Luke McNally : Officially signed (4 year deal)

[Nugget]

4 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Some person on Twitter saying Mehmeti off to Norwich too and proceeded to post photos of McNally, Poku and the Oxford mid. 

Goodness that would be pretty interesting indeedy!

[Ian M]

10 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Some person on Twitter saying Mehmeti off to Norwich too. 

Person tweeting claims fee is £3.5m
Claims separately his source is a) Ian Gay & b) Mehmeti's agent.

Looks to be some school holiday shenanigans to me. Sorry Silvio.

[Charlie BCFC]

1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said:

We’re potentially getting to a point, if McNally comes in and Vyner as suggested leaves, of how much is too much - from three angles:

- The level of upheaval potentially reduces the chance of success, particularly as Liam has spoken at length of the need to have time to coach players

- The board last October stated that they needed someone who could move “this squad” forward - that’s not happening, it’s a new squad

- Most emotionally, look at Chelsea or even Rovers with their 14 incomings this summer. The more players that are turned over, the less there are anchors for fans and connections with the club. Some can become fan favourites quickly, but we all like to have an identity with the club - this is part of the reason why when Tinnion makes ricks he gets defended, but it’s loads of new players, lack of academy and just feels a bit “soulless”

I dunno. Important to state that no reflections on any of the players coming in, and individually they may well be improvements and it might be an overall success. It just feels like if you do too much you run the risk of losing something intangible. 

 

I don’t disagree but going forward is the only area where there’s been wholesale changes, maybe midfield but Knight and Williams are still here. Defence is the exact same and the only change would be McNally in for Vyner but I’d be shocked if Vyner goes now personally

[Silvio Dante]

3 minutes ago, Ian M said:

Person tweeting claims fee is £3.5m
Claims separately his source is a) Ian Gay & b) Mehmeti's agent.

Looks to be some school holiday shenanigans to me. Sorry Silvio.

[Shauntaylor85]

1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said:

But, by the same token, it appears to be his choice so cannot be an excuse. In a lot of ways, it takes the pressure off Tinnion/JL. They’ve backed the manager so the heat is off them - if it goes well they share in the credit; if it fails then they can say “well we did what we could” (noting that they are still ultimately accountable).

Football club don’t stand still, they look to progress and if we want top six we need to improve the quality. We have made some good additions but if it means trading likes of Sykes/Mehmeti/TGH/Cornick/Naismith then so be it if we get better suited players in. I don’t want Zak to go. Big mistake. 

[Davefevs]

7 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Make what you will etc.

I’m just laughing at the name and connotations that it’s Sean “Gilly” Gillespie.

(I know it’s not)

+++++

At the end of the day, this is the new norm.  We are gonna like some things and not others.

I think we’ve recruited pretty well for the outlay in pure terms, but it will come at a cost, ie either a bigger budget or SL putting more in each year, or both.  As long as he’s happy and gets the results he expects, it’s kinda “so what” for me.

Over to LM to deliver, whatever that might look like.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

I’m just laughing at the name and connotations that it’s Sean “Gilly” Gillespie.

(I know it’s not)

+++++

At the end of the day, this is the new norm.  We are gonna like some things and not others.

I think we’ve recruited pretty well for the outlay in pure terms, but it will come at a cost, ie either a bigger budget or SL putting more in each year, or both.  As long as he’s happy and gets the results he expects, it’s kinda “so what” for me.

Over to LM to deliver, whatever that might look like.

Ah very good spot.

[ciderwithtommy]

If,  and it’s a big if, we sell Vyner that has to be the clearest indication we aren’t here for promotion, we are a financial commodity, nothing more. Words are all great when selling season tickets, but continually selling your best players cannot work. 
 

If this turns out to be nonsense, I apologise already! 

[Davefevs]

2 minutes ago, ciderwithtommy said:

If,  and it’s a big if, we sell Vyner that has to be the clearest indication we aren’t here for promotion, we are a financial commodity, nothing more. Words are all great when selling season tickets, but continually selling your best players cannot work. 
 

If this turns out to be nonsense, I apologise already! 

You don’t need to apologise for your view at all.  All you’ve done is express a view based on a potential scenario.  This is what this place is for.

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

23 minutes ago, Nugget said:

Goodness that would be pretty interesting indeedy!

Oh god not Poku again. Why anyone thinks he's got what it takes to be a championship star is beyond me. A poor man's Mark Sykes. 

[W-S-M Seagull]

37 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Yes and No. I think you’re underestimating the reverberations of what the board did last year and how it broke trust with a large proportion of the fanbase. And it meant that a lot of us felt they weren’t acting in the clubs best interest.

What I mean by that is that I’ve always said sacking NP was their decision. Didn’t agree with it, but it happens at clubs. What I didn’t and won’t forgive is the wilful sabotage of the situation, allowing a manager to bring in £35m and then leaving him so short on resources we had the Cardiff game. And then using that as a reason to sack him. They should have bit the bullet and sacked him in 2023 summer - they didn’t and chose to leave us short for the season because they didn’t have the guts.

And to be clear, that squad decision made Liams job all the more difficult. He didn’t perform well last year but that isn’t the full story - the full story was upstairs. But the current recruitment, again, totally undermines everything they said last year. It’s welcome - and we all really knew additions were needed - but it just highlights the bull. And to clarify, they’ve also undermined Liam - he’s no longer being viewed fully as a coach who can improve and train players above their potential as he was positioned as - he’s being viewed in large part as a coach who needs a lot of players. If it doesn’t work, the way they’ve done things has harmed his future chances elsewhere.

Basically, I hate being lied to. I accept lies happen in football like “he’s a few weeks off” then being on the bench. I don’t accept systematically and continually (Mebude permit anyone?) lying to the fanbase and then all of a sudden forgiving because we win some games.

Not renewing a season ticket was never an option as it’s my club. Not going to as many away games as I can was not an option as it’s my club. And I’ll be celebrating as much as anyone if everything comes off.

But will I not particularly care what took place? Absolutely not. I’ll still care, and still want liars out of our club ASAP

So, yes and no!

For me some of the signings we've made this summer could and should have been made last summer. 

We had the money but choose not to spend it. 

At the very least last summer we needed to sign a CB and someone to replace Scott. 

It's that self sabotage of writing off a season that we all paid hundreds to watch that will live long in the memory. 

[RedRoss]

Just now, W-S-M Seagull said:

For me some of the signings we've made this summer could and should have been made last summer. 

We had the money but choose not to spend it. 

At the very least last summer we needed to sign a CB and someone to replace Scott. 

It's that self sabotage of writing off a season that we all paid hundreds to watch that will live long in the memory. 

Come off it! Don't be so dramatic. Normally that sort of stuff it said after a tragedy or a major event. Not the transfer policy of a football club. 

[HengroveReds]

throw one in the works, what if Burnley want Vyner.

Not sure his value, he’s been great last 2 seasons but what’s his rough value 4/5 mil?

[Davefevs]

Just now, HengroveReds said:

throw one in the works, what if Burnley want Vyner.

Not sure his value, he’s been great last 2 seasons but what’s his rough value 4/5 mil?

They’ve just signed 15 CBs, I’m sure another won’t go amiss!

[Slack]

Do not like the idea of losing Vyner

[George Rs]

10 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

For me some of the signings we've made this summer could and should have been made last summer. 

We had the money but choose not to spend it. 

At the very least last summer we needed to sign a CB and someone to replace Scott. 

It's that self sabotage of writing off a season that we all paid hundreds to watch that will live long in the memory. 

Yep this is very much a point I agree with. I think a few of the incomings have been people we have looked at for a while and the outgoings would’ve happened no matter the manager. 

But the whole of last season including last summer should’ve been handled so much better. 

Now this summer we’ve had to cover losses in king, james, weimman etc whilst trying to improve the squad. Leading to a much larger player turnover than most expected. 

Imo this could’ve and probably should’ve happened over the last two summers to better integrate players in. But the board decided not to back the manager and keep him anyway (for a period of time). Ludicrous. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

52 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Yes and No. I think you’re underestimating the reverberations of what the board did last year and how it broke trust with a large proportion of the fanbase. And it meant that a lot of us felt they weren’t acting in the clubs best interest.

What I mean by that is that I’ve always said sacking NP was their decision. Didn’t agree with it, but it happens at clubs. What I didn’t and won’t forgive is the wilful sabotage of the situation, allowing a manager to bring in £35m and then leaving him so short on resources we had the Cardiff game. And then using that as a reason to sack him. They should have bit the bullet and sacked him in 2023 summer - they didn’t and chose to leave us short for the season because they didn’t have the guts.

And to be clear, that squad decision made Liams job all the more difficult. He didn’t perform well last year but that isn’t the full story - the full story was upstairs. But the current recruitment, again, totally undermines everything they said last year. It’s welcome - and we all really knew additions were needed - but it just highlights the bull. And to clarify, they’ve also undermined Liam - he’s no longer being viewed fully as a coach who can improve and train players above their potential as he was positioned as - he’s being viewed in large part as a coach who needs a lot of players. If it doesn’t work, the way they’ve done things has harmed his future chances elsewhere.

Basically, I hate being lied to. I accept lies happen in football like “he’s a few weeks off” then being on the bench. I don’t accept systematically and continually (Mebude permit anyone?) lying to the fanbase and then all of a sudden forgiving because we win some games.

Not renewing a season ticket was never an option as it’s my club. Not going to as many away games as I can was not an option as it’s my club. And I’ll be celebrating as much as anyone if everything comes off.

But will I not particularly care what took place? Absolutely not. I’ll still care, and still want liars out of our club ASAP

So, yes and no!

While I fundamentally agree with you, I'm not so sure it is shared among the wider fanbase.

That Fans Forum last November was a supine farce in a way, then you only need to look at Social Media and FB Groups to see good chunks of our fans drinking the Kool Aid in large quantities.

Not helped by some Bristol City Influencers with a loud voice and therefore decent following but questionable insight.

[Ian M]

39 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I’m just laughing at the name and connotations that it’s Sean “Gilly” Gillespie.

(I know it’s not)

+++++

At the end of the day, this is the new norm.  We are gonna like some things and not others.

I think we’ve recruited pretty well for the outlay in pure terms, but it will come at a cost, ie either a bigger budget or SL putting more in each year, or both.  As long as he’s happy and gets the results he expects, it’s kinda “so what” for me.

Over to LM to deliver, whatever that might look like.

With a nod to @Silvio Dante and his version numbers of Manningball, could this be v2.0 of the Lansdowns 'going for it' ?

Many have commented that it feels similar to the activity under LJ/MA but this time it does seem to be slightly more modest fees and presumably lower top end wage packages?

With fewer parachute payment clubs than can be the norm, and some of those big fees received soon to drop off the books, it might be that the 'nest egg' is being utilised a little. Although , barring the ones already in the side, it might be difficult to create added value from the Academy during this period.

[George Rs]

Also surely Vyner won’t leave unless it’s a very big bid. 

Just signed a renewal, English centre back reaching his prime and was part of one of the best defenses in the championship over the last two years. 

Selling him for anything under £5m just to replace him with McNally would make 0 sense to me. And personally wouldn’t sell him for anything under £10m

Edited August 22 by George Rs

[BUTOR]

1 minute ago, George Rs said:

Also surely Vyner won’t leave unless it’s it’s a very big bid. 

Just signed a renewal, English centre back reaching his prime and was part of one of the best defenses in the championship over the last two years. 

Selling him for anything under £5m just to replace him with McNally would make 0 sense to me. And personally wouldn’t sell him for anything under £10m

It would make perfect sense to me in the context of Bristol City. Things are looking just about right at the moment, sensibly done, almost eerily so. 

[Sleepy1968]

37 minutes ago, Ian M said:

Person tweeting claims fee is £3.5m
Claims separately his source is a) Ian Gay & b) Mehmeti's agent.

Looks to be some school holiday shenanigans to me. Sorry Silvio.

One of those is going to have the skinny, the other one is Mehmeti's agent.

But yeah, this may as well be a Roy story.

[George Rs]

Just now, BUTOR said:

It would make perfect sense to me in the context of Bristol City. Things are looking just about right at the moment, sensibly done, almost eerily so. 

How does it make perfect sense to you? Genuinely curious

[steviestevieneville]

1 hour ago, Fuber said:

Harsh on McCrorie.

Proved he's not bad going forward ala So'ton home last season he's good enough at this level. 

Think Sykes doesn't help at times, when he doesn't commit to a run outside. Same when he's in front of Tanner.

Disagree on mcrorie. Got outmuscled , caught out of position , not winning his duals plenty of times. Plus, can’t get my head around a wing back that cuts inside constantly when he’s supposed to create width. Also , if we’re going to go with a back four , he’s not a full back. You singled out one cut back v Southampton as his positive . 

[Cardy]

4 minutes ago, George Rs said:

How does it make perfect sense to you? Genuinely curious

Oh the irony…!!

He’s saying things are going so well it’s about time we messed it up by shooting ourselves in the foot - in true BCFC fashion.

Edited August 22 by Cardy

[W-S-M Seagull]

14 minutes ago, Lappy1 said:

They didn’t see Pearson as long term manager so why give him money to spend? 

I've purposely avoided mentioning Pearson because I think who the manager is/was is irrelevant. 

They are Bristol City signings. We left ourselves woefully short last season despite selling a player for 25 million. 

[mozo]

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

I've purposely avoided mentioning Pearson because I think who the manager is/was is irrelevant. 

They are Bristol City signings. We left ourselves woefully short last season despite selling a player for 25 million. 

I totally agree with that, but didn't you say last season that you felt we had a top 6 squad?

[HengroveReds]

Only team in the prem who I think could come sniffing for Vyner would be palace, Guehi on his way to Newcastle, Anderson gone to Fulham. 

Zak originally from the area too

[nickolas]

4 minutes ago, HengroveReds said:

Only team in the prem who I think could come sniffing for Vyner would be palace, Guehi on his way to Newcastle, Anderson gone to Fulham. 

Zak originally from the area too

Thought he was from Kenya?!

[TDarwall]

29 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

 

That Fans Forum last November was a supine farce in a way, then you only need to look at Social Media and FB Groups to see good chunks of our fans drinking the Kool Aid in large quantities.

 

I think that's a bit harsh. I feel strongly that there are wrong ways to support the club (be a hooligan) but there isn't necessarily a "right" way to support the club.

Not everyone that supports City takes such a forensic approach as some do. For many folk it's "just" a hobby, something they do in their spare time, they go because (in the main) they enjoy it - it probably provides them with a welcome relief from the pressures of everyday life & they don't feel inclined to critically analyse everything the club does.

it stands to reason that those that post on the forum take a deeper interest into the club than others do, but just because someone's a "happy clapper" it doesn't make them dim or wrong, they just choose to "support" the club rather than look too far into the inner machinations.

[mozo]

Just now, TDarwall said:

I think that's a bit harsh. I feel strongly that there are wrong ways to support the club (be a hooligan) but there isn't necessarily a "right" way to support the club.

Not everyone that supports City takes such a forensic approach as some do. For many folk it's "just" a hobby, something they do in their spare time, they go because (in the main) they enjoy it - it probably provides them with a welcome relief from the pressures of everyday life & they don't feel inclined to critically analyse everything the club does.

it stands to reason that those that post on the forum take a deeper interest into the club than others do, but just because someone's a "happy clapper" it doesn't make them dim or wrong, they just choose to "support" the club rather than look too far into the inner machinations.

And some people (most?) aren't drinking the Kool Aid; they just have moved on from the stuff in 2023.

[W-S-M Seagull]

33 minutes ago, mozo said:

I totally agree with that, but didn't you say last season that you felt we had a top 6 squad?

Last pre season I felt with a fair wind and some signings then a top 6 challange was achievable. 

When the window closed my expectations changed. 

[mozo]

Just now, W-S-M Seagull said:

Last pre season I felt with a fair wind and some signings then a top 6 challange was achievable. 

When the window closed my expectations changed. 

Oh okay, me too

[Fuber]

1 hour ago, robin_unreliant said:

One good cross in a season. Is that really enough? I'd lose no sleep over him going. 

Off the back of a very serious injury I thought he stepped in remarkably well under a manager he didn't sign for, and that game was merely his best, aside from that he was a consistent 6/7 out of 10, cant recall a horrible game but maybe I'm forgetting something? Fully expected him to struggle when he magically appeared on the team-sheet early, but he performed better than I thought he would in that context.

Think in possession he's more adventurous than George and he's stronger in the air - good competition which I wouldn't like us to lose as as I wouldn't like to lose one of Roberts or Pring. Plus, unlike GT and TGH he always looks to play it forward, in spite of Sykes' lack of commitment to a forward run down the outside of the wing; even if it means cutting inside on this right foot, which then forces the opposition to back of him as they can't then assume they can force him wide, which pushed us up at times in a period where our midfield imparticular struggled early in Manning's time to force them opposition to back-peddle slightly.

There's nothing I can point at and can say he's bad at that I've noticed. Willing to give him this season once he gets back up to full fitness after the knock with Scotland and see how he progresses.

[Mr Popodopolous]

22 minutes ago, TDarwall said:

I think that's a bit harsh. I feel strongly that there are wrong ways to support the club (be a hooligan) but there isn't necessarily a "right" way to support the club.

Not everyone that supports City takes such a forensic approach as some do. For many folk it's "just" a hobby, something they do in their spare time, they go because (in the main) they enjoy it - it probably provides them with a welcome relief from the pressures of everyday life & they don't feel inclined to critically analyse everything the club does.

it stands to reason that those that post on the forum take a deeper interest into the club than others do, but just because someone's a "happy clapper" it doesn't make them dim or wrong, they just choose to "support" the club rather than look too far into the inner machinations.

You are right, but if does seem like unbridled optimism in places and that's what I was getting at.

It is also true that people support in different ways and to different levels and that is good. I see grounds for cautious optimism but some of it has been a bit out of kilter.

[BCFC31]

Anything  concrete in vyner out Mcnally in ? Just seems like a few teenage kids are bored on there summer holidays and are eating away at time on twitter.

Edited August 22 by BCFC31

[Mr Popodopolous]

24 minutes ago, mozo said:

And some people (most?) aren't drinking the Kool Aid; they just have moved on from the stuff in 2023.

I'm thinking more the influencers who are drinking the Kool Aid a bit. I'm cautiously optimistic and part of me thinks 8th-10th  but a meteoric rise into the Playoffs Idk.

[Fuber]

49 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

Disagree on mcrorie. Got outmuscled , caught out of position , not winning his duals plenty of times. Plus, can’t get my head around a wing back that cuts inside constantly when he’s supposed to create width. Also , if we’re going to go with a back four , he’s not a full back. You singled out one cut back v Southampton as his positive . 

Agree to disagree.

I'd blame Sykes more for the width element, as he has a habit of way too often hugging touch without running in behind, which creates a cul-de-sac; by cutting in it forces (usually the left winger) to step off more.

I'm more willing to judge Ross now we'll have more able midfield (Bird, Twine, possible McGuane) on his inside for options, plus Hirakawa to come back, and Mehmeti seems to be being swapped wings more often.

[robin_unreliant]

2 minutes ago, Fuber said:

he always looks to play it forward, in spite of Sykes' lack of commitment to a forward run down the outside of the wing; even if it means cutting inside on this right foot, which then forces the opposition to back of him....

There's nothing I can point at and can say he's bad at that I've noticed. Willing to give him this season once he gets back up to full fitness after the knock with Scotland and see how he progresses.

It may be harsh but I don't buy this theory that his performance levels are gonna improve markedly over time following what was clearly a bad injury.

He doesn't try going down the wing, rarely puts in a decent cross either. His trademark move is to cut inside, lean on a defender and fall over looking for a freekick. To me he just lacks any quality on the ball and I'd take Tanner's one-on-one marking above him as at least it is a strength. I've yet to see RM has one. But that's just my opinion.

[Ian M]

8 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I'm thinking more the influencers who are drinking the Kool Aid a bit. I'm cautiously optimistic and part of me thinks 8th-10th  but a meteoric rise into the Playoffs Idk.

If you already feel we are an 8th-10th team, realistically we'd only be 2 or 3 better results from a play-off tilt.

[Mr Popodopolous]

4 minutes ago, Ian M said:

If you already feel we are an 8th-10th team, realistically we'd only be 2 or 3 better results from a play-off tilt.

Initially I was 10th before a ball was kicked but it then depends on how far ahead the Play off sides are.. sometimes these sides hit 75-80 points in 5th or 6th but not for a while. The summer Business may have accelerated it a bit.

In some ways it feels a go for it year, in others do we have quite enough. We could have anything up to 7 Parachute sides in 2025-26 albeit more likely 5-6.

[bcfc01]

49 minutes ago, nickolas said:

Thought he was from Kenya?!

Is that in Bath ?

[mozo]

40 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I'm thinking more the influencers who are drinking the Kool Aid a bit. I'm cautiously optimistic and part of me thinks 8th-10th  but a meteoric rise into the Playoffs Idk.

Yeah fair enough 

[Davefevs]

38 minutes ago, Fuber said:

Agree to disagree.

I'd blame Sykes more for the width element, as he has a habit of way too often hugging touch without running in behind, which creates a cul-de-sac; by cutting in it forces (usually the left winger) to step off more.

I'm more willing to judge Ross now we'll have more able midfield (Bird, Twine, possible McGuane) on his inside for options, plus Hirakawa to come back, and Mehmeti seems to be being swapped wings more often.

There were a couple of games early in his return where he lost possession a few times / got caught / muscled off of it…but my view was that was just a combo of adrenaline getting him through the first 2 or 3 games then hitting a bit of a wall…that can happen after a long injury.

But I didn’t see it afterwards, so think it was just the normal return from injury stuff.

You are right about Sykes too.  He doesn’t make enough infield runs for his full-back, so Tanner stops and goes back / inside with a pass, McCrorie tries to drive inside. I’d hazard a guess that as McCrorie played a fair bit at RWB, he didn’t have anyone in front of him anyway, nor support from behind.

I’d really like to see him play as a RB in a back-4 but with licence to get forward.

[petehinton]

Think he will end up elsewhere

[downendcity]

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

I think their does remain questions that need answering as to why we are going through a revolution as opposed to the expected evolution. 

The situation with Tommy was clearly known to the club and Manning, so it made complete sense to move him on asap and bring in a replacement, or in this case two.

If there is interest in Vyner then the club will be aware, and may also be aware as to whether Vyner would go if an offer is made. If so, and with the window fast approaching, I would say it represents sound planning, both commercially and from a team/squad perspective, to have a plan in place for a replacement. 

Bird and now Twine boost the midfield options to replace the departed King and James. Twine and Earthy offer options in the number 10 position that we previously lacked.

Had we kept Conway, or his move didn't happen until deadline day, with no one coming in I can imagine the outcry from many, wanting to blame the club for a lack of foresight and forward planning.

Similarly with so many bemoaning the loss of experience through King, James and also Andy W, failing to bring in decent midfield replacements would have left the club wide open to criticism, albeit I accept they do not have the same level of experience, although early signs are that they will offer much more dynamic midfield options.

Bell's injury now makes our recruitment of strikers look an even better deal .

Had we just gone with evolution, just how threadbare would our squad now be looking?

 

 

[cidercity1987]

18 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Think he will end up elsewhere

Can't see why he would come here to be 4th or 5th choice tbf 

[fly in the air]

he will play alongside Dickie. especially if zac goes. 

[Bcfc24]

30 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Think he will end up elsewhere

McNally?

[Bcfc24]

@petehinton guess you’ve heard something to suggest McNally either won’t be coming to us or is heading somewhere else?

[RedRoss]

19 minutes ago, fly in the air said:

he will play alongside Dickie. especially if zac goes. 

You reckon? I heard Manning was going to try him up top. 30/30/30 split between him Armstrong and Mayulu. 

[Jeez]

8 hours ago, George Rs said:

Yep this is very much a point I agree with. I think a few of the incomings have been people we have looked at for a while and the outgoings would’ve happened no matter the manager. 

But the whole of last season including last summer should’ve been handled so much better. 

Now this summer we’ve had to cover losses in king, james, weimman etc whilst trying to improve the squad. Leading to a much larger player turnover than most expected. 

Imo this could’ve and probably should’ve happened over the last two summers to better integrate players in. But the board decided not to back the manager and keep him anyway (for a period of time). Ludicrous. 

You’re overthinking it George.

Time to move on - coaches & players, it’s all cyclical. They know the game!

I for one, am really quite excited by Manning, the signings so far & the direction of travel.

The idea of another season of James, King & Weiman is about as appealing as watching paint dry.

[Phileas Fogg]

Why are people using ‘drink the kool aid’ all of a sudden!? One of the worst Americanisms there is!

[Rudolf Hucker]

29 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Why are people using ‘drink the kool aid’ all of a sudden!? One of the worst Americanisms there is!

I think it’s because the 15ers have Fanta. 

[GrahamC]

13 hours ago, HengroveReds said:

throw one in the works, what if Burnley want Vyner.

Not sure his value, he’s been great last 2 seasons but what’s his rough value 4/5 mil?

Burnley signed Esteve in the summer, Bashir Humphreys & Joe Worrall this week & now have John Egan training with them.

If they were interested in Vyner it would have come up in the incredibly long Twine negotiations.

They aren’t.

Edited August 23 by GrahamC

[Silvio Dante]

48 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Burnley signed Esteve in the summer, Bashir Humphreys & Joe Worrall this week & now have John Egan training with them.

If they were interested in Vyner it would have come up in the incredibly long Twine negotiations.

They aren’t.

I thought that was a Belgian player at first, but apparently it’s just a bloke called Steve from Yorkshire.

[slartibartfast]

2 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Why are people using ‘drink the kool aid’ all of a sudden!? One of the worst Americanisms there is!

It wasn't even Kool Aid they used  !

[petehinton]

2 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Why are people using ‘drink the kool aid’ all of a sudden!? One of the worst Americanisms there is!

Isn’t it made a popular reference because of the Jonestown massacres?

11 hours ago, Bcfc24 said:

@petehinton guess you’ve heard something to suggest McNally either won’t be coming to us or is heading somewhere else?

I just personally don’t see us spending another £2m+ on anyone, let alone a CB. Plus big wages. Struggle to see how that fits the budget, and he’ll have many suitors. 

[HengroveReds]

Stoke in advance talks for Ashley Phillips Spurs on loan, surely rules out McNally chase for them

[Jose]

4 minutes ago, HengroveReds said:

Stoke in advance talks for Ashley Phillips Spurs on loan, surely rules out McNally chase for them

He didn’t pull up any trees at Stoke did he? Coventry was where he excelled I think. I can’t say I know too much about him. 

[fly in the air]

McNally was good at stoke.

[Jose]

1 minute ago, fly in the air said:

McNally was good at stoke.

Was he? They didn’t sound overly bothered. Shows how much I know about him then 

[Davefevs]

Just now, Jose said:

Was he? They didn’t sound overly bothered. Shows how much I know about him then 

I thought he was pretty average.

He was decent at Coventry, but I think some of that was that Cov were set up to defend and play on the break.  Was also played in a three. McFadzean centrally was the organiser, with McNally to his right, Doyle to his left.  He is not very good when he is isolated, not very quick on the turn, and I don’t think he is that physical - certainly doesn’t use his size like he should.

If we were looking at signing him in isolation to add to our CBs I don’t see him ousting Vyner, nor Dickie, and Atkinson would be ahead for me, assuming he comes back like was pre-injury.

If we are signing him to replace Zak, then will be interesting to see how that affects us defensively.

So, that’s not a great recommendation from my point of view.

[Ian M]

1 hour ago, slartibartfast said:

It wasn't even Kool Aid they used  !

Wait until you find out the events used in the birthing of "Stockholm Syndrome" are less to do with growing attached to the hostage taker but fears that the ineptitude of the police's tactics put the hostages lives more in danger.

[chinapig]

2 hours ago, slartibartfast said:

It wasn't even Kool Aid they used  !

Indeed, it was some other drink laced with cyanide I think. It also derives from Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test though he did not come up with 'drinking the Kool-Aid.

[Rocky]

 

[KingHillRed]

22 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Fair enough.

Out of interest which of the following do you think would be in a team that did;

O’Leary NO, Tanner NO, McCrorie YES, Pring YES, Naismith YES, Williams NO, TGH NO, Sykes NO, Mehmeti NO, Bell NO, Armstrong NO, Wells NO, Cornick NO?

But I would say that Dickie, Knight, Bird, Twine, Mayulu, Roberts, Atkinson, Earthy (?) all could be 

Basis of a squad that could do OK in the right mixture

[Old School B block]

I actually think Vyner has survived his time here. I wouldn’t be upset if he left in this transfer window. 

[Old School B block]

Just now, Old School B block said:

I actually think Vyner has survived his time here. I wouldn’t be upset if he left in this transfer window. 

Don’t message when you’ve had a few. 

[Merrick's Marvels]

7 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I thought he was pretty average.

He was decent at Coventry, but I think some of that was that Cov were set up to defend and play on the break.  Was also played in a three. McFadzean centrally was the organiser, with McNally to his right, Doyle to his left.  He is not very good when he is isolated, not very quick on the turn, and I don’t think he is that physical - certainly doesn’t use his size like he should.

If we were looking at signing him in isolation to add to our CBs I don’t see him ousting Vyner, nor Dickie, and Atkinson would be ahead for me, assuming he comes back like was pre-injury.

If we are signing him to replace Zak, then will be interesting to see how that affects us defensively.

So, that’s not a great recommendation from my point of view.

Jesus wept, he sounds like a donkey! Other than his height, literally nothing to recommend him.

Therefore...

On the basis he's a nonsense rumour (just collateral caught up in negotiating the Twine deal which is now concluded) but we are actually, improbably, after another CB after all:

- Who's on your list of top 5 CB targets?

- And are any of those currently first choice at a club that might be loosely described as a regional rival?

Edited August 23 by Merrick's Marvels

[Davefevs]

54 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Jesus wept, he sounds like a donkey! Other than his height, literally nothing to recommend him.

Therefore...

On the basis he's a nonsense rumour (just collateral caught up in negotiating the Twine deal which is now concluded) but we are actually, improbably, after another CB after all:

- Who's on your list of top 5 CB targets?

- And are any of those currently first choice at a club that might be loosely described as a regional rival?

I don’t think he is a nonsense rumour btw.

Top 5:

Jamie Knight-Lebel

Raph Araoye

Josh Campbell-Slowey

Archie Taylor

Charlie Hughes just went to Hull unfortunately, he was top.