Who?

[marcofisher]

Scrumpy is out of a job and probably within our budget.

 

In all seriousness, 3 pages and still nobody has put forward a credible name…

Edited December 26, 2022 by marcofisher

[Lanterne Rouge]

1 minute ago, marcofisher said:

Scrumpy is out of a job and probably within our budget 

Especially now he`s got two new mouths to feed.....................................

[Northern Red]

11 minutes ago, AshtonRobin21 said:

I would look to Ainsworth.

Motivator, no budget, strong defence, players would run through walls for him.

Its where we are at.
 

Forget Wilder, the guy fell out with Boro owners because he demanded they spend £10m on Gyokeres. 

That and he wanted to speak to Burnley about going there but the owner wouldn't let him. Anyone thinking he wouldn't be eyeing up something bigger if he came here is almost as naive as those who think he'd come in the first place.

[tin]

What we need is Bielsa; what we’d end up with is Euell.

I admired the job Valerian Ismael did at Barnsley, but not sure about him after his stint at West Brom. 

[cheddarwedlocker]

A noticeable trend in Bristol City managers is that when they come full of either higher league experience and therefore higher pressure they typically fail. I think a lower league manager with not as much pressure, exciting football is the way forward to be honest.

[cheddarwedlocker]

2 minutes ago, tin said:

What we need is Bielsa; what we’d end up with is Euell.

I admired the job Valerian Ismael did at Barnsley, but not sure about him after his stint at West Brom. 

True, however Ismael wouldn’t have the budget which he had at WBA which may lead to more success, as like at Barnsley. Got the most put of players in his squad, and they thrived 

[ohhhshauntaylor]

Just now, OliOTIB said:

A noticeable trend in Bristol City managers is that when they come full of either higher league experience and therefore higher pressure they typically fail. I think a lower league manager with not as much pressure, exciting football is the way forward to be honest

Of the managers who have been a success in the last 30 years there’s only really 3, maybe 4
J Ward, G Johnson, S Cotteril, L Johnson. 
none of those 4 came with the fanfare of a Pearson/SOD/Coppell type appointment. 

[cheddarwedlocker]

4 minutes ago, ohhhshauntaylor said:

Of the managers who have been a success in the last 30 years there’s only really 3, maybe 4
J Ward, G Johnson, S Cotteril, L Johnson. 
none of those 4 came with the fanfare of a Pearson/SOD/Coppell type appointment. 

Precisely 

[RUSSEL85]

Good god, surprised people have not mentioned Alan Curbishley, Martin O’Neill and David O’Leary  

[myol'man]

Our two most successful managers of recent times have come here on the back of relative lower league success at local clubs, GJ at Yeovil and SC at Cheltenham. 

So give that gobshite scouser from across the river a punt. If it works great, if not it'll give the blue few palpitations 

[maxjak]

The last decent manager we had was Steve Cotterill...........and he was shown the door due to his lack of deference.........SL is a generous and successful business man, but,  he   unfortunately has no idea how to appoint the correct type of football manager for our club. It's a shame.

[IAmNick]

18 minutes ago, OliOTIB said:

A noticeable trend in Bristol City managers is that when they come full of either higher league experience and therefore higher pressure they typically fail. I think a lower league manager with not as much pressure, exciting football is the way forward to be honest.

Right, but the ones who DON'T come with higher league experience also typically fail.

You have to be balanced - the vast majority of our managers "fail", as they do at all clubs.

I don't think there's any trend there personally.

[maxjak]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

The only way you get a Wilder is to throw money at him, and that means selling Alex Scott.  Because 1) we can’t afford Wilder and 2) Wilder will want new signings.  We can’t afford 1) and 2) without selling Scott.  Semenyo and Conway won’t fetch enough at this point to make a big enough squad change.

It’s still a big, effing mess.

Others who like Robins, me too, but he isn’t available, and I’m not sure he’d jump ship at this point, even with Cov’s situation.

2 years too late to appoint Robins.........unfortunately.

Edited December 26, 2022 by maxjak

[Bar BS3]

3 hours ago, Bouncearoundtheground said:

So basically no one has a clue and the alternatives are worse or just as bad? 

A valid reply & possibly true - but, honestly.... could anyone really be doing worse than NP is & has been doing here, since the moment he got here, nearly 2 years ago..?!

His record is diabolical and we look no better organised or have a better shape now than when he took over. 

The only reason we ever look any better is because all the players DH had out injured have largely been available to NP and we are still just as bad. 

[BUTOR]

Gareth Ainsworth is the best shout I’ve seen. Within our reach, used to working under constraints and getting the best out of players. But is he really more appealing than Pearson? 

[Curr Avon]

3 hours ago, Selred said:

Would Wilder come?

Following Angrier?

[glynriley]

29 minutes ago, ohhhshauntaylor said:

Of the managers who have been a success in the last 30 years there’s only really 3, maybe 4
J Ward, G Johnson, S Cotteril, L Johnson. 
none of those 4 came with the fanfare of a Pearson/SOD/Coppell type appointment. 

There’s only 3. Number 4 is superfluous 

[ohhhshauntaylor]

Just now, glynriley said:

There’s only 3. Number 4 is superfluous 

I’d argue LJ did better vs the other appointments in the same time frame. 

my point was he wasn’t widely wanted/liked as an appointment. 

[cheddarwedlocker]

Throwing millions at a manager isnt what SL is gunna do, you Wilder and Gerrard hunters need to grasp that

1 minute ago, ohhhshauntaylor said:

I’d argue LJ did better vs the other appointments in the same time frame. 

my point was he wasn’t widely wanted/liked as an appointment. 

LJ bought us from the same position we are now to a playoff fighting team.

[glynriley]

1 minute ago, ohhhshauntaylor said:

I’d argue LJ did better vs the other appointments in the same time frame. 

my point was he wasn’t widely wanted/liked as an appointment. 

Then you’d argue incorrectly. Given his resources he was a failure. 

[Kingswood Robin]

33 minutes ago, OliOTIB said:

A noticeable trend in Bristol City managers is that when they come full of either higher league experience and therefore higher pressure they typically fail. I think a lower league manager with not as much pressure, exciting football is the way forward to be honest.

But what about Millen, Tinnion, SOD (not a high end appointment in my eyes), Holden, McInnes, Smith, Lumsden - All crap.

Yet Cooper and Jordan didn't do too bad.

[The Coach]

2 minutes ago, OliOTIB said:

Throwing millions at a manager isnt what SL is gunna do, you Wilder and Gerrard hunters need to grasp that

LJ bought us from the same position we are now to a playoff fighting team.

Did we ever make the play offs? No

So we weren’t a play off fighting team. We were an upper table/mid table average side built on millions and millions. 

[marcofisher]

4 minutes ago, OliOTIB said:

Throwing millions at a manager isnt what SL is gunna do, you Wilder and Gerrard hunters need to grasp that

LJ bought us from the same position we are now to a playoff fighting team.

A better manager would have made them with the money that was available then, even Pearson would have IMO! 

[johnheadbcfc]

1 minute ago, The Coach said:

Did we ever make the play offs? No

So we weren’t a play off fighting team. We were an upper table/mid table average side built on millions and millions. 

That home loss to wolves at Christmas was a killer

[!james]

I'm sure if we asked Ashton nicely he would let us have Kieran McKenna on the cheap...

[ohhhshauntaylor]

3 minutes ago, glynriley said:

Then you’d argue incorrectly. Given his resources he was a failure. 

You’re missing my point- remove LJ from the 4, and you can’t argue with the other 3. 
my point being all of whom were not the fans choice etc. 

[ChippenhamRed]

2 minutes ago, johnheadbcfc said:

That home loss to wolves at Christmas was a killer

We have never, ever recovered from it. The defining game of the last decade.

[Kingswood Robin]

1 minute ago, ChippenhamRed said:

We have never, ever recovered from it. The defining game of the last decade.

Too true. You can even pinpoint the moment in the game. It was like a trap door opened underneath us.

[!james]

The trend does seem to be appointing an assistant or youth coach from a bigger club who are looking for their opportunity to manage.

Michael Beale, Kieran McKenna, Neil Critchley, Kolo Toure, Michael Carrick... 

Looking at the list of available managers I can understand why

[glynriley]

2 minutes ago, ohhhshauntaylor said:

You’re missing my point- remove LJ from the 4, and you can’t argue with the other 3. 
my point being all of whom were not the fans choice etc. 

You included him in the 4. If you don’t want people to pick apart your points, don’t include a failure. 
 
You’re correct about the other 3, but miles off with LJ. You shouldn’t have mentioned him. 

[Davefevs]

26 minutes ago, maxjak said:

2 years too late to appoint Robins.........unfortunately.

Wasn’t Robins in the frame around the time LJ was appointed?  Or was it when Cotterill was appointed?

19 minutes ago, Bouncearoundtheground said:

Gareth Ainsworth is the best shout I’ve seen. Within our reach, used to working under constraints and getting the best out of players. But is he really more appealing than Pearson? 

I like Ainsworth too.

Him, Duff and Warne…shame they are all in jobs.

[ohhhshauntaylor]

1 minute ago, glynriley said:

You included him in the 4. If you don’t want people to pick apart your points, don’t include a failure. 
 
You’re correct about the other 3, but miles off with LJ. You shouldn’t have mentioned him. 

I specified 3, and said maybe 4. 
IMO he’s the best of the rest in that time (and league positions/win % during tenure confirm that) 

[glynriley]

2 minutes ago, ohhhshauntaylor said:

I specified 3, and said maybe 4. 
IMO he’s the best of the rest in that time (and league positions/win % during tenure confirm that) 

As I said, given the resources available he failed. You’re entitled to your opinion, it’s not one that’s shared by many, but you’re welcome to own it. 

[Kid in the Riot]

29 minutes ago, glynriley said:

Then you’d argue incorrectly. Given his resources he was a failure. 

His resources were tantamount to what was being spent in the division at the time. You cant compare LJ spending with Nige - that would be silly. 

We spent some big cash, but that was because we received some big cash. Our accounts prove it. We even made a profit one season. 

If LJ had been appointed in 2021 he'd have not been able to spend millions.

Amazing this context is lost on so many. 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Kid in the Riot

[BS13 Robin]

Wade Elliot?

 

[glynriley]

1 hour ago, Kid in the Riot said:

His resources were tantamount to what was being spent in the division at the time. You cant compare LJ spending with Nige - that would be silly. 

We spent some big cash, but that was because we received some big cash. Our accounts prove it. We even made a profit one season. 

If LJ had been appointed in 2021 he'd have not been able to spend millions.

Amazing this context is lost on so many. 

Wasn’t the profitable season enhanced because the Kelly sale was brought forward?

We did get some big money in for players but it was sell one buy 4. The wage bill thus spiralling out of control. 
 

Amazing this context is lost on so many. 

[Kid in the Riot]

3 minutes ago, glynriley said:

Wasn’t the profitable season enhanced because the Kelly sale was brought forward?

We did get some big money in for players but it was sell one buy 4. The wage bill thus spiralling out of control. 
 

Amazing this context is lost on so many. 

We were profitable because the management team brought Kelly into the first team and sold him for over £20m inc add ons? Are you actually trying to portray that as a negative? 

The wage bill was what the owner sanctioned, and about 14th in the division whilst LJ was here.

It's now top 10 according to Richard Gould. 

Which manager was/is performing?

Context. 

[Harry]

4 hours ago, Basil Fawlty said:

Rob Edwards (post Watford) might be a shout….

 

(If he could rescue us is another matter )

He’d have been my choice. But unfortunately he already bagged himself another championship job and his team totally outplayed and beat Norwich today. 

[Ska Junkie]

Given Andy King is a City fan plus has some coaching duties, would he be in the frame?

I'm not saying that's a good or bad idea btw.

[GrahamC]

4 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

Given Andy King is a City fan plus has some coaching duties, would he be in the frame?

I'm not saying that's a good or bad idea btw.

I’d say if Pearson leaves he is very likely to be in the frame, alongside Euell.

Euell clearly has the greater current experience, having been assistant manager at Charlton & a first team coach with us, but he’d be a contender.

[Dr Balls]

Just now, GrahamC said:

I’d say if Pearson leaves he is very likely to be in the frame, alongside Euell.

Euell clearly has the greater current experience, having been assistant manager at Charlton & a first team coach with us, but he’d be a contender.

But surely as first team coach Euell is partly responsible for the current problems on the pitch? Not a ringing endorsement is it?

[glynriley]

5 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

We were profitable because the management team brought Kelly into the first team and sold him for over £20m inc add ons? Are you actually trying to portray that as a negative? 

profitable for one season in 4 I believe, enhanced by LK transfer being rushed through for accounting purposes. Not a negative, but certainly a degree of ego massaging.

The wage bill was what the owner sanctioned, and about 14th in the division whilst LJ was here.

The owner who has lead the club in this direction on more than 1 occasion  

It's now top 10 according to Richard Gould. 
may well be top 10 now, no doubt in no small part to existing contracts handed out under the previous regime  

Which manager was/is performing?

Neither really. One had oodles of cash and no experience, the current bloke the opposite. All rather depressing.

Context. 

 

[Kid in the Riot]

14 minutes ago, Harry said:

He’d have been my choice. But unfortunately he already bagged himself another championship job and his team totally outplayed and beat Norwich today. 

Lost today but Ryan Lowe at PNE  is doing a better job than NP. Very limited budget and 9th. 

[MattWSM]

Joey Barton

[Bris Red]

1 minute ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Lost today but Ryan Lowe at PNE  is doing a better job than NP. Very limited budget and 9th. 

Says it all. I understand Pearson has had a horrendous financial situation but you other managers are out there doing better in similar circumstances..

[Kid in the Riot]

2 minutes ago, Bris Red said:

Says it all. I understand Pearson has had a horrendous financial situation but you other managers are out there doing better in similar circumstances..

Robins is the amazing one. Good mates with Lansdown too. Cov didn't have a pitch to play on first three weeks of the season. That's adversity. 

Pearson has a much better squad. 

[AppyDAZE]

3 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Robins is the amazing one. Good mates with Lansdown too. Cov didn't have a pitch to play on first three weeks of the season. That's adversity. 

Pearson has a much better squad. 

But has missed out on the vacancy at least once.  Are you sure?

[ScottishRed]

17 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

But surely as first team coach Euell is partly responsible for the current problems on the pitch? Not a ringing endorsement is it?

That scenario reminds of something from the recent past........

[Kid in the Riot]

Just now, AppyDAZE said:

But has missed out on the vacancy at least once.  Are you sure?

Absolutely positive. Think Lansdown was  very keen that time but Cotterill got the nod 

[AppyDAZE]

1 minute ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Absolutely positive. Think Lansdown was  very keen that time but Cotterill got the nod 

But we've had appoinments since Cotterill. Doesn't seem like he's been that high on the list.

[Mr Chappers]

Minority of one probably, but I’d like a young, up and coming manager, with fresh ideas, who can work within our limitations. Time to be bold, rather than just going for whichever ‘usual suspect’ has fallen off the merry go round of mediocrity.

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

We were profitable because the management team brought Kelly into the first team and sold him for over £20m inc add ons? Are you actually trying to portray that as a negative? 

The wage bill was what the owner sanctioned, and about 14th in the division whilst LJ was here.

It's now top 10 according to Richard Gould. 

Which manager was/is performing?

Context. 

The problem with the Kelly sale happening in May was that it ended up in the same year’s accounts as Bryan, Flint and Reid and turned a loss into a profit, and therefore one excellent year (peak) against forthcoming losses (troughs).  What’s wrong with that?  Nothing aside from FFP, when that year’s profit drops out of the calculation.  It’s fine for the cycle up to the recently announced accounts (cycle to 2021-22) but drops off and leaves a gurt big hole for the cycle ending this season (2022-23).  Would’ve really helped us to have had that £20m a year later.

Hey-ho.

[bpexile]

12 hours ago, Ivorguy said:

What a quacking idea

But would he fit the bill

[ChippenhamRed]

8 hours ago, Ska Junkie said:

Given Andy King is a City fan plus has some coaching duties, would he be in the frame?

I'm not saying that's a good or bad idea btw.

Can I politely suggest that we don’t start appointing complete novices as manager because they’re a “fan”?

[ChippenhamRed]

7 hours ago, Mr Chappers said:

Minority of one probably, but I’d like a young, up and coming manager, with fresh ideas, who can work within our limitations. Time to be bold, rather than just going for whichever ‘usual suspect’ has fallen off the merry go round of mediocrity.

I’m so tired of this football club.

We’ve done “young up and coming manager” and it failed.

We’ve done “complete novice” and it failed.

We’ve done “club legend” and it failed.

We’ve done “journeyman coach” and it failed (in the championship).

We’ve done “bloke who did well at a club down the road” and it failed (in the championship).

We’ve done “proven manager who’s been promoted out of the Championship” and even that appears to be failing.

…and yet the answer is always another new manager. I’m not saying Pearson should stay. But neither am I convinced anyone else would do any better. I’m just sick to death of constant mediocrity and disappointment from a club that has the potential to be so much more.

[Mr Chappers]

1 hour ago, ChippenhamRed said:

I’m so tired of this football club.

We’ve done “young up and coming manager” and it failed.

We’ve done “complete novice” and it failed.

We’ve done “club legend” and it failed.

We’ve done “journeyman coach” and it failed (in the championship).

We’ve done “bloke who did well at a club down the road” and it failed (in the championship).

We’ve done “proven manager who’s been promoted out of the Championship” and even that appears to be failing.

…and yet the answer is always another new manager. I’m not saying Pearson should stay. But neither am I convinced anyone else would do any better. I’m just sick to death of constant mediocrity and disappointment from a club that has the potential to be so much more.

Maybe the issue is this constant change of strategy, rather than seeking continuity. We also have to accept that we will always be a smaller Championship side, and don’t have the resources to try and buy promotion. It’s a pity we tried that a few years ago, de-stabilising finances, and meaning the quality youngsters are coming through at a bad time.

Doubt NP will be around long now, let’s see if we look for a sensible, long term strategy, or just go for another ‘usual suspect’, as demanded by this Forum.

[E.J.Thribb]

11 hours ago, Harry said:

He’d have been my choice. But unfortunately he already bagged himself another championship job and his team totally outplayed and beat Norwich today. 

My mistake-shows how much attention I pay to any clubs outside of City  

I put it down to a gradual disenfranchisement from football  

[Cityboy1954]

18 hours ago, ollywhyte said:

Steven Schumacher

*although he’s on a long contract and tip of the league below so won’t happen 

Hes a Racing Driver

[Red-Robbo]

I run a business and both it and my personal household are run on a sound financial basis. BUT my eyes glaze over when I see balance sheets - I have people do that stuff for me and give me the jargon-free summaries - so I tend to skip over posts about club finances on here.

So, can someone give me a quick reminder:

Does a club's manager salary count towards FFP?  Would a club's manager severance pay/compo count towards it?

[GrahamC]

3 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I run a business and both it and my personal household are run on a sound financial basis. BUT my eyes glaze over when I see balance sheets - I have people do that stuff for me and give me the jargon-free summaries - so I tend to skip over posts about club finances on here.

So, can someone give me a quick reminder:

Does a club's manager salary count towards FFP?  Would a club's manager severance pay/compo count towards it?

Yes & yes, I think but likely to be a relative drop in the ocean.

 

2 hours ago, Mr Chappers said:

Maybe the issue is this constant change of strategy, rather than seeking continuity. We also have to accept that we will always be a smaller Championship side, and don’t have the resources to try and buy promotion. It’s a pity we tried that a few years ago, de-stabilising finances, and meaning the quality youngsters are coming through at a bad time.

Doubt NP will be around long now, let’s see if we look for a sensible, long term strategy, or just go for another ‘usual suspect’, as demanded by this Forum.

This is such a good post, the fact is we have no plan, our manager type varies from appointment to appointment without any clear ethos.

Pearson is the first in some while to make huge use of the Academy (whether through necessity or by choice is moot) so whoever follows him has to keep on that path.

I am coming around to the conclusion that he was the right manager but at the wrong time, though probably only Terry Cooper inherited a tougher ask & he was doing so in the bottom division.

I strongly suspect it will be Euell, that is an almighty gamble as he’s never managed before but as we did this with Holden, Millen, Tinnion, Lumsden & Fawthrop it is the nearest to a “plan” that we have, shame that largely doing this has failed & we have not reflected on that.

[BCFC_Dan]

How about somebody we've not heard of? The British big names are expensive, the internal appointments too inexperienced but when did we last look abroad for a manager? More than 20 years ago and it didn't quite work, so the whole idea has been given up on.

Just as with players, there's value there but you have to look for it. You have to know what you want and do your homework but the likes of Huddersfield and Barnsley have been able to bring in very good managers from abroad (and some bad ones, I admit).

We can have a better manager than Nigel Pearson, but if the money isn't there then the club will need to be smart and it will need to put the work in. Spending a bit of money on a strategy and some research could save a lot in wages and compensation but the club has never seemed prepared to do that.

[BigTone]

48 minutes ago, Cityboy1954 said:

Hes a Racing Driver

Poles apart from the rest

[Andy082005]

4 hours ago, ChippenhamRed said:

I’m so tired of this football club.

We’ve done “young up and coming manager” and it failed.

We’ve done “complete novice” and it failed.

We’ve done “club legend” and it failed.

We’ve done “journeyman coach” and it failed (in the championship).

We’ve done “bloke who did well at a club down the road” and it failed (in the championship).

We’ve done “proven manager who’s been promoted out of the Championship” and even that appears to be failing.

…and yet the answer is always another new manager. I’m not saying Pearson should stay. But neither am I convinced anyone else would do any better. I’m just sick to death of constant mediocrity and disappointment from a club that has the potential to be so much more.

I remember the good old days when you used to bash me for posts like this 

Welcome to the dark side 

[GrahamC]

24 minutes ago, BCFC_Dan said:

How about somebody we've not heard of? The British big names are expensive, the internal appointments too inexperienced but when did we last look abroad for a manager? More than 20 years ago and it didn't quite work, so the whole idea has been given up on.

Just as with players, there's value there but you have to look for it. You have to know what you want and do your homework but the likes of Huddersfield and Barnsley have been able to bring in very good managers from abroad (and some bad ones, I admit).

We can have a better manager than Nigel Pearson, but if the money isn't there then the club will need to be smart and it will need to put the work in. Spending a bit of money on a strategy and some research could save a lot in wages and compensation but the club has never seemed prepared to do that.

Problem is we don’t appear to have the organisation in place to do so.

The CEO is leaving, the chairman is out of his depth & the owner wants to sell.

Our big idea always seems to be to get someone back that SL already knows & likes, so that’s LJ or Tinnion. Pearson only got the job because we were sinking fast under Holden & no one else wanted it.

All pretty “corner shop” in truth..

[Rob k]

16 hours ago, And Its Smith said:

I’d like a manager who isn’t cocky enough to say fans booing him doesn’t bother him as he’s been booed in bigger stadiums than Ashton Gate. We can afford a new manager more than we can afford to go down.  I’ve not been Pearson Out yet but very close now after the last two games and what he has said today 

Why does that comment bother you? 

[Davefevs]

@Red-Robbo

GrahamC is right re the financial side of manager ins / outs.

[Red-Robbo]

Just now, Davefevs said:

@Red-Robbo

GrahamC is right re the financial side of manager ins / outs.

 

Cheers. And tbf @GrahamC is right about most things.

It would be depressing to think Pearson is untouchable because we can't afford to get rid of him though. 

As I've said, I just cannot explain some of his decision-making recently and - taken as a whole - it's costing us more points than any number of individual mistakes  bad luck and reffing incompetence.  

However, I don't expect Lansdown to pull the trigger unless we fall into the relegation zone and stay there for a few weeks though. That man has the turning circle of an oil tanker. 

[GrahamC]

6 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

Cheers. And tbf @GrahamC is right about most things.

It would be depressing to think Pearson is untouchable because we can't afford to get rid of him though. 

As I've said, I just cannot explain some of his decision-making recently and - taken as a whole - it's costing us more points than any number of individual mistakes  bad luck and reffing incompetence.  

However, I don't expect Lansdown to pull the trigger unless we fall into the relegation zone and stay there for a few weeks though. That man has the turning circle of an oil tanker. 

Just to continue the mutual admiration society, I think you’re right here too

[Gillies Downs Leeds]

If and when it does happen the job will probably end up being given to someone like Cole Skuse..

[Major Isewater]

14 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Robins is the amazing one. Good mates with Lansdown too. Cov didn't have a pitch to play on first three weeks of the season. That's adversity. 

Pearson has a much better squad. 

I wanted Robins a long time ago but many on here were completely opposed. What is so, so frustrating is that we seem to turn Gold into turd. We get a bloke like Steve Coppell who had done it all with a similar sized club and within six weeks he buggered off. Why? 
If Robins had joined us ,when he was so close to landing the job last time , I am convinced that today he would be an ex-Bristol City manager tearing it up for another club.