Andy Stockhausen: Why Bristol City really are punching above their weight in the Championship By a_stockhausen It seems Bristol City have been punching above their weight in the SkyBet Championship this season. At least that is the inference suggested by a table published this week which ranks English second-tier clubs according to the net value of their squads on the transfer market. Lee Johnson's Robins have spent the majority of the current campaign in the top half of the table and, as things stand, they have won or drawn more games than they have lost, are 15th in the table and still just about in credit. That is not bad going, considering they are rated 16th in terms of the value of their first team squad! Based on the same evidence, the managers of Barnsley, Preston and Birmingham are performing an exceptional job at their respective clubs, all of whom feature at or near the foot of the value table. According to the ratings, City's squad, which was bolstered by the arrival of 14 new players in the summer, is now worth £17m on the open market. please log in to view this image In order to put the job done by Johnson and his staff into some kind of perspective, it is necessary to look at the top end of the table and understand exactly what they are up against. It has long been apparent that those clubs relegated from the Premier League shop in an altogether different market from many of their Championship rivals. Newcastle United, Norwich City and Aston Villa buy from Waitrose, while City are forced to look for bargains at Asda! Following a summer in which they spent more than £50m on new signings, Rafa Benitez's squad at top-of-the-table Newcastle is worth a whopping £108m. The fact the Magpies are clear at the top of the table and showing every sign of returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking proves beyond doubt that money talks in the Championship. Relegated alongside Newcastle at the end of last season, Villa boast the second most valuable squad, weighing in at £85m, while Alex Neil's Norwich squad is valued at £66m. Then come Derby County (£53m), Fulham (£47m), Sheffield Wednesday (£45m) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (£42m), all of whom have benefitted from the Premier League's TV riches and parachute payments at one time or another. City 's squad is on a par with those at Brentford and Wigan Athletic, which serves to put the job performed by Johnson in the space of nine months and one transfer window firmly into perspective. Wolves, QPR, Cardiff, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn all boast more valuable squads than the one being assembled at Ashton Gate, yet City are on a par with or stand above all of them in the current Championship table. Knowing Johnson as I do, he will not be content for City to punch above their weight financially in mid-table. He only has to take a look at what is going on at Huddersfield to realise that it is still just about possible to bridge the money gap if you are smart in the transfer market and have a clear way of playing and a good team spirit. The squad assembled by Terriers boss David Wagner, who made 13 new signings in the summer, is valued at £16m. Yet the Yorkshire outfit remain firmly in play-off contention and even topped the table earlier in the season. Certainly, City can draw inspiration from the example being set by Huddersfield and Birmingham, another club doing well despite modest means, and continue to defy the odds in 2017. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/andy-s...championship/story-29988201-detail/story.html
It's not only the players you sign, it's how and where you play them, and your ability to provide leadership and motivation and understand what is wrong in times of trouble. After the relatively easy ride following a promising start, it's now time to see what LJ is actually made of when the going gets tough.
maybe that's why DH? LEAKY OLD LEEDS are now quite tight at the back with a bit of flair bringing the ball forward! are now 5th!!!!! Villa now creeping along with positive results ...that's not losing now 13th !!!!! Barnsley Lee's old club now 12th !!!!!!! CITY NOW 15TH !!!!!!!!!
I said weeks ago, forget every other clubs result except : The likes of Rotherham, Wigan, Burton and QPR. That's where we're heading.
RP - you also said that LJ had spent more money than most teams in the Championship - the stats seem to suggest otherwise I still think we will halfway come the end of the season (as long as we don't have too many more ridiculous team selections like Tuesday) By the way - look at how little Rowlett had to work with at Birmingham and where they are (bonkers to sack him)
Was sacked for vanity .. when he had his pic taken with them it made them look ugly!!!!!! so needed to even it up by having Zola ..ALLEDGELY ....
smhbcfc - Am I reading this right ? http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/championship/transfers/wettbewerb/GB2#subnavi Newcastle, Villa, Norwich, Fulham and Wolves have spent more than Bristol City this season.
When a team interviews a prospective new manager do they actually ask the question as to whether they have managerial experience culminating in success or do they just throw a dart at the board and hope for a triple twenty? I know that is not relevant at Ashton Gate because I believe we just dial some numbers and hire the first one to answer the call.
I think we had high expenditure because after the loan players went back at the end of the season our squad was very small. The stats above indicate that. Of course time will tell whether the business we did was any good, but at least quite a few are young and will hopefully "train on" - let's hope so!
the transfer period had many references to "buy cheap" and sell on ! ...putting it bluntly! ...........and sorting the future getting rid of Kodija is now clearer, money = good but junior had a premeditated plan to play 1 up front = misfired ... badly Selling Ayling I was gobsmacked when this happened and to be honest do not think we had value for money in what we received for him .... players like Brownhill, Engval, Patterson, O'Dowda, Lucic, Magnusson, Girolama are for "next years team! " Freeman, Reid, Tomlin, Engval and Tammy would be my first 5 names on the sheet for v P N E .. followed by Magnusson Flint Mathews and Golbourne, WITH 1 SPACE LEFT ... Pack, ............Smith? O'Neil ? subs........... Brownhill, O'Dowda, Diego, Bryan, Moore, O donnel AND Wilbs We cannot afford to play a game where we are looking to save points more a game to go and get the points ... otherwise we will sink
