pickwick Papers. Landmarks that feature in his work include Tavern Street’s former Great White Horse Hotel, and St Clement’s parish. Artist’s retreat - Sudbury-born artist Thomas Gainsborough moved to Ipswich in the mid-18th century. While living in the town he earned a living through portraiture, but also created a landscape of the reservoirs at Holywell Park. Making the grade - In 1991 Ipswich’s Willis Building, designed by Norman Foster in the 1970s, became the UK’s youngest Grade I listed building. It retained this accolade until 2011, when London’s Lloyd’s building obtained the prestigious listing status at just 25 years old.

I used the word ‘sterile’ too yesterday immediately after the game in the MDT. My sense is those who are led tend to reflect some of the characteristics of their leader, LM comes across as sterile, robotic, lacking in charisma and dull all of which our style of play has become under him. So while I acknowledge the OPs point that he was set up to fail the nature of the failure seems to me to be down to his persona and attributes. Sadly our hierarchy won’t be doing anything, anytime soon to address the miserable situation they have created. How long was it between LJ being called out on here and him actually departing?

Player ratings: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-player-ratings-cardiff-9138154?utm_source=bristol_live_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Bristol+Live+-+BCFC+Newsletter_newsletter&utm_content=&utm_term=&ruid=eda3a0ce-34ec-4a85-96cd-ae68727a6b80

the ‘biggest bit for me’ was he looks and sounds like a bloke who is ill at ease and doesn’t know what to do about it.

Or vanilla

Anticipate there will be something of a meltdown on here after that. So a quick few words before I walk away from this forum until tomorrow. For me, that was one of the most sterile derby performances, I’ve ever watched. In the first half we may have just edge the game, but never dominated, the second half Cardiff probably edged it, and despite knowing about their threats from set pieces, they score from their first corner. Consistently, we failed to deliver a decisive ball in the final third, and didn’t create enough chances given we were at home against an average championship team. In truth, two very, very average teams, and as has been the case throughout the season, we again we’re simply not good enough. Frustrating, yet again, to watch with nothing much to get the fans excited and given our last three results and performances very much a reality check for everyone associated with Bristol City football club. We are a long, long way from being a top end team. To finish I’ll come back to the word ‘sterile’ which sums up LM for me and it’s an anpproach already being reflected in this squad.

HW-R is off to the seaside until the end of the season https://uptheterras.co.uk/2024/03/01/new-signing-harvey-wiles-richards/

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-cardiff-famara-diedhiou-9132699

The Robins take on the Bluebirds at 1230 on Saturday. LMs presser ahead of his first Severnside derby: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/video/interviews/liam-mannings-severnside-derby-press-conference/ Here are some reminders: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/the-best-of-the-severnside-derby/ and https://youtu.be/AKTNLkCltjY and https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/the-best-of-the-severnside-derby-2/ Last season we won the corresponding fixture 2-0 https://youtu.be/7mbEFUkPeDE Back at their place at the end of October we were down to the bare bones and this was our squad: O'LEARY SYKES DICKIE PRING J.JAMES GARDNER-HICKMAN KNIGHT WEMMANN MEHMETI CORNICK BELL Subs: BAJIC, THOMAS, KNIGHT-LEBEL NELSON, IDEHEN, BACKWELL, CONWAY, YEBOAH It finished 2-0 and proved to be NPs last game in charge. This is what he said post-match: https://youtu.be/atLeDm7cQ-M In January they signed Liverpool defender Nat Phillips (26) on loan for the rest of the season. On 31 January Famara Diédhiou signed on loan. Naismith may be in the squad but James is a doubt and Twine unavailable. Officials Ref: Stuart Attwell Assistants: Ian Hussin and James Mainwaring Fourth Official : Lewis Smith Head to head Won 42 Lost 38 Drawn 21 We are 15th in the form guide they are 17th we have both lost 3, won 2 and drawn 1 of our last 6 games = 7 points. Players in the recent past who’ve played for both teams include Diedhiou, Pack, Flint and O’Dowda. Going back Brian Clark and Peter Hooper (who also played for Bristol Rovers) represented both teams. When Hooper’s career ended in 1966 by a bout of peritonitis he moved to North Devon where he played non-league football for Barnstaple Town. After retiring from professional football, Hooper was landlord of The Three Pigeons in Bishops Tawton, where he lived, before spending 19 years as a probation assistant in Barnstaple. Callum O'Dowda suffered a setback in his recovery from groin surgery in mid-January and has been out of the team due to this. This suggests he might be in their squad: https://www.bristolworld.com/sport/football/bristol-city/bristol-city-callum-odowda-callum-robinson-famara-diedhiou-cardiff-city-4533709 and https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/former-bristol-city-winger-set-9127663?utm_source=bristol_live_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Bristol+Live+-+BCFC+Newsletter_newsletter&utm_content=&utm_term=&ruid=eda3a0ce-34ec-4a85-96cd-ae68727a6b80 Their match preview: https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/news/match-preview-bristol-city-vs-cardiff-city-3 TC pre-match: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/video/interviews/conway-talks-severnside-derby/

Fish and chips https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/bristol-fish-chip-restaurant-thats-9131705?utm_source=bristol_live_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Bristol+Live+-+Daily+Newsletter_newsletter&utm_content=&utm_term=&ruid=eda3a0ce-34ec-4a85-96cd-ae68727a6b80

As it stands, with 1.29 points per game, we are on pace to finish with 59 points which was exactly our tally last term when we finished 14th.

I know it’s highly unlikely REDOXO but the way we are performing I’m with you, let’s get to mathematical safety asap.

Last game of the season is away to Stoke City. A bit of a doomsday scenario, nevertheless, it could be that we need points from this game to avoid relegation. With a dozen games of the season left we are nine points ahead of Stoke (who currently occupy 22nd place.) This is simply by virtue of our 12 wins opposed to their 9 wins (we have both drawn 8.) Given our last couple of performances/results, against teams in the relegation zone, we just could get dragged into a survival fight and our final game could be crucial to both teams. Just for added giggles we were, of course, 2 up against the Potters at Ashton Gate and lost 2-3.

Some interesting posts on this thread. My personal position is that with 12 games of this season left we should stick with him (sure we will) and make a decision immediately the final whistle goes away at Stoke. Of course I’d expect the hierarchy to be telling him this is their stance now, as well as be planning for a potential successor, however, sadly I doubt either is happening. In essence, that means, rather like some of our current players, his future is in his own hands. Of course the Club have created this problem by appointing him along with some delusional comments surrounding that decision. So for me, I’d give him to the end of the season and then if the Club have got any ambition whatsoever. they need to make an immediate decision one way or the other. I’d agree with a few other points in this thread as follows: there are some LJ similarities, the hierarchy want a yes man, whoever is in charge we need to invest in players.

Not all relevant to this thread but this may help. Thought it would be useful, for future reference, to make a note of what has been revealed or confirmed by the key decision makers at BCFC, since Nigel Pearson was sacked. City fans are passionate and will continue to support the team (JL) We currently have a squad deemed capable of winning promotion/ being at the top end of the league (JL/BT) 100% the aim this season is promotion (GM) “This squad should be at the top end”, “the aim is promotion and we wouldn’t have made the change if we didn’t think we could achieve that”, “there would be no point in making the change now if we were happy to just bumble along for the rest of this season”. We (the Board) know (apparently for the first time) what they want from our new Head Coach which will include playing in a particular way (see next point) (JL/BT) We (the Board) know our style of football, throughout all teams, we will play progressively, on the front foot, pressing, attacking, showing aggression and pace (JL/ BT) The Board have entrusted Brian Tinnion as technical director to lead/advise on footballing matters (implied) The Board opted to sack an experienced manager, citing recent results as the reason (at the time we occupied 15th place with 18 points 5 wins, 6 defeats and 3 draws) our form in the six games pre the sacking was lost 4, won 2. We were only 5 points off a play- off spot when NP was sacked and only 3 points before the Cardiff game, which we faced with an injury ravaged squad, which SL refused to bolster after the Scott sale (JL) In NPs final game, as noted above, the squad was ravaged by injuries, the actual squad was: O’Leary J James substituted for Knight-Lebelat on 73 minutes Dickie Pring Sykes Gardner-Hickman Knight Weimann Mehmeti substituted for Yeboah on 67 minutes Bell substituted for Conway on 45minutes Cornick Substitutes Conway Bajic Knight-Lebel Yeboah Nelson Thomas Idehen Backwell The majority of fans were pro Nigel Pearson with 80% (683) wanting him to be given a two year contract extension just a few days before he was sacked, https://www.otib.co.uk/topic/222365-poll-does-pearson-deserve-a-24-month-contract-extension/page/3/#comment-4704118 The majority who posted on OTIB were outraged by how he was treated (https://www.otib.co.uk/topic/222465-he’s-gone/#comments) An OTIB poll indicated that 90% of respondents thought it was not right to sack NP, 66% want SL to sell up, 80% did not trust the Board to make good decisions in the club’s best interests and 70% (500 respondents) thought City were a top half Championship side, with less than 1% (4 people) believing they were capable of promotion Everyone was very happy with our summer recruitment (BT) Recruitment will be easier now as we have a style of play and we will seek players who fit that (BT) The new HC will be expected to blood academy players (BT) We are in a really good place as a Club and it is set up nicely for somebody to take forward (BT) Unusually the Supporters Club and Trust issued a statement, which included asking the club executives and owners for more transparency and improved supporter engagement going forwards, starting with greater clarity and context around the reason for Nigel Pearson’s sacking. They (the hierarchy) refused an invitation to speak on Sound of the City and instead prepared two short, carefully scripted, in-house videos (as per below) and were still unable to provide a clear narrative as to why the decision was made. Communication - ‘It is up to us to explain better what we are doing’ ‘Up to us to explain what we are doing and communicate better so they (the fans) understand our decisions better and can feel connected’ ‘I freely admit our communication hasn’t been as good as it should have been and that’s not just now’ (JL) GM also acknowledged there has been reflection on communication (or perhaps more accurately the lack of it) and that this needs to improve CEO - ‘With our set up there isn’t really a need for a typical CE’ (JL) Reference sacking NP - ‘We aren’t doing as well as we wanted to and that’s what the decision was based upon’ (JL) We had a three year plan with NP and the objective for this year was to be challenging at the top end of the table (GM) Money for transfers - both JL and GM explained that some of the money realised through the transfer of Alex Scott would be available for transfers in 2024 References: B Tinnion Technical Director, BT: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/video/interviews/update-from-brian-tinnion/ J Lansdown Chairman JL: https://t.co/eiD0x1xmyc and https://t.co/snozPDGdCU G Marshall Bristol Sport CEO and is on the Board of BCFC GM: https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-11-03/we-want-promotion-this-year-bristol-city-board-on-sacking-nigel-pearson Supporters Club and Trust statement: https://www.bristolcitysupporters.org/statement-nigel-pearson/

Two shots on target for us today and IMO we were fortunate to only lose 2-1. Unfortunately, the rhetoric around ‘front foot football’ when LM was appointed was, as many of us knew, just delusional. Certainly frustrating for fans to watch and I suspect pretty frustrating for the players and staff too. Nobody had a really good game for us and IMO AM looked miles away from a Championship player. Brilliant support from our traveling fans who deserve great credit for making that journey and enduring that performance. Suspect (at least based on the last couple of games) that the remaining games of this campaign are going to be pretty difficult/frustrating, I really hope to be proved wrong.

Just watched their second goal again, we were passively chasing shadows and I don’t think Knighty needed to head it (needed a shout to leave it) or maybe even head it out for a corner. Poor from us.

First half observations. It’s been a very underwhelming and stuttering Bristol City performance. The first goal looked like a carbon copy of the one against QPR the week before. Rob Dickie picks up a yellow card from our throwing because there were no options for the thrower. AM hasn’t been in the game at all and on the couple of occasions he’s had the ball he’s given it away. CP is either injured or not fit. He made a halfhearted attempt to pull his player back on 38 minutes, usually he’d be busting a gut to chase him. I think he will be replaced at half time. When we have had the ball we have made poor decisions, been indecisive, or had no decent options. The only bright moment was a great goal from Jason Knight. All in all I feel sorry for the 1100 or so fans who have made that journey to watch that 45 minutes. SW look fitter, more inventive and have a much greater desire than us. Unless things change radically, this is going to end badly as we very much don’t look like scoring. Whereas every time they come forward they look a threat, partly thanks to our lack of communication and the amount of time and space we are giving them. This last point, I think was well illustrated by their second goal. It looked from the camera angle like we could let the ball go rather than head it away. I think it would’ve rolled out for a goal kick, but there was presumably no communication which led to a weak defensive header that went straight to one of their players and two seconds later we are 2-1 down.

Not encouraging. We haven’t won away at Wednesday since the end of 2012 when we came from behind to win 3-2. We have won just two of our last nine trips to Sheffield Wednesday. However, I’m in Rotterdam at the moment where they have put up this little symbol of hope.

He might have scored the winner but allegedly is in deep s*it…. https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/sheffield-wednesday-ilias-chair-jailed-4531296