Bas Savage

[Roger Red Hat]

Bas is definitely worth his place in the TEAM at the moment and its going to be great when he bundles in his first goal, its coming.

[Dinky Gems]

I must say i have very mixed views on Bas , He seems so clumsy at times, yet every now and then, he reads the play spot on. Its strange. For the first 30 minutes of last night, he looked like a liablity. Then from out of no where, it gets stuck right in. He needs to be more confident, especially in the box.

[North Bristols Cider Army]

I'm unsure about Bas, the Jury is still out IMO

GJ must rate him and he compliments Brooker as he battles. All my mates rate him for his hard work which you can't fault him for. I would rather have a player who will die for the cause then someone who is just there for the money.

He does look clumsy on the ball but then he is never going to be a Henry is he, and we haven't lost when he has started, so he must be doing something right.

[Tunley Legend]

What do we all make of him now?

Can't trap a ball, can't pass, and can't win header and yet he got a standing ovation when he was substituted.....

10 points in four games and all you can do, Mr Superfan, is pick on individual players. First it was Phillips a few days back and now it is Savage. Some Superfan you are. After 20 odd games of suffering players deciding when they could be bothered to play for the shirt we now have a fully committed squad getting us a few results. And all you can do is pick on individuals. Yet when your bedfellow Tinnion was wrecking the club left, right and centre, not a word!! Top supporter, Robbored.

Muppet? Yea right. What exactly did he do last night what I missed? He done everything every City fan could do, and I wouldn't say we are winning because we have Bas in our team you muppet

You must be a muppet if you think you can play in the poxy fourth division of the Regional League and actually go on a professional football pitch and contribute anything. The standard of football you play is equal to the stuff you spout from your keyboard - total garbage.

[Paul Hudd]

Having watched Bas Savage a couple of times, last night and I believe he played for Reading reserves last season down at the Gate and watched Marcus Stewart, Savage looks a better team player. Stewart came on last night and looked lost- he has no pace and collects the ball in too deep and wide positions- I am sorry to say it but I feel he is past it and has lost his legs. I also feel that Gary Johnson played a canny move in taking Bas off:-

1. To boost the lads confidence as he did well and receive a standing ovation.

2. To waste a bit of time and wind the 90 minute clock down

Bambi on ice sums it up funnily, but we should be used it down at the gate-after all we had tanglefoot (who had 5 chances in some games and scored one, perhaps two) and Junior Bent who sometimes managed to hit Row Z from 5 yards...............

If Steve Torpey was good enough for us then Bas Savage is.

[RedTop]

This guy is one of the worst players I have seen down the gate for a long time. People were laughing at his poorness which I think is terrible. If this was Stewart or Brooker people would be on there backs in seconds. We need to win games to stay in this division and when I go down the gate and witness fans laughing at our players because they are awfull is bizarre. I cannot belive this guy got a standing ovation for his performance tonight, and when Stewart came on, fans in the Dolman boo'ed him, and called him a gas'ead ####. And some people call themselves fans.

Er, yes you are right. We do need to win games to stay in this division. And in case you hadn't noticed it, Bas Savage is contributing to that.

He is a strange player. But to suggest, as some have, that he did not know what he was doing when he laid the ball off to Brooker or that it was so easy a gran could have done it is not only patronising, it is wrong.

Bas Savage contributed a lot to last night's win. Some of you may not like it, but that's how it was. Brooker was awesome. Bas will never be, as GJ correctly observes, Michael Owen. But we do not need a Michael Owen. We need someone who can help this team to win scraps against other teams in this division, and Savage's record in the starting XI suggests he can claim part of the credit for that.

And Simply red you also can count out me, and all those adjacent to me in the Dolman, when you claim the applause was irony. It was not. It was for effort and entertainment. Not entertainment in a patronising 'let's laugh at one of our own players' way, but in the sense that he contributed to an effective attacking performance. If you want to laugh at an effective and whole-hearted player in a City shirt, that says more about you than it does about Savage.

Not every ball he passed went to feet. Not every first touch was perfect. But you never know what he's going to do, and in case some of you missed it he went past his man a few times and played some penetrating and, yes, deft short passes up front.

It doesn't all come off, but he's ahead of Stewart on merit at the moment.

It should also be noted that whereas in the past City managers have had the luxury of demanding another 100k or so for a player, plus wages, whenever they felt the team was coming up short, GJ has brought in Basso, Noble and Savage for nowt. Basso has been sensational in my opinion. Noble (together with the returning Russell) has been instrumental in creating a midfield that can act as a buffer between attack and defence as well as a method of constructing attacks, and Savage has created havoc for defenders who don't seem to know what to do to stop him. GJ seems unprejudiced by the pasts of players - whether that be as successful players in bigger teams or misfits in the lower leagues - and instead willing to judge on what they can do for City. I'd rather have it that way. We've been complacent fat-cats in this division for too long. And I think that the likes of Murray and Carey are beginning to wake up to that fact and realise if they want a future at the club they have to secure it by playing to their capacity now rather than relying on reputation or salary size to get them in the team. And part of that is down to GJ's approach of being prepared to play the likes of Savage ahead of Stewart if he thinks it will benefit the team.

[mozo]

...we should be used it down at the gate-after all we had tanglefoot (who had 5 chances in some games and scored one, perhaps two) and Junior Bent who sometimes managed to hit Row Z from 5 yards...............

If Steve Torpey was good enough for us then Bas Savage is.

What was his name, Steve Jones? hmmm...

[dandaman59]

I thought Bas Savage had a good game he made some good passes nd gave 110% and come on he mite fall on the floor alot but he still get his lanky legs to the ball

[bucksred]

If the alternative is the hopeless Marcus Stewart, then hell I'm all for Baz, cos we are getting more points with him in t'team, than with the leg end which is Stewart.

Face it boyz n girlz, we ARE in the relegation dogfight, and only scappers and players who put the effort in, are going to get us out. Stewart, sadly naaaaaaaaaah he aint it, or his departed sidekick Bridges.

It aint what we want, nor is it pretty, but needs must.

[Robbored]

He both amazed and confused me last night. At times he looked completely out of his depth with his dreadfull first touch and awkward style and then he produces a sublime touch to play in Brooker for the first goal.

In the second half he comes back to defend a corner and I half expected him to find his own net with a misplaced header.....then he goes on a jinking run with a couple of step overs and fires in a shot.I don't know if the Rotherham defenders were slow but even with a yard start Bas was out pacing them.

He's a real enigma....

[Red Robin]

What do we all make of him now?

Can't trap a ball, can't pass, and can't win header and yet he got a standing ovation when he was substituted.....

i think the reason is he gives 110% which is why GJ plays him,not to mention he must be hard to handle when running at you.

[xerox6060]

Lets be honest big Baz is not very good (at present), but just maybe his presence does create more space for Brooks and his 'threat' does occupy the minds of a centre half, again giving more opportunity for Brooks. GJ will surely have a more proven striker signed up soon anyway, up until then if Baz keeps helping us get the results then I'm sure he'll stick around.

[grifty]

If Bas had a great first touch, scored goals for fun, used his height and pace effectively he wouldn't be playing at this level.

thank you captain obvious

i think you'll find if heywood did that, he wouldn't be playing at this level

[Tunley Legend]

Like it or not, with Savage in the side ahead of Stewart, the following is fact:-

1) We are not getting caught offside 25 times per game.

2) Whilst he may sometimes make three attempts at controlling the ball properly, the ball is not bouncing straight back to the opposition time after time when it is played to Savage's feet or chest. He is getting a reasonable amount of those balls to another player in a red shirt. Ask the central midfield players how much extra running they have to do when Stewart constantly gets outmuscled and loses possession if the ball is played to him on the halfway line.

Savage is obviously a player of limited ability but he has been brought in to do a job for a struggling team which is to buy time for midfield players who have had half a season of being run ragged. He is neither a goalscorer nor a good footballer but while he is doing his specific job, putting in 100% and the team are picking up points I really cannot see why many people have a problem with him.

Players like Stewart, Bridges and Gillespie have far more footballing ability than Savage but it seems to me that they require others to do their running and holding up of the ball for them and that is a luxury we cannot afford in a relegation battle. In fact, they have all contributed to the position we are currently in. In the case of Bridges and Gillespie, they don't seem to be able to hack it at fourth division level if the statistics and the amount of time their ar$es spend on the substitutes bench are anything to go by!!

[Guest DrFaustus]

Friends of mine described him as a comedy genius and said his gait was akin to an inebriated giraffe.

[DANRPDAN]

Savage out Stewart back in PLEASE....

[bucksred]

Savage out Stewart back in PLEASE....

Comedy genius at work...................

[Guest yateady]

Friends of mine described him as a comedy genius and said his gait was akin to an inebriated giraffe.

Being an expert you would know, after watching devon white for all those years, happy new year dr f.

[Guest DrFaustus]

Being an expert you would know, after watching devon white for all those years, happy new year dr f.

That was pointed out be another wag last night! Devon did the business for us anyway.

Happy New Year to you too sir.

[Roger Red Hat]

Being an expert you would know, after watching devon white for all those years, happy new year dr f.

Just look how invaluable Big Dev was to the Gas promotion push.

[Guest yateady]

Just look how invaluable Big Dev was to the Gas promotion push.

Quite right and if i remember the fans got on his back when he first joined, he ended up being a cult hero, stranger things have happened bas could be a hero, you never know that first goal could be around the corner and he could flourish, more than likely though he'll get a contract to the end of the season and gj will get another striker when january comes, in the meantime, love or hate him, us fans should back the bloke as he's giving 100%, and thats alot more than can be said of others this season.

[bucksred]

Quite right and if i remember the fans got on his back when he first joined, he ended up being a cult hero, stranger things have happened bas could be a hero, you never know that first goal could be around the corner and he could flourish, more than likely though he'll get a contract to the end of the season and gj will get another striker when january comes, in the meantime, love or hate him, us fans should back the bloke as he's giving 100%, and thats alot more than can be said of others this season.

Careful an outbreak of cheerfulness is not permitted before midnight on the 32nd of December

[we8gas]

You must be a muppet if you think you can play in the poxy fourth division of the Regional League and actually go on a professional football pitch and contribute anything. The standard of football you play is equal to the stuff you spout from your keyboard - total garbage.

How the hell do you know what standard of football we play?Have you watched my team play have you? The league we play in is probably the best league on Sunday's, and being a young new team, we are sitting in 3rd place. We arranged 2 friendlies last season with A COUNTY TEAM, we beat them 2-1 and drew 2-2 with them, so that's what you know about my team. So go play your champ manager because that's all your good at pal.

[RedTop]

How the hell do you know what standard of football we play?Have you watched my team play have you? The league we play in is probably the best league on Sunday's, and being a young new team, we are sitting in 3rd place. We arranged 2 friendlies last season with A COUNTY TEAM, we beat them 2-1 and drew 2-2 with them, so that's what you know about my team. So go play your champ manager because that's all your good at pal.

Wasn't Nigel Martin plucked by the Gas from St Blazey or some such non-entity team? And Phillips was playing for Paulton. I seem to remember Doherty played Downs football when he was a teenager.

The point I am trying to make is that we will benefit, not suffer, from a manager who removes his blinkers and thinks that unless youhave to pay £100k for a player he can't be much good. We've had a string of managers who have adopted that approach and look where it's got us. Further down the league and further into debt. GJ obviously trusts his eye for talent. After bringing in Basso, Noble and Savage I'd have to say at the moment it looks like there is justification for his confidence. We've moaned for years that it's the Gas who constantly unearth the little-known players and propel them to success. Now we know why - our scouting network is apparently non-existent. Well GJ seems to be doing something about it. And I think he deserves our backing on it. And as far as I'm concerned, every time Savage pulls on a red shirt and gives 100 per cent, so does he.

[Guest Harry Dolman]

Savage is just the sort of player - big, awkward, ungainly, that City have struggled to contain for the last 25 years.

No, his control isn't great, but overall I thought he gave a very "effective" performance on Weds. I just wished he'd have scored as the whole place would have gone mental.

Whover said that his standing ovation was "irony" is having a laugh - he gave 100%, created the 1st goal & also created a good chance for Murray.

As things stand Stewart will have to be content with a place on the bench. I am in no way anti Stewart, but purely in terms of VFM, so far he hasn't been a success.

[twoseats]

Also, let's not write off the fact that - at least in the short term - the oppo aren't going to know what to expect from Savage. It's unlikely that the other manager's in the league have much of an idea about him or his game and as such don't know how to prepare their defences to play against him. This lack of intelligence has to be of some value.

Twoseats.

[Guest fatherdougal]

Does anyone remember Dennis Lawrence, Wrexham's six and a half foot centre back who came down last season? That day he looked raw, awkward and panic stricken under the high ball. Well who's laughing now?

He's marking Wayne Rooney for Trinidad in the World Cup. Bas may not be Owen, but you never know,

he could be Crouch.

[Alex_BCFC]

Does anyone remember Dennis Lawrence, Wrexham's six and a half foot centre back who came down last season? That day he looked raw, awkward and panic stricken under the high ball. Well who's laughing now?

He's marking Wayne Rooney for Trinidad in the World Cup. Bas may not be Owen, but you never know,

he could be Crouch.

That's only because Trinidad and Tobago are so bad. Should be hilarious.

[Whale Eye Beef Hooked]

Savage is just the sort of player - big, awkward, ungainly, that City have struggled to contain for the last 25 years.

No, his control isn't great, but overall I thought he gave a very "effective" performance on Weds. I just wished he'd have scored as the whole place would have gone mental.

Whover said that his standing ovation was "irony" is having a laugh - he gave 100%, created the 1st goal & also created a good chance for Murray.

As things stand Stewart will have to be content with a place on the bench. I am in no way anti Stewart, but purely in terms of VFM, so far he hasn't been a success.

Totaly agree with this. He was nervous in the first half as he hasn`t played much. when he got his confidence, he was winning alll of his headers and chasing lost causes in the chanels.

Adi Akynbi, Goater and Cole all looked crap on the ball but they haven`t done bad, have they !

Stewart lookes dis- interested since his run-in with management and looks like he will be gone in Jan.

We do need a quick striker, someone like Leon Knight and we can use Bas to come on for last 20 mins to cause havoc .

I don`t know what we8gas is on about. He is talking junk

[we8gas]

Totaly agree with this. He was nervous in the first half as he hasn`t played much. when he got his confidence, he was winning alll of his headers and chasing lost causes in the chanels.

Adi Akynbi, Goater and Cole all looked crap on the ball but they haven`t done bad, have they !

Stewart lookes dis- interested since his run-in with management and looks like he will be gone in Jan.

We do need a quick striker, someone like Leon Knight and we can use Bas to come on for last 20 mins to cause havoc .

I don`t know what we8gas is on about. He is talking junk

With what you have said, I agree with one thing. Savage should come on for the last 20.

He didn't win all of his headers at all when he looked confident, whenever that was?, Also it is a strikers job to chase lost causes in the channels.

In a few years he maybe OK, but as for now, he got no control, cant header a ball and he cant run. If this was any other player, evrybody would be killing him, not laughing at him and thats a fact.