tin

I didn’t warm to PA but I suspect this is another damning indictment of SL’s reign. The sooner he goes, the better 

15 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

I thought that was just in the England squad. But thank you for clarifying.

Two Bears players (Luatua and Vui) played for Samoa yesterday

58 minutes ago, Loosey Boy said:

Absolute class challenge Saved a certain goal 

Class challenge, definitely; certain goal? I’m not so sure. Thomas-Asante is hardly prolific or proven at this level.. 

Two things from me:

1) He worked the keeper into a reaction save, so it was a decent save IMO. Had he failed to test the keeper, he’d be more deserving of the pelters he’s getting now.

2) And this is the bigger point, the game should’ve been sewn up by half-time had we taken any of the previous chances we passed up. 

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Dickie announced 5th June, deal went through 14th June (day window opened)

McCrorie announced 6th June, deal went through 14th June (day window opened)

Roberts announced 14th June, so on day window opened, but registration transferred on 1st July after his contract expired on 30th June

Technicalities, I guess!

As I said on BBCRB, I think Alexander’s comments suggest (to me) that they retrofitted the “budget strategy” story to what happened to a large degree.

 

 

Definite technicalities, but we were chasing Bryan in May and he would’ve commanded top dollar so the budget - supposedly set in March - was obviously there for him and Roberts.

My question is why weren’t those funds used to add one or two more before deadline day, especially if the cash was there for Bryan (and to a lesser extent Thomason and Murphy).

That says to me the goal posts were moved and this strict March budget is a load of retrospective shite made up to fit the narrative IMO.

4 hours ago, Rocky said:

I don't get these interviews really, he didn't get asked anything and answer anything we didn't already know/assumed to be the case.

Ah well, that's what happens when you only let club officials do friendly interviews in-house, everything is so closed and sanitised. 

 

Well, I didn’t know the deal for Roberts was all done and dusted as soon as the window opened as I thought we were chasing Bryan at that time and Roberts was Plan B. Clearly the budget was there to sign both of them, which flies in the face of this strict March budget. 

On 09/09/2023 at 23:21, Kid in the Riot said:

The Tour came through LA a few years ago and they did Providence Ln, an 8% gradient climb over 1km. Brutal. 

I went and saw the finish of the Tour in Cheltenham a few years back. I don't really get it, waiting around for hours for 30 seconds of action. Was in hospitality thankfully so a free bar and food, at least!

I saw the peloton three times that day after riding down to Cheddar and seeing them go up the Gorge, then over to LA and watching fly past opposite the Miners’, then I dashed over to the Downs to see them roll in. A really enjoyable, and much colder, day. Alaphillipe won the stage that day after breaking away on Providence. 

11 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I guess in some respects he’s found a manager who can do one or more of the three a) keep us in this division b) competitive c) challenging, having ripped the waste / cost out of the club and not re-spend it.

And surely if SL had a manager who achieved those goals, he’d be keen to praise those achievements and secure his long-term future…

3 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

Thanks.

I guess the question to ask Steve then is how do you reconcile or marry up the two statements? Albeit they're made ten years apart, and people are allowed to tweak and change their thoughts and opinions over a decade.

The answer would be illuminating.

He’s hardly speaking with clarity, is he? It’s a massive contradiction or move of the goalposts; call it what you will. 

3 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I think (if insisting on English)

Howe and Potter definitely would.

I hope we don’t insist on an English appointment next time because so many managers would love to manage us. 

 

I can’t see Howe leaving Newcastle any time soon, and can Potter command the respect of the very best players? He’s got a lot to prove and I’m not so sure. 

I’m in the “we will win nothing with Southgate” camp as he’s tactically naive and too loyal to certain players. I don’t know who would do a better job, mind.

40 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

How SL made the Holden call……wow! 

Nepotism, just like Tinnion, Millen and LJ before Holden. More jobs for the boys or those he can manipulate without them speaking up.

I think it all stems from that trip to FCB, personally. SL has tried to copy that model as much as he can, but the major difference is that FCB’s players who go on to manage them have experience at the very top level and know what it takes to win. The same can’t be said by our internal apportionments. 

3 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Out of interest, why do you support City and not Rovers? Would've  been easier to get to Eastville from Thornbury, than AG? 

And it’d be easier for you to have got to Nevil Road from Thornbury back in the day - but I won’t go there!

6 hours ago, slartibartfast said:

I'm afraid I lost my love of going to cricket with the marginalisation of the red ball (proper cricket) to the "either ends" of the season if favour of that abortion that will not speak it's name!

But it's not just that, it's the "improvement" to my beloved Nevil Rd into a soulless concrete bowl . Gone are the days I could wander into the Jessop, wander out with a pint and pasty, pull up a garden bench, put my feet up on the boundary boards and relax.

Of course my advancing years comes with the loss of some good cricket friends who would pass the day talking about everything and nothing ........and my own failing sight doesn't help.

Inow have to be content with keeping abreast with the scores on BBC and sometimes the live streaming, but it's not the same, and of course the unadulterated crap that Glos have served up over the last few seasons haven't inspired me to make the trip.............so basically, I'm quite pleased this season is dragging to a close !

I definitely fee your pain. I used to love the Jessop Tavern, singing about the chicken in the glory days of the late ‘90s or early ‘00s. I lament what we’ve become post-pandemic. During the lockdown season, under Harvey and Alleyne, we had identity and momentum. All of that was undone with the decision to dispose of them for Benkenstein. And there are parallels with City and Nige IMO. 

4 hours ago, Lew-T said:

I don’t understand how City fans can support Glos. But each to their own ha!

I don’t understand how people who’ve grown up in Bristol can support a county 40+ miles away. I support my local teams - City, Glos, Bears. Simple as that. 

@And Its Smith Awful news, cherish those memories and I hope you pass on the love of cricket (Tests in particular!) to your boy. 

1 hour ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

What does Nige have to do to recruit the quality necessary for a promotion push?

Unearth another Vardy?

Sell to buy? 

Hope Guernsey sees sense and loosens the purse strings?

The thread title is misleading. 

Fair point; I don’t disagree.

What’s he got to do for a genuine promotion push? Be backed by an ambitious board. By backed, I mean give him enough of the Scott cash to get one or two players of real quality in and try to keep your best players for a little while longer. Nothing wild like the spending sprees under LJ. Nige has signed enough players who have improved us to warrant that IMO. 

My early season optimism of a top-10 finish was based on the increasing likelihood of Scott staying until January or there being funds to replace him, borne out of “what football makes, football can spend”. 

I definitely think Nige would’ve spend the vast sums afforded to LJ a heck of a lot better, but we will never know. 

2 hours ago, Bristol Oil Services said:

But his two major recruitment successes were from the Championship, one of them not an established player. Nige does buy from this level as well as having to dip into L1 and 2. And perhaps his greatest "find" was from non-league, albeit not a cheap one.

Nige has been here 2.5 years and so far, most of the "interest" - unless I'm missing someone - has been in players he has not brought here. There's lots of "ifs" and "mights" about Sykes, Knight, but ....

So, again, to have a chance here, does he need to unearth a gem, a Josh Brownhill, himself? Has the well run dry?

Who’s the non-established player you refer to? LJ’s two most successful signings were Brownhill (free) and Webster (£3.5m). There was a LOT of dross among that. 

The point @Kid in the Riot makes about a pre-COVID market is a valid one, as Nige has had nowhere near the resources (transfer fees, wages etc) available to LJ. But part of that was the pandemic, part of that was profligacy. I actually think the pandemic exacerbated the mistakes of LJ/MA. 

50 minutes ago, Jeez said:

Pointless exercise really as their respective budgets & clubs financial positions at the time are incomparable 

Beat me to it. LJ was shopping at M&S, Nige is shopping at Aldi. And LJ was able to tap in to the European market pre-Brexit, so a comparison is pointless. 

5 hours ago, shelts said:

Thanks for sharing this . Amazing what they can do now . Doesn’t damage the pitch when they have concerts etc . Think they have similar at Lille . When do we think Uncle Steve might get on these pitches at the Gate ?!!

They have similar at Schalke as well. Their retractable pitch goes under one of the main stands and sits outside, though, so it’s open to the elements. 

12 hours ago, Ian M said:

I am still digesting tonight's interview and a few things don't add up for me:

• Earlier in the summer, Brian Tinnion stated that there was a Plan A for recruitment if Alex stayed and a Plan B for recruitment if Alex was sold.
• Meanwhile, Pearson, said in answer to the press that the signing of Jason Knight was to play with Alex and not in place of him.
• However, Alex Scott was sold to Bournemouth in August for £25m.
• Following that sale, when the press asked Pearson for comment, he seemed genuinely annoyed/upset by the decision and said “it was the club that sold him” insinuating he was not pleased, almost sulky at the time.
• Since that sale, Bristol City signed just one player on loan, a midfielder capable of covering at full-back due to a long-term injury to Ross McCrorie.
• We have also since learned that the wage budget was set in March of this year, several months ahead of selling Alex and that we have maxed that and cannot sign anyone else.
• Tonight on Radio Bristol, Phil Alexander, the club’s CEO, revealed that the club was always working towards that budget set in March and that we had bought early to pre-spend the money that selling Alex would bring in. He also stated that TGH was not planned for and was a response to injuries.

Based on these facts, it is difficult to determine whether Tinnion and Pearson were complicit in misleading fans or whether they were misled themselves. However, it is clear that there is a discrepancy between what was said earlier in the summer and what has been revealed tonight. It is up to fans to decide what they believe based on these facts.

Excellent post. For me, Nige has been as straight as a dye with us whenever he’s been interviewed and I have no doubt Tinnion has the club’s best interests at heart. The fact both of them were singing off the same hymn sheet speaks volumes.

Reading between the lines, I think it’s pretty clear the goalposts have been  moved since March and there were not two separate budgets set in March (one with Scott, one without). 

What I also found interesting is that PA insisted it was a risk for SL to bring in four players before we received the Scott cash, completely ignoring the £10m we brought in from Semenyo. PA also made is very clear IMO that SL is responsible for every decision, right down to the details of the Scott deal. 

SL is misleading people and cowardly dodging explaining his rationale. Either that or he’s losing his marbles. If he no longer wants to invest, he can’t sell up soon enough IMO. 

We had a villa in Pollensa last summer, which was lush. I know Mallorca like the back of my hand having been on many cycling trips over there, the last one being the 2019 Mallorca 312. 

55 minutes ago, Ian M said:

Particularly given Nige has:

• reduced the wage bill by approaching £10m per annum,
• reduced amortisation cost by around £9m per annum,
• generated sales of around £35m,
• still kept us competitive on the pitch with a tiny injury hit squad.

And yet he appears to have no supporters in the club’s hierarchy.

And that, in my opinion, once again shows us a) SL knows jack shit about football, and b) despite being fooled by Ashton in the past, he loves employees who blow smoke up his ass. It’s clear to see why Pearson’s face doesn’t fit. 

Bristol City Football Club is, and always will be, bigger, more important and  longer lasting the Lansdowns.

8 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

You honestly believe that he will make any sort of profit from the club? When you are as wealthy as he is money is practically an irrelevance, just out of interest (and I’m fed up with asking this question on this forum with no reply) what is the alternative to SL?

Yes, I do. While he’s a mug when it comes to football, he’s no mug when it comes to money. I have no doubt he will make a decent wedge when he sells. And you’re probably fed up asking the same question as nobody has a crystal ball. Broadly speaking, the alternative is a new owner with ambition.

7 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Go and support the gas though

Haha. As you well know, mate, 31 - soon to be 32 - years of following us now. Shame two thirds of that has been under SL’s watch. 

If there’s one thing the sale of Scott proves it that’s SL is out solely for himself. He could not give a flying **** about the fans, backed up by previous comments about it being “my club”. No, Steve, you’re a deluded custodian.

I used to think he was a great benefactor but the fact of the matter is I, and thousands of other long-term sufferers, committed considerably more of our relative wealth towards supporting the City than he ever has.

That self-interest will eventually see him profiteer from selling the club or any variation of it, while we are left in limbo until he does sell up. The one positive is we have a manager of experience who might be able to achieve something against all odds. No doubt SL would take all credit if he does.

The away performances have been great so far, but it only takes a few more injuries for things to nosedive. Despite the positive outcome today, I still think we’re a few players short of having a really positive season. We don’t have the depth to sustain these performances IMO and will need a lot of luck if we’re to get anywhere near 70+ points.