please log in to view this image Bristol City head coach Sean O'Driscoll SEAN O'Driscoll is challenging his Bristol City players to be brave in the face of mounting pressure. Although the Robins have failed to win any of their opening 12 games and are bottom of League One after a quarter of the season, they have refused to allow an increasingly difficult situation to affect their performance on the pitch. But a growing number of supporters are losing patience with head coach O'Driscoll, who has now presided over a winless run of 21 league games, and City head for Carlisle United on Saturday in the knowledge that a fourth straight defeat in all competitions could persuade the Ashton Gate board of directors to make a change at the top. Charged with the task of shielding his young charges from outside pressures and influences and building their confidence, the head coach will continue to accentuate the positives rather than dwell on the negative aspects of his team's position. "He said: "The players have been magnificent in their efforts, collectively and individually. "They are sticking together and that is all you can ask. I think they have been brave and tried to do the right things. They have to keep doing it, no matter what else might be happening. "Football is a negative industry and we have to try to create a positive environment. "That reflects in their performance and, if you look at their performance (against Brentford on Tuesday), you would say they have not reacted adversely to anything. They have tried to do the right things. "That is what you have to preach whether you are top of the league or bottom of the league. If you want to win games, you have to do the right things. It just becomes more difficult the longer you go without a win. To a man, they have stuck to their task. "They totally dominated at Port Vale and then put in a performance at Crewe where they were nice and solid. "They've banged in another performance against one of the more accomplished sides in the division and I can understand their frustration. But they have to keep doing the right things." Desperate for a win, City fans gave their team excellent backing on Tuesday night, but conceding two late goals proved the final straw for some and O'Driscoll and his players left the pitch to a crescendo of protest. But the head coach still found it within himself to applaud fans in the Williams and Atyeo Stands as on his walk back to the dressing rooms. He said: "Somebody wrote me a letter and asked if I could applaud the fans in that stand, because they are behind you. "That is fair comment, so you try to do it, even though half of them are telling you where to go. "But you want to reward those who support the team through thick and thin and they have done that here over the years and in difficult circumstances in recent times. "The team has not performed and the expectation in a city of this size is that the club should be in the top division. "You understand their frustration and you cannot take it out on supporters. "They want their team to do well and their team has not done well for a number of years. "There was a lot of money being pumped into it and that has suddenly stopped. They want to go down a different path, because that is the new club philosophy. It was always going to be difficult." Read more: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/story-19979910-detail/story.html#ixzz2id8Ifriy Another load of the same but it's interesting to read that somebody had to write to him requesting him to applaud his own supporters..(Just a comment)
Many fans criticised McInnes for changing tactics from game to game, yet here is a manager who steadfastly refuses to change tactics, shape, style at all. In my opinion, at least, McInnes realised there were problems and tried different approaches, but SO'D is immovable. So all I can foresee is an "immovable" change of league next season unless he realises what is happening or rather what needs to happen.
But is the style really all that bad? Ultimately, the club should be playing nice football, and it's been a criticism of the club for a while. Now, we are playing good football, but what we lack is the ability to do anything with it. We can move it around well, but we don't press when we don't have it, and we just can't seen to do anything with it. What's really painful is that by watching the team, you can see that we're not a million miles away. The quality is there, but it's a results business, and you could be the best team in the league and still finish bottom if you can't score. SOD won't chop and change, but perhaps it's time to put someone else up front. I'm sure there's someone in the academy that could fit into the system SOD wants. Our big issue seems to be that, at least where it matters, our players just can't adapt well enough.
FFS - stop making excuses for SOD. 'we are playing good football' - We're not. It's terrible and in slow motion. 'We can move it around well' - at 2 mph. 'we just can't seen to do anything with it' - at 2mph, are you surprised. 'The quality is there' The players we have are L1 standard led by an idiot who makes them 100 times worse by his ridiculous passing game. SOD interview after Brentford - He needs help - I'm serious.
This is his problem,more interested in trying to defend than attack. Get two strikers playing closer together that will help. I really want Sod to succeed,but he ain't making it easy for himself. Sean OâDriscoll is working around the clock in an attempt to strengthen his defence ahead of Saturdayâs League One clash at Carlisle United. Cityâs head coach has talked of a pressing need to loan an experienced centre-back to help a team that has yet to keep a clean sheet in the League this season. Read more at http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/20131024-presstalk-1131454.aspx#chMXTAUqWxpxqGzL.99
Playing nice football is a luxury when you're bottom of the league and also at this level. It's a luxury we dont need right now, what we need are points on the board We lack creativity (as usual) aside from rarer and rarer glimpses of JET and whilst possession football is great it's not winning us football matches
At this level nice football doesnt win you game. Leyton Orient are top, not a team most people would bet on but they have two strikers who have already scored 20 goals in the team together. You look at us, Baldock is struggling with form and Harewood score his first of the season. Jet gets most of teh goals but its about all he does as the rest of his game is poor which is why he is playing league one football and not higher. You are never going to do anything until you have a striker who can score goals and we dont have that. so SOD needs to get someone in on loan asap who can score goals. As he goes on about how we dominate games but in the last game we had 1 shot on target which was the goal. You dont get points for dominating and playing nice football, you get points from digging deep and taking your chances
Baldock will score goals, but not in this set up. JET hinders this, before someone says he was scoring and setting up goals for Baldock earlier this season. He ain't now he's a huge unit and would frighten some defenders but he won't challenge and is total crap at heading the ball. Let's try something like putting Taylor on alongside Baldock from the start, play JET on the wing I know he don't like it there but if we do it, Ipswich done it, Cardiff done it, it might sink into him if he wants to play alongside a forward put a bit of effort into it.
'Baldock will score goals, but not in this set up' And 'Taylor on alongside Baldock from the start' - Although this makes sense, no f****r will score in SOD's set up. Have a feeling SOD will choose Harewood to be the next striker to have a go. The problem is the system SOD asks our strikers to play in. They have no chance. By the time the ball has gone back and for the the back four umpteen times they are surrounded by defenders. This slow motion tip tap passing game will be the death of BCFC. It's not just SOD's football judgement that concerns me. After watching SOD's interview post Brentford I'm pretty sure he needs psychiatric help .
