headhunter

This is live at 9.00 AM then on all podcast platforms from 11.00 AM

We discuss Friday's game, how the side that faced Man Utd 6 years ago this week compares with what we have now and that JL Senior Reds lunch - we were there.

The "pile on" of criticism towards Ian Gay just proves my point that he is our very own Piers Morgan - people love to hate him but they still listen/watch.

Ignoring my own opinions, and just remember like any host, some are made to provoke debate I note no antipathy towards Neil or Mark.

On the topic of loans, which was a suggestion of mine, I had to laugh at @Sir Geoff who replied,  "Haha, you've all spent 2 1/2 years bashing Pearson for not making any loan signings then spend 15 minutes arguing that loan signings are not a good idea. Unbelievable!!"  - @Curr Avon [Mark] has already corrected him in this thread with the reply that centred on the viability of paying unproven youngsters from the Prem a likely £25k per week and my point was that any loan signing had to be better than what we already had. For example, a "first pick" ahead of Mehmeti or Bell on the left side.

7000 downloads across all episodes in the past 30 days suggests we're doing something right!!!

15 minutes ago, Sweeneys Penalties said:

Enjoyed the Podcast, but why mention Leon Knight? (28th minute)

I keep saying that on FBC too - the memory of the 2004 play off final still haunts me

Had the pleasure of being invited on by a Mackem's podcaster to talk about the weekend game.

Made a change from keeping the "Spouting Hobbit" and the rest of the gang in check on FBC!! 

10 hours ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Yes, I know. The poor man's Phil Tottle with a shit porno tash. Nothing more than a bloke on the radio reporting on what we'd just been watching. Not that anyone listened to gwr anyway. 

But "seasoned presenter"? Of what?

Goodness me, you've a good memory!! I had that from 1981-1999 . Poor man's Phil Tottle - now that is an insult. You're not an ex-candidate of mine that I didn't include on a shortlist for a role you applied for, hence the veiled personal insults.

10 hours ago, REDOXO said:

Yep. That’s what makes the poddy work a lot of the time. Ian is right about 70% of the time. But sometimes he talks some utter shit that makes people come back, just to hear what bollox he’s going to say next!

Ian was described as a "spouting Hobbit" in one of the comments on our You Tube channel . He's our Piers Morgan - love him or hate him!!!

4 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

By comparison I just went and listened to the 3 peeps podcast. The difference is night and day. They may as well just hand the podcast over to JL and BT, the output would be the same. 

It's almost as if they have Barton sat there telling them what to say. 

There is definitely an emphasis on positives on that pod. 

And that is the difference between us and them - you can't run with the hare & chase with the hounds. Oh the joy of independence & free speech!!!

The owner said in 2004 when appointing him as manager, "...judge me on Tinnion".  Who'd have thought 20 years later we'd be back to this!!!

17 minutes ago, KingHillRed said:

Just watched the whole thing for the first time and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it

Some well reasoned points and much better delivered than I have on here this morning

Fair play boys - is that Ian Gay the bloke who rants on Twitter

It certainly is and drew the comment from another You Tube watcher who described him as a "spouting hobbit"

Is there a town called Malice is Sunderland when its a City in its own right!!

1 hour ago, Sheltons Army said:

Excellent post

The Highlighted para is such a good point and was discussed excellently on the FBC Podcast this morning @headhunter 

Thank you so much.

Here is a link to the You Tube version for the non-podcast fraternity:

21 minutes ago, tin said:

Exactly that IMO. He had the keys to the kingdom at Ashton Gate and due to SL’s neglect, he was accountable to nobody. At Ipswich, I’d guess the Americans expect ROI and therefore his wings have been clipped. He still had the spending spree on players last year, but appears to have struck gold with McKenna.  

That is the root cause of the problem. He does appear to be more accountable to his Masters in East Anglia.

1 hour ago, David Brent said:

Well it’s not really the same as saying we have a top 6 squad is it. Majority of teams in this division would say they have a chance of being in the promotion race.

 

I feel there are around 15 clubs playing for 2 remaining [just my opinion] play off positions.

We are still in the mix but it will be interesting to see if that remains the case come the final whistle vs. Millwall on January 1st.

Manning, by then, will have been in charge for 10 games [that excludes QPR] which is a credible stretch to offer an indication on whether Nigel's sacking was followed by the right appointment. If we're, say,  8 points or more off the play offs the reaction from the fans will be becoming more toxic from some groups than it already is. 

4 hours ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Because I'm not willing to accept that we should give things time because we are a work in progress. We didn't need to become a work in progress. 

It's not about not giving Manning a chance. I speak for myself when I say this but there is a underlying anger still bubbling away under the surface at JL and BT. It's more about struggling to have faith in their decisions.

I'm with you 100% on this

1 hour ago, 2015 said:

Bloke is an absolute p***k hope I don't ever run into him at AG.

Are you a Burberry boy?

Baseless comment. Not everyone's cup of tea & even I find him overbearing at times but he draws more listeners than turn offs.

32 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Exactly how I saw it. All of them were extremely excited about the Manning appointed, exciting up and coming young coach etc etc. They constantly spoke about how well Oxford played against us in a 5-1 defeat. 

Having listened to Ian for many years on RB, he's not going to back down on his opinion of Manning. If Ian were to criticise Manning, that would be Ian admitting he was wrong and that's something Ian cannot do! 

So whilst I do enjoy that FBC is independent from the club, I like to listen to people who say it how they see it. Not avoid saying things because it compromises themselves. 

I think a couple of defeats on the road this week and you'll notice a change.

Manning's been sold a pup by the Lansdown's viz. top 6 squad not performing to potential, any support we give is on the basis of giving the bloke a chance - why wouldn't you?

8 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

Come on Dave, where's the consistency. Just listened to the end of the pod where you quote Manning's record of 4 points from 12.

Followed up by your usual Extrapolation.........Oh no you conveniently forgot it this time.

I'll do it for you 1 point per game between now and the end of the season gives us 52 points and an 18th / 19th position.

Work in progress...my ar*e.

, had to laugh in a friendly way at some of those comments.

Yes, I do like to extrapolate but it was not a case of conveniently forgetting.

First & foremost I support the football club and don't pin my colours to any manager. We have to be objective on FBC and offer both sides of any argument. Ian is regularly criticised on here for his opinions but you'll note he's been broadly supportive of Manning and often refers to the "cult of Nige".

As I have said more than once, the manner of Nigel's exit was badly managed. He has a lot to be proud of from his time here, the main one being he took us through a reset without losing our Championship status. If I'm coming across as being supportive of Liam it is solely borne out of reflecting my inner sentiment of "ffs, I hope they [Lansdowns] have not got this wrong".

Two tough away games coming up and this forum will become even more rabid if we secure less than 2 points. 

14 hours ago, REDOXO said:

Whoever mentioned the pathetic limp footed dangle is spot on!

We played a different defensive formation in and out of possession. We switched between 2/3/4/5 in possession and blocks of 4/4/2 out of possession 

Pearson had to get rid of players and change the culture with very little financial support. He turned a kid into a superstar, he turned Semenyo into a goalscorer turned Vyner back into a footballer and blooded 17/18/19/20 year olds into our first team. He made the club loads of money that is now going to go to someone else, because he had the temerity to be his own man.
 

The thought he would be fired while we were building a team and specifically not given money is absurd. Manning is changing a culture already we now give soft goals away for fun costing points while Vyner, Bell, ConwAy among others look crap. 
 

yep culture change it is!

That, in a part sentence, is why he is no longer here.

We were never massively pro-Pearson on FBC but he deserved greater respect than that shown by the Lansdown's who were let down by poor advice IMHO by the club's communication / PR resource. Much better look to be upfront and say his contract would not be extended but [naturally] would be honoured and allow him to leave and make a full recovery from his back issues.

Whilst it was dull for long periods in the opening 45 at least we went in with a deserved lead but, for me, the 2nd half was a horror show from beginning to end on so many levels.

Liam Manning is learning how to manage at a higher level at our expense. I really wish he had a number 2 alongside him someone like, er, Nigel Pearson which has some logic but was never going to happen once the owners decided they didn't like him on a personal level.

This is a link to a live at 7.00 PM podcast [*] recording hosted by DaveP who'll try to take the positives from the game in discussion with Ian Gay, Mark Tovey & Neil Sutton. No sugar coating from us and at the same time picking up the sentiment from the post-match chatter on OTIB & X

[*] available on Spotify etc from c9.00PM / Live on You Tube & X

We discussed on FBC Podcast this week and I went: 3-1-0-3-1 which totals 8 and would put us on 33 points which in simplistic terms equates to 66 for the season and a 9th>12th final placing - we are we are are as is so often said!

Is 8 points from 5 optimistic? Would keep us in touch with 6th.

20 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

I wouldn't write QPR off, they persisted longer than they should have done with Gareth Ainsworth because he was a popular player and had done well in League 1 but the performances were terrible, reminiscent of when we had Tins as manager (that isn't a criticism of his ability in his current role).

They have gone for a European manager, the team has noticeably improved and they won their last game, the first win at home for ages.

Can we give this criticism of Tins as a manager a rest.

In his first season [04/05] in charge he missed the play offs by a point and, for me, might have got us over the line had he not had Keith Millen foisted on him by Lansdown. An experienced head alongside might have made all the difference.

OK, the start of 05/06 was poor culminating in the 1-7 at Swansea but others have kept their job since for worse runs than 1-3-4 from the first or any run of 8 games.

Couldn't make the book signing last night but here is an interview with Alan which I recorded in March last year for FBC Podcast In conversation with ... series:

https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/in-conversation-with-former-city-manager-alan-dicks/

18 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

As much as it occasionally gets on my tits FBC is the only podcast I listen to and then not religiously.
 

3peeps always sounded a bit smart arse for me. I had no idea that the bloke that goes on post match and writes in the post were all connected to 3peeps. 
 

Good luck to anyone trying to build a media career!

Thanks for the back handed appreciation of FBC! Always has and always will be wholly independent.

You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds which reading some of the comments on here 3Peeps are being accused of.

Ian, Neil & DaveP discuss an eventful game at Ashton Gate against Michael Carrick’s in form Boro

After a slow start City went in at half time 2-0 ahead thanks to an absolute stunner from TGH and a coolly slotted home penalty by Tommy Conway who had fluffed a one-on-one opportunity only minutes before. But with barely 10 minutes gone in the 2^nd half that lead had been surrendered and another Stoke City throwaway appeared a distinct possibility but no, City came storming back with Mark Sykes crashing in a volley from Dickie’s header across goal.

The big question – did we notice any change in the playing style after 10 days of coaching from new boss Liam Manning. For me it was a yes and that from an occasional observer of City who joined me for the game and commented on the high press more than once as City had all ten outfield players in the opposition half. That same observer also remarked on how City seemed to lose out on most of the 50-50 challenges with frustrating regularity.

City will face an even tougher test at Southampton on Wednesday and if they come through that unscathed then that play-off challenge looks more than a pipedream.

11 - the foreign grounds stumped me!

11 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

Imagine that, Pearson into DOF* and Manning in as head coach. Totally different vibe amongst the fanbase and a much greater chance of success.

*Preferably after having this full season to attempt a play off push

Agree with that.

For those replies to my "defence" of Tinnion post, I was still on the the anti-Lansdown bus viz him making Tins have Millen as his Assistant.

7 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Do you trust them? We have a chairman who has no football experience at that level, a technical director who was sacked in League 1 as manager for nearly getting us relegated and someone who played one season at this level in one of the worst city teams of all time under Benny. Now a manager who has only ever led a team in League One. It’s a worry, I would say the way out of the division is very clear! Worrying. 

Oh for goodness sake in reference to Tinnion, "sacked in League 1 as manager for nearly getting us relegated" - it was after 11 games he left.

He'd finished one point off the play offs in his first season and who knows might even have got us up with an experienced assistant rather than Millen at the insistence of Lansdown.

This isn't supporting the party line as we've been accused of on FBC this past week, it just stating the reality of what happened 18 years ago.