Bristol City 2 Portsmouth 1 - Run on

City brought Pompey’s six game unbeaten streak to a halt and in the process extended their own run ‘on’ to four games.

My clipping from this morning’s copy of The Sun

I had a quiet chat with Keith Millen after the game and he is now looking up the table for the first time this season rather than sweating on how many teams are chasing City. I think it’s fair to say that this was the game that effectively sealed Championship survival.

Earlier in the season I found myself in the uncomfortable situation of having to ask Keith how he was coping with the pressure as City lurched from one poor result to another. At that point in the season, Millen and City were at a crossroads. He had been with the club in a coaching capacity for some time and seen managers come and go after similar spells. So how was he coping?

Keith is one of the game’s good guys and politely handled questions even though you knew that he’d rather be anywhere else.

“I’m a fighter,” he told me. “I believe we can get ourselves out of this situation.”

In the car park I had a chat with one of the players who told me that Keith had their full support and they really believed that they’d be able to turn things around.

To both Keith’s credit and that of the players, they have.

Millen still wants to reach the fifty or fifty-two point safety mark as soon as possible, but realistically it’s now all about finishing the season on a high and putting themselves in the right frame of mind as they start to prepare for next season.

Of course diehard Robins will tell you that they are still in with a shout of a play-off place and it is certainly a possibility, but how many felt that they would be struggling to stay up during those dark early season days?

Now they have a team that is full of self-belief and players who look like they could beat anyone – they’re also playing some nice stuff.

The return of striker Nicky Maynard from long term injury has also given them another dimension, but it would be unfair on the rest of the lads to point to his return as reason for their change in fortunes as they have all been contributing and have been doing so for some time.

Millen heaped praise on his team after the game and said:

"I'm so proud of my players. Some of them have gone through the pain barrier and done everything and more than I asked of them to beat a very good Portsmouth side. They are full of players with Premier League experience, were full of confidence after a great six-match winning run and showed that in the way they played.

We've had to hang on in there, scrap and fight for every ball and defend for our lives, but the lads have shown incredible fighting spirit and an amazing will to win and I'm really pleased with them. This was a big, big test for the lads and they've come through it with flying colours."

Pompey boss Steve Cotterill shrugged off the defeat and said:

“If we were to losing to anyone, City would be one of those sides. Keith Millen is an honest and hard working guy and has done a great job here. There won’t be many teams who come here and football them like we did. We were better – but just didn’t stick the ball in the back of the net.

We were fitter and stronger, we passed the ball better. ‘The only thing we fell down on was they scored two and we’ve scored one. That’s the only thing we fell down on. All the other aspects of football I thought we were superb, absolutely superb.



Bristol City 0 Sheffield Wednesday 3 - Video Nasty

Bristol City allowed Wednesday back into this Cup tie after dominating the first half in which they had several shots on goal and even saw diminutive Owls midfielder James O’Conner head the ball off the line.

My clipping from today's paper

City boss Keith Millen was fuming and kept his players locked in the dressing room for thirty minutes after the game before saying:

“I have sent all of my players home with a DVD of the match and will be looking for a response from them at our next training session. We were weak mentally after falling behind and the dressing room was too quiet afterwards.

We looked a bad side in the second half and it showed we still have a lot of work to do over the rest of the season. It was a damaging result financially for the club and just how bad we will only know when we see who Wednesday draw in the next round.”

Well they ended up with a home tie against either Wycombe or Hereford (depending on the outcome of tomorrow’s delayed third round tie) and so while the Yorkshire boys won’t be exactly salivating at the prospect of that one, at least it's at Hillsborough and gives them an opportunity of 5th round Cup glory against one of the big boys.

Winger Gary Teale, 32, started the demolition job on City with rare header in the 48th minute for his 4th of the campaign and admitted:

“The work rate was there in the first half, but we weren’t showing quality that we can do. In the second half we played off the front foot and created a lot of chances and luckily enough we managed to put a few of them in.

That’s the way the manager wants us to play and it suits us. Obviously in some games it doesn’t work out that way, but hopefully on the back of this result we can kick on. We’ve just been lacking a wee bit of consistency.

You know we’re not going to win the Cup, but winning games breeds confidence especially when we perform like we did today away from home. If anything that’s been our downfall this season and so hopefully we can now kick on and add some consistency.

Teams in the league look at us as a big scalp. We’ve maybe let ourselves down a bit away from home, but hopefully with this result we can build on it and add some consistency.”

Preston loan striker Mellor, 28, nodded in his 13th goal in the 55th minute and the Sheffield born former Liverpool star said:

“It was good result. We believe that we’ve got a squad full of Championship players and so when you come to a place like this it’s important to try and prove that point and I think that we proved we can play against a Championship team, but we’ve got to do the same in the tough games in League One because we’ve got players capable of playing at this level. We can’t afford too many more slip ups in League One though.

I really enjoy it here, I really do. The manager and Chairman both want us to get promoted and the whole point of coming here was to gain promotion. We’re all pushing in the same direction. It’s a huge club and anything’s possible and so I’m hoping it takes off here. I’m still only 28 and I still have ambitions. I don’t want to be playing in League One. I want to get promoted to the Championship and then one day play in the Premier League with Sheffield Wednesday. It’s a long term ambition, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen. Smaller clubs have made it into the Premier League.

It’s such a fanatical club. Every away game we take three or four thousand with us. There’s a lot of passion in the city and if we can get it going they’ll be right behind us as they have been so far this season.

My targets are to stay in the side, score goals and get promoted. And of course enjoy my football and it’s no secret that I’m enjoying myself.

I really enjoy playing alongside Clinton. He’s got loads of experience and brings so much to the training ground and on match days. He has so much enthusiasm.

We know though that if we don’t keep running for 90 minutes the gaffer will drag us off. So far we’ve had a good understanding and we’re both scoring goals and so long may it continue.

He’s the best coach I’ve ever worked for. I just love his training sessions and if you’re doing that you can take it into the matches.”

Clinton Morrison, 31, wrapped things up and slid in score the third goal from 4 yards in the 65th minutes after winger and was in a positive mood afterwards when he said:

“To get balls like we were getting into the box was brilliant in the second half. We haven’t been doing that recently and so it was great. That’s what Neil and I like to feed off as strikers and that’s how we get our goals.

I got to the quarter finals last year with Coventry and we played Chelsea at the Ricoh and they brought their big guns, John Terry, Lampard and Drogba. It was a good experience and to go on a good Cup run would be a great experience, but first and foremost our aim is to get promotion.

Cup runs help to breed confidence. In terms of fan base and stature of the club this is a big one, but the reality is that we’re in League One and our aim has to be to get back into the Championship. I said to the lads after the game that we’ve just beaten a side that are flying in the Championship at the moment. They’ve just beaten Cardiff and drawn away at QPR and even though they’re on a high at the moment we’ve battered them in the second half. We can’t go backwards now. We’ve got to go back to League One and play teams there and play the same way. I think it will happen because the gaffer’s strengthening the squad which will put everyone on their toes and mean you’ve got to fight for your position.

I’ve scored eight goals now this season, but I’m looking to get nearer to twenty so hopefully I can keep going. I should’ve scored more to be fair. I’ve created a lot for others, but should’ve scored more. My New Year’s resolution is to be more greedy and not pass anymore. Neil’s just going to have to deal with it.

Brighton have got a ten point lead over us, but I guarantee we’ll catch them. They’re bound to have a little slip up and we can kick on and catch them.

The gaffer’s said that a team will go on a roll this season and get up there and win the league and hopefully that will be us.”

Wednesday manager Alan Irvine was delighted with his team’s performance and said:

“I told the players at half time that they were better than they were showing. We gave the ball away too much and did not show enough self belief. The second half performance was tremendous. Goals change games and by the end everyone wanted the ball and every player was showing composure on it.

The goals we got were terrific and we could have had some more. We were aware of the threats from Bristol City. The two wide players have been in very good form so we were conscious of the danger that they posed down the sides, but in actual fact we probably created more than they managed to do.

I was delighted with the clean sheets and delighted with the debuts. I thought the two lads did very well. A couple of things early on in the game where people were maybe unfamiliar with each other, but I thought that they grew into it.

We know Reda can head the ball and head it a long way – probably further than I can kick it now! He’s a real threat in the air in their box and defends well in the air in our box and we hardly lost a header today.

Clearly our priority is the league without any question and that’s what well be judged on at the end of the season.

I’ve been told that it’s ten years since we’ve been this far in the Cup which was a huge surprise to be honest. You expect a club like this to have been beyond this round and so

If anyone asks if it’s a distraction I’d say no, it’s a fantastic competition. I said to the lads before the game that this is one of the special days in the English football calendar and it was a day that was important to me important to our fans, important to Milan and the players showed it was important to them as well.”

As far as Wednesday were concerned the general mood seemed to be one of pleasure at a job well done and a good result against a decent side from the league above, but they know that the main aim is to gain promotion and so the Cup is of secondary importance.

The tie against either Wycombe or Hereford won’t change that attitude and should they get through to the 5th round it will be interesting to see how much of a help or a hindrance the Cup becomes.

City meanwhile need to look at this result as a huge kick up the backside. Losing to a club of Wednesday’s size isn’t a major Cup shock (ask the Newcastle and Sunderland fans about Cup upsets), but Millen was right in saying it has cost them financially and after seeing the 4th round draw they’ll see it as am wasted opportunity. It’s time for them to get back to basics in the league – once they’ve watched the video nasty Millen gave them!

Bristol City 1 Crystal Palace 1 - Catch Up

Following a couple of weeks of bad weather, man-flu, Christmas celebrations and not a little alcohol abuse, I will attempt to catch up on the couple of games I managed to attend over the festive season.

First up was the Championship clash between the Robins and Palace.

My clipping from the paper

I saw the same game last season when Palace had a perfectly good goal ruled out after the referee failed to spot the ball hit the frame in the back of the net and bounce back into play – assuming it had hit an advertising hoarding behind the goal.

In this game Palace had the right to feel aggrieved as well after Brett Pitman equalized from the spot in the 94th minute.

Neil Danns had opened the scoring in the 2nd minute and was a class apart in midfield as Lee Johnson and Marvin Elliott failed to cope with him.

On wag in the press box wondered aloud whether there was any chance of Palace swapping number eights during the transfer window and while this might have been a little harsh on Johnson, the fact that Danns is out of contract in the summer must see him packing his bags for a final career move at some point soon.

Keith Millen’s side rode their luck in this one, but to their credit, they never gave up and so for guts and determination alone, they probably deserved something out of it, although Palace will beg to differ.

To their credit, Palace played with a passion that belied their position in the relegation zone and they certainly didn’t look as though they were a team who wanted rid of their manager. Surprising then that George Burley found himself out of a job only a few days later when Millwall stuffed them by three goals.

Talking of Millwall; one of the south London press lads took a call from a colleague in the first half and was in stitches after ending it. It turns out his colleague was down for the Millwall game that afternoon, but had been told the game kicked off at five o’clock and so was desperately trying to get to the New Den before the final whistle!



Bristol City 2 Derby County 0 - Matador

Christian Ribeiro and I had a brief chat after the game on Saturday and he admitted that City were fortunate to have kept eleven men on the field after David James had cut down Kris Commons – but pointed out that they had also had their fair share of bad luck.

Wales defender Ribeiro, 20, gave an honest assessment and said:

“As David rushed out I was thinking ‘don’t take him out’ as I was sprinting back to cover, but to be frank I don’t think I would have made it. We were lucky David was only shown a yellow card, but decisions were going against us earlier in the season and so I guess it shows that our luck has changed.”

There is no doubt about that, but you often make your own luck in life and City have worked hard to change their fortunes and are reaping the rewards having lost only one of the last nine. The problem is that the division is so tight; they need to maintain this form to stay away from the scrap at the bottom.

Looking at the situation from a ‘glass half full‘ perspective though; if they do manage to continue this form, the play-off places are within their grasp as well.

If they are to keep the momentum going they also need the whole squad to pull in the same direction and in Jamaica central defender Damion Stewart they have men with the right attitude. Stewart was signed from QPR by former boss Steve Coppell in the summer and two weeks later saw the former Reading boss quit.

After City’s dodgy start to the season Stewart was dropped but said:

“Keith Millen is the gaffer. He’s the boss and I told him from day one that he had my full support even when I wasn’t in the side. I was used to playing every week at QPR and so it was a new experience having to wait for the opportunity to get back in. I kept my head down and worked hard and now that I’m back in the team, hopefully I can continue to show what I can do.”

Brett Pitman scored a brace to take his tally to five goals in three games to show why the Robins paid £800k to Bournemouth for his services, but the stand-out player for me was former Barnet winger Albert Adomah who – like Pitman – was signed from the lower divisions and showed he too has what it takes by setting up both goals.

Pitman was fully appreciative of Adomah’s contribution, but preferred to spread the praise about and said: “He played in a couple of great balls, but everyone is working hard, running hard and filling in for each other. We work a lot on shape in training and while the players don’t like it and find it boring, it certainly pays off during the games.”

Nigel Clough was understandably furious with the decision not to send off James, but – unlike some managers – didn’t lash out at the officials. He said: “At the start of the season we have to attend a meeting with the referees where they show us videos of incidents from around the world to explain how decisions are made. If we don’t turn up we’re fined. If we complain about the referee we’re fined.”

I spotted Clough going into the referee’s room for a chat once the obligatory thirty minute cooling off period had expired and he was in there for a good fifteen minutes while his players crowded around a laptop in the corridor outside studying a DVD.

Watching it with them, it was obvious that Ribeiro was right and James was the last man and James should have walked. Commons had knocked the ball away from goal though in an effort to get past the keeper and I suspect that this was the referee’s defence. However, to suggest that a player of Commons caliber couldn’t have reached it and knocked the ball into the net is also daft. The rules definitely need clarifying here.

I also wondered whether the referee felt a little intimidated by the fact that it was the former England number one he faced red carding and reluctant to do so and be accused of trying to make a name for himself. We’ll probably never know, but Ribeiro was right, Bristol City rode their luck with that incident. Then again, maybe it was time they had it on their side.

The highlight of the day in the Press Box was when one of the radio commentators described midfielder Alberto Bueno – on loan from Valladolid – as gesticulating in Spanish. I’m still trying to work that one out. Maybe I missed him doing an impression of an angry matador!

My clippings from this morning's copy of The Sun

The Sun’s football website: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football

Bristol City 2 Leicester City 0 - P**s and Vinegar

In the post-match press conference the written press invariably have to wait until the television and radio guys have wrapped up their interviews before asking their own questions. However, the newspaper reporters will also have their own portable recorders running so as not to miss anything. And so it was on Saturday when Sven-Goran Eriksson stood in front of the board bearing the logos of the sponsors.

The Sky interviewer positioned him and then turned to the assembled press and said: “Right, everybody happy?” To which the Swede instantly replied: “No, I’m not happy.” And you could understand why.

Last Tuesday night I watched Walsall squeak past Fleetwood in an FA Cup replay after the non-league outfit had dominated the first half. The Bescot faithful jeered their side off at half time, but Walsall scored in the 58th minute and then at the death to see them through.

On Saturday it was practically a carbon copy, although in fairness to Bristol City they looked much more interested than the west midlands outfit.

My clipping from this morning's copy of The Sun

The Sun’s football website: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football



Substitute Brett Pitman’s 57th minute goal- his first for the club – and David Clarkson’s 90th minute lobbed volley from 40 yards settled the game, but Leicester must have kicked themselves all the way home for not making the most of their first half possession.

David James clattered Andy King in the 22nd minute to give away a needless penalty and then redeemed himself by saving Steve Howard’s spot kick with his feet.

Foxes skipper Howard has – by all accounts – been playing out of his skin this season and, while it was obviously a great opportunity to take the lead, the Leicester camp will have been wondering how they didn’t turn their dominance into goals.

Both sides started with 4-3-3 formations, but whereas Leicester looked to attack, Danny Rose (on loan from Spurs) and Albert Adomah did little to support striker Jon Stead who at times could be seen frustratingly waving his team mates forward desperate for their support.

In the second half Robins manager Keith Millen changed to a 4-4-2 formation by bring on former Bournemouth striker Pitman, 22, for midfielder Lee Johnson while Erksson understandably persevered with the line-up that had them on top in the opening 45 minutes.

Pitman scored 28 goals for the Cherries last season as they stormed to League One promotion and also added another three before his £800,000 move to City in August, but had not figured in many of this season’s games.

The Jersey-born hit man started the first three games following his transfer, but from then has had to make do with a few minutes here and there as a substitute as he built up his fitness to cope with the higher level of Championship football.

His goal showed everyone that he hasn’t lost any of his goal poaching prowess while he’s been busy in the gym.

Full back Jamie McAllister pulled a free kick on the right back to Pitman in the area and he rifled the ball home despite a desperate goal line lunge from Ritchie Wellens.

Clarkson’s goal was worth the entrance money.

Former Robin’s number two Chris Weale threw the ball out to full back Gary Cunningham on the left, but Clarkson was sharp enough to intercept the ball and hit the ball back over the back peddling keeper for his third of the season.

Afterwards Millen refused to be drawn into comparisons with Eriksson or accept he had won any tactical battles with the former England chief and when asked if he would be opening a bottle of wine for the Swede he nodded, but joked: “Mid you he might not want any as the stuff I have tastes like vinegar.”

I suspect that Sven refused; after all he was already leaving with a bad taste in his mouth.

More quotes tomorrow from Eriksson, Millen, Clarkson and Pitman

Two managers and a chairman – Ready to fight

Bristol chairman Steve Lansdown has publicly back under-fire manager Keith Millen. He told the media yesterday:

“It's a time to stick together. We haven't become a bad football club overnight. The fans are having a go at Keith and certain players, but if they think there is a lack of commitment they are wrong. We need them to stand by us.

I'm concerned, but I have seen an improvement in the squad recently and there is no doubt we have the players to do better. We now have two weeks to stew on being bottom and we have to use that time to ensure we come back stronger.”

Millen himself was defiant after the game refusing o give up on either the job or his players. He said:

"We're 10 games in now and it's no longer early in the season. We are well into the season and we are down at the bottom for a reason. That reason is that we are conceding too many soft goals and not scoring enough ourselves. It's a battle now.

We have a lot of work to do and we will do it and try to make sure we are in a positive frame of mind by the time we play Cardiff in the next game.

I'm still confident what we are doing is right and we can get ourselves out of trouble. Unfortunately, some of the players are lacking confidence and not operating at their best at a time when we need everyone to be at their best.”

Millen also recognised the frustration shown by some of the fans. He said:

“"I understand their disappointment. The players are trying their hardest but, the way confidence is at the moment, we need to score the first goal. There is a problem with defending, but we also need to be scoring goals. We cannot rely on clean sheets alone."

The problem is that the bet striker on City’s books is Nicky Maynard ho is out with a long term injury and, as one player told me on Saturday evening: “By the time he is fit again to play, it might be too late unless we start finding goals from elsewhere.”

Manager Paul Lambert tried to play down Norwich’s 3-0 win against Bristol City and said: “I thought that the way we played it could have been a bit more.”

Lambert was especially pleased with Canadian striker Simeon Jackson who grabbed a brace in the game. He said:

“Goal scorers are always going to be judged on their goal scoring ratio and that’s three he’s got now. He’s not played much football and he’s had to wait patiently, but he’s been a brilliant professional and not once has he been down when he’s not in the side.

Simeon does what he’s good at getting on to the end of things and being quick. His first goal was top class and his second was a difficult one to come on to.”

Lambert also praised his defence, highlighting keeper John Ruddy’s long punt forward for Jackson’s second goal saying:

“It was brilliant and well spotted. Simeon still had a lot to do, but Ruddy was excellent as were the back four. I thought they were brilliant.”

As for the game overall Lambert gushed:

“We were fantastic as we have been and deserve every bit of praise coming our way, but there are some really tough games ahead. We’re up there on merit the way we’re playing. The players don’t get carried away and so they shouldn’t because there’s a long, long way to go”

Bristol City 0 Norwich City 3 - Pressure

Paul Lambert was obviously chuffed with his side’s performance at Ashton Gate, but then oddly accused the assembled media of getting the fans excited.


The Norwich boss was understandably trying to dampen expectations given that we are still only ten games into the season, but I would suggest that berating the local press, radio and TV guys isn’t the way to go about it. He’d be better off popping in to the city centre pubs and talking directly to the fans because whether he likes it or not, that’s where the optimism is at its greatest.

Or alternatively, try and sneak a few one-nil wins without some of the exceptional and entertaining football his team played on Saturday.

No Paul, I’m afraid that the media isn’t your problem. Things are going well, you have put together a good side and you and your coaching team are employing the right tactics. I’m afraid that if you want to dampen expectations, you’d be better off asking Bristol City boss Keith Millen to do a job swap!

Millen is an honest guy in a horrible position. His team sit rooted at the foot of the table, he’s inherited a team that hadn’t gelled after former boss Steve Coppell bolted before a ball had barely been kicked and now they are losing confidence as each minute of the game ticks by.

And to top it all off, he’s been a Bristol City man for twelve years and would give his right arm for the opportunity to dampen expectations!

My clipping from this morning's copy of The Sun

The Sun’s football website: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football

I spoke to one of his players in the car park after the game and as it wasn’t really on the record I won’t mention his name. However, the player in question dispelled any theories that Millen had lost the confidence of the team. He said:

“After Coppell’s resignation Keith was left to pick up the pieces. He inherited new players, Coppell had sold some that Keith knew well and of course we’re without Nicky (Maynard) until December at the earliest and he’s the type of player who can help build the confidence with one of his spectacular goals.

At the moment we’re going one goal down and you can see heads drop. It’s even tougher at home because the level of expectation is so great. What we need to do is get that first goal to help build our confidence. “

Millen himself is determined to see it through, although his position depends on how long the board can hold their nerve. My guess would be two more games and they’re probably weighing up future managerial options anyway. Millen said:

“All I can do as a manager is work hard on the training field, talk to the players and do everything I can to get the results right.

I don’t mind taking the pressure if it means I’m taking it off the players then so be it, because they’re the ones that have to go out and perform.

It is tough, but they’re a good group and I’m close to them. I know there’s some good quality in there and that’s why the frustration’s so hard to take, but they’re working hard and while you’ve got a group who are willing to work hard you’ve got a chance.

I’ve never walked away from a battle and I never will. I’ll keep working as hard as I can and I can’t work any harder than I am. I’ll keep fighting until someone takes that decision away from me.”

Oh, how Millen would love to have to pressure of smiling faces, pats on the back and expectations of Premier League football.

Off to Ashton Gate - All change

A last minute change for this weekend's game.

On Tuesday I was asked to cover the Walsall/Yeovil clash up at the Bescot, but have just been informed that I'm no needed in Bristol to watch City play Norwich.

It will be good to get along to Ashton Gate for the first time this season and I'm looking forward to seeing Paul Lambert's high flying Canaries.

I interviewed Lambert a few times when he was in charge of Wycombe and the guy is a typical dry humoured Scot who had an excellent reputation as a player, turning out in over four hundred games for St. Mirren and Celtic while also serving Borussia Dortmund with distinction.

Lambert was capped by Scotland 40 times and - after cutting his managerial teeth at Livingston and Wycombe - joined Colchester briefly before taking Norwich up as League One champions last season.

It looks as though they haven't lost momentum if the early season results are anything to go by as they are tucked in behind QPR and Cardiff at the right end of the table.

City on the other hand are playing well below their best and don't seem to have recovered from Steve Coppell's shock resignation at the start of the season.

Keith Millen took over and the heat is now on despite being given the manager's job by the board.

One win - away from home at Scunthorpe - in isn't quite the start that the Bristol fans had envisaged when they parted company with Gary Johnson towards the end of last season.

At the time,  I remember thinking that maybe everyone was expecting too much, too quickly from Johnson. He had taken them from the foot of League One to a defeat in the Championship Play-Off Final and - in my humble opinion - deserved full backing from the board despite a below par showing last term.

It would indeed be ironic if Johnson were to take Posh - sitting pretty in fifth spot in League One - back up to the Championship at the first attempt while City passed them going in the other direction.

But of course the season is still young and anything can happen. Ask Norwich fans who saw their side thumped 7-1 on the opening day last season by a Colchester side managed by, er, Paul Lambert!