Football / Fan's View
‘I left Ashton Gate on 87 minutes’
What a busy and at times frustrating, annoying, elating and bewildering week it has been to be a City fan. From the joy of Kodja’s home debut goal within two minutes, to the sending off and eventual loss against Brentford, to the ongoing transfer absurdity and to the late night drama of Wednesday night.
Where to begin? Well. It seemed that by late last week the Dwight Gale deal had completely fallen through. Who knows what was said when, by whom and to who but whatever went on appeared to irk Cotteril somewhat. The proposed deal was played out very much in public, and this transfer trait rarely bodes well for buying clubs.
The situation may well provide the club with a much-needed learning curve. At this level, and with the sums of money being discussed, much, much more attention will be paid to such dealings, and, as alluded to before, this rarely bodes well for teams attempting to bolster their squads. We seem to have departed from last seasons transfer policy of buying early and not getting involved in the tit for tat nonsense and razzmatazz that the transfer window brings. We are where we are however, and we need a few more players, so let the nonsense continue, I guess.
It was a joy to witness the first match at the new look Ashton Gate. And, as mentioned before, we got off to the best of best starts with a tidy finish from our new striker. From then on the game never really settled and it was in that non-stop, frantic setting that Luke Freeman committed the unfortunate foul that saw him dismissed. From then on it was an uphill struggle, but I felt we were tactically naïve, not switching to four at the back until we conceded a third and making sloppy mistakes.
That naivety was carried into the Leeds game. City were twice carved open by a rugged looking Leeds side who knew how to take their chances. It seems that our wing back formation either needs some major tweaking or some major scrapping. I’m not too confident criticising a manager whom I adore, but I am pretty certain leaving one or two players back, when you are attacking, over the test of time, may lead you to concede more than you score.
Now, time for an apology.
Dear Bristol City players, fans, board, the management team and all else connected to the club, and my dad,
I, Dave Skinner, left Ashton Gate in the 87th minute on Wednesday, August 19, 2015. I can blame my friends who had to gently persuade me with the alluring idea of getting a pint and beating the crowds. I can blame the players for failing, up until that moment, to convert one of the many chances that they had created. I can blame my poorly brother who couldn’t make it to the game (had he been there he wouldn’t have let me leave). But, I know, in my heart of hearts, I am the only one to blame for missing the remarkable and much deserved comeback that saw us drawing 2-2. I am sincerely sorry for this, and it wont happen again. Never leave football early!
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