cidered abroad

55 minutes ago, James54De said:

Robinson is a better player than Bryan. Thus he gets in ahead of him. 

I don't disagree with your opinion on Robinson and on that basis deserves to be Fulham number one left back.

But it wouldn't surprise me if the American owners ensured the manager knew their opinions. It's called looking after one's own!

2 hours ago, Super said:

In fairness Robinson is a very good LB and has had a superb season.

And from the USA. Now there's a surprise. Gets in the side not because he is the best  (may be he is) but due to his nationality.

Can the mods scrap this dead threa

Another long standing acquaintance is finished. I knew him standing in the Covered End going back to the first seasons after relegation from First Division.

After I moved to Frome, I used to see him on after match train to Bath. Thanks for the friendship, mate. 

10 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Definitely, you can add Jimmy Mann (what a player), Mark Aizlewood, Lee Matthews, Terry Connor & Ronnie Sinclair to that list, too.

Only Shutt & Ayling joined them from us, vast majority made the reverse journey.

Plus Tommy Burden who left Leeds as their captain, in Second Division, and came to us in 1954 in Third Division South which we topped at end of that season. Burden came here because he had a decent job at Clarks Shoes in Street. He stayed with City until 1963. One of the best midfield players that I've seen at City - real quality.

2 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

Watching the relegation scrap in the Prem and the recent results for Forest and Everton in particular and so much talk has been of the supporters.

The commentary, especially for Nottingham Forest, has marveled at the positive support given to the side even when they were playing badly.

 I believe their fans were a massive part in their staying up. 
 

Everton have had a toxic atmosphere at Goodison Park but this last month or so their backing has given them belief.

Lessons for us?
 

 Stay positive, noisy and together during the game and I believe that this could carry our players to the heights. Fine margins and all that. 

I completely agree with your comments.  My only reservation for a City crowd to act in this way is that we have zero pasr achievemnets to cling to in the way that Everton and Forest have. Both clubs have won top leagues and major cups in reasonable living memory. We have Three League Cup semi finals and one promotion the the Top Tier in the last FIFTY years. Thus while we are grateful for those, we can shout as loud as we can and it is nowhere near as loud and spontaneous as clubs like Everton and Forest. Or even in the Championship, the Boro, Blackburn, Coventry and Luton to name a few.

Our mentality is based on history with major matches thinking "As long as we play well, I'm OK" That means we are expecting to lose anyway. 

Well done Carlisle and Paul Simpson

On 22/04/2023 at 14:22, Davefevs said:

Good point.

Was chatting to @GrahamC last night…

…said if Kalas, Scott and Dasilva went and we signed four (*), we’d look like this:

* guesses as to early incomings

# injured

Add Joe Bryan and that is a very decent squad that should be good enough for a top six finish.

12 minutes ago, Elruliri said:

That did make me laugh, I'll start digging my grave I'm 49. 

I'm 80 in a few weeks and have paid for a big fire not a grave! Not yet though otherwise I've wasted over £600 for City and Bears ST's

37 minutes ago, Steve Watts said:

May I present the following evidence.

Exhibit A: Matty James
Exhibit B: Andi Weimann
Exhibit C : Nakhi Wells
Exhibit D: Andy King (before anyone argues this one, ask the academy kids coming through this season what they think...)
 

The defence rests its case your honour

You are correct with those above. One could also now include Naismith and Cornick as those in the middle/latter part of career. Joe Bryan and fit in here

Then come those who aren't so young anymore like O'Leary and Vyner

Then those in early 20's signed from other clubs with a year or three in the lower leagues. Tanner, Sykes, Atkinson and Mehmeti.

And the Academy boys.

I think it's a good spread with maybe one more around 29/31 and another early twenties.

A good squad.

1 hour ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Coventry definitely do too. They are dirty, made 16 fouls last night and it should have been more and then they hit it long to Gykores. Their GK spent about 3 mins taking each goal kick and his play acting despite not getting a bang on the head was incredibly embarrassing. Horrible style of football.

So what we really need at City is a manager who expects his players to use all the dark arts that are known.

While at City, we have someone who ,IMO, is a decent person in regards to how we play the game - not naive and unaware of the dark arts but nowhere near the way some clubs players behave.

And Mr Honest Lansdown has a high regard for Robins?

1 hour ago, 1960maaan said:

I only add the least respected rumour monger on Twitter for a couple of reasons. Liverpool have been mentioned and it got me thinking to the last transfer from us to Liverpool.
The only one I can think of is Peter Spiring. Admittedly my memory is shocking so, anyone else think of another.

Mike Hooper, goalkeeper, a local lad, moved to Liverpool but it was via a spell at Wrexham.

Mid 1980's

36 minutes ago, Carey 6 said:

Nothing wrong with being jealous of the success. If you're not jealous of it then what do you really want for City?

Snobbishness is different, I'm not sure I've seen too much of it on here. I don't for one second think we deserve it more than them! - If anyone does think that way, why?

Most just making the point that another two non parachute payment teams that have come up into the Championship more recently than us are now competing to play in the best division in the world. If anything, it gives me hope that we can do it. 

But both of them are aiming to reclaim a place in the top tier that they have previously held for considerably longer than Bristol City. And both Coventry and Luton have won a trophy or two.

In that respect we are the minnows.

Out of about twenty or so City managers, he is the one who tries to communicate honestly with the fans. In my early days we never heard any comments, only snippets and tit bits in the local newspapers. The first we knew about injuries, signings, in fact everything about the Club, were printed in the Evening Post and Evening World. Only those who worked in the club or were close family or friends got to know anything before it hit the press. 

Gradually at first and since the internet arrived we've so much knowledge about who might be coming or going and what went right or wrong in matches. Nigel Pearson is being as outspoken and honest as he can be, but without hanging players or throwing them under buses!

I am more hopeful for the club to be aiming at the upper end of the spectrum in the coming months and new season as I have for a long, long time. Probably the most optimistic since Alan Dicks in the mid seventies and Terry Cooper in the years after we got promotion from Division Four. Really looking forward to next season.

Superb Man City performance to destroy Real like they were a Downs L:eague Division Four team. Wow, not my second team but that was a performance to remember.

44 minutes ago, NcnsBcfc said:

A ggod example of this @Davefevs is of course Naismith. Started off the season at CB ( a bit ropery at times), then in the Swansea cup game moved into CM where alongside the change in formation, the team flourished. Then when he came back from injury slotted back into CB. A great utility acquisition by the club.

I thought Naismith was brilliant laying on superb passes for unmissable goalscoring. Trouble is it was the opposition who got the goals.

1 hour ago, George Rs said:

A lot of talk on Twitter today from various Liverpool accounts saying they are and have been playing close attention to Alex.

maybe suggest if he plays well for the u20s they might come in for him? Nothing confirmed but something to think about.

Is a rebuilding Liverpool the right fit for our 19 year old maestro? 

Well they signed a raw Jordan Henderson when he was 21 with about 80 league games for Sunderland and Coventry (on loan).

Alex has nearly a hundred first team games so maybe a year or two less will actually be a benefit to Liverpool.

19 hours ago, NcnsBcfc said:

I get that in the short term.

But I remember how it turned out with Jack Clarke when he went back to Leeds from Tottenham. It depends on how we are planning for next season.

One of the points that NP makes clear is the need for more goals from midfield. It's fair to say this is an area of Scott's game that he needs to improve on. If by playing Scott you aren't playing one of those players that you specifically bought in to do that job then tough decisions would have to be made.

I love Scott, and it's been a pleasure to see his development over the last two seasons. But in all honesty, the last 2/3 months of the season weren't his best and of course he had probably his worse game for the club versus Burnley in the last home game. Whether all the press, media nonsense has got to him, I can't say; but his stock will never be higher than what it is now.

Like when Semenyo left, others have had to step up to the plate. Having Conway back was like a new signing, but collectively as a team we still only scored 4 goals in our last 8 away games. Winning 4 of our last 13 games after the Man City cup game. A lot of those games Scott played in, don't forget. Yes it was a collective issue across the team, but Scott was part of that issue unfortunately,

Oh dear, we've just gone through three years of misery and living on the financial edge of FFP when we avoided FFP points deductions and the subsequent relegation. In that time we have relied on a few more elder statesmen and a never ending supply of very promising Academy graduates. So we finished comfortably in mid table with several long term injured unable to help out.

I believe that we played some very decent football losing against the two automatic promotion sides but actually playing very well in both matches..

Cheer up mate as City are still in the Championship instead of League Two and now recruiting for what will be a good next season.

12 minutes ago, RedRock said:

Our history is littered with ‘returnees’ who have failed to fully live up to expectations second time around, in on or off the field roles - whether loans to permanent (the Chelsea trio, Tomlin et al) or permanent to permanent (Joe Jordan).

There are occasional exceptions. Hopefully, Joe B would be one of those. On the ‘hope’ side, the guy is super-intelligent and highly likeable. He was very fit and athletic. There is a ‘risk’ side though, the mental health aspect and whether that hunger for football and success really does still burn bright. I suspect even Joe doesn’t fully know that - but, logically, he may well view it that if he can’t do it for his hometown Club in familiar surroundings with family support, he wouldn’t be able to do it anywhere else. The other ‘risk’ is that Nige doesn’t know how to play him…for info. he just hasn’t the positional awareness to play full-back, so left/central midfield please.

Let’s hope for an MA-style ‘vigorous’ assessment before we commit so neither parties end up regretting the move. That said, on an emotional level, I’d really love to welcome him back and for him to play a big part in pushing us on. 

 

History littered with returning players?

You must be joking. Working backwards there are Carey and Murray who had short and not too productive spells away, yet came back and did very well. 

Prior to that in the 1970/80's Chris Garland and Tom Ritchie and did superbly well. Chris even came back a third time after being one of the Ashton Gate Eight.

And the only other two that I can remember were Jimmy Rogers and Jack Boxley. Heroes in the first promotion team that I saw in 1955, they left, probably didn't want to and both returned a couple of years later. Rogers is still third highest scorer, I believe!

I haven't included the trash like Tomlin and a few other ex loaners as IMO, I don't count loaners as permanent players.

5 minutes ago, OneTeamInBristol said:

Nothing on Twitter oddly.

The next photo will have Del Boy's three wheeler parked in one of the spaces!

Pity the Robins Café no longer exists.

27 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

I was thinking a more fluid 4 2 3 1 with Vyner and A N Other/Atkinson when fit.

McCrorie and Naismith in front of the back 4 then any combination you like from Mehmetti, Bryan, Sykes, Bell, Weimann and others in behind Conway/Wells/Cornick.

One things for sure, we will certainly be looking at a strong Bench to utilise. 

Probably should wait for his season to finish first.

Where does our best midfielder after Scott, Matty James, go?

And Naismith in central defence so he can feed the opposition strikers, which he is prone to do?

25 minutes ago, Red Skin said:

Great to hear @cidered abroad and isn't that just what it's about. Being there.

Probably, the 16th year I've taken my disabled son, and going to the football and feeling involved with City is just about the best thing in his life.  His brother and sister have both been season ticket holder too, but have now moved away.

It makes it more enjoyable if we are winning, but being with my son at the game and meeting with friends for a pre-match cider is what counts.

Hopefully, the academy kids flourish and some decent football and to be in with a shout of the playoffs would do me.  

 

Well done @Red Skin. My father said to me just before I got married about a hundred years ago, that the greatest thing you can do for your children is to give them your time. He was the only father in our street who did not go to the pub after the meal that they had as soon as they arrived home. We talked, listened to music and read the daily papers. Later when floodlit football arrived, an evening bonus game. Saturdays was for football or rugby and in the summer cricket.

Best wishes to you and your children.

Sheffield appear to be bigger and stronger than City. Are they actual under 21 as opposed to more of ours at under 18?

If Conway, Sam Bell and Scott were in ours, it could swing it to us?

Any thoughts anyone?

11 hours ago, chinapig said:

It took Alan Dicks 11 years at a time when the financial disparity between clubs was nowhere near what it is today. He too prioritised developing young players.

It took him (AD) from 1967 until 1976 to get us in the First Division. Nine years. 

He started without a youth policy, a first team that had lost Atyeo a year before, several that were ready for replacing, Connor, Briggs, Ford, Bush, Low. And Dicks, himself, was a raw young manager.

Pearson has a big advantage as the young ones who he's been able to use in the first team were already here, and he's had twenty years management experience..

So Dicks nine years is reducible. We've had two and a half seasons with NP and in that time he is where AD was in 1972 with young ones in the first team, Merrick, Gow, Tainton, Ritchie etc.and able to recruit players who weren't already over the hill that AD had to cope with. 

My feeling is that we should be able to challenge for a play off next season and if that doesn't result positively, say a defeat at Wembley, a really good go in the next season.

By then, the club should have a good idea of the next manager to take us forward just as Ranieri took over Leicester from NP.

Sheffield United supporters most enjoyable result of the season!