GrahamC

Young midfielder not 18 until next month, come on as sub for the 23s a couple of times of late. Anyone seen him play? Can give me an idea of his strengths? Type of player he is? Cheers.

I’m guessing after last season when he seemed to forget what he was going to say & then appeared to make up the third name (Reading) on the spot, even they have realised he’s not worth hearing.

Sky Sports lack of interest in us is pretty blatant, you could see that by the fact we featured in the minimum number of games last season. Totally get the ex Prem obsession (almost certainly that’s going to be Leicester & Leeds this season) but inexplicably Blackburn (who are small) & Cardiff (who are shite) both gets loads of games. No excuse for not doing basic research, either. Anyone with a passing interest understands that Gardner-Hickman can’t play today due to being on loan.

That’s a home loss then! So you’d change the side that gave our best performance of season last time out? Ok then.

Unless someone is taken ill or gets injured in the warm up I can’t see it being anything else. Saw a few random comments on social media about “giving Roberts a go” or picking Naismith In midfield instead of Williams (!) & wonder what these people are on. Pring was excellent at Swansea, Williams rivalled Sykes for MoM. We don’t have loads of players (TGH’s absence means one fewer) but we do have a decent, tight squad. Can still see a draw though.

Admire your optimism. Their bench tonight included the likes of Iheanacho, Choudhury, Coady, Faes, Casadei, Algun & Daka. Take a look at ours tomorrow, probably not even have 9 subs, a kid who has never started games at the football league, Bajic & Andy King. The disparity in resources is massive, if we get anything up there I’ll be amazed. They have won every game bar Hull where they had 21 shots to Hull’s 7.

My old man worked at BDR & said Dolman paid workers more than all his competitors but refused to have Trades Unions on site, so no pay negotiation ever took place, it was take it or leave it. As for the comments above about the pathetic sound system in the stand that bears his name, the bloke was a genius in terms of light industry, if he was still around & had anything to do with how it functioned I expect it would be state of the art, as opposed to useless.

Real shame about Andi Weimann not being back, but makes far more sense to delay than rush this bearing in mind he lasted about 2 minutes last time & not too long on the opening day, either. Means that with TGH unavailable tomorrow we only have 7 obvious subs, so an opportunity to either bring one of the lads on the bench back who started the season there (Knight-Lebel, Araoye) or another youngster could be involved.

Inherited Joe Jordan’s team after about 3 games when Joseph went to Hearts. Started going pear shaped when he had to make his own decisions on signings (after Martin Scott).

I actually like the home one, (hated the “Arsenal” one) but as a 60 year old who last bought a replica shirt when Terry Cooper was manager I somehow don’t think I’m the demographic they’re after..

Nothing whatsoever to do with the kit but left home in Windmill Hill yesterday afternoon to go for a walk about 5pm & there was a kiddie aged about 8 on his own kicking a ball against the wall in the bit of green next to the Rising Sun pub in full City kit, this season’s shirt, shorts & socks. I just thought it was bloody fantastic to see, fair ******* play. BS3 kiddie supporting his local club, just like it should be.

Since 1980 our five highest finishes in the second tier have been as follows; Gary Johnson 4th Lee Johnson 8th Jimmy Lumsden 9th Gary Johnson 10th Gary Johnson 10th. Yes, he achieved consecutive 10th place finishes. So aside from transforming the shambles he inherited under Tinnion, winning promotion in his first full season & then making the playoffs final the following one, he also delivered 2 more of our best 5 finishes in 43 years. But apparently that’s not “success” in our context, absolutely **** me.

Dean Holden levels of rigour when that particular vacancy was “advertised”..

Agree with all of that, one thing is certain he’s an interesting bloke. Thought the tributes that he paid to both Webster & Baker were very generous, too. FWIW I have consistently said I wouldn’t have kept him on but fully get the argument put forward by others that if he’d been willing to accept much lower terms & then stayed fit, we would have got a bargain. Certainly wish him well at Schalke, do hope he stays fit & gets a decent run in their side.

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, they are going to develop the Mem one stand at a time over many years, aren’t they? The advantage is it’s their ground already & in the area where a lot of their support is based (North Bristol), plus they must have the capability of making that funny stand that backs on to the car park & only occupies part of one of the sides a lot bigger, but that bit is going to be extremely expensive. Disadvantages are it will take a very long time, require plenty of money to do even the most minor upgrade & it is highly unlikely that at the end of this (if they ever manage it) they’ll have a ground holding much more than 15,000. Oh well.

Least surprising part of this? “The Mayor’s Office is trying to keep the deal alive”. Anyone still believe that this would be the case if it was us? Absolutely clueless if you do.

Which also suggests the ballpark figure being quoted on here isn’t too far from the truth. Have to say if that was the case & this implies we weren’t remotely interested in budging, you do wonder why we even offered him anything in the first place. Still confused as to when Alexander & Lansdown are saying this offer was spent elsewhere in our budget, as the player we signed presumably as his replacement (Rob Dickie) was the first one through the door back in early June.

I’d go further. I don’t think their ground is suitable to stage any matches at league standard until they resolve this. If they have to switch games to the second half of the season or play home ones at Forest Green or Cheltenham then tough. Their stand shambles is pretty hilarious but this isn’t, they have I understand struggled to comply with the minimum seats for league football rule & initially offered Barnsley no seats for those with disabilities, not sure how (if?) they got around this one but it really isn’t acceptable.

Weird then that new owners have been found by the likes of Coventry, Derby, Huddersfield, Ipswich & Sheffield United in very recent times. Sort of understand the latter with Prem money but hard to avoid the conclusion SL is either asking too high a price or doesn’t want to relinquish control because we are no less attractive than the other 4, arguably more so than a couple of these.

You don’t fancy doing it again by any chance? ?

Gary Rowett, Neil Harris & Mark Hughes are 3 to start off with.

I thought the financial situation at Fleetwood had markedly changed since their former owner went to prison? In terms of size of football club I’d argue that the disparity between Sunderland & Fleetwood & us & Watford was considerably different.

Whatever your view on him going from Sunderland to Fleetwood in just over 18 months isn’t a great career trajectory.

Great post but without discussing the relative merits of Pearson & GJ, I’d argue you perfectly described the latter’s legacy. ”The pissheads sobered up or effed off” Wilson & his band of drunkards, then SL’s great mate Tinnion (hopelessly out of his depth as a manager) couldn’t achieve this. GJ’s abrasive Cockernee manner was exactly what was required, “shape up or fackin’ ship out”.. He definitely lost the plot towards the end but absolutely he rid us of the waster culture tolerated (encouraged?) by Wilson & that Tinnion clearly couldn’t break.

Without looking it up I’d say probably Ronnie Sinclair in goal & Glenn Humphries as the other CB.