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Match Day Thread Bristol City v Brentford

Discussion in 'Bristol City' started by wizered, May 7, 2021.

  1. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    Hot Off The Press: Bristol City
    Gregor MacGregor of Bristol Live on The Robins

    Ahead of the final day of the Championship season, Bristol City sit 19th in the Championship table, albeit with a comfortable cushion between themselves and the bottom three. How would you summarise their campaign?

    Pretty disastrous, to be honest. They started the season with Dean Holden in charge, which was a bit of a surprising appointment because the club had taken six weeks to decide who was going to replace Lee Johnson and the owner appeared on talkSPORT, saying that they were looking for breath of fresh air, only to appoint Johnson’s right-hand man. Subsequently, the season fell away after a good start. To be fair to Holden, he did pretty well, but by my estimations, it wouldn’t have mattered who they appointed because the injury situation has, most likely, been the worst in the whole of the EFL. There have been between 20 and 30 injuries, which basically hamstrung not only many of the players but also Holden’s chances of success and likewise Nigel Pearson since he has come in. The season almost ended in a relegation battle, despite initial hopes of being in a battle for the top six.

    Pearson replaced Holden as manager midway through a run of six defeats in February and while there have only been three wins so far, there have clearly been encouraging signs, so much so that he has since signed a new three-year deal. How has he been received since his appointment?

    It is a strange one because, quite rightly, a lot of the fans are asking how he has been given a new contract given the fact he hasn’t done very well since he came in. There are officially three wins since he took over, but for one of those wins he was sat in the stands at the Riverside Stadium, so you could make a strong argument for there only being two wins. He is under no illusions and has said himself that results have not been good enough. The injuries have been a real issue but it’s the strength of the playing squad as well. Morale has gone downhill and it is going to be a big job to turn it around. Most fans recognise that there is going to be a pretty big turnaround of playing staff, as well as other staff; they recently lost the CEO here and he has taken the head of performance over to Ipswich with him, they have to replace those guys. There is going to be a rebuilding exercise this summer.

    He has been unashamedly frank in his assessments of City’s performances and after the 4-1 defeat to Millwall last week said: “Days like today help to make your mind up on people.” Do you expect significant changes as he moulds his squad this summer?

    They have 13 to 14 players out of contract this summer, two players on loan and also Chris Brunt, who got injured halfway through the season and had his contract rescinded, so you are talking 15, 16 players straightaway. A squad of 38 has been used this season and they have given eight debuts, which I’m sure not many clubs can top. They are basically playing with kids and are not getting results because they aren’t quite ready. There will certainly be 10 to 12 players going out and the club have already said they will be recruiting, though not to the same level, so I would suggest maybe half-a-dozen coming in and a reliance on some of the better youth players who have proved themselves this year.

    Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on this Saturday?

    Though there aren’t too many in form at the moment, my pick of the bunch is Han-Noah Massengo. He is a teenage central midfielder, who arrived from Monaco in 2019 and has Champions League experience. The club paid quite a big fee for him and have high hopes for him still. We haven’t seen the best of him this season, but just recently he is one of the players who has stood out with his work-rate and energy in midfield. I suspect this weekend’s game is going to suit him because Brentford get the ball down and play some good football and he thrives in those kind of games.

    How is Pearson likely to set up his side at Ashton Gate?

    Just recently, he has gone back to 3-5-2. That’s what they used against Millwall last weekend and it probably makes the most of the playing resources they have got - they have got almost a full team out injured, as standard - so I would expect them to stick with that for this weekend.

    Brentford took all three points winning by the odd goal in five in west London just over three months ago and have lost just one of the previous 13 meetings. What’s your score prediction for this one?

    I can’t see it being too different, to be honest. Bristol City have been dire recently and were atrocious against Millwall last weekend, so I’m going to go for a 3-1 Brentford win and an Ivan Toney goal to break the Championship scoring record.
    https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2021/may/hotp-bristol-city/
    .
     
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  2. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    EFL transfer window dates
    The EFL have confirmed that the summer transfer window will run alongside the same schedule as the Premier League.

    So it will open on Wednesday June 9, 2021 and will run for 12 weeks until 11pm BST (6pm ET) on Tuesday August 31.
     
    #2
  3. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    Players’ chance to ‘show what they are about’ - Pearson
    Friday, May 7th 2021

    Nigel Pearson has stressed the need for a better performance and intent from his players as he looks for City to be more positive in their final game of the season.

    His squad are preparing for Saturday’s match against Brentford as the curtain closes on the Robins’ 2020/21 campaign.

    The sides meet in differing form with the Bees looking ahead to this season’s play-offs, while much has been written of City’s poor run of results in recent months.

    The last of those was a 4-1 defeat at Millwall last weekend but manager Pearson has a final opportunity to get a reaction from his players.

    He told Robins TV: “We’ve got to deal with the game itself. After the last few games, with how things have shaped up, we are disappointed and through this week there’s an element of looking to the future, but my priority is definitely to make sure we perform better and show better intent than last week. The fallout from last week’s game is a difficult thing to front up.”

    When asked about the importance of finishing the campaign with a good performance, Pearson said: “It’s what we need but whether we get it or not is difficult at the moment.”

    He continued: “The bottom line is that we have to produce every time we play. The intent and the work-rate and effort has not always been evident. That’s not a sweeping statement of everybody but we’re in a situation where there’s been uncertainty, collectively we’ve not dealt with the situation as required so it’s something else to work at.

    “Let’s keep perspective, it’s about making sure we get ourselves right for the game. It doesn’t matter about tactics if we don’t go and show the human qualities that we need. On top of that, we’re playing against a very good side anyway so the selection this week will reflect players who I think will bring positivity and are in a better place themselves.”

    Criticism comes with sport and City have been subject to it this season with a bottom half finish guaranteed this season, but Pearson says it’s about how the players respond now and in the future.

    “Let’s remember players sometime have to deal with their own demons or self-doubts and we have a number of players out of form,” he said.

    “Most of the players have really struggled but they’ve applied themselves as well as they can, but we’ve fallen way short. It’s how we deal with it in the moment, but we have to deal with it moving forward too.

    “They are professional so if nothing else there has to be a personal, individual drive to answer criticism, but also, the basic necessity of being in a team sport is. you have to be able to perform under pressure, have an understanding of how you perform when things aren’t the way you want them to be.

    “We know where we are, we know the situation and I’ll never kid myself about that but we have a very tough game against Brentford who’ve had a good season. They have a top scorer but I also think it’s an opportunity for players to show what they’re about.”

    For Pearson, it’s not just about the opportunity of a matchday but the way the players behave and carry themselves in the week – setting the standards at the Robins High Performance Centre

    This has been an important week therefore, with the final outing fast approaching. He continued: “Every day is an opportunity. Matchdays are the most obvious because when the team takes to the field it’s open for people to see it…being on the journey is about the day-to-day behaviours, standards and willingness to do things that are not always natural to you or high on your list of strengths.

    “I’ve talked about ownership and that’s really key to how we move this club forward. But it’s a very interesting subject. We do judge on performances but also the real proof of people’s desire to be involved in the longer-term journey is the standards, beliefs and values they perform on a daily basis in terms as professional footballers and people to. There’s always opportunities to change and I believe in people having opportunities, but they have to take it.”

    City v Brentford, with Rene Gilmartin as guest and co-commentator, will be streamed live on Robins TV from 12pm for all the build-up ahead of kick-off.
    https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/players-chance-to-show-what-they-are-about-pearson/
     
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  4. realred1952

    realred1952 Well-Known Member

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    ? MID WAY through 6 defeats! cough cough

    this is key players are human, as I said before there is and has been a lot going on … a lot of negative vibes not only for BCFC but football in general ….
     
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  5. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    #5
  6. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    please log in to view this image
    please log in to view this image
     
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  7. Red Robin

    Red Robin Well-Known Member

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    To be quite frank-would not care if he swept the broom right through the playing staff-absolutely **** performances this season.
     
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  8. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    please log in to view this image
     
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  9. Red Robin

    Red Robin Well-Known Member

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    3-0 PLUS I would say to the busy bees minimum
     
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  10. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    TEAM NEWS.
    Five changes
    No Kalas
    Dasilva’s first start since December
    First start for Alex Scott
    Simpson start
     
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  11. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    Team news reaction
    From our City reporter...

    No Tomas Kalas today - just waiting for confirmation on why that is, if injury or a selection issue. Bentley returns, as captain too, and Scott makes a first start in midfield at just 17. Looks like 4-4-2 with Palmer, Massengo, Scott and Bakinson in the middle. A last chance for Simpson to impress and a welcome first start for Dasilva since December 1.
     
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  12. Jiffie

    Jiffie Well-Known Member

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    Might be on his way, I wouldn't hold too much creedence about injury speak, Diedhiou was meant to be injured and now he is just "won't be playing", I think there is a doubt about Nagy as well, he is in Hungary for a family funeral, but it would appear the funeral isn't for quite a while.
     
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  13. RedorDead

    RedorDead Well-Known Member

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    Paid for this game, but was a toss up between watching us or fingers crossed Wayne Rooney’s Derby ****y get relegated
     
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  14. RedorDead

    RedorDead Well-Known Member

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    Probably wants a final look at Simpson, Marriapa and Baker. As Kalas is apparently fit
     
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  15. Red Robin

    Red Robin Well-Known Member

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    I'm watching Derbys game <laugh>
     
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  16. Jiffie

    Jiffie Well-Known Member

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    Maybe but it maybe deeper and even possibly involving the captaincy next season.
     
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  17. RedorDead

    RedorDead Well-Known Member

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    Probably end up switching over
     
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  18. Tom_BCFC

    Tom_BCFC Billy Bibbit
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    Just paid to watch as well, I'm hoping for a Rotherham win and a draw in the other game so both Derby and Wednesday go down
     
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  19. RedorDead

    RedorDead Well-Known Member

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    That would be a Carling Saturday
     
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  20. Red Robin

    Red Robin Well-Known Member

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    Rotherham 1-0 what a screamer
     
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