Football / Fan's View
‘City looked like actual Championship team’
Around 9.10pm, halfway through the second half on Tuesday night, November 3, 2015, something profound, joyous and uplifting occurred to me. Not only were Bristol City fighting gallantly to withstand the reasonable efforts of a Wolverhampton Wanderers side littered with man mountains, we also seemed to preserve our attacking intent.
The side looked like an actual Championship team. No longer a promoted side struggling to get to terms with a new league and the step up in quality.
One might be forgiven for having looked at the two results from our two recent home games, the 4-1 loss to an impressive Fulham side and well-fought 1-0 victory over that decent Wolves team, and thought we played well in one and we poor in the other.
On the whole that would be an over simplistic analysis of the two matches. We made mistakes against Fulham no doubt, we gave the ball away to grave cost and we were outnumbered far too often at the back which lead to a couple of the Fulham goals. But, as an eloquent fan near shouted as we conceded our fourth, ‘why is everyone in this league so bloody good?’.
We have stepped up a pretty sizeable step. For example; Ross McCormack, the Fulham forward, cost a fair-bit more than our entire squad; £11 million.
So, given the step up in class I feel reasonably happy with how things are progressing bearing in mind our slow start. Tuesday’s performance saw us show a welcomed steel which will be important in the coming weeks and months.
I am however slightly concerned given our lack of a plan B to change to when things aren’t going our way, but I’ll leave that at that.
Now for something different. Our next game sees us host the current league leaders, Hull City. I, and several other thousand City fans, will be viewing the match from a different part of the ground to where we have been thus far this season.
In short, the away fans in the Atyeo are switching round with the home fans. Presumably for security and fan safety reasons.
I don’t feel especially aggrieved by this and I actually prefer that side of the stand. It does though, slightly worryingly, smell of the infamous Bristol City bad planning which in recent years has affected everything from ticketing to club finances.
That general annoyance, that everyone has felt, when having to deal with the club regarding almost any matter. I hoped we had turned the corner in this respect. Fingers crossed (I’ve noticed I more often than not end this blog with a ‘fingers crossed’) this is just a blip.
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