Can we be positive?

[BristolGit]

Picked up the shirts for the 2 little’uns today and had that feeling.

Who cares about the owners, the agenda or what’s happened… the next generation are excited and I’m being more positive than ever. 
 

Don’t want them to feel any of the negativity. It’s my 35th season and I’ll stand by no matter what!

Determined to see top flight in my lifetime but loving seeing them with their City shirts at training vs the Man City and Real Madrid.

Up the City! 

 

[Mr Popodopolous]

One good thing in recent years is the number of young fans, Gould mentioned it a couple of years ago in a Fans Forum iirc the age breakdown. Fantastic and vital in an era of superclubs and similar.

In my time, one thing we have always been good at is season tickets aimed at younger fans e.g... I remember in the early 2000s those really cheap ones, under £50 I can't recall the exact amounts, Quid a Kid all that.

[GrahamC]

Didn’t someone post this almost verbatim last year?

I’m positive, I always enjoy Championship football, going to the ground, seeing the group I sit with.

I’m very interested to see what Manning does with the group of players he has, he’s not been particularly well backed this summer, but that’s not exactly a surprise.

The owner can sell up & our Technical Director leave as soon as humanly possible, though.

[Robbored]

7 hours ago, BristolGit said:

Picked up the shirts for the 2 little’uns today and had that feeling.

Who cares about the owners, the agenda or what’s happened… the next generation are excited and I’m being more positive than ever. 
 

Don’t want them to feel any of the negativity. It’s my 35th season and I’ll stand by no matter what!

Determined to see top flight in my lifetime but loving seeing them with their City shirts at training vs the Man City and Real Madrid.

Up the City! 

 

Hooray! 

Another poster who’s as positive and upbeat about the coming campaign as I am.

[TV Tom]

26 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Didn’t someone post this almost verbatim last year?

I’m positive, I always enjoy Championship football, going to the ground, seeing the group I sit with.

I’m very interested to see what Manning does with the group of players he has, he’s not been particularly well backed this summer, but that’s not exactly a surprise.

The owner can sell up & our Technical Director leave as soon as humanly possible, though.

If that's you being "positive" i'd hate to see you when you're being negative !!

[Show Me The Money!]

If you want to stay positive the biggest tip I can give is to stay as far away from here as possible after a defeat or even most draws.

[Slippin cider]

No 

[mozo]

8 hours ago, BristolGit said:

Picked up the shirts for the 2 little’uns today and had that feeling.

Who cares about the owners, the agenda or what’s happened… the next generation are excited and I’m being more positive than ever. 
 

Don’t want them to feel any of the negativity. It’s my 35th season and I’ll stand by no matter what!

Determined to see top flight in my lifetime but loving seeing them with their City shirts at training vs the Man City and Real Madrid.

Up the City! 

 

Not living up to your name there!

I'll be buying my daughter her first ever City shirt this season 

 

[Garland-sweden]

Think we will do ok, hope for better then last season. Think we will play more direct now. Manning leaves side and back passes hopefully. 

[Mr Hankey]

Think this season goes one extreme or the other. If the young signings hit the ground running & we keep a fit squad then we really could do things as i dont see this league being as competitive as last season…..but at the same time having lost the expereince we had with James and King, not signing any defenders & very inexperienced signings mixed in with some injuries it could also go the other way.

Either way i certainly don’t think we will be in for another midtable season, just hoping it will be the better extreme!

[Out of his pie crust]

Fast start required. Get some points on the board early and kick on from there. Europe in 3 years

[ExiledAjax]

4 minutes ago, Out of his pie crust said:

Fast start required. Get some points on the board early and kick on from there. Europe in 3 years

We've had a pretty good start to the past four seasons. It's the "kick on from there" bit that's been lacking. Often for legitimate reasons but we've not struggled for a strong August/September.

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Didn’t someone post this almost verbatim last year?

I’m positive, I always enjoy Championship football, going to the ground, seeing the group I sit with.

I’m very interested to see what Manning does with the group of players he has, he’s not been particularly well backed this summer, but that’s not exactly a surprise.

The owner can sell up & our Technical Director leave as soon as humanly possible, though.

I think he has Graham!

He's not had to sell anyone, he’s purely been able to “spend” this summer.

[GrahamC]

12 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I think he has Graham!

He's not had to sell anyone, he’s purely been able to “spend” this summer.

Well, a net upfront spend of circa £3.5m isn’t exactly what some were predicting would happen..

”£16m this summer” on one podcast, wasn’t it? “Marquee signing” (whatever that is).

[Out of his pie crust]

47 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

We've had a pretty good start to the past four seasons. It's the "kick on from there" bit that's been lacking. Often for legitimate reasons but we've not struggled for a strong August/September.

True, there’s a spell where we play Leeds, blades and burnley back to back at home , think October time would be good to have a bit of credit/confidence going into that run

Edited July 20 by Out of his pie crust

[Headley Parker]

I’m with you Graham & yes the quicker the Technical Director goes the better! 

[Mr Popodopolous]

20 minutes ago, Out of his pie crust said:

True, there’s a spell where we play Leeds, blades and burnley back to back at home , think October time would be good to have a bit of credit/confidence going into that run

Sadly for me, slow start feels potentially possible due to new raw yet exciting strikers finding their feet, needing to acclimatise etc.

I hope I am wrong, because a relatively favourable run of games and slow start is a challenge.

Edited July 20 by Mr Popodopolous

[Robbored]

37 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I think he has Graham!

He's not had to sell anyone, he’s purely been able to “spend” this summer.

He has been able to spend ‘some’ but not enough in the war chest to bring in a Marquee player - some would argue that that’s a good thing.

[grifty]

Just now, Robbored said:

He has been able to spend ‘some’ but not enough in the war chest to bring in a Marquee player - some would argue that that’s a good thing.

How do you know this?

How do you know Manning wasn't told by the board, yeah we want a marquee signing so you can buy someone for £5m+ and Manning said, I'd prefer to take that £5m and buy two strikers to improve the squad?

[Mr Popodopolous]

44 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I think he has Graham!

He's not had to sell anyone, he’s purely been able to “spend” this summer.

Yep he didn't have to juggle finance and football as his predecessor did, not in the same way anyway.

A Conway sale may net some of this off but then we can consider January as well (albeit  Bird was mentioned in Summer 2023 in places so perhaps he was a medium or longer term).

Edited July 20 by Mr Popodopolous

[Mr Popodopolous]

6 minutes ago, grifty said:

How do you know this?

How do you know Manning wasn't told by the board, yeah we want a marquee signing so you can buy someone for £5m+ and Manning said, I'd prefer to take that £5m and buy two strikers to improve the squad?

Maybe our target list isn't broad enough..or Idk, let's see but QPR have added a Swiss League striker for maybe £2.5m or €3m. He looks to have a strong record and to he in prime years.. him plus one of Fally or Armstrong. Swiss League striker aged 25 so yeah entering his prime years IMO.

Having said that we did try with Kulenovic who is more of that profile?

Edited July 20 by Mr Popodopolous

[Robbored]

8 minutes ago, grifty said:

How do you know this?

How do you know Manning wasn't told by the board, yeah we want a marquee signing so you can buy someone for £5m+ and Manning said, I'd prefer to take that £5m and buy two strikers to improve the squad?

It’s obvious grifty - just look how much business Manning has done this window.

[Curr Avon]

Yes.

[Kodjias Wrist]

48 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Well, a net upfront spend of circa £3.5m isn’t exactly what some were predicting would happen..

”£16m this summer” on one podcast, wasn’t it? “Marquee signing” (whatever that is).

I thought roughly in the middle of those figures is what we would spend. Don’t forget we also paid for Max Bird and the Aldershot lad too. 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

Well, a net upfront spend of circa £3.5m isn’t exactly what some were predicting would happen..

”£16m this summer” on one podcast, wasn’t it? “Marquee signing” (whatever that is).

You know better to listen / read certain posters comments on here and on pods!

As it stands Manning wasn't asked to fund any of the 3 signings they planned to make (the Physical 9, the no10 and winger) this summer with sales.  They’ve made 2 / 3.  They’ve proactively recruited Armstrong in preparation for getting rid of Conway.

I’d say that is being well-backed.

[robin_unreliant]

58 minutes ago, grifty said:

How do you know this?

How do you know Manning wasn't told by the board, yeah we want a marquee signing so you can buy someone for £5m+ and Manning said, I'd prefer to take that £5m and buy two strikers to improve the squad?

I reckon if OTIB was an office Robbored could put in a case for bullying. Whatever he posts someone seems to have a dig. Personally I thought his post was perfectly reasonable based on the transfer business to date.

[SydneyCity]

I’m always positive pre-season. I’m also really torn between ambition and apathy.

I genuinely love the competitiveness of Championship football and, despite believing that we had promotion potential last season (a lucky 6th place finish and playoffs), I would have been horrified if we actually were. Imagine watching the bulk of our 23/24 squad getting thumped every week this season in the Prem. I also hate VAR with a passion.

This leaves me questioning what my baseline positivity is. I obviously want to see us win every game, but I’d also be happy with us playing entertaining football with mixed results.

This is all a very long-winded way of saying, I really don’t know what I'm positive about. But I am.

[grifty]

28 minutes ago, robin_unreliant said:

I reckon if OTIB was an office Robbored could put in a case for bullying. Whatever he posts someone seems to have a dig. Personally I thought his post was perfectly reasonable based on the transfer business to date.

By have a dig, do you mean ask a question?

[redsquirrel]

1 hour ago, grifty said:

How do you know this?

How do you know Manning wasn't told by the board, yeah we want a marquee signing so you can buy someone for £5m+ and Manning said, I'd prefer to take that £5m and buy two strikers to improve the squad?

if thats the case,why isnt twine on board? the man liam wants to build his team around?

[Johnny Musicworks]

Never make the mistake of thinking the negativity on here is generally reflective of the fanbase. It rarely is and it’s what forums are all about. They are home to the keyboard warriors for every club. They are however still places for some great discussion, occasional snippets of ITK info and informed analysis. Just don’t let the kids read it until they understand how supporting our club can wear you down. Let them keep their positivity as long as possible.

[frenchred]

4 minutes ago, redsquirrel said:

if thats the case,why isnt twine on board? the man liam wants to build his team around?

Because

1- we won't pay what Burnley want and have never ever told them we would

2- he's Burnley's player, see 1 abive

[The Bard]

8 hours ago, TV Tom said:

If that's you being "positive" i'd hate to see you when you're being negative !!

Proper positivity is realistic and measured like Graham's.  That's 100 times better than mindless optimism based on not much more than desperate hope...

[W-S-M Seagull]

4 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I think he has Graham!

He's not had to sell anyone, he’s purely been able to “spend” this summer.

All the excuses from last season such as "he needs his own players" or "he needs a pre season" can no longer count. 

He's had the 'time on the grass' and he's been able to shape the squad how he likes. Only Wells and Cornick you could consider as players he may like to move on imo. 

With all that said I do expect to see a progression this season. Although my expectations are lower than this time last season. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Positivity can mean different things at different times.

Are we viable top 6 contenders? Probably not.

Is it good that there are lots of young fans in the ground. Yes. It is so easy to support Man City etc, or even foreign top clubs.

It is good to be in the Championship? By a number of metrics yes.

Do we have an ownership who will ruin us financially? Unlikely.

Do we have a top brass with the necessary vision and competence to push us on? Highly doubtful.

[mozo]

3 hours ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

All the excuses from last season such as "he needs his own players" or "he needs a pre season" can no longer count. 

He's had the 'time on the grass' and he's been able to shape the squad how he likes. Only Wells and Cornick you could consider as players he may like to move on imo. 

With all that said I do expect to see a progression this season. Although my expectations are lower than this time last season. 

Haha yeah all those damn excuses!

[Charlie BCFC]

6 hours ago, SydneyCity said:

I’m always positive pre-season. I’m also really torn between ambition and apathy.

I genuinely love the competitiveness of Championship football and, despite believing that we had promotion potential last season (a lucky 6th place finish and playoffs), I would have been horrified if we actually were. Imagine watching the bulk of our 23/24 squad getting thumped every week this season in the Prem. I also hate VAR with a passion.

This leaves me questioning what my baseline positivity is. I obviously want to see us win every game, but I’d also be happy with us playing entertaining football with mixed results.

This is all a very long-winded way of saying, I really don’t know what I'm positive about. But I am.

Agree a lot around the championship very good league and enjoy the competitiveness. People mock us for being “boring” and although it would be nice to get in the playoffs or fight for promotion I’d much rather being a mid table side in a very good league than be in a relegation battle and essentially not be boring

[Rocking Red Cyril]

8 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I think he has Graham!

He's not had to sell anyone, he’s purely been able to “spend” this summer.

Yes Dave the normal 

'must sell to buy' seems gone.

I have enjoyed over the past few seasons how my two grandsons have really got the City bug. And I even purchased seasons tickets for us all this season. And coming from many seasons watching since the early 70's and all the ups and downs. It's the first season for a few I am a season ticket holder again.

I am still not sold on manning ball. But feel if we stay clear of injuries, the new signings shine. Who knows ?

Or do I say this every year ?

It is nice how my two twin grandsons, 14 today, have really got me excited about City again.

[Mr Popodopolous]

@Charlie BCFC

It's an enjoyable League sure and more real than the PL but it feels like we are giving up a bit and settling.

Should we not be striving to be the best we can in all areas? SL in his present iteration for this at least is to blame if we are not, the Leaders set the tone.

Edited July 20 by Mr Popodopolous

[temp]

20 hours ago, BristolGit said:

Picked up the shirts for the 2 little’uns today and had that feeling.

Who cares about the owners, the agenda or what’s happened… the next generation are excited and I’m being more positive than ever. 
 

Don’t want them to feel any of the negativity. It’s my 35th season and I’ll stand by no matter what!

Determined to see top flight in my lifetime but loving seeing them with their City shirts at training vs the Man City and Real Madrid.

Up the City! 

 

Been there done that, didnt last long though, but hope you get what you are looking for.

My thoughts are well known, theres not a stand left now from when I loved the home (and away games), its all been improved and progressed but not for me no more.

Staying alive, gardening,diy and keeping working will do me, will alway have my memories of great days at the footy; will always follow but from afar.

 

[Sleepy1968]

11 minutes ago, Rocking Red Cyril said:

Yes Dave the normal 

'must sell to buy' seems gone.

I have enjoyed over the past few seasons how my two grandsons have really got the City bug. And I even purchased seasons tickets for us all this season. And coming from many seasons watching since the early 70's and all the ups and downs. It's the first season for a few I am a season ticket holder again.

I am still not sold on manning ball. But feel if we stay clear of injuries, the new signings shine. Who knows ?

Or do I say this every year ?

It is nice how my two twin grandsons, 14 today, have really got me excited about City again.

Nice. When I was 14 - 82/83 season - I think we hit the bottom of the league. I remember beating Wimbledon (possibly league leaders at the time) 4-2 at home, and possibly only because we took their keeper out.

About the happiest I'd been as a city fan at the time, cus I'd knew we'd turned the corner.

[Rocking Red Cyril]

2 minutes ago, Sleepy1968 said:

Nice. When I was 14 - 82/83 season - I think we hit the bottom of the league. I remember beating Wimbledon (possibly league leaders at the time) 4-2 at home, and possibly only because we took their keeper out.

About the happiest I'd been as a city fan at the time, cus I'd knew we'd turned the corner.

For me the best Corner I ever saw City turn was being at Chester to watch us get out of the old Div. 4.

 

[The Masked Man]

There is very little money being spent in the championship this close season. I think the club have been pragmatic in the money given to Manning. We've got a solid defence. Midfield is at least mid table standard. The unknown for me is our attack. This is why Twine is important. Most of our games are going to be tight and having a credible threat from set pieces would mean looking up the table rather than down it. 

[Lorenzos Only Goal]

The way I see it.

1) I was disgusted at the way the club exited the previous manager.  I won't forget that anytime soon.

2) Manning worried me last season long streak of poor results.

3) I don't like the way Conway's been kicked into the under 21's that feels regressive.

4) This is a new season and I'll judge Manning on results, and I done blame Manning for point 1.  I'll judge him after the first two blocks of 10.  

5) I'm not that positive we've made some signings, but they're quite raw and might take time to gel. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

34 minutes ago, The Masked Man said:

There is very little money being spent in the championship this close season. I think the club have been pragmatic in the money given to Manning. We've got a solid defence. Midfield is at least mid table standard. The unknown for me is our attack. This is why Twine is important. Most of our games are going to be tight and having a credible threat from set pieces would mean looking up the table rather than down it. 

Have the (the club) been that pragmatic.

Two raw strikers plus kicking Conway is a gamble, would say Fally and a mid ranking European League one for a similar price not be a bit safer.

Edited July 20 by Mr Popodopolous

[JAWS]

10 hours ago, Davefevs said:

You know better to listen / read certain posters comments on here and on pods!

As it stands Manning wasn't asked to fund any of the 3 signings they planned to make (the Physical 9, the no10 and winger) this summer with sales.  They’ve made 2 / 3.  They’ve proactively recruited Armstrong in preparation for getting rid of Conway.

I’d say that is being well-backed.

Well backed fevs? Not sure he needed to sell to fund a few relatively modest (in top 6 terms) outgoings considering we've hardly dipped into the Scott & Semenyo money. I'd say well backed would be letting LM bring in one more significant/recognisable signing. Not 2 unknowns & a championship 'striker' who's hardly set the division alight. That signing could be twine or someone of that ilk for 3, 4 or even 5 million. If he is allowed to do that regardless of whether Conway goes or not then maybe we can say he's been well backed & SL is putting his money where his mouth is! 

[JAWS]

4 minutes ago, JAWS said:

Well backed fevs? Not sure he needed to sell to fund a few relatively modest (in top 6 terms) outgoings considering we've hardly dipped into the Scott & Semenyo money. I'd say well backed would be letting LM bring in one more significant/recognisable signing. Not 2 unknowns & a championship 'striker' who's hardly set the division alight. That signing could be twine or someone of that ilk for 3, 4 or even 5 million. If he is allowed to do that regardless of whether Conway goes or not then maybe we can say he's been well backed & SL is putting his money where his mouth is! 

Don't forget we're talking about a club who's stated target is promotion so being well backed needs to be considered in the context of the stated aim. 

I think that's the problem as we have a fan base divided between relying on the owners words (bollox) & reality. We all know the reality but can't help consider the clubs actions in relation to their words.

What a pickle! 

[JAWS]

1 minute ago, JAWS said:

Don't forget we're talking about a club who's stated target is promotion so being well backed needs to be considered in the context of the stated aim. 

I think that's the problem as we have a fan base divided between relying on the owners words (bollox) & reality. We all know the reality but can't help consider the clubs actions in relation to their words.

What a pickle! 

So yes you're probably right IF our leaders hadn't made it clear we are striving for promotion. So far the additions don't appear to match that ambition and as you quite rightly pointed out earlier we are relying on the stars aligning.

[Mr Popodopolous]

I will sound churlish tbh.

These calls to positivity sound without meaning offence to the OP like Groupthink, mildly Propagandistic (in a benign way),a Call to Arms and can discourage legitimate misgivings.

I fully appreciate your positivity but apart from Happy Positive new season thoughts, what are the sensible dispassionate Grounds here. A solid season or middling maybe, some good things but it seems like forced jollity really.

I am possibly missing the point of the post too.

Edited July 20 by Mr Popodopolous

[JAWS]

10 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I will sound churlish tbh.

These calls to positivity sound without meaning offence to the OP like Groupthink, mildly Propagandistic (in a benign way),a Call to Arms and can discourage legitimate misgivings.

I fully appreciate your positivity but apart from Happy Positive new season thoughts, what are the sensible dispassionate Grounds here. A solid season or middling maybe, some good things but it seems like forced jollity really.

I am possibly missing the point of the post too.

Yes you are right Pops. The OP is to be commended for their spirit and I guess that's why we are all here as we strive for success. We all want to see our team improve. No one wants to be negative. BUT if we are honest with ourselves, the quality of the squad & recent transfer activity does not give off promotion vibes & it takes a lot for the stars to align! 

Perhaps our 'always believe' motto was intended. If we're always believing does that mean it's never happening 

[Davefevs]

46 minutes ago, JAWS said:

Well backed fevs? Not sure he needed to sell to fund a few relatively modest (in top 6 terms) outgoings considering we've hardly dipped into the Scott & Semenyo money. I'd say well backed would be letting LM bring in one more significant/recognisable signing. Not 2 unknowns & a championship 'striker' who's hardly set the division alight. That signing could be twine or someone of that ilk for 3, 4 or even 5 million. If he is allowed to do that regardless of whether Conway goes or not then maybe we can say he's been well backed & SL is putting his money where his mouth is! 

Fair!

(I guess my point was even LJ funded his spending, even if it was from players he didn’t recruit)

[Mr Popodopolous]

7 minutes ago, JAWS said:

Yes you are right Pops. The OP is to be commended for their spirit and I guess that's why we are all here as we strive for success. We all want to see our team improve. No one wants to be negative. BUT if we are honest with ourselves, the quality of the squad & recent transfer activity does not give off promotion vibes & it takes a lot for the stars to align! 

Perhaps our 'always believe' motto was intended. If we're always believing does that mean it's never happening 

Stars aligning feels to be the key for us JAWS. Like we are hoping it comes together somehow.

Yes we all are here for the same reason, we all care we all support. For me, and I guess many of us we can see that we have a solid base and we were clearly trending well last Autumn- it is oh so frustrating to see a Solid Base perhaps not being built on correctly. Demoralising.

[JAWS]

8 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Fair!

(I guess my point was even LJ funded his spending, even if it was from players he didn’t recruit)

 yeah different slant on it. I'm guessing GC meant in the context of a top 6 contender

[JAWS]

7 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Stars aligning feels to be the key for us JAWS. Like we are hoping it comes together somehow.

Yes we all are here for the same reason, we all care we all support. For me, and I guess many of us we can see that we have a solid base and we were clearly trending well last Autumn- it is oh so frustrating to see a Solid Base perhaps not being built on correctly. Demoralising.

Time after time.....missed opportunities for what is seemingly only a relatively bit extra. I just don't think SL has the necessary mindset 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just now, JAWS said:

Time after time.....missed opportunities for what is seemingly only a relatively bit extra. I just don't think SL has the necessary mindset 

Yep. 2008  inJanuary was a Golden Opportunity. I've missed views on Sumemr 2015 weighing up Finance and momentum, January 2019..One more true CM?

Ironically we spent plenty under LJ especially from Summer 2019 but SL never backs the right horse at the right time or seldom does. I'm not saying go back to spending as much as then but a Happy Medium.

[redsquirrel]

6 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Stars aligning feels to be the key for us JAWS. Like we are hoping it comes together somehow.

Yes we all are here for the same reason, we all care we all support. For me, and I guess many of us we can see that we have a solid base and we were clearly trending well last Autumn- it is oh so frustrating to see a Solid Base perhaps not being built on correctly. Demoralising.

chucking a bit of money at it,hoping it works. great.  i feel for manning, i dont believe he is being allowed to fully do things how he wants, an annoying flea in his ear pulling rank and changing things keeps entering my head as a possibilty. 

manning is a professional coach, i cant for one minute believe it was him put Tommy in the reserves, not until after pre-season anyway. 

this is the most important part of the season, setting up and finding out if you are light in any department or need a different player in situations. 

quite happy to be proved wrong but will stop him and ask if i see him about in nailsea. 

thats not saying he would tell me anything even if i do get the chance but you wont know if you dont ask.

[JAWS]

6 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Yep. 2008  inJanuary was a Golden Opportunity. I've missed views on Sumemr 2015 weighing up Finance and momentum, January 2019..One more true CM?

Ironically we spent plenty under LJ especially from Summer 2019 but SL never backs the right horse at the right time or seldom does. I'm not saying go back to spending as much as then but a Happy Medium.

Also think players as commodities has taken precedence over players as players under SL. Its the businessman in him but think its a achilles heel. And when he gets burnt after buying 'investments' he tends to go back to austerity. It feels like were made to suffer for his poor decisions. 

[redsquirrel]

16 minutes ago, JAWS said:

Also think players as commodities has taken precedence over players as players under SL. Its the businessman in him but think its a achilles heel. And when he gets burnt after buying 'investments' he tends to go back to austerity. It feels like were made to suffer for his poor decisions. 

and there lies the problem,SL decides whats going to happen, thinks he knows best and wont listen to anyone else with the exception of those who agree with him.. easy money for anyone with their own interests put before whats best for bcfc

[Davefevs]

9 hours ago, JAWS said:

 yeah different slant on it. I'm guessing GC meant in the context of a top 6 contender

Fair too.

2 hours ago, JAWS said:

Also think players as commodities has taken precedence over players as players under SL. Its the businessman in him but think its an achilles heel. And when he gets burnt after buying 'investments' he tends to go back to austerity. It feels like were made to suffer for his poor decisions. 

I think you’re right.  If only he realised that the “value of your shares can go up as well as down”.  He’s still clinging to a valuation of players pre “black Monday”.

[Mr Popodopolous]

5 hours ago, redsquirrel said:

chucking a bit of money at it,hoping it works. great.  i feel for manning, i dont believe he is being allowed to fully do things how he wants, an annoying flea in his ear pulling rank and changing things keeps entering my head as a possibilty. 

manning is a professional coach, i cant for one minute believe it was him put Tommy in the reserves, not until after pre-season anyway. 

this is the most important part of the season, setting up and finding out if you are light in any department or need a different player in situations. 

quite happy to be proved wrong but will stop him and ask if i see him about in nailsea. 

thats not saying he would tell me anything even if i do get the chance but you wont know if you dont ask.

I would concur on that and I hope he might tell..seems like the decision came from higher up.

[noize]

If you are testing the club for a rare parasitic virus known as "tinnonia-lansdownium" some Latin thing, that kills its host by slowly destroying and digesting it from the inside out, in the most slow and painful death possible, then yes we can definitely be positive.

Edited July 21 by noize

[bristolissred]

After todays result with us winning and the gas losing there’s lots to be positive about