One Team Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 I don't think I've ever seen a lower division team match and even play better than a Premiership side before. We were absolutely outstanding. This game had everything; passion, atmosphere, sublime performances from every City player, dodgy defending at set pieces, saved and scored penalties, a 0 - 2 fight back, extra time AND a penalty shoot out! In terms of fight back and atmosphere this was up there with the play off semi-final against Hartlepool last season - it was that good. In terms of football, it was a different class. City passed the ball with sublime touches, out passing and out thinking their Premiership opponents - a neutral would really have to ask themselves, "so which side is THIRD in the Premiership!?!?". The pace of City going forward was a constant threat with Murray, Roberts and Lita in incredible form, backed up by a solid midfield of Tommy and Orr. Then there was Phillips..... What on can you say about the man? Superb performance, probably the best of his career against a strong Premiership team. I just hope we can hold onto him as he's raised his profile immeasurably tonight. Everton fans must've left wondering how on earth they won the game and how the hell Bristol City is in League One of the Coca-Cola league. For 120 minutes last night, so did we. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TinmansCulturedLeftPeg Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 We actually didn't play as well as I'd of expected because Everton (like all lower Premiership sides) are not exactly a very good side,the lower Premiership sides are nothing,Everton did nothing last season but scrape a lucky point here and there....much like Blackburn Rovers and all the other lower Premiership sides....they wouldn't be world-beaters in the Championship division either - no lower Premiership side would be,I would expect us to do very well in the Championship division and we could be playing in the same league as Everton next season when you really think about it....I genuinely expected us to win before the match! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southport Red Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 We actually didn't play as well as I'd of expected because Everton (like all lower Premiership sides) are not exactly a very good side,the lower Premiership sides are nothing,Everton did nothing last season but scrape a lucky point here and there....much like Blackburn Rovers and all the other lower Premiership sides....they wouldn't be world-beaters in the Championship division either - no lower Premiership side would be,I would expect us to do very well in the Championship division and we could be playing in the same league as Everton next season when you really think about it....I genuinely expected us to win before the match! ← What's with this 'Lower' Premiership stuff?? This team is currently 3rd in the Premiership with a draw at Old Trafford and only a loss against Arsenal (which actually doen't count these days). I'm sorry but the idea that City fans should 'expect' to beat Premiership teams, 'Lower' orotherwise, is arrogant. We are a third division team (old, old money) and tonight we scared the living bejasus out of a team 53 places above us in the league, that is up there with Southport drawing with City (and no-one at Haig Avenue is arrogant enough to 'expect' that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazred Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 They were there for the taking and will almost did it. I wasnt impressed with Everton as a Prem side, but they did obviously have better players who didnt play to there best. Not taking anything away from our boys at all, they put in a top performance which only helped make Everton look worse. Positives from the night: 1 Phillips - That double save alone will live long in the memory 2 Passing - We showed we are still the best footballing side in this division 3 The Fans - Best atmosphere at the Gate for a while, we played our part Negatives: 1 Well we havent had a pen for what seems like a lifetime, we get 5 and only score 3(A little harsh but.....) 2 Jamie Smith - don't get me wrong i like his commitment, and he is a decent full back, but he is going to cost us points in the long run, bad disipline and his tackling is a little to aggresive for my liking. But overall, a night to remember....well done boys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TinmansCulturedLeftPeg Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 What's with this 'Lower' Premiership stuff?? This team is currently 3rd in the Premiership with a draw at Old Trafford and only a loss against Arsenal (which actually doen't count these days). I'm sorry but the idea that City fans should 'expect' to beat Premiership teams, 'Lower' orotherwise, is arrogant. We are a third division team (old, old money) and tonight we scared the living bejasus out of a team 53 places above us in the league, that is up there with Southport drawing with City (and no-one at Haig Avenue is arrogant enough to 'expect' that. ← They've been lucky so far this season,they'll bottom six by the end of the season,no doubt about that.... I don't think there is a gulf between the best sides in our division(us!) and the worst sides in the Premiership....the Championship division is very tight and open for example and we would do well there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granty Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Interestingly enough, I took my younger brother last night (a arm chair Man U fan ) He throughly enjoyed the game and made numerous comments throughout the night regarding why are we in the 2nd division, why are we not top so far and how the hell did Bradford manage to beat us 4-1 on the weekend. - questions to which I did not have the answers to apart from City almost always raise the game against better opponents and then struggle when reality sets in again. I would like to imagine that this sort of form could now be taken to the league but knowing City we are just as lightly to get stuffed on Sat I thought Orr had a great game last night, I've been very unimpressed with him so far, but thought he was a star last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFCNW Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 They were there for the taking and will almost did it. I wasnt impressed with Everton as a Prem side, but they did obviously have better players who didnt play to there best. Not taking anything away from our boys at all, they put in a top performance which only helped make Everton look worse. Positives from the night: 1 Phillips - That double save alone will live long in the memory 2 Passing - We showed we are still the best footballing side in this division 3 The Fans - Best atmosphere at the Gate for a while, we played our part Negatives: 1 Well we havent had a pen for what seems like a lifetime, we get 5 and only score 3(A little harsh but.....) 2 Jamie Smith - don't get me wrong i like his commitment, and he is a decent full back, but he is going to cost us points in the long run, bad disipline and his tackling is a little to aggresive for my liking. But overall, a night to remember....well done boys ← Gaz, You've prob read the recent posts on here from the new 'Smith Fanclub'. They love him cos he's a "man's man" (read into that what you like!), unlike his predecessor, Louis. Now I'm not criticising Smith, but you have to accept that if you like your full-backs in the 'crunching tackle' mould, then 'conceding penalties' comes with the territory. Overall, a great performance with more than enough evidence that, as a club, we have what it takes to get out of this poxy division. Can we maintain similar commitment (to the second half at least) every week though....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazred Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Gaz, You've prob read the recent posts on here from the new 'Smith Fanclub'. They love him cos he's a "man's man" (read into that what you like!), unlike his predecessor, Louis. Now I'm not criticising Smith, but you have to accept that if you like your full-backs in the 'crunching tackle' mould, then 'conceding penalties' comes with the territory. Overall, a great performance with more than enough evidence that, as a club, we have what it takes to get out of this poxy division. Can we maintain similar commitment (to the second half at least) every week though....? ← Fair comment mate, i hear you. Lets see how we stand on him come the end of the season! I'm a little unfair listing him as a negative, but at least there will never be a dull moment with him on the pitch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballwinningcentrehalf Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 They've been lucky so far this season,they'll bottom six by the end of the season,no doubt about that.... I don't think there is a gulf between the best sides in our division(us!) and the worst sides in the Premiership....the Championship division is very tight and open for example and we would do well there.... ← You cannot seriously believe that can you? Our current side may do alright in the Championship, but chuck this team into the premiership and we would be relegated without a doubt, most probably bottom of the table and possibly with the lowest points total ever assembled since the PL creation. There is no way our team could 'compete' over the course of a premiership seaon.. and thats not having a go at our players- its just fact. If we did ever get into the top division we would have to spend millions to consolidate our place. The best example is probably Birmingam, who spent almost £15million on new players during their debut premiership season. The worst example probably being the West Brom side of a few years ago, that spent little and went straight down. We may have impressed against a decent opposition last night, but we are still nowhere near that level. We were a team that played very near our top effort last night, whereas Everton were far, far from their best, or even their usual level. Stop dreaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TinmansCulturedLeftPeg Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Again,I disagree,the lower Premiershi sides are nothing! Everton would not walk this division in my eyes....Tim Cahill is their best player but Wilkshire played better than him at the Olympics and it wasn't long ago that Tinman was alongside him in the PFA divisional team....sorry,but you are being foolish if you think the worst Premiership and Championship sides are lightyears ahead of the best sides in League One.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albany P reds Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Again,I disagree,the lower Premiershi sides are nothing! Everton would not walk this division in my eyes....Tim Cahill is their best player but Wilkshire played better than him at the Olympics and it wasn't long ago that Tinman was alongside him in the PFA divisional team....sorry,but you are being foolish if you think the worst Premiership and Championship sides are lightyears ahead of the best sides in League One.... ← Your having a laugh Ok on last nights performance Everton were'nt that good and we played well. But to say Everton wouldnt win this league is a joke. Sorry but your in dream land if thats what you honestly think. I'm city through and through but i'm realistic on how good we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballwinningcentrehalf Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Maybe not 'lightyears', but even the very worst Premiership teams (which I wouldn't include Everton in) are easily ahead of us. The simple fact is: our current team would have no chance of surviving in the Premiership. Maybe if we were given £20million we could consolidate, but thats a totally different matter. And actually, I do think Everton would walk this division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GASBUSTER Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 that was one 1 of the best games ive seen at the gate for a long time ,and if we can perform like that for the rest of the season WE WILL BE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TinmansCulturedLeftPeg Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 I think our academy will come strong in the near future....and Championship/Premiership status alone would improve our academy a hell of a lot so we certainly wouldn't need to spend £20million (coughcoughcoughtwentymillionquidjustdroppingfromtheskycoughcoughcough) on new players when we'd be attracting young prospects....I doubt we would stay up in our first season in the Prem,but it would highly improve our status (more so than it did for much smaller clubs with no academies in much smaller cities with less passionate fans like Bradford,Barnsley,Watford,etc)....I think one season in the Prem,even if we finished bottom,would allow the club to take off and go on to bigger and better things from there! But for me to be talking about this when we're in the bottom half of League One at the moment is abit mental Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spud55 Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 How you can say Everton are poor is beyond me, the only reason you say this is because unlike most other prem sides they don't have one outstanding player, like a Rooney or a Jay-Jay, but as a team they will do well this season, because they are that, they are a team that will work together and give 110% every game. They are a better team than they were last season by an absolute mile, selling Rooney is probably the best thing that Everton FC have done for nigh on 20 years. If the difference between sides like Everton and top div 1 sides is negligable, how come Everton have never been relegated from the top flight of english football ? While countless div 1 sides have ? The gulf is massive and the only time a lower Prem club goes down is if something goes completely wrong and they have a complete nightmare of a season Like Leeds, West Ham, Sunderland did when they went down, Palace and Norwich will go straight back down, West Brom may stay up, but only if Blackburn continue on their poor season. Staying up for the first 1 or 2 seasons isn't really a test of how good you are it's a test if one of the lower prem clubs can drop a bollock to allow you to stay up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screech Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Last night was very much a one off performance, there was nothing to lose for us at all, last night set the bench mark for the rest of the season last Saturday was the worst of the season. City can play consistently somewhere in the middle of those two performances for the remainder of the season and make the play offs, play as well as last night and go up automatically, play as woefully as last Saturday and they can expect to join the Gas next season in the basement. I posted last week that I expected the team to play like that last night because they were really focused on it and up for the challenge, this actually irritates me more than anything else. You saw last night all of the players 100% committed to getting a result, totally focused and 100% concentrated, should we not demand that from every player every game. Some of those players last night were twice the players on display at Bradford, more of the same for Saturday please and the game after that, and the game after that and th........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 I don't think there is a gulf between the best sides in our division(us!) and the worst sides in the Premiership....← Would that us that you point to be us as in Bristol City, or Reading!? Everton are currently the third best team in the country - they're there on merit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buanryoh Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Again,I disagree,the lower Premiershi sides are nothing! Everton would not walk this division in my eyes....Tim Cahill is their best player but Wilkshire played better than him at the Olympics and it wasn't long ago that Tinman was alongside him in the PFA divisional team....sorry,but you are being foolish if you think the worst Premiership and Championship sides are lightyears ahead of the best sides in League One.... ← your having a laugh right? the gap is huge and is getting bigger every year. I think u r dreaming? We're arent even near top of 3 division how do u think we would be doing in the prem? Nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest XrAnGeX Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Again,I disagree,the lower Premiershi sides are nothing! Everton would not walk this division in my eyes....Tim Cahill is their best player but Wilkshire played better than him at the Olympics and it wasn't long ago that Tinman was alongside him in the PFA divisional team....sorry,but you are being foolish if you think the worst Premiership and Championship sides are lightyears ahead of the best sides in League One.... ← Yeah ! ! The premiership is easily the best league in the world and every team it consists of deserves to be there. Why? Because they are that good. The Championship is also one of the best leagues in the world in my opinion and is certainly no walkover. Is This For Real ? ? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southport Red Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 even if we finished bottom,would allow the club to take off and go on to bigger and better things from there! But for me to be talking about this when we're in the bottom half of League One at the moment is abit mental ← I have thought for some time that that is the model for long term success. First time you get promoted to the Prem sign no-one, just take the money. You would come straight back down but would be financially very secure. If (I know it's a big 'if' you could get promoted a second time (which you might, momentum and all that) you could have the resoucres and nouse to stay there. Going up once and breaking the bank usually ends in tears and breaks the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TinmansCulturedLeftPeg Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Absolutely right,the academy is definately the way forward and we'd be extremely respected nationwide if we could consolidate Premiership status in the next 5-10 years without spending much money on new players....we are one of the only clubs outside the Premiership with an academy so we need to make the most of it and be proud of it....the money we'd make if we spent a season in the Premiership could go straight back into the academy and then we'd be even better next time around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Were dreamers Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 that was one 1 of the best games ive seen at the gate for a long time ,and if we can perform like that for the rest of the season WE WILL BE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE . ← :Laugh4: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpaul Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Certainly some blinkered views on this thread. City were awful in the first half and could have been further behind than they were. Everton were far superior in ball retention, movement and closing down. As for the second half, yes, for the 1st fifteen minutes we played really well. We scored from two quality crosses, which would've caused problems for any defence. Unfortunately, once we'd equalised, Everton upped their performance (or we sat back ?) and never really looked like scoring until the penalty shoot out. Steve Philips was named as 'man of the match' which suggests that the premiership side threatened more often, a fact which was confirmed in the Evening Post as we had fewer shots on/off target than Everton. As regards to the atmosphere, It was a long way short of the play off game against Hartlepool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbert Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Steve Philips was named as 'man of the match' which suggests that the premiership side threatened more often, a fact which was confirmed in the Evening Post as we had fewer shots on/off target than Everton. ← That is not what the report on bcfc.co.uk says, apparently we had 9 on target to their 7 and 6 off target to their 3. As regards to the atmosphere, It was a long way short of the play off game against Hartlepool. Well yes, but there were 4,000 less city fans to this game, a league cup 2nd round game which was of very little importance really - i went hoping to see an enjoyable game and maybe for us to pull of a shock win but at the end of the day it didn't really matter. The Hartlepool game had rather more significance and in fairness i seem to remember it being very quiet for patches of the second half when it was very tense although the atmosphere was immense for the last 10 minutes or so when we threw everything at them and then awesome when we scored twice. Overall it was a great atmosphere this week because people weren't so tense and were just enjoying watching us outplaying a premiership side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfc seattle Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Everton fans must've left wondering how on earth they won the game and how the hell Bristol City is in League One of the Coca-Cola league. ← cause we can't beat Wycombe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.