Bristol City v Middlesboro - Time To Start

I've been bumped off the Oxford v Bradford game this weekend and have been sent down to Bristol again.. With the price of petrol going through the roof, if might just be cheaper to buy a flat half way between Ashton Gate and the Memorial Ground!
A shame really because I wanted to take a look at Oxford to see how they are getting on and so would appreciate it if any Us fans out there could report back on Monday and leave their thoughts in the comment box. I'll then cut and paste and create a dedicated piece next week based on your thoughts and observations. Bradford will be a real test, no doubt.
Back to Ashton Gate where an equally intriguing game is taking place.
City need to bounce back from their humiliating Cup defeat last weekend against Wednesday, but the way their season is going I can see them doing just that. It's been a bit up and down, but they have shown with recent results against QPR and Cardiff that they can mix it with the form sides in the division.
I saw this same fixture last season when Gareth Southgate was in charge and things have spiralled downhill since then.
Gordon Strachan managed to take them from play off contenders to relegation hopefuls and now Tony Mowbray is at the helm. The side have lost six of the thirteen games since he took over in late October and won only four, but as a local lad and former captain (at only 22 years old), you would think he would get the time to turn things around.
Former Boro' boss Bruce Rioch once said of Mowbray: “If I had to fly to the moon I’d take Tony Mowbray, my captain, with me. He’s a magnificent man” and that is just the type of person Boro need at the moment.
Marvin Emnes, Barry Robson, and Jason Steele, who all missed the 2-1 FA Cup third round defeat at Burton, have returned to training this week and so put themselves into consideration.
Boro are only three places behind their hosts and will be doing all they can to close the gap in a very tight division and Mowbray has said:
Mowbray said: "It's a game that's winnable but also we understand it is a very tough fixture. They actually beat us in that first game. It was a game where, for spells, we were right on top and in other spells we weren't very good. I think we have become more consistent since then and I would hope we would go down there and find a good consistent performance and get a result. It is just the next game and a chance for three points."
Equally, City boss Keith Millen will be pointing to the table and  telling his players that they are only eight points behind Watford in the last play off place with just under half a season to go. It's not all over for the Robins by any means, but it's also tight in the bottom half of the table and Millen said: "Three of the next five matches are against teams currently below us in the table and they are massive games for us. Win them and we open a big gap. Lose and we could be drawn back into trouble."
Millen pointed to last week's Cup defeat as a warning to his players and said: "Hopefully, we've learned a few lessons from that game. I thought we played well in the first half and deserved a goal. We had 13 chances and didn't take a single one of them and, when that happens, you run the risk of being punished. The players went back out for the second half thinking it would be easy and they paid the price. It's something we've spoken about this week and they know they cannot afford to make the same mistake again. If we do, Boro have players who will punish us.
Whether you go one-nil up or one-nil down, you have to keep doing the things that give you success. We played like individuals in the second half against Wednesday and it was our own bad play that presented them with their goals. You cannot afford to take anything for granted and the players now realise that. Boro may be struggling at the moment, but they are a decent side and they have some very good players."
City look as though they might be able to call upon the services of Spurs on loan central defender Stephen Caulker who picked up a hip injury in a collision with keeper David James last weekend. From what I have seen of City this season, he has been there most consistent player and Harry Redknapp must be licking his lips at the prospect of including him in the first team squad next season.
We've now passed the half way stage and for these two sides it's time to start putting a run together if they want to take a little glory from the season.