Leveller

14 minutes ago, Cowshed said:

Sometimes. Exactly. Pros will possess a better understanding of the disciplines which they can share with their sons. Role model and education is not DNA.

Do you believe the Brazilians possess a different DNA to produce so many expressive players? Do the Italians possess a defending gene? There is not a football gene. 

You have provided a magnificent example of how intense practice leads to success and the creation of talent leading to skill in Frank Lampard. Lampard was unathletic and his father put him through an extreme training regime. He had no normal childhood. The training was intense, integrated and internalised to a degree where Lampard became an outlier, his shoulder checking for instance is a result of that training leading to greater vision/peripheral vision. He subconsciously does tasks without thinking due to his thousands of hours of training tasks. Its nurture.

Some little lads have innate talent that gets nurtured. Some little lads are naturally clumsy with no ball skill. You can’t nurture ANY lad into a skilled footballer. So yes, there is an an element of varied levels of natural ability.

1 hour ago, frenchred said:

You are joking aren't you, Newcastle is a lovely city that beats bristol in just about everything! The coastline all the way along is absolutely stunning with lots of regenerated coastal towns.

Its way for us southerners to say it's grim up there, but really it's not!

Went to Newcastle for the first time recently - I was hugely disappointed. Quite nice around the riverside, otherwise, meh.

Rovers top of League Two! (FG)

3 minutes ago, Banjo Red said:

Needs to perform or he will be heading for the door.

He and the coaches need to accept that his potential is as an attacker running with the ball, because he doesn’t really cut it as a meat and potatoes midfielder. Unleash the potential.

1 minute ago, frenchred said:

Made the club unsaleable, took away ground ownership from the football club while building a huge portfolio for themselves.

Carry on the love in

Mel Morris. Compare and contrast.

22 hours ago, OneTeamInBristol said:

Based on what though? His form at QPR?

Still yet to really prove anything in a City shirt. 

If we had replaced Diedhiou in the summer I think Wells would be no where near the squad let alone starting.

He’s a goal poacher not a target man. On the rare occasions the rest of the team get the ball near the area, he looks a threat.

5 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

Football violence was associated with Millwall a long time before it's heyday, their ground was first closed due to trouble in the 1930's I believe.

1920, I think, due to the Newport goalie being pelted with missiles and receiving a right hook. Not much change then!

11 hours ago, Swede said:

Old dinosaur Club. It'll be skeletor next

Surely time for Pulisball next? One of the major hoof ball dinosaurs they haven’t tried, and he’s almost a local boy (though not sure how Newport and Cardiff folks get along!)

3 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

Averaged about 3 goals per season and was bang average. Let’s hope Antoine surpasses that. I’m sure he will. 

He was an out and out winger who averaged a goal every ten games. AS hasn’t done that or provided many assists. But, as you say, let’s hope he does. AS is, so far, more cultured, but far less effective. JB does not deserve the demeaning comments or mockery that some come out with.

2 hours ago, Lew-T said:

Regarding Pring, I think we’ll see O’Dowda come back into the side. Nige always talks about players coming into the side, that they have to take their chance of staying there.

Overall Pring has done well so far, but with 3 games in a week, we might see a change on that left hand side.

I was fully expecting a straight replacement of Pring by O’Dowda on the day, and I think that will come. I’d like to see COD with the encouragement to take risks going forward. He can be really exciting - but so rarely is.

7 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

Semenyo will have a better career than Bent. By the time we signed Bent he has had a fair few seasons behind him. Was generally underwhelming.  Young players are regularly written off on this forum and regularly prove people wrong.  

Joined us aged 20 and was so “underwhelming” that he played nearly 200 league games over 7 years for us and scored 20 goals on top of his crosses/assists. Let’s hope Semenyo one day matches that.

23 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

His style is nothing like junior bent’s. And he’s a much better player as well. 
 

Lots of people writing him off. Maybe the same ones who wrote off Bobby Reid, Massengo and the likes.

His style is nothing like Junior Bent’s - and so far, he is nothing like as effective. Unfulfilled promise so far.

Promising, but I think Kebano coming on showed the class he may struggle against at this level.

“a couple of familiar faces in their squad”

That Mawson chap was soon forgotten then!

16 minutes ago, bcfcredandwhite said:

I too watch Sunderland's results with interest. 

I supported LJ for most of his time at AG. I felt that there was a certain section of our fan base who had it in for him from day 1 and WANTED him to fail. Ultimately the football 'stagnated' and he ran out of ideas so it was right that he went - and I'm fully behind Pearson now, but I do think LJ took more than his fair share of criticism from some people.

I always wondered how LJ would do if he didn't have Ashton pulling his strings with one foot on LJ's head. His current management of Sunderland gives us that picture. I'm curious to see if Sunderland will go on 'streaks' like we did. 

I wish LJ all the very best. I truly believe that he loves our club, having both played and managed here and I really hope he gets a decent reception when/if he returns to the away dugout.

 

There was a large group who loathed LJ as a player and he was never going to get any objective assessment from lots of those from day one. People may have forgotten how divisive his reputation was even in those days.

1 hour ago, Coin-op said:

Why is the forum grey? 

Ooh interesting. It’s been grey for a few days but is now back to red on my phone!

16 minutes ago, Abraham Romanovich said:

Marvellous news, it's interesting to note that Leylah Fernandez tonight's opponent has beaten 3 of the top 5 ranking players in her run to the final, yet Raducanu is odds on to win.

Should be a good match .

Yeah, really difficult to call. One has been breezing past really good players without losing a set. The other has been beating even higher ranked players but by scrapping and struggling through three sets.

Emma seems to be very mature tactically, though, and if Leyla has a weakness (which I read that she has) then Emma could well fix on it and exploit it to the full.

10 minutes ago, Robin101 said:

Signing 19 players is extraordinary. How can they afford that!?

Haven’t they got rid of more than they’ve signed?

I'm just happy to see us competing in games and deserving something out of them again. ut winning is a bonus!

24 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

A touch of the Tomlin about him. Probably too good for League 1, not good enough for the Championship.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more inappropriate comparison! How is TM like Tomlin? The latter is more like a poor man’s Gazza - innate talent but too thick to have any self control.

I see Gaschat had to lock down their Exeter matchday thread after some charming comments about JB which one of the mods rather amusingly called "fragrant disregard of the house rules". Smelly, yes, fragrant, no.

3 hours ago, clunes said:

I’ve seen a game at the Allianz in Munich. Also been to Bordeaux. Both great grounds. Also, in Budapest you have 4 clubs to choose from so there should always be a home game on when you visit. 

If you’re looking for something a little odd, try Venice or Pisa.

 

Fly into Pisa from Bristol and its also an easy train journey to Florence for Fiorentina (and one of the world's great little cities too).

Kept off bottom place by the alphabet.

I’m not watching but all the comments say we have been abysmal, yet BBC stats show we’ve had 61% possession. So presumably we haven’t been overrun?