Bristol City in ' The Guardian'

A good article and a good read.


Steve Cotterill’s industry inspires Bristol City to fly high
On a weekend without Premier League distractions, Bristol City deserved their top billing and climbed to second in League One

For a day League One was the greatest league in England if not in Richard Scudamore’s world. With the international break silencing the Premier League’s insistent hype and the Championship teams also not playing, the third tier had its day in the late-summer sun and Bristol City took advantage with a 2-0 win over S****horpe United at Ashton Gate which lifted them to second in the table, a point behind Peterborough United.

They found the altitude as dizzying as their three defenders did Gary McSheffrey, who added unfamiliar industry to familiar skills and hit a post early on, and Steve Cotterill had to clear their heads at the interval. The manager said later: “They came and sat in, ending up with a back six. The back four defended within the 18-yard box, plus the two wide men. It wasn’t about going round them. We needed to go through the middle, which we did for the corner that got the goal.” Even then it took Flint to crack Iron. Aden Flint, the 6ft 5½in defender, headed in Luke Freeman’s delivery in the 52nd minute.

Cotterill was modest about his insight. “I may not always be right,” he said. “It was just one man’s gut feeling.” The same man held back his substitutes until United had used theirs, then had another gut feeling. Greg Cunningham and Scott Wagstaff replaced the brave and elusive Joe Bryan and Kieran Agard after 82 minutes. In the 83rd Korey Smith and Freeman set up Cunningham to fire in the second.

“There’s only one team in Bristol,” sang the Robins’ fans. For the first time in 94 years it is almost true. City are the only League club in Bristol, after Rovers’ relegation in May. Senior in membership, they have been mostly in position, too – except chiefly when they were declared bankrupt in 1982. In May 2008, under Gary Johnson, they lost the Championship play-off final 1-0 to Hull. Now, having dropped a division two seasons ago, they are rising again with new purpose and patent potential.

As Rovers felt for the first time the stir of Non-League Day, an annual celebration for those who like to be close to their clubs, at Braintree, losing 2-0 in front of 1,621, City enjoyed the buzz of 12,000 with a Wurzel signature. They are looking at a top-flight future worthy of the sixth largest city in England. Jon Lansdown, the owner, has written off a £35m loan. And Ashton Gate is to become a stadium for 27,000 shared with Bristol RFC (already an excavator stood alone at one end, large enough to house the 243 Iron fans).

Finally there is Cotterill, a “working his socks off” manager. In his first role he saw his home-town Cheltenham, also Robins, into the League. “I was left to do things my way,” he said, relishing the same here, where he arrived in December, taking them from bottom to 12th. “I’m better when I’m allowed to do things and get on.” He was equally honest about his liking for British and Irish players. All 14 that he used conformed, including the seven bought in the window, all starters. The captain, Wade Elliott from Birmingham, stood out with Smith (Oldham) and Freeman (Stevenage). “With predominantly English teams you know you’ll get a good honest game,” he said. Manchester City were in this position 16 years ago. Bristol could be set to follow, though without losing their identity to a brand.