Stoke City at home match thread

[The Swan and Cemetery]

55 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

Don’t drop Weimann, just don’t play him at right wing back where he is wasted. 
 

That’s one of my biggest gripes with Pearson. Too many players played out of position, in some forlorn hope that they will somehow pick up how to play there, instead of trying to forge a team that is greater than the sum of its parts. The latter is what I perceive good managers do, and that usually means playing players in their best positions, not trying to shoehorn them into some formation that doesn’t best suit the players you have.

 

Weimann is clearly in our best XI players, but not sure we’ve got the squad for anything other than 5-3-2 for now, and don’t think he fits into that without dropping Conway or Wells. Doesn’t reflect his abilities, just the overall state of the squad. 

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 hour ago, redsquirrel said:

if any manager said that about anyone,how could they possibly expect a player to start working his socks off knowing he isnt favoured

Imagine the sheer embarrassment amongst your peers if your manager said that about you in public and that's exactly why Pearson has said it. He wants other players to fear that happening to them. 

Hopefully it will also give the lad a boot up the ass. We've been far too nice at Bristol for far too long. These players need to hear some home truths and if they can't handle it then they don't have the right minerals to be a Bristol City player. 

We're a football club that should be striving to achieve. Not a football club where its just a nice play to play football, nice place to live etc. 

[Herbsley]

Forgive me as I don’t post that often. Sat there today which could easily be described as poor to say the least. Sat next to mate discussing the Pearson conundrum and thought he hit the nail on the head. For as long as I’ve been watching City and it’s been pre Div 1 promotion we’ve consistently demanded a ‘big name manager’ to sort us out! Well we’ve now had one for best part of two seasons and still no further forward. 
In my opinion we have the makings of a feckin good squad but for some reason we get beaten up by teams like Stoke, and sorry but 2 years in I reckon there only lies one fault!

All this toilet about Lansdown out is quite frankly laughable. The man has put us into what I appreciate at the mo ain’t great but we are an established Championship side which for the 40 years plus I’ve been watching we’ve never managed until now.

back to the original bent. IMHO I think Pearson had his day and to go forward I’d quite like someone who gave a sh1re!!

 

off to put Helmet on 

[headhunter]

33 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Got anyone in mind with that comment?

I mean before he scored 22 goals in a season you used to say that Weimann just “ran around” so you must be thinking of some of them in particular?

James? King? Wells? Be interested to know.

Hey Graham, listen to the pod tomorrow at 10 and you'll have a load of ammo to wade in with  your usual assassination of OUR opinions!

[GrahamC]

6 minutes ago, headhunter said:

Hey Graham, listen to the pod tomorrow at 10 and you'll have a load of ammo to wade in with  your usual assassination of OUR opinions!

No I won’t be listening or replying, don’t worry.

Still didn’t say who you think is a waster though, did you?

[Barrs Court Red]

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

What difference would a new owner make in the short to medium term- we couldn't spend anymore this season for a start. Say we are set to just about comply now, and can spend I dunno another £100k on strengthening this season to remain within FFP.

Well that would be applicable to a new owner too.

There’s more to owning a business than just finance.  

[headhunter]

Just now, GrahamC said:

No I won’t be listening or replying, don’t worry.

Still didn’t say who you think is a waster though, did you?

No one in particular, I was just throwing the comment out there! 

No complaints from you today then? 

[eardun]

24 minutes ago, The Swan and Cemetery said:

Weimann is clearly in our best XI players, but not sure we’ve got the squad for anything other than 5-3-2 for now, and don’t think he fits into that without dropping Conway or Wells. Doesn’t reflect his abilities, just the overall state of the squad. 

We’ve coped with 5-2-1-2 in the past (with Weimann the 1). In addition Sykes and Pring are comfortable moving into midfield areas to add weight there so at times it would be 3-4-1-2

[Mr Popodopolous]

4 minutes ago, Barrs Court Red said:

There’s more to owning a business than just finance.  

Oh absolutely. 

Drive, strategy, new ideas, energy to name a few- fresh impetus. I am just saying that not much would change inn the short to medium term as far as who we could attract goes, IMO of course.

[Barrs Court Red]

1 minute ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Oh absolutely. 

Drive, strategy, new ideas, energy to name a few- fresh impetus. I am just saying that not much would change inn the short to medium term as far as who we could attract goes, IMO of course.

For one it removes the uncertainty. 

[Bas's perfect hattrick]

1 hour ago, Jerseybean said:

And showed a glimpse of quality with his assist 

Ridiculous that he's been frozen out by Pearson the whole season

[GrahamC]

7 minutes ago, headhunter said:

No one in particular, I was just throwing the comment out there! 

No complaints from you today then? 

That’s a ridiculous comment then, no one in particular is a waster but I’ll still say it anyway.

I thought we were poor & didn’t agree with those who thought we were worth a point & think we are in a relegation scrap.

I understand the context of why we are where we are but we still need to do better than we did today.

Difference is I won’t just “throw something out there” & then have absolutely nothing to back it up with.

[AppyDAZE]

1 hour ago, Rob k said:

That was as bad as it gets today - we concede the worst goals and it’s not getting any better 

Oh my word, are you in for a big surprise.

Unless it was a typo and you meant to say cold.

Edited December 17, 2022 by AppyDAZE

[Dredd]

It's great how NP moans at the interviewer for not asking the right questions, then gives an answer which does nothing other than open up a can of worms as to what's happened with Atkinson. 
Nobody here will say Atkinson has been poor this season, I'd say he's been decent, so why not say RA has been poor in training, or his attitude sucks, or he removed NP as a friend on Facebook. Don't ask for a better question then give an ambiguous answer. 
 

I've been very much NP in until now on the basis that he's had very little to spend and he's not working with his players. But if he's not playing the CB he spent 1.5m on, leaving him and the other CB he signed in Klose out of the squad, then I'm fast losing support for him with the way we are playing and the poor results. 

[Rob k]

2 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Oh my word, are you in for a big surprise.

Well been going for 38 years or so, so not much surprises me anymore with City 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Rob k

[italian dave]

1 hour ago, bcfc01 said:

.

We have no option but to keep going with NP as getting rid is probably beyond the club financially. But he needs to up his game or we will be looking at a Bristol derby for the first time in decades.

 

 

If we’re lucky…..on recent form we could be swapping divisions with them.

[The Swan and Cemetery]

18 minutes ago, eardun said:

We’ve coped with 5-2-1-2 in the past (with Weimann the 1). In addition Sykes and Pring are comfortable moving into midfield areas to add weight there so at times it would be 3-4-1-2

Just about coped and with quite different personnel/style, including a reasonably in form Martin and Semenyo up top. Not sure going back to that, even with different players, is the way forward. But a fair point that if we can get our back 5 working well, the need for 3 more traditional centre mids is less compelling, but right here, right now, don’t think we’ve got that luxury. Maybe some Jan movements can help, but will need a really good 5 at the back (and GK) to enable 2 from Williams/James/Scott to be sufficient. 

[Kingswood Robin]

33 minutes ago, Barrs Court Red said:

There’s more to owning a business than just finance.  

Absolutely. The club needs an injection of enthusiasm and drive. 

Some match day presence and connection with supporters would go a long way too. We look like a club that's just functioning and nothing more. We need to look like a club that's functioning and means business.

[Red_Alligator]

1 minute ago, Kingswood Robin said:

Absolutely. The club needs an injection of enthusiasm and drive. 

Some match day presence and connection with supporters would go a long way too. We look like a club that's just functioning and nothing more. We need to look like a club that's functioning and means business.

The enthusiasm and drive for the "business" is there, I'm certain, Kingswood. Trouble is, the business concerned is Bristol Sport, not Bristol City Football Club.

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

3 hours ago, exAtyeoMax said:

No it’s not. It could be any Tom, Dick or Harry buying the club. 
 

has there been any news as to who is replacing Richard Gould?

Replacement of a manager, CEO, Chairman or owner is, imo, about change. As fans we can invariably identify that change is necessary but rarely who with.

[OldlandReddies]

Really disappointed today. Played poorly against a very poor side . Not good at all. No positives from me. 

[cidered abroad]

15 minutes ago, OldlandReddies said:

Really disappointed today. Played poorly against a very poor side . Not good at all. No positives from me. 

Complete agreement.

[Top Robin]

35 minutes ago, OldlandReddies said:

Really disappointed today. Played poorly against a very poor side . Not good at all. No positives from me. 

Could be said about many games this season and last - it's just not good enough.

[Ska Junkie]

3 hours ago, Super said:

Even though he's wrong...

To be fair super, while I agree with you, any poster is entitled to their opinion, even if we disagree.

[Keepers Ball]

So we have a manager that is losing the plot. It looks apparent, the most people no longer have any trust in Pearson.

I

[Cov 77]

9 hours ago, OldlandReddies said:

Really disappointed today. Played poorly against a very poor side . Not good at all. No positives from me. 

Usually glass half full but yesterday was not a good experience, cold and dank day , had the game in the bag until the equaliser then all changed , first shot  they had , the atmosphere which for all the whinging on here has in my opinion has  been ok in recent times but yesterday was terrible, what the hell the so called ‘singing section’ was doing i don’t know , but singing wasn’t it for sure , managed to piss off for their 38th minute drink as usual though so the ground was empty for the last five minutes of the half which really helps

For all that I am starting to worry about Pearson, been right behind him as know what a tough job he’s doing , no money because of the complete cock up of previous administrations, brought a lot of our excellent young players through and still looking like progress being made , but the likes of putting out to grass anyone who he falls out with and square pegs in round holes is getting concerning .

One thing on the ‘new ‘ manager front is I know a Coventry fan who thinks Mark Robins is getting exasperated with the situation there , just saying would be a good fit 

[Lack of Action Man]

Is it bad that I far more enjoy the social aspect of Matchday (I.e. meet up in pub beforehand, half time pasty, post game pub pit stop) than the actual football on offer? 

[One Team]

22 minutes ago, OddBallJim said:

Is it bad that I far more enjoy the social aspect of Matchday (I.e. meet up in pub beforehand, half time pasty, post game pub pit stop) than the actual football on offer? 

Not at all, this has always been the case for me. Quite often the actual game itself is an interruption, sometimes good, sometimes not. For me it’s always about seeing friends, having a beer, having a laugh, the match day banter with fellow fans and opposing ones etc. 

Edited December 18, 2022 by One Team

[RedM]

A poor showing from two poor teams, not a great advert for Championship football.

Not sure how the club is meant to sell Half Season tickets when they have this to show people. The seats in front of my ST seats are vacant so I get different people there most games. Yesterday there was what I assume was Dad and two young boys, probably around 5 and 8 years old. It was obviously their first visit to AG and likely their first professional football match, although one of them had a West Ham  bobble hat. The children looked cold and bored and they didn't return to their seats after HT. I might be wrong but it looked to me like that's 3 that won't return. 

I know you aren't going to get wins every game, but yesterday had very little entertainment or atmosphere either. Maybe the youngsters I saw would have been better off in the family area. All I know is that I felt sad for them, or maybe they've just had a lucky escape?

[lenred]

14 minutes ago, RedM said:

A poor showing from two poor teams, not a great advert for Championship football.

Not sure how the club is meant to sell Half Season tickets when they have this to show people. The seats in front of my ST seats are vacant so I get different people there most games. Yesterday there was what I assume was Dad and two young boys, probably around 5 and 8 years old. It was obviously their first visit to AG and likely their first professional football match, although one of them had a West Ham  bobble hat. The children looked cold and bored and they didn't return to their seats after HT. I might be wrong but it looked to me like that's 3 that won't return. 

I know you aren't going to get wins every game, but yesterday had very little entertainment or atmosphere either. Maybe the youngsters I saw would have been better off in the family area. All I know is that I felt sad for them, or maybe they've just had a lucky escape?

Atmosphere was absolutely dreadful yesterday I thought.  Even when we were winning.   As someone has said above there just seems to be a general malaise around AG these days but yesterday it really stood out for me.   

Edited December 18, 2022 by lenred