Bristol City fan's view: Our form has relegation written all over it so what must Steve Lansdown do? By Matthew Withers As fixtures go at this moment, Lee Johnson couldn't really have picked a better one than Nottingham Forest. A club in crisis off the pitch, with no manager, win-less in eight games and having just sold arguably their best player, Bristol City should have been going there in a determined mood but we once again finished a Championship game empty handed and Forest have now moved above us in the leagu Whilst we may not yet be in the relegation zone our form absolutely has relegation written all over it. We have earned a paltry 7 points out of the last 48 and Johnson's squad should be embarrassed and ashamed at having earned the unenviable record of 8 league defeats in a row. If I'm right Steve Cotterill's last 20 league games in charge brought 17 points. Lee Johnson's last 20 games have brought the same tally; will the outcome be the same? Don't forget Cotterill was shown the door after delivering us arguably our best season ever, with a league and cup double. I really have no doubt that Lee Johnson is hurting, is desperate to do well and is working as hard as he possibly can but as he has said talk is cheap. At the moment he just doesn't look like turning things around. The light at the end of the tunnel is fading fast. There are rumours of dressing room unrest which is no surprise with a team showing the form that we are in. Despite comments from Johnson to the contrary from the outside there appears to have been an obvious fall out with Lee Tomlin. The enigmatic Tomlin does need to work harder it's true but he could also show that moment of class which no one else in the squad can which may be the difference in these tight games. With all of the ground development and investment in the playing squad Mr Lansdown would not have expected City to be in this position. How long does he let it go on? Mr Lansdown wants to be loyal to Johnson perhaps more than with any other manager. Sacking Lee would be an admission that he got it wrong and I doubt very much that our owner admits to getting things wrong very often. Lee Johnson was the cheap option and it's now time for the owner to put his money where it is really needed and invest in a proven Championship Manager. I'm sure that the Steve Coppell decision all those years ago will have burned Mr Lansdown but there are quality managers out there and he needs to act now. It will be an extremely brave decision to stick with Lee. Our upcoming fixtures don't fill you with any confidence and it is hard to see where the next win will come from. I actually don't expect anything to change and I'm sure that Lee Johnson will be in charge of the team in next Saturday's FA Cup fixture against Burnley. With injuries to Gary O'Neil and Mark Little, further transfer activity is needed and the proof will be if the owner allows Lee to spend more money. It's a sad situation and as I have said before the constant changing of the manager and coaching staff doesn't do the long term ambitions of the club any favours but it can't just be about the long term, it also has to be about the present. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristo...-lansdown-do/story-30078797-detail/story.html
7 points from a possible 48, a record 8 league defeats in a row and the biggest spend of any previous manager or coach, best ever facilities and one of the biggest coaching and technical staff going......... When you look at it through that lense it is a complete disaster, I agree with the comment of the article, personally I still want Lee to succeed but if this continues obviously he has got to go, I would like to see him get 3 more games ~ Burnley, Sheffield Wed and Rotherham, if we are humiliated in the cup or lose the other 2 league games then sack him. He would have had time to settle his team, gel his new players and benefited from Mr Lansdown backing him and still failed, not good enough, below standard, failed. If he obtains victories in the cup or points in the league, he deserves to carry on and rightly so.
What price then a short cup run followed by relegation ? If the players need shaking up then the manager is not performing If the manager is not performing then we need one that will
LJ has now achieved the dubious record of the greatest number of consecutive league defeats in our history. That in itself should be more than enough to trigger his dismissal. The club now need to address the situation by relieving him of his duties immediately, and start the quest for a replacement Manager using formal due diligence, not the toss of a coin, or an old boys act, or appointing JP or the Tea Lady until the end of the season. The Cup game on Saturday is largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but if stories that there is player unrest and they've been to SL to complain about the Manager are true, then that is even more concerning. If LJ remains as our Manager, I feel it's just delaying the inevitable anyway. Some of the players seem to be against him and the majority of fans no longer want him as Manager either. Crowds will drop and that will affect revenue and dressing room morale, probably already pretty low, will fall even further. The board can't play dumb forever and ignore this worsening situation. We all want what is best for the club and for it to grow and succeed, but we are really not in a good place right now.
I fully expected to see the vote of confidence in Lee this morning on the official site........it's becoming psychological torture the longer this goes on....
" I'm sure that the Steve Coppell decision all those years ago will have burned Mr Lansdown but there are quality managers out there and he needs to act now." I want to know where and who?
This exactly. As **** as it is under LJ, what's the point if there's no one out there. It's an effing depressing situation.
