Are You Lot For Real?

[Brizzle Jordan]

Ok ,just spent 15 mins thinking. What conclusion am I supposed to draw from 5 consecutive defeats and zero goals other than the blindingly obvious?

Help me out here.

Were going through a very bad spell and a dry spell infront of goal. We are still 6 points above relegation which is all I really care about. Brighton went 10 games without a win earlier in the season so it shows every team has a very poor spell.

[Bobodave]

Genuinely? I've never read so much utter drivel in my life. What planet are half of you on?

I'm hearing loads say they've almost had it with football lately, and do you know what? I'm almost there too, but not because of the standard of it, or the cost... The most depressing thing about is the fans of this club. **** me.

The guy has come here with the initial remit of keeping us up, considering with a quarter of the season gone we were adrift and on just SIX points and now we are SIX points clear of the relegation zone I think it's safe to say he is achieving with flying colours. People do realise that the accumulation of three managers long term mistakes have landed us with one of the most mediocre squads in the division? Filled with born losers and mercenaries? There are about 6 players at the club who have genuinely got the right attitude and 4 of them were signed by this manager.

For the love of god will you lot get some perspective? We don't have a god given right to win games and managers (even the best in the world) frequently make mistakes. I'm sure a lot of you would have gone 4-4-2 from the start today? Sounds to me like doing that second half led to us losing 2-0... So you all clearly know a shit load more than the manager eh?

Crock of ******* shit, is this forum at times. Only 300 people made the effort to get up there today... Maybe if some of you put as much energy into supporting as you do moaning the players might be given a lift and drag us out of what is a reasonably bad situation...

Christ.

Got it in one. The big problem at City is some of the players are quite happy to draw their big pay packets for doing very little on the pitch, there is no reward or incentive to perform and get results.

Look at fringe players, still swan round in their flash cars - easy work if you can get it - more fool the clubs (not just City) for paying them. JCR has just replaced his BMW 5 Series convertible & his Range Rover (I think it was an Overfinch model) for an Audi convertible and another Range Rover, both with the latest black alloys, de-badged, private plates & tinted windows.

Football is heading for a big crash soon.... its already starting - players demanding bigger & bigger pay packets (Premier League £150k+ per week), buying horses, hotels etc, can't be bothered to play for their countries in the summer tournements as it gets in the way of their money making promo work with their plastic WAGS. Greed has taken over, the mega rich billionaires buying clubs as toys or hobbies coz it's trendy, they can afford to waste it, they've got nothing else to spend it on. The fans are the ones paying for it through gates & shirt sales etc.

Personally I think too many City fans expect too much and feel we deserve to be in the Premier League - we deserve to be exactly where are!!

[del ete]

jordan you could find a positive from a famine or nuclear fall out. i do enjoy your posts, wish i had 1% of your optimsim and id be a happy man.

[Brizzle Jordan]

jordan you could find a positive from a famine or nuclear fall out. i do enjoy your posts, wish i had 1% of your optimsim and id be a happy man.

If you are on about me, It's because if you dont have faith then what is the point.

[jimmer007]

I listened on the radio today

And for me dels tactics baffled me

Yes we did start with 4-4-2, but did so in a sort of diamond according to the radio to match Peterborough

Why when 4-4-2 with Pitman and wood up front worked so well second half v Palace, should we worried what Peterborough are doing and match their formation,

why not play the same team that finished Tuesday night barring injuries and give Peterborough something to worry about?

Peterborough were 3pts ahead of us before today without a win in 8 and we change our team and personnel to match theirs

Im all for playing Albert through the middle but why change the wood pitman partnership that looked good Tuesday?

What did we have 1st half 1 shot on goal and ended up playing 4-5-1 again!!

Surprise surprise as soon as Wood came on upfront with Pitman we had a great spell for 10-15 mins where by the sounds of the radio could have had at least 1-2 goals

Then as soon as it went 2-0 was all boro then

Just seen the goals so soft again it's unreal

Dels tactics today didnt make any sense to me,

I'm behind Del but the buck stops with him on this one

Playing the safety first 4-5-1 worked for a while but it isn't working any more,

Please play 4-4-2 with wood and pitman up front, not rocket science is it?

At least we will give teams something to worry about rather than worrying about them

We might be more open playIng 4-4-2 but at least we look like scoring!!

[Forza Revolution]

Whatever eveybody's thoughts on Mcinnes, there is not very long left this season so we have to fully get behind the team!

If you love him or hate him, think he's good or bad, he is not going anywhere and being negative will only make things worse for us, Very hard I know especially when were hammered 3-0 but we have to make the most of a bad situation!

Get behind the team @ForzaRevolution or on facebook (ForzaRevolution) and lets make sure were doing our part!

FORZA REVOLUTION - The future is unknowable but the past should give us hope

[reddoc]

Were going through a very bad spell and a dry spell infront of goal. We are still 6 points above relegation which is all I really care about. Brighton went 10 games without a win earlier in the season so it shows every team has a very poor spell.

Ahh I see. So Brighton turned things around and therefore we will. A simplistic sort of logic but I suppose you could use it to cheer yourself up if you were so inclined. Guessing if I could be bothered to look there would be similar examples throughout the history of the game. Purely a guess but I reckon if you wanted you could find a whole bunch of crap teams who've lost 5 on the trot away from home and then made it 6 or 7 or 8 etc.

I'd suggest we've had a poor season with an extremely brief good spell who look like there could be a long wait for the next one.

[Brizzle Jordan]

Ahh I see. So Brighton turned things around and therefore we will. A simplistic sort of logic but I suppose you could use it to cheer yourself up if you were so inclined. Guessing if I could be bothered to look there would be similar examples throughout the history of the game. Purely a guess but I reckon if you wanted you could find a whole bunch of crap teams who've lost 5 on the trot away from home and then made it 6 or 7 or 8 etc.

I'd suggest we've had a poor season with an extremely brief good spell who look like there could be a long wait for the next one.

We've had a shocking season but with the quality we have in our squad and the form we are in we are going to get beaten more often than not. All that matters is we pick up enough points from the next 14 games to scrape clear of relegation. Couldnt care if we lose the next 8 and then win 6 in a row.. that would give us enough points.

[Slave to the rhythm]

If you are on about me, It's because if you dont have faith then what is the point.

I think he was referring to Mr Happy Clapper Tansley, who thinks that everybody connected with BCFC is above any form of criticism.

[Lordofthebling]

I'm with you Jordan, I'm a city fan so will be here next season and watching the side next season, whatever division we are in.

But I was there today and can't believe how poor we were. This was a team just above us in the division. We are falling like a rock, and I hoped for some sort of reaction on the back of a bad run.

I hope we stay up and give Del a huge axe to wield.

[OldlandReddies]

I was there and I am a big McInnes supporter however he did get it wrong today. Strange formation, looked like we started with a 4,1 (Cisse), 3, 2 (Albert supporting Pitman) and it just didnt work. Cisse was clearly unfit and with Albert roaming, the excellent Briggs was given the freedom of the right side of the pitch. Mcgivern was woefull and was constantly outpaced/outfought and wanted too long on the ball. The midfield 3 were totally overun/outplayed. The only players to come out out of the game with any credit were Foster, McManus & Jamo who did little wrong. When we eventually switched to 442 we looked more balanced and more of a threat until the 2nd goal went in and that was that. Credit to Peteborough as i thought they looked a very neat outfit and very dangerous going forward but it had a lot today with most of our lot having a nightmare. We must start 442 against Blackpool with Wood/Pitman up top and look to sort both that left back position out (as McGivern cannot be given another chance) and look to get a proper playmaker in.

[stephenkibby.]

I was there today and the problem is not mcinnes, the problem is our players just aren't showing enough guts for the relegation battle. Don't get me wrong there are 1 or 2 that have pride in their performances, but there simply arent enough prepared to run through walls to help us stay up. Mcinnes can do so much on the training ground and in the dressing room, but ultimately it's down to the players to consistantly show the fight and motivation that they showed against southampton both times this season, and not choose to turn up for the odd game. It's time to start fighting for our survival lads, come on!

theres the problem,in the 60s,ino ino we were shite in this division, but we had men, men like rooks crowe and little jonny qiigley.who would run through that wall.

[Jordan Tansley]

I agree about your assessment of the manager, I really haven't got a problem with DMC. However as several people have pointed out this squad can occasionally turn it on against the best in this division which proves they are capable. I think the problem is the old BCFC problem that Wilson and Tinnion never got to grips with GJ eventually sorted out and Millen allowed to creep back in, i'm sure DMC will eventually sort it out as well. We have far too many high earners who believe they are better than they actually are and I suspect that one or two of them realise that they have no future and DMC has told them so and they have had their noses put out of joint, basically they have no professional pride and that's an attitude problem.

Couldn't disagree with that Esmond, I think a lot of players at this club are ridiculously over rated by our fans, management (throughout our championship stint) and least impressively themselves. Marvin Elliot being the prime example of a woeful football player with a reputation for being a top end championship midfielder. He was one of the best players I've had the pleasure of seeing for 6 months or so in the first season up but all the good things he did then to mask for his incompetence on the ball have slowly left his game. He used to put in challenges all over the pitch, hitting people hard and making sure they knew they'd be in a battle.. when was the last time he did that? Skuse is the only player in the squad who really hits people in the challenge now... and he's powder puff half the time.

it's absolutely amazing that so many players who have never been good enough are still here. The likes of Clarkson, JCR, Stewart, Gerken, Woolford (not been here long, granted.) Even the likes of Kilkenny are just not good enough, I'm sorry to say... Infact, he's probably the one player who thinks the most about himself without backing it up at all. He's had some really good games when he plays up the pitch and I cannot for the life of me understand why he naturally drops deep in some attempt to orchestrate things? He's turd when he has time to think... as soon as he's pressured into making quite decisions he becomes a brilliant player.

I wouldn't disagree with anyone who says that McInnes had a mare today either. Questioning decisions is not what this post was about. I don't think many with a brain would have taken it that way? This is about the pathetic knee jerk tone of a lot of pre match posts today.

Is it really too much to ask for a little balance or consideration in posts? Got it wrong, been getting it right. a shed load of limitations on what he can do too.

I guess it's just a bi-product of the changing nature of the game. I can certainly understand why people expect more considering the amount we are forced to shell out... but supporting City isn't about success or guaranteed entertainment... if that's what you want from football then Sky offer a well priced package with an abundance of good football to watch. We're not a big club, we're not even that good... accepting that and still coming back is probably a sign of madness.. but it's the way supporting the smaller lower league clubs in this country is.

Perspective is the key, for me.

[Taylor10]

Great post JT.For anyone to call for Del's head, seriously get real. Fed up of reading that sort of crap on here. We don't have a god given right to win games and why should we!? Yeah for sure Del has made mistakes, he did today and he will again in the future! And what? Shall we get in Mourinho to work with this group of overpaid wasters?

Like it has been mentioned, with the exception to a handful, these players are not good enough and never will be. The warning signs have been there since towards the end of GJ's reign. As a club we have been guilty of signing too many journeymen and players without any resale value or hunger in them. Some of the clutter in and out over the last few years has been nothing short of absurd.

Del is not at fault for the state of the club as it is today. Regardless of whether we appointed Robbins, Jones, O'Driscoll, Mourinho, Hiddink, they would have struggled with this lot. Even if we were in a better position with any of those than we are now, you can bet your bottom dollar we would have been in or around the relegation zone.

A lot of us need to wake up, fans having blinkered views on players and realise a lot of these players will never help us progress. Need to be realistic. People saying the likes of Stewart, JCR, Macca etc still have a place and can be 'useful squad players'. Well useful is not good enough is it? Literally about 6 players max out of the entire squad that are consistently good enough to be championship players. It's just not good enough.

I can't believe anyone would call for Del's head, we still have a chance of staying up! Out of his depth? give me a break! He wasn't out of his depth when he hauled us out of the relegation zone was he? Everyone get real, we are not a force in the championship, and probably wont be for a very long time. Therefore in what is an extremely competitive league we are not going to go 10 games unbeaten, or destroy teams week in week out.

Just a little bit of advice, stop expecting things from players who have now proven over a long period of time that they cannot deliver. Might give everyone a bit of a hint as to why we are where we are.

[Slave to the rhythm]

Great post JT.For anyone to call for Del's head, seriously get real. Fed up of reading that sort of crap on here.

I don't think that anybody is calling for his head, but people have every right to question whether or not he is going to have what it takes to turn things around, especially in view of the comments made by those who attended the game today about the poor selections, tactics and substitutions.

Nobody should be above criticism.

[Taylor10]

I don't think that anybody is calling for his head, but people have every right to question whether or not he is going to have what it takes to turn things around, especially in view of the comments made by those who attended the game today about the poor selections, tactics and substitutions.

Nobody should be above criticism.

No of course not. But I have seen people calling for his head even suggesting Dave Jones would have us saved by now! Since when has Dave Jones any experience of being in a relegation battle with a team that has no budget to work with and a team full of players at a level below what they are playing at!?

[TRL]

No of course not. But I have seen people calling for his head even suggesting Dave Jones would have us saved by now! Since when has Dave Jones any experience of being in a relegation battle with a team that has no budget to work with and a team full of players at a level below what they are playing at!?

can't think Jones would of, never rated him.

I could see the likes of Colin doing it though, he knows exactly what it takes in this league. Not that he was an option at the time.

So I still prefer del over Jones.

Got everything crossed for the guy, and hope he learns from his mistakes

[Taylor10]

can't think Jones would of, never rated him.

I could see the likes of Colin doing it though, he knows exactly what it takes in this league. Not that he was an option at the time.

So I still prefer del over Jones.

Got everything crossed for the guy, and hope he learns from his mistakes

Likewise. That's another thing he is a young manager and only in his second job. He will be learning all the time, but just needs to learn very quickly. Easily the man for the job, I just feel sorry for him that he has had to inherit such a poor poor squad of players.

[TRL]

Likewise. That's another thing he is a young manager and only in his second job. He will be learning all the time, but just needs to learn very quickly. Easily the man for the job, I just feel sorry for him that he has had to inherit such a poor poor squad of players.

I don't feel sorry for him, any manager worth his salt would be clued up on the club before he agreed to join. I'm not entirely sure del knew the gravity of it before he joined, he is having to learn Damn quickly.

But I would rather have someone come in from relative success, rather than a manager that has been fired.

Del needs his own 5 signings to start performing or he is going to be questioned, because if we are being truthful, we have looked worse since his signings have become regulars. He needs to kick some asses hard and quickly

[DOLMANDAN]

+1 I believe there are many passionate followers of Bristol City fc on this forum and sometimes this extreem passion blinds them to a little bit of reality imo

[Ron]

I could see the likes of Colin doing it though, he knows exactly what it takes in this league. Not that he was an option at the time.

God forbid we should afford him the 6-and-a-half years it took him to get Sheffield United promoted.

[real_bristol]

Genuinely? I've never read so much utter drivel in my life. What planet are half of you on?

I'm hearing loads say they've almost had it with football lately, and do you know what? I'm almost there too, but not because of the standard of it, or the cost... The most depressing thing about is the fans of this club. **** me.

The guy has come here with the initial remit of keeping us up, considering with a quarter of the season gone we were adrift and on just SIX points and now we are SIX points clear of the relegation zone I think it's safe to say he is achieving with flying colours. People do realise that the accumulation of three managers long term mistakes have landed us with one of the most mediocre squads in the division? Filled with born losers and mercenaries? There are about 6 players at the club who have genuinely got the right attitude and 4 of them were signed by this manager.

For the love of god will you lot get some perspective? We don't have a god given right to win games and managers (even the best in the world) frequently make mistakes. I'm sure a lot of you would have gone 4-4-2 from the start today? Sounds to me like doing that second half led to us losing 2-0... So you all clearly know a shit load more than the manager eh?

Crock of ******* shit, is this forum at times. Only 300 people made the effort to get up there today... Maybe if some of you put as much energy into supporting as you do moaning the players might be given a lift and drag us out of what is a reasonably bad situation...

Christ.

A lot of time for this, especially coming from a fan who made the trip, if only we were all this passionate, we might still have Maynard as an option.

You can't blame McInnes for today he tried a few things and that's what a manager needs to do, games will give him a clearer picture about who his fighters are, my guess is he'll keep switching it around until it does work. One point of interest, it sounded as though we started the second half with a bit of confidence albeit being leaky at the back, but if we'd have started the game like that we may have got an early goal and it could have been a different story, is it worth the gamble particularly at home??

[Esmond Million's Bung]

I think our problem is and I really believe this, the much criticised GJ at his height made us believe and for a tantalizing moment it was all there dangling in front of us and I think to many now that has in fact become the bench mark.

[Ashton1]

I was there and I am a big McInnes supporter however he did get it wrong today. Strange formation, looked like we started with a 4,1 (Cisse), 3, 2 (Albert supporting Pitman) and it just didnt work. Cisse was clearly unfit and with

Albert roaming, the excellent Briggs was given the freedom of the right side of the pitch. Mcgivern was woefull and was constantly

outpaced/outfought and wanted too long on the

ball. The midfield 3 were totally

overun/outplayed. The only players to come out

out of the game with any credit were Foster,

McManus & Jamo who did little wrong. When we eventually switched to 442 we looked more

balanced and more of a threat until the 2nd goal

went in and that was that. Credit to Peteborough

as i thought they looked a very neat outfit and

very dangerous going forward but it had a lot

today with most of our lot having a nightmare.

We must start 442 against Blackpool with

Wood/Pitman up top and look to sort both that

left back position out (as McGivern cannot be

given another chance) and look to get a proper

playmaker in.

I think it's only me that is seeing a common link to our problems

Albert roaming, the excellent Briggs was given

the freedom of the right side of the pitch.

We don't have a team to afford Albert !

We need a solid midfield without wingers !

I like Albert but don't think we can afford to start with him. Would be great impact sub ?

[Jesus]

Great post from JT which I can't really add anymore to. I think some people need to realise that we dont support Manchester United or Chelsea and this was always going to be a hard season for us. From the moment Derek took over his task was to keep us up, and to keep us up only. As far as I can see he is on course to do that (maybe with a little help from Portsmouth). I'm one of the supporters that believed we needed to go 4-4-2 yesterday, but, I also didn't think we would move our best player from his usual position to "act" as a striker. For me this is slightly worrying. Lets just stay up this season and see what happens. In the meantime can we all get behind the team and support them? Our club needs more than ever..

[SimplyRed]

How about this for perspective, then:

• The form of the team is free-falling right now, so what makes anyone think that we can sustain a 1pt/game average? As someone else pointed out, we haven't scored a single goal this year on the road and we're now at the back end of February! I think everyone agrees we need around 16-17 points from 14 games for safety, that's 1.1-1.2pts/game average. This season, apart from the end of November when we averaged just over 1pt/game (1=20pts/19games), we've not come close.
  

• We WILL be relegated if we continue to capitulate to teams like Posh.
  

• The ONLY reason we are still above the relegation zone is because the teams below are worse than we are right now.
  

• Whether we survive or not, do you REALLY think that McInnes is going to be able to completely clear out the squad and build a completely new team in the space of the 10 weeks in the summer? If so, then you are the one with the irrational opinion. It is fair and reasonable to say that the majority of the squad, still under contract, will still be here next season. What is significant is who and how many McInnes will be allowed to bring in - IF he can persude them to come. McInnes needs KEY players, not a complete new squad!
  

[Brizzle Jordan]

How about this for perspective, then:

• The form of the team is free-falling right now, so what makes anyone think that we can sustain a 1pt/game average? As someone else pointed out, we haven't scored a single goal this year on the road and we're now at the back end of February! I think everyone agrees we need around 16-17 points from 14 games for safety, that's 1.1-1.2pts/game average. This season, apart from the end of November when we averaged just over 1pt/game (1=20pts/19games), we've not come close.
  

• We WILL be relegated if we continue to capitulate to teams like Posh.
  

• The ONLY reason we are still above the relegation zone is because the teams below are worse than we are right now.
  

• Whether we survive or not, do you REALLY think that McInnes is going to be able to completely clear out the squad and build a completely new team in the space of the 10 weeks in the summer? If so, then you are the one with the irrational opinion. It is fair and reasonable to say that the majority of the squad, still under contract, will still be here next season. What is significant is who and how many McInnes will be allowed to bring in - IF he can persude them to come. McInnes needs KEY players, not a complete new squad!
  

Lets all get out the blades..

[Chappers]

I just think expectations have been too high for some time. The days of spending (wasting?) big money are over for now, and we just have to accept things will be difficult for a while as we rebuild, and hopefully, integrate the Academy better. I think the one thing that sums up our wastefulness is the James/ Henderson scenario. As for current squad, I said at start of season that it is unbalanced and too large, and nothing has changed. As for formation, it's a case of doing the best with what we have, can't see how we can afford 2 luxury players in Adomah and Bolasie, can't see goals coming from midfield, we are weak defensively at full-back, we have a lot of good centre-backs but can't seem to find a pairing with an ability to organise and mark, and any lone striker will struggle with our midfield and two erratic wingers as support. Juggle it all you like, we can have 2 or 3 centre-backs staring at each other wondering where marking was, remove wingers and gain solidity but no creativity, two strikers plus Albert would be good, but we would get over-run in midfield.

[Ron]

The ONLY reason we are still above the relegation zone is because the teams below are worse than we are right now.

This is a widely used but entirely redundant point. When we got promoted it was only because the teams below us were worse than us. That's how the league table has always worked, I believe.

[TRL]

I think most level headed people know city are probably in about the right position. Bottom half champ, top 6 league 1.

Expectations have come from the drivel spouted by lansdown Sexton et al, each season saying we can challenge for promotion. If you are stating that, then you have to back it up with the signing of players to get us there, not years and years of excuses, which we get. Yes money has been put in, which we are thankful for. But don't try and pull the wool over the fans eyes by signing average to below average players the say we are going for promotion, or we are good enough for a promotion push.

It is time the board accept they are the ones pushing the expectations each year with their lines of bs to increase season ticket sales.

I think some fans need to think for themselves, rather than get taken in each year with the annual bullshit fest that is fed to us from the hierachy at Ashton Gate.