Bristol Oil Services

Take up bowls? Gardening? Watch afternoon tv, Antiques etc? A cruise, around the world?

Come on now darling, er, Dave (stop this, now)

Better from a bricks and mortar point of view, but on the pitch? SL's wedge has helped us cling on at this level longer than we would typically manage, longer than we would manage under previous, less minted owners; typically by now, after the good run ended or someone crucial left, we would quickly fold and be back in L1 before you can say: Les Kew. In the words of Sheff Weds fan Paul Brady and Ronan Keating, all that's happening here is a long goodbye (to Championship football. Imho).

Bloke's on the other side of the world, give him a chance! I don't think they cover our L1 on Kerry Packer's Channel 9 what with all the Aussie rules and what have you ...

LJ? Best finish 8th? Might we be in a better position than we are in now if his father was still with us? (We could carry on with this, a bit)

"Ffs" on the Matchday thread on a Saturday between 3 and 4.55 pm and/or 7.45 and 9.40 pm on a Tuesday or Wednesday

Now something's telling me, that ....

It’s just a nonsense football cliché, at the end of the day

Ooh arr ooh arr

That's a good spot, actually, and pretty concerning. Weimann, you might say, is in a "sweet" phase of his career but otherwise, that looks to be a weakness

Fair enough. Juliette Binoche on the telly at moment, by the way. Might help with not thinking about Preston and our budgetary disadvantage. I'm giving it a go.

I wouldn't even criticise Nige. He's up against it. But football's rich with examples of miracles worked against the odds, minnows somehow having their day, clubs outperforming reasonable expectations. And at this moment, very early in the season, and after 18 months in the job, it doesn't appear as though anything of the sort is happening with Nige here. We hope for more than this because if there isn't, it's back to L1 we go.

6 points, 2 points, 2 points, 3 points (a quick check, I'm sure I will soon be corrected if I am wrong here). Thankfully, this has no bearing on 2022. But interesting, all the same. That start in 80/81, though: decent. Encouraging, even. Defensively solid/organised. Two points for a win back then, remember. Played West Ham too. Must've been some optimism about the place. Until we sold our best player, I suppose. Might've gone "Dicks In" in hindsight. Oh well ....

But we have had a "huge financial advantage" over Preston, Millwall and others up until covid and yet Preston have managed a best finish of 7th and finished above us in all but one of this spell of seven Championship seasons, and Millwall on a comparatively shoes string budget have matched our best of 8th twice. Luton with peanuts reached the play-offs. Being a bit strapped for cash is an excuse, as well as a reason. It doesn’t excuse playing two promoted sides in your first three games and being bottom of the pile. Why are we shite when we have less money than Preston? They're not shite when they have less than us.* Preston were buying lads out of Irish football and shit-housing us off the park when we had more dosh to throw at it, pre covid. Where have Millwall been shopping? (I genuinely don't know). We do have Kalas, Weimann, Dasilva, Bentley, Martin as well as the lower league lads you list, so we're not a squad of L1 and 2 boys trying to step up. It's a poor start after two and a half very poor years. Nige has had long enough now to have a bit more of an impact than this. But it's early days still, too early yet to be sure what lies ahead, and if Weimann, Kalas and Semenyo when they return remain injury free for the rest of the season, I remain hopeful that we can finish above the drop. But not above Preston or Millwall, I wouldn't have thought. * perhaps @Red Exile has the answer to this, earlier in the thread.

We're not in competition with LJ and Ashton's Bristol City. We're in competition with Preston, Millwall, Luton, Reading and Rotherham. At some point, I don't say or know exactly when, you/we must surely stop referring to this. We need someone who can "manage" despite the challenge and obstacles, as others have done, and are doing. At the moment, Nige is (still) struggling with it all, it would appear.

Charity begins at home, it is said. Good work for Marcus Rashford to be done at, er, work

Two unbeaten. Andi on fire. Getting the goals shipped average down, slowly. We equalise today and draw 1:1 and it'd feel different.

I start every Championship season hoping we can do as well as Preston. And Preston and Millwall. And now Preston and Millwall and Luton. And maybe Rotherham. You would think I would learn by now.

Well, hang on. And come off it. When things go well, you are always starting threads like "Weimann" or what have you, so when things are shite - and in a free country, let us remember - ......

We could be the driver of an articulated lorry, We could be a poet, we wouldn't need to worry, We could be a teacher in a classroom full of scholars, We could (possibly) survive by selling Weimann for a bucket full of dollars I could do what Nige does with strategems and ruses I could be the physio, licking all our bruises I could be an inmate in a long-term institution I could see us Tuesday having difficulty with Luton What a mess! (Saxophone!)

Hull are a fish, I'll give you that.

Two unbeaten. Also true.

This is true.

Meanwhile, Rotherham in 8th with a +4 GD. We haven't had a plus GD for a while

You talking about today, or the last 43 years?