Bristol City Verdict

NWCherries98

Fans' Favourite
We win from behind off of a behind.
Solid performance against a team in form under a new manager.
Huge 3 points.
Lerma looks revitalised under woodgate.
We seem to have simplified things in defence (overall).
Utterly w*nk defending of crossing continued.
CCV got to be in the plans for a permanent deal? Been very impressive especially in the last month or so.

:utc:
 
Disjointed again and whilst keep a "winning" team is the mantra some things need freshening up. Much as I like Lewis Cook I was thinking perhaps Billing before he replaced Pearson who sadly doesn't seem to be fit, perhaps the ankle, for 90 minutes. I would also replace the jaded Smith with Stacey.
 
We looked infinitely more comfortable when we went 442 imo. Just keep it as basic as possible from now until the end of the season. Solanke is very isolated playing on his own. There is no need for three midfielders or three centre backs at this level.
 
Feel momentum has shifted again with 6 points from inform Watford and Bristol, who were starting to perform again under Pearson.

reality is that Bristol shut up shop second half so hard to break them down. It was good to see JW throw on an extra attacker to go for the win rather than settle for a point. Positive approach.

Definitely more fluidity in the team than of late but inability to exploit dangerous positions is a recurring theme: lacking decent crosses and attempts on goal.

So,above all a massive confidence booster so hopefully do Preston on Saturday to set up massive home games vs Barnsley and Swansea
 
I was pleased with a settled lineup before kick off.
Good start for first 20 minutes, but didn’t take advantage.
Let City grow into the game - unnecessarily.
I thought their goal was coming.
Big stroke of luck with the equaliser.

Second half was pretty insipid ineffectual stuff. In general:
We play too slowly.
We rarely drive forward with the ball.
We rarely pass forward quickly enough.
We often lose momentum when someone holds up play during a move, again mostly unnecessarily.
On the rare occasions that we do move the ball quickly on the floor, we create the spaces around the opposition box and look dangerous.
But it is oh so rare these days.
At least we played until the end and got another stroke of luck with the winner.

So, three points great.
Performance was so-so.
We are not a great watch to be honest these days, I’m sorry to say.
I hope our performances can improve to make us a bit more entertaining.
If not, then perhaps we can grind out a playoff spot.

MoM: Jeff Lerma for me.
 
Bristol commentators repeatedly noted “Bournemouth have the ball again, but it’s all walking pace.”

We can all see the problem. When this happens, our players are facing 9 or 10 outfield players ahead of them. The opposition are not even “camped in their own half”. They are camped in an area that is roughly quarter the size of the entire pitch - edge of the box to the outside of the centre circle.

We then have four players at any one time pushed up to stand against their back line, 2-3 covering a single striker / recycling the ball, and the rest meandering around in between.

modern football

Logic suggests we have to move the ball quicker to break the lines. And that also suggests players have to be buzzing around more - quicker runs and more of them. But I also accept we can’t do that constantly. We have to alternate - periods of slow (boring to watch but less tiring) backwards and sideways possession ... and then sudden bursts of quick movement / increased tempo. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to see enough of the latter.
 
We looked infinitely more comfortable when we went 442 imo. Just keep it as basic as possible from now until the end of the season. Solanke is very isolated playing on his own. There is no need for three midfielders or three centre backs at this level.
I agree
Solanke is isolated at times . Overall defensively as a unit we have improved . Bristol city set up for a point
 
Bristol commentators repeatedly noted “Bournemouth have the ball again, but it’s all walking pace.”

We can all see the problem. When this happens, our players are facing 9 or 10 outfield players ahead of them. The opposition are not even “camped in their own half”. They are camped in an area that is roughly quarter the size of the entire pitch - edge of the box to the outside of the centre circle.

We then have four players at any one time pushed up to stand against their back line, 2-3 covering a single striker / recycling the ball, and the rest meandering around in between.

modern football

Logic suggests we have to move the ball quicker to break the lines. And that also suggests players have to be buzzing around more - quicker runs and more of them. But I also accept we can’t do that constantly. We have to alternate - periods of slow (boring to watch but less tiring) backwards and sideways possession ... and then sudden bursts of quick movement / increased tempo. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to see enough of the latter.

Yes and usually possession football should be making the opposition work more, tiring them out (physically and mentally) as the game continues, but as we play such a low tempo we're not even getting that benefit.

We're not making them 'chase shadows' as it's too lethargic and predictable.
 

;