MurrayLives Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 Let me begin with some context - I’m very much a lurker in my 15 years as member of this forum although used to be a bit more active back in the GJ days but I only really ever post to ask/answer questions regarding away match pubs/tickets or general EFL chit chat etc. I very rarely comment on the team or performances mostly because I don’t don’t always feel like it’s necessary as there are many quality posters here that nail it every time (looking at you @Olé). I also don’t like to comment too much on the politics or the running of the club as I don’t always feel fully qualified to as being based outside Bristol I won’t always get all sides of the story also by circumstance I only attend around 25% of matches although this season it’s more like 50% (this is more due to my current financial situation than a reflection on how we’re performing, trust me I’m the type to take two days leave for a JPT match away in Scunthorpe). I’m only 29 and have avidly supported the club for 20 years now by fault of my father, growing up in the West Midlands and having my first memories of supporting City mostly at away games during some pretty drab years (Ward, Lennartsson, Pulis etc.) at the absolute dives of the football league (Bloomfield Road, The Racecourse, Gigg Lane etc.) I clearly fell in love with the aspect of real football during a period when the rest of the country was in transition and the PL was growing into the monster it is today - something I find myself chasing now, albeit with different non-league teams which is something I never thought I’d take an interest in but have recently fell in love with but that’s another story! Apart from a couple of years as a toddler I have never lived in Bristol or the South West so I find it quite easy to view the club as an outsider and regularly gauge the current status a feeling of the club from the perspective of the rest of the country and this is probably a huge factor in why I feel the need to bring up the following... WE HAVE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD. Collectively, this is by far the greatest time to be a fan of Bristol City Football Club. For the first time in all the years I’ve supported the club we now genuinely have a proper football club that we can be proud of in all aspects top to bottom. I don’t need to remind you that historically we have been a consistently mediocre third tier side - nothing memorable or outstanding outside of a handful of years at the end of the 70s, and no real famous cup runs or trophy’s - don’t get me wrong I’m very proud of the achievements we do have (3 time EFL Trophy winners, FA Cup runners up 1909) however compared to other clubs of similar supporter base our achievements are NOTHING. We have been an absolute nothing club for over 100 years. Honestly, ask yourself, pre-this seasons Carabao Cup run and Tammys loan when have we ever had any sort of extended national exposure? It says it all that we have a mural at the back of the South Stand celebrating a plucky 0-1 away to Liverpool back in 1994. And don’t get me wrong I’m as proud as the next fan about that result despite being too young to remember. Also, Our club legends are complete unknowns. Again, this is no disrespect, as you can probably tell by my username Scotty is my hero and I still shake every time I get the opportunity to talk to him but no one knows who he is outside of the local area (Aberdeen an exception - they love him up there). A recent example of this I witnessed was a piece on Sky Sports where the presenter was interviewing Marlon and Scottys name was brought up, the Sky Sports presenter had no idea. however it really highlights how little we have achieved and how familiar we are not. The amount of times I’ve been asked what team you support and you say ‘Bristol City’ and pre-this season they have no idea you’re in the 2nd tier and can’t name a single player past or present! Up until this season, even Championship fans struggled to name a player outside of Tomlin/Abraham. WE ARE REAPING THE FRUITS OF WHAT HAS BEEN SOWN. Football is a results business. We all know this, however evidence suggests that chasing short term success all too frequently results in long term disaster, the countless examples that come to mind - Portsmouth, Blackpool, Leeds etc the list goes on and on. We are incredibly lucky to have SL as our owner, here is a man that has stuck with us even at times when you would forgive him for walking away. He learnt from his miskakes circa 2009-2013 and decided to run the club in a completely different way which we are now started to reap the benefits of - An incredible new AG, incredible youth facilities and an transfer policy that is the envy of the league plus now the services of a manager that is truly a prodigy and someone that will manage at the highest level I have no doubt about that. Our player development is absolutely unbelievable. Seriously, look at the squad and most of the players we now rate as invaluable were deemed average and League One at best only 2/3 years ago, now we talk about asking for £15m for Flint, Bryan, Reid etc. WARNOCK AND PERSPECTIVE. Ever since the 07/08 season I have been absolutely fascinated by the rivalry with Warnock. I know it’s a cliche but he really is a pantomime villian. It’s characters like him that make football the incredible drama that it is, however the real catalyst for me starting this thread is an ever increasing sense of opinion on the forum that maybe we should have gone for Warnock over LJ or speculation that we would be in a better position with him. Feeling and certian opinions that trend on this forum rarely rile me up. I stayed largely quiet during the LJ hate but I was firmly in support of him and wanted him to stay even in the worst of times, this is not to brag or an ‘I told you so’ because I pretty much back every manager we’ve had and have been disappointed when they’ve been sacked as I see the best in everyone - must be a trait in my personality and I would make a terrible owner. However this increasing Warnock love in is making my blood boil. We are witnessing the best football we’ve ever seen at AG. The tactics and free-flowing gameplay we execute so well is an absolute stark contrast to anything we have seen. I remember games around 2011-2013 where we could barely string two passes together. I dare anyone to watch a Cardiff City game this season - it’s absolute torture and complete anti-football. Warnock cares not for building a squad or developing youth. Our valuable young assets would be completely sidelined and in come journeyman brutes. I can’t believe how desperate some people here are for Premier League football. I wouldn’t swap our current position for a place in the Premier League with a manager like Colin. Let’s get some perspective. We have some very exciting months ahead but there’s no need for us to feel any pressure whatsoever, get behind the lads and get behind Lee to do the double over the Taffs! I’m going to end with a thought and sometihing I will research and come back to: Following our latest result we are now guaranteed to beat last seasons points total. This means that our league position has now improved year-on-year for the FIFTH SEASON in a row. How many other clubs in the division can say that? These are golden times. Let’s enjoy this. Ps. Colin is W***** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurrayLives Posted February 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 Just as an update to my final thought... i have looked through all clubs in in the Championship to see if any other club has improved on their league position for five consecutive seasons as we have and the answer is NO. ive also looked at the Premier League and only Bournemouth have consistently improved on their league position for five or more seasons consecutively. I haven’t looked below the Championship and to be honest I won’t but i am pretty sure there is no other club that has done this outside the EFL. Bournemouth are a team that we clearly aspire to emulate, there are many similarities to how we both operate. However we have so much more potential than Bournemouth - they have peaked and look to be on the turn, we still have plenty of room to grow. Consitant improvement year on year is absolutely key and we are achiveing this. Credit to everyone involved in the club since relegation in 2013 - controversially, I include SOD in that, I genuinely believe he was one of the key figures that got this ball rolling. He changed the whole footballing philosophy at the club and was the first to really push the youth and look to progressing lower league talent. It’s no surprise he ended up getting involved in the England youth set-up that have gone on to win the World Cup. Just a shame he has the personality and passion of a Sea Bass, clearly held him back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Isewater Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 4 hours ago, MurrayLives said: Just as an update to my final thought... i have looked through all clubs in in the Championship to see if any other club has improved on their league position for five consecutive seasons as we have and the answer is NO. ive also looked at the Premier League and only Bournemouth have consistently improved on their league position for five or more seasons consecutively. I haven’t looked below the Championship and to be honest I won’t but i am pretty sure there is no other club that has done this outside the EFL. Bournemouth are a team that we clearly aspire to emulate, there are many similarities to how we both operate. However we have so much more potential than Bournemouth - they have peaked and look to be on the turn, we still have plenty of room to grow. Consitant improvement year on year is absolutely key and we are achiveing this. Credit to everyone involved in the club since relegation in 2013 - controversially, I include SOD in that, I genuinely believe he was one of the key figures that got this ball rolling. He changed the whole footballing philosophy at the club and was the first to really push the youth and look to progressing lower league talent. It’s no surprise he ended up getting involved in the England youth set-up that have gone on to win the World Cup. Just a shame he has the personality and passion of a Sea Bass, clearly held him back. Your last sentence is grossly unfair... on Sea Bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelton Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 Colins obsession with us goes back a long time before 2007, we were winding him up in his Plymouth and Notts County days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshtonGreat Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 5 hours ago, MurrayLives said: Just as an update to my final thought... i have looked through all clubs in in the Championship to see if any other club has improved on their league position for five consecutive seasons as we have and the answer is NO. ive also looked at the Premier League and only Bournemouth have consistently improved on their league position for five or more seasons consecutively. I haven’t looked below the Championship and to be honest I won’t but i am pretty sure there is no other club that has done this outside the EFL. Bournemouth are a team that we clearly aspire to emulate, there are many similarities to how we both operate. However we have so much more potential than Bournemouth - they have peaked and look to be on the turn, we still have plenty of room to grow. Consitant improvement year on year is absolutely key and we are achiveing this. Credit to everyone involved in the club since relegation in 2013 - controversially, I include SOD in that, I genuinely believe he was one of the key figures that got this ball rolling. He changed the whole footballing philosophy at the club and was the first to really push the youth and look to progressing lower league talent. It’s no surprise he ended up getting involved in the England youth set-up that have gone on to win the World Cup. Just a shame he has the personality and passion of a Sea Bass, clearly held him back. I don't think SOD had much choice other than to progress lower league talent. We were in the lower league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 5 hours ago, MurrayLives said: Just as an update to my final thought... i have looked through all clubs in in the Championship to see if any other club has improved on their league position for five consecutive seasons as we have and the answer is NO. ive also looked at the Premier League and only Bournemouth have consistently improved on their league position for five or more seasons consecutively. I haven’t looked below the Championship and to be honest I won’t but i am pretty sure there is no other club that has done this outside the EFL. Bournemouth are a team that we clearly aspire to emulate, there are many similarities to how we both operate. However we have so much more potential than Bournemouth - they have peaked and look to be on the turn, we still have plenty of room to grow. Consitant improvement year on year is absolutely key and we are achiveing this. Credit to everyone involved in the club since relegation in 2013 - controversially, I include SOD in that, I genuinely believe he was one of the key figures that got this ball rolling. He changed the whole footballing philosophy at the club and was the first to really push the youth and look to progressing lower league talent. It’s no surprise he ended up getting involved in the England youth set-up that have gone on to win the World Cup. Just a shame he has the personality and passion of a Sea Bass, clearly held him back. It's good to see a well thought out thread that gives the real picture of just how far the club has progressed under SL and his delayed wisdom of eventually employing top professional people in senior positions within the club. Both MA and LJ are showing what an astute decision it was. Both of them are applying SLs philosophy in the way he wants and this season is showing signs of progression, The old adage "you reap what you sow" is proving to be so appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 Good thread and interesting ramblings - I've enjoyed your little bio you have included in the beginning. Without looking into it, surely Burnley and Brighton have improved their position each year in the past 5 seasons? All things said, we are definitely one of a handful of clubs in the country on a huge upward march at the moment. I've said during the week that even if Cardiff are promoted this season, and we are not, I'd expect us to be better placed than them within another 2 years. Fully expect us to be an established Premier League team within in, let's say 3 years, and having a redeveloped Atyeo stand in the next 4 years - which surely has to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 @MurrayLives nice ramble. I like Warnock, apart from where he is a manager of an opposition team in the same league as us. As for Cardiff’s style of play, I find it relatively enjoyable, it’s fast-paced, takes risks, creates goalmouth action...and is not your typical ‘hoofball’. People on here that post that, haven’t watched many games this season . Don’t forget some opponents stifle you and make you play the way you don’t want to. It’s not cultured like Fulham. Warnock’s young Sheffield Utc team of the day with Tonge, Brown, Jagielka are not too dissimilar and they played some decent stuff if not a bit robust too. Back to us....we are undoubtedly on the right tracks with the right infrastructure to support progression. We have a bright young manager, bright young(ish) players, who play (in the main) easy-on-the-eye football. Despite Warnock being a successful manager at this level, I wouldn’t want him here, and I would much rather have Johnson, with his affinity to our club as ex-player, son of ex-Manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin_unreliant Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 While I agree that these are good times to be a City fan I don't really think your sentiment that it's the best EVER is right. For the older ones, like me, our time in the old First Division has to beat it. We could stand up and bounce around back then. Football was, imo, better too before the massive money came in. Maybe it is just nostalgia but even if we got to the prem now I'm not sure it would match those years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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