Bristol City reached another unwanted defensive milestone on Saturday as they headed into the 70s for the number of goals conceded this season.
The 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth means they have now shipped in 72 throughout the campaign, a damning record manager Nigel Pearson is all too aware of. The Bristol City manager often references it in his pre and post-match press conferences, how his side need to score two or three goals just to get something out of the game.
City have also conceded 35 goals since the turn of the year, only Reading and Peterborough have conceded more which further emphasises the defensive frailties that the coaching staff have failed to eradicate throughout the season.
Fortunately for the Robins, that defence has been counteracted by City's impressive attacking unit who have scored 51 in 40 matches thanks to the unstoppable goalscoring form of Andi Weimann with 19 and the partnerships alongside Antoine Semenyo and Chris Martin.
The January arrival of Timm Klose has failed to plug the gap despite his strong performances and although Dan Bentley's spell out of the team has rejuvenated his form, City are still conceding goals at an alarming rate.
They currently have the third-worst record in the league behind Saturday's opponents Peterborough (80) and Reading (74), but how does it compare to the rest of their seasons in the club's history?
City are currently conceding an average of 1.8 goals per game, meaning if they continue that trend they will end the season on around 80 goals against.
It's already the worst defensive record since the 2012/13 campaign when rock-bottom City shipped in 84 goals in their relegation campaign under Derek McInnes and Sean O'Driscoll.
Prior to that the 1998/99 season, where City also finished bottom, they conceded 80 on their return to the old Division Two.
You need to go back 62 years for City's worst defensive record in the club's history when their goals against tally stood at 97 conceded in just 42 matches. Put the average into a 46-game campaign, and that tally would stand at a whopping 103.
Up until the 1960/61 season, teams would play 42 games in a season so we took the season average beginning from the 1919/20 campaign, when football resumed following the First World War.
As you can see from the table below, City are on course for their joint 11th worst defensive season in 102 years, 95 seasons in total, due to the suspension of the Second World War.
As it stands, City have the third-worst defensive record in 59 years, when they conceded 92 goals in the 1962/63 season under Fred Ford and finished 14th in division three - although they still ended the campaign with a positive goal difference having scored 100.
A full detail of City's defensive records in the club's history can be found below, using an average of a 46-game campaign to work out the total number;
Bristol City's worst defensive records since 1919/20
1959-60 - 97 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 103 (relegated)
1932-33 - 90 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 96 (15th)
1957-58 - 88 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 94 (17th)
1962-63 - 92 goals in 46 games (14th)
1933-34 - 85 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 91 (19th)
1929-30 - 83 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 88 (20th)
1930-31 - 82 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 87 (16th)
1927-28 - 79 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 84 (12th)
1956-57 - 79 goals in 42 games, 46-game average: 84 (13th)
2012-13 - 84 goals in 46 games (relegated)
1998-99 - 80 goals in 46 games (relegated)
2021-22 - 72 goals in 40 games, 46-game average: 80
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