It's probably coincidental but it was around this time last year that Bristol City's season began, to coin a phrase from Joe Williams this week, "fizzle out" as an impressive away win was followed by a largely unremarkable goalless draw at home to Blackburn Rovers on March 17 and thereafter began the Robins descent into irrelevance.
It was mitigated by the concept of Nigel Pearson's "rebuild" and the volume of players leaving the club that summer but, quite simply, it cannot be permitted to happen again. These remaining 10 matches may begin to feel increasingly less important in the context of the league table - at least for City - but a drab finish to this campaign could do real damage.
A visit to Ewood Park is your trademark "tough away day" on the Championship calendar but also sort of has to be a line in the sand for City who cannot keep turning out these limp performances which reflect poorly on the players and also, increasingly, the management with fresh questions being asked of Pearson.
City have shown at times this season that they have the answers, but they need to deliver a coherent display to dispel the doubters and re-inject some optimism and excitement back into the club. Here are the talking points ahead of Saturday's fixture...
Atkinson must show simple side
All signs point towards Rob Atkinson making his first City start since his previous comeback (of sorts) was derailed 16 minutes into the Severnside Derby due to a calf injury with Timm Klose’s arrival then providing another obstacle to getting back into the first-team.
Tomas Kalas’ expected injury absence leaves a hole in the Robins defence and Atkinson is the obvious man to fill it following a strong cameo against Birmingham last weekend which followed an impressive week in training.
The story of Atkinson’s season is well-told now but this is an interesting time for the 23-year-old who will want to finish this campaign how he started it with the five months from the end of October through to now riddled with injury, illness and sporadic form; all of which are probably linked.
A consistent run in the side over these 10 games would be fantastic for him and City moving forward with the expectation being he can be a centrepiece of the defence in 2022/23, as there won’t be the same level of allowances permitted as this term in what has been his maiden Championship season.
It sounds all very obvious but key for Atkinson is going to be doing the basics right. It slightly speaks to fears over Pearson’s old school leanings but the manager’s regular proclamation that he likes his “defenders to defend” should be the template for the 23-year-old.
His bright start in a Robins jersey was punctuated by what he brought on the ball, striding out of defence and opening up the left-hand channel with confidence and class.
That would be nice to see on Saturday but what should be his primary objective is to get his positioning right and general awareness around the penalty area. He has been caught at times, especially in a back three, unsure whether to cover the man or space and that will surely be tested at Ewood Park, even if he is to start as the middle of the defensive trio.
Pearson was especially scathing of him against Huddersfield before Christmas as he was adjudged to have not sufficiently covered the space behind auxiliary wing-back Ayman Benarous, a performance that then cost him his place for several weeks before the calf injury. If he can get that right, it will certainly help City’s clean sheet quest and also his own confidence levels in then being able to display the flashier elements of his game.
Bittersweet midfield selection
Such has been the fatigue generated among fans of so many inconsistent and poor performances, it largely escaped attention or even created much excitement that last week was probably the first occasion this season when Pearson had so many of his first-choice central midfielders available.
As the campaign has progressed and with Alex Scott and Han-Noah Massengo’s very obvious development, coupled with Joe Williams’ return, there was an air of anticipation over the moment when either all three could be united, or even Matty James then brought into the mix.
But defeat at Nottingham Forest led to a slightly flat atmosphere in the build-up, only then exacerbated by what transpired at the hands of Birmingham City. And those wishes for the “dream midfield” of Williams, Scott and Massengo or James, Williams and Scott, or however you want to configure it, never really mattered.
Pearson will - and he hasn’t really been asked about yet - no doubt point to that as one of the overriding reasons behind City’s fluctuating form and results; the midfield sets the tone, and in order to do that effectively, you need consistency in selection and cohesion and chemistry between those picked.
Those elements have materialised at times this season but Williams and James’ fitness issues have meant the only steady partnership, as such, has been Scott and Massengo which is very exciting, but also flawed given their age and experience.
Ewood Park presents Pearson another opportunity to pick what he believes is his best combination - depending on his designated system - which will almost certainly include James and Williams and then one of Scott or Massengo, with the former potentially shifting across to right wing-back if not preferred in the middle of the park.
Although his partnership with James didn’t click against Blues, Williams spoke with positivity about lining up alongside the 30-year-old, outlining how it’s happened several times in training to good effect and may just require games to get it right.
Ideally, Pearson wouldn’t want to be facing such a situation 36 games into a season, where his first-choice central midfielders are still working each other out, but that is the scenario he must contend with and, to return to a previous point, these 10 games can be used with a mind to next season when both will again be considered important figures in the squad.
Away day misery
At last count, City had more than 400 tickets sold for the trip to the north west which is deeply impressive given their wretched record on the road which has seen them winless since Peterborough on October 2 and without a clean sheet since Birmingham on March 13.
That a lot of miles, hours and patience from the stands in watching your team be second best or, at best, having to fight for every point and although, as we know with Lee Johnson, home form is what counts, simply because more supporters watch you there, City could do with a performance on their travels to reward the loyalty of the Robins faithful.
Of those 11 matches since Peterborough, they really should have taken points against Coventry and Luton, while at Hull they scrambled a draw and against Preston they let three points through their hands.
That leaves West Brom, Birmingham, Sheffield United, Fulham, Blackpool, Swansea and Nottingham Forest as seven sizeable black marks but two of them, you could argue, City made things hard for themselves rather than being genuinely beaten by a superior opposition.
Look, we’re trying to be positive here but when you contextualise it, it’s not as if the away form is totally unsalvageable. That being said, it is continuing to trend downwards which speaks of wider issues about confidence and organisation; uncomfortable conversations that were hopefully had at the Robins High Performance Centre this week.
In many ways, of course, this game is more important for Blackburn in their promotion quest than it is for City as they drift somewhere between 17th and 21st, but that’s also part of the problem, you might suggest - something has to change.
That being said, with trips to Barnsley (scrapping for every point), Bournemouth and Huddersfield (both promotion challengers) to come there has to be a mindset shift. If not, enormous emphasis is then on the two remaining away fixtures at Stoke and Derby, the former in mid-table and the latter potentially relegated by that stage, to ensure City don’t go into next season with an away run that mirrors the home record that opened this term.
Goal-shy Blackburn
A cynic (or realist, perhaps) would suggest if you were a team with one goal in eight, playing a side who haven’t kept a clean sheet for 15 matches would be the ideal tonic to getting you out of your funk.
That is the situation for Blackburn who, remarkably, remain fourth in the division despite having found the net once in a period of time from January 29 to now. For context, City have scored 10 goals in their last eight matches, with the problems very much at the other end.
That is down to the injury absence of Ben Brereton-Diaz whose career year has been interrupted by an ankle injury which will also keep him out of this game and how Tony Mowbray may wonder at the end of the season what may have transpired if the Chilean had stayed fit during this period.
Against Millwall in midweek, they failed to hit the target but the expected goals of 1.56-0.21 tells the story of the game as the Lions offered very little in the final third, while Blackburn simply couldn’t take their chances.
City’s generous defence - the Robins are 22nd overall for xGA per game in the league with 1.65 and shots conceded per game with 14.3 - should again provide opportunities for the hosts attack to prove themselves, but then pressure can do funny things.
As mentioned, the onus will be on Rovers to go and win this game and put their goalscoring woes behind them, and there could be additional buoyancy in the stands with the return of Bradley Dack to the squad, although he’s likely to be on the bench.
However, providing the Robins can keep it tight (which, if we’re being honest, hasn’t been a facet of their game at all since about September), anxiety in the stands could then transmit down onto the pitch and could just help open the game up for City.
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