Hi Everyone

Not been around for most of the summer, up to my eyes in everything, including work which I so called packed in over a year ago!
Certainly been a lot of changes to Bristol City in past few weeks, so many gone and so few arrived. The injured from last season returning making up for an interesting group of players.
I have had very little chance to keep up with posts, just cursory glances from time to time, but very little seems to change. Glad to see the posts of people who have been jabbed, very sensible. Having lost 3 close friends, both under 35 and also aware of people I know having suffered, and lost the fight in 2 cases it makes sense.
Very sad to see some of the older people not taking the jabs, a risk to themselves family and friends. Of course should the worst befall them they will not see the heart ache they leave behind.

The season ahead, I am hoping for a continuation of Bristol City form before Covid, maybe Christmas 2021 will continue on from Christmas 2019 when we were well placed. It would be nice to finish top 6, even nicer to be in top 2. A finish better than 8th will be a continuation of Lee Johnsons efforts up to Christmas 2019.

 

Welcome back and I think we have season of unknowns this time out but even that has to better than the promises made followed by the dross we have had to endure.

Psst: you mentioned him and may get flack.

 

Welcome back - sorry to hear about your friends - sensible advice about getting the jab

Hopefully the change in the make up of the squad will stem the tide - certainly thing went down hill after LJ left (just sayin )

 

Welcome back

A complete rebuild needed, no chance of top 8 finish , lower mid table this season will be a decent result, this season I’m mostly looking forward to seeing some of the youngsters develop and improve.

 

IMO we need to improve from when LJ was here, the reason the club relieved him of his duties......anything less will be a disappointment

 

I agree in general, but given how bad last season was, I don’t see a top 10 finish tbh. If we are lower than mid-table then we have not progressed from
2 years ago. A mid-table has to be the aim as a minimum for this season, and kick on for play offs the following season

 

There are some on here that would see simply starting a season without LJ in charge as ‘progress’ even if it’s in League 1!!!
Personally I think that above mid-table would be acceptable for NPs first complete season in charge, but I’d be disappointed if we still weren’t challenging for a top 6 finish within 3 years given NPs pedigree.
Having said that I wouldn’t be screaming for his head either - unless we are in a relegation battle of course.
Let’s hope this new manager and management structure delivers us what has eluded us for the last 40 years!!!!

 

The situation was ongoing for 2 seasons, a poor squad and even worse rehab team and totally exacerbated by the bullshit after LJ was sacked of bringing in a proven manager, almost certainly to boost ticket sales and then lumbering us with Holden and to be fair I don't blame Holden he is a good man, but he was let down by what he inherited + the f*** up with Williams fitness. The playing side of the club has been ignored for far too long and inconsistency accepted.

None of the above is anything to do with the present manager, he starts from day zero doing it his way and will pay the price if he fails (which is how it should be), he was left with a weak unfit squad and is trying to rectify it without the resources lavished on LJ, we cannot even find 1mil for a nearly 30 year old striker, without selling, that is where we are. Top 10 would be totally acceptable and hopefully the finances will improve for next season.

 

I personally don't recognise the first sentence but I could also say the opposite, some will not accept that we were in trouble 2 years ago, we only won 2 more games 2 that season to last season, the rot had set in. I think that it was @Cliftonville who called it right, anybody trying to absolve LJ of any responsibility for what has happened is just wrong.

I agree with the rest of the post, with the caveat, Pearson has next to nothing financially to work with, this season hopefully that will change next season, I still believe he would like to ditch one or two others who are still under contract if he can get a fee.

 

Apart from those clubs on Premiership parachute payments, not many if any other club in the Championship will either, so in many ways it should be the biggest leveller for the second tier this season. Yes, City has spent a lot in the past 5 years by our standards, but we were also a long way off from the big spenders, especially if you consider 'net spend' which seems to be the new yardstick for measuring spend.

 

To be fair Jiffie, I doubt you are one of the people I think this was aimed at, but there are definitely some on here who appear to think that way judging by their rhetoric in posts over the past few years.

 

You are correct even the premiership parachute regiment are not spending a lot.

I think if you are judging LJ on the fact that he kept us in the championship, then you have to also accept, he had unprecedented (in BCFC terms) funds available to him or of course if you believe that Ashton made all of the signings maybe he kept us in the championship, but the squad was poor, weak, unbalanced and unfit, what happened last season did not happen overnight.

 

I accept that but people can't have it both ways, by ignoring the huge mistakes by offsetting it against staying in the championship. As I said last season didn't happen overnight.

 

I have never read on here anyone disputing how much LJ was given (relative to BCFC standards); but by that same token, relative to BCFC history, keeping us in the Championship as long as we have is a huge achievement. That's not to say he shouldn't have done more, he probably should have, but as you say in another post, you can't have it both ways.

 

Was listening on Talksport a few days ago and can't remember who said he thought the championship could be the weakest it's been for a long time.
By right, should give the likes of us some encouragement to do well, especially with the experience of Pearson at the helm!! ....if nothing else I expect 100% commitment and effort from his players...

 

I was against his appointment, but he won me over totally by the end of 2018, it was what happened after that I have a problem with, I still cannot understand why the 2019 January window was so poor, we were 2nd and only won 4 out of the last 22 games I think it was. I think the next mistake was the 4 year contract in the summer of 2019. From that moment on I always had the feeling that playing side of the club was just wholly dysfunctional.

Keeping us the championship was a huge achievement, but he or Ashton or both of them employed his dads a scatter gun approach to signing players, signing in high volume and hoping that some were OK, one season in particular we either signed or loaned in over 30 players, some of them never even played for us and some were dire, some I bet a few on here including me don't even remember.

Also I do have a little chuckle about his use of academy players, it was poor it really was, I think at least now players coming through actually believe that they have a chance to progress.

But the most important point is, some on here blame the fans for the demise of LJ and what subsequently happened, it was the owner I am sad to say and his blind spot over his favourite son Mark Ashton.

But hey it's a new era and we start again, we have to we have no other option.

 

That would actually be a good start and something sadly missing for too long.

 

You’ve done it again R&W. Bad Llama.
Do 12 Hail Marys.

….. forgive me Wiz for I have sinned…..!!!!

 

Have you been getting too much sun in Gib ?