Refreshing!

[exAtyeoMax]

Cam Pring’s volley was phenomenal. 
I just think he’s great. 

[cidered abroad]

11 hours ago, Davefevs said:

That we can play an 18 and 20 year old in midfield against a physically imposing and heavy running Luton and we control a lot of the game tonight.  Credit to HNM and Scott, they did really well in there tonight.

Another glimpse of what Williams can bring though in his 15 minute cameo too.  Need to take it easy with him though.

Thought Vyner had a good game too.  His tenacity against their strike pair resulted in lots of balls win back, often with the two youngsters nipping the loose ball away.

I think Weimann just mistimed his header, turned his head just too early.  Angle virtually impossible for Wells, he wasn’t heading it across for Nahki, he was trying to score.

O’Dowda good first half too, as did Dasilva, who generally had a tidy game.

Fair comments about individuals. The first half showed how much we have improved in passing and keeping the ball.

However, we still lapse into the things that have now haunted us for at least the last two seasons.

Allowing opponents off the hook by not having the confidence to keep them penned in and going back to our keeper from the half way line too often.

Trying to be too intricate in opposition penalty area when a shot could be more creative, either scoring direct or picking up the scraps.

Now defensive problems.

Conceding free kicks in areas that allow other side to plant the ball in the box.

Allowing wide players to get in the crosses.

Conceding corners unnecessarily.

All of these allow opponents to score easy goals which allow a poor team such as Luton to grab all three points.

Individuals get the blame. Both of our keepers stay rooted to the goal line. Defenders don't jump to head or get nudged out of the way. Weak clearances that just allow the siege to continue.

I don't know what the answer/solution is. Pearson has got us playing like a team compared with what he met when he arrived.

I'm not picking on individuals but it's like panic stations in defence and defensive midfield. Unless this is sorted and cured we will forever be looking over our shoulders at the bottom five or six.

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by cidered abroad

[The Gambler]

Results haven’t been great over the past 7/8 games but the performances are much better. The second half of the Cardiff game coupled with the first half of the Luton game are as good as it has been in a long long time. Lots to be happy about but also lots to improve.

I have been supporting City since 1986 and this is the first time that we have “rebuilt” in the second tier. Normally we are relegated before we rebuild in tier 3. It is this that gives me hope that if there is forward progress after this rebuild that we might finally become a top championship club and even make the prem.  

[Lorenzos Only Goal]

6 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

He really is an obnoxious *****.

Everything about him screams Tony Pulis, including the vile South Wales accent.

As for us (can’t comment specifically on a game I only saw the last 15 minutes of) we are making progress but conceding a goal in 25/28 games is really very poor.

The best sides always have a chance if they limit the opposition to one goal at most, I do appreciate we are blooding defenders like Pring, Atkinson & Tanner with no prior Championship experience, but we need to do far better collectively than this.

He boils my piss too.

[2015]

Although we have lost last night, and our form since International break in November still reads as 'W4, D2, L5', which probably tells you where we are currently - lower mid table. However I can't help but be a little more upbeat about how we are setting up as a side. We must remember in that time we have lost some key experienced players in Baker, James and King. Our squad is young, or new to this League and are showing signs of improvement and progression. 

Semenyo has made a huge difference to our side, a real different aspect to our play just by him coming in it has enabled other players (Weimann and Martin) to have extra space in the forward areas. 

I think it helps when home form is good. Majority of our fans only ever see home matches so this carries a lot of weight with 'feel good' factor and wanting fans to return. I wouldn't have blamed them at any point from 2018 if a fan said they were put off in wanting to come and watch City, by just how we were set up at home matches.

Looking at the table, something amazing would have to happen for us to seriously be considered for relegation, performances and an identity is what I'd like to see from the side for the next few months and I'm confident we'll still keep picking up wins a long the way.

If you compare this to January 2021, we have definitely improved. We really were a total shambles come the end of Holden's reign, the Reading home display was as bad as I've ever seen from a Championship side. Yes, last night was a disappointment, but when do we ever win at Luton?

[ray savino]

We played well. We played football. We had shape.

We give other teams problems now. We still give ourselves problems. We still lack composure and confidence (particularly in our decision making) in both boxes.

But it is getting better. I actually enjoyed some of the football we played last night and at times I thought we looked a far better footballing side than Luton. 

We gave Ashton and Johnson (a bright but inexperienced coach) 4+ years with pretty substantial resources. We gave Holden (a capable coach, totally inexperienced manager) 7+ months with less resources, but still a decent amount particularly in terms of loans. It failed. We made some money, we wasted a helluva lot more. This has ended up with the mess we’ve found ourselves in. So any signs of progress over the last month is a welcome sign for me.

Is Pearson the right choice? Is he getting it right? The frustration for me is I wish he had the resources afforded to the previous regimes and we had him 6 years ago. 

There is a long way to go, but the City board have got to show courage now. We must secure the young players that have stepped up to the plate. Pearson must keep their feet on the ground if we give these players the rewards that may come their way to keep them here. He has to make sure their talents develop and come to fruition. The board have to give Pearson the resources to build around these players, even though we will have to be prudent in the amount of money. Pearson has to be targetted and clever in that recruitment. He has to have enough resource to bring in the type of characters to bring add more discipline and composure on the field.

I get as angry and frustrated as any football fan. It goes with the territory of being a fan! But taking myself away from the emotion and tried looking objectively, we looked okay with real signs of potential. Considering the financial constraints and jumbled up squad mess we’ve ended up with after 6-7 years in the Championship shouldn’t be dismissed.

Would I have wanted Steve Cooper to take over instead. Maybe, particularly how Forest have progressed under him. But the club, the situation and squad of players he took over can’t be compared. Would he have coped with the constraints and demands of our board and owners? I’ve still to be totally won over by NP, but in the last month have seen the possibilities of what his ideal side could play like. Richard Gould and NP have come in and are having to totally rebuild the bloated, demotivated mess that the club had become, in a finacially difficult Covid scenario. I’ve often said that NP may not be the manager that gets us to the promised land, but may be the man that clears up the crap and puts us on the right road.

And after all this waffle, bottom line is I’ve actually enjoyed the last month or so - despite the results, because we’ve actually shown some passion and intent with some young players we can actually be proud of... and the atmosphere has been so much better at Ashton Gate for this. 

 

[Sleepy1968]

3 hours ago, Red Army 75 said:

One thing I would disagree on Dave is whilst COD had a lot of the ball and done well defensively. His final ball/cross was really frustrating for me . 

It's never going to be great as he usually has no idea where players are or what runs are being made. Can we put one of those dog collars on him to stop him looking down?

[Red-Robbo]

15 hours ago, RonWalker said:

Agree on Vyner at times, but can see why he gets some stick. He's just not very strong for a centre-back.

 

He's got some really good elements to his game. Can tackle well and lays some lovely weighted passes forward.

It's just that when he ****s up, he really ****s up!   Being a defender is an unforgiving trade. 

[johnbytheriver]

Its Bentley in goal for me evey tme! Thats it!

[cidered abroad]

On 26/01/2022 at 10:15, The Gambler said:

Results haven’t been great over the past 7/8 games but the performances are much better. The second half of the Cardiff game coupled with the first half of the Luton game are as good as it has been in a long long time. Lots to be happy about but also lots to improve.

I have been supporting City since 1986 and this is the first time that we have “rebuilt” in the second tier. Normally we are relegated before we rebuild in tier 3. It is this that gives me hope that if there is forward progress after this rebuild that we might finally become a top championship club and even make the prem.  

I hadn't thought of it that way but well said to remind everyone. Usually Division Three but also Division 4 with TC.

Assuming, and nobody is 100% sure yet, that we stay in the Championship, this year will be the first that is similar to the building of a squad in the Alan Dicks days from 1970/71/72. Those years followed the three years of scraping enough points to stay up. At the end of this season, if all goes well, we'll have had three more years of "scraping by" and we should be able to look forward and a bit higher than 17th in the Championship

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, cidered abroad said:

I hadn't thought of it that way but well said to remind everyone. Usually Division Three but also Division 4 with TC.

Assuming, and nobody is 100% sure yet, that we stay in the Championship, this year will be the first that is similar to the building of a squad in the Alan Dicks days from 1970/71/72. Those years followed the three years of scraping enough points to stay up. At the end of this season, if all goes well, we'll have had three more years of "scraping by" and we should be able to look forward and a bit higher than 17th in the Championship

It’s a point I’ve also made.  In this particular climate going down and rebuilding is a poor option….there are some tasty teams in Lg1…although I sense some casualties in the summer for those who’ve gambled on getting into the 3 promo places.  Some may have to cut back massively as a result.