Pugin

So, on this basis Daniel Farke was a 'total failure' in his first season, 2017-2018 when we finished 14th, and should have been unceremoniously sacked. If you say so. They are your definitions. By extension, there should be 21 managers sacked at the end of every Chsmpionship season. It really is a puerile view of football.

In amongst all the hand-wringing about City's performance, no one seems to have noticed how our opponents played. The were, frankly, a horrible side full of body-builders and spoilers. They set up with the proverbial banked defence and gave us no space in any attacking area. They were as well-drilled as any side I have seen recently and were happy to cheat their way through the game, time-wasting, holding, and pulling shirts. A sterner ref would really have got into them. They were successful in stopping us from playing and in ruining the game as a spectacle. Crucially, they got a valuable lead from a set piece when we had been suckered into conceding a free kick in a diabolical postion. Dean Smith knew what we were up against and probably knew that it might be a struggle, considering our profile. So let's just remember that there are two sides out there trying to thwart and overcome the opposition.

Sam Byram has such quality and versatility that I think he qualifies as a fully competent left back. The exposure on Sam's side when their (rather useless) right wing-back's starting position was so advanced, was fascinating. Had Sam or Hanley or the manager felt that Todd was not doing the positional job defensively, then they would all have let him know. No one did.

They really were not poor. If the player on their wide right (Sykes) who had so much time and space in the first half, had been far better he could have created 2 or 3 goals and scored one in the first half alone. If they had won 4-3 or 5-3 surely you would not be using offensive language to describe Bristol's performance. That's the fine dividing line between winning and losing. There were many such duels out there. Great game to watch between two decent Championship sides.

Totally fearless. Lovely to see a side come and set up to attack and take risks. As for the number 7, Alex Scott, so much came through him. Only 19 years old, I can think of 3 or 4 of our squad players that they could have in bulk for him alone. No chance, I suspect.

Why couldn't Her Maj die the day before England complete in a semi-final in the World Cup in Quatar, just to put the cat amongst the pigeons. That would have upped the ante.

The hyperbole on both sides of this argument is shocking. Just because you don't agree with something doesn't make it 'wrong' (whatever that means). It just means that someone has considered the situation and come to a different conclusion.

You weren't in the South Stand about seat 90, about 8 rows back, were you? If not, your fan has a clone.

I had a client behind me in the South Stand who clearly didn't realise that Sam Byram actually knows what he is doing. This in itself is surprising. The classic example was when the ball was in the distant left back area, near the touchline, and Sam was tucking in so that he was probably 10 yards from Cov's right midfielder (Dabo??). The cry was 'For Christ sake mark him, Byram'. Clearly the man thought that the ball would be magically delivered to Dabo in less time than it took Sam to close in on him. I think the problem was largely a lack of understanding of the Laws of Physics. It was diappointing that a man in his 50's did not grasp something that most babies understand before they reach one year old. Oh, well.

I can only repeat the advice that Matt Busby gave to Alex Ferguson many, many, many years ago. He said that if you are upset by what appears in the media, don't read it, watch it, or listen to it. 🙂

Well, I guess you will see what you want to see. What I see is a very genuine young man totally dedicated to his trade, who has the touch, balance, awareness, determination, ball skills, vision and good character to continue to develop in his chosen career. I find it informative that Lampard did not take him to Everton, but Brighton is possibly a better club for him. He was treated appallingly by a few City fans, which should be a source of enduring embarrassment for the rest of us. The ongoing obsession with him is simply pathetic.

There is a protocol called SALTAPS which all physios use when they assess a game time injury. SALTAPS stands for See, Ask, Look, Touch, Active Pressure, Passive Pressure, Strength. The physio will have followed this protocol when allowing Liam to get up and continue playing. Liam will have been able to push against the physio (Passive Pressure) and stand up on the ankle (Strength). Undoubtedly, the player was pumped up with adrenelin which will have made a difference, but happily he's extremely unlikely to have done additional damage by carrying on briefly as it was a hyper-extension injury.

I find it really interesting that you say Dean Smith is less likeable than Daniel. Personally, I feel the opposite. There was nothing in Daniel's gruff, Teutonic hardness that appealed to me. I saw him once in public and he was charming and humourous. He defiinately has charisma But that doesn't make him likeable. There is nothing that I am more wary of than charm which can be turned on and off at will. Those who possess it usually know how and when to use it to their advantage. As for his hardness as a manager, it is often used instead of emotional intelligence. So I admired and respected Daniel, but never knew enough about him to call him likeable. As for Dean Smith, he's a thoroughly good bloke, and no mistaking it. Far warmer and a more generous, giving, personality. Not so much up himself, I would guess.

Dean puts more effort and intelligence into his man management than Farke ever did. Certainly no dinosaur when it comes to keeping players motivated.

I am not sure it's the right move for Teemu. He's a humble man who knows that money isn't everything. But Merseyside and a big club who burn their way through good players? Would it suit his personality? A tough call if anything comes of it.

Good blog from this guy. Nice to see a mature non-partisan outlook. The future of football? We can dream.

Why the spite against Billy? He never gave it less than 100%. Sure he struggled. But he didn't want to struggle. So why the spite?

It is symptomatic of the instant change of opinion which seems to follow every single game, not just at Norwich by any means. It's crackers. Josh came on at Cardiff and did nothing. Did we look better then? Nope. Judge teams / players / managers over months and years, not single games!

The amazing thing about Gibbs was his energy levels. He's only 19, worked hard all night, and never flagged. One for the oldies - he reminds me ever so much of Brian Talbot, the old Ipswich and Arsenal (and sometime England) midfielder. Horrible player to play against because of his work rate. Based on first half performance, Nunez was my man of the match because of his balance and quick feet. He also has the suprise factor as no one over here has played against him before. Overall MoM probably Max. Loved Onel's contribution, as well. Terrified the Terriers.

So, this is exactly what happened on Saturday at Hull. It's meant as a serious question. Me and my mate had to stand because four blokes in front of us were standing - it was right next to where the bloke tried to steal the practice ball that Tim Krul kicked into the crowd just before kick-off, if that helps to explain the position. The group of them were in their 50's and seemingly well tanked up. We didn't mind standing but right behind us was a little girl of about 9 whose view of her team was blocked. She must have only had glimpes of the game. And next to her was a much older woman who had to use a walking stick.She too must have had a very poor view. We didn't do anything. We just accepted it. The question is, what should we have done? PS Did anyone notice the guy who I think just must have been Teemu's brother, wearing a green club shirt? So similar in appearance.

Not 'too much to hope for' but the wrong thing to hope for. I haven't missed a minute of the action so far this season (nearly 1000 miles travelled btw) and the spirit has been OK. On Saturday, the lesson was that as soon as we find a way to get Nunez, Ramsey and Cantwell into the same side, then we will be up and away. Teemu is a problem, admittedly, but I suspect it's more a question of his supply line than the player himself. Otherwise, no need to panic. Improvement needed, but it's nothing like as bad as some make out.

I must admit to wondering if Josh Mcgennis would have been more effective for us than Teemu. He is not a great footballer but he won every ball in the air with relative ease, until Kenny started picking him up when Wigan played long. Despite their physical approach and time-wasting, they deserve a little bit of credit for leaving Mcgennis and Will Keane up front together until Mcgennis was withdrawn. I am not despondent after the first two games. Today was better than Cardiff, and with any luck at all we would be sitting on four points. Relieved that Max isn't in hospital after that challenge.

I will surprise you now. Standing at games has never been 'illegal'. Nor did Lord Justice Taylor recommend that standing be banned. What actually happened was that pursuant to the Taylor Report, cack-handed legislation was introduced by the then Government compelling every club to have a risk assessment in place. Based on these risk assessments clubs introduced ground regulations which required spectators to remain seated during play. It was a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. It is staggering that it has taken so many years to have any form of safe standing. Sadly, the rail seating concept is flawed as it does not restore the experience of standing in a crowd.

Dean has 10 years of managerial achievement behind him. 10 YEARS!!! As if one early season game could make any difference to the perception of him as an excellent manager. Crazy!

We were all in a safe standing area at Cardiff on Saturday. So similar to conventional modern seating that many may not even have noticed. Same as Man City last season and possibly other games. Two points to note at Cardiff: As we entered the safe standing area there was a sign saying 'please do not stand during games'. There appeared to be no corresponding safe standing area for home fans. This type of railed seating is not an improved experience and it is not significantly safer. Make of it what you will 🙂 IF YOU WANT TO STAND, THE SEATS GET IN THE WAY. IT IS A BODGE!