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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

that Duff can deliver with a bit of gusto after a week training. There was only one team actually trying to win it (long throws excluded). We just didn't have quite the same bite or tempo. Let's look on the bright side, next week against Stevenage can't be worse... ...can it? #bcafc

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The thing I think that happened today was that they still played to GA's template, but it probably didn't quite land because Duff doesn't really want to do the same thing. I suspect we will see a subtle change for next week. It might be a little change in midfield or 2 up top, bit something small

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

are behind them and that losing GA does not mean we lose our intensity with them. We have been set along a road and this is a little detour rather than a full blown closure. The atmosphere section needs to get it going today. Everyone needs to know what we are about. Come on City.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Actually quite excited about today. One reason is the length of time since we had a league game at home, then there is the Michael Duff thing. I wouldn't imagine that to much will change today in either line up, expectation or intensity. Hope the fans really back Duff and the team hear that we are

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

something to get excited about, even if you aren't excited about the man himself. He just needs to grab hold of the coat tails and run with it and gradually feed your ideas in. #bcafc

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

the job without needing to make massive changes. That must hardly ever happen in football. The thing he has to do is find how to walk the line between his own ideas and using what we have already got going. I'm imagining a new manager bounce on top of being joint leaders (GD aside). That's

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

similar personality, but also not in a job so no compensation needed. Served his touchline ban and therefore available on the touchline on Saturday. With the game tonight, Truman really has ensured the standards haven't slipped and that Duff has all the momentum so he can gently ease himself into

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

A lot to digest tonight. We knew Duff was going to be appointed, but I don't think I was the only one thinking that something was wrong. Maybe that's the legacy of being a City fan. Anyway, it's done and I think it is probably the best combination of history of some success, similar style and

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

that when someone doesn't want a particular manager, but can't really say why, it's a lazy choice. If it's give through a process, it isn't lazy. Whoever ends up as manager. Leys give them a chance. We had to with GA and look what happened. #bcafc

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

be absolutely battered for it (even if there have been 10 good ones before it) The issue I can't get my head round is that Heckingbottom and McCall was called out for being lazy. (Which it wasn't) Truman (Don't give it him because it's easy) Duff is now a lazy choice for some. Essentially it seems

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

doing here, so replicating that would definitely have been high on Sharpe's agenda. The commute seems to be what City fans have got hold of as the stick to beat him with. And here is the issue with City fans. They have already decided they don't want him, so one or two bad performances and he will

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

jump in excitement, because there was something I found a bit dour when he was Huddersfield manager. I never looked at him and thought that I'd like him as our manager one day. I am however not as against it as some City fans. The job he did at Barnsley seems to have been similar to what GA was

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

had nothing to throw at us. Still, we have beaten Wednesday, Notts County and Luton away, got a point at Reading, so we can't grumble about away from at this point. Now all eyes turn to the big announcement, which must come this week. The reliable information suggests Michael Duff. Not going to

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

a handful of other openings. Second half was different. Don't know if we sat back or if Reading pushed us back and the equaliser had been coming, despite a couple of chances still going our way. Weird bit was that, it then seemed to revert back. We were pushing to win and Reading looked like they

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Decent point really. At least that would have been the thought before the game. The way it played out was a bit different, but essentially it's still a decent point. At half-time, I couldn't remember a single Reading chance that had me worried. We had managed to score and have one disallowed plus

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

So many typos in that thread! Turan's should have said "Trueman's" and "height" should have said "might". There are probably more...

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

a surprise in the line up. But height just play it safe and go with what has worked - don't rock the boat unnecessarily. We will see. #bcafc

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

selection. I don't envy him much. If he has his hat in the ring for the job, then he needs to recognise that and select the team accordingly. There might be a player that he has been pushing to start for a while now and hasn't been given that chance. Today he might put them in. I wouldn't count out

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I imagine that there will be some who struggle with the unknown. Who can't focus because they'll double think everything ("I wonder if the new guy will want me to play like this, or to do that?"). Turan's issue is that he doesn't know which players are which until they play. That makes it a tough

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

someone that is permanent. For me, as a player, I'd be wanting any potential manager to see what I can do, regardless of who is in charge. That I play for the team, not the former manager, and that would (pretending I was good enough to play in the first place!) be enough to make me perform. But

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A strange feeling around today's game. On the one hand, there the same group of players, working with coaches who are familiar to them probably doing very similar things and getting a very similar message. On the other hand, its not the same manager they signed for. It's not coming from a place of

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Not sure why there are a couple of fans arguing about Emma Hayes. There is genuinely no reason why she would leave her current job for us,.but if she did, she would be bloody brilliant. Don't think we are that brave, even if she was out of work.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

making sure that it is right, rather than all their preferred candidates dropping out. Time will tell. #bcafc

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

whispers. By credible, I mean cast iron "we are interested in X". Lots of suggestions and then as soon as someone is suggested, fake ITK accounts either going "definitely not them" or hinting it is correct meaning that it is all pretty mirky and unclear. Hope they are just being patient and

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Starting to get pretty nervous about this appointment. It's just over a week since we found out that GA was likely to go and now we are heading into the first game with no real idea of what is next. I trust Trueman with keeping us stable, but really wanted someone in by now. Not heard any credible

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I genuinely don't understand why people think that appointing Heckingbottom is lazy. It would be lazy if they didn't bother doing due diligence and checking other managers or doing their homework on him, but I don't think that is what is happening. Please, let's be open minded, whoever it is.#bcafc

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#14 Hadn't seen Eddie Howe, but again seen someone commenting on it, so it goes on the list.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#12 Marco Bielsa! 😳 #13 Andy Cook as player manager. Jeeez.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#11 Just seen Emma Hayes suggested. The manager of the USA women's national team. Shall I manage a potential world cup winner or a mens L1 team.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

find him. He hasn't let us down in his time here. Now would be a good time to prove himself again. #bcafc

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Someone who gets what it means to us, but who (like GA) is able to ignore the dissenting voices who seem only to see negatives, but not believe too much of the hype when things are going well and stay grounded for us and the team. I can't begin to suggest who that person is, but I hope Sharpe can

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

that 3rd May 2005 was something that I (and my family) will never forget. And GA and the players really showed what it meant for them and I think we matched it. We aren't going to appoint another GA, and shouldn't try to, but we want someone with the same drive and passion for the game and for us.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

enough or that he should do X, Y or Z instead of what he chose, you are about to find out if the grass is greener. I hope it is, and it could be, but there's always a chance that it isn't, and I bet you won't give GA credit even then. I, for one, want to thank GA for his service. I want to say

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

people who like to complain will latch on to that "Oh, look Bobby isn't starting again. How can he be so stupid?" Well, that's what it will be if Humphs plays down the left. I guess what I am saying is, those people who booed against Cambridge, those people who constantly told us that GA is not good

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

even less. How anyone can look back in the last three years and have those things as your first thought is beyond me. A new manager might get different players playing well, but that will probably mean that some of the players who have got us where we are are out of the team. I suspect, some of the

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

least Humphs" might play in his best position now" or "At least we might get midfielders actually playing in midfield". You might get both those things, or you might get a manager who rips it all up and starts again, or a manager who calls his players out in the press or who does things you like

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

as you are fully committed to the way you go. I don't believe that GA would have ever been able to commit in the same way if he'd turned Preston down. He'd always wonder "what if" and that's when you start getting distracted and that leads to mistakes. Fans have taken to saying things like "at

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

for having had GA as it's manager for the last 3 years. I've heard it said that we've been betrayed. I don't accept that. I think that if you give everything, then an opportunity to go higher will happen. Then you have 2 choices - stick with what you know, or take the leap. Neither is wrong, as long

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

direct representation of GA as a manager. Gritty, hard-working and a togetherness that I can't quite explain with some players on the periphery. I don't picture GA as a guy who sulked if he was left out one week.and that's what he expected of his players. All of this is to say, our club is better

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

bit around the turn of the year. How can anyone complain about the season? There were so many high points and very few truly low ones. So we didn't go up. Based on what we expected, that wasn't an issue. Based on what we'd seen, it was gutting, but anger wasn't the emotion. This season has been a

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

his shit, but he never did, and that's why they could keep going. Last season was, again, something to behold. Every time we thought we were going to drop out of contention, we came back again. Every time someone had some criticism, they were proved wrong. It was incredible. So we lost our way a

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

finished was a fluke, I would ask, if the games were reversed and that had happened in game 1, would we have been bothered? Not a bit. GA kept everyone believing, even when it looked like falling apart. And that's what typified him to me. A calm head - after those two away games, he could have lost

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

think nearly cost us (the two away games at Swindon and Chesterfield, most likely). We had our piece of luck on the last day. That never usually happens to us. A jammy goal that really could have ended up anywhere, but what a scene. After 46 games, the league table doesn't lie. Even if the way it

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm not certain we would have got anywhere and losing in them might have set us back a bit. Nearly getting there meant we could look at what had worked and build on it. And that's exactly what he did. The next season was one of the best watching City, I can remember. We can all point to a game we

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Lost 3-0 and knowing that something had to change. The club could have (but probably couldn't afford to) sack him. Clubs have acted quicker in the past. Then he found his formula. And a set of results that got us moving. I'm quite glad (looking at it now) that we missed the play-offs that season.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

like that, I'm sure. It sort of bobbed around like that for a bit - getting walloped in the first half at Notts County only to pull two goals back and miss a couple of sitters making you feel like you could have got something out of it after all. Then, Harrogate. GA has referenced that many times.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

OK. Where do I start? Buckle up, this could be a long one. I, personally, had no issue with GA's appointment, but I did take issue that Sparks told us he was their #1 choice. We all knew that was horseshit. I remember it not starting well - did Barrow score 3 minutes into his first game? Something

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm also going to add the guy who has just compared people being supportive of GA to people who support terrorists. This may or may not also be the person from #10.

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

And if City fans think we are going to get a manager that has never failed anywhere, then they must think we are getting a manager who hasn't managed before. Or Sir Alex Ferguson...

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thebantamway.bsky.social @thebantamway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

forever. The new man needs to find a way to keep everything that GA has instilled in the club and then put his stamp on it and make us into his team. We can only hope they get it right. #bcafc

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