BRISTOL CITY: Making the case for Robins to finish outside Championship's bottom three By a_stockhausen | And the conclusion many Robins fans are coming to is that the remainder of this season could be spent waging a nerve-jangling fight against relegation back to League One. Back-to-back defeats at the hands of fellow strugglers Rotherham United and upwardly mobile Blackburn Rovers have left Steve Cotterill's men in uncomfortably close proximity to the bottom three. Currently outside of the relegation zone by goal difference alone, the Robins have failed to build upon the brief upturn in fortunes that saw them climb off the foot of the table in October and move up to 19th place. It remains to be seen whether the manager and his staff can inspire a recovery with the players currently at his disposal, or whether the January transfer window will provide an alternative route to salvation. But for now, a majority of Ashton Gate regulars could be excused were they to engage in a search for three teams that could finish beneath City come the end of the season. As things stand currently, genuine contenders for the drop number no more than six teams. Preston could yet find themselves in trouble, while Leeds and Fulham, clubs with managerial issues, are still anxiously looking over their shoulders. For now at least, City are engaged in a six-way battle with Bolton, Rotherham, Charlton, MK Dons and Huddersfield at the wrong end of the Championship table. Based on what I have witnessed so far this season, it seems reasonable to assume that the current City team, without the addition of new faces in January, could conceivably survive in the English second tier. Certainly, crisis club Bolton Wanderers look a good bet to be demoted come May. Bottom of the table, four points adrift of safety and victorious only once in 19 outings this term, the Lancashire outfit are deep in trouble. The decision of owner Eddie Davies to wipe out £175 million of debt is one thing, but the business of finding a new buyer for the financially-stricken club is quite another matter. Former Trotters player Dean Holdsworth and his Sports Shield Investment company remain in talks with Bolton officials this week, but the race is on to bridge a financial gap that could yet plunge Wanderers into administration. Should that happen, and it remains a distinct possibility, the club will incur an automatic 12-point deduction and almost certain relegation to the third tier. Even if a rescue package can be put together this week, it is unlikely manager Neil Lennon will be given funds to replenish a squad that has been hit hard by injury and the need to sell. Although Rotherham inflicted a heavy 3-0 defeat upon City last month, they remain deep in trouble. They have already taken the step of changing manager, recruiting Neil Redfearn to replace Leeds-bound Steve Evans in October, but there has been no real improvement in results since then. Last Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Wolves means the Millers remain one place off the foot of the table with a meagre return of two wins in their last nine outings. Forced to operate within the confines of one of the smallest budgets in the Championship, Redfearn will have little scope to bring in new players in January and it is difficult to envisage the Yorkshire outfit finding the consistency required to climb the table. Under new management, Charlton have picked up two wins in six games since Karel Fraeye took control. But the Addicks continue to concede goals at an alarming rate – two per game – and recent defeats at the hands of Brighton and Ipswich suggest the new boss has yet to address a problem that threatens the London club's Championship status. Money is an issue and Charlton fans can only hope that enough money is made available to at least give Fraeye a chance of improving an imbalanced squad in January. Unless those defensive issues can be addressed, Charlton could struggle to move clear of trouble in the new year. Relegation remains a distinct possibility. The manner in which MK Dons began their first season in the Championship gave rise to optimism that Karl Robinson's side might just have enough about them to keep their heads above water. However, recent results and performances suggest otherwise. The Dons have struggled to replace Benik Afobe, Will Grigg and Dele Alli, the triumvirate of goal-scorers who shot them to automatic promotion last season, and new signing Nicky Maynard has been unable to revive former glories at this level. MK have lost five of their last eight outings and a frustrated Robinson read his players the riot act following Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Brentford, questioning their desire and commitment and threatening to replace them in the January transfer window. Clearly, all is not well behind the scenes at Stadium MK and, given the Buckinghamshire club's inability to compete financially with the vast majority of their Championship rivals, they could struggle to retain their new-found status beyond May. A meagre return of one point from six games during October and November marked out Huddersfield as potential candidates for the drop. Unveiled as a successor to Chris Powell, new boss David Wagner may boast an impressive CV in German football, but he has no previous experience of managing in this country and his appointment represents a gamble of sorts. It remains to be seen whether or not last weekend's surprise 2-0 win at Birmingham represents the start of a concerted recovery or a flash in the pan and a more accurate assessment of their credentials should be possible following this Saturday's meeting with Bristol City at the John Smith's Stadium. Certainly, the Robins, who are just two points behind the terriers, have an opportunity to do themselves a massive favour in West Yorkshire. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTO...nish-outside/story-28313344-detail/story.html
We (the board) need to act quickly, decisively, break the bleeding budget, back up Cotts 100% to save our skin or just tell him to piss off and sell us down the river the same as happened with SOD, could be history repeating.
The article is a sad read and when he says that City supporters are looking for 3 teams to finish below us it makes me cringe if that is what we have become. The rest is an indictment on how the Championship has evolved in to a division where the majority are struggling to survive, yet alone compete. Our club need to look in the mirror and ask themselves what they want to be when they grow up.
Why are we bleating ? Only the truly foolhardy among us believed we'd be top half let alone in the top 2 or top 6 that some tipped us for this season. This is one of the hardest and most competitive leagues on the planet. Therefore if we can survive, even if it's only on goal difference, that will be success for me and we can build on that. Hopefully the lessons we've been taught this time around will have been learned in time for next season if that's the case.
The supporters deserve better and how many more seasons are we going to hear the usual crap about a learning experience that will help us in the future? Getting very tired of having to look through the same window at the same scenario.
Angelic' you hit the nail on the head, anyone who thought top half and higher was possible were in my opinion a little ignorant of this league. Yes we've had and still hear all about the lack of summer signings, but it hasnt happened so move on (moaning about it wont change a thing now), and depending on who we may of purchased, it doesnt mean we would defo be any better off now. As usual its gonna be a nail biting roller coaster end to the season, strap your self in peeps, it could get messy!!!
I thought it's a daily thing now to talk about the summer transfers, it's getting really boring now. Plus like Angelic I looked at the teams in this division when we first came up and thought we would be lucky to finish above 19th
I really thought with the quality additions that were promised,and the monentium of last season we would push on,as did many of the pundits out there. However it is going ti be one big struggle to stay in the championship. Saturday said it all Blackburn were shocking,yet we were even worse.
I felt the same. I thought that the manner in which we cruised League 1 last season indicated that we would hold our own in the Championship without even making any changes. However, with a couple of signings we could be challenging for the playoffs at least. That optimism and confidence remained until it became evident that Kodjia was our only notable signing - which offset the loss of JET tbh - and we lost Elliott and didnt replace him. Whether a change of manager would fix things I am not convinced. We are reaping from our inactivity in the summer, which is no secret and has been debated to death on here. We absolutely MUST survive until January - or we will find it difficult to attract decent players. Nobody will want to come to a sinking ship. A coouple of decent signings in January and we will pull clear of the trapdoor.
What's all this supporters deserve better rubbish???? We're Bristol City fans we may get a couple of good seasons here and there, a lot of mediocre seasons and a several really bad ones. Like most clubs really. That's what being a football supporter is all about. You can only have so many successful clubs a season. Also this season I still much rather be in our boat than Bolton's, Charlton's, Rotherham's or Mk Dons even if MK Dons are above us and Rotherham stuffed us I still believe the club as a whole are better equipped to stay in the league than each of those.
Really i think the millers showed us the difference last Saturday,Personally think the gap will be to big come January 2016 to pull it back. I see a loss at Huddersfield a loss at Derby,a loss at home to QPR,a possible draw against Charlton at home,a loss at Burnley.a loss at Reading. That takes us into the first week on January 2016. That is a meagre 1 point i see coming our way. My jug is empty i'm afraid.
He's been itching to call for Cotteralls head. He was gutted that he pulled us from the from the mess his beloved SoD left us in.
He did well last season,this season different gravy. Everybody else is to blame but him. Sorry he comes over as petualant child at times. We all want the best for the club we support,but we have got to say the system he plays,substitutions,players not getting a sniff all very strange.
We all knew that the season after promotion is usually a tough campaign in having to adjust for a better quality of football, and how you deal with it is a reflection on the overall desire of the club in question to achieve their goals. It's not just a case of what we failed to do in the summer because thoughts on that scenario are long past their best before date and a new set of needs have hit the shelf. Under Cotterill's stewardship we refloated our boat and steered it to a better place and yet for some reason a lot of us, including myself, are not satisfied with our current mooring because we believe we should be doing better. Are we all so wrong in not just wanting the best for our club, but expecting it, despite the knowledge that we all knew it was never going to be easy? It is rare, bordering on non- existent, that I can fire up my computer and see something other than our last score on the BBC Sport page and I believe that our club committed to openness and honesty for their supporters but I just haven't seen any change in our sad and lacking communications. A manager like SC has to have top brass backing if they want, or are expected, to maintain progression up the league table and I am not so sure we had a chance with the vast majority of players who got us here and adding loan players as filler doesn't cut it in my books. The management can talk about "the plan" all they want but I have searched high and low and haven't found this mysterious entity yet.
