Clutton Caveman

On 13/08/2022 at 17:39, Pezo said:

I am giving him until Christmas to get us to somewhere above 18th but in reality (the financial reality) I don't think we should get rid of him until the end of this season. That being said the funds available in next summer's transfer window will be slightly looser - would be interesting to see what he could do with a better budget rather than trying to cost manage our unwinding of the shit that MA left us in.

For me the big question is " do the players really believe in him"?

2 hours ago, phantom said:

No proof that would be the case, why don't people either side of them now join in?

The simple answer is the vast majority that want to sing will be in S82 by now, the rest of the ground is those that are pretty meh about it

I don't agree, I sit in the Dolman and there are plenty of people who like to sign when they know the song. It makes no sense to sing songs for DaSilva and Massengo when neither is playing very well but don't have a rousing song for Wiemann. I also don't find the Cardiff get battered song very motivational when we are playing someone else. Make it simple and well targeted and people will join in

On 14/09/2021 at 15:57, Robbored said:

Much of the lack of atmosphere at many games is due to location of the ‘singing section’ tucked away in the corner of the SS.

Other parts of the stadium often struggle to hear them. Certainly in the Dolman they’re pretty much inaudible and that must affect any creation of atmosphere.

Ideally the singing section should behind either goal, preferably the Atyeo where the away fans often make such a din but A&S police won’t allow it as they want the away fans to exit the stadium via the Winterstoke Rd.

If the singing section was in the middle of the South Stand far more people on each side would join in.

On 14/09/2021 at 15:37, Davefevs said:

My view is that when there’s something to shout about it feels great, but awfully quiet when it’s not.  I know that sounds obvious, but it feels like there needs to be a critical mass of people shouting for it to resonate throughout the ground.

I wish they’d turn down the pre-game music volume.  It think it stops any pre-game chanting.

When you stick your singing section into a corner where most clubs put away supporters

When you give the away fans a whole end

And when the songs our section sings are clever little compositions rather than simple chants that the whole ground can sing, we will never get a good atmosphere

In any other ground when Wiemann scores you would hear something like 

na na na, na na na, aaa Andy Weimann. The whole ground would join.

What do we get, clever little songs for Dasilva and Massengo because we like the song.

I wonder how the likes of Bentley, Scott or Martin feel when they star, and barely get a cheer.

For god sake get a good and simple song for each player and sing it to the roof tops.

23 hours ago, Ivorguy said:

What a mess we are in.

An owner saying he wants out having failed in his declared objective for over a quarter of a century

Many fans wanting manager out

Too small a squad at this level

Best players may yet leave, even worst players leaving could leave unfillable gaps in squad

Possible points deduction still on the horizon.

Supporting City has, over my 8 decades as a fan, never been easy but the present cup of woe does seem very worrying indeed.

 

 

 

 

For me the problem is, who would want to own a Championship club? Considering parachute payments and FFP its a pretty toxic environment to enter even if your ego and wealth allows you to invest with little chance of ever seeing a profit.

Until wages and income are balanced very few sane people will enter club ownership.

As for us, SL made the big bid but had the wrong management team in place. Money wasted, hands tied with FFP because of that and a supporter base that expects far more than he can deliver.

Why would he not want to sell?

OK I am putting my tin hat on ready for the flack my comments will surely get.

We have no defensive midfielder. Even when fit James is just not mobile enough and with his injury record will miss a lot of games.

Han is just not suited to that role.

Our chances of signing a good Championship level defensive midfielder look remote.

So why wouldn't we look at Vyner.

He is fast, he has a good pass in him (2 assists so far). Yes he has lapses in concentration but I think these would be less critical in midfield.

For me he would need lots of coaching but I cannot see any other option in our squad.

On 07/08/2022 at 10:35, RudiRed said:

Also the midfield being completely over run which could contribute to individual defensive errors.

In the first half we had good movement and plenty of forward passing options. In the second half we went back to last season with no movement.

Each time the ball got played wide at the back our midfield was either hiding or running away from the ball.

As soon as the opposition see this, their press is energised. When ever you want to grown at yet another sideways pass along the back 4 take a look at the passing options. This has been the case for years now.

I thought our entire midfield went awol in the second half.

Also concerning, we were clearly getting overrun in midfield but had no real options on the bench to improve things.

As the author of this post I am shocked and dismayed by most of the reaction. I am not a green nut case, I drive a petrol car and fly quite a lot for work BUT my point was if this package was necessary it would be 100% recyclable if the packer material used to create the indent for the contents was eliminated. The cut out in this section would also have gone to waste.

I work in the packaging industry when massive thought goes into creating functional packaging that can be easily recycled. such as getting rid of shrink wrap for coke cans and the plastic rings for 6 beer packs. Bearing in mind the heat of the last few days should we not at least think about recycling

I have just received my new season ticket. First impression was " wow that's nice" on reflection I am not so happy.

If the package did not have the foam layer it could go directly into the cardboard recycle bin. With the foam it cannot.

The foam is totally non recyclable. Few people will separate the foam from the cardboard. As such over 12,000 of these will go to landfill. The board will break down in time, the foam will take decades.

The key ring is nice but I bet that over 50% stay at the back of a drawer or get thrown out for more landfill.

Bearing in mind our financial; position, would anyone not been happy with a strong envelope containing the card and if necessary the key ring.

This has nothing to do with sale promotion. We have all already purchased. 

Hate to see such a waste of money and no regard for the environment.

On 17/07/2022 at 21:05, GrahamC said:

I think finishing 12th or above would be progress.

Think you underestimate Luton, true they have lost Naismith but seem to have recruited well to me, think repeating their finish (6th?) is tricky but I wouldn’t rule it out.

Also think Millwall are stronger overall than last season.

Hardly revelatory but think Boro, Sheff U, Watford & Norwich will do well. Burnley are harder to predict but he is getting his own side in early. West Brom have far too much quality to do as badly again & Coventry, Hull (if they gel, but poor if not) are my dark horses. Sunderland need to start well & if they do they’ll generate momentum but I have been surprised how few they’ve signed.

With regards to us I worry about Martin, he’ll be 34 in November & we don’t really have an alternative, Williams hasn’t managed to stay fit nearly enough so far with us & whilst I hope he does, to be available 38 times this season seems a stretch.

I do think we will be better defensively but are relying heavily on Weimann (who had the season of his career & has had no real break at all) & Scott (ditto) to repeat last season again.

As always it is more unpredictable than the Prem, no one saw Huddersfield or Luton as high as they finished & whilst I would like to be optimistic & say why not us, I still think the squad isn’t strong enough overall & we are hamstrung by FFP.

The biggest positive is that pretty much all of us expected at least one of our talented youngsters to have been sold by now, & they haven’t.

Plus incredibly we have managed to offload Palmer.

I think that this is finally a side assembled by Pearson. I'm sure its not his dream squad but they all know him and what he demands. I think the dressing room will be more united with some high earners like Palmer gone and slackers looking at Bakinson will smell the coffee.

I still would not be surprised to see Kalas go to further reduce the wage bill and I think the likes of Vyner has top accept a move anywhere or sit on the sidelines. My feeling is that any fee over £1.5 mil for Massengo would be worth taking.

I think this a classic case of much potential but little end product. The guys appeals to the young fans because he is sort of cool and they actually have a song for him but I wonder if he was a carrot top form deepest wales if he would get the same interest.

For me he is now old enough to have gained some level of consistency and got rid of his 2-3 serious mistakes per game.

He shows us occasionally what he can do but far too rarely. He can't shoot and loses the ball in some awful positions.

I think he has potential but I hope that a lack of serious offers will make him realise that hype and potential are no longer enough and he has to get his head down and improve a lot. I think his game is better suited to the continent than EFL but if he wants a decent move he needs to show some consistent form.

4 hours ago, Never to the dark side said:

    Watford - 7/1
    Norwich City - 8/1
    West Brom - 9/1
    Sheffield United - 10/1
    Burnley - 12/1
    Middlesbrough - 12/1
    Swansea City - 18/1
    Stoke City - 20/1
    Sunderland - 20/1
    Hull City - 22/1
    Coventry City - 25/1
    Blackburn Rovers - 25/1
    Cardiff City - 25/1
    Luton Town - 25/1
    QPR - 25/1
    Millwall - 28/1
    Wigan Athletic - 28/1
    Blackpool - 33/1
    Birmingham City - 33/1
    Bristol City - 40/1
    Preston North End - 40/1
    Reading - 40/1
    Rotherham United - 66/1

Can't understand how Hull rate so highly

Bring back the obstruction rule

1 hour ago, Monkeh said:

I'm pretty anti drug, and I agree with this,

If it were legal it could be managed correctly and the criminal element would disappear almost over night,

 

I find it amazing that the same person who would not eat an apple with a bruise on it or pick up a can with a dent in it will buy some white powder in a bit of tin foil from a total stranger and put it one way or the other into their body. For me anyone who acts in such a brainless way deserves what is coming to them, and when they are dragged into A&E to be brought back to life should have to pay for the whole service. Before anyone says it, yes  A&E users as a result of being blind drunk should also have to pay.

21 hours ago, Red Ferret said:

There is no doubt that cocaine use among football fans (and society in general) is on the rise.

I was happier when ecstasy was the drug of choice in the 90s. The cocaine lifestyle is volatile, addictive, expensive and longterm pretty grim imo 

I find it amazing that the same people who express despair when they read about the latest teen gang stabbing still think its ok to indulge their guilty secret with a few lines or some whacky baccy "to take the edge off". If they stopped buying the stuff, the market would collapse and so would the gangs because when it comes down to it, its all about money.

19 hours ago, redpole said:

So with City planning next seasons defensive who can you see staying and going from the latest crop?

Zak Vyner, Thomas Kalas, Nathan Baker, Timm Klose, Rob Atkinson, Duncan Idehen, Rob Cundy, Ryley Towler and Taylor Moore. 
 

I can see 5 of the 9 going with another 23/24 year old league one defender coming in. 
 

I would keep Klose, Atkinson, Idehen, Towler and new CB.

Why not Cundy?

Whilst I can clearly see why Vyner and Bakinson got on the naughty step I am really struggling to understand why Pring is out of favour. During our worst form he was one of the few giving 100% where ever he was played and showed fight in the tackle and confidence to run with the ball.

I hope he is still here next year.

21 hours ago, 22A said:

Usually late May / early June, the League holds it's AGM attended by all 92 club's Chairmen and amongst other things, they discuss amendments to the rules.

Any suggestions you think we could ask  City's Chairman to raise? (Other than only one team per city / town allowed in the League  )

A change I'd like to see is that if a team is awarded a free kick, they can take it as soon as they want without having to wit for the Ref's whistle.

A possibility would be to have off side only in the penalty area.

Bring back the obstruction law, ban grappling at corners and free kicks, kick the ball away at all yellow card, only captain can speak to ref, only 1 substitution after 85 mins, 10 mins in sin bin for "professional fouls"

6 hours ago, City oz said:

https://www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au/department/news/news-article/2022/04/28/premier-league-superstars-kicking-goals-for-perth-in-international-festival-of-football-blockbuster-event

 

Four great clubs in Perth for what is a winter for us down under. Optus Stadium hold around 90 K. A full capacity is expected for United v Villa. 

Any City supporters in OZ going to these two it would be great to catch up for a beer

And by December they will be moaning about playing too many games 

18 hours ago, Kodjias Wrist said:

Wasn't he reportedly on high wages ? I'm sure one of out ITK quoted 15k a week? Certainly would of been useful compared to Danny Simpson but I guess we saved alot of money.

League is his level now

On 09/04/2022 at 21:33, Dredd said:

First off, I’m not for one second pointing fingers at him for the way this season has gone. But…

As steady as he is in the middle, I don’t see him impact a game. He isn’t massively creative, he doesn’t break up play, I’ve never seen him control a game, he doesn’t dictate the tempo, I just genuinely couldn’t describe him as a midfielder if someone asked me to.

 I would guess he’s on a decent wage so are we saying he’s been a successful signing or not?

On top of that he is slower than my Gran

On 09/04/2022 at 18:02, Loosey Boy said:

Sounded royally fed-up in his post-match interview just now…..

I hope he doesn’t but wouldn’t be surprised.

I think that he has learned that his methods don't work anymore and guess what, when you always blame your players they don't want to play for you.

12 minutes ago, KegCity said:

Simpson was paid nowhere near 15k a week.

Letting Paterson go wasn't a mistake and Famara didn't want to stay.

You're overrating Kalas massively, his performances have declined since Webster left. Obviously been reliable but he's got tremendous holes in his game.

There's plenty of valid criticisms of Pearson, just none of those.

I think the post Peterborough match interview was very telling

Nigel, a lot of frustration there from the fans today at the end, was it justified?

I’m not really too bothered by that to be fair. You’re here to ask me about the game aren’t you?

So he is not bother by the fans reaction. He should realise that fans one way or another pay his wages. The whole interview could be summed up as pure arrogance. It is always everybody's fault except his. If the team is not motivated it is HIS fault. Unsurprisingly they are not jumping through hoops to play for a man that throws them under the bus as every opportunity and speaks constantly about they instead or we. He has become a sort of Ricky Gervais character only running a football club instead of a paper merchant. I just read the interview again and I think he is bored with the job as it has turned our harder than he expected and would quite like to return to his retirement.

On 19/02/2022 at 22:37, Negan said:

Yep and we found out Bentley doesn’t really have much competition. Shouldn’t have sat out as many games as he did. I do trust Nige but felt like he got this one wrong. 

He's a great shot stopper and improved with crosses but the distribution from Max is better

On 20/03/2022 at 09:17, Roger Red Hat said:

Excellent news. Not bad for a bloke that just runs around a lot.

Shame he doesn't have a decent song when he is by far our top scorer. Getting a bit sick of the Dasilva and Massengo songs.