What happens next?

I wasn't surprised by the result and surely it must be decision time for Bristol City, but more importantly for Steve Lansdown. Will he cut the chain around our necks or will he opt to continue his support for an ineffective manager? What was the crowd atmosphere or is that a stupid question because according to my text of the game it certainly looked to be the case with volume.

So sad it breaks my heart to see my club in this way without any sign of the problem being fixed if our fearless leader is to be believed. So all's well then and we await any verdict.

 

Has to be gone in the morning.

 

I think the whole management team must go, if Pemberton hasn't got the morale courage to act and help LJ, and is happy to see him fail, or simply can't help, then he can go as well as what's the point in keeping a rotten apple!

 

Totally agree- LJ, JP Holden all to go- To answer the question of the thread though- Probably nothing

 

We do have a bad habit of trying to hang onto some part of our past, but not now please.

 

Clean sweep, and all should walk the plank. They are all part of a failed regime.

The owner can go as well as far as I'm concerned. Not fit to be in charge.

 

Last night,having totally re-organised my day around a Wednesday fixture, both work through lunch to get away early, get wet in the stand (It had been dry all day in Devon too) 190 mile round trip and arrive home 10 minutes before midnight. I said on the way home, that had we not had season tickets, we probably wouldn't have gone last night.
Its now making me question, if to re new or to pick and choose games. League 1 status is likely to temp the former. I'm probably not alone. Naturally, I will still be going but not week in week out.

 

How far will this club go now without Lansdown backing us? Can only see a foreign ownership coming in now probably in the same mould as the Sags owner. Paid of the debts I believe but where is these signings the gas was promised?
I would take your hatred away from Lansdown and think about the alternative option if he ever did leave. Maybe he might step down and let his son take over again after all he did reduce the wages last time but got hammered for it.

 

Mr Pemberton is there to work on aspects of play, in particular defending . That is made more difficult when Mr Johnson plays multiple formations and set ups e.g four formations v Leeds and three v Fulham and the team playing differently defensively v Derby, Leeds, and Fulham. The XI tends to be loaded with attack minded players who are not comfortable sitting deep v defending higher a alchemy that leads to errors.

You may feel that Mr Pemberton should be banging on the table but that would be unsupportive rather than supportive. He is backroom support. It is not John Pembertons role to act. He acts to the instruction of his direct Management/Coach.

 

Disagree with most of this, players should be able to adapt to different formations, that's what a squad is for..
I don't mind changing formations to suit the game, better than sticking to something that doesn't work. (Cotts)
What's the point in having a defensive coach if we aren't able to defend?

 

If he doesn't have the cohooners to speak up when it's all going wrong then he doesn't have what it takes to be a manager, part time or not. How do you know that LJ doesn't take all his and Holdens advice, and that is the problem? Our dive in form does coincide with Holdens appointment.

 

What's the point in having a defensive coach if we aren't able to defend? There is not one if the are not being given the time to concentrate on defensive shape. City play shapes, lots of shapes. This can occur in one game. In another post you stated the players are not robots because you thought they could not adapt to differing roles. Now you feel that they should!

By altering shapes you alter things like defensive triggers. How they press, or do they, double up or not! Deny/delay/depth ... What the players are being asked to do is ridiculous. Three formations last night, and four or five v Leeds is ridiculous.

Coaches like Don Howe spent seasons concentrating on just a handful of defensive ideas. City? No.

If Mr Pemberton undermined the Manager by speaking out ... It is not his role. Just as it was not his role to implore (undermine) Steve Cotteril to move away from 3-5-2. The role is coach, support ... Not Manage.

In the caretaker job Mr Pemberton has been anything but complicated. 4-4-2 and a 4-5-1.

Dive in form ... Offensively City are half decent. City's defensive problems coincide with the revolving team shape. Earlier I'm the season City played high lines, high tempos ... They do not now, or occasionally do = Lee Johnson..

 

Positions I was saying not roles in formations.....that's why we have a squad, which should be for players that are able to adapt..
I don't have a problem changing FORMATIONS, if what's been implemented doesn't work.....Players need to be up for it though!

By the way, if we all knew how the other team would set up etc.....the managers role would be easy to all of us!!

 

As I've said on here many times, and revamped stadium aside, no-one knows if we'd be better off with a different owner, or if the new owner was a foreigner at that.

Would we be worse off ? We might be, but equally we could be in or on the verge of the Premiership.

But Lansdowns record of appointments and day to day dealings in the club, is just a huge joke.

Luckily he has the money to throw at his plaything that is our football club, because it's clear he doesn't have the first clue as to how to run it like a fit a and proper owner would, that knew ANYTHING about football. It comes across as an ego trip.

Clubs of our size and considerably smaller have made and have stayed in the top division due to good Owners/Chairmen who appointed the Managers to get the job done, not some blundering businessman who has appointed a second rate L1 manager who has taken us back to the verge of L1 again.

Embarrassing.

 

Have to admit, his appointment of managerial staff for team affairs have been bloody dreadful!! Not one have I ever been excited about when appointed!!

 

Not sure whether it's his ego or just bloody mindedness but it's a poor record however you look at it.

 

These are the formations played in the last three games.

4-4-2

4-4-2-0 admittedly for minutes before Djuric came on.

4-3-2-1

4-3-3

3-5-2

Within this the team also has defended entirely differently. Different as in polarly opposite.

None of the above is normal. I have not seen this at BCFC before or .. Well I struggle to think of anybody wanting so much tactical flexibility from players at this level.

I would realistically suggest that BCFC need a new Head Coach, a new squad if that is the future and different offensive/defensive Coaches.

Alternatively, with a little disappointment Mr Lansdown can cease Lee Johnson employment and employ somebody to coach the players more pragmatically.

 

What happens next?

I'll tell you what; more of the same dross on Saturday, followed by the same type of threads on these forums.

 

Top European managers quite often use different formations depending opposition and circumstances which I don't have a problem with.
Do we have the players capable of being able to cope with that? It seems not. I'm still of the opinion if we have enough leaders on the pitch, with a bit of nastiness or follow by example qualities.. I don't think we have.
As for LJ, I understand yours and everyone else's feelings towards him and I have to say it's just not working for him..I just don't see the point in bringing in any manager in as just a punt. Needs to be decent and preferably with championship or premiership experience.
The idea of using JP as caretaker does nothing for me whatsoever...For me, if LJ goes they should all go.......

 

It seems to me that there was no meeting of management or board to discuss what type of players were brought into the club.
LJ and Ashton have been behaving like the proverbial greedy kid with their nose in a box of chocolates.
Number 1 in priority has to be CHARACTER
2 - motivation
3 - experience
4 - skill
5 - athleticism
6 - intelligence
or am I being naive ?
In this meeting would they not have asked what importance the arts of defence and attack played choosing the squad.
I also think we have been maybe trying too hard to go too fast, too soon.
LJ said it would take 6 windows to acquire the personel to take us to the Premiership.
That is a nonsense, and gives one an insight into where its all going wrong, and maybe why.
The players have little self esteem left now, but the management of Bristol City are high on their egos.

Now buying loads of new players in January is a really bad idea because the other teams are well balanced with maybe one new player, and the rest know their jobs and are comfortable, confident and battle hardened. A team with 3 or 4 new players in January are up against it, and it doesn't take long for narrow defeats to turn into major defeats, along with all the confidence games that occur on the side. And as we know, confidence is what winning pro football is all about.

So what we have now is a pot pouris of fancy players with no thread, identity or plan about how they should match up, either personally, professionally or ethically: a whole load of strangers who are having a really **** time as their careers get damaged and their time in the game erodes and is wasted.
No real wonder Freeman wanted away is it !

If by some miracle we manage to survive this, I truly hope Lansdown has the common sense to give LJ his cards the very next day, and look to bring in a proper, experienced, highly thought-of manager who is not 'tomorrow's man' but someone with real experience in the game. Someone whose career does the talking for him, not some mouthy, bouncy, flirty little all-mouth-no-trousers con artist with a football dad.

RP
I hate the fact that you were right. I hate you for being right.
I hate having to say you were right.
But i'm afraid you were right !