bcfcredandwhite

LJ kept us fighting at the top end of the Championship for the majority of his tenure, plus the best cup run in a lot of people's living memory, and many of those 63 played their part in that, to a greater or lesser extent. Ultimately LJ couldn't achieve promotion in the 5 seasons he was afforded. He also seemed to run out of ideas at the end, so it was right that he was replaced. It's also right that we have been cutting the wages bill and trimming the squad. I doubt if LJ personally had much to do with negotiating signing-on fees or wages - his job was in the dugout, not the Payroll office. I've said before on different threads, I look back on the LJ years with relative fondness. I though he was OK - I certainly don't see his time as a disaster. I've been a supporter since the 1970s and for far too much of that time we've been languishing below the second tier, so LJ's 5 seasons of Championship football without fear of relegation is a positive for me. Yes there have been some financial issues as a result of the buying and selling policies pursued by the previous regime (not necessarily LJ personally himself), but on the pitch and in the League table things were pretty healthy IMHO.

Watch out for the congestion charge if you’re driving !!

I thought Bramall lane was the oldest football ground in the world, not Deepdale - and Notts County the oldest football club? Not sure why I thought this - probably told it by the ‘all-knowing’ man in the pub at some point !! Nice to see a full squad available for Nige to pick from - looking forward to this fixture very much!

One other thing I remember from that game (but it probably happens EVERY game at Deepdale) is the Preston fans singing 'Stand up if you hate Blackpool' - it was a bit bemusing because at Bristol City we don't really care about Blackpool but we stood up with the PNE fans anyway! A while later, the City crowd on the other side of the ground started singing 'If you all hate Bristol Rovers clap your hands...' - which was greeted by similar puzzled bemusement by the Preston fans ? (I did manage to stop the wife from clapping though!!)

I only went to Deepdale once - back in 1998 last game of the promotion season under John Ward. We lost 2-1 and Graham Taylor's Watford ended up taking the cup. Me and Mrs R&W were in the Tom Finney stand with the Preston fans - which was a bit worrying at times - especially when the stupid wife celebrated our goal - but the Preston fans were fine! I remember being impressed with the facilities there - there was a huge bar in the back of the stand which seemed to stretch the whole length. It was manned by so many bar staff that there was no queue at all at half time. Got served straight away and watched the highlights of the first half which were being shown on multiple TVs mounted all along above the bar. It put the (then) facilities at Ashton Gate to shame. The Preston fans stayed and clapped us afterwards which was a nice touch. John Ward led the boys over to acknowledge them. Benny took us over the following season and the rest is history ?

I'd not noticed that. That's good news.

Pleased with the new signings but feel we should have focussed more on strengthening at the back, where we've needed to strengthen for some time. Now we haven't even got the option of Klose - and we don't know how long before Kalas will be fit again. I really hope there are some good freebies out there that we are looking at.

I know Jason in the Swan very well (I think he’s moved on now though) - Bonanza and Ibenza squares are right next to where we stay and we know all the bars and restaurants!! - we go there about 3 times a year to stay in a flat belonging to an old school friend of mine! There’s also a big sports bar next to the church. They have multiple screens and can show different games on different screens, and they can get RobinsTV so you are always guaranteed to be able to watch us play even on a Saturday afternoon when there’s a big Prem game on!! We absolutely love it over there - can’t wait.

Me too mate - I’ll be in Benalmádena on the Costa Del Sol. Gutted. It will have to be a local sports bar with sangria and Mahou for €2 a pint instead…. ?

I'm genuinely torn here. I love a good cup run and the chance to play against some top drawer opposition. However, I am concerned that a cup run could distract us from our most important task of staying in the Championship. The last time we had a good cup run it coincided with our (at the time) decent league form fizzling out. Ok, different manager, different players, different times - but it does happen - too often to too many sides for us to ignore it. Then there's the risk of cards, bans, injuries - or just simple burn-out, which we could do without. If we were comfortable mid-table I'd say go for it with everything we've got - but we are only just above the drop zone and avoiding relegation must be our primary focus. I just have nightmares about Bell, Max or Wells picking up long term injuries playing Wrexham on a wet midweek night in Wales, simply because we hope to meet a top 4 Prem side in the following round ?

Absolutely. We just have to be that club in the higher league. We have sorted the facilities - it’s the league position that we have failed to sort despite multiple managers and £millions.

Catchment area, current ground capacity and expansion potential, training facilities

It’s a shame to lose Semenyo. But it was also a shame to lose Webster, Kelly, Pack, Brownhill… the list goes on. Bristol City will continue to see their (our) best players leave for ‘better times’ until we play in the Premiership ourselves. I consider ourselves a ‘bigger’ club than Bournemouth, Brentford and at least the same size as Palace and Brighton in the current Premiership. One day we will (could) be poaching their best players too.

It would have been too obvious - and I’d probably end up bumping into my manager somewhere along the line and I’d be in trouble!!

I was working nightshifts when we earned the replay at Anfield. My manager was at the game at Ashton Gate and I was listening to it on the radio from work. As soon as the final whistle blew, I filled in the handwritten holiday request form (as was the process back in the day) for the night off so I could go to the Anfield game. My manager had to authorise it. When my manager came in and saw my holiday application waiting for his signature, he laughed as he ripped it up and threw it in the bin before submitting his own. We couldn’t both take the same night off as there always had to be at least one of the 2 senior members of shift staff on site. I’ll never forgive him for that. Blatant abuse of authority!!! I had to listen to that game on the radio in work too

I don’t subscribe to the polarisation opinion that a lot of people do on here. It seems that you either love the guy or absolutely hate him - with no in between. I’m probably in a tiny minority here, but I thought LJ was ok. Not brilliant and not godawful. Just ok - both as a player and a manager. Some people (probably correctly) quote nepotism, ‘charmed life’, ‘uncle Steve’ etc but you still need to have SOME ability to hold down a job in what is probably the most cut-throat of industries. As a player he was ok. Plenty of people gave him stick for being in the squad under his dad, but he wasn’t the worst player we’ve had at BS3 by a long chalk. He wasn’t brilliant but he was ok and part of the squad that got us closer to the promised land than any squad has since the days of Alan Dicks. As a manager too, a lot has been made about the money spent during his tenure and you can’t argue with figures, but you still need to select a side, choose tactics and adjust when losing - Lee did all that pretty well imho for most of the time he was at the Gate. He was ok in my book - we’ve had a lot worse My opinion only of course and like I said I recognise I’m in the minority.

Funny that our Goal Difference is nearly always either negative or around zero. what does that say about our defence over the years if we are scoring all those goals?

John Stead used to work quite hard.

For me, I think it should depend on the state of the season and what the aim is for the season. For example, thinking purely about matters on the pitch; if we are playing consistently well with a settled squad and a realistic chance of promotion or playoffs (or pulling steadily away from danger at the other end of the table) then keep the player in the select 11 because it's obviously working and we won't want to break it by 'tinkering'. However, if we are in mid-table 'mediocrity' with no realistic chance of promotion, playoffs or relegation - or if the wantaway player's performance isn't really outstanding, then I would drop him and give someone who intends to stay with the club some competitive game time to see if they can make the step up longer term - considering it's the NEW player that I'd be working with next season, not the old one. For me that's nothing to do with toys or prams - it's good management future planning, so we can go into next season with the new boy already 'bloodied' in the first team. There are, of course other factors OFF the pitch at play, which could affect the selection of said player, aside from his performance on the pitch. Covering for injuries or bans for example, or IF there has been a fall-out then you don't want that player contaminating the dressing room - bad apples and all that. Also, aside from the football, there could be financial considerations and the board might be putting pressure on the manager to play a wantaway player against his (the manager's) professional judgement in order to keep the player in the 'shop window' to hopefully get some money back for him.

Well we’d get better value for money for our entrance fee…!!

Warnock loves us apparently…. https://www.bristolworld.com/sport/football/bristol-city/neil-warnock-cardiff-city-bristol-city-3989265 I actually respect the bloke and his achievements but I recognise he’s more marmite than Lee Johnson at BS3.

That wouldn’t be a bad thing for him if that happened - GJ went on to take Yeovil to the Championship and for a while they were the highest placed West Country side - a division above us!

I toured Morocco in 1987. We DID make it to Marrakesh and I remember sitting in a rooftop bar overlooking the market square with all its hustle and bustle. It was the hottest place I’ve ever visited.

.. I bet he does NOT wish he had come to us!!!!!!