sunningdalered

I'd take him. Love the football cov play. They start converting a few of the chances they create and things will look very different.

Took me a long time to get over the appointment of Millen. He was always a no. 2, never a leader. IIRC he was defensive coach prior to the managerial appointment, and we couldn't defend for sh*t.

If ever you wondered about why Bristol city have achieved so little for so long, I think it should be obvious from what has just happened with you. Honestly, it's not you, it's us. We get what we deserve. The vast majority of fans were right behind you, and believed in what you were doing, unfortunately the people handing over their money every week don't run the club.

What a sad day for BCFC.

We don't have to look too far from home for a decent example of what we might be missing. It's Semenyo's combination of strength and pace that continues to be regarded as his main asset, not strength or pace alone. He wasn't always a 10M striker, so maybe Tins can unearth the next Semenyo-type forward who can play more effectively through the middle. Might be a tall order, but a total reliance upon the academy to produce these players is, equally, asking a lot IMO.

And, with respect, I think therein lies the problem. You're right, that is the old school model. Why immediately assume that physicality has to come from a Bob Latchford type? And why does it automatically lead to us punting it forward at every opportunity? I don't see Brentford constantly hoofing it towards Mbeumo and hoping he'll get a knock on. Not sure what your definition of a proper manager or more sophisticated approaches is, but I think you'd struggle to identify many of the better teams in the EPL who don't have a physical element to their forward line. Nige might not fancy it, that's his perogative, but for some, me included, it might be the thing that adds the extra 10-15% that we need to get closer to a top 10 finish.

I find it a bit disappointing that whenever anyone on here suggests that we are a bit lightweight up front they get met with such overwhelming criticism (although not really amounting to abuse IMO) . Yes, we do have a number of attacking options, and anyone coming in would have to fit with the way that NP wants the team to play, but I don't see why the recruitment philosophy that we are deploying in other areas of the pitch can't equally apply to the forward line. I don't think it's outrageous to suggest that a young player with pace and more of a physical presence would improve our attacking threat. I admire the academy pathway model, but would also hope that Tins has on his radar a few strikers of this ilk who are a little further along the development path.

Long thread so might have been suggested before, but I'm a little surprised that the idea of a, say, £35M bid for Scott and Conway hasn't really surfaced on the speculation treadmill. Taking the pair of them would IMO probably improve the chances of them both making the step up successfully. I know that would be a fair chunk of change, but would represent value to my mind. Alex is always referencing Tommy whenever he appears on camera which suggests to me that having that support in his next move would really make a difference to him. I suspect the feeling is mutual. Tin hat on! Awaiting both barrels ?

I quite like the prospect of a Conway v Kalas match-up.

All of this is completely fair comment, but we cannot afford to keep looking back. We have to deal with the here and now. I don't see much support on here for offering long contracts to Dasilva or Kalas, and some people were offering Palmer a lift to anywhere. We would all like to think that the club has learned something from some of these expensive investments, maybe labelling them as mistakes would be overstating it. FWIW, I've always thought Kalas was too immobile, and had to expend more effort throwing himself into last-ditch blocks than he might have needed to because he didn't read, or couldn't get to a threat early enough.

I'm with you on this. Keeping a good defensive shape when in possession and going forward is, IMO, as important as getting back into an effective shape quickly if you turn the ball over higher up the pitch. I don't see that from us at the moment, and wonder if it's something that can be coached into the players we have, or whether we need to have this more defensively-aware mindset bought in. Either way, it's on NP to find the answer! And preferably before 1/3 of the season has got away from us.

Fantastic ?

I would love to see you be right about Sykes. Like with any young player, predicting the ceiling for their potential is incredibly difficult. Seems to have plenty of self belief, so hopefully he will grow as a player and develop the slight swagger that marks out the special ones!

I do think that next season we should start to see what NP can do, coaching-wise, with a squad of players that he trusts more to play in a particular way. Can he deliver a team that plays with greater general movement, is less predictable and is bloody hard to beat? Look at the teams who finished above us this season, especially in places 2 to 6. There is some very effective coaching, with a range of playing styles, in there. What they all had was bags of self belief. If he can send a side out each week that gives itself more than a 50:50 chance of winning it could make a big difference.

IMO, to be a proper top 6 candidate we need to become a team that others don't fancy their chances against to a greater extent than presently. Yes, we get some respectful comments about the way we play, but I doubt many managers send their teams out against us fearing the worst. Maybe a couple of additions in key positions might elevate us in this respect, but I doubt they'll come from L1 or L2 - and it might mean compromising on minutes for the academy products / development players. Without this improvement in our pitch 'presence' though, I see only incremental improvement over the next 2-3 seasons (from what is a better starting point than in the last few seasons tbf). Realistically, 10th to 12th next season.

Might be a hangover from the game against Reading at home, when, despite having multiple chances to make a telling contribution, his end product was non existent. More likely that Nige just wants to mix things up though.

Well I thought OTC was so out of his depth today he was like a ballperson who had mistakenly stayed on the pitch when the game started. Could easily have been pulled after 20 mins. ? That better?

Had virtually half the pitch to himself in the second half yesterday. Did a lot right when receiving the ball and setting up against the defender, but man his decision making from that point was frustrating. Not all players develop into the full package, so we have to accept the possibility that he might be one of those, but time on his side for now. I would accept that patience is required, but yesterday was a tough watch when Reading were so poor, and Anis had so much space and time to work in.

Thought that was a fair advantage call, they wouldn't have been happy if the guy finishes and the whistle had already blown. So not even that decision was giving us the benefit. Where I think he let himself down was not penalising challenges where there was no attempt to play the ball.

I thought he did okay tonight tbf. Not yet formed any obvious partnerships with specific teammates, but industrious, and was well placed for the half chance that came his way. Can see him being a valuable asset over the next 12 months.

Just goes to show that you have to turn up against every team in this league. Cardiff didn't care who we played midweek, even before Williams went off they were creating some good positions through midfield and out wide right. We lacked physicality today from the start. The ball didn't stick or get looked after well enough, especially in the first 35 minutes. Don't think think we got the basics right today. Never mind, bound to be days like today given where we are with the building of this squad.

He was a part-time CB - the rest of the time he spent marauding up the left wing, or, basically, playing wherever he fancied. Entertaining though.

All a matter of perspectives. If I was a Bournemouth fan, which is an odd thing to imagine, I think that I'd have this firmly in the expensive punt category. An 8-figure fee for a player who has delivered what Antoine has in his career to date is mind-boggling. Even very recently, there have been games where Antoine has been virtually absent, shown the worst first touch of any player on the pitch, and failed to work the goalkeeper on numerous occasions. Yes, there looks like there's a special player in there somewhere, but confidence is a very fragile thing, and a downward spiral can hit just as easily as a sustained period of high confidence. Good business for City. If we squander the money from Antoine on poor signings, that's another matter.

Not sure about that. If you look at Semenyo's body of work to date, and his conversion rate in particular, there has to be quite a big leap of faith element to paying this sort of money for him.

Absolutely brilliant! Thanks for posting.