Match Day Thread city v CARDIFF THE SEVERN BATTLE ROYALE

Progress, no chance, solid regression in everything since LJ left.

 

You lasted 5 mins longer than me. First time I have ever done that, that’s how low I feel about where we are right now. It will be a long while before I bother again, and probably not while DH continues to preside over things, we are dismantling all the progress made over the last 5 years in the Championship.

 

I 100% agree, and not condoning that challenge either; however, Wilson shouldn’t still have been on the pitch to be fouled!

 

Come on, the regression started in January 2018 and culminated in a shocking 2020, 7 wins in the last 21 games and the football as poor as it now, very few in any shots on target and lame performances, nothing has changed.

You blame the fans, it was nothing to do with the fans there were no fans in the ground luckily for LJ and now for Holden, he lost his job because of crap results and crap football that built up over a 2 year period and got progressively worse and it certainly wasn't the fans who got the job for Holden a yes man who succeeded another yes man because heaven forbid that BCFC should appoint a manager with pedigree, who won't tow their line.

I said in a previous post Fergie was correct nobody at the club should be paid more than the manager, how is he expected to command respect from players who earn more than him, there must be anything up to 10 players earning more than Holden + Ashton.

The club is dysfunctional the lack of a left back proves that.

 

Reluctant to post over here when you've just lost, but 'kinell guys, I thought we've been poor in games this season, but yesterday you were a complete mess. If that's indicative of your general play then you've got serious problems.

Haven't really followed you much this season other than our two games, but It's often said that it's not a question of where you are, more of where you're going. If that's true then despite our relative current table positions, I worry far more for you than ourselves.

 

I stand by with my own past views..I believe we are only a few players away from being a decent side, I do think we have a half decent squad.....My main concern is that I'm not sure we have a coach in place that knows how to use them to their full potential...of course it hasn't helped with so many injuries etc.....somewhere along the line a fresh mindset is required..Deano either needs help or he needs to step down....

 

Don’t think it was Fergie Jiffie, I think it was Wenger that said it that. Fergie was paying more for players wages. But Wenger was reluctant to do it and only succumbed at the end of his tenure.

 

Rod

Do you like arguing

 

Morning 1For.
You believe we're a few players away from being decent.
I'd like to think decent means top 6.
I think there is not one of our players who'd get in a Norwich, Swansea or Brentford side.
That's my belief of how far away we really are.

 

https://www.independent.ie/sport/so...eveals-man-united-salary-clause-31547669.html

 

That’s 2 of them then.
https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/289...y-of-wengers-socialist-arsenal-wage-structure

 

I did on Friday, but Sunday is religious day, so all friends today

 

And I agree but a lot of things have to change, the transfer policy has to change totally, we cannot carry on recruiting some of the dross that we have, especially compared to a team like Brentford considering the gulf in budgets. In fact our policy is like a carry on script, with Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey at full back and Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims in midfield.

They have to fully explain not signing a left back during the January window, that is ludicrous, it seems to me that yet again the rehab staff must have misdiagnosed the severity of Rowe's injury and he was rushed back and is now out for the season, once more Rowe is the sort of poor signing that I am talking about, him and Hunt. We might be ok at left back once DaSilva and Pring are fit. But right back especially is and has been a huge problem ever since our promotion to the championship, how long is needed to sort that out FFS.

Where to start on the midfield, I am not convinced by the signing of Lansbury as I was not convinced by the signing of Brunt, it smacks of yet another signing in the long line of 'he was a really talented player 3 years ago' and the selection of 2 players in central midfield yesterday against a physical Cardiff side who were not anywhere close to match fit was beyond desperate, I can see the benefit of Williams he is a long term player of ours but not both. The free kick apart Lansbury did very little and ended up misplacing pass after pass some straight into touch and should have been sent off, I smell trouble with that one.

I am also wholly unconvinced by Mariappa not his fault that he is not a left back but he never looked that good at right back.

I have to repeat the club looks incredibly dysfunctional, somebody has to answer for injury debacle and somebody has to answer for our crappy transfer policy and somebody has to answer why our first team coaches have failed over the past 3 years to drill our players into a cohesive unit, not for the first time in the past 3 years I was mystified not only by team selection, but shape, tactics and substitutions and worst of all I spotted an air of confusion and resignation from players and once more here we are into a 4th new year where that particular groundhog day has kicked in bang on time.

We need for a change a proper manager, we have been down the young untried route and it ultimately didn't get us to where we wanted to be, we have tried far too many times replacing a sacked manager with his assistant, we need the club sorting out and quickly, they are going to be asking for season ticket money soon and I know a lot of diehards who are saying, if the product improved I would renew, but if it remains at a 1 shot on target per game ratio, i'm done.

 

"I watched their game at Brentford in midweek and knew they were struggling for a left-sided defender".

"We felt we could hurt them down that side and both the goals came from crosses from our right".

Quote from Mick McCarthy - not difficult to see what's going to happen in our next games is it?

 

Exactly and which of the overpaid management team is to blame for this piece of genius (i'll be generous) and call it an oversight but actually it's an amateurish f*** up.

 

I still believe we do have players that could fit into the sides you mention and would probably do ok....as there would be good players around them..
I see Warnock didn't have an answer for Brentford yesterday..
If SL is intent on keeping Ashton in his role, we need a decent but very strong minded manager/coach insisting & dictating exactly what is required.....Maybe LJ or Deano doesn't have that in them as yet....question is, who is out there that fits the bill that would be at all interested?

 

I take the point there’s no point changing unless we improve on the present incumbent, but unless we do something soon, we’re likely next season to be in all sorts of trouble , we need to act now , the rest of this season can be used as a kind of pre season ready to kick on next season, as you said we need someone who’ll challenge MA , unless of course we are bold enough to move him on too, no more yes men if we are to have a chance to progress.

 

This is my concern. SL has to look at next season now. I sincerely don’t believe that lightning will strike twice and we won’t get off to a good start again.
If we go into the next season with this management team we will be one of the favourites for the drop. So they need to get away from this mindset of “we go again” bollocks.
So instead of limping towards this season end in the hope we’ve done enough to stay in the championship this season. The plan should be to change as soon as possible. This could be a godsend that we’ve so many players out of contract and that a new manager can see who is worth keeping and who is not.
Howe would be a good choice but he is not a wheeler dealer which means we need someone to over see transfers. And that unfortunately means keeping Ashton.
Cook was one of my choices outside of the dream of having Gerrard, in the summer and would still be my choice now as Gerrard ship has sailed. Hughton would of been happy with but not my first choice by a long way.

So before it’s too late SL, bite the bullet and get rid of DH (who I think like Millen, will revert back to being a second man) and also take the power away if you don’t want to sack Ashton.

 

I agree with your first point, we probably need 2 right backs, probably midfielder I accept it's early days for Williams but I still never saw a midfield leader/creator and another striker.

The Warnock point is yet again proof of the incredible recruitment policy of Brentford, because not only are they a great footballing side but unlike us can overcome the physicality of teams like Middlesborough, Cardiff, Millwall, Luton, Rotherham, Derby, whereas we curl up into a gutless ball and let teams bully us. It was interesting in his post match comments Holden was visibly irritated when the interviewer mentioned physicality, Rowett pointed it out when Millwall beat us Ashton Gate and Mad Mick alluded to the same yesterday plus our comical use of a geriatric right back trying to play at left back. I was incredibly impressed by Canos for instance on Wednesday night, not only the great creative force going forward but also tigerish in his defensive duties, he was terrific.

I agree wholeheartedly with the last point, especially the comments about LJ and Holden, personally I am not sure that Howe is the right person seems too nice, maybe we should be looking abroad?

 

This is actually the 4th lightening strike in a row where we started off well been in the mix in January and then totally tailed off with a whimper.

I agree about changing manager now to allow any new guy to fully assess and hit the ground running for next season, I agree about your assessment of Howe, but not of Ashton, if we are going to change it has to be root and branch, Cook for me is not an ambitious appointment once more it's another untested cheap option. We need to go for a bigger name home or abroad. Hughton took on an absolute basket case of a club, who are now only 7 points behind us, but that shipped sailed when another cheap lap dog got the job.

It is not just the manager, CEO and coaches who need to be replaced but the whole ethos of the club, especially it's poor treatment of it's fans and poor all round off field media management but especially it's recruitment policy, which is generally shocking.

Take a look at the rugby club and how seamlessly it is run on and off the pitch, they have a world class coach who is popular with fans and his squad of players, who have all (and many are big world names) have bought into his vision and he is media friendly.

I understand the gulf in budgets between the two sports but as the saying goes "if you pay peanuts................................................"