Fans will accept losses…..

[Numero Uno]

…….if they can see the lads putting in a shift and the management going about the game the right way. We appear to have both right now and that is the result of 18 months or so hard work from Nige, his staff and players alike.

We now have a team that might be frustrating but is certainly worth getting off your arse and watching. I was as pissed off as anyone at full time seeing us lose that last night but cast your mind back to the majority of the last 3-4 years and what we have been served up has been shocking. How can you get annoyed when you see what we served up last night?

We have youngsters like Scott, Conway and Semenyo who fans of other clubs look at and think “they can play” but we also have a centre half who is Franz Beckenbauer one minute and Frank Spencer the next. Boring it ain’t.

To see a team go away from home to a club given every advantage by parachute payments and take the game to them, bollocks to sitting back, and outplay them for long periods with some lovely passing football  is something we just haven’t seen since Cotterill steamrollered League 1.

If you can’t enjoy our approach and way of playing now you need to find a different sport to watch. Frustrating yes, entertaining yes and long may it continue.

[SBB]

I’m really enjoying the journey and the process. We still need patience and we still have a way to go but the progress is now becoming evident on the pitch as well as off. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by SBB

[Pezo]

That game 2 years ago would have been 3 or 4-0 with us having 2 attempts on goal.

Much much better football.

[Dr Balls]

20 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

We now have a team that might be frustrating but is certainly worth getting off your arse and watching. I was as pissed off as anyone at full time seeing us lose that last night but cast your mind back to the majority of the last 3-4 years and what we have been served up has been shocking. How can you get annoyed when you see what we served up last night?

We have youngsters like Scott, Conway and Semenyo who fans of other clubs look at and think “they can play” but we also have a centre half who is Franz Beckenbauer one minute and Frank Spencer the next. Boring it ain’t.

And in his head sometimes thinks he’s Frank Worthington!

And yes going to see us play this season has been a pleasure, something to anticipate. And goals, goals, goals, although being picky of course if we could have few less against that would be even better!

[bearded_red]

17 minutes ago, Pezo said:

That game 2 years ago would have been 3 or 4-0 with us having 2 attempts on goal.

Much much better football.

It would have been less than two!

[wendyredredrobin]

Maybe Kalas can shore up our leaky defence when he is fit.  Imagine having a player like Mark Sykes on the left as well with Semenyo in the box - Could Cam Pring do a job for us there?

To me, that would be a nightmare for opponents defenders.

So much different to some of the boring football we had to contend with last year.

[Selred]

40 minutes ago, wendyredredrobin said:

Imagine having a player like Mark Sykes on the left as well with Semenyo in the box - Could Cam Pring do a job for us there?

Actually thought Dasilva is having a very good season to be fair! Constantly a threat down the left, far more attacking this year.

[wendyredredrobin]

19 minutes ago, Selred said:

Actually thought Dasilva is having a very good season to be fair! Constantly a threat down the left, far more attacking this year.

Lack of height and a right foot are two major weaknesses it is difficult to make up for in other areas at this level.  If he can't get onto his left peg, attacking situations break down and he has to go backwards.  I would really like to see a bit more of Cam Pring as I've really been impressed with what I've seen of him so far and he adds a few extra dimensions where Jay is lacking somewhat.

That said, J D S is looking a bit better of late, but doesn't seem to be the same player as he was prior to his broken leg.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by wendyredredrobin

[supercidered]

1 hour ago, bearded_red said:

It would have been less than two!

And more than 3 or 4 especially being 2 down so early.

[slartibartfast]

24 minutes ago, Selred said:

Actually thought Dasilva is having a very good season to be fair! Constantly a threat down the left, far more attacking this year.

Yes, every time I looked on the Skybet "schematic" it kept saying Desilva....dangerous attack !

Edited September 15, 2022 by slartibartfast

[sh1t_ref_again]

23 minutes ago, Selred said:

Actually thought Dasilva is having a very good season to be fair! Constantly a threat down the left, far more attacking this year.

Agree having a better season, but ball delivery needs to improve 

[2015]

I will accept losses providing we keep playing with a style that can be improved and progressed. Long term it will work out for us I think.

I still think we're only at the beginning of the process under NP and errors will happen. Just enjoy the ride, we'll win some great games this season and lose in frustrating circumstances. Long term this style of football is how we need to play to be successful in this League. It took Brentford about 3 or 4 years of this style of play to become a success.

[Andy082005]

1 hour ago, Numero Uno said:

…….if they can see the lads putting in a shift and the management going about the game the right way. We appear to have both right now and that is the result of 18 months or so hard work from Nige, his staff and players alike.

We now have a team that might be frustrating but is certainly worth getting off your arse and watching. I was as pissed off as anyone at full time seeing us lose that last night but cast your mind back to the majority of the last 3-4 years and what we have been served up has been shocking. How can you get annoyed when you see what we served up last night?

We have youngsters like Scott, Conway and Semenyo who fans of other clubs look at and think “they can play” but we also have a centre half who is Franz Beckenbauer one minute and Frank Spencer the next. Boring it ain’t.

To see a team go away from home to a club given every advantage by parachute payments and take the game to them, bollocks to sitting back, and outplay them for long periods with some lovely passing football  is something we just haven’t seen since Cotterill steamrollered League 1.

If you can’t enjoy our approach and way of playing now you need to find a different sport to watch. Frustrating yes, entertaining yes and long may it continue.

Absolutely 

I know I’ve always come across as a doom and gloom merchant but I’ve never been one of these who is “only happy when we are winning”. I’ve openly spoke on here about wanting to see progress….and that is finally what we are seeing 

The football is enjoyable, and we appear to have a plan every game. We are getting chances and seeing goals. Compared to the last 3-4 years….we’ve come on leaps and bounds the last 8 months 

Pearson appears to be seeing the results now of work that has gone on away from our eyes, but we have to give huge credit to Tinnion and the academy coaches. Some of these youngsters we got coming through are outstanding and don’t look out of place in the man’s games 

We just need to sort the mistakes out at the back. Apart from Sunderland second half we have looked really good this year and it’s the daft mistakes that are costing us . Lots of talk of moving Naismith into the defensive midfield role once Kalas and Klose come back is an interesting suggestion 

Let’s just hope we can keep improving 

[The Journalist]

I can't remember the last time we were that genuinely competitive against one of the division's top sides at this level. And when I say competitive, I mean in a football sense rather than simply out-running the opposition and hanging in there, keeping it tight.

[AppyDAZE]

1 hour ago, sh1t_ref_again said:

Agree having a better season, but ball delivery needs to improve 

Had a really good chance to score in the 1st half too.

Really should have buried it.

But yes,  playing pretty well like most players this season.

[MarcusX]

I don’t get to see us often, so I drag myself to any game I can - whether that’s with 40k at Wembley or 90 at Hull. I’ll go regardless of how we’re playing because I love watching City.

That said I haven’t been as excited to go watch City as I was for Blackpool and Norwich for a long time. Perhaps 17/18 up until Sunderland, or the play off season (though I often found that nervy rather than exciting). Obviously the title winning season was great but I expected us to win every week.

This is excitement and hope. And if we don’t win, I still feel I got my money’s worth and watched 11-16 players really give their all.

If we can just shore up the back, there’s something happening here. It’s a good time to be a City fan after the last few years and I’ve got a couple of non-city mates keen to come watch us, that says a lot!

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, Numero Uno said:

…….if they can see the lads putting in a shift and the management going about the game the right way. We appear to have both right now and that is the result of 18 months or so hard work from Nige, his staff and players alike.

We now have a team that might be frustrating but is certainly worth getting off your arse and watching. I was as pissed off as anyone at full time seeing us lose that last night but cast your mind back to the majority of the last 3-4 years and what we have been served up has been shocking. How can you get annoyed when you see what we served up last night?

We have youngsters like Scott, Conway and Semenyo who fans of other clubs look at and think “they can play” but we also have a centre half who is Franz Beckenbauer one minute and Frank Spencer the next. Boring it ain’t.

To see a team go away from home to a club given every advantage by parachute payments and take the game to them, bollocks to sitting back, and outplay them for long periods with some lovely passing football  is something we just haven’t seen since Cotterill steamrollered League 1.

If you can’t enjoy our approach and way of playing now you need to find a different sport to watch. Frustrating yes, entertaining yes and long may it continue.

24 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

Norwich fans were very surprised at how good ( and at moments bad..) we were. They were also unhappy with how they played, and that was a reflection on us. They also feel we will easily be top 6 if we play like that, and I feel they are right. We know where the errors are, and it is very frustrating, but that is where we are. To be competitive after halving the wage bill and having a pitiful transfer budget makes it all the more impressive. It is a joy to watch us play, and that , irrespective of where we end up is why you go to watch football. We are playing the best football since we returned to the championship by some distance now. We are going to be in the mix if injuries do not scupper us. We are also going to tank someone this season. 

I don’t really recall one spell that Norwich had where they knocked it about and made us chase shadows.  That for me is a huge upgrade on how we usually play against the big boys, especially the ones that are possession based.  Our pressing and blocking was very good, Krul almost gifted us the ball a few times.  That was the most long passes he’s had to make this season, they couldn’t play their way out at all.  They occasionally spun our midfield in the opening 20, but only when we were chasing the game did they create anything.

We are improving!

[firstdivision]

39 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

Norwich fans were very surprised at how good ( and at moments bad..) we were. They were also unhappy with how they played, and that was a reflection on us. They also feel we will easily be top 6 if we play like that, and I feel they are right. We know where the errors are, and it is very frustrating, but that is where we are. To be competitive after halving the wage bill and having a pitiful transfer budget makes it all the more impressive. It is a joy to watch us play, and that , irrespective of where we end up is why you go to watch football. We are playing the best football since we returned to the championship by some distance now. We are going to be in the mix if injuries do not scupper us. We are also going to tank someone this season. 

The best football since we returned to the Championship came in Sept-Dec 2017 under LJ when we  shot up the league and reached the s-f of the LC. We scored goals and, here's the difference, stopped the opposition scoring.

One night stand outs: 2-0 at Fulham on 31 October. Our football in the first-half was superb. And we didn't give goals away. We also had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Another moment that stands out: Jamie Paterson's stunning goal at Sheffield United. People focus on the shot, but the build-up was superb as well. We played superbly at Ipswich in that spell as well. We won at Sunderland. And we beat Manchester United with a couple of excellent  goals. We also came from a goal down to bear Derby 4-1. Amazing how the memory can fade.

We are quite fun to watch but I hate being 'patted on the head' by Norwich fans. And we lost. We gave them stupid goals. That is not good football. 

Also, when the game had one goal in it last night, we didn't look like scoring. Norwich sat back and tried to hit us on the break. They played quite pragmatically - and successfully. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by firstdivision

[Logical-City]

1 hour ago, wendyredredrobin said:

Lack of height and a right foot are two major weaknesses it is difficult to make up for in other areas at this level.  If he can't get onto his left peg, attacking situations break down and he has to go backwards.  I would really like to see a bit more of Cam Pring as I've really been impressed with what I've seen of him so far and he adds a few extra dimensions where Jay is lacking somewhat.

That said, J D S is looking a bit better of late, but doesn't seem to be the same player as he was prior to his broken leg.

 

 

He has not put a foot wrong this season has looked quality IMO defensively and attacking wise won his battle against Max Aaron’s last night who is seen as one of the best, better than before his injury IMO

[Red Army 75]

Excellent OP

At the beginning of the season my expectations were just to stay in the championship. But NP is slowly transforming us into a very good championship footballing team. Having spent hardly bugger all. We have young players other clubs supporters are taking notice of. Norwich fans saying 19 year old Alex Scott running the midfield. It’s so great to hear. A couple of years ago we could barely pass and control the ball let alone have a shot. Yes there is going to be mistakes and certain players will know they need to cut them out. But I’m looking at the positives and I haven’t been this positive since SC side. Some of the stuff written on the match day thread yesterday was embarrassing. If some supporters can’t see how much progress we have made this season whilst trying to manage the financial mess whilst turning bids down for our young jewels and spending no money on transfers then I don’t know what they expect. 
 

Keep up the good work NP and players 

Im loving it

[Logical-City]

26 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

The best football since we returned to the Championship came in Sept-Dec 2017 under LJ when we  shot up the league and reached the s-f of the LC. We scored goals and, here's the difference, stopped the opposition scoring.

One night stand outs: 2-0 at Fulham on 31 October. Our football in the first-half was superb. And we didn't give goals away. We also had a goal incorrectly ruled our for offside.

Another moment that stands out: Jamie Paterson's stunning goal at Sheffield United. People focus on the shot, but the build-up was superb as well. We played superbly at Ipswich in that spell as well. We won at Sunderland. And we beat Manchester United with a couple of excellent  goals. We also came from a goal down to bear Derby 4-1. Amazing how the memory can fade.

We are quite fun to watch but I hate being 'patted on the head' by Norwich fans. And we lost. We gave them stupid goals. That is not good football. 

Also, when the game had one goal in it last night, we didn't look like scoring. Norwich sat back and tried to hit us on the break. They played quite pragmatically - and successfully. 

I think the key is sticking to a team and way of playing through the bad results, trying if possible to not cave to external pressure by over analysis or listening to fans, accept your going to take the odd spanking as we are not competitive financially or with playing staff, Like Blackpool under Holloway or LJ before Dedhiou came back from injury in 2017 and he had to accommodate him as he was a big signing.

Lets stick with it and see where it gets us

 

[Davefevs]

25 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

The best football since we returned to the Championship came in Sept-Dec 2017 under LJ when we  shot up the league and reached the s-f of the LC. We scored goals and, here's the difference, stopped the opposition scoring.

One night stand outs: 2-0 at Fulham on 31 October. Our football in the first-half was superb. And we didn't give goals away. We also had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Another moment that stands out: Jamie Paterson's stunning goal at Sheffield United. People focus on the shot, but the build-up was superb as well. We played superbly at Ipswich in that spell as well. We won at Sunderland. And we beat Manchester United with a couple of excellent  goals. We also came from a goal down to bear Derby 4-1. Amazing how the memory can fade.

We are quite fun to watch but I hate being 'patted on the head' by Norwich fans. And we lost. We gave them stupid goals. That is not good football. 

Also, when the game had one goal in it last night, we didn't look like scoring. Norwich sat back and tried to hit us on the break. They played quite pragmatically - and successfully. 

FWIW I didn’t see that spell as “best football” from an entertainment point of view….I saw us being quite attritional, completely suffocating our opponents and winning through the odd moment of good play.  That sounds churlish.  I still really enjoyed it (don’t get me wrong), but it wasn’t always free-flowing, goal-mouth action-packed stuff, just gradually wearing the opponents down, lots of turnovers in congested areas.  We weren’t carving teams open.  I enjoyed seeing the plan, the execution of the plan.

And then Diedhiou returned from injury, Ryan Kent played on the wing, etc, etc.

[firstdivision]

2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

FWIW I didn’t see that spell as “best football” from an entertainment point of view….I saw us being quite attritional, completely suffocating our opponents and winning through the odd moment of good play.  That sounds churlish.  I still really enjoyed it (don’t get me wrong), but it wasn’t always free-flowing, goal-mouth action-packed stuff, just gradually wearing the opponents down, lots of turnovers in congested areas.  We weren’t carving teams open.  I enjoyed seeing the plan, the execution of the plan.

And then Diedhiou returned from injury, Ryan Kent played on the wing, etc, etc.

Were you at Fulham that night, Dave?

[Davefevs]

Just now, firstdivision said:

Were you at Fulham that night, Dave?

No….I’m not debating there weren’t some really good performances in that spell, just that overall I thought we were more workman-like than flair-based in that spell.  As I said I still really enjoyed it (I quite liked watching our defensive structure being a centre-half myself).  I came away from games thinking “this team is so solid, it’s going all the way”.  Oh, how wrong I was.

[firstdivision]

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

No….I’m not debating there weren’t some really good performances in that spell, just that overall I thought we were more workman-like than flair-based in that spell.  As I said I still really enjoyed it (I quite liked watching our defensive structure being a centre-half myself).  I came away from games thinking “this team is so solid, it’s going all the way”.  Oh, how wrong I was.

I found that spell more fun than this because we were a threat and we were able to defend. I remember coming away from the Cottage that night and saying to a friend: 'that was the best we've played at this level for nearly forty years' (since 75-76).

This is enjoyable in a different way but more stressful because our defence is so fallible away from home.  At least it's not dull, which is a major improvement. Flawed but interesting is the best way to sum it up, I suppose. 

But I hate losing so much that I find the general satisfaction in our performance a bit too self-congratulatory. If we'd have played like Norwich last night and won 3-2, we'd have been in raptures today, saying it was a great performance. I actually don't think we really hurt them when there was one goal in the game. We barely created anything at 2-1 or 3-2. 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, firstdivision said:

But I hate losing so much that I find the general satisfaction in our performance a bit too self-congratulatory. If we'd have played like Norwich last night and won 3-2, we'd have been in raptures today, saying it was a great performance. I actually don't think we really hurt them when there was one goal in the game. We barely created anything at 2-1 or 3-2. 

In pretty broad agreement with the above.

I thought we were much better at 1-2 than 2-3.  Thought we were much more likely to make it 2-2 than 3-3 if that makes sense.  I think that we just lost that edge in our play as we tired in the last 10.

I quite often break the games into 15 minute chunks to get a feel for how we played.

Without any real analysis:

1-15 - Norwich better (we looked a bit clumsy with our play early on) 0-1 in period 

16-30 - even (they started it better, we ended it better) 0-1 in period 

31-45 - City miles better 1-0 in period

46-60 - City on top, pressing for the equaliser 0-0 in period

61-75 - even, the goal killed our momentum but we still did ok 0-1 in period

76-90 - Even / maybe just Norwich due to their breakaways 1-0 in period 

Its not an exact science of course, but I take a lot of encouragement that in boxing terms we might’ve got the decision on points!

As we know, it’s about goals, but good to hear Dean Smith say they struggled from being 2-0 up, when ideally the goals would’ve given them the cushion to play confidently.

[Selred]

4 hours ago, wendyredredrobin said:

Lack of height and a right foot are two major weaknesses it is difficult to make up for in other areas at this level.  If he can't get onto his left peg, attacking situations break down and he has to go backwards.  I would really like to see a bit more of Cam Pring as I've really been impressed with what I've seen of him so far and he adds a few extra dimensions where Jay is lacking somewhat.

That said, J D S is looking a bit better of late, but doesn't seem to be the same player as he was prior to his broken leg.

Lack of height is less of an issue this season, having Atkinson next to him really has helped, plus we don't sit back as much as we always look for a quick counter. 

Regarding the right foot, Skyes doesn't scream out to be two footed to me either though. Yes he's far more attacking, and I guess that's what reflected in your comments, but Dasilva has more defensive qualities than Sykes which gives him a very good all round game this season.

[Malago]

Well I’ll row against the tide.  I’d rather watch a boring 1-0 win than an exciting 3-2 loss.  
 

The problem is, as we all know, we don’t have the players to play for a 0-0 draw, with the hope of nicking it at the end.  Whether Nige will change the style of play, when he has the financial leeway to bring in a few defenders,  remains to be seen.

[Steve Watts]

I think a big difference this season is that for the first time in ages we get to the latter stages of the game trailing but I don't think anyone is thinking "well this is over". 

I don't think it's self congratulatory to say how well we played.  This was a team that came down from the Prem last year with the budgets that come with that and we dominated them for a large majority of the match.  That shows how much this side has progressed. Being pleased with the performance in spite of the loss is just an acknowledgement of what we're coming out of.  We played well and if not for the defensive frailties could've put the pre-season title favourites to the sword on their own patch.

Reasons to be cheerful aplenty right now.

[Bristol Oil Services]

2 hours ago, firstdivision said:

The best football since we returned to the Championship came in Sept-Dec 2017 under LJ when we  shot up the league and reached the s-f of the LC. We scored goals and, here's the difference, stopped the opposition scoring.

One night stand outs: 2-0 at Fulham on 31 October. Our football in the first-half was superb. And we didn't give goals away. We also had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Another moment that stands out: Jamie Paterson's stunning goal at Sheffield United. People focus on the shot, but the build-up was superb as well. We played superbly at Ipswich in that spell as well. We won at Sunderland. And we beat Manchester United with a couple of excellent  goals. We also came from a goal down to bear Derby 4-1. Amazing how the memory can fade.

We are quite fun to watch but I hate being 'patted on the head' by Norwich fans. And we lost. We gave them stupid goals. That is not good football. 

Also, when the game had one goal in it last night, we didn't look like scoring. Norwich sat back and tried to hit us on the break. They played quite pragmatically - and successfully. 

That Derby 4:1 might've been the best of the lot. Team were applauded off at half-time, losing 0:1! It was a brilliant three to four months that sadly didn't last.

2 hours ago, firstdivision said:

The best football since we returned to the Championship came in Sept-Dec 2017 under LJ when we  shot up the league and reached the s-f of the LC. We scored goals and, here's the difference, stopped the opposition scoring.

One night stand outs: 2-0 at Fulham on 31 October. Our football in the first-half was superb. And we didn't give goals away. We also had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Another moment that stands out: Jamie Paterson's stunning goal at Sheffield United. People focus on the shot, but the build-up was superb as well. We played superbly at Ipswich in that spell as well. We won at Sunderland. And we beat Manchester United with a couple of excellent  goals. We also came from a goal down to bear Derby 4-1. Amazing how the memory can fade.

We are quite fun to watch but I hate being 'patted on the head' by Norwich fans. And we lost. We gave them stupid goals. That is not good football. 

Also, when the game had one goal in it last night, we didn't look like scoring. Norwich sat back and tried to hit us on the break. They played quite pragmatically - and successfully. 

That Derby 4:1 might've been the best of the lot. Team were applauded off at half-time, losing 0:1! It was a brilliant three to four months that sadly didn't last.

2 hours ago, firstdivision said:

The best football since we returned to the Championship came in Sept-Dec 2017 under LJ when we  shot up the league and reached the s-f of the LC. We scored goals and, here's the difference, stopped the opposition scoring.

One night stand outs: 2-0 at Fulham on 31 October. Our football in the first-half was superb. And we didn't give goals away. We also had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Another moment that stands out: Jamie Paterson's stunning goal at Sheffield United. People focus on the shot, but the build-up was superb as well. We played superbly at Ipswich in that spell as well. We won at Sunderland. And we beat Manchester United with a couple of excellent  goals. We also came from a goal down to bear Derby 4-1. Amazing how the memory can fade.

We are quite fun to watch but I hate being 'patted on the head' by Norwich fans. And we lost. We gave them stupid goals. That is not good football. 

Also, when the game had one goal in it last night, we didn't look like scoring. Norwich sat back and tried to hit us on the break. They played quite pragmatically - and successfully. 

That Derby 4:1 might've been the best of the lot. Team were applauded off at half-time, losing 0:1! It was a brilliant three to four months that sadly didn't last.