Harry

15 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Is that a bible reference?

It certainly was intentional. 
Jon bringing us the word of God, sorry, Dad. The all powerful being. 
I’m sure Tinnion has been cast as Judas a couple of time before too! 

46 game extrapolation :

Pre-Manning = 64.4 points

Manning = 60.8 points 

A 3.6 point regression. 
 

Jon 11:23 : “this change gives us the best chance to move us forward” or something like that. 

8 minutes ago, DolmanGaz said:

Just noticed 5 or 600 points on my account, few all to spend them on though! 

What do you mean?? Surely you’d want to spend your points on a Sam Bell signed photo. 

31 minutes ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

As I understand it although he's now enrolled and is attending a UEFA Pro License course this has not yet completed so he doesn't as yet hold a UEFA Pro License. Can he therefore manage in the EFL? 

Wayne Rooney didn’t have his qualifications when he managed Derby - I think? 

36 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Although I heard that some bridges were burned with Scudamore following the treatment of Phil Alexander who was his recommendation. 

Correct 

Just now, Numero Uno said:

Don’t the Rugby club (and us) have a 125 year lease to use AG or did I dream that.

That may indeed be true. 
And one of the reasons it’s a complex sale. What if the new owner doesn’t want anything to do with the rugby? 
Jon says they can be decoupled. Well; how do you decouple them if they’re allowed to use the stadium until the year 2129? 

They call it “investment” but the true definition of that word is to put money into something with the purpose of making a profit further down the line. 
 

It’s not an investor they need. Rarely will owners make money from football. 
They are trying to sell the club. But they have made it too complicated. Thats why there is plenty of interest in other championship clubs but Steve hasn’t found his buyer yet. Brum & West Brom have recently changed ownership. Preston I think are closer than us to selling. Ipswich also had new owners during the time where Steve was looking to sell. 
 

He wants too much money for it because he’s got the other entities associated with it. 
Yes, Jon says they can all be decoupled but that brings it’s own complications - if someone wants to buy BCFC but not the Rugby club, what happens to the ground? Are the rugby still allowed to play there, does the sale also involve the stadium, the training ground etc? 
It’s too complex and too expensive for potential new owners, hence why they’ll prefer to go to Birmingham and West Brom etc. 

Ipswich have certain things in certain areas. 
Pace on the flanks. Presence up front. Trickery and guile in attacking areas. Composure. A mix of youth and experience. 
But most of all, they have a huge desire and intensity. 

25 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

What did you have instead?

Nothing. 
I left, in disgust. 
Drove on to Clacket Lane instead. 
However, an equally poor selection so I had to plump for an egg sandwich from the Costa 

22 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

It's a service station sausage roll away from being your utopia.

I was at Maidstone services yesterday. No sausage rolls!!! What!!! 
Never going there again 

1 minute ago, Silvio Dante said:

So, I’d guess at a behind closed doors camp

That’s a shame. I know a sea faring bird from the Weston area who was keen to watch all the pre season games. Can’t get enough apparently

4 minutes ago, JakeOTIB said:

Close up of M*rk Asht*n. Said he wanted McKenna at City. First I’ve heard of that?

Yep. Had his eye on him for 18 months apparently. 
But of course, Holden was the clear choice

He seems like the kind of bloke who will visit a steam railway, stop for a weak lemon drink at the station cafe, drive home in his mini metro and finish the day with a spot of ironing (socks). 

Don’t get too excited. 

5 minutes ago, lenred said:

Just actually listened.  

Key thoughts / takeaways for me (without going over Manning again)  

- Says he should've communicated better before Pearson was sacked (‘before the event happened’)  What does he think he should’ve said exactly in the run up to that ‘event’? 

- Mentioned it’s the fans club.  At least he’s learnt there from his dad’s huge mistake.   Whether he means it or not who knows.  

- Board and roles just sounds a complete and utter muddled mess.  But he doesn’t seem bothered.  

- Who are the ‘experts’ he refers that he confides and gets info from that feeds his decisions about running our club? His mates as referenced on here before?  Again just sounds extremely haphazard.   

- Clearly doesn't want to spend much money…. Was pushed about it but seemed reticent.  Same old ‘HPC is the attraction, the coach is the attraction’…. ‘We need to be seeing value others don’t see’.   Another summer of penny pinching then and hoping for the best.   

- Clearly doesn’t want to spend on Twine either.  Fair enough with me but that position will need money whether it’s Twine or someone else.  

- Realistic about the reasons for improvement in attendances.   Fair play.  

- ‘Promotion is still the focus’. Attitude doesn’t say that to me though.    Sounds meaningless as per.  

- Wants ‘fans to feel part of it’…..no explanation as to how though.  I’m not seeing anything changing here.   

- Referenced fans ‘playing football manager’ in summing up. Why did he have to say that?  Fans in the main completely understand we don’t sign the ‘best players on the most money’ - it’s just a ***** move by him and a shame to end the interview that way.  

Mostly just pointless waffle then and I can’t say I’m any more enthused or confident after listening to him but I guess I didn’t think I would be so it’s as you were! 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep. Vagueness followed by more vagueness and a bit more vagueness to boot. 
And ended with an unnecessary “I know better than you lot” football manager dig. 
As I said earlier in the thread, if you actually write his words down and read them back to yourself, he makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. 
 

Oh, and I’ll add this :

On managerial recruitment :

”we have our way of playing through the academy. We recruit based on what a manager has shown. Either they work with that or they adapt”. 
 

On reaching the Prem :

”It’s about gradual steps but we need to make a big leap” what?? “We’ve got the academy and the HPC”. 
 

These 2 comments genuinely tell me that he thinks the way we achieve prem football is via the success of the academy and having a nice training ground - he thinks that we can end up with 11 Bristol kiddies in the team, managed by a young head coach who prefers one style but has to adapt to the way we play from 8 years upwards. 
 

Jon - it ain’t gonna happen that way. Trust me. 
It’s delusional 

3 hours ago, ciderwithtommy said:

@Harry appreciate the insight and of course it makes sense not to throw someone under the bus to appease the forum! The one bit I am slightly unsure on, is if it was the players who suggested to LM we needed a change, and he listened, does that equate to poor leadership? Or does it lend itself to creating more accountability for the players? I.e. we have problems and if you have the answers, I’m happy to facilitate that. The other option from the player meeting would’ve been “do it my way or leave” - not sure that’s great leadership from someone so new to the group whilst they were struggling for form. 

I’m certainly not against collaborative thinking and empowerment of the playing staff. 
I certainly wouldn’t advocate a “my way or the highway” type of leadership. 
So I don’t see a problem per sé in what occurred, nor do I see a problem per sé that Manning accepted the feedback from the players and took action. 
 

The problem for me, and the reason that this incident gave me the full 180 (remember, I was backing him before this), was that it demonstrated to me that Liam didn’t have the nous nor the leadership to have recognised this problem for himself. 
It was pretty clear to every single fan that the players were not able to play the style that Liam wanted. It should have been obvious to Liam and his staff too. 
If should have been something that came from Liam to the group to say “ok lads, I see things aren’t working the way we want. Let’s revert to our collective strengths, get some form and results and we can continue to work on my new philosophy in training and seek to progress”. 
 

The fact he didn’t recognise this himself and the change only occurred after the players intimated this, is why I lost all confidence in him. 
 

As I said, I was very vocally behind him on this forum up until that point. And I’m still actually generally happy with how his term has progressed so far. But this incident showed me he doesn’t have the kahunaberries to lead this team to the top end. 
I hope he does, and I’m not calling for his head - would be pointless anyway as he’s going nowhere. But I do now lack confidence in him 

In answer to the question about Phil Alexander leaving and there being no single figurehead, this is the sort of wafflly nonsense I referred to earlier. It’s a collection of words that mean absolutely nothing : 
 

“yes absolutely. I mean we’re set up slightly differently here in the fact that the chief executive as it was isn’t really running the commercial operation of the club which it would be most places. Look, the operation part that Tom is fulfilling here is the necessary part and we obviously need leadership in terms of the people, the teams and the building, but then in terms of your figurehead, for me you need different voices. Obviously we’re all talking we should be giving similar messaging, but you’ve got your people giving messaging externally, but internally it’s how it works and operates, so there’s not really any void there in that sense and you’ve got to get used to a team”. 
 

I mean - is anyone any the wiser after that?? 

49 minutes ago, Tim Monaghan said:

Another one with inside knowledge. Come on, spill the beans. Who told you this? Must be one of the first time players. Who is it? Don't be shy. 

Something I learned a long time ago about the very insular, egotistical and ‘self-preservation to protect your position at all costs’ world of football was this :

Never reveal your sources. 
 

Sorry Tim. Not happening. 

54 minutes ago, Kingswood Robin said:

At the very end he talks about - getting ourselves in the best position so we can push when the times right.

Does anybody know what that means?

It’s nonsense. 
As is most of what comes out of his mouth. 
If your were to write down his words and read them out verbatim, you’ll see it’s just a collection of words that mean nothing when placed in the order he says them. 
I find it really hard to fathom anything he says and his sentences never give any committed answer - it’s all just wafflly bollocks and means nothing. 
“in terms of this, in terms of that, that’s the process we’re looking for, the plan is this or that but I can’t tell you anything about how we actually achieve anything”. 
Waffly nonsense. 

10 minutes ago, Kibs said:

I’m seriously starting to question my own sanity now - I’ve listened to it twice and I didn’t hear anything about the board telling him to change or him not suiting the club etc!!
 

I actually heard quite the opposite!!

You listened twice!! Nurse!! We’ve got another one. Quick….. 

To answer your question though I don’t think the board told Manning to rip it up. 
As Fevs alludes to on Page 4, I think the players “went rogue”. 
In fact, as far as I am aware, the players actually spoke to Manning about it and Manning agreed to switch back to the style that best suited the squad. 
That was the moment I said enough. I was backing him prior to that (this was around the time of the swans game). But once I heard that he’d wilted and threw his own principals in the bin due to player pressure, I didn’t want him in charge any more. That was my turning point.  If you feel you need to change something because it’s not working it should be because you yourself understand why and what you need to do to change. 
The fact he bowed to player pressure was enough to tell me he’s not a leader. 
 

And no surprise. Because the bloke speaking on the radio tonight isn’t any sort of leader either. 

His goal celebration today seemed to suggest he was staying. 
He ran to the fans and was pointing to the ground as if to say “I’m staying right here”. 
Plus, when he was subbed, it didn’t seem like it was a final ovation, last time I see you at the Gate kinda thing. 
Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s signing a new deal but it certainly suggests he’s not going anywhere yet 

Looks like he’ll be the new Liverpool manager. 
I remember a time, only a short four years ago, when he was linked with the managers role here (when he was at AZ). 
I think he was at something like 20-1 at one time. 
But old Ashton plumped for Dean Holden after a 6 week rigorous and vigorous comprehensive worldwide search. 
What might have been eh??!! 

1 hour ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

I was looking this morning at seats in the Dolman. It's still obviously more than I would have paid for a South stand season ticket but less than the Lansdown. 

What is going through my mind is the marketing spill of "only a limited number of sesson tickets on sale" "we don't want too many more season ticket holders" etc etc. 

So I'm sat here thinking I'd be annoyed if we did have success and then I was unable to buy a season ticket. 

I’ve cracked it mate. 
Buy one in the Family Stand, invent a phantom 8 year old in order to be eligible. Total £460. 
Then sit somewhere in the South Stand where there will always be an empty seat somewhere due to other phantom 8 year olds. 

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!! 

10 minutes ago, joe jordans teeth said:

 

And in my eyes the greatest ever,but I don’t see how that compares to a footballer who won 50 caps for Wales(every death is sad)

You’re the one who mentioned him? 

1 minute ago, joe jordans teeth said:

He was but it’s weird,when maradona died football lost a great football player not a Argentina great 

But it was still a very sad day for Argentina 

7 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Here we go!

 

That EFL statement in horrendous. 
They just don’t get it. 
All they mention in there is that things were previously discussed but there were no financial agreements. 
Basically they are saying that if they get some more money they’ll agree to it. 
They don’t appear to mention anything about the joy of the competition and how enticing and exciting it can be for fans of non prem teams to be drawn against superior opposition. The chance of a battling draw at home to be given the opportunity of a lifetime for some players and certainly of fans to visit the top teams and stadiums. 
There is zero connection to any emotions in that statement. It’s just all financial. 
And we’re expected to believe that the likes of Parry, Ridsdale and Moxey sat there and said nothing! Yeah right. 

5 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

Hang on - youre saying if we didn’t have replays, Tinnions goal against Liverpool wouldn’t have been immortalised? And by extension, he wouldn’t have been portrayed as a club legend and engineered his way into a role on more than one occasion where he could bugger the club up from the inside?

Ive changed my mind. **** replays.

And we wouldn’t have had our tinpot celebration days this season!!