Steve Cotterill opens up old wounds regarding his departure from Bristol City The double-winning Robins manager was dismissed in January 2016 More than three years on, the bruises of Steve Cotterill's departure from Bristol City don't seem to have quite healed. After leading the Robins to promotion from League One, winning the division with a remarkable 99 points, and claiming the a record third EFL Trophy triumph at Wembley, Cotterill lasted just 256 days in the Championship before he was sacked. That was on the back of a seven-match winless run and with the team in 22nd but also disagreement with the board over transfer funds to make some serious purchases he thought would turn City into a serious Championship promotion prospect. The dust may have settled, and City have moved on under Lee Johnson, but for Cotterill the decision still rankles as, in speaking to Gloucestershire Live, he feels he wasn't given enough time at BS3. "I want to add to my five promotions, but I also have a hunger for developing young players," he said, referencing the comparative longevity he was afforded at Cheltenham and Burnley. "I had that at Cheltenham because I was there for five-and-a-half years and I had it at Burnley because I was there for four. "Should I have had longer than two-and-a-half at Bristol City? 100 per cent yes, without question." Hired in December 2013, Cotterill lifted the club from the dark days of the early part of the decade as they had plummeted into League One following two seasons of real hardship in the Championship. Cotterill helped bring back a sense of pride and passion in the team and forged a new identity with a number of clever signings of relative unknowns. He believes his legacy in Bristol should be defined not just by silverware but by the squad he developed, with many of the individuals he signed around the 2014/15 season going on to form the core of Johnson's squad. Aden Flint, Marlon Pack, Derek Williams, Luke Freeman, Luke Ayling and Jonatha Kodjia plus academy products Joe Bryan and Bobby Reid have all since moved on but all remain Championship-level players or better. “I see those players now and many didn’t have Championship experience when we first went up," he added. “But I always said they’d be good players at that level, so now you look at Luke Ayling, who has just signed a new contract at Leeds United. “Aden Flint has been at Middlesbrough and he’s now at Cardiff City, who I saw play QPR on Tuesday night and win 3-0, with Marlon Pack scoring. “Derek Williams is at Blackburn Rovers and Luke Freeman at Sheffield United and we caught up and spent a morning together when we were on holiday in the same place. “Jonathan Kodjia had nothing really going in France, but now he’s in the Premier League with Aston Villa, on his way back from injury. “You also have Joe Bryan at Fulham, Bobby Reid at Cardiff, all those players. Aaron Wilbraham is about to turn 40 and what a great pro he’s been, brilliant career. “I am sure there are some I’ve missed out, but when you have a long period somewhere, you help the lads and they help you. “Those lads would run through a brick wall for you and I’d have done the same for them." The 55-year-old has been out of the game for 17 months since leaving Birmingham City and has been a frequent visitor at Ashton Gate, as he is still based in Bristol. He was linked with the Bristol Rovers job when Darrell Clarke left in December last year but since then there have been few indications, publically at least, that Cotterill is a candidate for an EFL club. Football moves on quickly and the increasing trend is for club's to hire new, younger managers with fresh ideas and not necessarily burdened by their achievements of the past. But after undergoing neck surgery on a ruptured disc, Cotterill is itching to get back into work. And given how uncertain a manager's position can be, you'd envisage him getting at least one opportunity soon enough. "Now I am fit and healthy I want to get back in and work for the right people,” he said. "I still have the energy and the hunger, which is why I am in the gym so much and I miss management every single day. "I am a football nut and the level doesn’t matter to me. I went to Notts County in League Two. "When I went to Bristol City we were second from bottom of League One and actually went bottom after my first game (a 2-1 defeat at home to Rotherham United). "I rarely apply for jobs because nine out of 10 of them may already be done and dusted these days and a lot goes on with agents having connections. "I might be 55, but I feel quite young for it and as I said, I’ve been so lucky with my health. "I wasn’t with my knees when I played, but since then I have been, so maybe that’s how it had to be. "If the right job came up now to go back into work, I’d really look forward to it and I am hoping it’s a good one." https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/steve-cotterill-opens-up-old-3391422
Cotts gave me probably our best season in 45 years following City but 'having a hunger for developing young players'. He would rather leave a space on a bench than put a youngster there.
I've got no qualms in saying it I liked Steve Cotterill, we had some good years with him, he built a wonderful team, culminating in a minor cup win and full promotion to the Championship, he got us a promotion and silveware and nobody can take that off of him. Good luck Steve I wish you all the best and was sorry to see you leave under the circumstances you did, you were one of our better managers.
The double season was probably the most enjoyable season I've had - not just the trophies but the way we played However I think the axe was inevitable - at the time we were only heading in one direction (down)
When Cotterill came in I know we were initially in a lower league than during the golden age of the early-mid 1970's when Alan Dicks got us ready for an all too brief stay in the promised land of the old Division 1, but Cotts achievements, record breaking points total, and the additional silverware we won in our promotion year with him run it a very close second for me. Good on you Cotts !
No doubt Cotts gave me the one of the best seasons ever. If he'd had half the backing LJ has received in all likelihood we'd be in the Prem now. Not a popular opinion on here but it's mine and happy with it. Coming up to 4 years of LJ. How many more years will he get ? 20 minimum is my guess.
Same here Redprintt no where near the backing LJ has had. He wanted quality additions and that was not forthcoming at the time.
I think he sort of lost his way .. HE DID DO VERY WELL.... but on here there was quite a bit of discord about his sticking to 3 -5- 2 [ had a formula that worked the season before but needed to adapt ...he didn't/wouldn't ] he was responsible for some good players, who have done well since but so far only as very good Championship players. [ although had their moments in the prem ] interesting comment was "doesn't bother to apply for jobs as most are already sorted" you could take that as no one is that keen on him to approach him as a candidate. I would not have spent 17 months waiting on a knock on the door I would have been out there putting myself about.
He had financial backing, we bid £9 million for 2 different players (a lot more than LJ has spent on a single player) but he couldn’t land them and was making the club a laughing stock. He was also resisting the club policy of younger players coming in, so once results went against him he was doomed. A great manager for us in our promotion season, no doubt about it, but he was ultimately too stubborn and clashed with the board. To say he wasn”t backed is laughable! He may not have had as long as LJ to turn results around but that was partly his own undoing, LJ was at least trying to change things in line with the vision of SL, Cotta did not!
Absolutely agree. No backing? What about the Andre Gray and that ex-Gas striker (Gayle I believe) bids? And weren’t we in for a premiership defender from Hull at one time? I will forever be grateful to him for our promotion season, but he seemed to go into self-destruct mode after promotion, with some crazy suicide tactics; refusing to change from 3-5-2 formation which got found out very early - and waiting until the 85th minute when 1 goal down to deploy his subs - it was almost as if he was TRYING to send us back down. Pemberton played 4-4-2 as soon as he took over and we immediately started to turn it around - with the SAME players that Cotts kept losing with. Sorry, but he had to go. Whether his permanent replacement was the right appointment is for another thread.
Can you not remember the countless threads RR wrote when we appointed Cotts? I bet he will claim he was always behind the appointment now. Harry Maguire, we had a deal in place but I think it was before he went to Hull. Gayle was a ex Peterborough player not a Rovers player sorry.
I am not so sure about that. At Portsmouth he regularly fielded young players. He did bring in young players to City's team, something that has now stalled.
Not interested in what he done at Portsmouth. Leaving a space on the bench which could have been occupied by a youngster isn’t showing much of a pathway. I know what you mean about it stalling giving starts to the aged Semenyo doesn’t give youngsters much of a chance
In regards to the bench … Steve Cotterill generally did not use three subs. Jet was used as third to seemingly to waste time .Putting a kid he did not intend using on the bench for? Maybe he did not see the point. Steve Cotterill did bring through young and inexperienced players at most of his clubs. Its a misconception that he doesn't. He preferred Bryan and sold Cunningham. That was trust in a young player.
It’s a big gamble though Clifton - Bryan was a ‘win’ ( although he hasn’t done much for Fulham) and Reid was a win for LJ (again, hasn’t done much for Cardiff) Maybe we were lucky?
It's always been the case. Any City player good enough for the Prem leaves AG. Webster being the latest, The fake news that comes from AG is a lot more professional than pre LJ//MA but the end result imo will be the same. Championship at best.
Unfortunately we're never going to be able to resist an approach from a Prem Club while we're in the Championship The same way that L1 and L2 clubs can't resist an approach from us. There, that's the wonderful football pyramid explained
The quality of player we attract does seem to have improved, we need to use the extra quality to get promoted then we can be able to attract PL quality players and hopefully stay up. If we come back down again at least we’ll be on a level playing field with others that have parachute payments.
