bcfcnick

It was a good effort but just lacked a decent reference to a railway timetable or two. I think Kalas will depart if he recovers for the window along with Desilva, Bentley and Semenyo. Probably only Semenyo will command anything above a nominal fee. Times have changed in the transfer market but at least it will take a massive chunk off the wages costs and start the process of re-building from the basis of financial sustainability. Interestingly, none of the potential outgoings is in the first team at present. The key factor will be the success of the recruitment from the flexibility that any outgoings allow for. Brian Tinnion has done superbly with bringing along the academy players so we will see his influence in first-team recruitment this window. I am quietly confident it will be positive.

Yes, we are missing Massengo's assists and goals here....

I do think NP is doing an excellent job on two or three fronts:- 1) Integrating and developing several young players from the academy and making them prize assets both for the team and potentially stabilising the finances if one (Antoine) or two have to be sold. Brian Tinnion and the academy staff get plaudits for that as well. 2) Reducing the wage bill and developing a more pleasing on-the-eye way of playing than was evident with quite turgid football under LJ and DH 3) Getting an improved culture and togetherness in all parts of the Club. The weakness seems to be a lack of success in correcting defensive issues. He was a seasoned central defender, after all. Did he forget to tell Zak he wasn't playing in the centre of the 3 for this game? The massive space on the right was so blatant, with Zak drifting into the middle, and it continued for a large part of the game and contributed to the equaliser. Why didn't the coaching staff get a message out? I assume they didn't, or if they did, then it isn't very reassuring to see Zak failing to follow instructions with a step back after some decent performances. Perhaps he was even following instructions. He's identified the weakness (defence) and, no doubt, will strengthen it in January. That must bring better defensive performances and if it doesn't and we become embroiled in a relegation battle then, I agree, it does raise question marks on NP and the coaching staff.

I had initial doubts after NP brought in three mature Leicester players, and the football remained a bit turgid. I did fear an ageing team of dogged but lacklustre players without pace. I can't fault him for his initial recruits now, as two of them have been a success both on the pitch to a certain extent and, more importantly, off it. They have been key in unifying the squad and helping the young talent to integrate. Tommy Conway praised all the experienced players, especially Andy King. Matty James seems to bring out the best in Alex Scott as well. Promotion is a realistic possibility, but even at the middle or lower end of the league, Nigel's been a massive success for me as an attractive style of football has evolved with exciting academy prospects and young recruits being given early chances. He's brought on young talent superbly, with Brian Tinnion deserving equal credit. That's success for me regardless of whether City stay in the top eight. The likes of Conway, Semenyo and Scott must be worth a fortune. He might not endear himself to the media, but there is no doubt he is a superb man-manager of both players and coaching staff. He's transformed things on a sustainable and significantly lower budget and brought that elusive optimism. It's a rare breed of manager that can attain success without buying it, and he's achieving that. Over and above league position, I define success as bringing out the best in all players, bringing on young players and giving them opportunities, building a unified Club team spirit, operating on a sustainable budget and playing attractive football. A good league position follows from that. There will be blips, but NP has brought the feel-good factor back. Richard Gould's quiet background influence deserves praise as well, although accepted that anyone would look good in comparison to his nightmare predecessor. Crucially, NP looks back to good health as well, and a less determined person could easily have thrown in the towel with his post-Covid issues.

He's such an important player but the reality is that if there is no contract extension his value declines with just one year left on his contract at the end of this season. He's got a great attitude but like all players, he's ambitious to play in the Premier League aside from the financial considerations. I think it's almost inevitable he will go for between £15m and £20m with add-ons. He'll be a significant loss but I am very impressed with how Nigel and co have operated this transfer window. That was my one fear that the manager had a taste for players a bit past their sell-by date. But that was clearly just an interim approach and he is now going for both experience with mileage left on the clock and high potential flair players in tandem with bringing on academy players. Very relieved and impressed by that. Antoine will be hard to replace, but there's no doubt the recruitment team have upped their game and there are always exciting up-and-coming players out there in the lower leagues that they will have their eye on.

That's a very generous interpretation of NP's time here. It would be equally true to say this level of squad had us challenging for the play-off's under Holden. Obviously it was down hill all the way under DH in both results and entertainment after Weimann and Paterson got injured and he wasn't the right man for the job. I don't believe the overall ability of the squad is play-off material but it's fair to say that NP isn't getting the best out of them. He says it's 'personality' rather than technical ability. He can be full of contradictions as he also has acknowledged in the past the players are not lacking effort and are a good group. Also he's recruited five players and three of them were Leicester players for their 'personality' who have either been crocks or under-performed. I guess NP means a never say die attitude when he cites 'personality.' Do Bentley, Klose, Williams, Weimann, Martin lack 'personality? Do the gifted talented young players lack 'personalty'? To me it just sounds like a competitive man plucking out spurious reasons post match on why the team he has managed and recruited for over a year is struggling. I don't think it's good man management to run them down like that rather than taking personal responsibility for not getting the best out of them. It can be fine margins in the Championship and changes in coaching and man management (Nottingham Forest) can transform things. I am not necessarily advocating a change of manager but there is cause for concern particularly in his ability to recruit. I think he needs to reflect on his own failure to get the best out of players who he acknowledges are not failing due to technical ability.

All the Leicester recruits have been disappointing. Two right backs have been recruited and one was past it and the other wasn't Championship ready. Nigel Pearson makes the point that the team isn't lacking technical ability but lacks 'personality' and he'll replace the players with personality players. That's a good sound bite but the reality is that his first effort at this approach has been a failure. Simpson, King and James all have 'personality' but their contributions have been poor. Their injuries are also another red cross for Pearson's recruitment report. The question then becomes will NP recruit more James' Simpson's and kings with 'personality' or pick out hungry first-team ready talent like Rob Atkinson. I fear with the emphasis on 'personality' it might be the former. If personality is synonymous with attitude and a never say die attitude, we do have that in Andi Weimann and Joe Williams and a few others. Maybe the manager needs to look in the mirror and ask if his tactics, coaching and man management are a factor rather than the 'lack of personality' issue that he perceives is the root of the problem. Obviously I want Pearson to succeed but he will probably have a decent transfer budget from sell-on cuts from Kelly and Webster plus a decent fee for Massengo and potentially a substantive sum from either Semenyo or Scott being sold. The summer recruitment is going to be crucial and, based on four out of five of his recruits so far, it's questionable whether Pearson will recruit astutely. He's a highly experienced manager but I hope he has learned from the recruitment errors he has made so far.

Pearson was fortunate last season in terms of inheriting the points Dean Holden picked up at the start of the season. This season he has been fortunate with teams below having points deduction. So without those two factors his two seasons have been relegation form. I still think he deserves another season for the following reasons:- He has played youngsters and got the best out of Scott, Massengo and Semenyo transforming their total value from negligible to potentially well over £30m. The football is better than the latter stages of LJ's and Dean's time here. The key issue for me is how well can NP use the cash from any windfall from the sale of one or two of the young player, cuts from transfer moves for Webster and Kelly and moving on the likes of Wells and Palmer. That's my biggest concern as the three Leicester players brought in have been poor and used up flexibility to do much else with the squad. Despite FPP restraints NP could have a fair amount to play with. How well will he use it?

Perhaps Jon Lansdown feels that he has supported NP in the transfer market and recruiting has been poor. Two of the three Leicester recruits will be on good wages and all three are out injured. None have been stand out successes,The £1.6m buy has struggled a bit and the other recruit is adjusting when playing and also out injured. He'd be right to be disappointed in that regard. The jury is out though whether he could invest well in players if he gets some money in the summer from either a lucrative sale or a cut from the likes of big money moves Kelly or Webster. I suspect JL sees a few other teams with lesser resources doing well and the likes of Nottingham Forest and Preston with new managers having good seasons. That's just part of the picture though. On the credit side NP has blooded youth and got the best out of them. He's handled then impressively and who'd have thought that we'd be talking about valuations of up to £20m for Antoine Semenyo and a very high value for Alex Scott plus Massengo has excelled and had his value enhanced although he needs to extend or be sold in the summer. Pearson is a determined man who enjoys a challenge, I sense he is generally improving the Club more broadly (he also makes the point about differentiating between Club as a whole and the team) and trying to get a winning mentality. For me it's also key that the standard of football has at long last begun to improve despite the inconsistency. The reference to things being chaotic shouldn't be ignored either and he's probably depicting things accurately there. He definitely deserves time in the job and it looks like a head of recruitment is being brought in as well. If that appointment is a success then, at long last, a decent set-up looks like it is being established under Pearson. He did lay down the roots for Leicester's success without breaking the bank and wants the Club here to be run within its means so he is thinking long-term. That's a principled position when it may take a bit of time and could even cost him his job. City do give managers time and I think, as long as he stays healthy, patience will reap rewards with NP.

You are right, my abacus was playing up ? I still think James Piercy makes a good point and confirms what fans can see. The problem the stats identify has to come from coaching instructions rather than the keepers own instinct to repeat actions that lead to conceding possession at a level just above 70% Here's the full quote from the article: " if Pearson wants City to be a more imposing team in possession they have to be more efficient, as he says, and use the ball more consistently, as he also says. That's sometimes hard to do when so many long balls are being delivered from deep - 26 of Dan Bentley's 27 passes were classified as "long passes", as were 16 of Vyner's 65 (24 per cent). Now, that could be with the fault of the player in the latter's sense, either attempting too many ambitious balls, but in the case of the goalkeeper that's surely a direct instruction given the sheer frequency. And considering Bentley's overall passing accuracy was just 29.6 per cent, City are ceding control of possession in comfortable areas far too easily."

Yes, that's true, it is a tactic, but, unfortunately, it's not a very successful tactic for City. That's because the players are, thankfully IMO, not suited to the tactic or long-ball football in general. That subjective view seems to be supported by the stats. James Piercy has just come up with the stats I was looking for. From the Hull game, 29.6% of Bentley's passes (27) were deemed successful. You can guarantee that almost all of the 70% failed passes (approx 56 passes) were long ball efforts. Gifting the ball 56 times to the opposition from long ball hit and hope efforts when there is no need to is neither easy on the eye or effective 'functional' football. Pearson isn't usually lumped with the route one Warnock and Allardyce style so when he says the team is a 'work in progress' the hope is that the style of play is also something he wants to see evolve I suppose the only stat missing is how any of the successful 26 long ball attempts led to an effort on goal. I doubt it is many and any chances created have to be measured against the efforts on goal from the opposition that stem from the 70% conceding of long ball efforts from Bentley.

Hoofing? I guess, Dave, that's my lazy shorthand shorthand for 'precision placed kicks to the opposition in the final third' Agreed, Bentley doesn't hoof or rarely slices Fielding style. The result is still the same though - the opposition take possession and that's the point. I also don't think it's coincidence that the very rare times we have played decent passing football we have had better results. That applies to all recent managers. I remember we played some really attractive football in one game (yes just the one!) when the players were prepared by Simpson and Downing after Pearson was appointed but he was just observing rather than setting up the team. I also believe we resort to the 'clear the lines' style you are advocating even more in the latter phases of games when we have been in front and are desperately clinging on. Again, it's no coincidence we are more prone to concede. I just don't think passing to the opposition is a good tactic or makes for good viewing. I could see your point about playing functional just to survive in the Championship if we had a team of Warnock-style lumps. But we don't, the reality is quite the opposite.

To play that style I think it's a mindset and basic instructions rather than chopping and changing personnel from within the sqad. A simple start would be for Bentley not to hoof it over the midfield every time he gets possession. It has to be an instruction from the coaching staff. You like your stats and it would be interesting to see the % that we lose possession from that tactic alone. I'm sure it would be an exceptionally high figure. Football at its best is a simple game, and if you are asking one of the slowest players on the pitch (Martin) to chase a ball against much faster players then the outcome isn't hard to predict. As far as personnel is concerned ,I think all the players, with the exception of Weimann and the centre halves, are much better suited to a possession based game. We do need a clinical finisher though and part of the problem is a lack of goals in the team from centre backs chipping in right the way through the team. We've not has a goal scoring midfielder for quite a while now. It's an interesting exercise to add up the expected goals per player from all those playing and, unfortunately, it's not a high tally and is part of the problem. So I am not saying a change of style would send us shooting up the league table without some goals added to the side which wouldn't be easy with the available budget, but if we are going to be in the wrong half we can at least start to play attractive football that would suit the abilities and development of the likes of Scott, Benarous, Massengo, Bakinson, Atkinson, Tanner, o'dowda, Pring etc. They should be allowed to play without fear as well as they are all good footballers and I don't think the way we play brings the best out of players and clearly it's not bringing the best in terms of results either.

I like Pearson's approach to getting a unified Club and team spirit. I just don't like or comprehend the style of football he and the coaching staff are asking the team to play. All the topsides in the Championship play a possession based game and we have the players who are better suited to that style. Clearing the ball upfield in the general direction (at best) to the ever willing but sluggish Martin creates zero chances and results in an instant loss of possession nearly every time. As I say, I like Pearson general approach and man management, but ultimately it's about what happens on the field in terms of both style and results. We don't have a clear answer on the type of football Nige wants to play and for a long time I've felt that the Club should have a clear pattern of possession based play that is replicated right through the academy levels and into the first team. City has also always had a tradition of playing good football with pacy wingers. We haven't seen that for some time now. Maybe we will play some better football and bring in better players if the manager is given time but, won or lose, it's grim to watch and doesn't suit the players we have either. He bought in five players and would another five of the same quality transform things? I don't think so. I want a manager who follows the Cloughy view ..."If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he'd have put grass up there." Even if we had the height of Croach or Kieffer Moore I still ouldn't want us to play in the style we currently use.

I thought he came across really well in the interview. Clearly a laid back guy and in sport, and football specifically, character traits are of course evident on the pitch and style of play. It's not a bad quality as he doesn't panic, has time on the ball and tries to keep possession or pass with attacking intent. We'e been hoofing it aimlessly for too long so I welcome the progress of young player like him and, of course, Scott and Benarous. It's ideal if he plays with someone dynamic like Williams - he makes such a difference and if only he could stay fit. I think Tyreeq is being 'man managed' and 'older player managed' very well. I've no doubt King and James will be a very positive influence. Our midfield has so few goals in it (although I think that might change as the two youngsters develop) that someone who can get 5 or 6 a season, adds a bit of height to the midfield and gets assists has to be considered an asset who can reach higher performance levels as he develops. He now has the right approach and seems well-motivated to progress. He mentioned he aspires to be a box to box player and has Patrick Vieira as his role model. He'll have a bad game every now and then but he's developing and is going in the right direction with the right mentality.

"Nigel Pearson has been given this week off to get better and for the club to properly assess his health with the hope that he may return to take charge of the team against Blackburn but confirmation of that probably won't be until Monday, at the earliest." This was from James Piercy in the Bristol Post. I think the local press has been given a bit more clarity than Richard's Gould understandably nervous interview with Radio Bristol revealed. I wasn't aware of the specific timeframe for assessment of Nigel's health (this past week) or the fact the Club were assessing it. It strikes me that the Club is very conscious, particularly in the context of sitting at the wrong end of the table, things can't be left in limbo too long. The Club will obviously follow employment law protocol and treat the situation sensitively but, ultimately, they will do whatever they think is best in terms of keeping us up this season and moving forward without being in a state of flux. So I assume we will hear at some stage next week an update on whether Nigel will be given an extended break, return for the Blackburn game or depart for health reasons.

Very impressive article by James Piercy . https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-breaking-coventry-city-6172293 So many nails hit on the head including the fact that the current players (martin included) are not suited to a direct route one approach. I hope Steve Lansdown reads it. I believe he has always admired and got on well with Mark Robins and it's a pity he didn't trust that instinct and opt for him several years back rather than appoint a series of other managers who just haven't worked out. I quite like the slightly maverick personality of Pearson but I have no idea what he is trying to build here and I don't think he does either aside from a stubborn, resolute never say die mentality which clearly he hasn't been able to impart so far. I also think he needs to focus on his health and the last thing he needs is the stress of a relegation battle. Clubs also have a culture and tradition that's built up over the years and City fans generally want to see attractive football with some flair and passion and sadly, that's been lacking for a long time under an assortment of managers. Dire football and scraping some wins might just about be acceptable (although not to me) but embarrassingly poor football and regular demoralising losses definitely isn't.

We would have gone down last year with Nigel Pearson if it hadn't been for the winning start by Dean and we will go down this year if he stays. Nobody wants to put the boot into someone who is unwell and we will wish him well, but, for his own sake and the Club's, it's best if he leaves. The uncertainty with his health as well won't help stability and confidence and the first team coaching set up doesn't inspire confidence either. It's not easy to come up from league 1 so we need a manager to keep us up this season (Warnock) and then get a manager who can build and play decent football. I think Warnock would relish the challenge for a season and the Club is of course much closer to his home. Ryan Lowe or Mark Robins would be also be good appointments but realistically they aren't going to leave their current positions.

I don't think we need to feel sorry for him on 300k a year and, besides, you can tell he relishes a challenge. No doubt he also appreciates having a supportive owner with the relative (in football management) security that brings.

Not in favour of managerial change but understand the question marks. I think the Simpson and King recruits were mistakes but they are on one year contracts and young recruits like Tanner and Atkinson have been good. The issue for me though is our inability to keep the ball. I lost count of the amount of times players, such as Massengo, with the obvious ability to pass to his own teammate, regularly lost possession or passed into space where only the opposition were ever going to pick it up. Is that down to our coaching team, the manager and the way the team are set up or is it down to the calibre of players? I'd love to see the stats for the times we lost possession after Bentley boots it upfield - it was probably 80% plus and that tactic surely has to be an instruction. The positive points going forward are young players like Scott, Tanner and Atkinson and the hope that Pearson can add more of the same with decent midfield recruits, wide players and a clinical finisher. Above all, we need a team that is not having to defend with desperation and minimal possession for long periods of the game. When we do that there is an air of inevitability that we will concede and we do.

It is not for anyone of us to question any of John's posts which are often random, quirky and often involve intricate and useful information on railway timetables. Just award him a like or trophy emoji for a unique style of posting. I miss his Subbuteo simulations of City's goals. To analyse things logically then John's post is correct - it is good news. There is a shortage of referees and officials in amateur football and junior football. Some of the abuse officials get from parents and in the adult amateur game is shameful. Just let the kids enjoy and play the game competitively but with a fun element. Having women officiate in international football provides role models for women to get involved at all levels of the game and that's surely a good thing. Also, who knows, it might just moderate some of the abuse from parents that spoils things for both the officials giving up their spare time and the youngsters who just want to have some fun kicking a ball about.

There were countless things to criticise MA for but I wouldn't include that one. I think it was just a negotiating stance whether it originated from Steve L or MA. The other option would have been to say "please come and buy Diedhiou as we are desperate to get something for him as his contract expires shortly." In fairness, despite some scatter gun over-priced buys, Ashton usually did well with the sums achieved for the sales achieved (Webster, Reid, Flint, Kelly and I'd include Tomlin as well).

I think Mansfield is a red herring. Apparently, we discovered he has a 300k break clause in his contract and have triggered his signing after SL finally lost patience with LJ and our home form. Coughlan's done brilliantly with limited resources. Strikes me as someone who is a driven winner and good motivator but realises he won't be backed. The family and more convenient location might have some truth but I doubt it's the main reason.

The problem here is that SL is a mentor to Lee and so any decision to sack LJ would be particularly hard for him. He's SL's prodigy and SL will know that sacking him from his dream job will be a setback to Lee's career that would be difficult to recover from. SL is a particularly decent, patient guy and that's usually a plus but in this instance I think it's a mistake. I don't think he will sack Lee and he will given him the January transfer window. That's a mistake in my view. John Pemberton did a fantastic job in his caretaker role and I'd like to see him in charge. An assistant coach has to implement the ideas of Head coach / manager and work with their chosen personnel and it would be wrong to conclude JP couldn't succeed based on the current form. We saw how he turned it around when he was able to make the calls and he worked tirelessly, was tactically astute and seemed a good man manager. He also seems to have an real feeling for the Club and I would love to see him given an opportunity as manager. As much as I want LJ to succeed I do think Steve Lansdown will have to be uncharacteristically brutal and put the interests of the Club first and give a new manager the opportunity of the January window.

Curbishley gets featured in the odds every time a vacancy appears and rightly so. The oddity is why nobody has appointed him - presumably because he is too selective or because he is asking too high a salary. Talking of former players named Joe, one name that never gets a mention is Joe Royle. I assume, perhaps wrongly, he is no longer pursuing a managerial career. He has a more than solid 39% average win rate wiith the three clubs he managed - Everton, Manchester Cityand Oldham. Perhaps too out of touch with the Championship and the modern game to do a fire fighting job here but there are plenty of worse options featuring high up in the betting odds. I'd still go for Curbishley though.