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WHAT THE PAPERS SAYWell, we continue the new season with one or two quotes that never made it into the FIELD REVIEW atthe back end of last season due to lack of space, so waste not, want not – and besides, there wasabsolutely no way I was going to leave this first one out:“I ASKED THE PLAYERS AFTER THE BOLTON GAME IF THEY COULD GIVE ME THAT SAMELEVEL OF PERFORMANCE v BIRMINGHAM AND THEY ALL SAID YES. YOU COME INTOTRAIN ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY & YOU DON’T TALK ABOUT DEFEAT, YOU TALK ABOUT WHATWAS A GOOD PERFORMANCE (v BOLTON). IT IS ALL ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE,PERFORMANCE, PERFORMANCE. WE HAVE NOT TALKED ABOUT RELEGATION. ALL WEHAVE DONE IS SAY WHAT THINGS YOU NEED TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL.WE HAVE NOT MENTIONED THE LEAGUE POSITION. WE KNOW WE WILL TAKE STICK FORDOING THAT , BUT IF YOU ARE IN MY POSITION, YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO FOCUS ON THOSETHINGS. IT IS NEGATIVE AND THERE IS NO POINT IN BEING NEGATIVE”. These werethe words of Sean O’Driscoll, Bristol City Head Coach, as quoted in the (Evening) Post on 16 April2013, just hours before the home game v Birmingham, which – thanks to a 1-0 defeat – condemnedCity to relegation to League One last season.Sean O’Driscoll! This is the manager who – last season - talked in riddles, put commitment &performance above all else & never looked at the league tables, so he claimed. He is also the managerwhose radio interviews make the dulcet tones of Mick McCarthy sound exciting because he himselfsounds bored stiff most of the time. Here we were, hours before the final nail was hammered intoCity’s coffin & he STILL didn’t change his way with words, even if “I” suddenly became “we” morethan usual! And then after the Brum defeat, he was interviewed on the radio & came out with all thisstuff again! He also didn't like "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" being played on the tannoyat the final whistle, he said it was crass & "would sort it out". I can see why they played it, but maybethis time, SOD did have a point & they could have perhaps played something more akin to City.Bottom line for City is that relegation had been coming ever since they went up 6 years ago. 4th placein the 1st season & a play-off final was a massive over-achievement, but you take it while you can - butclearly, they were unlikely to ever reach that level again. It would have been a huge ask to do so. Thenthey came 10th, 10th, 15th, 20th & lastly 24th, so the spiral continued to be downwards.The farcical Steve Coppell situation 3 years ago speeded up the process. Even if they had survivedrelegation last term, it would probably have happened this season anyway because the Premier Leagueparachute payments have been increased again for 2013-14, so relegated teams now get even moremoney for failing to stay in the PL, which makes the Championship an even more un-level playing fieldthan it already is!But as for SOD, well, he’s had a busy summer at Ashton Gate & his new-look squad, featuring playershe wants rather than ones he inherited, have a lot to do to prove themselves at the lower level. I don’tthink even the staunchest of City fans expects too much in 2013-14, as the club tries to sort itself out,both on & off the pitch. But there must be no more of this “I never look at the league tables” rubbish& he needs to come across better with the media, which is easier said than done, but if the teamstruggles this season & SOD continues to baffle the fans with his methods, he’ll lose them & he’ll begone sooner rather than later. He is highly rated elsewhere, but City fans are yet to be fully convinced.“IT WAS A BITTER DAY BEING RELEGATED, BUT MY FULL DEBUT AND A GOAL SOFTENED THEBLOW. NOW I JUST WANT TO GET BACK TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH BRISTOL”. The wordsof Bristol City (full) debutant Bobby Reid, as quoted in The Sun on 6 May 2013, after he netted for Cityin their final day 4-1 defeat away to Charlton, bringing a truly lousy season to an end.Three comments from me: (1) You play for Bristol CITY, Bobby, not “Bristol”…(2) Yes, it was a bitterday, but City had had 2-3 weeks to get used to the idea of relegation….(3), you don’t get manyplayers called “Bobby” these days either do you? That name belongs to past eras, featuring MessrsCharlton, Moore, Collins etc, but apart from Bobby Zamora, are there any other Bobby’s these days?FIELD REVIEW -16
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