The Dolman Pragmatist

8 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

I see the weird little Welsh man has predictably played 4 lost 4.

See ya next season Saints

What on earth were Southampton thinking of?

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

We didn’t start that run on a point a game, though did we?

I think for a side that looked defensively frail to start to avoid defeat was the first step, a bit like our first point of the season at Wigan started off a decent run.

Up to you what you think, I reckon we’ll stay up about 5th from the bottom.

I’d like to think we will, but you stay up by winning games, not avoiding defeat, and we desperately need a winning run to put some distance between us and the bottom.  There have been good signs in the last couple of games, but we are missing the Weimann of last season and the first few games of this.

Just now, GrahamC said:

2 defeats in our last 7 league games.

W1 D4 L2 Pts 7

= 46 points in a season.  Relegation form sadly…

Just now, aa_bcfc said:

No left back?

Had to be Alec Briggs, surely?

The same happened with the men’s squad in 1966.  Several of the winning team had to wait decades before their achievement was recognised.

That said, the honours system is clearly corrupt and only values those people lucky enough to have well-paid jobs, or to be celebrities.  The everyday achievements of ‘ordinary people’ are just as notable, but inevitably ignored.  And I’m always a little perplexed by ‘services to charity’, which usually means asking other people to donate money!

6 minutes ago, Bobbie said:

Bore off 

Eloquently put.

23 hours ago, Bobbie said:

Lansdown has made plenty of mistakes over the years but to sack Pearson now would be the biggest of the lot. 
 

The bloke is sorting our club out from top to bottom. Let’s hope SL doesn’t listen to the brain dead sections of our fan base 

Really sad to see a City fan describing anyone from the fan base who doesn’t agree with them as ‘brain dead’.  I don’t agree with your perspective Bobbie, but that’s fine: a forum is all about opinions and I’m sure you’re not brain dead.  At the end of the day we all want City to succeed.

Just now, Finley_Smith10 said:

Solid defensively. Horrendous offensively 

Really?  Please explain..

Red button just appeared on Sky

I notice that in another recent thread nearly 58% of 694 OTIB people voted to sack Pearson, with just only 42% voting to keep him.  To me that suggests that the silent majority on OTIB seem to have lost faith with him.  For me it’s all about this season now, i.e. who can keep us hope.  Sacking a manager in the Eve if the transfer window is a huge risk, but then so is persevering with the manager with one if the worst records in our history.  I admire those with strong convictions either way.

37 minutes ago, YGBjammy said:

We're way too close to January to sack Pearson, want to see what he has planned. Sacking Pearson won't magically make our players better, might get a 3 week new manager boost but that'd be it. 

But then look at what Corberan is doing at West Brom with the same players…

13 hours ago, PFree said:

Thanks for advice but the January transfer window ends in around six weeks which therefore closes the opportunity to make squad changes does it hence six weeks being relevant?

This is the problem, isn’t it?  Do we trust Pearson to make the signings that we quite obviously need if we are to stay up?  You look back to previous transfer windows to give some confidence, but…

I really think our future will be hugely affected by what happens this week.  If there is no change and the transfer window goes badly then the future doesn’t look bright.  If we lose badly at Millwall can the Board really afford to stick with Pearson?  We’ll see…

48 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

No, this isn’t what’s happening, but it is the first stage of what will happen if Nige is sacked / leaves.

Is this what we need at this crucial point of the season?

There is no planning, ie someone lined up, so will take a while / weeks to sort.

Sorry for a misleading headline…always best to read the whole thing!

Lot of assumptions there Dave.  Do you really think there is no planning for the future??…

Can’t see anything wrong with the bloke.  Seems to do a decent job to me.

21 minutes ago, Dullmoan Tone said:

I’m not convinced he meant it. The problem is he could hardly say anything else without causing uproar.

It’s clear he doesn’t mind upsetting the players, but telling the fans and most importantly The Lansdown’s we aren’t good enough would not be smart - he’s long enough in the tooth to know this.

OTIB keeps quoting this comment and yet the reality is we had a better than expected start, his judgement is compromised because of his desire to freeze out players (and play what’s left out of position at times) but I don’t believe for a second he thought we were capable of mounting a serious play off push - our defence was still leaking soft goals (just like last season) and no team outscores a crap defence !

Well he shouldn’t have said it then.

48 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Keith Dawe influenced the Cotts recruitment.

True, but that doesn’t mean the Lansdown family wasn’t involved.  

I’m not sure I would rate the appointments of Derek McInnes or Sean O’Driscoll as bad appointments at the time they were made.  Both had a lot going for them, but for a variety of reasons didn’t work out.   Ditto Nigel Pearson: sound reasons for appointing him, but it doesn’t appear to have worked out.

it will be interesting to see how Dean Holden does at Charlton.  I always thought there was a potentially very good manager in him…

1 hour ago, tin said:

For everyone saying get rid after losing to a side that will probably finish in the top six, ask yourselves — on more than 20 years of evidence — do you genuinely trust the Lansdowns to appoint someone who can improve the situation under the current restraints? I sure as hell don’t. 

Yes, today was shit. Yes, we will probably lose at Millwall and to Coventry. But I think we’re better than Rotherham, Cardiff, Huddersfield, Blackpool and will stay up by the skin of our teeth if we keep him.

So the Lansdown family weren’t involved in the appointments of Gary Johnson and Steve Cotterill?

As for the teams you think we are better than: today Blackpool got a point at Hull; Rotherham drew at home to Stoke (who beat us last week); Cardiff got a point at home to top side QPR; and Huddersfield won at Preston!  We’ve won one of the last nine…

I fear it is very difficult to conclude anything but that with Nigel Pearson at the helm we are going down (and sadly I suspect we will finish bottom).  At least a change of first team coach would offer us some hope, which is surely better than none.  Relegation would be catastrophic for us.

15 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

We are currently on track after 23 games with exactly the same number of points as last season to reach 54 points, last season we actually managed 55.

There isn’t a chance in a million that you get relegated with that total.

Our “current form”, so last 3 W1 D1 L1 or our last 10, W3 D3 L4, is by no means relegation form, either.

Rovers are on an excellent run but are still 12 points adrift of the top three, then in 4th Barnsley are 5 points ahead & have 2 games in hand, Bolton are 4 points ahead & have a game in hand, Derby 3 ahead & a game in hand, then Portsmouth are 2 points behind them but have played 3 games fewer, making reaching the top six when all of these sides are bigger than them, seem tricky to me.

This isn’t like beating some non league teams youth side 7-0, these sides have decent budgets, far better grounds & support.

Peterborough went down with 54 points in 2012-13.

2 hours ago, gl2 said:

Understand that but there are 2 sides to everything and that players views could well be affected if he is on the wrong/right side of the manager, so you are only getting his view not the whole picture

True, but one side of a picture is probably better than none at all…

13 hours ago, gl2 said:

What goes on in training, in NP`s office, in the dressing room before/after the game etc, even SL doesnt know. The only ones that know are those who are there at the time.

So everything on here is an opinion of the posters, which is fine as this is what the forum is for, it just seems to vent endless anger and abuse from many, its like an us and them/fans v non fans/armchair fans v attendees.

You dont share my view then you are nothing/gas/partimer/not a fan/supporter etc, etc, just find it sad when so much else is going on atm. Anyway carry on, what ever floats your boat......moan over.

 

But that’s not necessarily true.  Players have families and friends, and so do City staff members.  I have an email from someone very closely connected to one of our players sitting in my inbox at the moment, but of course I wouldn’t betray anything I’m told in confidence.  However, what I’m told does influence the general way I think and talk about what goes on at City.

Had lunch in London today with a friend who has a Spurs season-ticket.  Alex Scott strongly linked with them apparently…

25 minutes ago, Super said:

Atkinson needs to be more enthusiastic apparently. 

He looked pretty enthusiastic when he scored before the World Cup break…

22 minutes ago, eardun said:

I think Pearson does too. Which is the issue I think because, for whatever reason, Pearson feels Atkinson is not fulfilling his potential. Atkinson had a rocky period last season as well - admitted he put on too much weight etc - and let’s hope that he can come back again. Hopefully Pearson’s motivation tactics work. 

 

You don’t motivate people by blowing them out.  Poor management.

Just now, AppyDAZE said:

Sounds a very strange thing to say. Has he actually said this?

Check out the interview if you can: about 5.45 on Radio Bristol.  The interviewer asked him about Andy King’s performance and Pearson told him he ‘wasn’t asking the right questions’.  He then asked about Atkinson and Pearson said that he picked the players he can trust, and his selection today should say it all.

1 minute ago, Super said:

Atkinson wasn't injured?

Apparently not.  Pearson made it clear he was not in the squad because he ‘didn’t trust him’.