The Dolman Pragmatist

In the old days no one would have worn number 14………

Bath City now only two points off the play-offs in National League South.

There’s a large print of it on the wall in the Malago, opposite the Hen & Chicken.

Bear or beat? ?

The old story - when did we last win a match when we had more than 50% possession? We perform against the top sides but fall short against anyone who sits back. Been like that for a few seasons. Mind you, given our injuries I’ll take a point. King (surprisingly) lasted the distance, Cam filled in well at Centre Half and Zak took responsibility.

Well he’s captain, so someone believes in him.

Well, there is something in it. Successful teams stay largely injury-free. Playing with players who tend to pick up injuries is a big risk.

I don’t buy this making a back business. Kalas has a track record of jumping early and high over the back of a defender. How many times has he done this and hurt himself? Wickham just stood his ground as far as I could see

Yeah, got emails yesterday saying it will come out tomorrow instead.

True story. Many, many (many) years ago, when a student, I got into the Directors’ Box at Chelsea thanks to a friend who was having a relationship with one of the Directors’ daughters. At half time we were in the hospitality suite talking to the then injured Peter Osgood when he said “Stand in front of me lads. If that **** sees me, I’ll have to talk to him”. The **** was John Motson.

I watch an awful lot of football at all levels, and I can honestly say that the standard of refereeing at grassroots youth level is very good. The best referee I’ve seen this season (reffing an Under 14 game) was 17. What has changed is the level of abuse refs get from coaches and supporters/parents, which is completely unacceptable. Refs can only give what they see, and they’re not helped by the frequent changes or ‘clarifications’ to the laws of the game which only make their jobs more difficult.

Max has been exceptional recently, but last night would have been a nightmare for any goalkeeper. At times last night there were at least fifteen players in the six-yard box - I defy any goalkeeper to have a comfortable night when their chances of getting near the ball at set pieces are virtually nil. And whenever Max was in possession of the ball, Wigan were closing us down immediately, leaving him with the only quick option of a long punt downfield. That’s not the way we play, so he was right to delay distribution until options were available. Give the bloke some credit - how many goals have we conceded recently? And whatever happened to ‘he’s one of our own’. In Zak and Max’s cases that seems to mean that they have more to prove.

Still think Johnson made a major error in not taking Orr off sooner, but more importantly in bringing Little Lee on and moving Marvin Elliott to right back. For me it should always have been Carey to right back and Vasko on, leaving Elliott in midfield.

Got to hand it to you mate, that’s a cracking sentence. ?

A child banned for life for running on the pitch? Surely he should be whipped through the streets of Bristol too? Perhaps motorists should be banned from driving for life if they exceed the speed limit. I’m sure you’ve never ******* done that though.

Come on Dave, he has said “please”!

Apart from the good bits, eh?

Well in the legal sense, yes he is. That’s meant to be the basis of our legal system.

Love the patronising tone in some of these posts. References to people who wanted Pearson out as being ‘like children’ or ‘not understanding anything about football’. I can’t remember a single manager since the first manifestation of Joe Jordan with the exception of Cotterill who didn’t divide opinion at some stage. I admit I got to a point where I felt that we probably needed a change of management, and I took no pleasure in that, but that didn’t happen and I’m delighted that things are looking more positive. To argue your case it’s always better to respect, or at least listen to, contrary views to your own. We all want City to do well.

Completely agree. That’s why I think it’s so important for City to be scouting 12+ youth players in the area.

While you can pick up a 7/8 year old with obvious talent, these are very rare. Kids develops at different rates, associated with their physical growth, and there are a lot of very good kids out there at all ages. City need to be out there looking for the best talent at all ages and, sadly, I don’t always see this as the case at the moment. Other clubs (Cardiff, Southampton) are picking up some good talent, while a lot of good players are going unnoticed. I worry about the quality and coverage of City’s youth scouting network. I’d be interested to hear what others involved with youth football in the area think.

Everyone wants City to succeed, but opinions differ as to how best to achieve that. Nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately it appears that some of those who strongly support Pearson are unwilling to listen to any other points of view and resort to cheap jibes. I have mixed feelings about Pearson, so not surprised (or bothered) that opinions about him vary. It’s hardly the first time he’s been criticised for his handling of the media, after all. It was thought to be a significant factor in him losing a previous job if I remember rightly.

So we should be proud of our lack of achievement because it’s ‘ours’? We have significantly underachieved for decades. I love this club, but I wouldn’t delude myself by claiming I’m proud of the last thirty years.

Do you honestly believe that there are supporters who would get angry after good performances? That’s exactly the sort of ridiculous comment I’d expect from gas heads…

Yeah, fifth in the Premier League. Must be dreadful.