City end 2025 and can rightly claim to be genuine play-off contenders.
This is supported in the just published Championship table compiled from the matches played in the calendar year January-December;, external they lie third with Coventry well on top [92 points] and Millwall a surprise second on 73 points – and a negative goal difference!
On Monday night, Millwall made sure it was not a completely happy Christmas for the Robins as they completed the double in a match City, like at Ashton Gate 23 days previously, could and perhaps should have won.
Dominating for long periods, they ought to have built upon Adam Randell’s strike which brought the teams level. But, like for their opener, the second strike for the Lions was more about City’s defensive inadequacies rather than the home team’s striking prowess.
Fans will say a striker is a priority for City in the transfer window but from that table only Coventry [86] and, surprisingly, QPR [62] have scored more than the 61 times we’ve found the net.
At the other end of the pitch it is a similarly impressive picture, with only Coventry, Middlesbrough and Stoke conceding fewer than City’s 51 goals.
It is a conundrum as to how we take that next step to make things better. With a midfield consisting of the increasingly impressive Randell and Jason Knight, the much heralded arrival of former Ipswich player Sam Morsy is going to strengthen that area even more.
Throw in the free-kick prowess of Scott Twine and the talents of the mercurial Albanian Anis Mehmeti [seven goals, six assists], what’s not to like?
I would argue that, when fit, City’s best defensive unit as a five – Ross McCrorie, Zak Vyner, Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson and Cameron Pring – is automatic promotion standard so this brings me back to the strikers.
We have quantity, not quality: Emil Riis, Sinclair Armstrong, Fally Mayulu, Harry Cornick and Sam Bell, who is currently on loan at Wycombe.
Whilst there has been a marked improvement in Armstrong’s performances over the past couple of months, he’s still only found the net once this calendar year. Too much is expected from Riis and, to be fair, good Championship striker though he is, his goalscoring is not prolific.
The combined wages of Armstrong, Mayulu and Cornick would give you one star forward but that is just a pipedream!
Finally, for any City fan expecting to see a big lump of the likely Antoine Semenyo profit share going on a flagship signing – do not hold your breath. Most of that money will be used to cover the flawed operating cost model that sees the club losing just short of £20m per annum before any player sales.
You can hear more from David Pottier on the Forever Bristol City podcast., external
