[jjamez]

There is now no two ways about it, we are well and truly in a battle to keep our championship status, who would have though that on the day we netted the biggest pay day of the clubs history that only three years later we would be here, once again looking over our shoulders at the trap door to the league we failed on numerous occasions to escape?

I mean at the start of the season there was every fear that we could get off to a bad start and maybe just maybe it could snowball, look at the likes of Wolves and Sunderland, you would never have really expected it to happen to them, but it did.

Only two points separate us from the drop zone but with the league as it is, a good week could see that gap being 8 and everything would look a lot rosier, especially considering that there would still be games against fellow strugglers Wigan and Luton, whilst there could still be a hefty points deduction heading sheffield wednesday and derbys way, but knowing the football league and our luck theyll just start with minus 10 points next season! grab the pitchforks. 12 games to go to make sure we dont go the wrong way.

The main problem town have at the moment is consistency more than anything else, we put in a good performance away at derby and then put out the complete opposite a week later and lets face it, its a wee bit annoying and thats putting it nicely. It doesnt matter how Saturdays performance gets dressed up, there is simple no sugar coating it, it was awful and there needs to be an immediate  bounce back otherwise the stands could become very restless.



Fixtures are going to start coming thick and fast ahead of the international break next month and it begins with Bristol City on tuesday, a team that when we face them away we always seem to be on the end of a real good thrashing. However, we are at home and it could make all the difference. That being said, Bristol still harbour hopes of a play off place and sitting in 7th just three points off the pace, they will see this as being very much winnable, and whilst their recent form is patchy, ours is one of the worst in the league, with only the likes of boro, hull and sheffield wednesday having worse.

The season so far has been arguably as expected for Bristol with the side once again being one of the sides battling it out for a chance in the playoffs, still managed by one of my favorite managers of all time Lee Johnson... they have shown a real aptitude for scoring, having only failed to hit the back of the net in 8 league games, scoring 48 goals so far this term, conceding 49. Us on the other hand have scored 39 and conceded 55, whilst surprisingly, we have only failed to score in 7 of the games so far this season, maybe something to keep a hold of. Recently they have been a bit hit and miss, notching up home defeats to west brom and surprisingly birmingham, whilst failing to do the league a favour and take points away from leeds on the road. They have however managed to rack up wins away at QPR, as well as beating derby 3-2, all the while being 3-0 up at one point. January saw them lose just the one league game, that being a 4-0 home thrashing at the hands of brentford, they won the rest, without conceding, so it is hard to say what sort of side will be stepping onto the john smiths turf.



For those wondering, I was being sarcastic, he isnt my favorite manager, very much the opposite, I cant stand the man one bit

Bristol city come into the game on the back of a 3-0 home defeat against 10 man West Brom, a result which could obviously lead to a resurgent performance on tuesday night. Its worth noting however that they seem to be as adept at conceding goals as they are scoring them, so I dont expect them to come and shut up shop, which could for us as a side that struggle to defend could lead to a busy night for Lossl, however, the right team selection for the Cowleys could see us having our fair share of chances too, it will be up to us to make the most of that and take it from there.

Their january business has seen them bring in former town striker Nahki Wells to lead the line from burnley in a deal which paved the way for captain josh brownhill to go to turf moor for premier league football. also joining was beanpole defender fillip benkovic on loan alongside markus henriksen from hull. The club also recalled jamie paterson from derby due to a lack of game time due to the form of holmes and the arrival of former dc united player wayne rooney. Exiting the developing ashton gate were the aforementioned brownhill for 9mil and australian defender bailey scargill went to sunderland on loan, rumoured town target sammie smozdics also departed on loan, joining peterborough to replace marcus maddison who made the switch up north to hull.



In terms of team news and selection, I'd expect there to be a number of changes for both sides with Mounie returning to lead the line for town and Grant switching over to the right, elsewhere I'd expect ESR to come into the number 10 role with a possible start for Willock or a return for Pritchard out on the right, in the holding midfield roles I would be tempted to let O'brien do the hogg role with either bacuna or king alongside him. In the back 5 I wouldn't expect any changes, I cant see DC risking bacuna at right back unless Simpson is carrying a knock. I just hope DC picks the best players and puts them out there together from the off, rather than relying on them to come on and change the game in the last 20 minutes when it could be too late. I also hope we dont just set up to frustrate, I dont believe that we should just 'go' for it as some of the twitter managers are saying, we'd end up being too open and they would then be asking why we werent defending, I think we should try to attack, but with the right players and numbers doing so, equally allowing ourselves to be protected against the break.
As for our guests, it wouldnt surprise me to see those who came off the bench in the form of Andi Weimann, kasey palmer and jamie paterson all getting a starting role, whilst tamas kalas could come in for one of former everton defender ashley willams or leicester loanee fillip benkovic.

In terms of our head to head meetings, the two sides have met 55 times in all competitions, with town coming out on top on 23 occasions, with bristol city having 19 victories and the final 13 being draws. Whats a good result for town? well a lot of town fans are saying that we HAVE to win, I'd be more inclined to say must not lose, especially considering what has happened for both teams last time out.


Before we start any further quizzes, i'll give you (snoots) the answers, starting with the whos who.

1) Jazz Richards 2)David Edgar 3) Ian Craney 4) Pawel Abbott 5) Leon Knight

as for the line up

gk- demon barber matt glennon
rb- tom clarke
lb- danny adams
cb- martin mcintosh
cb- david mirfin
rm- andy holdsworth
cm- mark hudson
cm- michael collins
lm- danny schofield
st- GTF- scored 2 in this game
st- and booth

subs- paul rachukba, john mccoombe, pawel abbott, luke beckett



Now for the next two quizzes

played for both

1) easy, bermudan striker
2) easy, midfielder that joined town on loan from forest
3) another midfielder who had two loan spells at town, was called yellow by a leeds commentator
4) full back that came through towns system, left for an ill fated premier league spell and found himself out on loan a few times, before coming back to yorkshire (helmet)
5) had a spell on loan at town as a youngster and has since found himself being sent from pillar to post as makeweights for other transfers
6) striker who had a short loan spell at bristol from town, never scored for bristol and only scored 5 for town. hardly a knockout
7) had two spells at town and rejoined the club from bristol where he was well regarded by their fans at the time, was top scorer for them in one season
8) defender who had a brother who also played for town but not at the same time, spent 4 years at bristol
9) Striker who had a short spell at town on loan which then was turned into a permanent deal, started off well for town but endured a barren spell and fell out of favour with the manager and departed on a couple of loans before his contract was terminated


a team of yesteryear

gk- homegrown goalkeeper who some felt was forced out of the club, has come back on numerous occasions as a visiting goalkeeper
rb- scouse full back that played equally on the right as he did the left, was signed from scotland, went to lancashire after being released by town
lb- another that was signed from scotland, had 3 seasons at town and has played for two scottish rivals in his time
cb- defender who had his fair share of injuries, a bit of a fan favorite and prone to scoring belters
cb- another scouse defender who led from the front in his 5 years at the club, known for making his recovery tackles
cm- signed from blackpool and had two seasons at the club making 38 appearances for the club before departing for fleetwood
cm- followed his former manager to sign for the club and had a two year spell at the club and became a key part of the midfield before leaving to join a divisional rival and earning promotion there
cm- midfielder who joined from a premier league side, was a frustrating player as he was capable of good things but didnt always show it. Has been promoted to the premier league on three occasions, with the third team being the one to finally give him his premier league debut
rw- winger who had 6 years at the club and put effort in down the flank but didnt always have the end product. scored his first town goal in this game.
lw- another scouse who initially joined town on a loan deal which then became a permanent transfer, caused a bit of trouble on and off the pitch for town leading him to fall out of favour with the manager and sent out on loan and later released
st- Non league striker who managed to make the step up and forge a decent career for himself in the professional leagues both at town and after departing.

subs- a goalden oldie when he joined the club as a challenger to the starter, finished his career at the club and is now a coach at a fellow championship side
subs-not as good as his cousin
subs- hammer of a left foot and probably spent the vast majority of his time here trying to work out what sort of player he wanted to be. is now a solid championship player
subs- a midfielder who was signed after putting in good performances against us, it never worked for him here, or anywhere else for that matter afterwards
subs- scottish defender who signed on a deadline day, was raved about by some town managers but never got a consistent shot in the team like stankovic, has since gone on to be a solid player elsewhere
subs- another player who never quit fit in at the club due to his versatility, left the club and wound up having a few seasons in the premier league as well as an international career, is now playing north of the border
subs- probably most famous for a fa cup goal for town and also wrestling a goalkeeper into his own goal and it counting. looked promising on debut, a donkey pretty much every other time after

---

thats your lot, i'm tired xD

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one, jjamez.

I'd start with the XI that finished the match at Swansea, although Danny boy says Willock isn't match fit yet. Like you say, it's no good bringing those players on to change the game after we've gone behind, We desperately need to get the first goal in this match. Go at them from the off.

---

1,2, 3 and 4. Wells, Paterson, Palmer and Hunt.

5. Richard Keogh?
6. ?
7. Jon Stead
8. Jamie McBoomBoom
9. ?

[jjamez]

5 is at the wrong end of the pitch
6 has a bit of a clue in it
9 liked an audacious over head kick

[Lord Snooty]

a team of yesteryear

gk- homegrown goalkeeper who some felt was forced out of the club, has come back on numerous occasions as a visiting goalkeeper SMIVVIES
rb- scouse full back that played equally on the right as he did the left, was signed from scotland, went to lancashire after being released by town CALLUM WOODS
lb- another that was signed from scotland, had 3 seasons at town and has played for two scottish rivals in his time PAUL DIXON
cb- defender who had his fair share of injuries, a bit of a fan favorite and prone to scoring belters JOEL LYNCH
cb- another scouse defender who led from the front in his 5 years at the club, known for making his recovery tackles Capt FANTASIC, PETER CLARKE
cm- signed from blackpool and had two seasons at the club making 38 appearances for the club before departing for fleetwood DAMIEN JOHNSON
cm- followed his former manager to sign for the club and had a two year spell at the club and became a key part of the midfield before leaving to join a divisional rival and earning promotion there KEEEEEEEEF SOUTHERN
cm- midfielder who joined from a premier league side, was a frustrating player as he was capable of good things but didnt always show it. Has been promoted to the premier league on three occasions, with the third team being the one to finally give him his premier league debut DOLLY NORWOOD
rw- winger who had 6 years at the club and put effort in down the flank but didnt always have the end product. scored his first town goal in this game. SUPER SEAN SCANNELL
lw- another scouse who initially joined town on a loan deal which then became a permanent transfer, caused a bit of trouble on and off the pitch for town leading him to fall out of favour with the manager and sent out on loan and later released KALLUM HIGGINBOTHAM
st- Non league striker who managed to make the step up and forge a decent career for himself in the professional leagues both at town and after departing. (Our carpets are filthy cos we've got) NOVAK

subs- a goalden oldie when he joined the club as a challenger to the starter, finished his career at the club and is now a coach at a fellow championship side IAN BENNETT
subs-not as good as his cousin ANTHONY GERRARD (Ant any sense)
subs- hammer of a left foot and probably spent the vast majority of his time here trying to work out what sort of player he wanted to be. is now a solid championship player CLAYTON BLUEBEARD
subs- a midfielder who was signed after putting in good performances against us, it never worked for him here, or anywhere else for that matter afterwards ANTON ROBINSON
subs- scottish defender who signed on a deadline day, was raved about by some town managers but never got a consistent shot in the team like stankovic, has since gone on to be a solid player elsewhere MURRAY WALLACE
subs- another player who never quit fit in at the club due to his versatility, left the club and wound up having a few seasons in the premier league as well as an international career, is now playing north of the border SCOTTY ARFIELD
subs- probably most famous for a fa cup goal for town and also wrestling a goalkeeper into his own goal and it counting. looked promising on debut, a donkey pretty much every other time after ALAN ALAN LEE

[jjamez]

Most correct there. Some in the wrong place

Damian Johnson is incorrect as is higginbotham

[Lord Snooty]

Kyle Dempsey

---

Adam Hammill

[jjamez]

Nope. Not dempsey

[spireitematt]

Blackpool, Wolves, Sunderland, Wigan, Charlton, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton. These are all teams which have struggled in the Championship after being relegated from the Premier League and they all ended up going into L1, while in Blackpool's case they went down to L2.

I would say the majority of teams in the Championship gamble every season on trying to get to the Premier League because it's one massive pay day for a club what with TV rights etc but staying in the Premier League is a different story as you have to get that magic 40 point mark to avoid relegation. Relegation from the Premier League can hurt a club as the TV revenue will deplete but also it will affect the attendances as the 'glory hunters' or the one's who jump on the bandwagon disappear until the club is in a big cup game or going to Wembley or back in the top flight.

Back in 2017 when Huddersfield got promoted, I remember at the start of the season the bookies and the pundits had you down as favourites to be relegated but you defied all odds and won promotion via the playoffs and then the pundits, bookies and the fans of the top 6 teams treated you with contempt and yet again the pundits, bookies and other fans of other clubs predicted you would be relegated as soon as possible and that you would finish bottom. You had fans ringing up BBC 606 saying that a team like Huddersfield shouldn't be in the Premier League etc and they said the same about Bournemouth, Burnley and Brighton and they will say the same about Brentford, Preston or Bristol City if they manage to gain promotion this season.

There seems to be a lot of football snobbery in the top flight from pundits, TV, press and fans of other clubs and they seem to focus on the main 6 clubs in the main like there is only 6 teams in the league while forgetting about the other 14 teams. Let's get it right, the Premier League is a league within a league as the other 14 battle it out to stay in the division while the top 6 compete for the title and the European spots. The only surprise was Leicester City winning it and I doubt there will be another Leicester City as they won't have the money or resources to compete with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City etc.

Anyway hope you stay up and get promoted back to the Premier League just to piss off the pundits and football snobs.

[jjamez]

Tbh I can see the pundits loving it if three of leeds, Fulham, wba, forest or Bristol get promoted.

Leeds and forest because they WERE big teams once upon a time and the vast majority of the pundits remember them for what they were, not what they are or have been since their days in the sun.

Fulham and wba because they spent a good few years up there consecutively and are still reaping the benefits.

And Bristol because of how much they have and are investing into the sporting complex around Ashton Gate, they would much rather see a team like Bristol there than a Brentford or Preston. They being the premier league and those inhabiting sky

[Lord Snooty]

I think the pundits would like little Brentford to start their new stadium life in the Premier. It's another London club after all.