Despite the sometimes boring football, and the failure of more fancied teams to be in the top 6 last season, Liam Manning has set a high bar for Struber to try and match or beat next season
Best news for quite a while, good defender and has that left foot providing natural balance at the back. Desperately need tnew strikers and keeper to be the aim now. Fingers crossed.
Middlesbrough have appointed Rob Edwards as their new Manager on a 3 year deal. Time will tell whether we've made the right choice to lead us.
I don’t think Manning was a good fit for us, whether that’s down to him or those that employed him we’ll never know. He was supposed to use front foot football, and utilise our academy to bring players through, he was supposed to improve the players we had by being an “on the grass coach”. He was none of these, he wanted to buy players in rather than improve those in the building by his coaching. He left when he’d wasted all the money the previous manager had built up. Credit to him for getting us top 6, but he left us in a bit of a pickle, with an unbalanced squad and no money.
Tbf..... I'm not sure we can blame LM entirely for Fally, Armstrong, McNally getting injured or who knows if any of the academy were ready for the Championship. In the circumstances, with a dodgy keeper, I could argue we over performed.
I’m not sure we can blame LM for any of the purchases. We’ve seen our club buy in players just now - when we had no manager. Someone else has been buying the players - and has been for some time.
Plus his pursuit for Harry Darling, who he thought he was going to get with loaning out Rob Atkinson. Maybe Mayulu and Armstrong, but Twine was 100% on Manning.
Agree 100%, I’m convinced had he stayed he wanted Darling to replace Atkinson. I’m pleased he’s gone tbh. I like the sound of the new guy as well
Well said Wiz, I am firmly in the same camp as you. I think RR is still bitter about Nige, so whoever came in next, he was never going to accept.
the truth is you dont just pop out and buy a player manager or no manager!!! the decisions would have been in pipeline when LM WAS STILL HERE.... SO OBVIOUSLY he was part of that! Nahki on the otherhand was negotiating a contract in LM time ... it was stated! So Strubidooo likely had a say!
I must there were times during Liam's reign that I really thought that he had changed the way we played but the same old back and forward re-appeared like a previously forgotten bad dream. Reaching the play-offs was a surprise for me, however I often wonder what might have happened if he had been allowed to add suitable players to the mix during the transfer window but to watch us pass up that opportunity told me that apathy still abounded at Ashton Gate. Here we are at the start of a another rebuild along with a new manager/coach to line up the dots and hopefully reach the end in fine form and perhaps a little higher football? You can but dream but is there anybody in the dark halls capable enough of sharing the same vision?
Sheffield Utd were the 3rd best team in the Championship and deserved to go up imho, but that's the lottery and excitement of the Playoffs Would we have fared any better with a signing or 2 during the transfer window ? We'll never know But what I do know is that there's history here. I personally think with a couple of good signings, even loans, we would have gained automatic promotion back in 2008, but again, we didn't.
Something to make RP shoot his load. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bristol-city-ever-present-zak-10291717
I live in hope that along with Zak they'll take O'leary and Mehmeti as a job lot. Tbf .......although Zak wasn't my favourite player he did give everything he had for us. Should he leave, I wish him well.
So we've signed Joe Lumley, a goalkeeper who has played for Bristol Rovers. He also played for Middlesborough where he was voted by the Boro fans as their worst ever goalkeeper. You can't make it up.
I must confess that I used to think we would always lose when Zak was in the starting line-up during his first couple of seasons, but having said that I think his game improved beyond belief over two seasons. He put his heart and soul into his new found form and in many matches he was my MOM and he earned that rare accolade solely down to his commitment to improve his all around game to benefit BCFC. Last year was not his best but you could never doubt his commitment to the shirt and I know the crowd had noticed his improvement just by the receptions he got from the supporters which replaced the howls from previous campaigns. If Zak should leave I know he would always get a welcome back if he should ever play against us in the future. Haydn Roberts is one I think needs to leave for League One experience before he could be considered even close to a Championship player.
