The Exiled Robin

It’s Hallowe’en fancy dress at Brunton Park on Saturday as City make their longest trip of the season on the back of yet another defeat.  There was another Ashton Gate horror result on Tuesday night as for the first time the vocal minority of fans calling for Sean O’Driscoll to be relieved of his duties became a more significant number.  Two online ‘Sack Him or Back Him’ polls were split almost exactly 50/50 which, when you consider the recent record, actually bears a remarkable testament of faith by the half who remain in support, but the shadows of the Grim Reaper hang long over the BS3 area and if City are on the end of another fright night in Cumbria on Saturday, it could well sadly bode the end of this philosophical, thoughtful and well-intentioned coaches reign. Seven months and 17 days have passed since three points were last witnessed by anyone, so it would be somewhat ironic and perhaps apt if what will inevitably be one of our smallest – but most dedicated – a...

With every passing day City's season gets closer and closer to crisis point. Yes, there are still thirty-plus games remaining, more than enough to climb the league and get comfortable - at least - and if you tracked 'form' I believe we'd still be on an upward trending curve.  But another game without a win, or a point even, at Gresty Road on Saturday means City are now rock-bottom, their lowest position in 30 years. Tuesday night sees City welcome one of the pre-season favourites, Brentford, to Ashton Gate for the first in a short series of fixtures that look like they'll prove pivotal to the future of the season, if not the club. So what can we expect from our opponents? Until he recently joined Twitter , I'm sure many weren't aware that Bristol Post's City correspondent Andy Stockhausen was actually a Bees fan. It came to light for me with a response to an accusation about having an affinity to the Blue Few in the north of the city! Although now ...

  Another unfortunately-timed break in the footballing schedule has seen City fall to 23 rd in League One going into Saturday’s match at Crewe Alexandra. With City’s match against Crawley postponed due to international call-ups, it was a chance for sides around us to create a small gap at the bottom; a feat Crewe managed with a 2-0 win versus Preston at Deepdale. The win leaves the Alex three points above City in the table, but an away win (in what would be City’s first win at the Alexandra Stadium since the 2006/07 promotion season) would see us leapfrog the Railwaymen due to their extremely poor goal difference.  However, a familiar face in Bristolian pantomime-villain Steve Phillips could stand in our way... Nathaniel Holland, @natholland1 Sports Journalism student at Southampton Solent, has kindly answered our questions. City old boy Steve ‘Flapper’ Phillips finds himself between the sticks at the Alexandra Stadium. How has he performed since perma...

Two down, one to go of  'The Cider Diaries'  EXCLUSIVE interview with Bristol City Head Coach Sean O'Driscoll.  The downloads have absolutely smashed our previous record, and we continue to receive great feedback via Twitter  and the forums.  It seems like this has caught the imagination of many fans! In this final episode Sean explains his biggest regret since joining the club and talks about the fan's support and criticism, saying of those who are nervous and want results "I definitely understand, of course I do", whilst admitting he feels like he's a lone voice talking about the club's change of approach and said "it's not nice" when he's receiving criticism. He also responds to criticism about not being passionate enough and  confirms he's after another defender in the January transfer window, albeit on a budget that "isn't a lot". We discuss whether the likes of Liam Fontaine and Neil Kilkenny may have pla...

I hope you enjoyed the first 45 minutes of 'The Cider Diaries' EXCLUSIVE interview with Bristol City Head Coach Sean O'Driscoll, aired last night? It was certainly popular, with downloads incredibly outperforming all other editions inside just three hours, and we had some great feedback via Twitter and the forums. In this second episode Sean relaxes even more  and talks more about the disastrous performance at Wycombe as well as Joe Morrell's debut and what could lie ahead for this "exciting" talent who is "a cocky bugger" . He also gives a warning story about Joe Cole which goes some way to explain why he's always honest with players and discusses why he shows the team footage from Bayern Munich's best performances. EPPP and the Academy get a good airing and Sean raises the question about what will happen if someone comes in with a bid for the likes of Joe or Bobby Reid, especially after the latter's performance at Premier Leagu...

When you've only recorded seven shows of your new podcast and the gaffer gets in touch to say he'd like to come on, it leads to a fairly warm feeling inside, I guess we're doing something fairly alright, then? So it came to be that last Thursday five of us turned up at Ashton Gate for an interview with the man himself. We had no idea what to expect in all honesty, eight pages of questions were prepared in case the answers were short and we were left scratching our heads after 20 minutes.  Having read this excellent Goalfood interview where he starts off by threatening them if they asked stupid questions, I was particularly nervous to check my questions halfway into the room and make sure they still hadn't turned into gobbledy-gook. We needn't have worried. We didn't speak to a man sometimes portrayed as unfriendly, curt and lacking in willingness to talk to anyone. We spoke to a man who is clearly passionate about football and when he talks about a game ...

For the last Inside Line before England’s World Cup fate is decided, Lewis Hancock speaks to Andy Carswell  – Wycombe Wanderers reporter for Bucks Free Press . After the excitement and pandemonium caused by the first round Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win against the Gas, City travel to Adams Park in the second round to take on Wycombe Wanderers, in what is likely to be a more tame and lower-profile affair. The last time the two sides met in the competition was back in 2002, an occasion where City ran out 3-0 winners at Ashton Gate and went on to lift what was then the LDV Vans Trophy at the Millennium Stadium. As Wycombe is now a fan-owned club (as of June 2012), is there a happier and more relaxed feel around the club than there has been in recent years? There's certainly more of a sense of pride amongst Wycombe fans now that the Supporters' Trust is in control. The board are now a lot more prudent and while there's perhaps a slight sense of frustration th...

Another Saturday and another chance for Bristol City to earn that first win – and perhaps even first clean sheet – of  the league season.  We return to Vale Park for the first time in a number of years, having spent more of recent times looking upwards at Vale’s city neighbours Stoke (I still despise Liam Lawrence for that dive!) than worrying about how Vale are getting on. Thankfully Stu Radnedge managed to find time ahead of his three-week honeymoon Down Under (congratulations Stu!) to seek out the view of Port Vale Media Manager Dave Johnson, and get the ' inside line' on Saturday’s opponents. Over to Stu… Thanks for answering these Dave.   Port Vale were one of the sides who earned promotion from League Two last season. How has a return to the third tier of English football gone for the Vale? We could see the difference between the two leagues right from day one of the new season. We are still finding our feet, but I think we are adapting well and are st...