‘Bristol City is in a slump, not a crisis’

It would be ridiculous to suggest that Bristol City are in anything like a crisis. We are sitting comfortably in mid-table having had a very positive start to the season, broadly speaking. We are however currently in something of a slump and these following statistics should be cause for concern for City fans who don’t want this campaign’s proverbial bubble to burst just yet.

We had 24 shots against Reading, but only scored once. We haven’t won a game since 22nd October. We have conceded the first goal in 13 of our 18 games so far this season and, after Tammy Abraham our next highest scorers are Bobby Reid and Lee Tomlin, both with 3 league goals so far this season.

Johnson has thankfully said he will make changes this weekend and that is to be welcomed. As avid readers of this blog will know I was at the Madejski stadium last weekend to witness the enjoyable and entertaining but ultimately disappointing loss to a Reading side who didn’t look like they were currently residing in the top three. 

Gary O’Neil’s critique of our side that we are leaving ourselves too much to do in matches, as optimised by the Reading game, sums up what has been said above. O’Neil himself has been promoted from this league on no less than four occasions and I hope Johnson takes heed of his advice.

So, what changes need to be made? It’s hard to say. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us start with two upfront this weekend as we’ve struggled to hit the net of late. We may also see a little more protection for a back four that often seems quite exposed, especially when our full backs push up to become wingers as they are prone to do. 

I feel it may also be time to drop Lee Tomlin for a game or two. He is, without doubt, one of the most gifted players we have had at Ashton Gate in years but with that comes a level of frustration too. He failed to track back in Saturday’s match at Reading and was guilty of the odd lazy challenge.

I overheard a comment that summed it up nicely: “When he is playing well it looks like we have 12 men on the pitch but when he is playing badly it looks like we have 10.”

In truth, though, it’s going to be hard to both tighten up at the back and give us more chance of capitalising on the chances that we are creating. Time to earn your wages, coaching team!

Lee Johnson also revealed that he was contacted earlier this week by referee chief David Allison who apologised for a string of poor decisions made in the loss against Reading. I know, as a football fan, we should welcome such interventions. The honesty in admitting mistakes were made and the openness is surely a good thing. 

But, also as a football fan, it just compelled the sense of injustice for those watching the original travesty take place. On reflection I hope there can be more transparency from referees and in turn this may lead to a higher standard of officiating in our game. 

This weekend sees us take on an inconsistent Ipswich side featuring former City favourite Cole Skuse. As has been alluded to above, we could really do with the points Cole, so if you fancy doing your boyhood club any favours on Saturday, I’d be much obliged!