Bristol City

Chris Honor
BBC Radio Bristol summariser and former Bristol City defender

Image source, Rex Features

I'm enjoying some of the football, I thought we were excellent first half against QPR, but, the big question, are Bristol City going to go out and buy a centre forward in the January transfer window? For me they have to.

They have Nahki Wells, who was second pick last year behind Tommy Conway who has now gone. They have gone out and bought two strikers but they are not up to the standard they were possibly expecting.

If we want to progress we need another centre forward, though whether the funds are there I don't know.

We are playing some great football; entertaining, exciting, but in front of goal we miss that clinical edge and we need someone who can score 15, 16, 17 goals a season to take the next step on.

(The QPR goal) was one of those headless blunders which goalkeepers sometimes used to do - come rushing out of goal, completely mis-read his position.

To be fair to Max O'Leary, he shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place. Bristol City were on the counter attack, they've left nobody back, the ball has been cleared into the City half.

Max think he's going to get there first, rushes out, the QPR player gets there first and manages to get the ball into the back of the net from 50 yards.

It was a great finish. It seemed to take an absolute age to hit the back of the net.

Image source, Getty Images

Bristol City striker Fally Mayulu is going to be "important" for the club in the future even though it has "taken him time" to adapt to the Championship, said head coach Liam Manning.

The 22-year-old Frenchman signed this summer from Austrian side Rapid Vienna and has made 11 appearances in the league, scoring two goals in his first two games.

He played just 29 minutes in the past eight games and was an unused substitute in five of them.

"I think it's a big jump up, the intensity of the league. You switch off for a second in the Championship, you're talking two or three metres," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"It's taking a little bit of time. He's massively training better now so he's definitely heading in the right direction."

Manning said the coaching staff have been working with Mayulu on the "psychological" aspect of the game.

"It's thinking quicker, it's seeing the pictures quicker, it's having the composure under pressure. I know the technical stuff is in there," he said.

"I know he won't have the minutes he wants now but I know he's going to be important for us in the future."

Bristol City host QPR at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon and after contrasting starts to the season, the teams are separated by just five points ahead of kick-off.

The Robins have one win in five while the Rs are unbeaten in five and have kept four straight clean sheets to climb away from the foot of the table.

Quirky one this fixture, eight of the last nine meetings have been won by the away side, with the other game a draw.

• After winning six consecutive league games against QPR between 2018 and 2020, Bristol City have won just two of the past seven against the London side (D1 L4).

• QPR have won each of their past four away league games against Bristol City after failing to win on any of their 10 previous visits (D4 L6).

• Bristol City have lost just two of their past 14 home league games (W7 D5), keeping seven clean sheets in that run, including in their most recent home game against Plymouth (4-0).

• QPR have failed to score in five of their past six away league games (W1 D2 L3), though have kept a clean sheet in three of their past four road games, as many as in the 14 before that.

• Only Plymouth Argyle (18) have had fewer shots on target away from home in the Championship this season than QPR (21).

Image source, Getty Images

Bristol City head coach Liam Manning believes their 1-1 draw at Sunderland on Tuesday night is evidence of the progress his side are making.

The Robins bounced back from their 3-0 defeat by Portsmouth at the weekend to take a point at the Stadium of Light although they did concede an injury-time equaliser to the fourth-placed Black Cats.

"It's a mark of progress for the lads in that we've come up here and we're disappointed not to win," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"The performances are getting more consistent and it's just [about] getting the results with it - the biggest bit is the response to the weekend and leaving it all out there."

City have lost three of their past five Championship games but Manning is hoping the draw at Sunderland is a turning point for them.

"The bare minimum the fans should see is the players giving everything for the shirt and they did that so that's why I can't knock the lads - it's then just the little details that go with it and it's a bit of a soft goal we've conceded," he added.

Bristol City are 11th in the table and host QPR on Saturday.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City's all-time appearance holder Louis Carey believes the club has a "growth mindset" under head coach Liam Manning.

Carey left the Robins in 2014 after playing 646 games and spending almost the entirety of his 18-year career at his hometown club.

The 47-year-old was speaking to BBC Radio Bristol's Sound of the City.

"If you were to speak to Liam at the end of the season he'll have loads of learnings and it might be something with regards to the physical-ness, it might be understanding when to play, it might be we're going to focus a little bit more with set plays - like [Mikel] Arteta did [at Arsenal] all of a sudden.

"There's always learning and I think my understanding from people I've spoken to is one, the training is excellent, and two, they are of the growth mindset to learn and improve rather than being stuck in our ways."

Listen to Sound of the City every Monday at 18:00-19:00 GMT on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Sounds.

Image source, PRESSBOX GRAPHICS

Sunderland's 2-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday ended a six-match winless run in the Championship and keeps them within two points of the automatic promotion places.

The Black Cats are one of four Championship sides yet to beaten at home.

Only six sides have more than Bristol City's three away victories in the Championship this season, a record which has them ninth in the table.

But the Robins have lost their past two away games at Watford and Portsmouth respectively without scoring a goal.

• Sunderland have won just three of their past 17 league games against Bristol City (D8 L6), failing to score on nine separate occasions during that run, including in both of their matches last season.

• Bristol City have lost just one of their last nine away league games against Sunderland (W3 D5), a 2-0 defeat in December 1994.

• Sunderland are unbeaten in five midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W2 D3), conceding just one goal in this run.

• Bristol City have only won three of their past 18 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) away league games (D4 L11).

• Bristol City's Liam Manning has only lost one of his four managerial league games against Sunderland (W2 D1), a 2-1 defeat with MK Dons in August 2021 in League One.

Image source, PressBox Graphics

Despite seeing successive games postponed at the end of last month, Portsmouth have an opportunity to climb off the foot of the Championship table if they can overcome Bristol City at Fratton Park.

Pompey, who fought out a 2-2 draw at Swansea last weekend - their first game in three weeks - trail both QPR and Hull by two points going into their home meeting with the Robins.

Liam Manning's side, who are 11th in the league, have found consistency elusive but have succeeded in winning three of their last five away games at Middlesbrough, Preston and Norwich.

● Portsmouth have won just one of their last 12 league games against Bristol City (D7 L4), a 3-1 victory in September 2011.

● Bristol City have lost just one of their last six away league games against Portsmouth (W2 D3), keeping four clean sheets across those fixtures.

● Since a 0-0 draw with Sheffield United, Portsmouth haven't kept a clean sheet in their last nine league games (W2 D3 L4), conceding 17 goals in that run.

● Bristol City are looking to win successive league games for the first time since April last season following their 4-0 win over Plymouth last time out.

● Only Norwich (15) have dropped more points from winning positions in the Championship this season than Portsmouth (14), while only Sheffield Wednesday (10) have earned more points from losing positions in the competition this term than Bristol City (9).

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Rex Features

Veteran Bristol City striker Nahki Wells says he is viewing age as "just a number" and is learning from the club's younger attackers as well as passing on the benefits of his experience.

The 34-year-old is in his fifth full season with the Robins, bagging 43 goals in 210 appearances since joining nearly five years ago from Burnley.

He's scored five so far this term, and played a key role in last Saturday's 4-0 rout of Plymouth Argyle - with 21-year-old Sinclair Armstrong among the goals.

"I try not to look too far ahead, which is the difficult thing," Wells told BBC Radio Bristol.

"I take it game by game - I feel great - age isn't just a number but I try to look at it like that.

"This is the best I've played since I've been here and the best team since I've played in so I'm just relishing that."

Working with Armstrong and Fally Mayulu, another of the club's young strikers, is something Wells enjoys.

"Fally and Sincs are two lads who will go on to have great futures and I can still learn a lot off them," the Bermudian added.

"At the moment, it's probably more me leading by example and they can maybe look at few things and try to implement them.

"I try to give a lot of encouragement and be a positive influence. I think we can all complement each other well."

Former Bristol City midfielder Marlon Pack says he can see similarities between his time at Ashton Gate and with his current club, Portsmouth.

The 33-year-old is set to line up for Pompey against the Robins in their Championship match at Fratton Park on Saturday.

Pack was a key member of the Bristol City side which won the League One title and EFL Trophy in 2015.

"A lot of things we did with that Bristol City side, not so much on the pitch because that takes care of itself, but the small details in terms of the off-field curriculum like meeting up for coffee, I've tried to integrate into our group there (at Portsmouth)," Pack told BBC Radio Bristol's 'Sounds of the City'.

"We probably haven't got to the level we want to now, and at Bristol City we struggled to find our feet but we eventually got accustomed to life in the Championship and found our way."

Pack left Bristol City for Cardiff in 2019 before, three years later, re-joining hometown and boyhood club Portsmouth, where he is club captain and led them to promotion last season.

"Portsmouth have been through struggles and stabilised themselves - this club deserves to be higher but has to earn the right for that and I'm delighted to be part of the revival," he added.

"It's a club on an upward trend and I can see similarities between ourselves and my time at Bristol City - we can learn a lot from them and how they've gone about it."

City go into Saturday's game with three wins and three defeats from their past six games while Portsmouth are bottom of the table but have taken four points from their past two matches.

Image source, Getty Images

It is one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar as Premier League and Championship clubs join the FA Cup action from round three.

The draw will take place on Monday, 2 December from 19:00 GMT and can be watched live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City head coach Liam Manning wants more goals from across his team and not to have to rely on the forwards.

The Robins have only managed to score more than two goals in a game twice this season - and Nahki Wells and Anis Mehmeti have scored nine of City's 20 league goals between them.

"It also includes the central defenders - at Burnley especially ,with the number of corners and wide free-kicks, there were some terrific deliveries but not enough chances created off the back of them," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"I'd be looking at Rob Dickie, Luke McNally, Zak Vyner and Jason Knight - who's a real attacking threat."

City have lost three of their past four Championship matches and host Plymouth on Saturday.

"The second you're dependent on one person to score goals, if you lose that person then you're in a bit of trouble and everyone needs to contribute and play their part," Manning added.