The Exiled Robin

Precisely one year after Bristol City went into Christmas bottom of the league, we enter the 2014 festive season the maximum  number of places higher; top of the pile. However, a once relatively substantial lead has been largely eliminated and for the nuetrals, if there are many that watch league one, an enthralling second half to the season lies ahead with the top four separated by just a single point. In the absence of any real competition from the blue lot north of the river, and setting aside a more traditional ‘M4 derby’, the Yeovil fixture was one many City fans would have sought out when the fixtures were released in the summer, and for once the computer didn’t disappoint. The only disappointment is that if it were not for the reduced capacity, this local derby, with City flying high, would have almost certainly attracted a capacity bank holiday crowd, meaning a lesser atmosphere and circa £200,000 lost revenue. Throw in the fact that it’s the return of Gary Joh...

One down, three to go.  A late show from Luke Ayling gave Bristol City all three points in the first of their four ‘winnable’ games last time out and the final match before Christmas sees the Robins travel to Cheshire to face bottom side Crewe Alexandra. Stu Radnedge caught up with Alex fan Nathaniel Holland, a journalism student who has kindly written a few words.  My thanks to Stu & Nat “This season has, for obvious reasons, been one to forget for any Crewe fan. A continuation from the poor results last season has spilled over into this campaign and it is still difficult for anyone to put their finger on the main problems. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect Crewe to be setting the league on fire this year but I did think with the squad we had put together that we would be sitting comfortably around the 14 th /15 th position. There is not one factor to the reason behind the run of poor results, a combination of individual errors at the back, mixed i...

After another successful escape from league action and two further advances in domestic cup competitions (what is happening to our club?!), Bristol City return to the main objective just ahead of the busy Christmas period with the first in a series of games many fans have highlighted as ‘very winnable’. Now, being top and only having lost twice all season, you could say that’s a case of stating the bleedin’ obvious, but when you look at the games; home to Crawley (17 th ) and Yeovil (23 rd ), and away to Crewe (bottom) and Gillingham (20 th ), you understand the sentiment fully. The fact that only Swindon and Preston – both fully entrenched in the battle for the top and playing good football – have come away from match-ups with City with three points thus far this season suggests City should have a profitable run of things by the time we face promotion rivals Notts County ten days into 2015. However, football is loved by so many millions for precisely the reason that nothi...

I was wrong.   I generally like to feel I have a good, well-balanced and reasonable handle on football matters, usually resulting in a non-emotional and fairly rational opinion which doesn’t waver far from the truth, but on this occasion I was very, very wrong. One year ago today, Steve Cotterill became the Bristol City manager to a somewhat underwhelming murmur of excitement.  I was particularly disappointed for a number of reasons, including the fact I hadn’t wanted Sean O’Driscoll sacked and had hoped we would cast our net wider in our search for a new manager – having been promised a comprehensive review by Jon Lansdown, only to go for the first – and only man – we considered. I didn’t think Cotterill was the right man for the job.  I had seen and read too many horror stories and embarrassing tales from his time at Forest, whilst his main success seemed to be entrenched almost a decade earlier.  I felt there were better options out there.  I was...