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48 minutes ago, Sixtyseconds said:

Was it an environmentally friendly gig surrounded by twenty thousand cars and grid lock?

A carbon foot print bigger than Lesotho.  

No idea. I parked at my mates, not in the city centre, and walked in via a few pubs and bars. Great night.

I saw QOTSA in Manchester last month, absolutely awesome set list. They are quality IMO.

1 minute ago, JoeAman08 said:

Yes but could be a case of one step back to take two steps forward. How I see it anyway. The powers at the top do not help whatsoever though. Putting the pressure of top 6 on either NP or Manning was unfair. 

However, I see enough to be top half and I feel better about that with Manning than NP. The base is there. However, it is goals that make you successful. We are 14th but have a better defensive record than about 10 of those sides. However, we are bottom 6 in terms of goals. What Manning brings is more shots, more chances and eventually(hopefully) more goals. Wells returning will help massively. Him fit we may be talking about these last 4 games very differently. We should recruit someone who can play in the front 3 as well. 

The only thing I agree with you here is you saying “the powers at the top do not help matters whatsoever”. No shit, Sherlock! They are wholly culpable for whatever happens - good or, more likely, bad. 

I don’t share your view that binning proven PL-winning experience for another hopeful inexperienced punt will pay off, but that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. Nothing against Manning, this ain’t on him. 

1 hour ago, Top Robin said:

Today, we were undone by 2 player cock ups which is out of the managers hands.

The same individual errors that hindered Pearson’s progress, you mean? Shame you didn’t gloss over those at the time you were calling for his head. 

Still early days for Manning, obviously, but the change is an avoidable setback. I suspect we’d have got more from today and at QPR if the change hadn’t been made but here we are.

35 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I liked Wes.

Not saying I ever expected him to be a first choice player in a side who are top two in our division but always thought he had something about him.

Got there the hard way too, via a fair few years slogging away at Fleetwood.

Don’t think too many had him down as the player we would let go & he’d make the Prem, but absolutely fair play to him.

I liked him too, but it’s worth remembering he left us as a striker or right-sided forward and wasn’t made into the RWB he is now until much later.

Szmodics is the one that annoys me now as he would walk into our team and system right now. Burns, I’m not so sure unless we play with wing-backs. 

17 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Then read the thread.

SL clearly isn’t prepared to do that, so it is either a complete sale or nothing.

 

I can’t see anyone in their right mind paying £200m for BS, nor should they be expected to in the current market. So that leaves us with nothing, and the prospect of the Lansdowns bumbling on for another decade is so depressing. If BCFC was up for sale, however, surely a deal would be done. 

Rightly or wrongly, I got the feeling Curtis Fleming was the one driving the interest in Adam Murphy and Sam Curtis. No idea if we retain that interest following CF’s departure. 

Deschamps is another to add to the list, certainly at international level.

Simeone was also a top player in the ‘90s who’s done well with Atleti. 

Conte’s another one who’s won plenty as a manager. 

The list is pretty endless in all fairness. 

10 hours ago, petehinton said:

Have to find a way to go 2 up top. Knight has been closest to the striker at all times in each of Manning’s games so far. I’d love to see Conway & Cornick up top together. 
 

I think Liam will have seen enough to realise we need to be 2 up top moving forward. 

With Wells out, that’s our best option up top right now. 

Conway isn’t ready physically (and I think there is development to come with that) to play on his own and he looked on his arse after about 50 minutes last night. He needs a partner to play alongside at this stage.

What that does to the rest of the XI, I don’t know. It probably looks like a 3-5-2, but that will put the focus on our wing backs. 

Decent first half; dross after the break. Got to take our chances when we’re on top. Top six still on, JL? 

We usually get the better of Russell Martin’s sides and that first half is no different. Conway had to take that one-on-one chance but looked caught in two minds. Deserve to go in leading at the break.

1 hour ago, Port Said Red said:

It's amazing they lost really with so many good players.

With a liability like Dael Fry at CB, it’s not that amazing they lost IMO. I struggle to recall a worse CB performance at this level. 

10 hours ago, DT The Optimist said:

Matt Crooks.   No25.  Was pleased to see him depart the field.

Did not know who he was, but having had a look this evening is a forward/midfielder and aged 29 seemed to have played a lot in the lower leagues of the EFL. Valued around 1.5 M. 

Good touch, mobile and pacy and a handful all day… a couple times showed really good touches in front of the Dolman. A bit similar to Cornick..  shows they are out there without spending mega bucks

Surprised you weren’t aware of him. He’s scored something like 5 goals in 7 games against us now, playing for Rotherham and Boro. The new David Kelly! 

15 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Zak was instinctively trying to head the rebound back to Max but unfortunately got it wrong……

Maybe he had a sizeable bet on! (That’s a joke!)

Good three points. A few opinions from me:

Dael Fry should’ve seen red in the first half, no idea how he stayed on. He was awful. Conway could, and probably should, have done better with his one on one. TGH’s was excellent, particularly in the first half, and his goal was worthy of winning any game. I missed the penalty and still haven’t seen that. 

After the break, two awful goals to concede. I don’t know what Vyner was trying to do; both Tanner and Max should’ve done better for their other goal. We were very nervy at the back. Crooks usually scores against us. Cornick did well when he came on and Mehmeti looked lively. An entertaining game in which a point was probably a fairer result, but I’ll take it! Tough call between TGH and Dickie for MOTM.

Brilliance from Gardner-Hickman. What a goal from our best player so far. 

54 minutes ago, Spreadsheet Man said:

With this constant negativity, I hope we absolutely smash Middlesborough tomorrow (more than normal) just to shut everyone up. My god, Nigel has gone, can we please just get behind this club and our manager. 

I’ve got nothing against Manning and hope he does well, but I don’t support those running the club. That’s my opinion and it’s based on facts. If you don’t like it, ignore it. And who are you to tell me what to do? Bore off, sunshine

I read what Carrick said about international breaks with interest earlier:

I also saw that Mowbray gave Jobe Bellingham 10 days off over the international break and let Bradley Dack go to Dubai, so a) clearly it wasn’t just NP doing it and b) I guess in the eyes of JL and Tinnion, Carrick and Mowbray don’t know what they’re doing either. 

I’d take a point tomorrow, but am fearing worse. 

22 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

Have they actually confirmed who will be attending ?

Sorry if this has been mentioned, can't be arsed to look through the thread.

I'm guessing Manning and Hogg , I hope they gets an easy-ish ride this time. Hasn't got anything to do with dumping Pearson and hasn't had chance to do much with the team.

Tins ? could be interesting.

Possibly our new COO ?

I'd be amazed if  any Lansdown is there, though the only one of these sort of things I went to was populated by a very "happy Clapper" type crowd . 

JL was up The George at Abbots Leigh at lunchtime today  

12

15 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

You know, I was wondering whether anyone ever actually claimed that or if I (and everyone else had misremembered). I went back and looked at the interviews and statements from the early days following Pearson's sacking.

Firstly JL's 2 minute "interview" on 31 October 2023.

Then key quote here is at 01:02 "...[we] ultimately made the decision [to sack Pearson] because we think the squad's good enough and I believe in it. If we didn't then why make a change? You'd just see see things through as they are, but the ultimate reason is I think we've got a really good squad here and and we've got a good chance at competing at the right end of the division this season..."

So he doesn't quite say the words "we have a top 6 squad" but that last line in particular near as means the same thing.

Then BT's longer 5 minute "interview" published the same day, 13 October 2023.

You don't have to wait long here. Barton opens with the question "Brian, John Lansdown's talked about the belief that you all have in the quality of this squad how confident are you that these players can compete at the top of the Championship?" Tinnion answers:

"I think everybody in the summer was happy with how we recruited, it's a squad that should be at the top end of the division..."

No debate there I don't think. Clearly says that this squad should be at the top end of the division.

There's then the ITV interview with GM from 3 November 2023.

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-11-03/we-want-promotion-this-year-bristol-city-board-on-sacking-nigel-pearson

The video opens with Marshall saying "We had a three year plan with Nigel and we the objective for us including Nigel was to be at the top end, challenging at the top end of the table..."

He then says at 2:02 "The club is looking for a manager who we believe will get us to the top end of the Championship. We think we've got a great squad of players, a great fanbase, we've got great facilities. It's a puzzle that someone needs to solve and we're looking for someone who believes, and we believe, will get us into the Premier League."

The next question, at 02:29 is "And that [getting to the Premier League] is still the aim, for Bristol City this season, and for seasons moving forwards?"

GM answers "100% it's the aim for this season and we didn't  feel that we were going to get there unless we made a change and that's one of the drivers. We're less than a third of the way through the season and we feel that we're giving the next manager time to come in and make an impact and hopefully have us challenging towards the top end of the table. We believe this squad of players are very capable of doing that."

So he rambles a little bit, and answers it across several questions, but that final line is there for all to see. It's not quite as definite as BT's words but the hierarchy clearly think this squad is "very capable" of challenging "towards the top end".

All of that unequivocally shows that the top six (minimum) is the board’s aim this season. What that also shows is how misguided and unrealistic a goal that is and that they are clueless. I also feel for Manning as they’ve set him up to fail.

There is no way this squad is good enough or has the strength in depth to be at the “top end of the table” in May and IMO our best chance of gatecrashing the play-offs was with Nige. Now I think there’s way more chance of a bottom six finish and that is on the board.

1 hour ago, Miah Dennehy said:

Have you seen your club on. There was a story on Sky recently where an Ipswich fan. had just visited her 90th ground with Ipswich. I've done 176 with The Gas, so firstly I want a large medal and secondly , there must be a few who have watched City with a similar number?

I peaked on 77/92 a while back, but a few of those can no longer be counted as they’ve dropped out of the league. Down to 62 now 

Early impressions — it looks to me that a) some have been rushed back from injury too soon, and b) the players didn’t show anything like the desire they mostly did under Nige.

Of course, it’s very early days for Manning. But if this is anything to go by, Pearson may well have been getting the most of out of this squad and we could well be in a dogfight if this is not a performance in isolation. 

Top six? My arse! Lansdowns out. 

“I believe we’ve got a good squad; it’s the best since I’ve been involved here.” Jon Lansdown, 2023.