This game should be a sell out, as you know who will make his unexpected return to Ashton Gate. He really believed that he was going somewhere that would allow him to give us a wide berth, hopefully until the furore died down. But the stars didn't quite align in his favour and he will be visiting us on April 17th for what I am sure will be a rousing welcome. Regrettably I will be back in Canada by then, but you can be assured I will be watching the game if it is televised. I have some major issues with the way this man treated BCFC and I know there are a lot of you that agree, and some that don't. Whatever side of the fence you reside is irrelevant and I hope by that date our safety in the Championship has long been mathematically assured. Should our safety be assured then tecnically it would be a totally uninteretsing fixture but the footballing gods have dictated otherwise. Welcome back to Ashton Gate Nicky Maynard and we are all so sorry that it's not a Premiership game as you had wished. See you soon.
Mike - I understand your sentiments, but as I've said countless times, NM did nothing wrong here. He didn't do a Tevez and refuse to play, or withhold his services in any way shape or form, he just kept his options open. The blame for allowing the whole situation to get as farcical as it did is solely down to the club who should have circulated his name to all and sundry last Summer when NM didn't sign a contract extension.
I agree that the entire debacle is not solely down to NM and some serious fingers have to be directed at senior management. However I still think Nicky had a chance to alleviate the situation by acting in a way that could have benefitted both parties and he chose the more confrontational route. Everybody has to be of the opinion that some serious errors of judgement were made, originally by the management of our club, and Nicky probably fell in line with the lack of business acumen on behalf of our staff that should have handled it way better. My honest opinion on this whole debacle is that there are certain members of our top brass that should no longer be employed at Ashton Gate because their obvious lack of professionalism is frightening. One of these has already departed and replaced by someone who knows what needs to be done and we can only dream what would have happened if he'd been in charge during last summer. I suspect that the whole NM issue would never have arisen because it would have been sorted in the proper way. I don't think BCFC, as an entity, have covered themselves with anything positive during this whole episode and we must now move on. It will still be interesting on April 17th to see how the majority of City supporters will react to the prodigal son's return, and to be totally honest I still wish he was a City player with the form he showed 2 years ago. Bet you do too angelic, right?
I do Mike. Interesting quotes from NM in the Evil Post where he says the following.......... I was very interested in the following line of his quotes where it's a guarded swipe at the previous manager ? Nicky Maynard has spoken of his regret at leaving Bristol City under a cloud. A firm favourite with the Ashton Gate faithful during most of his three-and-a-half years at the Championship club, Maynard's relationship with the fans soured in the weeks leading up his move to West Ham United. City had little option but to make the 25-year-old striker available for transfer once it became clear he had no intention of signing a new contract. At that point, Robins supporters began to question his commitment to the club. Maynard's standing with the fans dipped to an all-time low when he was booed by a travelling contingent of more than 1,000 after he came on as an 85th-minute substitute during last Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Reading. A line was finally drawn under the long-running saga when Maynard completed a move to Championship leaders West Ham shortly before the January transfer window shut on Tuesday night. Although delighted to be joining a club that is expected to be back in the Premier League next season, the former Crewe Alexandra man insists he is sorry his City career ended the way it did. Recalling the treatment he received at the hands of City fans at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday, Maynard said: "I'm not going to spit my dummy out. I always had a good relationship with the fans and I do regret how things ended. The fans were great to me during my time with the club – it's just a blow it came to that at the end." Maynard has made no secret of his ambition to play in the Premier League and, having turned down a move to struggling Wigan Athletic last week, he jumped at the chance to join West Ham. He said: "Every player wants to play at the highest level he can and I'm no different. Of course, I'd have loved to have done it with Bristol City, but that did not work out. "I enjoyed my time at Bristol City, but the chance to join a massive club like West Ham, who are destined for the Premier League, was too good to turn down." Having exchanged a relegation battle for a title challenge, Maynard is convinced City will retain their Championship status under the guidance of new manager Derek McInnes. In a huge vote of confidence for the club's management, he said: "I fully expect the club to keep moving up the table under this management team. They'll be fine at the end of the season. "I thoroughly enjoyed working with Derek McInnes and the Doc (assistant manager Tony Docherty) and it's a shame we only had a few months together. "Everything about their training sessions and the way they worked excited me. Who knows what might have happened had they been there way back. It might have been very different." Signed by then-manager Gary Johnson in July 2008, Maynard scored 46 goals in 131 appearances and he said: "I'd like to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to play Championship football. I loved playing for Bristol City and scoring goals for the fans. "I have respect for everyone there and fully intend keeping in touch with the lads and staff. I hope the team continues to progress and I'll be looking out for their results." Maynard could return to haunt his former club when the Hammers visit Ashton Gate on April 17. He admitted: "I had not even thought about that, to be honest. "I don't know what sort of reception I'll get, but, whether its good or bad, it will be nice to come back and see everybody. "There are some great people working at Ashton Gate and I will always have some good friends there."
Looks like a poke to me angelic and, as he is trying to say, things could have been way different if we had DM for the off-season followed by a full playing season. However it was not meant to be and we must move on, Nicky included. Based on the comments he has risen back up the respectability table in my eyes. Good luck to all concerned. Now let's put our full focus on the job at hand.
Mike - If it is indeed a thinly veiled swipe at what things were like during Millen's reign, then it's merely confirming what most of us suspected in my opinion. Sexstone is also now saying what a great bit of business sellling Maynard to WHU was. Methinks it hides a fair amount of guilt in the fact that we almost didn't get a penny.
Totally on the same page angelic and I just watched the interview with CS and enjoyed watching him wince somewhat when the obvious questions were asked. I have never been impressed with him as a spoklesman for BCFC and regrettably think that the Millen scenario was possibly orchestrated by him as a cheap option when Coppell bailed out. In my opinion KM was placed in a very unenviable position on 2 occasions when offered the manager's job but only as second choice both times. Anywhere close to the truth?
So we should have offered Nicky an extension 2 years ago but we couldn't because he was suffering from an injury,well we gave Fontaine a new contract when he was still recovering,even though Southampton withdrew their offer of a contract over his injury.. That man is hard to believe,I agree somewhere down the line he was tied up with both the Coppout and Millen debacles,I hope Steve Lansdown is keeping a close eye on his activities.
yeah im not a fan of sexpebble and his stuttering, i can see when things go tits up for us he will be wanted out as for maynards return he will get a standing ovation from me
I dont get it. He left and we got some money. He has taken a massive gamble and gone to a club that are looking good for promotion but in fairness tuesdays result is a showing that it could go tits up for them. A team with a strong strikforce he is not guaranteed first team football. If he was as much as a arsehole as we are suggesting could of waited his contract out and gone for free!! I read what he said in his leaving interview. I look at it this way. If the club had acted earlier and got McInnes in things could of been different! He looked at his contract in the summer thought the club was going nowhere under the previous management and decided not to stay. Then told the club put me up for sale now and get some money! He had his medical Tuesday afternoon so that means he agreed contract prior to that. West Ham probably waited till 10:40 knowing we had to take their offer. West Ham got the price they wanted and choose it to be undisclosed. That is the way I see it, could be wrong. So I will applaud him when he returns if he is playing.
Spot on Redordead, I said for a long time that I believed Nicky wouldn't sign a contract with KM in charge but later, I did think he would re-sign with a get out clause but time is ticking and he obviously didn't want to have to wait yet another season with us before POSSIBLY going up. Despite some of the vitriol directed at him by some, I think that Nicky's parting gift in netting us most of our money back by going now was a gesture of thanks to the club because as ROD says, he didn't have to go and there is no certainty of going up with WH but if they can't do it from where they are, they will be HUGELY disappointed. With the backing they have (financial and fans), West Ham back in the Prem will be a massive opportunity for Nicky as if he can establish himself as a automatic first choice on the team sheet, this will probably be a MUCH better move to make himself a premier league fixture than going to an established prem club where he might only be a bit part player VERY shrewd move indeed... This will be a big learning curve for Nicky as Big Sam is a Premier league quality manager compared to KM's Screwfix standard and he will find out what PROPER management is all about (I'm leaving DM out of this as they haven't worked together long) Good luck Nicky and I too will applaud you on your return (just don't score any goals)...
a game of poker maybe? With them not wanting to divulge could it be they paid more than £2 million ???? saying its close does not necessarily mean less than!!!! might be trying to cover the value paid for the others!!!!! and so avoid the scenario...well they paid more for him or less than me!
