Quest for the Premier League

Yep we certainly can,playing poor and winning is a good start.
When all the new players click exciting times.
Next three games will give a good indication.

 

really! to be honest I am more relieved that we have scraped 2 wins against teams that were promoted and neither "expected to set the division alight" definitely not excited.
Not being at all negative when I say we have a long hill to climb to be a team worthy of top 8 let alone top 6 or promo by default .....

 

I'm not complaining! Rewind 12 months and we were playing better than most teams and getting punished! The 2 goals we've conceded left O'Donnell with no chance but could argue we could have defended better. Truth is we're going to concede goals no matter how organised we are. Yet to come up against a big team in the league.... Until now, Norwich, Newcastle, and Villa all up next. If we can get anything from 3-6 points I'll be happy! Should see us stay in the top 10 after arguably our 3 hardest games, next month the test continues, IMO the tougher month.

 

I will be happy with 1-4 ... .. 1 pt or 3 pts being the most likely although 0 would be annoyingly dissapointing

 

I am of this opinion also.

And if size really mattered, Eric Pickles would be Prime Minister, Bernard Manning would be the Foreign Minister, and China and India would compete with the USA in the semis of every world cup

If we get anything at all from our next 3 games I will be delighted

 

Norwich is the litmus test. Anything from that game would be a huge plus. Villa & Newcastle still finding their feet. This is a great time to be playing them as both have so far under performed and the pressure on them, especially Newcastle, will undoubtedly make their players nervous.

Good start from the lads but it's way too early to start getting carried away.

 

If - and I mean a massive IF we do reach the premiership this season, we will have to start next season without Tammy and Mathews for a start - and we would have to basically sack the other team players that got us there.
Can you imagine O'Donnel - or Fielding for example keeping out the likes of Vardy's or Rooney?
We would need to build from scratch - how many of our current squad do you think are Premiership quality?
Anyway, back to planet earth - we have 6 points which is good, but there is a lot of season left for us to play before what I have just said above becomes a genuine headache for LJ and SL.

 

ALL OF THEM ..... if they get us there, however we would likely need to buy at least 6-7 players to give us a chance and that would cost about £30+ million and play / be part of the mini league which is the bottom 7 teams !

 

Bollox.
Down to 2nd with QPR winning today.

 

What Red Robin stated, bedding in for the new players, once settled exciting times ahead. We can but dream.

 

Sorry to rain on your parade, but Bernard Manning is dead....!

 

I believe that the Club owner, management are really going for a top six finish this season. whether that happens or not remains to be seen over the next eight months. Being more realistic, and having discarded my pessimistic hat, I feel that we will be around 8th to 14th all season and able to give our academy boys some first team experience in a way that has not been possible in the last five or six years.
Then a big push next season.

 

I think a lot will depend on whether Kodjia and Flint stay, and if not, whether we can replace them effectively.

With Tammy I'd hope a top half finish could be achieved.

The next 3 games should tell us a lot about the character of the squad.

 

Sooner or later we have to step up and tell the rest of the world that we mean business and the only way to do that is to stick your head above the parapet. This season, unlike the others in the ongoing let's convince the supporters we might succeed seasons, make me wonder if someone has finally got the message that nobody will laugh at us if we do prove our detractors wrong once and for all.

Just look around at those who stuck their noses out and succeeded beyond expectation and tell me honestly that you haven't asked why that couldn't have been us. The list is endless and after watching the game in Bournemouth yesterday made me wonder why we couldn't duplicate the same success, but perform in front of double the crowd, and over the last 5 years watching others succeed whilst we seemed intent on proving that we were not worthy tugged at my support strings for my lifetime football club.

I must confess that I have been a major critic of some of the happenings down at Ashton Gate and those would include managerial, player selection and just general waffling on where we should be going, and the apathetic buzzwords used along the way. Whether we like it or not this is a business and success is built on strongly rooted core values and commitment to the task at hand.

The appointment of Lee as our manager just made me think (yet again) that we were travelling down the wrong path (yet again) and yet I think it might be me on the wrong path because I get this gut feeling that maybe (just maybe) we are learning how to get it right. The season is still fresh and wins over Wigan, Burton and Wycombe can hardly be used as evidence to say we are going to tear up the Championship and win a cup competition with what we have shown the world this season.

The next few weeks will separate the men from the boys and start to put some kind of form on the table for we punters to dissect and I have this suspicion that once we get all the pieces fit and ready to play we could be a steadier more difficult team to beat and who knows from there? The business we have done since the end of last season has for me been a major contributor and didn't thankfully contain the over budget nonsense that went on last time out. The team has been strengthened in most departments, but beyond that the mix has been changed and sometimes a new recipe is the better way to go. Looking forward to sitting on the sidelines this season and as long as I don't fall off the fence things will go just fine and perhaps my underlying respect for Lee will show the rewards all you fare paying passengers deserve.

 

Oops !
Well he would be given the job posthumously

 

I was underwhelmed by LJs appointment to be honest.
The jury is still out with me - but he says and does the right things - he recognises when things are not going well and changes it - several times on occasion.
That's all you can ask of a manager's behaviour and tactic.
It's whether the players buy into his ideas and respect his authority in the dressing room - that will be the key. They seem to so far - but will they still after a 6-0 dicking on a wet windy night?
We shall see!

 

R&W - I know where you're coming from just as you know where I stand on Junior.

Can't understand why he keeps starting Tomlin wide, and yes we're winning now but he has to better centrally.
'he recognises when things are not going well and changes it'
Fans who went to Burton reckon we were dead lucky first half but better second half.
Sounds similar to the Wigan game where we were utterly clueless first half.
Yeh, I'm glad he changed it but wtf did he start wrong ? O'Donnell punting it to Bryan was pathetic.
I'm putting a lot of it down to getting used to each player and their best position, therefore we must give him time. Even me.
Korey fitting back in will help our results as well.

And R&W I think you nailed it - 'It's whether the players buy into his ideas and respect his authority in the dressing room'.
While we're winning all will be ok, however a player like Tomlin could be the first when we lose a few on the spin.

ps - Can't remember being so happy on 2 consecutive Saturdays and bloody excited already about next Saturday.

 

I can't comment on our first half performances because the footage was 'selective' at best and probably didn't tell the full story. However, what you said seems to be the general opinion.
I shall be cheering us on from the Costa Del Sol over the next 3 weeks - I would take a draw vs Norwich but based upon recent results and performances we are probably facing Newcastle early enough to get 3 points on Saturday.
Totally agree what you said re: Tomlin. He needs to play centrally behind Kodjia and Abraham.
LJ isn't stupid though - he must be playing him there for a reason. Goodness knows why.......