Massive Stoke tie for City

The biggest game of the Championship this weekend sees Stoke City take on Bristol City and it by far both sides most important of the season so far. With Stoke ahead by just one point the result is crucial to both sides. But who will be victorious on the day?

Results in the Championship this season have been unpredictable all season and I do not expect this to change on Saturday. Both sides have not enjoyed the best of form in recent weeks with City only winning once in their last eight games and Stoke have failed to win at home for three games. Tony Pulis’s side did however win away against Coventry last weekend, which will be a huge confidence boost. City, on the other hand have lost their previous two away games and we are struggling to hit the back of the net. But surely our luck has got to change?

Stoke will present one of the sternest tests of the season as they will be desperate to claim second spot and a win against City would go a long way to achieving this. They also have two prolific players who can score goals in Fuller and Lawrence, and they will pose a big threat to our defence. But, although we may not be firing on all cylinders up front, we certainly know how to defend.

Despite them being ahead of us in the league, they are at home and pressure will hopefully be on them to produce a performance. As the away side I expect us to be solid in the first half and frustrate the home crowd. With Stoke anticipating their biggest home crowd of season with 20,000 plus expectant supporters, it is sure to a hostile atmosphere, but we should have 2,000 fans offering their support.

When City played host to Stoke back in October, we won 1-0, a Marvin Elliot stunner winning the game and I would gladly settle for another 1-0 this weekend. But whatever the result, nothing will be decided this weekend. The Championship has offered many surprise results this season and I am sure there will be a few more twists and turns before the final game of the season. It could be that neither side secures one of the automatic places and we may end up playing each other again in the play-offs. Hull, who currently stand between City and Stoke are in fantastic form and they will not give up their place without a fight. The only thing I can be certain of is that it will be great entertainment and with no football to watch in the summer, I don’t want it to end.

ANDY DAVIES

Scoring problems

It has been a problem all season and at the moment we are paying for it. Scoring goals has been much harder this season than it was last year and after 43 games Bristol City have only scored 49 goals, compared to free-scoring West Brom who have managed 82 goals. I know they have had a bigger spending budget than us and have been an established Championship team much longer than we have, but it is a cause for concern. Even at the bottom of the league, already relegated Colchester have chalked up 58 goals, so where does the problem lie with our scoring exploits?

In the summer we spent £1million on Lee Trundle and in return he has netted just four goals, we recruited attacking wingers Ivan Sproule and Michael McIndoe who have scored six goals between them, and we also recruited Darren Byfield who is our top scorer with just eight goals. With these goal scoring ‘exploits’ it is hard to see how we have remained near the top for so long. I can only recall two players who have managed to exceed my expectations with their goal scoring records. Marvin Elliot, although he has only scored six times, he is a tough tackling midfielder and no one expected him to perform so well. The second player is Dele Adebola, who after arriving in January from Coventry after scoring five goals all season for them, has already netted five for us in 14 games.

After Saturday’s game against Wolves, it is hard to see where we are going to score the goals to try and win our final three games. Although the performance on Saturday was a big improvement on the Southampton game, we hardly looked like scoring against Mick McCarthy’s team. So where are we going wrong? I have said previously what a crucial player Lee Johnson is to the team and this has been proved in recent weeks. We seem to lack ideas in midfield and instead of passing the ball on the ground the players are resorting to playing a more direct style of football, which isn’t working.

Some fans have said we should have brought in more attacking options on loan but this hasn’t helped Charlton’s cause. A combination Gary hasn’t tried is Brooker and Trundle up front, which might work, or is that me being optimistic? With Brooker holding the ball up, he could perhaps bring Trundle into play more, something Trundle hasn’t had since he arrived as he has usually partnered Byfield in attack. Anyone think this could work?

Another option would be to play some youngsters like Tristan Plummer, whose energy and pace might bring a change in fortune. But this is unlikely to happen as we are at a crucial stage in the season and I don’t think Johnson will experiment with kids. If we fail to beat Stoke, the only option will be to play three up front. Playing Brooker, Adebola and Byfield together would cause Sheffield United and Preston some problems.

With just three games left I hope we can make the top two, and if we can start scoring there is no doubt we can win the next three matches. With the Championship being so competitive, possibly two wins and a draw can see us snatch second place. All we can do as fans is support the lads.

ANDY DAVIES

Closing in on the Premiership. Bring Wilson back?

It’s the old cliché, but a week is really a long time in football. Last week I wrote about how City’s chances of remaining in the top two looked under threat as we were without a win in five games and the teams around us were closing in, particularly Hull City, who have been in fantastic form in recent weeks. But seven days after our dismal performance and result against Cardiff, we now sit proudly again at the top of the league with just five games to go. But I suppose that’s what football is all about.

Going into the Norwich match on Saturday, we had only managed three goals from our last five games and I suspected if we were going to beat Glen Roeder’s team, we would have to keep a clean sheet. Unfortunately we couldn’t stop Darren Huckerby cancelling out Dele Adebola’s close range finish on 70 minutes and we looked almost certain to end the game having collected only one point. To be fair to Norwich, they had plenty of chances in the second half to win the game, and will count themselves unlucky not to score a second goal.

But what a finish we had. Steve Brooker, making his ‘home debut’ for a second time after a disastrous 14 months of persistent injuries, pops up in the box to head the ball into the net in the 93rd minute, and it could prove to be his most important goal in a City shirt.
After five games without a win Gary Johnson decided to reshuffle his starting eleven with regulars like Marvin Elliot and Ivan Sproule making way for Cole Skuse and Scott Murray, who have both waited patiently all season for their chance. Lee Trundle and Darren Byfield also found themselves out of the squad, having to watch the game from the stands. Gary, explaining his selection at the end of the game, said he felt after the Cardiff game that he had too many players in the squad who hadn’t been with him last season. If we had lost, his thinking would have come back to haunt him, but in the end it worked out well.

Elliot, although one of our players of the season, has looked tired in recent games and was in need of a rest. Similarly, Sproule hasn’t set us alight in recent matches and with Brian Wilson failing to fulfil the right wing role it was good to see Scott put on the shirt again. As Gary said, his starting eleven only contained two players who had not been part of the promotion season last year, with McIndoe and Adebola starting, although McIndoe has already played under Gary at Yeovil and knows what Johnson expects of him.

The inclusion of Skuse received a mixed reaction from myself – I was pleased Elliot was being rested, but am not the biggest fan of Skuse. But to be fair to him he played very well, getting better as the match wore on and made some important tackles. He also won the Man of the Match award, so I must be wrong about him!

Now things are looking very exciting with City at the top of the league with just five games to go, and we are on course to achieve something none of us dreamed of at the start of the season. Yet some people are never satisfied, as I found out on Saturday, with one so-called ‘supporter’ wishing we still had Danny Wilson as manager because we ‘played better football under him’. If that were the case, we would be still languishing in the third tier of English football. It’s funny how you only hear these ‘fans’ when they are moaning. Yet when a the team have a good shot or defend well, it likely to go unnoticed and when we score, they seem to act as if they have been encouraging the team all along. But I guess that’s football.

ANDY DAVIES

Jones' joking irks Johnson

Six games to go and Bristol City are without a win in five, slowly surrendering their tight lead near the top of the table. Ok, so things can quickly change in the Championship as we have all seen, and in two weeks time we could have put two wins together and strengthened our position.

But at the moment I am getting slightly nervous. We all know no one expected City to be challenging for a place in the Premier League, but now that we have found ourselves in this position we want to stay there. After two straight defeats, are we cracking up under the pressure?

For Gary Johnson and his team, I do not think there is any pressure put on them from the fans as we are as surprised as anyone else at their success, but with the increased media attention as the season draws to a close, perhaps this is affecting the players. Looking back on these five games, it was frustrating to see us lose at home to Plymouth, but we have managed to draw against Watford and Leicester away when Ian Holloway’s team clearly had more chances than enough chances to win. We also rescued a point against Charlton away, which is no easy game as West Brom found out on Good Friday. But losing to Cardiff on Saturday was disappointing and frustrating as we have now seen our position further weakened with Hull City now in with a shout of automatic promotion.

Unfortunately, the referee and his officials wanted to become part of the show with the linesman ruling out a goal for Steve Brooker. Then Keith Stroud awarded Cardiff a penalty, and finally Gary Johnson was sent to the stands for attempting to get the ball back in play quickly while the fourth official and Dave Jones were having a joke. The offside decision was touch and go and had it been the home side, I suspect the goal may have stood. The penalty award was probably correct if even Steven PcPhail did go down rather easily, but Johnson being sent to the stands was ludicrous. He clearly tried to get the ball back to his team while the fourth official was having a laugh, and according to Johnson the referee sent him off without even to talking to his colleague.

They say bad things come in threes and that was the case in this game. It remains to be seen whether these decisions could have an impact on the outcome of our season. Following these two defeats, it makes next week’s game against Norwich a ‘must win’. We cannot afford another slip up and we could see ourselves fall out of the play-offs let alone the automatic places. I still believe two more wins will secure a play off finish and at least four wins will be needed for a top two finish.

There were however some positives to take from the game against Cardiff. We managed to score more than one goal in a game, even if one of them was disallowed, and we saw the long awaited return of Steve Brooker. It had been 11 months since he last put on a City shirt but he is now back to full fitness and could be the key to unlocking the door to the Premiership. ‘Brooks’ to me is probably one of our best strikers and I hope he is awarded a full return ‘debut’ against Norwich. He is hungry to prove himself in the Championship, he is fully fit, and he is full of confidence after netting five goals in six games on loan at Cheltenham. I would play him alongside Adebola which would give us added strength up front and take a bit of responsibility off Dele. Not only is Brooker strong in the air, he also has a great shot on him and I cannot wait to see him play this weekend.

Let’s just hope the referee and his officials for Saturday go unnoticed, like all good officials should.

ANDY DAVIES

Your Bristol City correspondent owes me a fiver

Football - tis funny ole' game, innee??

Or so we say in the deep, dark western depths of Cornwall and Devon. Plymouth Argyle's season has been mystifying, exhilarating, depressing, confusing, and historic in so many ways. Saturday afternoon at Ashton Gate will be one of the more well-remembered landmarks of 2007-8, whatever the eventual outcome of Argyle's promotion push.

Rory Fallon - who, in my post-match anger after the horrors of Scunthorpe, I described as a 'lost cause' - scored twice to give the Greens an ultimately unassailable lead over Westcountry rivals Bristol City, as well as our first victory in Turnipland since (ridiculously) 1931. The pasties and cider taste sweet tonight.

The victory almost seemed inevitable, such has been the almost hallucinogenic nature of results in the Championship – particularly for Plymouth Argyle – this season. Argyle’s 2-1 victory over City, with Lee Trundle’s penalty proving but a consolation for the Robins, to earlier away wins over Watford, Charlton, and Sheffield United (the three parachute payment-assisted Premiership failures of last season), as well as play-off challengers Hull. On the other hand, we lost to strugglers Sheffield Wednesday at home and in the aformentioned game at Scunny, were awful at Preston and couldn’t win at bottom club Colchester.

It is difficult to explain this, of course, but I would argue that the major factors are motivation – which have enabled Argyle to secure victories against teams who should supposedly beat them – and underestimation, similar in many ways, which has seen the Pilgrims fall victim to the same phenomenon which has often benefited us.

This has happened to every team in the league, with the most successful sides being those who have ground out results, with a good structure, a settled side and strong tactical operator in the managerial role, augmented by a few flair players. Bristol City and Stoke City closest fit this dynamic, and thus sit top of the pile – because they are, without doubt, the two most effective sides of all, with Watford on a similar level. The difference between the Hornets and their less fancied rivals does not come in the dugout, where Adrian Boothroyd is as determined and shrewd as Gary Johnson or Tony Pulis. If anything it might be in supporter expectations, with the Hertfordshire club’s fans demanding an immediate return to a top flight they have been occasionally familiar with in the past decade. No such historical millstones for the two Cities, whose last dalliances with the wealthy elite were many moons ago. This has kept the pressure of and both teams have blossomed.

West Brom sit fourth when, as any Argyle fan who saw them dismantle the greens at the Hawthorns a few weeks ago will testify, they would be top if pure technique was the sole barometer. But they have a lacklustre manager, Tony Mowbray, who is happy to get well-paid, skilful players knocking the ball around elegantly and feeding a terrifying array of second-level finishers (Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar, Ishmael Miller, Luke Moore) but seems incapable of building a side with the grit and organisation to dominate the league as they should. If they secure promotion they are probably best equipped of the challengers to survive, because the Premiership is a very different league. But the Baggies’ elevation looks by no means certain – everyone, including myself, tipped them to go up last year, and yet they still failed with a side containing now-England-star Curtis Davies, football league player of the year Jason Koumas, and the lethal Diomansy Kamara. This seasons team went 1-0 up against Ian Holloway’s collapsing Leicester City on Saturday, had Moore sent off, and promptly fell apart, contriving to lose 4-1 and prolong Ollie’s agony by another week. There’s still a fair chance though of, before the month is over, Mafia Mandaric shunting him forcefully towards the exit.

Argyle aren’t a side full of stars, but we have grit in abundance, if intermittently. Paul Sturrock is still sizing up his squad and whatever happens this season I fully expect the next to be less haphazard and more centrally driven by the idea of promotion. Luggy will know what he wants us to do and how to do it – this season he seems understandably less sure, as the players at his disposal are assessed for both ability and character.

Fallon is one of the major protagonists squarely under the microscope, and has not thus far been a fan favourite, with few among the Green Army greeting even his initial signing which much enthusiasm, let alone what has followed. Leigh Moore, correspondent for the Swindon teams on this site (Fallon played for Town), called him a ‘carthorse’ when we signed him, and for large periods it’s been hard to argue. He was good at home to Southampton in January, netting Argyle’s equaliser, yet it is difficult to remember another match which has ended in glory for the big man. Saturday was the New Zealander’s day, though. First was the snatched, eight-yard finish from a ball across the box which shot past Adriano Basso on the stroke of half time. As big a psychological blow as Zoltan Gera’s scrappy goal had been for WBA against Argyle at the Hawthorns, it stunned City, who had been seemingly dominant up until then.

Just before the hour, a corner bewildered a City defence looking lost without Jamie McCombe, and there was the big Kiwi again to bundle the ball home from less than a yard. They all count.

Despite "what a waste of money" Trundle’s rare goal (it was a handball from Jermaine Easter, but it certainly wasn’t a foul by Russell Anderson which led to the free-kick from which the handball occurred) the Greens held on to defy any pundit you would have asked on Saturday morn.

Credit also must go to emergency signing Rab Douglas, amusingly from Leicester, who made a couple of good stops to preserve Argyle’s lead.

The Westcountry derby was the featured game on this morning’s Championship Goals ITV show, which made a nice change from the 20 seconds of coverage we usually enjoy, but it was made clear from the outset that the men in yellow (again, unfortunately) were not what the London-based cameras had travelled so far west to witness. Instead, Bristol’s supposed great resurgence as a football city was the chosen documentation, with a 19,000, capacity crowd (never mind that 2,000 were greens in the away end, with many more, perhaps hundreds, in the away sections) ready to cheer them to the Premiership. Argyle were, as always to the national media, merely a distraction.

Call me paranoid? Just listen to the tone of the ITV commentator, growing increasingly frustrated at City’s inability to break the visitors down. The result was described as a major shock, but anyone who had seen the return fixture at Home Park would not have been unduly surprised. But for a freak Krsitian Timar own goal that day we’d be celebrating a Westcountry double.

As it is, I can’t pretend that any victory this season will be any sweeter, bar perhaps a play-off final victory over the same opponent…if we did do it, it’d be the most publicity-free promotion of all time.

RICH PARTINGTON

Who will be crowned best in the West?

Only last season Plymouth were regarded as the best team in the south west, which goes to show how quickly things can change in football. Argyle were in the Championship pushing for a play-off place while Bristol City were in League One fighting for automatic pro`motion. This season has seen the tables turn with City establishing themselves as surprise promotion contenders while Paul Strurrock’s side have struggled to stay in the play-offs. Only a few weeks ago, Argyle’s season looked to be over as they lay far adrift from the play-off places, yet a resurgent run of four straight wins in February took them back into the play-offs and had fans dreaming of the Premiership. But they have now lost three games in March and have slipped outside the top six so Saturday’s game is crucial for both teams.

City, on the other hand have maintained their place at the top of the league and have now gone eight games unbeaten. We have managed to take 16 points from eight games which is a fantastic return and certainly promotion form, and hopefully this will continue. But the Westcountry derby will not be an easy game for City as Plymouth will obviously be desperate to get back to winning ways and maintain their push for a top six finish.

In our last meeting in December, the game ended 1-1, with City scoring from a Krisztian Timar own goal. Plymouth goalkeeper Roman Larrieu had a fantastic game and was unlucky to concede a goal after he had made some fantastic saves. Fortunately for City, Larrieu is injured, as is his number two Luke McCormick, so Argyle have a keeper crisis and are looking at bringing in an emergency loan as they are left with only a youth team goalkeeper to stick between the posts. Hopefully, the headlines from this game aren’t ‘loanee goalkeeper makes fantastic save to win the game for Plymouth’!

The game is sure to be sell-out, which is two in a row at Ashton Gate, so the atmosphere should be fantastic. I am sure the game will also be entertaining with both sides wanting to play football instead of looking to kick the ball in the air, which has been the case in recent games at Ashton Gate. The swirling winds will hopefully have ceased so the players should find it easier to play football. On Tuesday, I became frustrated with the lack of football played by City and Watford, but walking away from the game I realised how bad the wind was which would have made play difficult for both sets of teams.

So who do you think will come out victorious on Saturday? Of course I am going to say City but Plymouth will no doubt create a hard game. With quality players like Peter Halmosi and Jermaine Easter, it promises to be an entertaining game. I expect City to make some changes to the side that played on Tuesday, with Lee Johnson looking doubtful and perhaps Ivan Sproule and Darren Byfield could be recalled. I was not happy, to say the least, with having Brian Wilson playing on the right wing against Watford and we looked a better side when Sproule replaced him in the last five minutes. I also have a bet with a Plymouth fan riding on this game, so a win would be all the sweeter.

ANDY DAVIES

Gutless. Witless. Pathetic.

One of the major problems with keeping a regular blog on your football team is that while it’s great fun to wax lyrical on famous victories and dazzling players, bringing yourself to write about those days when your heroes don’t quite cover themselves in glory isn’t quite as enjoyable.

So it is then that I’ve given myself a couple of days to recover from the farcical debacle of Tuesday night at Glanford Park, but the passing hours have barely dimmed how utterly appalled I am at Argyle’s performance in the 1-0 defeat against Scunthorpe United.

Admittedly, there were mitigating factors. The howling wind gusting off the Humber rendered anything but on-the-floor tactics impractical in the first half, and, under Paul Sturrock, this is not Argyle’s forte. But our brainless incompetence in adapting to this was still a site to behold, or rather, one I wish I hadn't. Once Scunthorpe – who were even worse than Argyle and comfortably the poorest side I’ve ever seen in the second tier of English professional football – managed to squeeze a rather fortunate effort past Luke McCormick early in the second half, referee Stuart Attwell appeared to decide that it would be easier, in such an awful game, for the team who scored first to win, and from there on in Argyle were the victims of a run of decisions almost as disgraceful as their performance.

The men in yellow were as awful as our luminous away kit. Lee Hodges, mystifyingly restored to left-back in place of the improving Gary Sawyer, insisted on hoofing the ball skywards every time he received it, despite the force of the wind curling every effort backwards. Hodges, who never had the technical gifts even for third level football but has often displayed enough grit and determination to disguise these failings, was on this occasion so bad that when McCormick was sent off on 71 minutes for handling the ball outside his area, Hodges replaced him and was actually better between the sticks than he had been outfield.

Steve McLean’s ridiculous ineptitude was almost funny, displaying an inability to complete one-yard passes or keep control of even the gentlest of loose balls. Argyle’s most expensive ever signing looked at best lost and at worst uninterested, and got absolutely nowhere near even having a shot at goal, let alone scoring. Lilian Nalis and Jimmy Abdou, in central midfield, were ineffectual to the extent that the only time they were noticed was when needlessly giving away the ball. Paul Connolly's primary achievement was managing to sky the white sphere high, over and out of the shack masquerading as a Championship football ground (which provoked such classics and "My garden shed is bigger than this...", and the more modern twist of "Is your ground from MFI?" from the Green Army) on three separate occasions.

The roll-call of villains in day-glo had a few notable exceptions. Jamie Mackie was given his first start at long last and was Argyle’s sole attacking threat, with the pace, energy, and desire lacking elsewhere. Picking up the ball and realising the rest of his team were going to be of little use, Mackie took on the Scunny defence single-handedly, beating defenders and causing havoc. Sturrock seemed to be mocking either Mackie, the fans, or perhaps even himself when choosing to withdraw the 22-year-old from Horsham for lost cause Rory Fallon. Luggy also refused to bring on Jermaine Easter, who had not even really deserved to be dropped, instead persevering with the hopeless McLean.

Gary Teale added more urgency when on as a sub for Chris Clark, who until this moment I had completely forgotten the existence of, such was his anonymity.

And Russell Anderson was generally able to neutralise what passed for a Scunthorpe attack, despite the goal.

Despite all of this, Argyle still should have won. Scunthorpe were a collective of clueless pub players with a dodgy keeper and a colander defence. On any other day the Greens should have won 7 or 8-0. It is laughable that Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins described his players as 'absolutely magnificent'. If that's true, I'd hate to see them on a bad day. No wonder there were less than 4000 home fans present.

It must be said that the 400 or so travelling supporters were, as usual, immense, providing faultless vocal encouragement for the majority of the game, until even the infinite stoicism which the average Argyle exile wears like a badge of honour began to disintegrate. The likes of Mackie and McCormick - the players that care - clearly appreciated this, and were not shy about showing it. A pumped fist from Mackie and a quick clap from Luke while play continued said it all. And the keeper gave the Green throng the best moment of the entire evening, clearing up a slack Connolly backpass with a nonchalant drag back and turn which left the advancing Scunny striker flailing.

The Argyle fans were certainly louder than their hosts. Even after scoring and at the final whistle, the Lincolnshire natives were largely silent, save for a dozen or so screeching kids immediately to our right. I have literally never encountered such an unenthusiastic home crowd, although as previously explained, their team provide little to shout about.

I’m struggling to decide whether the similarly poor results for Argyle’s playoff challengers – Hull, Ipswich, Charlton, and Wolves – in the last couple of days is a good or bad thing. On the one hand, we are still very much in the race - seventh, only a point away from the magical zone which will allow the extension of our season beyond 46 games. Had we beaten the Iron, as we really should have done, Argyle would be fifth on 58 points, two ahead of Charlton and Hull.

This is despite three defeats in four games, which really should have seen us left in the dirt. But the Championship is wildly unpredictable this season. I’d have said it was a poor league, but the FA Cup semi-final line-up, with three teams from the second tier present, somewhat contradicts this. And two of those, Barnsley (who have beaten two members of the ‘big four’, Liverpool and Chelsea, on their way to Wembley) and Cardiff, are nowhere near the playoffs.

So, in conclusion, if Argyle beat Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Saturday, which I doubt we will, then anything is possible. If we don’t, the playoff charge is definitely over. I’m sure of it. Maybe. Unless we then win a few games…

RICH PARTINGTON

Top of the table encounter ends in stalemate

It was billed as City’s biggest game of the season and it certainly was. The game against Watford on Tuesday night was perhaps one of the biggest games for City since they last won promotion to the top flight over 30 years ago. And for the first time this season, football fans in Bristol realised what was at stake as the game was a complete sell-out with 19,000 fans anticipating a titanic encounter. I have said in previous articles about the lack of full houses at Ashton Gate and after last night’s sell-out, it really does show what a difference a full stadium makes.

The atmosphere was electric and the players certainly responded to the occasion with tackles flying in and the two dugouts also seeing plenty of action involved in the fiery arguments. Although I may be biased, from my position just behind the away dug out, it seemed as Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd failed to control his players and staff as they became involved in arguments with Gary Johnson. But tempers reaching boiling point is hardly surprising, given the occasion and importance of the game.

The match itself was not the prettiest of encounters with the ball often in the air and with the windy conditions, both sides failed to make much of an impact. Marvin Elliot going close with two shots well saved by Watford goalkeeper Jordan Stewart was as close as City came to scoring but the Hornets had the best chance of the half to score when McIndoe was adjudged to have brought down Tommy Smith in the box. Darius Henderson stepped up to take the penalty, but Ashton Gate erupted when Adriano Basso’s right-hand palmed the ball to safety and he later thanked God for his help in making the save. Perhaps another ‘Hand of God’ scenario? That save could prove crucial as we struggled to break through the Watford defence and I doubt we would have equalised had Henderson found the net.

Lee Johnson was substituted at half time after suffering an injury from a challenge by striker Henderson and City missed their instrumental playmaker in the second half. Lee Johnson, has since he arrived at Ashton Gate last season, been subjected to unfair criticism from some sections of City fans who have failed to realise the importance of his job in midfield. As he is Gary’s son, he can be an easy target for many fans criticising his ability hold onto the ball and tackle an opponent. However, hopefully after his absence in the second-half, these fans will realise what an important player he is to the team. He may not make the most challenges, but this is not necessary when he has ‘marvellous’ Marvin Elliot alongside him, who has been a revelation since arriving from Millwall in the summer, to tackle the opposition. Johnson's role is to help keep the game moving with his quick passing and it was easy to see the ball becoming stuck in the midfield after his departure. But he may have won over some his critics as he was given a standing ovation by the Atyeo Stand as he headed for the dressing room. Hopefully, he will make a quick recovery and play some part in the Westcountry derby against Plymouth.

Tuesday’s draw with Watford is City’s third in a row so a win on Saturday is crucial if we want to remain at the top, but we are now eight games unbeaten so the players should be full of confidence. Saturday also sees Stoke host Watford, so City really do have a chance to move away from the chasing pack, so we have every chance of being top come 5pm on Saturday night.

ANDY DAVIES

Overview: The Western Rising

Football in the south-west has never had the status and importance of that in other parts of the country. The Westcountry has eight professional football teams, yet none has ever won a major honour. The most successful, Bristol City, experienced their heyday a century ago with runners-up medals in League and Cup, but as recently as 2004 only they and my beloved Plymouth Argyle could even boast third-tier status.

Now things are changing. Argyle won the old Division Two that year and were finally followed into the Championship last season by City. The Ashton Gate outfit have been a revelation, with quick passing football and a formidable home record propelling them to the league’s summit. Most pundits seemed sure they would fall away eventually, but Gary Johnson has made remarkable consistency the trademark of a club which always used to choke when it really mattered. Argyle, much to my delight, are pushing hard for a playoff spot and it is not inconceivable that the Match of the Day cameras could be covering a pair of Westcountry derbies next season.

For Plymouth, the second-largest city in Europe (after Hull) never to have a top-flight team, it’d be a first. Of course, for those raised on the self-preserving Premier League elite, this seems absurd. But Bristol is the seventh-largest city in England, and Plymouth has a larger population than Derby, Portsmouth, and Blackburn to name just three. Both have huge catchment areas which could clearly support top clubs.

And these are not the only two south-western teams on the up. Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers both won promotion last season to join Yeovil Town, and of course Cheltenham Town, in League One. All four should retain their status this year, enabling them to push on afterwards. Cheltenham have risen from utter obscurity a decade ago to challenge Gloucester Rugby for public and media attention in this area.

Rovers have delighted football romantics nation-wide with their FA Cup adventure, with giant-slaying wins over Fulham and Southampton giving them a quarter-final clash with West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. It’ll be tough – the Baggies are the best side I’ve seen in the Championship this term – but with a raucous Memorial Stadium behind them and goalscoring threats Ricky Lambert and Craig Disley in the side, they have a real chance.

Further down, Exeter City, Forest Green Rovers and Torquay United are all vying for elevation from the Blue Square Premier, the Devon sides hoping for a return to their traditional fourth-tier level, and Rovers aiming to become the smallest club ever to play in the football league. Anomaly of the season, though, must be the fact that promotion could actually impact negatively on the finances of these clubs. Fifth-tier sides, now given ample television coverage by Setanta, receive excellent broadcast revenue, and greater media exposure than those in League Two. Added to the dent in attendance figures from a likely season in the middle or the lower reaches of the table, as opposed to a play-off race, and you can see why some have darkly suggested it might be better if Torquay and co remain where they are.

Look out, too, for Truro City. The ‘White Tigers’ from the Cornish capital are backed by millionaire property developer Kevin Heaney, who aims to give the peninsula a league side by 2017. They won the FA Vase at Wembley in May in front of an astonishing crowd of 27,754, and stormed Western League Division One last year, winning 37 of their 42 games and scoring 185 goals. Striker Stewart Yetton (formerly of Plymouth) bagged 72 himself, as well as 36 so far this season, and is a prime example of City’s successful policy of cherry-picking the best players from non-league and professional reserve sides in the area. Truro were installed as 2-7 favourites to win the 2007-8 Western Premier and have not disappointed, currently sitting five points clear. Next season they should go up to Southern League Division One, with four additional promotions needed to realise Heaney’s dream.

RICH PARTINGTON

Surprise promotion contenders

Every season, in every league, there is a team that exceeds all their expectations and has bookmakers scratching their heads wondering whether they underestimated them. Last year in the Championship Colchester surprised many people when they finished just outside the play-off places, when many tipped them as relegation contenders. This season is no different, only there are two teams who are upsetting the form book, Bristol City and Stoke City, who both currently occupy the top two places of the league. I am sure I am not the only one who is surprised by their deserved success.

Before the season began, bookmakers ranked Bristol City 30-1 to win promotion and Stoke’s odds were not much shorter. To be fair to the bookmakers, I was happy with the odds we were given as we were given a better chance for promotion than some teams who had established themselves in the Championship in the last few years. Stoke’s success this season has surprised some people but Tony Pulis’s side almost made the play-offs last year, missing out by just one place and they have come back stronger this year with a sustained push for Premiership football. But can either side achieve it?

The favourites at the beginning of the season were the likes of Watford, West Brom and Charlton, who all had bigger spending powers than the other two sides. Watford started the season brightly leading the way, but inconsistent results have left them playing catch up. West Brom also led the way for a time and they are regarded many as the best football team in the Championship, which I would have to agree with. They have the best goal scoring record in the league although not the tightest defence, but with Kevin Phillips up front they will rarely struggle to find the net. Personally, I still believe West Brom will gain promotion and anyone who finishes above them is guaranteed Premiership football.

The biggest surprise by far has been Bristol City, and Gary Johnson has to be awarded manager of the year even if we ultimately do not win promotion. City have been the most consistent team in the league and although we don’t have the best goal scoring record compared to West Brom, we certainly deserve to be where we are. We have won 18 games, the joint-highest in the league with the Baggies, and have only lost seven matches in 37 games, a record which takes some beating, in a league where almost anyone can beat anyone.

With only nine games left now, we are still top, with Stoke in second place three points behind. City are now seven games unbeaten after today’s 0-0 draw away at Leicester and the team is on a roll. I’m sure most fans will agree that March is probably the most important month in our season with four matches still to play, in particular Watford at home on Tuesday night, a game I cannot wait for. A result against Watford would go a long way in securing Premiership status and we are more than capable of beating them as we proved at Vicarage Road in December. We also host Westcountry rivals Plymouth, who also have promotion aspirations on Saturday, so March really could make or break our season. With a trip to Stoke in April also still to come, our destiny is in our hands and is ours to lose.

ANDY DAVIES

City reach the summit...and stay there

All too often this season, when Gary Johnson’s Bristol City side have reached top spot of the Championship, we have been knocked off it within a few hours. But on Saturday, after our 2-1 success at home to Hull City, we stayed top. Before the game, Johnson described the match as a ‘must win’ game as we face a tough March with an away trip to promotion chasers Charlton, and host Watford on 11 March. The match was important and there was big crowd waiting in anticipation, although it was not a sell out and I can’t understand why not.

We are in a fantastic position, the highest the club has been for 28 years yet we still have not had a 19,000 plus crowd cheering on the lads. I know I have mentioned this before but there are few home games remaining and we are on course to achieve the biggest feat this season. To be fair to City fans, the 15,859 spectators present were mostly made up of home supporters with Hull City bringing probably less than 1,000 supporters. With Watford and Plymouth likely to bring support in the region of 3,000 fans, I am sure Ashton Gate will be sold out for some games this season.

Back to Saturday, and Phil Brown’s Hull City side made life very difficult for City and could have easily taken the lead after just 50 seconds when an unmarked Caleb Folan found his way into the box, only to slice his shot wide of Adriano Basso’s left hand post. The miss proved crucial on 14 minutes when a Jamie McAllister long ball forward was misjudged by defender Neil Clement and Dele Adebola lashed the ball on the half volley into the top corner of the net from 15 yards.

It was a fantastic finish from a player many City fans questioned the signing of when Gary made a bid for him in the January transfer window. But three goals in six appearances speaks for itself and this may prove to be one of the smartest signings of Gary’s reign if his goals send us into the Premiership. Personally, when we signed him, I looked at his record at Coventry City, which revealed he had scored six goals this season, and I was unconvinced. Many friends, one a Coventry fan, couldn’t speak highly enough of him, while others believed he was too old. But I think all his doubters can agree they were wrong.

After the first goal, as has been the case so often this season, we struggled to score a second and the visitors equalised on the stroke of half time through a Liam Fontaine own goal. The goal did not come as a surprise as Hull gained in confidence as the half progressed and City seemed to sit on their one goal advantage. I’m sure Gary gave the players a roasting at half time as their performance was not up their usual high standards. His team talk worked again, as it has on so many other occasions this season, as defender Jamie McCombe scored with an over head kick which any striker would have been happy with. From then on the team grew in confidence and could have scored more with Adebola going close and David Noble shooting over the bar.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was fantastic, one of the best all season, as fans began singing and dreaming of promotion as we headed to the top of the league. With Stoke City losing to QPR on Sunday, we are still top and there is now a real belief that we can achieve promotion and with just six more wins needed from 11 games according to Johnson, it is certainly achievable.

ANDY DAVIES

Well done Mr Lansdown

It’s that time of the year again, the day Bristol City fans start counting the pennies as season ticket prices for next season have been released. This news today came as quite a shock to me because usually at City you can expect to wait until at least the end of March, normally the beginning of April before there is even any talk about prices being released. Seeing the news this morning you could forgive me for being slightly nervous before reading through the story as season ticket prices last year, after promotion to the Championship, increased by about 20 per cent for adult tickets. With the team riding high in the Championship in second place I assumed the Steve Lansdown would have increased the prices even more. To his credit, the club has frozen all ticket prices for the forthcoming season. But are we as supporters still getting value for money?

When the prices were released last year, there was a backlash from many fans who felt the price rises were too steep, and many fans simply couldn’t afford it. Personally, the ticket price for my seat at £225 was in my opinion value for money, although that is the benefit of being a student. With 23 homes games in a season this worked out as under £10 per game watching Championship football. Even the more expensive adult tickets, priced at £425, worked out as under £20 per game, which is good value. The pay on the day prices though, for fans cannot who cannot afford a season ticket or are simply unable to watch every match, were too expensive. Adult prices in the Dolman and Williams stands were priced at £26, which is more expensive than some Premiership teams. Steve Lansdown at the time said the increased prices were justified if City fans wanted the club to be competitive in the Championship and, fortunately for him, he has been proven right so far.

By placing season tickets on sale from 1 March, Mr Lansdown has strategically aimed to get City fans to commit their money in the hope that City can achieve promotion. Well, personally, it has worked for me as I will be buying my ticket for next season before the prices increase on 12 April in the hope that we will be playing top flight football next season, but will the rest of you?

Although supporters could lose out if we did achieve the unthinkable, the prices would certainly be value for money. In the past, the club has put season tickets on sale when we were in League 1 pushing for promotion and uncertain of what league we will be playing in. Unfortunately, the gamble for those fans including me who did part with their money was lost. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.

Premiership football would bring sell-out crowds and having a season ticket would probably be a necessity in securing a seat. It would not surprise if we sold out the entire home allocation to season ticket holders if we gained promotion. The current capacity allocates just over 19,000 fans, taking the away allocation in to account, only 16,000 seats would be available. This season alone we have sold over 10,000 season tickets, and it’s not unthinkable that we could sell out.

The club is also introducing a new card system which signals the end of the season ticket book stuffed full of vouchers. The new card will be similar to those used by the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle. Personally, I think this is a great idea, as it can become tedious searching in the book for the correct voucher to present a turnstile operator. But does this signal the end for the old fashioned turnstile in football? Will all tickets including pay on the day just involve a card being swiped?

Back to the prices: I am sure most City fans will take up the offer and gamble on the clubs fortunes, but even if we do ultimately fail, next season we will certainly come back even stronger and mount another promotion push. However, I am now convinced we can achieve promotion and why not? We have been one of the most consistent teams in the
Championship; we have won the most games along with Watford and Stoke City, and we have also lost the least amount of games. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season?

ANDY DAVIES

One down, seven to go

Finally, Gary Johnson has revealed what he thinks can secure promotion back to the top flight for the first time in 28 years. Last week, he stated publicly that City needed eight wins from their next 13 matches to win automatic promotion. On Saturday we faced struggling Colchester United and secured three precious points with a 2-1 win courtesy of goals from Dele Adebola and Michael McIndoe. So we now need only seven wins from 12 games. Is this achievable?

Our form over the last 34 games suggests we are capable doing it and after seeing us go six points clear of West Brom who are sitting in fourth place, a team that until a couple of weeks ago were my tip for automatic promotion, anything is now possible. We may not be top of the league, with Stoke City leading the way, but we are only one point behind and in second place ahead of third placed Watford by one point.

The Championship is such a tight league, certainly the tightest in the football league and things can change quickly. Looking at Leagues 1 and 2, the top teams like Swansea have opened up big leaders on their opponents, but this has not happened in the Championship. It is a cliché but really, anyone can beat anyone. We’ve proved this on many occasions when we have lost to Ipswich 6-0 and then beaten them 2-0 only a few weeks later.

It is rare for any club in this league to put a run of more than two wins together and when a team does it they can really shoot up the league. Crystal Palace have done this in recent months despite languishing near the relegation zone in the early part of the season. Similarly, Plymouth have in the last few weeks started winning and now found themselves in fifth place when their fans believed their play-off dreams were all but over. So if things can change for the better so quickly, then they can also change for the bad quickly. Hopefully that won’t happen at City.

We are currently in a fantastic position that is still unbelievable to me, but do we have what it takes to stay there? On Monday night we had the chance to go top and didn’t take it, did nerves get the better of us? One thing in City’s favour is that the majority of our squad have experienced promotion and the pressures that come with it so we have every chance.

The result against Colchester is further confirmation to me that we have what it takes to stay amongst the leaders and hopefully all City fans agree. Colchester is always a hard place to go and win with their tiny stadium and small pitch but we battled and came away with the win. Our away form is picking up now with two wins in row so all the signs are looking good. Our home form this season has been one of the best in the league and I am sure this will continue. What has puzzled me this season is that although our average home attendance is up from around 13,000 to 15,000 supporters; shouldn’t we be selling out our stadium seeing as we are so close to the Premiership?

With only six home games remaining I hope we can attract a 19,000-plus crowd before the season is finished. On Saturday we face Hull City who beat West Brom this weekend 2-1 away, so it is going to be a tough game, but come 5pm on Saturday we might be three more points closer to where we all want to be.

ANDY DAVIES

'Boom boom' McCombe steals a point

For the first time this season Bristol City had the opportunity to go top of the Championship and stay there on Monday night. Although Gary Johnson’s team have reached the summit on a number of occasions this season, we always seem to be knocked off the top within hours due to a late kick off, usually involving Watford or West Brom. However, on a freezing cold Monday night against Neil Warnock’s Crystal Palace side we had the chance to sit top of the pile. Sadly as most City fans and others fans will know, having watched it live on TV, we failed. Many Championship supporters will however look at our position and say ‘we should be happy where we are’, but are we really satisfied?

At the beginning of the season, all the talk and expectation on fans forums were of staying up or perhaps finishing in mid-table. Some cheeky supporters said we should even push for a play-off spot but many of us were quick to stress survival was the priority. If someone had told me at the start of the season that we would be third in the league, only one point behind the leaders and with a real chance at promotion, I would have called for the men in the big white coats to take them away. Since I have been supporting City, which is for over 15 years now, there has always been an expectation, certainly when were in League One, that we were a big club and deserved better. Which is why for many years, under the likes of Danny Wilson and Brian Tinnion, that we failed in numerous promotion attempts – because of the attitude of some of our players.

Under the guidance of manager Gary Johnson, who has built a fantastic team spirit at the club, we are finally achieving what most fans expect. Now we are in the Championship that expectation, I think, has disappeared. The fans are just happy to be playing bigger teams again and travelling to brand new stadiums like the Ricoh Arena. There is a buzz around the club and this has rubbed off on the players. They are able to play with a freedom, even more so now given that we have virtually retained our status as a Championship club for next season. But we now found ourselves in a position of being in touching distance of the promise land and the question is: Do we go for it?

We have seen many clubs go up to the Premiership, spend a fortune and come down a broken club. Under the guidance of Johnson and wise chairman Steve Lansdown I doubt this would happen and I hope many other City fans would agree. For instance, if we were relegated after only one season we would bank at least £50 million and a further £30 million from parachute payments. Who wouldn’t want to go up? Take Watford for example, they managed two years ago to gain promotion and although they failed in their quest to stay up, they have returned to the Championship a much richer and bigger club.

Anyway, back to Monday’s game. After two straight wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Scunthorpe, confidence was high. I expected three points as our home form has been fantastic this season and Crystal Palace had not won a game since they had beaten us 2-0 in January. Revenge must have been on the minds of the players and I hoped for a good game of football. Unfortunately, Palace seemed intent on hitting the ball long and direct at every opportunity, and we were unable to get our passing game going.

It was a poor first half with the best chance for City going to Nick Carle who shot just wide. Palace improved in the second half and scored with a fine half volley from Lee Hills after 60 minutes. City were awarded a penalty with just five minutes to go after a foul on Darren Byfield. Bradley Orr stepped up to take the penalty, confident after scoring two previous penalties, unfortunately his effort and rebound were saved but in the last minute of injury time Jamie McCombe rescued a point with a bullet header from a corner.

On many occasions this season we have scored late goals to either rescue a point or win the game. With just 13 games left the league is very tight and with Stoke City now leading the way it looks to be a four-horse race for who will gain the two automatic spots. I’m sure City can achieve the play-offs and maybe automatic promotion. As Adriano Basso says, "Always believe."

ANDY DAVIES

City come out on top in grudge match

This game was billed as a ‘grudge match’ since Scunthorpe beat us to the League One title last season and we were looking for revenge. Although, Scunthorpe finished higher than City, it is the Robins who have settled in the Championship. Prior to the match, we were third in the Championship and only one point off leaders Watford.

Nigel Adkins’ team, on the other hand, are struggling near the foot of the table, facing the threat of relegation. Despite our high position, this was billed as a ‘must win game’, as Gary Johnson’s team looked to win away for the first time in 2008.

This match was always going to be difficult as the pitch at Glanford Park is not exactly perfect for playing good football. It is much shorter and narrower than our surface at Ashton Gate so the players would have to adapt. The solution to this problem was to resize our training pitch in preparation for the game. We were also without our captain Louis Carey, who had suffered a foot injury at the weekend, so a win would take some hard work. Judging by the radio commentary in the first 20 minutes Scunthorpe had most of the possession and created the most chances. We did however force our way into the game and Jamie McCombe came close with a header which went just wide of the post.

In the second half our play sounded a lot brighter, with chances being created but still no goals. With time running out Johnson introduced defender Tamas Vasko to play up front in place of Dele Adebola. The substitution paid off when Vasko’s presence in the box distracted goalkeeper Joe Murphy, and Bradley Orr’s left-footed, curling effort ended up in the far corner of the net.

For the next ten minutes I was sitting on the edge of my seat while the final minutes were played out. The win was crucial, with Stoke and Watford both winning it was important to claim all three points. And with West Brom only managing a draw at home to stuttering Sheffield United, the win was even more welcome.

Last season, we travelled to Glanford Park and lost 1-0 to a Billy Sharp goal. After the game, the Scunny players celebrated by unsportingly banging on the away dressing room door. All I can say is; I hope we gave them the same treatment. Let me say to Scunthorpe, League One here you come and to City, Premiership here we come!

ANDY DAVIES

City back on form

After last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to big spending QPR it was important Bristol City returned to winning ways yesterday against a struggling Sheffield Wednesday side. Before the game, manager Gary Johnson made a plea to supporters to do that ‘little bit extra’ to support the team, in a game which was a must-win if we were to stay amongst the leaders. After last week’s result, the national press were quick to say our ‘bubble had burst’ yet again, but we have proven this season we can bounce back from setbacks and this was the case on Saturday.

The game also saw the return of captain Louis Carey who has been sorely missed in recent weeks. Dele Adebola was making his home debut up front with Nick Carle playing just behind him in a 4-4-1-1 formation. We started brightly with Marvin Elliot seeing his header bounce off the crossbar and in the first five minutes it was clear City had sorely missed a strong target man like Dele. Since Steve Brooker’s persistent knee injuries of last season, we have lacked a player in this mould. Hopefully, with Brooker now playing at Cheltenham Town on loan in a bid to regain his fitness, we should soon have two target men at the club.

It seemed only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken and the first goal arrived after eight minutes. Michael McIndoe threaded a through ball to Adebola who slotted the ball past goalkeeper Lee Grant and into the far corner of the net. From then on we could have added at least two more goals with Carle seeing one chance flash wide and another well saved by Grant after a promising run by McIndoe. Wednesday rarely threatened and the only person in danger of causing City problems was referee Richard Shoebridge, who failed to spot many poor challenges by Brian Law’s team.

At half-time the score was 1-0 and I was in two minds as to whether to be pleased that we were winning and creating chances or disappointed that we had wasted most of those chances. We started the second half as we had the first, pushing forward and creating chances. However, with Wednesday behind it was inevitable their forwards would put pressure on us. Marcus Tudgay sent a dipping effort wide of Adriano Basso’s post while Sean McAllister header was tipped over the crossbar with a fingertip save from Basso.

That save was crucial as moments later City scored a second. Carle’s pass to Adebola eventually found its way into Bradley Orr’s path, who lashed the ball into the far corner of the net from 15 yards. At last, the home side and the majority of the 15,600 could sit back and enjoy the rest of the game. Too often this season, City have failed to score the decisive second goal, leaving fans on the edge of our seats.

Gary Johnson then substituted Adebola and Carle soon after the second goal with Tuesday’s away game at Scunthorpe in mind. Lee Trundle and Darren Byfield came on in their places and both threatened to add a third. Trundle’s layoff to McIndoe should have made it 3-0 but the winger shot straight at the Goalkeeper.

Wednesday did eventually score with Lee Bullen firing past Basso with a fierce volley, but it was far too late in injury time for it to spoil the party. After the game, Johnson, in his post match interview told reporters, a supporter in Japan did his extra bit to support the team by lighting a candle and sending a picture to the team.

City now only trail leaders West Brom by one point, and with 15 games to go the dream of the Premiership is still on as our ‘bubble’ remains intact.

ANDY DAVIES

Debut for Dele ends in defeat

So the transfer window has finally closed after a month of mass speculation surrounding Bristol City, linking the club with players from Scotland to Turkey. During the month many names were mentioned by journalists locally and nationally, with the majority of the players being strikers or attacking midfielders. In the end their rumours were proved correct as we signed attacking midfielder Nick Carle from Genclerbiligi and striker Dele Adebola from Championship rivals Coventry City. As is commonplace in the game now, the fees paid for both players were undisclosed, but speculation suggests the club forked out £500,000 on Carle and £250,000 for the services of 32-year-old Adebola.

The signing of Adebola, or at least that type of player (a target man), was always on the cards after City accepted a bid from Leeds United last week, for striker Enoch Showumni. He ultimately declined to talk to Leeds and stated his intention to fight for his place. Yet he found himself sitting in the stands last week against Blackpool as Johnson stated publicly he felt the move would be good for Showumni.

Deadline day was fairly quiet for City as Johnson seemed satisfied with his two new signings, but there was still business to be done with outgoing players, as Kevin Betsy headed to Walsall on a month’s loan and Jennison Myrie-Williams extended his loan with Tranmere until the end of the season. Alex Russell also extended his loan with League One local rivals Cheltenham Town and Showumni finally left for Sheffield Wednesday on a month’s loan. This deal was inevitable, as the day beforehand Johnson had made clear in an interview that he had signed Adebola because the strikers already at the club lacked that physical presence.

In a more intimate interview on Friday, Gary said how he had tried to turn Showumni into a target man, but the Nigerian striker still considered his role to be someone who plays off of someone like Dele. With Steve Brooker still on loan at Cheltenham but likely to return in the near future, Showumni’s time at City looks at an end with his contract set to expire in the summer. To me he has always offered us a strong presence up front, but he lacks good ball control and, for a player of his size, he is very poor in the air on many occasions. It is clear Johnson is looking to trim the squad of players unlikely to cope with the demands of the Championship, and as he always says when discussing possible new signings: "We will only bring players in who enhance our squad."

On Saturday we faced QPR, a side totally transformed from the side we hosted on the opening day of the season, a game which finished 2-2. Since then the club has had three new major shareholders in Formula One tycoons Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, and steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, worth an estimated £15billion and the world’s fifth richest man.

Going into the game I was confident that we could hopefully collect all three points as QPR had signed many players in January. I thought it might take them time to gel; sadly this was not the case as they stormed into a 2-0 lead by half-time with a brace from new signing Patrick Agyemang. In the second half, we improved and we were starting to dominate, but just couldn’t find a way back into the game. Then against the run of play, the home side scored a third through Akos Buzsaky. Adebola saw an effort hit the post late on and his rebound also hit the woodwork. It was clear that it wasn’t going to be our day and it proved the case.

Next up is Sheffield Wednesday at home, in a game we will expect to win. Judging by the manager’s comments after Saturday’s game, the players have a point to prove and hopefully Dele can be convinced that he has made the right move.

ANDY DAVIES

Discontent growing in Plymouth

On Saturday afternoon, the Plymouth public gave an early indication of how they felt about the January player sales at Home Park. Only 11,011, a figure pleasing only for its palindromic qualities, were willing to fork out and watch Paul Sturrock’s new-look team take on Hull. Their reward was to witness Plymouth Argyle’s play-off hopes take a decisive hit with a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat.

Had we won – against a side who have been the highest ranked of Yorkshire’s nine football league clubs for most of the season, but who we had already beaten twice in 2007-8 – Argyle would now be just two points off the top six going into next Saturday’s grudge match at former manager Ian Holloway’s Leicester City.

As it is, the gap is five, and we are four behind yesterday’s very limited visitors, who are still relying on that old warhorse Dean Windass, soon to reach pensionable age and with semi-automatic limbs. He’s still managed four goals in three games against Argyle’s backline this season, including the Tigers’ winner on Saturday.

While five points is, on the face of it, not insurmountable, the manner of recent performances has left more and more fans looking the other way – at the relegation places. I think that any fears of this happening are unfounded this season, but the horrible sense hanging around is that this era at Home Park has reached its zenith with the play-off flirtations and FA Cup Quarter-Final under Holloway. I’m not going to resign myself to that just yet; Paul Sturrock is a top manager, and could still mould a promotion-chasing team, but this has not happened as yet, and at this level he cannot survive on the shoestring budget which took us through the lower divisions.

And the reality is that over the last couple of years attendances have dwindled at Home Park, with the momentum of previous years slowing and the sense of excitement and anticipation of success among the fanbase giving away to grim ‘consolidation’. This is something that could have happened to Bristol City this season, but Gary Johnson’s side has taken the bull by the spiky bits and rode it, chortling heartily, into real contention for a second consecutive promotion. Its heartbreaking to see the Turnips overtake us as the Westcountry’s premier team quite so easily, but after five years in our shadow, this is the position they now undoubtedly occupy.

Personally, I’ll keep supporting the team, getting to as many games as I can from exile, because I’ve got the bug. Although, like anyone, I’ll make even more effort to attend matches if we’re doing well, I’ll never stop going completely because I need my Argyle fix every so often, and the club just means too much to me; it defines my adolescence, and that history will always be with me. But the club have clearly failed to keep hold of those fans who came back into the fold when we reached the Championship and enjoyed the novelty of big games against the likes of Leeds and Sunderland.

The much-maligned ‘Janner apathy’ does exist, but only because the people of Plymouth have never seen their club make a serious attempt to give the city the Premiership club it deserves. It’s a case of making them believe before they’ll come, and they’ve been let down so many times before that cynicism reigns, particularly among the older ones. But Argyle had a whole new generation they could convince of their ambition, and that has not happened.

Still, even if this season is over, (and I find it easier to just accept that now than have my hopes dashed again) I’ll still be here, attempting to pick apart the essence of the Green dream. Life goes on.

RICH PARTINGTON

Johnson refuses to discuss new signings

The January transfer window closes this week and much of the talk surrounding City is whether we will bring in a new striker to shake things up. Goals from our forwards have been in short supply this season with £1million summer signing Lee Trundle only finding the net three times, and Darren Byfield scoring eight goals.

With Steve Brooker out on loan to Cheltenham Town in a bid to regain his match fitness, and Enoch Showumni out of the picture after City accepted an undisclosed bid from Leeds United, (even though he turned down the offer) it is clear we need more options. Gary Johnson has since publicly stated he thinks Showumni should have taken the offer so with his contract up at the end of the season, it doesn’t look likely that it will be renewed.

Some could argue we should start fielding younger players like Tristan Plummer but we need a striker who is capable of holding the ball up front and letting Byfield or Trundle play alongside the target man. Rumours have been circulating for a couple of weeks now with many names mentioned including Coventry’s Dele Adebola and Celtic’s Derek Riordan, neither of which looks likely.

On the subject of new signings, Johnson has always remained tight-lipped about any targets he has, to prevent other clubs being alerted of their availability and to remain respectful to the players who have already taken us so far this season. Gary is in a tricky position as a new signing could bring more goals or upset the tremendous team spirit at the club already.

His only signing of the window so far, Nick Carle, made his home debut on Saturday and to me he looks absolute class. The Australian has a fantastic awareness of the game and is more than comfortable using both his feet, so this is encouraging and he can also play an attacking role if needed. At £500,000 he looks an absolute steal and will surely add quality to the squad. He could surely play at a higher level.

On Saturday we faced Blackpool after a run of two games without a win, so it was important we secured all three points. With the majority of the teams in the Championship competing in the FA Cup, a win would send us top, level on points with West Brom. An early goal from Marvin Elliot sent us on our way to a 1-0 victory and three precious points. Again we failed to score more goals as we were wasteful with our chances and this made for a nervy finale with Blackpool hitting the crossbar and forcing goalkeeper Adriano Basso to make some good saves.

Encouragingly City defended very well without both our regular centre backs Louis Carey and Liam Fontaine, with proves our defence has strength in depth. We are gradually getting to the business end of the season where it is only the results that matter, and hopefully we will still be up near the top in May. So far this has been an incredible season, which has exceded all my expectations, and there is no reason why our current squad can’t take us into the Premier League.

Although I might say different in my next blog if we lose to QPR and haven’t signed anyone!

ANDY DAVIES

City falter at the Palace

On Saturday Bristol City faced one of their toughest away games to date, against a Crystal Palace team who were unbeaten in 14 matches going into the game. Realising the big task City faced I soon accepted a point would do nicely against a side completely rejuvenated under Neil Warnock.

In October his side were struggling at the other end of the table and a relegation battle looked likely. Now they have a great chance of securing a play off place, which creates even more competition against the top 10 teams all eyeing a top six finish. So in the circumstances a point would have been a great result for us as they would not have gained any ground on us, but this wasn’t to be the case.

Usually when City are playing I am watching them or listening to radio commentary of the match. But on Saturday, I had to settle for watching the scores on the TV, which was frustrating as I had no idea whether we were playing well or not. We soon fell behind to a Clinton Morrison goal which at the time sounded scrappy, and after seeing the highlights it was a poor goal to concede. Had Louis Carey not been injured we might have avoided it. Judging by the reporters’ comments it sounded an exciting game with chances at both ends but unfortunately we hadn’t found the net.

Our new signing Nick Carle was making his debut, playing just behind Enoch Showumni in a 4-4-1-1 formation which has worked well in the past. Judging by the reports it sounded as though he was having a good game, creating a few chances and nearly scoring himself with a looping header.

As the game wore on I became even more disappointed as West Brom were losing at home to Cardiff 3-1 and we were failing to capitalise on their mistake. As we pushed for an equaliser we left ourselves open in defence and eventually Palace grabbed a second five minutes from time. A free-kick into the box was misjudged by goalkeeper Adriano Basso and Hudson headed into an empty net.

The defeat was only our sixth of the season, which is still a fine record and the second best in the league behind Stoke City who have lost five. From the last two games we have only picked up one point which is disappointing, but we have already demonstrated this season we can bounce back from slip ups.

Next Saturday’s match against Blackpool is the perfect opportunity to put things right. The Seasiders were one of our promotion rivals last year in League One and they have settled in the Championship nicely, especially considering their transfer budget is not quite as large as other teams. Nevertheless this is a game we should expect to win if we want to still be challenging for promotion at the end of the season and Gary Johnson should have the players fired up and ready to go.

This time next week will see the January transfer window coming to an end which is sure to be exciting and hopefully by next week City may have a few new faces in the team help us push onwards and upwards.

ANDY DAVIES