Welcome Bristol City

Returning to Beesy’s quasi-nostalgic theme that we should never really have left division three in the first place, it’s quite surprising to see our regular soccer foes Bristol City have changed their name to “Rovers” and become much smaller. And less good.

Ignoring the James Wilson shaped hole in this argument, Bristol City/Rovers’ team has changed markedly since we last met at this level and now features relegation expert Jo Kuffour and flash-in-the-pan (and not a very good pan at that) Chris Dickson.

Brentford’s Great Game – can Kabba or Cort score before Christmas – continues apac… Well, it continues. This week’s random defensive reshuffle is yours to guess.

We haven’t bothered researching any stats and we can’t be bothered to go either. It’ll finish 1-1 and Alan Bennett will get sent off. The end.

Milk Cup: Bees 0 – 1 Some nondescript championship side

Ugh, why bother?

Bristol City and the least important competition this season

And yes, that includes the Painted Van Trophy.

Truly the milk cup is beginning to serve as the canary for the ills of football today. In doing so the competition is now even more pointless for lower league clubs than for those who harbour aspirations of actually winning the thing.

It is perhaps the momentum-sapping second-game-of-the-season clash with boring championship teams with aspirations far above their station (and reality), teams who will put out an XI of fringe players who spent last season on loan and still win 3-1 (as Bristol City surely will).

It could be the knowledge that even if we were to win we’d perhaps end up with an away tie at a premier league club in front of 9,000 fans, or it could be the poor TV and victory money on offer (which is as nothing in comparison to the FA Cup).

Or it could be them all together, a conflagration of circumstances together smearing the milk cup with a taint of futility that would have even Nietsche reaching for the self-help motivational tapes in despair.

So meh, we’re not going.