For many reasons (Bradford ticket fiasco, holiday and finances), this was the first game I have got to in person so my comments are based on today only. The result was kind of expected on my part purely because I think that Peterborough will continue their recent yo-yo history and win this division again nevertheless, I did expect us to offer more resistance in the game. My first thought is that in physical terms, it was men against boys today. Their players were twice as wide (note SoD, WIDE, not tall) as ours and the 2nd and 3rd goals were the direct result of our defenders literally bouncing off Assombalonga who was too strong for them as were most of the other Peterborough players. Sadly, I see what people mean about our goalkeeper now although to be fair, he did redeem himself to a degree with the penalty save. We were laboured, there was no impetus from midfield other than Joe Bryan and occasionally Bobby Reid. There is STILL no real connection between midfield and the forwards and the contrast between our attacking play and Peterborough's couldn't have been more stark. When they got the ball, their forwards made runs into space and aimed directly for goal rather than the labourious and mostly telegraphed play we produced which allowed Boro time to have lunch before our attack arrived... We were ok knocking it around the back for the first 30 minutes but as soon as Boro started pressing, we resorted to hoofing it again. Our 2 fullbacks seemed to have elastic attached to them which only reached the half way line and on the odd occasion that they did wander forward, the crossing was woeful, straight to their keeper EVERY TIME. Sam had NO service and the one time we did get through, having done the hard work, Wagstaff really had to finish. Like I said, I did think that Boro would be too strong for us today but whilst many players are new and still getting to know each others game, we have to play as a TEAM rather than a bunch of individuals. That is the now the bunch of really hard games out of the way and hopefully we can get that first win under our belts on Tuesday but we will have to play a lot better than that to start winning and get the confidence going...
How on earth can you comment on my comments on another thread Prem is beyond me. This thread is not exactly bursting with positivity and yet you criticise me for pointing out some very obvious facts about City, in that we are worse off than last season and there seems to be no end in sight to the poor performances. The excuses from all concerned are well past their best before date and like so many other supporters I feel we are owed something better than the recent trash put on show. Surely that is not too much to ask - is it?
Like said, you are blaming/loading our NEW players with the baggage of what has gone before. My comments were based on my viewing of the game today only and I as I also said on an another thread a week or so ago, I expected Boro to be too strong for us. You on the other hand, are condemning this group of players after just 6 league games before they have even had a chance to do anything... This is a fact, not an excuse..
God SOD can be so frustrating, he says, " “That’s football I’m afraid.”.. and here's the rest.. http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/20130914-sodpostposh-1052525.aspx
Trying to think when we last won a league game at A G. Wiz, frustrating is an understatement. I hoped I'd seen 'green shoots' after the Palace and Sag matches but WTF happened today. We played like strangers with absolutely no game plan/structure at all. SOD looked like Canute today. May the Lord help him Tuesday if we don't beat Shrewsbury, the 'natives' around me are getting restless.
This season 6 games played. 10 scored and 15 let in (-5) Last season 6 games played. 13 scored and 11 let in (+2) Our 6th game this season we lost to Peterborough United 3-0 Last year 6th game we beat Peterborough United 2-1 I still think he is the right manager for the job as who else would we even get that is going to be as good as what he has brought to the club and I think the squad (apart from strikers and keeper) is better this year but the starting results are worse than last season which we were relegated. Hopefully the boys can find some form and turn it around before the Christmas period.
The problem today I'm afraid is what we were warned about by Ipswich and Cardiff fans. When JET is not interested we are affectively playing with 10 men. Why take of Bobby Reid when JET should of come off? Why take of Maloney and replace him with a player who played his first league game today? But still keep a player on who IMO did not look interested and would not run. When he had the ball wanted to waltz through them and lose possession. I'm sorry everyone as JET on form is frightning for the opposition, but today he was just unplayable not interested and was a spare part. I said at half time he needs to come off and most of the fans around me today was agreeing.. We can not result in hoofing the ball up to Baldock who as always ran his socks off, we need another striker to play alongside him and I'm afraid Harewood is just not at the moment that person. We miss Kelly at the moment did not think it would be this much, I was praying Elliott would come on to give us some bite in midfield. Rant over, I don't want to see us start without JET. I don't want us to get rid of SoD I still think we will click sooner or later and because of that annoying prick AJ I hope we ****ing hammer Shrewsbury so he ****s off to play with his gas friends.
What I've been trying to say is that, for whatever reason, we are not getting the results most of us expected and it was never intended to cast doubts on any players. We need to survive and hopefully later to succeed in a higher league position than our current status. Although I knew that this season was not going to be a picnic I must confess I did expect better than what we are producing since the start of the season. We just don't appear able to produce a competitive squad despite the new signings and something has to get sorted in a lot of areas for us to start winning games.
Not what you want to hear after an abject performance and result like that Where is the passion and moreover, the apology ???????????????
Peterborough were unlucky to be relegated from the Championship (especially as they had no points after 7 games). They sold the lad to Palace for £4.5m up front plus add-ons and bought Assumbongla for £1.2m - many of the rest are still there. Compare that to us who lost quite a few senior players - have a new young and inexperienced squad. Our club (not just the team) is in transition - this had to happen otherwise we would have had no club to support (annual losses of £14m cannot be sustained) The side we have shows plenty of promise, but I think we all have to realise where we are compared to the other 2 who came down with us. Our job here is to stay with our young team - the impact of booing a young side could be catastrophic.
Do you want us to go back to chucking money at the team? WE ARE IN TRANSITION, it don't just happen because we say right lads we will go back to bare roots rebuild and everything will click into place after 3 games. This will take years to prove successful, and I want to see it happen, so that as my daughter said to me last night she can take her kids and her Grandkids to see City play. She's 14 so she understands patience is needed. Her words to me was when we were at a party with Chelsea supporters, she can honestly say we are definitely not glory hunters, but hopefully she will see the glory times if not her kids or theirs. A lot of us are venting off simply because we all saw green shoots to then see a awful boring game like yesterday. Come Tuesday we will be there and watching these green shoots again.
But when she gets to 70 years, will she still be patient? I have waited all my life and am now convinced I will never see any success at Bristol City.
Have I taken the place of Lee Johnson because apparently my comments are to blame for everything that's wrong with Bristol City? My message is that we don't seem to have the leaders on board, or the footballing nous to turn our fortunes around and it has been that way for far too long. All that the average supporter really wants is to see team that can compete, and not necessarily win the Champions League, but rather offer just honest effort and commitment for the hard earned cash handed over at the turnstiles. I know a lot of my comments piss some people off but I just offer a candid personal opinion that hopefully will open up some thought processes in all of us. If my thoughts are deemed to come from the dark side then I offer no apologies to those who beg to differ because that should be what this forum is all about. As I stated earlier this season I will be taking a break from this site and there is nothing more that I wish to see when, and if, I return to posting than seeing that Bristol City have climbed up the table and are competing. ADIOS Amigos.
Mike - Enjoy your break and come back after it! You are not alone in your concerns and they mirror a lot of mine and others too. We may be the minority at present but a few more results and performances like last Saturday will convert a few more. Getting beaten is one thing and we're all well used to it. But getting beaten when demonstrating no heart is not acceptable
Mike, I have a go at you because we are aware of your views on this board so there is no need to continually re-hash it every time we put on a below par performance. Your comment from yesterday (no. 9) was far more reasoned but you have to accept that this is a new team of basically complete strangers so it is unlikely that they were going to instantly gel and take the league by storm. As others have said, this is a team in transition and by its very nature, it will therefore be inconsistant... I did comment somewhere when the fixture list was published that this was possibly the toughest opening 6 games we could possibly have had and last year would have been "nul points". This team will probably not be fully integrated until Christmas and whilst I would obviously like us to go up, I suspect that this is a much more likely prospect next year. Therefore, WITH THE EXPECTATION REMOVED, we should get behind our new team ansd watch and encourage them to grow and not slag them off when we have a bad day at the office. Saturday is the only game I have seen live this year (watched the Gas on TV) and having given it a bit more consideration, I fear that SoD got dragged into "McInnes syndrome" in as much as he picked a team to try and neutralise Peterborough's threat (rather than let them worry about ours) which he justified by his comments about how they dominated the previous game he had them watched in. The subsequent attempt to nulify their game probably explains why some, and especially JET was off sorts, as no doubt the instruction was for everyone to charge around and try and stop them playing but the problem with that is that we aren't that organised or good enough to do this to good sides yet. Peterborough with their really, REALLY beefy players had the experience and know how to fend off our attacks and pick us off with their direct and clinical ability. I am really hoping that we express ourselves tomorrow and if we do, i think we will have a much improved performance, REGARDLESS of the result. I do kind of subscribe to SoD's maxim that it is all about the performance as a good one will bring its own rewards but at the same time, we need to start winning a few now...
You are right Angelic. I believe we are the realists but some of the eternal optimists will continue to tell us we are negative and pessimistic. Bottom four is a reality now but we'll just have to wait and see if a recovery ever comes. I would not put money on it and if that makes me a negative, so be it.
I love to see the optimism that comes through our site but surely it is time to face up to the fact that we really aren't doing very well. Whether we like it or not the changes that were promised have arrived but we all look at it from different perspectives and that's what makes this board so buoyant. There isn't a single person posting on this board who doesn't want us to achieve better than what is currently being put on display. Perhaps the solution is more simple than we think and some minor adjustments can make the difference in the game vs Shrewsbury so let's all hope that we can do it and make us all happy.
At the risk of being called negative again (although I admit I generally am, but in mitigation the 40 odd years of tedium and failure I've witnessed supporting City are a large factor ) a win against Shrewsbury is a must but it must be the first of many between now and Xmas, because achieving one win in 19 games and then going back on a losing run is not going to help
