Given just how good the players coming out of the academy are I am really excited to see Garrett. People were raving about him the way they were about Buckley if I recall correctly? Anyone who watches the under 23s got an update on how he's getting along?

The big difference between our run at the moment and previous runs is the defence actually looks very good. We've never had a good defence under Mowbray before - we've always had obvious weak points. But now (the Fulham debacle aside) we must have one of the best defences in the league.

Yes it was a sensational defensive performance. The back three were brilliant, as were the holding midfielders. Going forward we opened them up frequently but failed over and over again with the final ball or finish. Goal was a relatively lucky pot shot Buckley was truly brilliant. Reckon he's got a couple more gears to go through too. Got the brutal Christmas schedule to come. But the hope continues to grow!

Alternatively Davenport on for Nyambe, move Buckley right wing back and play Rothwell in the hole. With Rothwell though I always feel he's at his best picking up the ball around the centre circle. In the hole doesn't really work for him. Feels the sort of game where Dack would make a big difference.

Weve looked much the better side without really looking like scoring. Spare man is often Nyambe but he's lacking the quality delivery. Moving Buckley right wing back and bringing Dolan on makes a lot of sense to me. Rothwell, Wharton, Brereton all looked decent. Stoke been limited to a few long range crosses.

Everyone bangs on about how premierleague football has made England suffer because of all the foreign imports, but Ireland and Scotland have suffered more imo. Used it have dozens of Scots and Irish in the top English division - often the best players (Keane, Giles, Dalgleish, Souness) etc. Now it's very very hard to get a look in. Still some but a fraction of what it used to be.

Does she know her old man's forum handle is "Inta Beaver"? It's an awkward setup. "Excuse me, is your dad Inta Beaver?" 🤣

Yes for me Johnson is better in the air and stronger. I like Van Hecke whose a mobile defender, but I think with Lenihan and Wharton either side Johnson suits that middle role.

Team for me (lets matchup 3 at the back) : -------------Kaminski -----Lenihan---Johnson----Wharton Nyambe----Travis----Rothwell-----Pickering -----------------Buckley -----------Dolan--------BBD Wrote it out and it's the same team that finished against Peterborough. A fully fit Ayala and JRC in that team would be very formidable I think. JRC has got his detractors but his delivery is excellent and he has a great engine to get up and down the right when he's not injured. Having someone who can cross in that role will make a big difference. Ayala is one of the best defenders in the Championship of the last 10 years.

We definitely need a right back, a striker wouldnt hurt in case Brereton gets injured. A not absolutely shite backup GK would be shrewd also. After that, somewhat incredibly, we actually look well setup. Brereton, Dolan, Wharton, Buckley all stepping up, and Ayala actually playing some games (from time to time) has transformed the squad.

Probs would be 4231 with Ben up top, Dolan left, Khadra right, Dack in the hole. Not sure Id really want to drop Buckley tbh though.

Yes - waiting for Dack and Gallagher to come back who will give us more attacking options. Probs will also sign a striker in Jan too. Things looking encouraging : Midfield (Travis, Rothwell, Buckley, Davenport, Johnson) and wing (Khadra, Dolan) options good. As is central defence (Lenihan, Ayala, Wharton, Van Hecke), left back (Pickering, Edun). Only thing that worries me is right back (no backup for Nyambe) and goal keeper. One injury to Kaminski would see Pears back in and us truely fooked.

Wharton did a couple of cheeky Cruyff turns too... Had him down as a bit of a lump no nonsense defender but he's not bad with his feet either.

You look across our team and it's hard to say where the weaknesses are. We're not brilliant, but we've got good quality everywhere without any obvious issues. Top 6 seems actually plausible.

Cracking performance, but Posh are absolutely rubbish. Game of two halves though, won't be completely confident until I've seen how they come out second half.

Watched the game back. First half - surprised given the stats that we actually played pretty well for the first 25 mins. Got into the better positions in midfield, had Bristol City on the back foot and running towards their own goal. Khadra was brilliant. But once in the final third our passing and interlink let us down. From around 25 mins onwards Bristol went more direct and we couldn't cope. The goal was coming. Tactically their 343 meant they could overload our full backs, and Nyambe particularly really struggled. When the ball came in again Lenihan and Wharton were out numbered and couldn't clear the ball out. When Poveda got injured switching to a 343 to matchup with Ayala coming on made a lot of sense. Only players to come out with much credit from the first 45 were Khadra (obviously class, surely will be a big player for us in the coming weeks?) and Davenport who put in some good challenges. Second half - Ayala and the tactical change made a big difference. Suddenly we looked a lot more defensively effective. Won everything in the air, full backs didn't get out numbered. 343 Vs 343 does turn the game into a bit of a grind though, especially with Edun and Nyambe obviously not suited to a 343 as they lack the attacking delivery I was really confused why Davenport who had a good game was taken off? And Nyambe who had a nightmare stayed on? Really odd. When Nyambe did eventually go Buckley moving to right back improved the wide quality. Clarkson coming on was mental though.... Why?! Surely Dolan would have been a better shout? Clarkson offers absolutely nothing. Despite our defensive improvement we still really struggled to open up Bristol. When we did score it was a bit of a gift from terrible defending, great finish by Diaz though. On the whole I think we missed Pickering quite keenly in the 343, and Gallagher generally up top. Kaminski made a couple of great saves towards the end. Maybe we were lucky to get a point really. Only real bright spots Khadra, Diaz scoring again, and Ayala coming through 45 mins. Otherwise a game to forget. Also perhaps if you were being generous you could say it is a game we would have lost last season where we were very one dimensional, but we could change up this time round when it was obvious the system was struggling and get a point back.

Couldn't watch the game today, will catch on playback tomorrrow. Seems like from the flow of the game and comments on here it was a classic case of our 4231/433 getting out muscled by their 343 until we matched up at half time when Ayala came on. Suddenly we became more competitive. Will be interesting to see if thats the case when I watch back.

Surprised Pickering doesn't even make the bench. All the lead up suggested he was fully back?

A few games ago I was pretty unenthused by Poveda, Davenport and Wharton. Khadra I could see was a decent player but he hardly had any game time. That all of them have put in a very good performance and we also have Ayala back changes the mentality really. Should be able to put out a solid XI and have 3 decent options from the bench. If you were the Bristol city manager trying to setup it is a difficult prospect as Rothwell, Dolan, Diaz, Buckley, Poveda and Khadra all offer something different. If Gallagher's available that's different again. We're a threat on the counter and a threat from set pieces, a lot of pace and trickery, and score a lot of goals. Not many teams (except Fulham...) will fancy playing us.

I think qualifying worked a bit differently 80s and before. The tiny nations weren't in there and the groups were a lot smaller. Eg. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA) Malta are in there, but no San Marino, Andorra, Lichtenstein, Gibraltar. Pre qualification is obviously needed, and I think it's on its way. Nations League will eventually replace qualification imo.

Amazing - really shows the impact of players who are underrated like Lenihan and Gallagher. Also maybe that the likes of Dolan and Edun are overrated.

From a statto perspective I guess the way to manage appearance length is to multiply the score by % where 100% is 93 mins to allow for extra time?

I think what you're doing is great! So much more objective than all the opinions that get thrown around. Do you have average scores so far for the season? Would be interesting to see how Rothwell compares to Travis or Edun compares to Pickering, or Gallagher compares to Dolan.

Watched the game back. We were excellent going forward, really incisive and clever with the ball. Devastating on the counter attack. But also we gave away a lot of simple opportunities to the blades. We could have scored six or seven but they could have scored three or four..... If they'd put one of the many opps they had away it would have been a different picture. So a fun game, but need to sort the defence out. Formation wise it was interesting. We actually played more of a 442 which I've not really seen since we had Rhodes and Gestede. Buckley was pushed right up alongside Brereton. Think the Blades back three really struggled with it. I would like us to persist with it as it worked so well. Buckleys slight frame makes people thinks he's a push over but he competes physically very well. He must have won the ball back half a dozen times. Anyway not sure we can read much into the result, but good to see both Khadra and Poveda perform. Travis looks back to his best which is huge for us. Wharton was great in the air, but struggled when balls were played in behind on the channel. To me the new crown jewels are Buckley, Dolan and Travis who are all top players at this level. I like Edun also who looks to me like a top young player in the making. Next game we should play exactly the same XI and see if it was just Sheff Utd being poor.

I get that. But equally he has supported the likes of Travis, Rothwell, Buckley, Brereton, Dolan into quality players. You can't beat him with Davenport on one hand and not recognise who he has done a good job with on the others. When it comes down to it he's a decent Championship manager, but not a brilliant one. There's a mentality on here that whoever we get will be better and that's just not true in my view. The Championship is a hard league where the vast majority of managers fail, and that's before our know nothing owners get involved We could do a lot worse, and I am sure will in time.