Bristol City verdict: Nahki poses a big question, some mad Max chat and Sky Blue thinking

Bristol City verdict: Nahki poses a big question, some mad Max chat and Sky Blue thinking
All the talking points following Bristol City's 2-2 draw against Coventry City

It’s been a fair old wait, seven games and 35 days to be precise, but Bristol City fans were able to celebrate more than once in a match as Rob Dickie and Nahki Wells both found the target at Coventry City.

Unfortunately those moments of jubilation were bookended by Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ellis Simms doing the samefor those in sky blue and white stripes, as a thrilling Championship encounter at the CBS Arena ended 2-2.

So close and yet to so far to travel to be left disappointed by the outcome, but the performance was surely enough for those gathered in the away end, and anyone else acquiring Fire Sticks and VPNs, to see progress on the pitch continue.

The points haven’t quite followed suit but, when they step onto the pitch, City are delivering with increasing frequency and perhaps those two goals are reason to suggest they’re edging closer to cracking the overall code.

Liam Manning delivers Bristol City transfer update as Robins let Coventry off the hook Bristol City player ratings vs Coventry: Tanner and Dickie strong, Wells shows his class

Sorry to repeat ourselves, but…
Once again City played well, certainly well enough to win, against an opponent either of a higher status or in good form. Continuing on from Friday’sperformance against Nottingham Forest, they were organised and energetic in and out of possession, played with real intent and fluidity and asked the majority of the questions.

Like the Forest tie, had you presented the prospect of a draw at the start of each game, it’d most likely have been accepted but the 90 minutes of additional context that followed leads to the same conclusion: City probably should have won both games.

If we’re sat here having enjoyed safe passage into the FA Cup fifth round against Manchester United and savouring three points won at one of the Championship’s in-form sides, then it creates a completely different emotion. Contentment would undoubtedly give way to considerable excitement.

Because they’ve both been draws, a degree of reluctance needs to be applied, but on that theme, the fact we’re talking in these terms is cause for optimism. Park the second half at Preston North End for a second, City are no longer playing well in patches - the early stages of Manning’s tenure were marked by such - but across the majority of the 90 minutes.

Their wild inconsistencies as a team are also now starting to disappear, and while, of course there are stillvarious issues and fallibilities, in seven games this year they’ve been good to great in five of them: twice against West Ham, Forest, Watford and now at Coventry.

The message has got through and as the players repeatedly keep saying and displaying, they’re feeling a greater sense of comfort not only with their own game in this system, but with their teammates around them.

Manning made three changes to his XI from the Forest draw and it had zero impact on the team’s shape or cohesion. There will undoubtedly be further alterations for Friday and the visit of Leeds United - Ross McCrorie, Tommy Conway and Matty James may well return - and there is unlikely to be any kind of disruption to how City play and their overall flow.

At the CBS Arena, they began with real intent because for much of the first 20 minutes or so, the Sky Blues simply couldn’t get out of their own half, either due to City’s press or because they were trying to play through and couldn’t find the necessary passing avenues. The Robins were also helped by the hamstring injury sustained by Coventry captain Ben Sheaf, which further threw them off their rhythm.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman was picking pockets, while Jason Knight was playing on the turn and moving into space at will. Regrettably, given Sakamoto’s goal, they couldn’t convert such openings into significant chances, withKnight and Gardner-Hickman both firingstraight at Brad Collins.

It was a “soft goal” to concede, as Manning deemed it, with the Japanese - surely flagged in preparation as a key dangerman - turning inside the box and onto his weaker left foot before squeezing a shot past Cam Pring, between Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner and beyond O’Leary.

But this Robins side are increasingly adept at erasing any memories in matches instantly, and they continued to be the aggressor in the game. While the noise levels rose inside the CBS Arena, it didn’t do a great deal to drive their team on andCity continued to look in control.
When the equaliser arrived it was the least they deserved and after a succession of corners in which Gardner-Hickman failed to find the adequate delivery and Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner probably repeatedly frustrated at having to run forward then back with little to show for it, a beautiful angled ball in by the midfielder found the glancing head of his centre-back.

The fact that Coventry were sent out almost five minutes before City rejoined the action for the start of the second half probably revealed Mark Robins’ judgement on their performance and although they played with greater purpose after the break, really, O’Leary didn’t have a great deal to do.

There were some speculative attempts by Sakamoto and Callum O’Hare, while Simms nearly connected with a far post header, but nothing else that was of clear and present danger to the City goalkeeper beyond a few teasing crosses that George Tanner dealt with exceptionally well and then a rather embarrassing attempt by Victor Torp to try and win a penalty.

Despite having to occasionally retreat, the Robins still had their own opportunities with McCrorie lashing a shot just over the bar, Wells heading wide and some encouraging breaks which were just lacking the final killer ball, which meant the second goal wasn’t a huge surprise nor remotely against the run of play.

It was a flick-on by Conway followed by some sharp work by the Bermudian whohadn’t had much of an opening in open playall game but displayed all his qualities to wriggle between Joel Latibeaudiere and Bobby Thomas, his shadow all game, and then finish into the bottom corner.

We’ll explore Simms’ equaliser in a little more detail further down but after putting themselves in a position of superiority, not just in terms of the ebb and flow of the game, but on the scoresheet as well, City were then forced backwards to concede.

Perhaps there was an inevitability to it, given how many attacking pieces Coventry now had on the pitch and just the natural will of the crowd combined with the confidence in the hosts but it was, as most are, an avoidable goal.

Liam Kitching - who’s had five shots all season - let fly from range and O’Leary parried the ball into the middle of the box, allowing Simms, who may well have been ever-so slightly offside, tap in.

Even then, after that second gut-punch, City could have won it only for Harry Cornick’s shot to pinball inside the box off a couple of players before Collins stretched out his arm to save.

It wasa fine game of Championship footballand a fine result, considering the strength, form and reputation of the opposition, but once again it’s a could and should situation of the one points really being three.

Bristol City suffer blow with length of Scott Twine's injury absence revealed

Here we go again
They’re out in force after approximately 20 games of not being in a position to say anything derogatory about him (outside of the first goal against Preston and a few positional wobbles against West Ham), the cries of “he’s not Championship standard” and “how many points has he cost us?” are back in various forms and self back-slapping, as it’s seemingly reinforced such takes from October that have been in hibernation over the winter months.

Unquestionably, O’Leary should have dealt better with Kitching’s shot that led to Simms striking the equaliser. It was a well-driven effort that took one bounce off the turf but didn’t require a dive of great significance and such was the amount of his body he got behind the ball, either if he couldn’t bring it into his midriff, he was surely in position to parry it somewhere else that back into a central area which was only going to end one way.

Manningadmitted O’Leary would be “disappointed”with it and that’s probably putting it mildly. He’ll know far more than anyone caring to share the clip and posting either measured criticism or downright nonsense (tagging Brian Tinnion in tweets demanding a new goalkeeper, give me strength), that he should have ensured that doesn’t lead to a goal.

But with a few exceptions, no goal is ever the fault of one person, likewise no goal is ever really the product of the individual whose name is on the scoresheet.

Manningisn’t one for singling players outand in his 17 games in charge Vyner and Tanner have committed high-profile mistakes but have never been called out, and look what that’s done to their confidence and form. And so there was a degree of protection around his goalkeeper when he outlined his criticism for the Simms goal.

“I know Max will be frustrated with himself but before that, he shouldn’t actually have to deal with the save when you look at how we’re slow to organise on the throw-in, how we were then passive in the block,” Manning said. “So, for me, it should never get to the stage where he has the shot. Any goal we concede will always be the collective.”

He’s right, of course, because look at the build-up. A quick throw is sent into O’Hare who, towards the byline, is able to spin, having drawn James and Conway towards him and then play it to a wide open Milan Van Ewijk on the corner of the penalty area. The Dutch full-back in turn lays it off to Latibeaudiere who with just Cornick for company, opens his body up to then shift the ball into the path of Kitching.

Granted he’s not a primary offensive threat in this piece but the centre-back is completely on his own with the only pressure on the shot being Cornick, having tried to deny Latibeaudiere, then scampering across to block.

Kitching hits it well and into the turf and O’Leary is able to track it all the way as it races towards him. As stated, it’s not the most taxing of shots for him to save, and he’s made significantly better stops this season from significantly better efforts but there were enough instances before it even reached the Robins goalkeeper to have stopped it.

Even with Sakamoto’s goal, which admittedly isn’t the strongest of attempts, Pring isn’t quite tight enough to the Japanese to deny him a turn and shot. This isn’t attributing blame, it’s merely highlighting and reinforcing the process of conceding goals is rarely down to one individual.

It may not be the case for some, and in truth it’s hard to see how it changes even if we have been here before with Vyner and Tanner as the most profound examples. But O’Leary has been playing at a good level for at least three months now. This is the Championship, these are not perfect, fault-free footballers, mistakes are going to happen from time to time; check Collins’ frantic kicking in the second half for further evidence on the other side of the coin.

As we’ve started before, and was something Nigel Pearson regularly referenced, this is his first full professional season as a No1. He may be experienced in age, but not necessarily within such a responsibility and, for the most part, he’s performed well this season.

For those of a statistical persuation, his save percentage (76 per cent) is sixth among his Championship peers, he's ninth overall for goals against per 90 (1.14); admittedly a number that can also be attributed to the rest of the team. While his post-shot expected goals, that is the quality of the shots he's faced, and what he should be expected to save, against those he's actually conceded is a rather modest -1.1.

Essentially, over the course of the season so far when marrying up shots that have gone in and those that have been stopped, he's only conceded just over one more than he should have done.

The concept of competition is an interesting one because the perception is that such an error is somehow the manifestation of a lack of pressure on his place in the side. A slightly ironic theory given the absolute waves of criticism that are directed O’Leary’s way from some corners of the fanbase whenever he commits anything deemed remnotely incorrect. The pressure is there every single matchday.

The key is now to move on quickly from that moment and deliver a string of performances that help make such instances the exception rather than the rule so many are willing for their own confirmation and recency bias to believe.

Bristol City defender emerges from turbulent time the better for it as Manning's impact is felt

Nahki asks the question
There is something joyous about watching Wells score goals. It’s the way he works angles to create opportunities in a really methodical but also instinctive way. He’s an unselfish striker to a point but when he gets in position, and has a sniff of an opening, there’s usually only one thing on his mind.

Witness the final 15 minutes against West Ham where he had two or three opportunities to put the result beyond the doubt, while on a slightly different note his display of utter incredulity at Pring not dummying the ball after a break against Watford last weekend which would have left him 1vs1 with Ben Hamer, spoke of such a will to score goals.

He’s had precious few opportunities since returning to the squad in mid-December, prior to Tuesday night, his nine appearances have been at an average of 20.5 minutes per game - that was also the first time he’s completed a full game since Norwich City in the League Cup on August 29 - asConway has been Manning’s go-to guyin attack and, for the most part, has justified that position in the hierarchy.

But Wells’ presence has also driven that, with the Scotland Under-21 international knowing he’s had to deliver big moments and big goals or he’d lose his place in the team. Against Coventry, Conway wasn’t dropped, as such, more preserved given the volume of games and the amount of minutes he’s played over the last two months.

The flipside of the argument was therefore true at the CBS Arena as Wells knew he had to perform because otherwise a sustained bench role beckons due to the presence of Conway. It was a game in which he had to be patient, while also working absolutely relentlessly off the ball and taking some serious hits, shunts, shoves and blocks from Thomas and Kitching in the Coventry defence.

It wasn’t an easy task for him in competing with two centre-backs significantly taller but that is where his wisdom comes into it, as while one of the Sky Blues centre-backs may be odds-on to win the ball, delivering a little bump or restricting their jump meant that any defensive headers were rarely clean ones and therefore possession could be recycled accordingly.

The intelligence of his goal was there for all to see but it also wouldn’t have escaped attention that it came via Conway’s flick, as the substitute was stationed slightly to his left in a more withdrawn role ala the position he took up at Rotherham in October.

The one lump or two debate around strikers has been a constant throughout what has been a barren goalscoring run with Manning seemingly wedded to the former concept and preferring to have two playmakers.

That may not change but withScott Twine out injured for the next two weeks, given the on-loan Burnley midfielder would almost certainly start if fit, Manning has a place in the team open and one that Anis Mehmeti probably didn’t perform well enough to definitely fill against Leeds on Friday.

Mark Sykes is back training but is probably looking like next week as a best-case scenario for his return, so how City ended the game could provide an insight into how Manning may choose to combat the threat of Leeds on Friday.

Conway was only on the field for 25 minutes but it was the first sustained piece of evidence the head coach has seen in a game scenario of the two being able to work together and also how it doesn’t have to impact any structure off the ball; Conway was back defending on a number of times.

It’s hard to see how Wells can be taken out of the starting XI on Friday and, equally, based on previous performances, it’s hard to see how Conway won’t return to the line-up at Ashton Gate.

Fitting both into his team has appeared to be at the detriment to how he’s wanted to set-up at the beginning of games, and you can see why to an extent, but the frequency of matches over the next couple of weeks, surely allows for a degree of experimentation and with various resources and individuals being managed, the prospect of Wells and Conway starting together in a team suddenly looks decidedly more probable.

Bristol City did themselves proud but you hope Nottingham Forest chance hasn't passed

Two birds with one stone
Which leads us onto the final point because while securing results and delivering performances to do so is, without doubt, the most important part of the job, there are various factors the head coach needs to consider at all times and almost puzzles within challenges that he needs to solve accordingly.

One such is the management of minutes and ensuring that the team which takes to the field is at the optimum rate possible to carry out the relevant game plan and produce a display of energy and athleticism.

It was interesting to hear Robins’ take after the game, that his side were lacking a bit of zip having played at Hillsborough in successive matches, with the Coventry manager highlighting a heavy pitch. He had though still made six changes between the FA Cup tie and Tuesday night so, theoretically, that shouldn’t have been an issue.

Manning made half those changes and yet City looked fresher and with more pizazz to their play. That isn’t by accident either and, while it’s not something particularly glamorous, the recovery programmes and the work done at the HPC enables them to play at such a level.

Granted, we can go back to the dip in performances post-Watford at Birmingham and against Millwall for proof to the contrary, and Leeds will be a further test, but Manning needs to discover the limitations of individuals in order to find the right balance.

At Coventry, the previously un-substitute-able Knight was taken off with 30 minutes remaining and McCrorie introduced with Bell then pushed into a more offensive role and Gardner-Hickman was given a breather for James. Conway also replaced Mehmeti and Cornick played out the final 11 minutes for Bell.
What it means is that each of those individuals will be in contention to start again on Friday, while those emerging as substitutes maintain a level of freshness and match readiness, should they be required, which is likely in some cases.

The substitutes also all had an impact: McCrorie wasn’t quite as impactful as he had been against Nottingham Forest but still added balance down the right while continued his dynamic with Tanner; James was the midfield stability City needed as Coventry threatened to take over; Conway zipped his way down the line a few times and knitted the play well; Cornick also came very close to scoring and found some joy down the right, taking up some good crossing positions.

These were both substitutions for physical sake and also tactically-beneficial within the game. Managing resources without affecting performance is hard, really hard, especially when one single player can have a huge influence, one way or the other.

But against Coventry, Manning got it bang on and while the absence of Twine is a disappointing one, in selecting the team for Friday there are a few debates to be had as to who exactly plays where.

The time will surely come during that game for changes to take place, with the Forest replay in mind (we’re curious to see if Haydon Roberts gets any game time given Pring’s suspension at the City Ground and no obvious replacement at left wing-back beyond the 22-year-old).

But the concept of rotation looks an increasingly straightforward one for Manning who has much of his squad now in a position where they can positively impact the team, whether they’re playing from the first minute or being introduced in the second half.
Bristol City verdict: Nahki poses a big question, some mad Max chat and Sky Blue thinking - Bristol Live (bristolpost.co.uk)

 

With all of the excitement of our transfer activity today it's rewarding someone has digested the synopsis of our travel.