Willem 11 pre-season friendly

[Dr Balls]

6 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

We are solid, we are also reasonable technically.

We have/had decent energy.

Like you I am struggling to see the creativity or the breaking of the lines.

Most there today could see the problems  We did look more  threatening going forward in the last 10-15 minutes, and personnel changes plus tactical switches, as well as some fatigue among the Willem II players, may have helped with that. Not a disaster but anyone thinking that this season is going to be vastly different to last season must be smoking something fairly strong!

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Dr Balls said:

Most there today could see the problems  We did look more  threatening going forward in the last 10-15 minutes, and personnel changes plus tactical switches, as well as some fatigue among the Willem II players, may have helped with that. Not a disaster but anyone thinking that this season is going to be vastly different to last season must be smoking something fairly strong!

Yeah agreed.

Looks like it could be similar, plus win some games unexpectedly, lose some that we should.

I wonder how a fit Twine and Yu would change the balance.

[Wealwayseatcheese]

3 hours ago, pongo88 said:

This reminds me of a Ron Atkinson quote:

”Carlton Palmer can trap the ball further than I can kick it”

(I think it’s rather unfortunate as he was an underrated player and it was fashionable to make detrimental comments about him) 

One eyed Sinclair. Edge of 6 yd box, cut back out lad and hit it… nah I’ll smash it out for a throw in front of Lansdown stand. Did similar second half. 

[cidercity1987]

Gonna be a long season if we don't improve our striking options soon

Arrogant recruitment spending £5m or something on two projects who aren't any good for the here and now but might turn a profit in a few years

[Shauntaylor85]

1 hour ago, Charlie0016 said:

hate to say it but Bell is a league 1 player at best. If he wasn’t born n raised in Bristol he would’ve been shipped out years ago

Said it for a long time, if he wasn’t Mickey Bell’s son the fans would be calling for him to be sold. I like him as a professional but I just don’t think he’s got it at this level. 

[Shauntaylor85]

Ian G already getting defensive about our performance it seems! If that was under Pearson imagine what the Forever Bristol podcast would have been like! Talk about under the Manning and Tinnion cloud! 

[Port Said Red]

2 hours ago, Dolman Block B said:

Keeper

Back 4

Midfield

Strikers

 

Armstrong was ok but didn’t see anything in Mayulu to excite me

He looked quite lethargic and no pace

One turn and shot was ok 

Im about to get hammered for this but Conway is far better than these two

He isn't because he doesn't want to play for us, Armstrong and Mayulu do, so they are immediately better than Conway.

[Rocking Red Cyril]

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Yeah agreed.

Looks like it could be similar, plus win some games unexpectedly, lose some that we should.

I wonder how a fit Twine and Yu would change the balance.

Well Pops hopefully we will find out soon.

Any ideal when we expect Yu to be back from  the Olympics ? And the awaited club presser about his fitness.

Or is which came first then chicken or the egg ? An easier question ?

All in good jest

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just now, Rocking Red Cyril said:

Well Pops hopefully we will find out soon.

Any ideal when we expect Yu to be back from  the Olympics ? And the awaited club presser about his fitness.

Or is which came first then chicken or the egg ? An easier question ?

All in good jest

I know as much as you- or should that be yu -Cyril.

No news is good news we hope but maybe they are still doing Tests, Analysis etc.

[JoeAman08]

1 hour ago, cidercity1987 said:

Gonna be a long season if we don't improve our striking options soon

Arrogant recruitment spending £5m or something on two projects who aren't any good for the here and now but might turn a profit in a few years

Who are we signing who isn’t a project? What striker can we afford for the here and now? Maybe Stansfield but I can’t think of anyone else and he would cost more than both players combined. 
 

We still want a 10 and still have another signing not here yet. You are correct the strikers need to be good if we have any hope of a top 10 finish but let us give them 10-15 league game before we write them off. 

[Son of Fred]

9 hours ago, robin_unreliant said:

Sorry, no end product is fine? Think that is my concern about LM. We play Southgate style football without the game changers who can score a goal out of nothing 

Manning has reverted to plan A - the plan that wasn't working & nearly got him the chop....... turgid football.

Edited August 4 by Son of Fred

[Wedontplayinblue]

1 hour ago, Son of Fred said:

Manning has reverted to plan A - the plan that wasn't working & nearly got him the chop....... turgid football.

The problem is that mannings plan A is the same as many many modern managers, it’s basically the same as Southgate too.

It’s utterly Boring but is quite effective. 

Edited August 4 by Wedontplayinblue

[Northern Red]

16 hours ago, Betty Swallocks said:

Under 21’s 3-0 up against Derby. Benarous with the first goal.

Finished 4-0, goals from Benarous, Nelson, Morrison and Rose (pen).

No idea of the lineup.

[RUSSEL85]

5 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

Finished 4-0, goals from Benarous, Nelson, Morrison and Rose (pen).

No idea of the lineup.

Well you have named nearly half of them . Surprised Nelson didn’t get a run out against Willem actually 

[bexhill reds]

11 hours ago, Dolman Block B said:

Keeper

Back 4

Midfield

Strikers

 

Armstrong was ok but didn’t see anything in Mayulu to excite me

He looked quite lethargic and no pace

One turn and shot was ok 

Im about to get hammered for this but Conway is far better than these two

Perhaps Conway is, but pointless playing someone that no longer wants to be here. Flog him now for whatever we can get, rather than him going for nothing. Got to be replaced sooner or later and bluntly you'll have more luck in finding something that turns lead into gold than trying finding a guaranteed 20 goal a season championship striker with the budget we have available, therefore we've got to go for potential punts.

I absolutely agree with your analysis though, our striking options look limited, for all the Robins TV Ad guff about Ashton Gate being a fortress, it's definitely not going to be a season of entertaining goal-fests.

[bexhill reds]

13 hours ago, pongo88 said:

Maybe this is one of the reasons Conway wanted to leave. His talents were  wasted in the City team with the current style of play. You should always play to the strengths of your best players. This rarely happened with Conway. When he did get the right service he was clinical - eg West Ham 

Perhaps, but I don't think you can look too far beyond a very big pay day as being a, if not the main driver. If you believe half the conjecture on here, he was not interested in signing a contract under the previous manager. 

[Red Army 75]

Well the game was ok, but had a brilliant day out. 

[Out of his pie crust]

1 hour ago, bexhill reds said:

Perhaps Conway is, but pointless playing someone that no longer wants to be here. Flog him now for whatever we can get, rather than him going for nothing. Got to be replaced sooner or later and bluntly you'll have more luck in finding something that turns lead into gold than trying finding a guaranteed 20 goal a season championship striker with the budget we have available, therefore we've got to go for potential punts.

I absolutely agree with your analysis though, our striking options look limited, for all the Robins TV Ad guff about Ashton Gate being a fortress, it's definitely not going to be a season of entertaining goal-fests.

Taking Conway out the picture I think our best attacking option is still Wells. Might be a case that he leads the line with Fally/Sinclair being integrated according to opportunity …..very early days for both though

[Davefevs]

16 minutes ago, Out of his pie crust said:

Taking Conway out the picture I think our best attacking option is still Wells. Might be a case that he leads the line with Fally/Sinclair being integrated according to opportunity …..very early days for both though

That would be a bad indictment of summer recruitment wouldn’t it, to start Wells next Saturday as the “9”.  I don’t think it will happen, mind.

[Super]

13 hours ago, Dolman Block B said:

Keeper

Back 4

Midfield

Strikers

 

Armstrong was ok but didn’t see anything in Mayulu to excite me

He looked quite lethargic and no pace

One turn and shot was ok 

Im about to get hammered for this but Conway is far better than these two

Really? Mayulu looked miles better in a short time unless I watched a different game.

[Out of his pie crust]

Just now, Davefevs said:

That would be a bad indictment of summer recruitment wouldn’t it, to start Wells next Saturday as the “9”.  I don’t think it will happen, mind.

It won’t happen and I hope I’m wrong, but it might happen in say Sept if things aren’t quite working out. Based on what I’ve seen in pre season I think he’s still the best striker we have and with the way we play. Not sure we yet have the ‘cleverness’ on the ball to create enough for fally or Armstrong but I have seen glimpses of some clever movement particularly the latter …. Just need to connect the dots 
 

 

 

 

[Dolman Block B]

1 hour ago, bexhill reds said:

Perhaps Conway is, but pointless playing someone that no longer wants to be here. Flog him now for whatever we can get, rather than him going for nothing. Got to be replaced sooner or later and bluntly you'll have more luck in finding something that turns lead into gold than trying finding a guaranteed 20 goal a season championship striker with the budget we have available, therefore we've got to go for potential punts.

I absolutely agree with your analysis though, our striking options look limited, for all the Robins TV Ad guff about Ashton Gate being a fortress, it's definitely not going to be a season of entertaining goal-fests.

Exactly 

I really expected Mayulu to be more mobile 

He looked slow and with very little skill. 
 

I would start Armstrong v Hull because he does put himself about and drives forward 

I wouldn’t mind seeing Cornick alongside him rather than Wells but doubt that will happen

Defence looked fine and still have the likes of Atkinson Naysmith Roberts

 

Midfield looked solid and almost certainly we see the same start next week

Still got Williams Benarous

 

Reckon Hirakaw could be the answer on the right and is keep Mehmeti

 

Hickman looked good when he came on and fingers crossed Twine joins us soon 

 

Let’s all be honest a very strong squad just question marks about the strike force again 

 

 

[Johnny Musicworks]

Like others I was impressed with the Bird/Knight axis and their quick passing and movement in midfield, but also the way both of them covered back when possession was lost. Mehmeti was our biggest threat and despite the criticism Bell stuck to his task whilst not getting forward enough. To me it looked like he was following strict orders rather than playing his natural game and whilst Sykes came on and attempted to get forward more it was noticeable that once Bell was moved and later replaced our right side suddenly became far too open and Willem probably had their best attacks of the game. It will be interesting to see whether Bell or Sykes gets the nod next week.

As for our lack of goals we may have to be patient for Sincs and Fally to adapt to our game or maybe the arrival of Twine. I feel we have more goals in midfield now so that should compensate somewhat until we find a solution.

[bcfc01]

20 minutes ago, Dolman Block B said:

Exactly 

I really expected Mayulu to be more mobile 

He looked slow and with very little skill. 
 

I would start Armstrong v Hull because he does put himself about and drives forward 

I wouldn’t mind seeing Cornick alongside him rather than Wells but doubt that will happen

Defence looked fine and still have the likes of Atkinson Naysmith Roberts

 

Midfield looked solid and almost certainly we see the same start next week

Still got Williams Benarous

 

Reckon Hirakaw could be the answer on the right and is keep Mehmeti

 

Hickman looked good when he came on and fingers crossed Twine joins us soon 

 

Let’s all be honest a very strong squad just question marks about the strike force again 

 

 

Agree with most of that.

No problem defensively and no problem with two of Bird, TGH, Williams and Knight. The rest is a bit more problematic imo, especially up front. For me it's Nahki as number nine, Armstrong and Mayulu getting minutes from the bench, not that I think that will happen.

[Mr Popodopolous]

I suppose next week v Hull we should have more space at least, being away from home and given that they like to play a certain way.

Still I foresee a possible scenario for a little while at least where we are sound defensively, technically fine, decent energy...but Goals at least a problem.

[internetjef]

1 hour ago, Dolman Block B said:

Exactly 

I really expected Mayulu to be more mobile 

He looked slow and with very little skill. 
 

I would start Armstrong v Hull because he does put himself about and drives forward 

I wouldn’t mind seeing Cornick alongside him rather than Wells but doubt that will happen

Defence looked fine and still have the likes of Atkinson Naysmith Roberts

 

Midfield looked solid and almost certainly we see the same start next week

Still got Williams Benarous

 

Reckon Hirakaw could be the answer on the right and is keep Mehmeti

 

Hickman looked good when he came on and fingers crossed Twine joins us soon 

 

Let’s all be honest a very strong squad just question marks about the strike force again 

 

 

Although Mayulu didn’t look that quick accelerating there was a point where we broke up one of their attacks in our half and we started to break, and once he got going he was absolutely flying. Long strides were covering huge amount of ground. 
 

so could be a case of good top speed if running into open ground , just not that quick off the mark 
 

 

Edited August 4 by internetjef

[The Original OTIB]

1 hour ago, Super said:

Really? Mayulu looked miles better in a short time unless I watched a different game.

I think we will need 3 or 4 league games for each (not necessarily concurrently or sequentially) to truly see what we've got, and that would be both playing a good 70 plus minutes per game, of those games. First impression of Mayulu is that he won't be that target man ("big number 9") that many crave. He looks more like a player wanting the ball at his feet, more an Isak type (not a comparison, by the way, just illustrative). Armstrong looks like a "sniffer", a player who will get goals but not shine in link up play.  That renders him a bit old-school for today's game where your overall contribution is under constant analysis. Puts me in mind of Tony Thorpe (not like for like physically but a goal sniffer) who many disliked in his time with us. I even heard folks say: "what does he do other than score?". Well, that still remains sufficient for me, in the main. As ever, time will tell. Too early to call now, but we can muse nonetheless.

[SomeRandomBristolian]

It was nice to finally get a game against Willem arranged. Long time in the making. Fair play to all involved that made it possible and got the club to finally get it sorted.

Looking forward to the season starting properly now.

[OldlandReddies]

Tilburg boys seemed to enjoy the day. Three Lions set afterwards was brilliant. 

[OldlandReddies]

1 hour ago, Super said:

Really? Mayulu looked miles better in a short time unless I watched a different game.

Mayulu definitely stepped up on his last game. Liked what I saw when he came on. 

[Red94]

Great display from the lads at Tilburg tifosi

 

and also from Section 82.

[JAWS]

26 minutes ago, OldlandReddies said:

Mayulu definitely stepped up on his last game. Liked what I saw when he came on. 

Agree. Didn't think he did much wrong. Tidy feet, composed & got a good shot off with a good save from their keeper. However we still don't have a proven prolific scorer. Tommy needs to be replaced but can't see it happening. Ah well always next season! :laugh:

[The Original OTIB]

19 hours ago, Dr Balls said:

Stokes looked up for it, but again was lacking any service. Like Weimann and Conway before him, and our other new signings of Armstrong and Mayulu, he looks like he wants a ball played ahead of him that he can run onto. And as a team, we rarely play that kind of ball. That’s why Conway’s goal away against West Ham stood out as he actually got the ball played where he wanted it for once.

Best through ball of the day was delivered by Stokes himself and Cornick created a pass onto which nobody ran; as usual.

[redkev]

2 hours ago, bcfc01 said:

Agree with most of that.

No problem defensively and no problem with two of Bird, TGH, Williams and Knight. The rest is a bit more problematic imo, especially up front. For me it's Nahki as number nine, Armstrong and Mayulu getting minutes from the bench, not that I think that will happen.

AGREE AGREE. Wait until next week when the season starts all that agreeing nonesense will soon stop 

[Kid in the Riot]

2 hours ago, OldlandReddies said:

Tilburg boys seemed to enjoy the day. Three Lions set afterwards was brilliant. 

Very enjoyable, I ended up having a good chat with Tricky! 

[chinapig]

46 minutes ago, redkev said:

AGREE AGREE. Wait until next week when the season starts all that agreeing nonesense will soon stop 

I disagree.

[jbcfc]

21 hours ago, RedM said:

Fally looked a better player than he did against Aldershot. Bell looked a lesser player than he did against them.

Swings and roundabouts at the moment.

bell is rubbish, shouldn’t be anywhere near the starting 11.

[Dolman Block B]

4 hours ago, bcfc01 said:

Agree with most of that.

No problem defensively and no problem with two of Bird, TGH, Williams and Knight. The rest is a bit more problematic imo, especially up front. For me it's Nahki as number nine, Armstrong and Mayulu getting minutes from the bench, not that I think that will happen.

Like I saiz

He won’t start Armstrong with Cornick so yes it will be Wells

 

[The Humble Realist]

Over 10k there. Very good attendance for q friendly. 

We can't read anything into the performance. We will all know more by this time next week !

[Sleepy1968]

1 hour ago, jbcfc said:

bell is rubbish, shouldn’t be anywhere near the starting 11.

A bit harsh. I would agree that he had a poor game yesterday, but in mitigation he's spent a long time out injured, and right wing is not his best position.

He's a decent finisher, which should make him an option from the bench.

[Port Said Red]

38 minutes ago, Sleepy1968 said:

A bit harsh. I would agree that he had a poor game yesterday, but in mitigation he's spent a long time out injured, and right wing is not his best position.

He's a decent finisher, which should make him an option from the bench.

I don't know why you would even respond to such an idiotic comment. Some people clearly have personal issues if they think that is justifiable.

[Out of his pie crust]

2 hours ago, Sleepy1968 said:

A bit harsh. I would agree that he had a poor game yesterday, but in mitigation he's spent a long time out injured, and right wing is not his best position.

He's a decent finisher, which should make him an option from the bench.

I’d prefer bell in a counter attacking lineup against the better sides in the division where we might play 3 from Williams knight bird TGH and pace beyond. Prefer Sykes for 70 % of teams

Edited August 4 by Out of his pie crust

[Club and Country]

4 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Very enjoyable, I ended up having a good chat with Tricky! 

Was that the dj at the lions after the game? 

[Kid in the Riot]

46 minutes ago, Club and Country said:

Was that the dj at the lions after the game? 

As in Adrian Thaws, Massive Attack collaborator. 

[Davefevs]

7 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

As in Adrian Thaws, Massive Attack collaborator. 

Is he related to Kevin Thaws, well known local footballer back a few years?

[Club and Country]

16 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

As in Adrian Thaws, Massive Attack collaborator. 

Ha apologies way out there then 

music in the lions all day yesterday was top draw anyway ....!!

heard the miners was abit quieter if anyone went there?

[Wedontplayinblue]

14 minutes ago, Club and Country said:

Ha apologies way out there then 

music in the lions all day yesterday was top draw anyway ....!!

heard the miners was abit quieter if anyone went there?

There’s no way the miners was quiet after the game, it was absolutely rammed out the back 

[Club and Country]

8 minutes ago, Wedontplayinblue said:

There’s no way the miners was quiet after the game, it was absolutely rammed out the back 

Only saying what I was told... glad it was busy for the record 

Edited August 4 by Club and Country

[chinapig]

49 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Is he related to Kevin Thaws, well known local footballer back a few years?

Adrian is otherwise known as Tricky, one of the creators of trip-hop. His album Maxinquaye is a classic of the genre. He's a Knowle West Boy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowle_West_Boy

Fun fact: he was in The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis.

[Sleepy1968]

3 minutes ago, chinapig said:

Fun fact: he was in The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis.

I loved that film. The plot kind of got away from me because of Milla Jovovich.

Anyway thanks for giving me an excuse to pick up a copy on disc when I next see it on sale.

[OldlandReddies]

5 hours ago, The Humble Realist said:

Over 10k there. Very good attendance for q friendly. 

We can't read anything into the performance. We will all know more by this time next week !

Can read a little bit into it.......we are going to be hard to beat again. We must be very close to having the best group of defenders in the league and our midfield two of Knight and Bird are right up there. IMO it's hugely important that we get Twine as he and those two would be sensational together and Twine is capable of unlocking defenses , playing in our forwards and getting a few goals himself. Hopefully we'll get the news we want soon. 

[Kid in the Riot]

27 minutes ago, chinapig said:

Adrian is otherwise known as Tricky, one of the creators of trip-hop. His album Maxinquaye is a classic of the genre. He's a Knowle West Boy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowle_West_Boy

Fun fact: he was in The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis.

Yeah had to tell him I loved Maxinquaye. What a down to earth bloke though, we were chatting away for about 20 minutes. He lives over in France now. 

[chinapig]

14 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Yeah had to tell him I loved Maxinquaye. What a down to earth bloke though, we were chatting away for about 20 minutes. He lives over in France now. 

I met him once briefly and told him I loved Maxinquaye too! He was a bit surprised as I wasn't exactly his target audience but great music is great music.

[sugarwray]

On 03/08/2024 at 18:56, pongo88 said:

This reminds me of a Ron Atkinson quote:

”Carlton Palmer can trap the ball further than I can kick it”

(I think it’s rather unfortunate as he was an underrated player and it was fashionable to make detrimental comments about him) 

This reminds me of the Barry Fry remark “his third touch is impressive”

[mozo]

30 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Yeah had to tell him I loved Maxinquaye. What a down to earth bloke though, we were chatting away for about 20 minutes. He lives over in France now. 

France? Or Germany? I'd heard he lives in Berlin, but maybe just spends time there.

[chinapig]

1 minute ago, mozo said:

France? Or Germany? I'd heard he lives in Berlin, but maybe just spends time there.

Well last I knew he was living in New York! He's obviously missing the glamour of Knowle West.

[mozo]

3 minutes ago, chinapig said:

Well last I knew he was living in New York! He's obviously missing the glamour of Knowle West.

He's here, he's there, he's...

[willem ii]

Just arrived back in Tilburg. What to say about this weekend… We have waited so long for this friendly and it ended up being far more better than expected (besides the perhaps not so attractive 0-0 result). 
 

As usual we were welcomed as if we were family and the hospitality that was given to us was superb! Big party before and after the match in the Three Lions and Minor Arms. But lots of other pubs were also visited by our supporters. I am proud of the number of Willem II supporters that went to Bristol for this match (including quite some families). Visiting away games isn’t that big in The Netherlands as it is in England, therefore a really good turn up.

for me the highlight of the matchday was the corteo from the Three Lions to the stadium. Around 2.000 supporters of Willem II and Bristol City walking (and singing) together as ONE to Ashton Gate. Also great to see the handpainted banner before the match. I understood this was made in a joined effort by the Tilburg Tifosi and Section 82!

Hopefully this match and the activities around this match have proofed that this asks for at least a return match in Tilburg next season. Or even better: a yearly event!

Last but not least I would like to thank both clubs, but especially all the supporters of Bristol City who made this weekend one to never forget. Cu you soon!

[2015]

Thought Mayulu looked a handful when he came on

[candygram for mongo]

13 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Is he related to Kevin Thaws, well known local footballer back a few years?

Yes

[James]

On 04/08/2024 at 22:49, willem ii said:

Just arrived back in Tilburg. What to say about this weekend… We have waited so long for this friendly and it ended up being far more better than expected (besides the perhaps not so attractive 0-0 result). 
 

As usual we were welcomed as if we were family and the hospitality that was given to us was superb! Big party before and after the match in the Three Lions and Minor Arms. But lots of other pubs were also visited by our supporters. I am proud of the number of Willem II supporters that went to Bristol for this match (including quite some families). Visiting away games isn’t that big in The Netherlands as it is in England, therefore a really good turn up.

for me the highlight of the matchday was the corteo from the Three Lions to the stadium. Around 2.000 supporters of Willem II and Bristol City walking (and singing) together as ONE to Ashton Gate. Also great to see the handpainted banner before the match. I understood this was made in a joined effort by the Tilburg Tifosi and Section 82!

Hopefully this match and the activities around this match have proofed that this asks for at least a return match in Tilburg next season. Or even better: a yearly event!

Last but not least I would like to thank both clubs, but especially all the supporters of Bristol City who made this weekend one to never forget. Cu you soon!

Cheers Roel,

Glad you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did!

The Corteo was class, actually still can't quite believe how well it all came together!

The hand painted banner in the `'away' end was very much Tilburg Tifosi's own (and as always, insanely impressive!) work. However there were a few willing S82 hands (and a pickup truck) - along with a great amount of flexibility and support from the club in various capacities - who helped them lay it out at approx. 22:00 on Friday night!

The banner in the home end, was actually hand painted by us from scratch too (by some miracle, in about 8 hours flat, last week) - although obviously not quite on the scale of Tifosi's! Hopefully, the first of many from our end..!

Until the next time!

 

 

 

 

[SecretSam]

On 04/08/2024 at 20:24, Kid in the Riot said:

As in Adrian Thaws, Massive Attack collaborator. 

#NameDrop