Nogbad the Bad

There have been a lot more reports than just some bloke on twitter, more than enough imo to say it'll be a surprise if they don't sign.

We've known for some time Bryan and McCrorie are very likely signings so the surprise now would be if they don't sign. Tinman said we'd be looking to sign experienced but still young lower league players, and interestingly these 2 and O'Brien don't fit the bill so presumably we're aiming to sign several lower league improvers as well.

Being in the PL would not be enjoyable if we're struggling at the bottom of the table - very likely - and the Championship is a great league to be in if you're established and competitive which imo. City now are. Lots of big clubs (if not the very biggest) and 6 new ones every year to keep it interesting. We do need to be patient and keep on building until we're strong enough to go up in some style with the real prospect of staying up rather than scraping up through the play offs and the likelihood of a very unenjoyable season up there and almost inevitable relegation. We're nowhere near that yet and realism and patience is required by fans over the next 2-3 years - and perhaps the owner after recent mutterings.

Give us a clue? Depends what you think of as interesting. Unless we got the signings just right after promotion we'd be struggling all season, take some horrendous beatings, and almost certainly be relegated. Life for newcomers in the top division is unrecognisable from our last promotion in 75-76 when we played our first game at Arsenal with no new signings at all, and won of course, but still only stayed up by the skin of our teeth. Although there were the occasional highs much of it wasn't particularly interesting either - I remember home games v the likes of Leicester, QPR, Sunderland, Stoke, Middlesbro' etc that were pretty drab affairs with not much bigger crowds and no more atmosphere than Div.2 . Entertainment factor too. If we go up we'll likely score 70+ goals, we could probably expect to see less than half of that in the top league (38 goals in 42 games in 76-77) I should make it clear I'm only interested in City, I'm not that interested in watching the opposition, and I suspect if we do go up a lot of the crowd will be there for the occasion, the day out, and to see ( and possibly even support) the opposition.

We were guffawing at Rovers in the 70's BI, but, unlike TV comedies, the laughs have never stopped coming and if anything they are even more hilarious today.

Yes it was, it's certainly not now.

Has he? First I've heard of that.

Getting there is the dream but the thought of being there is a bit of a nightmare.

Indeed we await the 'golden season', where as you say the stars align. The season where we get our fair share of penalty decisions, not too many important players out with long term injuries, and our team of youngsters matures with the more experienced players and gels into a promotion winning unit. Just like AD's team in 76 though, of course, these days every season starts with some players having left, and several new signings to be bedded in; in those days the team changed little over several seasons as a fairly settled team matured together and just got better and better until promotion was the next natural progression. We know the club will always sell it's most saleable assets whether it be Scott this summer or the likes of Conway or Pring in the medium future, although perhaps sooner than we anticipate. Under those circumstances, anyone - whether it be City fans, or SL himself - with the mindset that NP is expected to get top 6 next season or face questions about his future is bonkers. I've no faith Bristol City will ever go up through the play offs anyway so to my mind we will need to go up automatically. Meanwhile I'm content for City to be a solid, competitive and improving Championship club playing entertaining football, to keep bringing through the youngsters, enjoy watching them progress, and be patient. The Championship is an enjoyable division to be in with a competent manager and competitive team and we now have both. After what for me were years of mostly frustration and boredom under LJ & DH we finally have a City manager who has transformed the club with a squad of players who are worth getting excited about, and both they and he are worthy of our support. If the fans and, particularly the owner, can just settle back and enjoy the many renewed positives of watching City without exerting excessive pressure for a top 6 finish, and we all keep faith with Nige, that golden season may not be too far off.

https://www.otib.co.uk/index.php?/topic/208140-dean-holden-merged/

Me too, and therefore I'll be surprised if he does leave. You never know of course, but nothing to suggest he'll be going imo.

He was very much fancied and rated, that's why we signed him, and, don't forget, with quite a fanfare. Not sure why you expect him to leave when the only thing we know for certain since he signed is he's had a serious injury.

Interesting you think Wilson may be moved on and that many others on here have expressed the same view. On the face of it Wilson's had a serious injury - one that, even when fit, he will have to manage for the rest of his career according to NP - and has not started since iirc, presumably having not attained the fitness/resilience required. Unless that is deemed to be due to his lack of effort or poor attitude then it's surely just a case of NP not being confident he is fit enough yet to withstand a return to first team football without the injury reoccurring? He arrived very highly rated and has had a big injury set back. It may well just be a case of the club giving Wilson the extra time he needs, including a strong pre season to continue to build up his strength, and he's very much back in the mix in August.

The player between Walsh and Bromage is not named for some reason. Looks like Chris Honor?

Remember seeing Graham Underhill make what I think was his only City appearance at Wolves in Div.3. A disappointing City defeat at Molineux of course! Gordon Moore was a young winger iirc, remember him making a sub. appearance at AG. He tried hard and got great encouragement from the Enclosure as he battled to try and get down the wing but was never seen again.

From @Jerseybean's end of season thread: 'Next seasons fixtures will be released on June 15th at 9am with the season commencing the 12th August' '

Great to hear such a booming rendition of the National Anthem from both sets of fans.

I had Owzat (still got it somewhere I think) but my favourite cricket game was Discbat. Great game!

Looking at the Pompey forum Towler had a torrid time against Port Vale, was subbed and dropped from the squad for the next match. He may generally have done well at Portsmouth (don't know) but if he's being subbed and dropped by a moderate 3rd division team for being given the runaround by the likes of Ellis Harrison then there's nothing to suggest he's Championship standard or that City made a mistake allowing him to pursue his career elsewhere.

I, (and Wiki. where I got the information) stand corrected on that then! I've looked up those 2 match reports on the City site. Carlisle was City's first league win in 22 attempts. Crawley in November was the first home league win since March. Dire indeed.

Pretty sure McInness gave Bryan his debut and Reid was even earlier (Millen?) As someone who sat through every O'Driscoll home game I have to say it was a thoroughly depressing, but thankfully short tenure. After O'Driscoll made a promising start let's not forget we went down with barely a whimper, no fight whatsoever, no wins in our last 9 games, relegated with 3 to play. Down in L1 he was sacked after 11 games with City bottom of the table with not 1 win in the first 11 games. The whole club was in a depression, if he was a well thought of coach there was little sign of it in our play and we were heading almost inevitably to double relegation. Yes, some good signings were made while he was here but his man management ('I wouldn't have paid 300k for Flint') obviously left a lot to be desired. Thank God he was sacked when he was because Steve Cotterill was available and installed within the week and the rest is history. Cotts showed what this club is capable of under a charismatic manager with a positive personality capable of fostering a great squad spirit and getting the fans behind the club. O'Driscoll was never going to be that man.

Understandable if he's very young but it shouldn't be long until you can spend Saturdays with your son by going to AG together. Best of both worlds.

Think that was more than 13 years ago - about 2006?

SL should be a bit more humble and realise that when he and Nige have a difference of opinion then Nige is almost certainly right every time. NP is the most fortuitous managerial appointment SL has made and he should be damn grateful for the job he's done to stabilise the club from the complete mess he inherited, that mess being largely thanks to some terrible decisions from SL. Nige has more than earnt a new contract. imo. He's earnt more praise, respect and trust than SL seems willing to give him - publicly at least. Don't play silly games, offer NP that contract now.

I got together with my wife the day the van turned up outside my house to go to Wolves in the old Div.1 days. Someone had dropped out last minute and she'd come on the spur of the moment with her brother. Our early courtship in the freezing Winter of '78 included following City at AG and she came to the occasional away game, and she's maintained a strong interest in City ever since, if a bit of an on and off attendee over the years depending how City are doing, - e.g. ST for the duration of Cotts' tenure, but she got so fed up in the last couple of seasons of LJ that she stopped going completely despite having a ST. Occasional since, but all the time maintaining an interest in City and football in general, and often the one to spot a match on the telly and suggest watching it. I've often thought how different it would be being married to a woman who had no interest in football, or even actively disliked it and resented the time and money spent on following City, which I gather is often the case. Wouldn't suit me, that's for sure! Have a great day @Stoke Gifford Red76.