Have to say was also very disappointed with DJ's performance today though I can't say Gerken inspires me with too much confidence either, Smithies the Huddersfield Keeper if fit would be a great signing plus we need someone who can play rt side of defence along side McManus, that is if he is going to be fit to play, and we have to do something about the LB position as when Foster is on the right it leaves a big hole down the opositions right flank to attack us.
McGivern good at attacking but really poor at defending hope Spence recovers fully soon to goto RB until Skuse recovers so Foster can go back to LB.
We have a serious problem until the defence is sorted we can't afford to play 2 up front as either the defence is overrun or if we have a defensive midfielder covering our defense then the midfield gets over run, had hoped McManus would be at least part of the answer but no idea how serious his injury is.
Hawkmoon
Firstly, really like your posts you do, You talk a lot of Sence and always get behind the team!
And have vast and un doubted experience with all things BCFC.
Firstly I feel we are in real trouble here, having a few concerns about our championship status. I really wish we can turn this around. We don't deserve to be in this position but in a recent post by your good self " when you are down in this position, everything goes against you". And we mean everything.
But with regard to mc given. I must admit I was impressed with him the first few games he played for city. He got forward well, got to the by line and put in some great crosses.
But since then apart from the crystal place game where he did at least put one or two dangerous crosses in,". I have not seen him do anything like that! at least not at home anyway. He is always being found out at getting back to defend. And when he is going forward on the left instead of going or trying to go past the full back he always stops and looks for a way out. Which more often than not is not there.
At least foster in than position has the willing and the legs to get back and make a chalange!
Agree with GRC, got shot down in flames last season when i had the neck to knock DJ. Well here i go again, I find DJ's kicking atrocious, and IMHO i think that with his kicking, handling and continually being caught in no mans land connected with his constant barracking of any player around him, whether its their fault or his, must surely put the defence on their nerve egde.
I think a run in the team for Gerks for 3-5 games minimum, and we will see a change. I really think DJ is also a defence problem as well as players out of position.
Obviously McManus must be a good player, but he and Fonts are left full backs and cannot play together, its unbalanced. But there is the problem do you drop your captain who i think is playing very well, or the new boy who you just loaned??? chicken and egg innit?
I too liked McGivern, but he too has constantly been caught out of position and especially caught for pace over and over again, especially against Palace the other night.
Maybe Foster at left back, even though he is a righty has shown hes well up for the job, and try Spence/Ribs (get him back if poss) until Scuse fit to go back to his RB position.
We also badly,badly need a creative midfielder with a good engine, like Marv,and the ability to fight win tackles ( i know they are not falling out of trees in availability) , but sense that our league position will stop this kind of player IF available coming to us.
I will as always get behind the lads 100% and support them to the best of my abilities, but i would be lying if i said i wasnt worried at the moment, I AM!
COYR
CTID
I don't agree that DJ is the reason we're struggling - he pulls off 3 brilliant saves to 1 calamity moment.
I do agree that Gerks should get a game though - to keep him hungry. Nobody should get an automatic place in the side - DJ included.
James does pull of some good saves and does have a few good games but Overall don't rate him. He makes a lot of mistakes and are costly in us conceding a lot of goals, and why he runs out of his area all the blinking time I'll never know
Just thinking about the last bit of your article
" When will there be a Saturday night when I can truly be happy ?"
Not sure how old you are but that got me thinking about the best days I have had watching Bristol City and after a long think about some memorable games I have seen and some truely awful ones as well it has to be said it came down to Tuesday Evening 20th April 1976 4 mins or so after kick off 'some thousands of fans missed this goal' there were 25000 - 28000 packed into Ashton Gate that evening. Clive Whitehead scores against Portsmouth 'a team already relegated so playing with a freedom they hadn't shown all season' then nearly 90 minutes of mounting flustration as we couldn't find the net again, then the whistle went and thousands of us flooded on to the pitch to celebrate with the players I seem to remember it took ages for the players to get off the pitch and get out on to the Grandstand 'The Williams Stand as it is now' for us fans to cheer them. Trying to remember all the players - Ray Cashley was in goal either Gerry Sweeny or Donnie Gillies was at right back I think they both played in this match Sweeny was a midfield player converted to RB Gillies was a forward converted to RB Brian Drysdale would have been LB, One of the best footballing centre halves I have ever seen play - Gary Collier was partnered by captain Geoff Merrick at the heart of our defence. Midfield Gerry 'if it moves tackle it hard' Gow, Trevor Tainton, Clive Whitehead, Jimmy Mann, Paul Cheesley and 'Mr TV Tom' Ritchie oops thats 12 players one must have been the sub but I can't remember for sure. That was a week to remember for me as we had the two home games against Portsmouth and Notts County and if we won both and Sunderland dropped points we could become champions also I was taking my Nursing finals at that time as well plus I had crashed my motorcycle and my shoulder was frozen as a result not a time I am likely to forget. From Memory Sunderland won their game as well and we couldn't catch them and I think we both lost our last matches of the season hard to remember for sure was nearly 36 years ago now but in the next 12 months we had other great results to cheer us winning at Arsenal in the first match of the next season plus the great 2-2 Draw at Coventry in the last match of the season when because the game kicked off late and the result of the Everton v's Sunderland match was made known Everton had beaten Sunderland which meant that a draw kept both Coventry and Bristol in the top flight 'Thank you Mr Jimmy Hill' The last 10 minutes or so was just keepball no one tried to score/tackle/shoot or even try and intercept the ball I think even the referee got fed up and blew on exactly 90 mins even though there should have been some extra time added on Of course there were bad days then as well 2nd game of the season Stoke City at Ashton Gate Cheese challenging for the ball with Shilton bad fall and the Cheese's carear was virtually over I think he tried to play one more game but his knee was too badly damaged to carry on. Then a few years later when I thought the club was going to disappear 1982 when it looked like the club had come to the end of the road and we were going to follow Accrington Stanley out of the Football League then the relief of hearing the players 'the Ashton Gate 8' had saved the club something I don't think I'll ever forget.
The defence is still an issue for us, McManus is a good signing but we need another centre back and I think McInnes knows it too. Fontaine is a liability at this level and has been carried in the side for far too long and Nyatanga isn't much better although he is more solid. I suspect that Fonts will not be the permanent captain as McInnes will soon suss out, if he hasn't already, that he cannot organise a peez up in a brewery.
Foster looks decent enough but McGivern has done much for me. I think City fans have been spoiled by having McAllister at left back. Its odd to see some fans slate him but that's clearly because they have forgotten what a bad left back can be like, however McGivern is now giving them a reminder. Jamie Mc was a solid defender, as was Orr and boy do we need some solidity now!
Some fans are also moaning about the negative approach from McInnes, but its clear to see why this is adopted, he changed to 4-4-2 at half time and whilst we created more we were also vulnerable and got punished. I still think our best formation is 4-3-3 and nothing will change my mind there.
I got shot down last season for suggesting that Albert isn't a quality player. I still stand by those remarks. He is of course exciting at times but, for me, he falls short, by a long way, of being a quality player and he is to limited and now, marked out of games very easily.
I remain hopeful that we will avoid the drop but it needs to be a team effort from everyone at the club as this will take time to sort out especially in this league as we are not a strong force in financial or support terns. Sadly, we know that some supporters can never find the guts to support the club when it needs it most. Therein lies the failure of Bristol football.
If we can persist with Albert and Yala on the flanks I think we might well see an upsurge in form the reasoning is quite simple teams have been restricting Albert by double marking him to stop his tricks and speed very difficult to double mark players on both flanks without leaving massive amounts of space to be exploited by attacking fullbacks and others..
I once played in a team with only two good players but we only lost one match all year our two good players only managed 11 goals between them but they played out on the flanks and teams tried to mark them out of games leaving loads of room for people like me to look really good breaking from the back and creating and scoring loads of goals.
I have this strange feeling that all the team really needs to get firing again is a bit of luck it seems like the players and fans are feeling that everything that can go wrong will go wrong atm. what we need is an opposition keeper to have a 'mare or a shot going to hit the corner flag to hit someones backside and fly into the net, it sounds stupid but almost every footballer I've ever met is supersticious more so that most of the general population as soon as they see things going in their favour they will start playing better.
I'm a bit supersticious re: football. When I played 11-a-side regularly if I scored I wouldn't clean my boots so the lucky mud would be there for the next game!
My boots have been clean for the last 3 years
Never mind r&w I scored 26 goals in my entire footballing career mainly at RB but I scored 18 goals in one season from LB so you can see my usual scoring rate wasn't too hot but that one super season got me a trial with a league club, and to show I wasn't afraid of anyone I tackled the Liverpool legend Tommy Smith several times in a match (he was recovering from injury and it was a first run out for him) finally I think it got on his wick and he crunched me with a tackle that left me with a double fracture of my leg because my studs caught in the ground.
Since then I've learned not to show off, you'll score again sooner or later either on the pitch or off it just enjoy it when it happens.
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posted on 18/2/12
Have to say was also very disappointed with DJ's performance today though I can't say Gerken inspires me with too much confidence either, Smithies the Huddersfield Keeper if fit would be a great signing plus we need someone who can play rt side of defence along side McManus, that is if he is going to be fit to play, and we have to do something about the LB position as when Foster is on the right it leaves a big hole down the opositions right flank to attack us.
McGivern good at attacking but really poor at defending hope Spence recovers fully soon to goto RB until Skuse recovers so Foster can go back to LB.
We have a serious problem until the defence is sorted we can't afford to play 2 up front as either the defence is overrun or if we have a defensive midfielder covering our defense then the midfield gets over run, had hoped McManus would be at least part of the answer but no idea how serious his injury is.
posted on 18/2/12
Hawkmoon
Firstly, really like your posts you do, You talk a lot of Sence and always get behind the team!
And have vast and un doubted experience with all things BCFC.
Firstly I feel we are in real trouble here, having a few concerns about our championship status. I really wish we can turn this around. We don't deserve to be in this position but in a recent post by your good self " when you are down in this position, everything goes against you". And we mean everything.
But with regard to mc given. I must admit I was impressed with him the first few games he played for city. He got forward well, got to the by line and put in some great crosses.
But since then apart from the crystal place game where he did at least put one or two dangerous crosses in,". I have not seen him do anything like that! at least not at home anyway. He is always being found out at getting back to defend. And when he is going forward on the left instead of going or trying to go past the full back he always stops and looks for a way out. Which more often than not is not there.
At least foster in than position has the willing and the legs to get back and make a chalange!
posted on 19/2/12
Agree with GRC, got shot down in flames last season when i had the neck to knock DJ. Well here i go again, I find DJ's kicking atrocious, and IMHO i think that with his kicking, handling and continually being caught in no mans land connected with his constant barracking of any player around him, whether its their fault or his, must surely put the defence on their nerve egde.
I think a run in the team for Gerks for 3-5 games minimum, and we will see a change. I really think DJ is also a defence problem as well as players out of position.
Obviously McManus must be a good player, but he and Fonts are left full backs and cannot play together, its unbalanced. But there is the problem do you drop your captain who i think is playing very well, or the new boy who you just loaned??? chicken and egg innit?
I too liked McGivern, but he too has constantly been caught out of position and especially caught for pace over and over again, especially against Palace the other night.
Maybe Foster at left back, even though he is a righty has shown hes well up for the job, and try Spence/Ribs (get him back if poss) until Scuse fit to go back to his RB position.
We also badly,badly need a creative midfielder with a good engine, like Marv,and the ability to fight win tackles ( i know they are not falling out of trees in availability) , but sense that our league position will stop this kind of player IF available coming to us.
I will as always get behind the lads 100% and support them to the best of my abilities, but i would be lying if i said i wasnt worried at the moment, I AM!
COYR
CTID
posted on 19/2/12
I don't agree that DJ is the reason we're struggling - he pulls off 3 brilliant saves to 1 calamity moment.
I do agree that Gerks should get a game though - to keep him hungry. Nobody should get an automatic place in the side - DJ included.
posted on 19/2/12
James does pull of some good saves and does have a few good games but Overall don't rate him. He makes a lot of mistakes and are costly in us conceding a lot of goals, and why he runs out of his area all the blinking time I'll never know
posted on 20/2/12
Just thinking about the last bit of your article
" When will there be a Saturday night when I can truly be happy ?"
Not sure how old you are but that got me thinking about the best days I have had watching Bristol City and after a long think about some memorable games I have seen and some truely awful ones as well it has to be said it came down to Tuesday Evening 20th April 1976 4 mins or so after kick off 'some thousands of fans missed this goal' there were 25000 - 28000 packed into Ashton Gate that evening. Clive Whitehead scores against Portsmouth 'a team already relegated so playing with a freedom they hadn't shown all season' then nearly 90 minutes of mounting flustration as we couldn't find the net again, then the whistle went and thousands of us flooded on to the pitch to celebrate with the players I seem to remember it took ages for the players to get off the pitch and get out on to the Grandstand 'The Williams Stand as it is now' for us fans to cheer them. Trying to remember all the players - Ray Cashley was in goal either Gerry Sweeny or Donnie Gillies was at right back I think they both played in this match Sweeny was a midfield player converted to RB Gillies was a forward converted to RB Brian Drysdale would have been LB, One of the best footballing centre halves I have ever seen play - Gary Collier was partnered by captain Geoff Merrick at the heart of our defence. Midfield Gerry 'if it moves tackle it hard' Gow, Trevor Tainton, Clive Whitehead, Jimmy Mann, Paul Cheesley and 'Mr TV Tom' Ritchie oops thats 12 players one must have been the sub but I can't remember for sure. That was a week to remember for me as we had the two home games against Portsmouth and Notts County and if we won both and Sunderland dropped points we could become champions also I was taking my Nursing finals at that time as well plus I had crashed my motorcycle and my shoulder was frozen as a result not a time I am likely to forget. From Memory Sunderland won their game as well and we couldn't catch them and I think we both lost our last matches of the season hard to remember for sure was nearly 36 years ago now but in the next 12 months we had other great results to cheer us winning at Arsenal in the first match of the next season plus the great 2-2 Draw at Coventry in the last match of the season when because the game kicked off late and the result of the Everton v's Sunderland match was made known Everton had beaten Sunderland which meant that a draw kept both Coventry and Bristol in the top flight 'Thank you Mr Jimmy Hill' The last 10 minutes or so was just keepball no one tried to score/tackle/shoot or even try and intercept the ball I think even the referee got fed up and blew on exactly 90 mins even though there should have been some extra time added on Of course there were bad days then as well 2nd game of the season Stoke City at Ashton Gate Cheese challenging for the ball with Shilton bad fall and the Cheese's carear was virtually over I think he tried to play one more game but his knee was too badly damaged to carry on. Then a few years later when I thought the club was going to disappear 1982 when it looked like the club had come to the end of the road and we were going to follow Accrington Stanley out of the Football League then the relief of hearing the players 'the Ashton Gate 8' had saved the club something I don't think I'll ever forget.
posted on 20/2/12
The defence is still an issue for us, McManus is a good signing but we need another centre back and I think McInnes knows it too. Fontaine is a liability at this level and has been carried in the side for far too long and Nyatanga isn't much better although he is more solid. I suspect that Fonts will not be the permanent captain as McInnes will soon suss out, if he hasn't already, that he cannot organise a peez up in a brewery.
Foster looks decent enough but McGivern has done much for me. I think City fans have been spoiled by having McAllister at left back. Its odd to see some fans slate him but that's clearly because they have forgotten what a bad left back can be like, however McGivern is now giving them a reminder. Jamie Mc was a solid defender, as was Orr and boy do we need some solidity now!
Some fans are also moaning about the negative approach from McInnes, but its clear to see why this is adopted, he changed to 4-4-2 at half time and whilst we created more we were also vulnerable and got punished. I still think our best formation is 4-3-3 and nothing will change my mind there.
I got shot down last season for suggesting that Albert isn't a quality player. I still stand by those remarks. He is of course exciting at times but, for me, he falls short, by a long way, of being a quality player and he is to limited and now, marked out of games very easily.
I remain hopeful that we will avoid the drop but it needs to be a team effort from everyone at the club as this will take time to sort out especially in this league as we are not a strong force in financial or support terns. Sadly, we know that some supporters can never find the guts to support the club when it needs it most. Therein lies the failure of Bristol football.
posted on 21/2/12
If we can persist with Albert and Yala on the flanks I think we might well see an upsurge in form the reasoning is quite simple teams have been restricting Albert by double marking him to stop his tricks and speed very difficult to double mark players on both flanks without leaving massive amounts of space to be exploited by attacking fullbacks and others..
I once played in a team with only two good players but we only lost one match all year our two good players only managed 11 goals between them but they played out on the flanks and teams tried to mark them out of games leaving loads of room for people like me to look really good breaking from the back and creating and scoring loads of goals.
I have this strange feeling that all the team really needs to get firing again is a bit of luck it seems like the players and fans are feeling that everything that can go wrong will go wrong atm. what we need is an opposition keeper to have a 'mare or a shot going to hit the corner flag to hit someones backside and fly into the net, it sounds stupid but almost every footballer I've ever met is supersticious more so that most of the general population as soon as they see things going in their favour they will start playing better.
posted on 21/2/12
I'm a bit supersticious re: football. When I played 11-a-side regularly if I scored I wouldn't clean my boots so the lucky mud would be there for the next game!
My boots have been clean for the last 3 years
posted on 21/2/12
Never mind r&w I scored 26 goals in my entire footballing career mainly at RB but I scored 18 goals in one season from LB so you can see my usual scoring rate wasn't too hot but that one super season got me a trial with a league club, and to show I wasn't afraid of anyone I tackled the Liverpool legend Tommy Smith several times in a match (he was recovering from injury and it was a first run out for him) finally I think it got on his wick and he crunched me with a tackle that left me with a double fracture of my leg because my studs caught in the ground.
Since then I've learned not to show off, you'll score again sooner or later either on the pitch or off it just enjoy it when it happens.
Page 1 of 1