Why The Panic ?

[Mabbutts-Perm]

Why are City fans panicking and complaining, asked Geoff Twentyman on Radio Bristol this evening. After all, City are still second in the league - a position we'd have given our right test icle to be in on 20 December (that's me speaking, not mr twenypence)

I think it's because City fans feel an instinctive distrust of the manager's team and tactical selection - as evidenced by his early season persistence with Joe Burnell in central midfield and Luke W on the right. Fans used forums, texts and other means to tell the manager these were misguided choices. Yet he still stuck with them doggedly until.... eventually he changed (partly due to his choice - burnell- partly due to circumstance - wilkshire to australia) and we started winning.

City fans now see a deja vu emerging. That's at the heart of the panic. Though the obvious deja vu is of the traditional City springtime 'bottling of it' this time it's coupled with the feeling that the right changes might not be made by the manager till it's too late to grab a top two spot.

It's clear that Aaron needs a 'rest', that Luke W is out of position on the right and that we desperately need to play a proven scorer up front (the popular choice is Leroy, but, hey, maybe even Roberts could do the job there as he did so often last season). Given the early season experience we feel sure the manager won't change things now, and his 'don't panic' message in interviews reinforces out fears.

Funny thing is that I though actually found Danny's post-Stockport match interview staggering, ('it's not a setback') in an odd way I felt reassured by it. He is right to try to deflect pressure from the players. BUT now we have to see if he does the right thing by deflecting that pressure by dropping one or two of them (as above) and being brave by giving a chance to Leroy and Freezer - both of whose goals-to-games ratios (or goals-to-minutes-on-the-field in Leroy's case) must be as good as any current City player.

Getting beaten by Stockport guts us all. But we can still do it - there's a rollercoaster ahead in the next few weeks (who'd have thought qpr and plymout would have drawn today). I think we WILL still get that top two spot.

[RedUn]

Leroy and Freezer - both of whose goals-to-games ratios (or goals-to-minutes-on-the-field in Leroy's case) must be as good as any current City player.

... and their shots-to-goals ratio is in the Sam Parkin / Leon Knight bracket which means a helluva lot better than the City norm.

To read this forum, its obvious a lot of fans won't be happy until we're handing out footballing masterclasses like Arsenal have just served Pompey.

For my part, I'd be happy with an attack that was as efficient at sticking away such chances as do come their way as, say, Swindon's. They are almost certainly a weaker all-round team than ourselves but in Mooney and young Parkin they have a pair of proven goalgetters working brilliantly together <chokes>.

If they'd been up front for us they'd have scored at least as many as they have for Swindle and we'd be laughing. Instead, we continue to lack what Mark Robins so ably demonstrated this time last year.

[openEnd]

Mark Robins so ably demonstrated this time last year.

Hasn't his name been added to the bad words filter yet along with that of our Scottish Reading friend?