“We’re hoping to use this as a kind of springboard” slyly chuckled Chris Martin knowing the irony and repetition in which this phrase could have been used throughout the season for Bristol City’s players.
This is an all too familiar feeling. They’ve already been on the springboard several times with a first home win against Barnsley or an impressive draw with Fulham. Even the early season victory in the corresponding result over Cardiff City in the Severnside derby was a metaphorical opportunity to kick on as the cliché would have it. They just haven’t taken it yet.
The chances that City have lost when offered the circumstances for a burst of results weren’t lost on Saturday’s matchwinner though, Martin added “I don’t want to keep saying that because obviously there have been moments throughout the season that we felt like is the moment to kick on but that’s what we’ve got to try and use this and string some results together.”
The Scot is right if not too ambitious. It would feel wrong to suddenly suggest that back-to-back wins are a formality and consistency is just waiting around the corner, that this group of players can really push up the league with ease and Martin knows that.
Again though, this does feel like it could be the time they do kick on, and this isn’t to build up any loose thread of optimism but there’s now a fairly decent sample size that actually things are getting better. The Robins look more streamlined on the pitch, they’ve definitely got a recognisable and threatening strikeforce when compared with the earlier weeks of the season where goals felt like a surprise.
They also appear a team with more of a plan and the confidence and composure within themselves to react and grind through tough moments. The performances aren’t going to be challenging the likes of Fulham or Bournemouth anytime soon but it’d be hard to find a period this season as promising as the past five matches, performance-wise at least.
Local derbies always carry the feeling of extravagant optimism in victory but this result feels the culmination of the previous month’s toil. There was plenty of continuation of the promising themes and these were the talking points to carry forward…
Martin magic
There’s nowhere better to start and nobody more deserving than City’s No.9. Martin has been a man under immense criticism from large portions of the fanbase for his all too obvious immobility on the pitch, but rarely are footballers such archetypal fits for their role as Martin is.
In one sense this is brilliant because you can play to his strengths unconsciously. Just knowing that Chris Martin is up front is enough to make a hopeful punt into a perfectly directed pass when he flicks it on, nods it down or draws in defenders like a magnet.
The negative side is hard to ignore though and his speed and lack of penetration in another dimension mean that he’s far from a complete forward. On the vertical plane he’s about as good as they get, horizontally he’s challenged.
Yes, a man of his experience is extremely sharp upstairs and plays the game in his head, deceiving defenders with his movement and sharp finishes like he did to Cardiff. But when he lumbers to channel balls it doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing and in modern football that carries more weight than it should.
Those weaknesses are all forgotten when he scores though and Martin’s goals at Ashton Gate were his first at home since opening the team’s account for the entire campaign against Blackpool. His four goals in between had all been away from home.
It’s not a surprise that he’s fared better away from home because City can play more directly and use his frame to their advantage. At home, there’s less leeway with results if the answer to many questions is effectively hit it to Martin and hope.
It hasn’t just been the freshness of Antoine Semenyo that has made Martin watch on from the bench in recent weeks though, the veteran had stopped scoring completely. It was six games without a goal when he dropped out against QPR, his start here was the first since being alongside Semenyo against Huddersfield on December 18.
It’s the simple improvement of his finishing that made all the difference here. Largely his performance wasn’t too dissimilar to what he would normally bring. Elbows barging into defenders, jumping above those around him and more impressive link up with his partners. Goals are a striker’s currency though and his two crisp strikes will have lifted the weight off his own shoulders just as much as his teammates.
The first was instinctive as he admitted that he thought the whistle was going to go for a collision with Andi Weimann, taking the ball from behind him and curling it neatly into the far corner. It also came at a crucial time, less than two minutes after conceding.
The second was another perfect finish into the corner of the goal with his left foot. He didn’t have another shot or much of a chance with anything else in the game which makes his productivity even more important.
It’s been said time and time again but the fickle nature of football indicates that one kick of a ball can completely change a good game into a bad one or vice versa. This week Martin was on-form enough to get the positive effect of this. The rest of his performance will now be remembered more glowingly than it usually would be. All of a sudden he was dominating the imposing Aden Flint and was disciplined in his positioning and short passes in proximity to Semenyo.
Had he not scored then these things would still have looked the same but wouldn’t be appreciated.
It’s about time Martin had his day and got the respect that someone with his record is worthy of.
The images of him leaping into the air and being bundled over by his teammates might just cement this near the top of fans hearts for a while.
Lethal linkup
It wasn’t a smash and grab with Martin’s strikes. They weren’t chances in isolation and ultimately they came from moments of high quality before him. Not to takeaway from the precision in his finishes, but they were just that.
The finishing touch on the end of some slick movements around him. Just what a functioning attack should be.
It’s taken a while, but City aren’t relying on brief moments to win matches anymore. They’re creating more opportunities than they have all season and with the quality they do have in attack, they’re scoring more goals.
Leaving the defence aside for a bit, this team are not only fun to watch sprint forward in attack, effectively playing five attackers with Alex Scott and Callum O’Dowda both more offensive than defensive, they are reaping the benefits of pushing more bodies forward.
They’ve scored 13 goals in the last six matches, only Fulham have more in that time. In a telling comparison, it took them 13 games before that to register the same amount. In paradoxical fashion, a Pearson team is in a position where only two teams below fourth in the table have scored more than City. It doesn’t always look flowingly in control from back to front, yet it’s currently very effective.
In part this is down to some seriously impressive displays from Weimann with a hattrick against Millwall and Martin here, it’s also boosted by the return of Semenyo which nobody quite saw accelerating this quickly.
There’s a lot at the fun end of the pitch going right for City and Pearson subsequently should come in for a lot of praise for his boldness. Instead of taking out Martin and moving Scott or Ayman Benarous into the hole, leaving Weimann and Semenyo in tandem up front, he has played three natural strikers together and Scott in wingback.
Albeit his hand has been slightly forced so this could be seen as fortuitous, nevertheless, it does take bravery to be even more attacking, picking Scott over Jay Dasilva from the start, than a team that just conceded six goals.
Playing attacking players also doesn’t magically bring about a collection of goals. There has to be chemistry between them and a tactical fit. City have found that. With Scott being versatile and seemingly the golden child that can do no wrong in any position, City can squeeze in more players on form and that adds to the chaos in the final third.
Semenyo is free to run on the ball knowing that Weimann has the speed to keep up with him and make damaging runs. He also has more discipline in his positional sense that Weimann doesn’t. It also moves the Austrian slightly deeper which utilises the best passer and perhaps the most balanced of the three.
Now there’s a system where the two strikers are playing closely together, the attacking midfielder is a proven goalscorer in form, and there’s some variation in styles between the strikers. One drops short and one goes in behind, these roles are defined due to their glaring obviousness and all of a sudden City are clicking in a way they haven’t done under Pearson.
Moving to a tactical standpoint as mentioned before, City almost have the freedom to use a flat front five when attacking in this system. Five natural forwards can press high up the pitch and also be comfortable in possession in tighter spaces in defence and attack. We saw this against Cardiff as The Robins eventually started to pin their opponents in the second half and use the strengths of their forwards.
It isn’t just as simple as push everyone forward and score goals, especially not when it means conceding two goals for the fourth game in a row, but when there’s a purple patch at the top of the pitch it’s dangerous and City are making use of their threat.
Quality Kalas
It might seem strange to praise any defender who has played 26 matches for the joint second-worst defence in the league, but Tomas Kalas’ recent performances have reminded fans of why he is their most established player.
The Czech international has been one of their best individual performers and was at his imperious best against Cardiff City with reaching, pillaring headers against stubborn attackers in James Collins and Mark Harris.
He was quick to shift the ball either side of him to better ball players in Cam Pring and Zak Vyner. He also set the aggressive defensive line in the second half with courageous front triggers to attack the ball and get ahead of his opponent.
There is a more pressing issue with the defences ability to play well but also leak goals. That might seem juxtaposed but individually there’s been impressive sightings of Pring’s all-round game, Vyner’s range and accuracy of passing, Atkinson’s physicality and Kalas’ aggression. Boiling them down to just one word and a single skill is an understatement of their overall quality but as a unit they haven’t gelled that well.
Max O’Leary has now conceded 12 goals in the four games he’s played which is frankly a horrid record. But that he hasn’t had much help in stopping any of the dozen also shows that there’s something not working in front of him.
This is probably the downside to the whole five attackers thing. When the City press is evaded, which it will be at times, then there’s open space down the sides of the midfield and the centrebacks are left in a position which is often damned if you, damned if you don’t. Their attacking wingbacks can also be isolated in one-on-one situations which teams are undoubtedly seeking to exploit.
This is the downside to the intent placed upon the team from the formation and personnel, but it’s a risk worth taking when the team are scoring as commonly as they are.
Where does Kalas fit into the wider view of the team? He’s actually about as close to a Pearson-esq defender as City have currently. He’s extremely strong in the air and given his contingency within the team, he’s looking better in every passing game.
You could tell he was in the mood and lifted by the grandeur of the game when he breezed out from his central position with the ball at his feet, taking massive strides in close control of the ball and looked every part the established international player that he is.
It’s also important to note that he is capable of playing across the back three which is a key aspect when the roles of the defence are so etched. He possesses the presence to command in the middle of the defence and also an underrated passing spread too. Being right footed and no slouch in a footrace also makes him useful in the right of the three when Atkinson is playing in the middle.
When playing as autonomously as Kalas is, it would be easy to want more from his team numbers but there isn’t much more he can do on an individual level to change the fortunes, as long as he continues to play with the same class that is currently on show, maybe conceding two and scoring three will be the way forward.
Massengo and Scott hold firm
Without feeling too solum after another two injuries to players City can’t really afford to lose, with a squad as threadbare as it is they can’t actually deal with many at all, seeing Andy King and Atkinson trudge off down the tunnel within 20 minutes wasn’t a welcome sight.
Such is the versatility that Pearson has pressed onto his players there was a simple enough change to be made. On paper, it sounds strange that moving the attacking midfielder playing at right wingback into a deep central midfield role to allow a left wingback to play at right wingback is the right thing to do, but it is. Got that?
It was an easier and simpler substitute than it sounds, but it does feel like Pearson is currently trying to put plasters on a leaking swimming pool, but he only has two hands, and the holes are still appearing in the shape of more injuries.
When you consider Han-Noah Massengo’s poor first 25 minutes given his high standards, thinking of him and Scott together as the shield in front of a back three was probably quite daunting.
The Frenchman hadn’t settled next to Andy King after they were completely overrun by Fulham, Cardiff also had an extra man in midfield and Massengo didn’t impact the game in the first knockings.
King and James have been the consistent force next to Massengo all season and the thought of not having a teacher to reign him in when next to youthful Scott was a worry. It needn’t have been.
The pair played with relaxed self-control and grew in serenity as the match drew on. Playing without a designated leader next to them, the occasion dictated their actions.
Skittling around on the edge of the area to press down space before it opened up and remaining strict in their defensive movements, Massengo and Scott’s technical advances also allowed them to be a quick blanket in transition from defence to attack as City counterattacks became more common.
Pearson has alluded before that he wants a defensive-minded midfielder to do the blocking job in the team and he still doesn’t have anybody that fits the description that well. His current crop are more into ball playing and game controlling than out and out defending.
Scott and Massengo together look the least likely and least balanced to do that security job for the team which makes their success together even more uncanny. What they might lack in defensive acumen is surely made up from energy and spirit, but those skills don’t often stop the ball from going in the net.
Joe Williams will also have benefited from the newfound partnership in the midfield pivot as he was allowed another game to truly rest before making a comeback from his own injury.
A threadbare team
This might make you take a few more anxious looks at the calendar with a perspective view to the January transfer window’s closure at the end of the month.
We’ve already been told by a coy Pearson that activity is verging from not happening, to unlikely. That might just pick up in the next week though as Bristol’s A&E department rapidly fills up with some of the blood-red City shirts.
With King and Atkinson’s departure came a lingering thought that actually making some moves might not be a bad idea, at least in the short term because if there are two positions that City aren’t blessed with depth, it’s centre midfield and centreback.
This is all without knowing the extent of either injury, King feeling a tweak to his hamstring and Atkinson a back strain but the severity being unknown. Even if the news isn’t too daunting it still raises questions over the need of an incoming or two because the squad is starting to look anaemic in its makeup.
City now have just Kalas, Pring and Vyner as recognised centrebacks that have played this season and they’re all currently being used. The news that ex-Norwich defender Timm Klose has been training with the team could be seen as the bare minimum for that comes into Ashton Gate, and that’s if anything comes from it.
As for midfield, other than Williams there is only Ayman Benarous that looks in any state to be involved should it be needed on Tuesday against Luton Town. Whether this will make the Robins even more uncertain as to what happens with Kasey Palmer remains to be seen. As harsh as it would be on Palmer, he might need to be retained just in case.
City won’t have much time to make their shortlist or do a deal either. It will be hard to have a true idea of the severity of either injury before Monday which leaves them just seven days to go from start to finish in any business that’s possible.
You would imagine that for a team that have seemed so transfer shy this winter, they haven’t got a readymade book of players ready to call on and that makes creating contact with clubs, agents and players all the more difficult. Especially when there is so much transparency in City’s shortcomings and desperation to seal something in terms of a backup.
This could push up the prices for any deal that might be done, or it will separate City further from an already deserted market.
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