Spike

Dangerous free kick for Blackburn >.<

See this is the thing, players always say these kinds of things when everything is going well but if Manning has said he doesn't rate him, doesn't see him working in his tactics etc, anything along these lines that would be enough to make a player think "well, I need to find somewhere else". I'm not saying that is what has happened but it's just difficult to see why he'd be left out when he's easily good enough to start every game and can play a multitude of positions. I personally would have him on the teamsheet ahead of Weimann and Williams. I know Manning seems to be "Mr tactics" so maybe he's just over-tinkering but it seems crazy to leave out one of the best passers of the ball we have in a team that is playing a possession game. I mean it is all as we all know speculation but it does seem crazy to leave out one of the best passers of the ball with so much potential to create funds for a player who may not come in and perform when you already have a player who does.

I wonder if TGH has expressed a desire not to become a permanent move or something? It just makes no sense that he's not one of the first names on the sheet.

Well, Manning wanted him at Oxford so I feel he'll get a fair chance here but I do agree, you can only keep coaching a player so long before you have to accept they aren't making the chanves required. I think we've got quite a few ones dimensional players at the moment, Mehmeti is one who gets a lot of hate thrown his way because the team has never been set out to compliment him so we've never seen him at his best. Some other players who I won't name right now because they are loved by some fans get away with being one dimensional because the team is set up to compliment that from their game but I have a feeling that Manning thought the players we had were more capable of adapting than they actually are. I personally think Knight and Dickie are the two best players in regards to adapting and performing no matter what is asked of them which just further irritates me when you think how recently they were brought in. I feel like we'll need to shift some players if Manning is going to get us playing the style he's pushing for which means that Jon's statement that we have a top 6 team is garbage, as we all knew it was, as this isn't a top 6 squad, it's a rebuild squad as we're no longer playing to the squad strength. The only argument that could be made that we're top 6 is if we still had Nigel and were still playing to the squads strengths, that isn't the case and that means a rebuild is required. I think Manning is going to understand this, if he hasn't already cottoned on, and ultimately I think he'll request transfers be made, the board won't like this and he'll probably end up losing his job and being blamed by the board as him under performing with a "capable squad" as the excuse. I feel like Manning has been set up to fail here, I guess we'll see when the summer transfer period comes around and the board can't use the raise costs of players in the January window as an excuse any more, that's if Manning makes it that far.

Mehmeti is another player who with the right coaching could really be a hell of a player, he's just lacking in his decision-making. He does so much but makes the wrong decision, if a coach can get him on the right path for his final product he could really shine.

It's probably hypothetical but you do have to consider with all of the injuries we've had it wouldn't be a stretch to think the physios are probably being more cautious.

I just don't understand that, taking off the one player who is creating so much >.<

Very lucky Tanner didn't give away a penalty there, his hand was up and he handled the ball

GET IN!!!

Terrible decision there from Tommy, like why would he go wide like that, even if he came inside and the shot wasn't as strong it would have been a better opportunity >.<

I honestly think he's been told to do that, it looks like he's thinking about what he's doing and then trying to come inside, he usually just stands the man up and then uses a burst of pace but it makes sense if Manning has told him to do that as we never have anyone in the position for his byline cut backs and Manning obviously wants possession football. It's another case of a manager who wants to play one way and ignores the players strengths and tries to coach them out of using them.

Yes but we pushed high and they had as many men forward as we had back, we pushed all the way up and had James as our cover, he positions well but he's not the man you want covering a counter attack. The second that ball comes out we should have someone with pace looking to give us an extra man back. I mean one bad pass from Tanner (where he could have gone back) and it's a 2 vs 2 with James being the pace player. That's just poor management of the corner and a case of too many players forward.

Whenever we get to the byline like that and cut back because Tommy is marked up why do we never have one of our advanced players looking to sit in the box? We always seem to lack that player looking for the cut back and yet we play it quite a lot

and there it is.... playing that high line and getting caught with a bad pass and being countered. This is why Nige set us up to defend and counter, with this style of football if we can't take chances we'll be hit with the exact type of football we've apparently left behind.

After that kick by Max I'd imagine they may have hit dog frequency.

The longer this game goes on the more it makes me concerned that we're going to play nice football and lose games regularly. We look better going forward but can't take chances and the going forward is coming at the cost of us looking a little more shaky at the back at times. A good team will take their chances against us, we need to take our chances if we want to play this kind of football.

One thing we're doing that we didn't do under Pearson which I'm loving, diagonal low balls into the box with players running behind the backline. We've played around 3-4 so far in the first ten minutes and it's causing real problems for Huddersfield. If we can keep that in our game and mix it up with some direct low passes into the middle as well I think we could create much better chances regularly.

The best part of this line up is putting Vyner in the middle, he roams too much on the left or right of a back 3, with him in the middle he tends to hold his position better.

So the line up said Sykes at left back but he's definitely on the right atm.

So it is the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 with Sykes as left back and Weimann as Right Forward... I just hope some kind of miracle happens and this works out somehow but Sykes at left back hurts my brain.

Yeah but for every time a line up surprises there are probably 20-30 examples of bad line ups proving to be exactly what was expected.

Yeah having Pring on the bench to play a right forward as left back is madness in itself, but having Weimann in to create that movement is bat shit crazy. I was just listening to Naismith talk and he said he'll play wherever the manager wants him to play and that Manning see's him primarily as a left-sided center back but he seemed pretty uninspired by this. I'm guessing Manning doesn't look or listen to what position the players think they're best in, comes in and makes his own assessment and sticks to that. I can't see how Manning keeps his job if he does these weird selections and they don't work out, it just adds fuel to the fire when fans start calling for his head. I know we're nowhere near that situation atm but we've got Manning after having a manager who took players and got them into positions and systems that benefitted them, not forced players into positions that don't suit them to suit the system.

TGH out of the line up but Weimann is in... I just don't understand it, Weimann must be incredible in training to keep getting games.

With 7 teams above us and still not in the play offs, yes things can change quickly but 5 points is massive in the Championship, last season 5 points was the difference between being in the play offs and finishing 10th and to make it extra clear how much 5 points are in this league, points didn't even define who got 6th spot last season, it was the goal difference. Any situation short of being flat last can be spun to seem more positive but the simple fact was had we beaten Norwich we'd currently be 7th, we're in 14th. The only way we're making the play offs is to have a huge turn in form and go on a run of 5-6 games undefeated which is simply not going to happen when our squad is being forced to learn a new style of play, of which many are simply not suited to. Our best hope of Play offs this season would be a very strong January that brings in players of a much higher calibre and suits Mannings tactics. I just cannot see that happening, I think our best outcome in January is to secure TGH on a permanent contract and potentially adding one more first-team player but I'm not sure the current board would even allow that to happen as we already have a top 6 squad....

A fantastic post that sums up what I feel is the same for many of the "older" followers, no insult intended, I consider myself one of the older ones too haha I'm not against Manning, I have no ill will towards him and I really hope he manages to get the players he needs to make this system work but Nigel was a far better fit for this club as we're limited by the people running the club and he was the first manager I've seen that's come in, taken a messed up situation, fixed it and done it all with severe limitations in place. Every time the board put a hurdle in the way he managed to hop over it and keep pace which is why they ultimately sacked him the second that they had, what in their eyes, was an opportunity. There was next to no calling for him to be replaced and I honestly cannot remember a manager being sacked in the time I've supported the club which genuinely surprised me and that had such a backlash so quickly. I think this board has finally lost a lot of fans and whilst we continue to hope Manning and the players do well there is certainly contempt for those at the top, I mean I defended Steve Lansdown for years and years and even I've lost that support for him as he's proven, along with his son, that they are not capable of making the club into a Premier League club, I honestly do not believe I will ever see this club in the top flight unless the Lansdowns sell up and move on but that is not going to happen, at least not with the club being left in a good position. The stadium is no longer Bristol Citys, whoever buys the club will have to work around "Bristol Sport" and I just don't see that as a good investment which is why I think SL is struggling to find a buyer. FOr me the sacking of Pearson was the first clear sign that the board are no longer interested in the football club success, they're in it for their business now, the sports business, us fans mean nothing to them so long as we keep turning up as Jon Lansdown pretty much said and unfortunately he was correct, our fans will keep turning up and paying for this to happen.