Come on SL, speak..

[grifty]

11 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

One more centre back, I've always thought 4 genuine CBs is best from a balance perspective.

Midfield wise we should have the numbers but even that notwithstanding we lack that creative spark. Naismith at CB is one thing, maybe Naismith, James and Knight in an ideal team..with Vyner and Atkinson at CB.

However a 4th CB and a left footed one at that yes thought we were one light for some time.

GK similar or higher level for competition with O'Leary albeit this is more debatable.

An extra CB is fair but ‘what if’ in the last two weeks of the window there wasn’t one available that would improve the squad as that’s what Pearson has said he would only buy a player if that would happen.

Maybe he thought we could muddle through with Vyner and Dickie as first choice until Atkinson is back using Naismith and youth as back ups.

[Numero Uno]

1 minute ago, glynriley said:

Did I say that?

We picked up 3 in game injuries on Wednesday. Nobody, no matter how good a medical professional they are, can “prevent” that. 
 

If you think Rennie or anyone else can prevent Matt James getting a kick on the ankle, well, good luck with that. 

Agree with the last sentence but we also pick up a hell of a lot of long term muscle injuries. That's the concern for me.

[Sir Geoff]

1 hour ago, Countryfile said:

Interesting that NP chose to play both Wednesdays full backs out of position when he could have left them as was and played JKL as a straight replacement for King, not ideal I agree but perhaps less disruptive?

Not a criticism of NP merely an observation.

I guess he wanted Weimann to coach/ help James on the right.

[Red Army 79]

7 minutes ago, grifty said:

His hands are tied because of the injury crisis. That’s what you should be kicking off about. If we had Vyner, Atkinson, McCrorie, Tanner & Naismith our defence would be looking good.

How many more player do you want? If we had no injuries and put out similar to todays team were still playing poorly then yes, SL would need to answer why he didn’t strengthen the team but that isn’t the case.

The fact you’ve said I’m sending SL shows you haven’t read what I’ve said. You need to direct your anger/request for someone to speak to the professional people in the roles that are causing issue. Rennie/Orme/the other fitness coach whose name I’ve forgot. They need to come out and explain why we have 11/12 first team players out and what they are going to do to resolve it and prevent it happening again.

Completely agree. We have a squad of 24 players (not including Thomas). Pearson has openly said he wants to work within a small squad. Our squad can’t be too big as it will block youth coming through. We should have had someone lined up when Scott was sold to replace his position but apart from that most fans were genially happy with the summer recruitment. 

12 players out injured and now it’s Lansdowns fault. Clubs would have also known we had money to spend so we would have had to offer inflated prices. When we last had money to spend under Johnson we wasted it and most of his expensive signings have since left for free or nominal fees and they were also on high wages. I can understand Lansdown being cautious from making the same mistake again. 

[Sir Geoff]

4 minutes ago, grifty said:

An extra CB is fair but ‘what if’ in the last two weeks of the window there wasn’t one available that would improve the squad as that’s what Pearson has said he would only buy a player if that would happen.

Maybe he thought we could muddle through with Vyner and Dickie as first choice until Atkinson is back using Naismith and youth as back ups.

Or..he had players lined ready to sign once Scott left and was told that the Scott money was no longer available.

[Mr Popodopolous]

5 minutes ago, grifty said:

An extra CB is fair but ‘what if’ in the last two weeks of the window there wasn’t one available that would improve the squad as that’s what Pearson has said he would only buy a player if that would happen.

Maybe he thought we could muddle through with Vyner and Dickie as first choice until Atkinson is back using Naismith and youth as back ups.

Vyner, Dickie, with Naismith in and around..I did quite like the Vyner and Naismith combination when we briefly saw it too, right and left, both can carry and technically good.

Still I'm a bit of a stickler, there should have been room for 2 or 3 more signings..one of which perhaps should have been an LCB.

Has to be better than the current state of play no?

[grifty]

14 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

Or..he had players lined ready to sign once Scott left and was told that the Scott money was no longer available.

Yes that could be the case. But do you know that for 100%?

12 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Vyner, Dickie, with Naismith in and around..I did quite like the Vyner and Naismith combination when we briefly saw it too, right and left, both can carry and technically good.

Still I'm a bit of a stickler, there should have been room for 2 or 3 more signings..one of which perhaps should have been an LCB.

Has to be better than the current state of play no?

I’m hindsight yes obviously, I think Dickie actually prefers to play from the left?

[Sir Geoff]

Just now, grifty said:

Yes that could be the case. But do you know that for 100%?

No but he was pretty grumpy in his next few interviews.

[Tim Monaghan]

10 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

For the first time ever I would say I’m not more Lansdown Out than Lansdown In.

Those of you who recognise me as someone with generally fairly moderate views will appreciate that isn’t a knee jerk reaction.

But I’m just so sick of our club achieving so little from one year to the next. We have become so stale, so perpetually midtable, and with so little to reason to think that will change any time soon. It’s an incredibly uninspiring situation. And that’s where I think our leadership is failing us; they are providing no inspiration whatsoever ever.

We hear so little from them. Where is the ambitious talk? The rallying cry? The sense of direction? Lansdown used to talk about our intention to reach the Premier League. It barely gets a mention now.

This doesn’t mean I can’t see the benefits his ownership has brought. The stadium, the academy and the training ground all speak for themselves. But no one supports a football club to boast about a training ground. This club has given me so little in 40 years, and the Lansdowns have been in charge for a large part of that time.

I look at friends the same age as me who support comparable clubs and they have great stories to tell. My Leicester supporting cousins lived the ultimate dream. My Swansea mates climbed the ladder and made it to Europe. Hell, even my Swindon mates got to the PL once. What stories have I got to tell? Very little by comparison.

I would take a chance on new ownership now. It might be risky, but I’ll take that risk even if just to make supporting this club a bit more exciting.

In solidarity with my fellow fans, I find myself echoing a sentiment that resonates deeply within our community. We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Steve and Jon for the transformation they’ve brought to our beloved club, catapulting our infrastructure into the modern era. Steve, in his tenure, has displayed undeniable commitment, albeit with a few missteps that we can’t ignore. Yet, there’s a perceptible shift in their involvement – a disinterest that’s mirrored by their recent reluctance to invest in the team.

What profoundly troubles me is the extent to which the ambitions of our club’s devoted 23,000 attendees, and the many thousands more around the globe, hinge on the owners’ engagement. When they show signs of apathy, it inevitably ripples through the entire fan base.

Picture, if you will, a scenario where your boss seems disengaged from the company’s goals. The message this conveys is one of indifference, a sentiment we cannot afford. What’s even more disconcerting is the apparent breakdown in communication. Over the past two months, Nigel Pearson and Kalas have publicly highlighted the lack of dialogue within the club. To reiterate – two key figures within our club are left in the dark, and our manager has had to take the extraordinary step of addressing this publicly. It’s a situation that’s difficult to fathom.

In light of these developments, it seems prudent to consider the idea of transitioning the ownership of our club. Perhaps it’s time to seek new custodians who possess the enthusiasm and energy needed to rekindle our club’s ambitions and drive it to new heights. The future of Bristol City deserves a fresh and invigorating perspective, one that matches the dedication of the fans who hold it dear.

 

[Simon bristol]

1 hour ago, Atticus said:

 

Was always uncomfortable with that. It just shows such ego. 

Im pretty sure jon introduced it to steve before the first time it was used,,, though it was probably a formality, and to be fair no one has really had a problem with it until now, and given the amount spent, i dont really have a problem with it. At this point though not spending some of the scott money is ridiculous, to sell your 2 best players  and finish 14th,,, what do we really expect nige to achieve?? 
 

weve all been saying that the beneficiary will be niges replacement, which it might be if we could pick someone competent to replace him… in the meantime though,, at best, we are looking at win 1 draw 1 lose 1, at least until some of the injured guys are back, 

[BCFC31]

46 minutes ago, grifty said:

His hands are tied because of the injury crisis. That’s what you should be kicking off about. If we had Vyner, Atkinson, McCrorie, Tanner & Naismith our defence would be looking good.

How many more player do you want? If we had no injuries and put out similar to todays team were still playing poorly then yes, SL would need to answer why he didn’t strengthen the team but that isn’t the case.

The fact you’ve said I’m sending SL shows you haven’t read what I’ve said. You need to direct your anger/request for someone to speak to the professional people in the roles that are causing issue. Rennie/Orme/the other fitness coach whose name I’ve forgot. They need to come out and explain why we have 11/12 first team players out and what they are going to do to resolve it and prevent it happening again.

Yes the medical side also being a bone of contention, alot of those members of staff other then DR were there failing before pearson come in. Again how much of the budget is allowed for top class medical staff what is the process around the recruitment strategy for said medical staff questions that can only be answered by those above which again comes back to the complete lack of communication and leadership 

[Jeez]

Here you go Steve, this is what it looks like when you roll the dice st the right time. 
 

 

[Simon bristol]

3 minutes ago, Ghost Rider said:

In solidarity with my fellow fans, I find myself echoing a sentiment that resonates deeply within our community. We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Steve and Jon for the transformation they’ve brought to our beloved club, catapulting our infrastructure into the modern era. Steve, in his tenure, has displayed undeniable commitment, albeit with a few missteps that we can’t ignore. Yet, there’s a perceptible shift in their involvement – a disinterest that’s mirrored by their recent reluctance to invest in the team.

What profoundly troubles me is the extent to which the ambitions of our club’s devoted 23,000 attendees, and the many thousands more around the globe, hinge on the owners’ engagement. When they show signs of apathy, it inevitably ripples through the entire fan base.

Picture, if you will, a scenario where your boss seems disengaged from the company’s goals. The message this conveys is one of indifference, a sentiment we cannot afford. What’s even more disconcerting is the apparent breakdown in communication. Over the past two months, Nigel Pearson and Kalas have publicly highlighted the lack of dialogue within the club. To reiterate – two key figures within our club are left in the dark, and our manager has had to take the extraordinary step of addressing this publicly. It’s a situation that’s difficult to fathom.

In light of these developments, it seems prudent to consider the idea of transitioning the ownership of our club. Perhaps it’s time to seek new custodians who possess the enthusiasm and energy needed to rekindle our club’s ambitions and drive it to new heights. The future of Bristol City deserves a fresh and invigorating perspective, one that matches the dedication of the fans who hold it dear.

 

Agree with this, but its easy to see why SL will have had enough after being left with the bill over covid, plus the losses on so many of the players, including the chelsea 3 plus fam. Seeing such poor results while spending out on some of those salaries with no income will have been galling,, while still completing the hpc plus that new arena. They have been his decisions but he must feel let down at what has been delivered for all that money too.

[BCFC31]

Also on the injury crisis yes it clearly needs looking at but we are also running with a very small squad which certainly won't make those inevitable injuries any easier to cope with if the order to run with a smaller squad has come from upstairs as a cost cutting exercise then again it all leads back to 1 man.

[Jerseybean]

Central to any successful organisation/relationship is communication. Sadly Bristol City FC isn’t very good at this.

I  think it’s rather unfair to focus solely on SL, although it certainly is reasonable to aim criticism, regarding a lack of communication, at the club.

As the major shareholder he has made a massive contribution to our club (not only in purely financial terms) for example given his place of residence I would be astonished if he wasn’t instrumental in negotiating for Alex Scott to join us.

He has always struck me as a rather shy and reserved man who is not naturally comfortable speaking to the media or in public.

So, for my money, it’s the club I’d like to hear from, I do understand that the major shareholder, and the chairman would need to endorse what’s being said, even if they themselves don’t say it.

When there is no communication or communication comes from one main source (as is the case with us) then it’s really difficult to really know what is going on. That is the crux of the matter.

As fans, we know precious little and some people would say that’s fine as we are not well placed to understand all the complexities and that may be true, however, as fans we are the lifeblood of the club, and as such it seems reasonable for us to be kept appropriately informed.

I have always enjoyed listening to Nigel Pearson speak. I find his insights, style, humour and experience hugely refreshing, certainly when compared with the mumbo-jumbo nonsense that we used to get from LJ.  Nevertheless, in fairness to Nigel, he deserves others who are senior members of the club to share the burden of communicating and I don’t mean Curtis Flemming taking the odd presser.

As others have mentioned, we do have a communications team, who, although directed by others, should be proactive in ensuring that fans are kept informed in a timely and appropriate manner.

As is always the case as a City fan…..I live in hope!

 

[B-Rizzle]

Once again, my opinion is there’s a lot of hysteria, over reaction and people using one issue to back up their existing view on another issue. My views, for what it’s worth…

1) SL’s approach to the football HAS changed and this is rightly worrying many of us. Has he lost interest? Why hasn’t the Alexander departure and new restructuring at the top level been explained to fans properly? Why hasn’t the Scott revenue been reinvested to some degree? The silence is fuelling the hysteria and the mental views that some fans seem to hold (imo). I don’t understand why communication has fallen off a cliff edge. It’s weird. It’s pissing me off but I don’t immediately want SL out like others do. I agree with the original poster though, please talk to us SL. Reassure us.

2) The injury crisis isn’t necessarily linked to lack of investment. Many coaches, like NP, prefer a smaller squad. He would, it seems, have liked a couple more signings though and that’s harming us. It does concern me, though, that we often find ourselves in these major injury crisis'. What’s that all about?! Not SL’s fault directly though, I’m afraid.

3) I’ll be pissed off if the anticipated run of incoming bad results due to the injury crisis is used as an excuse to sack NP.

4) NP isn’t the messiah and performance/result wise, the jury is still out for me a little on him so I’m not fussed that the club haven’t rushed to give him a new deal, yet. Keep our options open I guess. I’m all for that.

5) I don’t trust the powers that be to have a robust succession plan in place should they either fire NP now, or, it doesn’t work out with him over the coming months.

6) Part of me hopes that all this weirdness at the moment is linked to some grand plan that SL has but needs to keep tight lipped on e.g. a future takeover for example (this would explain us keeping purse strings tight and not committing to a new NP contract). I can’t see it, though, based on previous experience with SL. He’s done an amazing job at building our infrastructure, academy and being (at times) very enthusiastic with his investment, but many of his footballing decisions have been poor over the 25 years I’ve been following city.

I really hope he communicates soon and defuses a lot of this current toxicity and hysteria within our fan base.

 

[robinforlife2]

13 minutes ago, Jeez said:

Here you go Steve, this is what it looks like when you roll the dice st the right time. 
 

 

How many more times, THEY didn't want to stay!

[Mr Popodopolous]

24 minutes ago, grifty said:

I’m hindsight yes obviously, I think Dickie actually prefers to play from the left?

I said we were a CB light from August. Over a long season.

I didn't expert it to be this bad, doubt any of us did, or this soon but..

I always thought Dickie was right footed but that would help. Vyner-Naismith felt a nice balance though.

[BUTOR]

3 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

How many more times, THEY didn't want to stay!

And with a good rest of the season they won’t want to hang around there either.

[petehinton]

Today was a game that’s been coming, and tbh a day that Lansdown deserves for allowing the Scott sale and then locking the purse strings up. 
 

We weren’t sat here demanding £25m to be reinvested, we aren’t that pie in the sky. It was so clear and obvious how much one or two £1m/£2m tops signings would’ve gone, and how much stronger they’d have made us. Basically one or two more TGH types, on top of him coming in - which needed ******* pleading for after McCrorie’s horrific bacterial issue. 
 

A squad of one or two more experienced (probably versatile) pros, and we don’t need 2 keepers on the bench, don’t need to start Joseph J when he isn’t ready, don’t need Knight-Lebel thrown on at CB when losing. That’s not fair on them and their progress, as Nige said post Match. 
 

And if it’s true that he was at the rugby today instead….**** him. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

18 minutes ago, Jeez said:

Here you go Steve, this is what it looks like when you roll the dice st the right time. 
 

 

Bit reductive.  Birmingham, Derby, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday especially the last 3 all suffered form it.

Stoke should have failed but Covid helped them greatly, however January 2008 would have been a key time for us. Bournemouth also breached financial rules in 2014-15 although their fans defend it in varied ways.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, mason said:

Well they didnt go for the fans or better ground so must have been; more money and a club with ambition.....thats where Steve should have stepped in

PL the pull of it, much more money..FFP we could never have competed in a million years and had Semenyo stayed I think we fail FFP and fall foul.

Apologies if I'm reading your argument and getting totally the wrong idea.

[mozo]

5 minutes ago, petehinton said:

We weren’t sat here demanding £25m to be reinvested, we aren’t that pie in the sky. It was so clear and obvious how much one or two £1m/£2m tops 

As one of the fans that doesn't have a BCFC accountancy spreadsheet, I was hoping we'd spend £10-15m this summer. If that's unrealistic, fine, but what we've endured has been confusing messaging and disappointing investment. I think NP's biggest mistake is not calling it out. He's made that out that he's fine with it. He can't be...

Edited October 28, 2023 by mozo

[robinforlife2]

5 minutes ago, mason said:

Well they didnt go for the fans or better ground so must have been; more money and a club with ambition.....thats where Steve should have stepped in

No, they went to play at the highest level! Alex Scott in the summer in his interview openly said, he said nothing as he didn't want to be ungrateful and upset the fans, but the club knew he wanted to leave at the end of last season. Doesn't matter, how much you tell a player, or want to pay them etc, if they want to leave, they want to leave ! 

[Jeez]

15 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

How many more times, THEY didn't want to stay!

That’s wasn’t my point

[frenchred]

5 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

No, they went to play at the highest level! Alex Scott in the summer in his interview openly said, he said nothing as he didn't want to be ungrateful and upset the fans, but the club knew he wanted to leave at the end of last season. Doesn't matter, how much you tell a player, or want to pay them etc, if they want to leave, they want to leave ! 

Which in itself is fine, I don't think anyone begrudges players moving on to earn life changing amounts of money

The gripe comes from making the best part of 40 million out of those 2 who both cost nothing and not reinvesting (not the whole amount) sensibly to replace

[Mr Popodopolous]

15 minutes ago, mozo said:

As one of the fans that doesn't have a BCFC accountancy spreadsheet, I was hoping we'd spend £10-15m this summer. If that's unrealistic, fine, but what we've endured has been confusing messaging and disappointing investment. I think NP's biggest mistake is not calling it out. He's made that out that he's fine with it. He can't be...

I think he wouldn't want to go nuts and spend like a drunken sailor, with a squad of 30-35 e.g. but he would have hoped for a bit more than we have spent definitely.

Edited October 28, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[robinforlife2]

10 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Today was a game that’s been coming, and tbh a day that Lansdown deserves for allowing the Scott sale and then locking the purse strings up. 
 

We weren’t sat here demanding £25m to be reinvested, we aren’t that pie in the sky. It was so clear and obvious how much one or two £1m/£2m tops signings would’ve gone, and how much stronger they’d have made us. Basically one or two more TGH types, on top of him coming in - which needed ******* pleading for after McCrorie’s horrific bacterial issue. 

We brought in 5 players in the summer, all reportedly first team players. One has not played through injury, but there's Dickie, Roberts, Gardner-Hickman and Knight are all first team players. Now, Scott has openly said he told the club he wanted to leave before the summer, so the facts are, the club made signings knowing he would be leaving. We also signed Cornick and Mehmeti in January, so for all Semenyo and Scott have left, it's two out, and 7 in. You can say Massengo went etc, but they were players not featuring, such as Martin etc, so the facts are, we lost 2 key players from January to the summer. Yes, we've not spent fortunes on replacing them, but we have still added 7 players who were first team players to the squad. This wasn't back up players, the players signed are for now, not the future. 

I'm pretty sure, whilst everyone wanted to keep Scott, the players who came in, were added, knowing Scott would leave. We paid decent fees for Knight, and McCrorie.

Dasilva, Scott, Kalas and Semenyo, are the only real exits from the first team in the last 12 months, of which one, was regularly injured and another was not first choice. But we've added 7 players who were brought in to be in the starting 11, or at least the matchday squad, so whilst we may have not invested in quality, we have added quantity. In doing so, we are also told, we are at the top of the wage budget, which therefore, means, what's the point of having 10m to spend, if there's no room in the wages, and what room that could be accommodated, wouldn't allow any quality signings. 

We clearly have 3/4 players who are still here on wages higher than what we are comfortable paying. My guess is that Williams is on a big wage given when he joined, Weimann still is on good money, Matty James will be on big money, and Nahki will be at the top end. We have the latter named players for a season after this one, but Weimann and Williams departing in the summer, will probably allow for 3/4 players to come in, within the budget parameters. 

Our wage budget now, is clearly no where near the higher echelons in this league, so as much as we would like our managers to get a lot of backing and money to spend on quality, it's not going to happen. We are banking on the academy producing a couple of stars, who will help us progress.

[Zuni]

My worry is a potential fall out between NP and BT, not sure BT has always been on the "Pearson train".

Sounded like the "meddling by people above him" quote by NP was hinting at BT to me, would make sense BT would rather a youngster was given a chance over King.

Only one winner in this scenario.

[robinforlife2]

12 minutes ago, frenchred said:

Which in itself is fine, I don't think anyone begrudges players moving on to earn life changing amounts of money

The gripe comes from making the best part of 40 million out of those 2 who both cost nothing and not reinvesting (not the whole amount) sensibly to replace

How is, bringing in 7 players not reinvesting? We signed 2 players within days of selling Semenyo, we also added 5 players this summer, knowing Scott was going.