Nine games without defeat and 2023 could hardly be going any better. Saturday’s 1-0 win over Norwich City personified everything that has made the Robins tick in their upturn in form.
From front to back, everyone wearing the red of City outworked their opponents, producing a resilience and doggedness that has become commonplace with a Nigel Pearson side.
Top that off with a clinical attacking performance and a fifth goal in six games for Mark Sykes, few in south Bristol are once again looking up the table and keeping an optimistic eye on the play-offs rather than nervously looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
If talk of a potential late surge into the top six might be slightly premature (or aided by a few half-time ciders) it certainly isn’t a topic of discussion in the changing room. Both George Tanner and Pearson reinforced the message that all City can do is take it one game at a time.
That next clash sees Wigan Athletic travel to Ashton Gate and despite their win at the weekend over Huddersfield Town, it’s safe to say they won’t be too excited at the prospect of having to face one of the form teams in the Championship.
But before we look ahead to Wednesday’s action, here are the moments missed from a packed Ashton Gate on Saturday.
Kal Naismith classy on comms
Anyone who’s spent any time with Kal Naismith will tell you that he is an excellent talker, whether that be on the pitch or when dealing with the media as shown by his honest reflection back in December after City drew 0-0 with Millwall.
The defender put in an excellent display on Robins TV on Saturday with a level of analysis and in-depth reflection that demonstrated his footballing intelligence. But sadly, his appearance did also bring with it some disappointing news.
When asked about the upcoming FA Cup fifth-round tie against Manchester City the 30-year-old said that he’d be “sad not to play in it,” all but confirming he won't be match fit for the Champion’s visit in just over two weeks’ time with a calf injury picked up against Preston.
Pearson said last week that the former Luton man would be having a scan on Thursday to assess the damage and although Naismith could be seen around Ashton Gate on Saturday with no obvious aid such as crutches, he missed ten games with his previous calf issue so it is unlikely he'll be rushed back into action.
Hopefully, we’ll have an update on any potential return timeframe in the next couple of days, but until then we wouldn’t mind him becoming a more regular feature on Robins TV such was his impressive performance.
Joe Williams is a machine
It’s been an odd season for Joe Williams who having finally shaken his injury issues, found himself regularly on the City bench following the World Cup with the impressive form of Alex Scott, Naismith and Matty James.
However, Naismith’s injury has left one slot in that three-man midfield up for grabs and there was little doubt it would be Williams who would fill the void and he relished making the most of his opportunity.
Going forward he created two big chances and completed 80% of his passes throughout the 90 minutes. What was more noticeable was his extremely impressive defensive work including two blocks, three clearances and four recoveries.
In added time Williams broke away from the wall as a free kick was floated into the area only to fly out to the edge of the box and launched himself in front of Kenny Mclean’s strike from the edge of the box to deflect it behind for a corner. It was a superb, committed piece of defending in the final stages of the game.
With Naismith ruled out for at least a few weeks, perhaps this can be the springboard for Williams to stake his case for a regular run in the side.
Ashton Gate 8 in attendance
Over the last couple of years, Bristol City and those running the Former Player's Association such as Neil Palmer have made a real effort to recognise the selfless actions of the eight players who had their contracts torn up, so the Robins were able to avoid liquidation in 1982.
Now 41 years later, in the first home game since the anniversary on February 3rd, six of those eight players were in attendance for Saturday’s fixture and received a moment's appreciation before kick-off and a minute’s applause as the clock hit the eighth minute. Jimmy Mann and Chris Garland were unable to attend.
Throughout the game chants of “eight men had a dream, to save our football team,” could be heard echoing around Ashton Gate and hopefully in tandem with last year’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, those who were treated so unfairly by the club feel more appreciated.
It’s quite hard to comprehend that in only a few decades City have managed to go from possible liquidation to plying their trade in one of the Championship’s best stadiums, having just sold an academy product for nearly £10m. Football has changed so much in South Bristol.
Let’s be having you
There was already Bristol City royalty in attendance on Saturday in the shape of the Ashton Gate 8, but Norwich were eager not to be outdone and just before both teams’ coaches arrived, a legendary Canary stepped foot in BS3.
Celebrity chef and majority shareholder of Norwich City, Delia Smith made the trip down from Norfolk and was greeted by a number of travelling supporters who took the opportunity to have a chat and take some photos as she made her way to the VIP’s entrance.
To be honest it felt as though David Wagner’s side could’ve done with a half-time team talk akin to that performed by Smith in 2005, when she took to the microphone to try and rally the Norwich supporters to get behind the side as they faced Manchester City in her famous, “let’s be having you,” speech.
In a time where so often owners receive criticism for the way in which they run their clubs, it’s a nice reminder of how well-run a team can be by people who actually have affection for their local side.
Nige plays his part
Throughout the season, Pearson has spoken about the importance of his backline being strong defensively before contemplating their ability going forward and this was repeated after Saturday’s win as he said, “basic defending isn’t always something that’s in abundance these days quite frankly.”
Well, once again City’s defence showed their ability to be solid at the back, keeping the usually tormenting Teemu Pukki quiet for the afternoon. If any of them needed inspiration during the game, however, they needn’t look further than the City dugout where Pearson played his part in running down the clock.
Midway through the second half, Norwich left-back Dimitrios Giannoulis found himself travelling into the technical area to try and take a quick throw-in only for the City manager to grab the ball and humorously prevent the opponent from snatching it back.
Pearson wasn’t quite as animated as he has been at times on the touchline this season but did share a laugh and a joke with Max O’Leary at full-time gesturing into the air. Perhaps praising him for his aerial dominance or a slight tease about a number of wayward kicks. Either way, City's No1 was excellent once again.
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