Wow, these things come round quick. Could do with another international break for a breather. Bristol City come into town looking better away from Ashton Gate than at it. Away wins at Naaarch, Preston and (impressively) Boro and a draw at Bet365. The quick turnaround between games means I don’t have time for my usual, precision-led, laser-focussed analysis of our upcoming opponents, but to make myself feel better I found a website that says away from home, City have an xG of 1.34, 45% possession and average 10 shots at goal with a conversion rate of 14%. Leaving all that to one side, if you do have a City fan in the family / circle of friends, I can recommend this essential Christmas gift for them: https://toiletface.co.uk/product/bristol-city-football-club-novelty-toilet-paper/ I turned 50 in April 2023 and for such a milestone my wife and family treated me to a hospitality Saturday at the Vic, which happened to be the 2-0 win vs City during Chris Wilder’s illustrious reign. One of my treats was Tommy Smith and Tommy Mooney joining us for photos and ten minutes of merriment. As that season was petering out into nothing and there was a general ‘bad feel’ about the club (might have the debut of the Pozzo Out banners), I asked Mooney what he thought was going on, and he leaned into me and whispered in a genuine Ross Kemp / Danny Dyer accent: “We need some players who give a f*****g ****, mate”. Am genuinely scared to listed to Hive Live now due to flashbacks. Weather: gentle 9 degrees, currently showing a 0% chance of rain so it will piss down. Good, veering westerly, visibility poor. Team News: Ngakia one game away, Andre Gray joining City on loan Thursday. Prediction: an entertaining borefest at 3-3, Cleverley sent to the stands. Oops, just seen Cooper sacked by Leicester, watch them go for a Cleverley / Deeney combo.
We'll be fine. Bayo will accidentally trap the ball between his butt cheeks and run over the line for the only goal.
Cleverley's done a hell of a job so far. I'm going to home games expecting us to at least turn up now. Puts into perspective how crap the last few years have actually been. 0-2 Bristol City.
Bristol City are a bit like Millwall so far this season, playing above what people generally expect. Manning is doing an exceptional job and they are difficult to beat, organised and press well. I can see this being without a shadow of a doubt, our toughest home game so far, and possibly the biggest threat to our unbeaten run at the Vic. I know we battered them 6-0 under Xisco but this is a different squad with different ambitions. I don't expect either team to be seriously be challenging for the playoffs come May, but it should be an entertaining game, and although we generally draw with them away, we might want to get a bit of revenge for our 4-1 battering boxing day last season in the same fixture. Bayo will no doubt start, Doumbia will keep his seat warm and Bond will be shaking his head as Bachmann flaps at a cross and they win the game with last attack. Watford 0 BC 1
Should be a routine home victory, good to have Ebosele back from suspension. Hopefully TC learns from Plymouth and changes things up earlier if required. Watford 3-1 Bristol City
Smash these bumpkins 4-0 and send them back to their turnip patches/apple orchards/ or multi million pound ten thousand acre farms that they pay fxck all tax on .
For anyone going by train, they are absolutely f*cked and likely to be so until tomorrow. Currently 2 trains an hour in and out of Euston.
Goals change games and games change seasons. Seasons change careers. Ultimately, Gray's 96th minute equaliser for Penzance on Friday, has turned this game into an absolute Must Win for Clevs. That draw has meant that we're clinging onto our playoff hopes. Failure to win against Bristol Rovers will leave us on a terrible run and the season in tatters, whilst Clevs' nascent managerial career could be over before it's really started. Failure is not an option.
Can't be bothered to start another thread, but Q: Is there dynamic pricing in operation at VR? I was just curious about how many tickets sold for tonight so went on site, tickets in UGT at £30; for QPR £40.
They're just charging less for evening matches: https://www.watfordfc.com/news/2024/august/11/home-tickets-october-november/
Indeed. Everything must change, and everything changes but you. Our Young squad needs to understand this is a man's game, no boyzone. TC will be keane to ensure Everybody changes. Our Devon based opponents, fresh from a home defeat at Huish Park to Burnham, will be looking to bounce back quickly. We need to insure we aren't the pasty who is easily taken advantage of.
At this point in the season, I would say yes. They don't lose many, are good defensive and have one of the best away records in the division. They had our number last season (although yes, different side, different circumstances). Despite our excellent home record (results wise) I do not think we as yet, have really outplayed a side at home over the 90 mins and I'm not counting League Cup games. I want us to win of course I do, but I do feel they will more a threat, and Middlesbrough were tough but they couldn't finish their chances. We have pretty lucky in this regard at home, I feel BC are more than capable of taking more than one chance that's all. I hope what I have just said is total crap and we stuff them come FT - but I am on the side of caution.
I'm worried about this one. Our defense is improving - our attack play is good, it's the bit in the very middle of the park that worries me every game. I hope I'm wrong but I think they'll overrun us in midfield. (sissoko only has 45 minutes in his legs now so with TDB injury prone I think a strong CM is required in January).
