Bristol Oil Services

On 04/12/2023 at 22:15, italian dave said:

Definite yes for me.

I support Bristol City…..not particular managers (or owners).

And I’ve seen us in far worse times, and with far worse prospects, than we have now. 

.... but never seemingly with so much, doing so (comparatively) little? 

1 hour ago, phantom said:

Pitch look very slow 

Like bleedin' porridge

1 hour ago, LondonBristolian said:

I think this a really accurate post, especially the bit in bold.

What I find interesting is the way fans constantly try to add drama. Every time we lose someone speculates that we're heading for a relegation battle, every time we win someone starts to look at the play-offs. But in reality neither is going to be happen. We've team of hard-working, industrious un-flashy players who are easily good enough to win enough games to stay out of trouble but not good enough to win enough games to consistently push for the top six. Bar the occasional moment from Sykes or Knight, the only interesting thing that we really do is the moments we give the ball away.

It's possible with one or two additions, and a bit time for Manning's playing style to bed in, we might start to produce a little bit more but we don't have mercurial wildly inconsistent players who produce moments of magic but functional players who either play alright but lapse and concede so we lose or play alright and have a moment of luck and get a goal so we win. Or do neither and we draw 0-0. But we're currently neither good nor bad enough to be that exciting.

Not everyone dwells in reality, nor even wants to. Not everyone goes to football to stare reality in the face. What was it Wade Elliott said about not being able to bear too much reality?

Manchester City’s Neil Young reckoned "only love can break your heart," but they didn't have the play offs back in those days

9 hours ago, The Bard said:

At least 35% of our fans are morons.  Do you go to games?

The bloke next to me on Sunday only opened his mouth to shout abuse.  One occasion was when a midfielder gave the ball away.  I made the point that he had zero options.  Bloke sort of grunted at me

Let's be honest, he's hardly a small percentage is he?

@EnclosureSurge? @Huntstile Red?

2 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

I said my piece on this on the below thread and haven’t got a huge amount to add. I think Liam is probably a football anorak and does huge amount of work to get us set up well but seems to have an issue in turning things around when other coaches adapt- it’s not a half time thing for me but a game management thing:

 

Half-time is as good a time as any to "manage" a game, though, you might think

35 minutes ago, CyderInACan said:

Crikey. They must be delighted by the post-sacking decisions then . . . 

And there will likely be some of the "mindset" the new chap wants gone soon as possible 

12 hours ago, Harry said:

Also. Did anyone see our goal today? 
It was a period of slow possession across the back 4 before it finally opened up the space for Dickie to play a forward pass to Knight, who layed a first time ball to Weimann, who took 1 touch and played a ball out wide to Sykes in plenty of space to make a cross. 
The possession allowed us to create the passing lane for the ball to Knight and also to create the space wide for Sykes. 
I thought it was very good. 
 

If keeping the ball along the back 4 helps to create great passages of incisive play as we saw for the goal, then I don’t know what there is to complain about! 

Isn't it more the one-touch stuff, or moving the ball quickly, that opens teams up, rather than the slow possession amongst the back four?

If the defenders build up slowly and then the forward players take umpteen touches, or go back and sideways, then most opposition will cope comfortably, most of the time. Even ourselves will cope with slow play from opponents, for the most part.

Playing it first time and quickly involves taking risks and risking failure, and testing the patience of the crowd if and when it doesn't come off. The players need to be brave. Manning's job is to foster courage and confidence, and shoulder the flak when it goes wrong.

The crowd need to see it working - at home - often enough, to develop "belief" and patience. Seeing is believing.

And all this while picking up enough points to keep well clear of the bottom 6 or 7.

37 minutes ago, Super said:

Weird how this is such an issue to people. Who on earth cares.

Dunno, the people on this thread, maybe? What shall we talk about instead? 

2 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

1 point per game gets us to 52. Which is comfortable safety. We'll be fine.

And next season, 1 point per game?

3 minutes ago, lenred said:

He’s seeing us in the Prem apparently!

Ok, we need to be worried then

We just don't know how the rest of this season will go, or what LM will be like. We don't, and cannot, know. The future under Nige looked steady; the future now, no-one knows. Not even Brian Tinnion.

1 hour ago, Sleepy1968 said:

He's playing 3 card monte.

I don't understand that game neither, then (?)

Probably a good job you didn't arrive here in 2021 then Liam, if you find the "culture and mindset" not up to scratch in 2023

A defeat Saturday .....

              ...... puts us  .....  some way off the Top Six

He has gambled, that's what he's done.

European manager needed, more like, I would say. Or we cast our net a little further than this little island and the home-grown coaches that wouldn't be getting jobs elsewhere in the non-English speaking football world. It's almost comical the way we continue to recruit for this position in the same way from the same "pool" as we have since before the 20th century got going, despite all the evidence pointing to the fact that English/UK coaches are not the best, not even in England. I am at this moment reminded of Carry On Up The Khyber where the Lansdowns are dining with Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Peter Butterworth and Joan Sims, continuing to select from the English "menu," whilst being shelled from those ghastly foreign chaps, and the ceiling and plaster falling around them as they carry on regardless. 

What you could reasonably say about and expect from Nige, is that he would keep us in this division;  it might not be pretty, or exciting, and we would throw the odd one way late on, but he could keep this ship afloat.

With his successor, nobody can be reasonably sure of anything. We just don’t know. There's insufficient to go on.

28 minutes ago, archie andrews said:

Were going down 

.... but likely to finish 14th - 17th

One win v Norwich in the last 13, is it? And that one win was by one goal. Draw tomorrow, I reckon

15 minutes ago, archie andrews said:

Balls to positions lets just win first.... 

....and by two goals, please

12 minutes ago, Harry said:

Win tomorrow we go 7th! 

Lose tomorrow we go again

8 minutes ago, ralphindevon said:

Watching the results come in I can’t remember a time where there were so many of our ex players, playing for teams above us. 

It was October 86, mate

40 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

We'd have won it if Frank Lampard was manager though.

Or have I just made that up?

What sort of person says "I'll never post again if Lampard isn't appointed" and then writes this, or any of the other dribble you've come out with since.

Everything you ever put on here will now be judged by that.   

Utter belter.  

Steady, Merr. I can get you up to speed with various posters and their differing "positions" in life, away from otib, as you might not be fully across this (have you been banned again, for a bit?)

1 hour ago, FNQ said:

Not willing to take that bet but, on Friday Rotherham drew with Leeds, on Tuesday QPR put 4 past Stoke and last night Weds drew with Leicester. A week ago Huddersfield would have also likely been a candidate but they drew with Southampton on Sat and won away to Sunderland last night. The Championship is mental and a mini run can make a massive difference for any team.

Absolutely. Anyone can draw with anyone in this division