Ashton Fete

Same old cliche stuff you’d expect but he yet again misses the opportunity to talk directly to the fans directly or indirectly but just sense the mood.

I’ll have a go..

”Look I get the fans frustrations, i’m learning the players, the players are learning the methods and style I’m trying to implement.  Sometimes it feels we’re making progress, sometimes it’s not but I believe in what we’re trying to achieve and so please be patient, I want a positive end to the season, a hard pre season and significant improvement starting game one in Aug”

I reckon that would get various degrees of buy in from us 

40 minutes ago, phantom said:

I can't recall seeing who won these competitions either? 

Very good point. I’m sure someone did but publicise this. I see no reason they couldn’t do a monthly digital newsletter with bits and bobs to ST holders and members. 

No thanks for valued support, nothing around exciting new season ahead, nothing around incentives or the new TV deal

I’m honestly staggered at how badly our marketing team or similar must be

So so poor

I just think it’s again a lack of supporter engagement, how difficult would it be to keep season ticket holders updated when renewals are likely to be and any reasons for delay, they could even caveat it around waiting for decisions on the TV situation to work through incentives/packages

We all know we’ll just get an email come through randomly one day with a link to renew etc

I’ll say again, it’s another example where supporter relations have just fallen downhill since Richard Gould left 

There’s so many little things the club could do throughout the season show the appreciation of ST but they just don’t.

However, I’ll renew as I always do despite all of the above 

5 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Given that we won the game I think it is no bad thing, with Steve in attendance, that they got both the pitiful attendance and crowd reaction they did today. Bristol Sport and our hierarchy may be full of soundbites but as you hint at the club will be very and uncomfortably aware of how the punters are feeling after today.

They can’t not. I’ve not seen anything like today for a long time.

At one point I was wondering if there was a collective boycott in protest or something. 

I’ll renew as I always do but one things for sure, the attendance today and overall crowd reaction during last few games will have the club very worried

Perhaps an overreaction but at times he speaks about fans as though a ‘them and us’ culture.

We don’t turn up for free and today’s attendance speaks for itself. It was embarrassing 

Albeit since Richard Gould left the club have got fan engagement badly wrong from the farcical meet the players pre season to missed opportunities to involve us whether simple things like pre match music/entertainment to the club shop and more

No matter the manager whenever I see a bench without the full quota I find it offensive to the academy not to give someone that opportunity to be in the match day squad even if the chances of playing are remote 

You certainly can’t play someone who isn’t even there so you’re no worse off

Such a key game now, win and the losing run ends, enough distance between us and the bottom 3 to not make it a nervous end to the season and who knows perhaps a chance for a positive end of the season….lose and we are 100% in a relegation fight with the losing run and games to come

Here’s hoping for a thumping home win

If the club plan to stick with him they at least need to send him on some urgent media training to at least try and va va vroom a glimmer of charisma into him

- I can’t impact the game once the players go on the pitch…..You’re literally the best person in the whole stadium and football club to be able to do that

- fan interaction - at least pretend you care and make an effort to explain or engage more than saying you can’t control it.  Again, you can…you have the platform in pre and post match press conference’s

He just comes across with an arrogance of someone who believes they’ve written the masterplan and absolves all blame if it doesn’t work 

I agree in parts especially on the wider club aspects but he decides tactics, formations and substitutions. 

That’s on him and it’s where we seem completely lost at the moment.

Sykes is best when directly running at defenders creating either chances for himself or others achieved by taking the ball and running on his strongest foot

Yesterday he got into great positions but was constantly having to come inside which became very obvious very quickly

For me he played really well within the constraints put upon him but yet again the decision hampered his strengths and performance 

Rather than bringing on ineffective workshy Mehmeti, why not push Cam into Sykes position and move him to the right

Perhaps it was about Sykes managing minutes returning from injury, that’s about the only reason I’d accept 

This would 100% get my vote, I think King would bring back player confidence and just simplify tactics and formations and we’d pick up enough points from the bounce to put any doubts to bed 

I imagine JL and BT are in panic mode at the moment, they know it’s not working, empty seats, dilemma of when to put ST renewals out, clear fan resentment and OOC players perhaps not even wanting to re sign under this regime 

The whole day was just flat from the very start, haven’t been to a Cardiff game like that for some time 

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

The moment I heard Nige talk about budgets I thought he was trying to be smart around new contracts for existing players and signings with the Scott money.  Then the window ended and I really couldn’t rationalise it.

I called it “self harm” rather than “sabotage”, but same difference.

What confirmed it was the Phil Alexander SOTC interview.  Hostage to the shit-running of the club from SL down.

This weeks interview from LM on the back of some rumours of a staff meeting and admission that LM can’t get the players to play how he wants was a huge turning point for me.  Today compounds it.

What a cluster####.

 

The players look so short of confidence, it’s like they’re constantly caught in two minds of instinct or ‘the plan’. It’s turned them into robots. 

I honestly feel sorry for the players at the moment, they can’t enjoy playing with such restrictions 

Again zero self reflection and all on the players yet again. 

it’s evident his tactics and style of play isn’t working. I don’t blame the players, his style suppresses them trying to force them to play only one way

It doesn’t help his communication style is drier than a rusk so no harm putting these out to the other coaches but maybe he wanted to front it up

We couldn’t ask for better back to back home games so let’s hope the lessons have been learnt, players come out firing and we win both.

Whilst there’s still 12 games to go, I think the Cardiff and Swansea games will set so much of the tone until the end of the season re performances, fans reactions to him, players, contracts, season ticket sales, on the day payers and so on.

Roll on 1230 Saturday….

Talented 17 year old goes on loan for the final period of games to get valuable game time where there’s probably an obligation to play him X amount of minutes or games.

It’s good for him and he’ll come back better for it so benefits the club in the long run. 

Much like Tommy who went to Bath on loan the season before he broke through. 

23 minutes ago, Mendip City said:

His criticism of the players is a massive gamble. Only two weeks after those same players were outstanding against Southampton…. Should the players not like what he’s said, it’ll end badly. 

Exactly that. Not even a hint of him getting selection or tactics wrong and trying to shield the players.

He also said post match “I can’t control what fans think” and that again is just a naive comment as we will react to his pre and post match comments so actually you can to a degree. 
 

Lets hope he’s learnt a lot from the last 2 weeks in terms of selection, tactics and communications as for me he’s got them all badly wrong 

Saturdays game will be very telling after LM being so critical of the players after Sheff Weds which I personally didn’t like as he puts it all on them without even a hint of his own self reflection on his selections/tactics

I do wonder once we are mathematically safe whether we’ll see more of his thinking for next season and the OOC players being on the bench at best

I tried to buy into him with the obvious great performances but the doubt now is very loud and clear after more negative performances than positive 

But beat Cardiff and Swansea back to back and optimism returns!

I think he shows a real naivety at times both in how he communicates with the media but also tactics and formations

The open criticism of the players is unacceptable in the manner he did and will hardly bring cohesion with the players or us as fans

He makes remarks such as needing time on the grass and then he gets it and we’re if anything worse than the week before so that’s naive to present himself an open goal to miss. 

He may feel we need more time, he may be thinking that he can’t wait for the summer, rotation of the squad and a chance to have 6 weeks pure grass time but he’s looking silly now.

His persistence with Mehmeti is just ridiculous and his selections too often just seem to be either wrong and or predictable with teams seemingly working us out very quickly 

Against QPR, bringing Cornick on for Bell was the wrong decision

We also seem to have a game on game off approach to Conway and Wells with both probably not getting a chance to gain momentum or feeling backed.  It’s the same with the midfield, TGH, James and Williams on constant rotation and combinations.  

King did more than enough against Forest to be getting more minutes whether he’s staying or going in the summer which we all know is the latter.  

However, again Manning states that he wants to be playing players who are here for the long term….fair enough but you can’t have it as a reason not to play someone like King but then play James or Williams who aren’t confirmed as staying. Again, naive communications.

Yesterday, if you’re making two subs at half time then you’ve either got it wrong tactically or Sykes and Pring weren’t fit enough so you got that wrong as well

So his lack of ownership and putting it all on the players is poor.

However, we roll on to Cardiff and Swansea in the next two home games and he couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to put the record straight and give us fans more reason to buy into the tactics and selections 

I for one hope we batter both of them and if he succeeds then as a club we’re succeeding so fingers crossed!

I want the games against Southampton, Forest, West Ham and Hull to be the basis of how we approach games rather than the exception to the Sheff Weds, QPR, Millwall games

At the minute I have no idea which is the norm or the exception! 

But I’ll roll up next Saturday hoping for a tactical masterclass and 4-0 win!

Hopefully he’ll have Twine and Naismith fit and starting as I think they’ll make a massive difference personally re what he’s trying to do embed

“We can give you all the information but if you don’t do the basics well enough”

”Asking the players, are you able to learn, do you want to learn”

That’s two games in a row he’s had to make formation changes/substitutions because the gameplan was wrong so yes that’s part players but it’s also tactics, assessment of which players to pick and so on.

Stop putting it all on the players and start doing some learning yourself or at least admit when you’ve got things wrong. 

I said it on another threat but I want to see him being the leader and shielding the players who are clearly trying to play what he wants and that’s probably at times having them in two minds and what to do in scenario A B or C

He needs to stop with the ‘we’ ‘the players’ ‘attitude's and behaviours’

He needs to start having some personal responsibility and protecting the players with some more ‘I’s’ in terms of what went wrong and didn’t 

I want to see Manning to show some leadership and accountability in his post match

I don’t want to see ‘the players’ or ‘we’ and certainly not ‘attitudes and behaviours’

I want to start seeing some ‘I’ from him now cos again this was a tactical mess 

1 minute ago, Countryfile said:

Couldn’t agree more. He isn’t alone in being poor today, but he has offered very little in all the games he’s played, I just don’t get it and would genuinely love to hear what Manning sees in him.

Just doesn’t work hard enough, avoids 50:50 tackles, gets caught out of position and over 90 minutes doesn’t offer enough 

He might get the odd goal or assist in a game or a nice bit of skill but that’s about it on a consistent level