chinapig

All true, though Nigel claimed he was happy to start the season with what he has.

I'd love the first question to be "Nigel, can you explain why your players still can't be assed to mark people on crosses?" ?

I'm yet to see that he has made improvements, especially in our defending. I'm beginning to wonder how many training sessions it takes to stop players standing around while giving opponents free headers. At best the jury is still out but things need to improve pdq or he will be under pressure.

I assumed, since we lack goalscorers, that we would focus on not conceding goals this season, especially from crosses. So far nothing has changed.

Steve got rid because he was so miserable he was bringing everybody down. Whereas as Nigel is full of the joys of spring. ?

Where is the aggression and intensity we were promised by the way?

He's just another in a long line of jobs for the boys. Ashton Gate has been a well paid retirement home for years.

Trouble is the alternative is a superannuated Danny Simpson. Makes you yearn for Jack Hunt.

No chance with my prostate. ?

Extraordinary how many FFP deniers there still are despite repeated explanations.

Where's the fun in that!? ?

Your posts are always well informed and argued Dave but if even you are falling back on the 'concentrate on the league' cliche I fear the worst!

Maybe so but the mental weakness seems to pervade the whole squad and has done for a long time. No sign yet that it is likely to change any time soon.

This has been going on so long I'm not even sure what the questions are any more. But sure as hell nobody at the club seems to have the answers.

Mentality has been a problem for a long time. It can take a long time to change, which could leave us in big trouble.

Mental weakness? Or not as fit as claimed?

10, 9, 8, ....

And yet Nagy is starting tonight. This seems to be contradictory.

I believe that quote was actually made up by Kenny Dalglish. I still want it to be true though. ?

It is indeed a stereotype. Catenaccio is ancient history. Without checking, I think Serie A was the highest scoring of Europe's top 5 leagues last season.

Page 2 only because thousands of posts were locked outside of page 1. ?

Whichever striker was left on the bench, or even if he had started them both, the fact remains he wants another. Hardly surprising given our scoring record. Unfortunately we don't have any money. So I imagine he will rotate Martin and Wells and hope for the best. That is the position the previous regime has left us in.

A culture of fear was built up over years by Johnson and and Holden. It can also infect new players coming in if they sense their teammates are panicking. It's a lot easier to improve physical fitness than mental. It took Klopp a couple of years to change the mentality at Liverpool for instance. It's going to be a long haul I suspect.

I don't think it's fitness but mentality. The longer the game goes on the more scared we get. This is a long standing problem with no sign of a solution yet.

Our best bet for the season is keeping clean sheets given we don't have goals in us. Sadly we still look like a scared team when the pressure is on. Nigel isn't going to change that mentality overnight.