Bristol City opened the doors to Ashton Gate on the eve of the first home game of the new season, holding an open training session for 1,000 season ticket holders and members, with a considerable proportion of the crowd being younger fans.
Putting aside the technical aspects of the session, it allowed supporters a more personal window into the squad as usually the squad would arrive in BS3 on a matchday to empty stands, this time they were applauded as they made their way from the team bus to the tunnel.
The conclusion of training then allowed an informal meet-and-greet with players and staff signing autographs and posing for pictures, which may seem like small gestures but do a lot in building a relationship between the two aspects of the club, something that can increasingly feel distant - and dangerously so - in football’s modern age.
Bristol Live opted against asking Nigel Pearson for a selfie, but instead here were five observations from the lower tier of the Lansdown Stand…
Super Scott
Any “enquiry” Manchester United may or may not have made about Alex Scott hasn’t gone through Bristol City but, as has been the case over the last 3-4 months, everyone is going to have to get used to these types of murmurs because the boy is special.
Scott didn’t have the most impressive of starts to the season and he’ll be frustrated he was unable to impose himself on the game against Hull having been entrusted in the advanced midfield playmaker role at the MKM Stadium.
Pearson has a real dilemma as to what to do against Sunderland in that regard with the No10 spot and right wing-back now intrinsically linked; does Kane Wilson start on the flank, meaning Mark Sykes plays centrally, leaving Scott on the outside? Or does Wilson have to wait for his chance from the bench? Or will Sykes be the main to drop out?
We’ll know at 2pm on Saturday but in the meantime, whenever anyone gets the chance to watch Scott play, it’s something of a privilege. Especially in training, with the pressure off to a degree and a greater margin for error.
Scott has a deep seriousness to his game but also a playfulness in what he tries to do on the field, with clever passes around the corner of his intended markers, breaking the lines, while there were a couple of rasping drives absolutely battering the crossbar at one point.
At one point he took a short pass off Dan Bentley and was instantly pressed by Matty James who tried to get all over Scott and force a heavy touch, but the ball stuck to his feet like glue and with his upper body strength and positioning, the teenager was able to fend the veteran off, not letting him get his leg around to make a tackle, before then rolling away into space.
It was an isolated incident but showcased both his guile in possession and how he can also graft when on the ball.
Everyone loves Antoine
There were a few excited words being exchanged across the lower section of the Lansdown when the players emerged down by the corner of where the stand meets it Atyeo counterpart Striding up front by a good 20 metres was Rob Atkinson, sheepishly clapping the crowd as he went down the tunnel to put his boots on, while Mark Sykes enthusiastically waved and blew kisses to his partner and baby in the crowd.
Also present with the squad as they had arrived from the Robins High Performance Centre on the team bus, as is routine on matchdays, was Antoine Semenyo. The striker is still nursing his shin injury, which was expected to keep him out until September but there he was in amongst the group, presenting that infectious smile to the gathering fans.
Unfortunately, any hope that the 22-year-old would be part of the session quickly evaporated as he stood in the technical area alongside Ayman Benarous as the rest of the squad jogged out and began warming-up under the guidance of Paddy Orme. Although he was captured saying, “get me on the pitch” and told a group of fans, admittedly as an aside, that he may be back in action “sooner” than anticipated.
As the majority of the players were put through their paces in front of the Dolman Stand, Semenyo and Benarous mounted two exercise bikes just by the away dugout and began to put in the miles as their progress was closely monitored.
Neither took part in any kind of ball exercises and their morning’s work finished quite a bit before the rest of the squad, but Semenyo’s status as a firm fan favourite - particularly among the younger ground - was evidenced as he gestured to sign a shirt, and then was besieged by requests with a number leaving their seats to make their way to the front of the stand and get his autograph.
It was all very polite and civilised and, of course, Semenyo was there to oblige, taking around 15 minutes to work his way around everybody, signing City shirts and other merchandise while posing for a few pictures if the crowd permitted it.
Young guns on the ball
With City under-23s playing at Yate Town on Tuesday night, a significant contingent of younger players who have been part of first-team training this summer weren’t present on the Ashton Gate turf - Harvey Wiles-Richards, Josh Owers, Duncan Idehen, Seb Palmer-Houlden and Rafael Araoye, as five examples.
Which is why the sight of Ryley Towler and Dylan Kadji fully involved with the senior squad could be notable. Both played for the U23s last season, following and amid loan spells at Grimsby Town and Bath City, respectively, but increasingly - and it is tempered by the fact Pearson would like to add players at defensive midfield and centre-back - they are looking like credible first-team options, albeit quite a bit down the pecking order. For now, at least.
Tower is the more recognisable figure given his height, long blond locks, social media character and the fact that he’s made five starts for City already, in league and cup, mainly at left wing-back under Dean Holden but he was trialled, a little disastrously so, at centre-back against Millwall last season.
For the majority of the ball exercises, which don’t always tell the full story over a player’s role, Towler was to the left of the back three, and showed his elegance in possession, pinging balls into the midfield area and making the occasional overlap if the drill permitted.
Towler’s position in BS3 does appear dependent by what happens with other individuals in the squad e.g if City can bring in another centre-back, likely to be on loan, that frees him up to move to a, if possible, League One club.
If they can’t and if Zak Vyner (more on him in a moment) is moved on, although he seems to have played his way back into contention, then Pearson doesn’t have much choice but to retain the 20-year-old. It’ll all be decided over the next four weeks.
Kadji probably isn’t quite as close to the first-team as his academy colleague but was considered among the defensive midfielders when City were looking to pass the ball through the third, with the 18-year-old alongside Andy King, Han-Noah Massengo and Matty James.
Again, that area of the pitch is where Pearson wants to make an addition but, if he can’t, and let’s say Massengo is sold, all of a sudden Kadji and possibly Owers become the only other options.
Missing man
It would be remiss of us not to mention the fact that Vyner was notable by his absence at Ashton Gate. Just three days after his start at Hull City, in which he did his first-team chances no harm, the defender was nowhere to be seen.
A few weeks ago, days even, the obvious assumption would be that he was being prepped for a move away but Bristol Live understands that’s not the case at this moment in time so the 25-year-old is either injured or ill.
Certainly, as it stands, it’s hard to see how City can negotiate a move away from the club given the fact if you take him away, Pearson only has four senior centre-backs: Kal Naismith, Rob Atkinson, Timm Klose and Tomas Kalas, who’s looking like he’s approaching match fitness again. But it wouldn’t take a lot for that group to be quickly diminished, which would make the concept of playing with three centre-backs very tricky, indeed.
As mentioned, there is Towler plus Idehen and Araoye further down the pecking order but Pearson has all but ruled out the latter as a first-team option and the former looks in need of more game time.
Pearson will be able to provide greater detail at tomorrow’s pre-match press conference but for now it appears Vyner is here to stay.
Bridge to the past
There was a moment during the opening 30 minutes of proceedings when Ian Downs took to the microphone and asked fans to look to the South Stand where a group of impeccably-dressed gentlemen were making their way down onto the pitch and towards supporters in the Lansdown.
They were, of course, notable former City players Tom Ritchie, Geoff Merrick, Dave Rodgers, Trevor Tainton, Gary Owers and Jantzen Derrick.
If there’s been a strong tenet of Richard Gould’s time as City CEO over the last 12 months it’s been his desire for the club to reconnect and honour its past; the Terry Cooper tributes, the work around the Ashton Gate Eight anniversary and the establishment of the Former Players’ Association have all been driven by Gould, admittedly with a number of other key individuals playing influential roles (Neil Palmer and Scott Davidson being two).
The six on Tuesday made their way along the touchline and were given a warm round of applause before they posed for a few photographs and signed autographs just like the current stars of today. Owers then delivered an interview with Downs, joking about the tightness of his blazer and trousers.
It was a small detail over the course of the morning but also an important one because City have recognised that being sometimes a bit of a faceless corporate beast who acts slightly ignorant of its history is damaging to the overall identity and culture of the club. In a very short space of time these sort of public shows have become normal, whereas in the recent past they were virtually non-existent.
On Saturday against Sunderland, that six plus Paul Cheesely, Tony Thorpe, Ray Cashley, Mike Gibson, Bobby Williams, Tony Ford, Rob Edwards, Bryan Drysdale, Gerry Sweeney, Gary Williams and Howard Pritchard will be present at Ashton Gate for further celebration of the club’s past. A game which fans will also spiritually mark the passing of much loved and loyal Robins fans Stoney Garnett and Martin Henneberry.
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