Bristol City

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Bristol City manager Gerhard Struber has described midfielder Adam Randell's performance level as "crazy right now".

Randell opened the scoring for City during their 5-0 thrashing against Portsmouth, adding to his strike against Millwall on Monday.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, Struber said: "Adam Randell is crazy right now.

"He is at an outstanding level and I am super happy with how he is growing and that he has had a really good development."

Struber said he was "really happy" about the team performance too.

"This result could be nearly perfect. We executed the high press so well and this is what makes me really happy," he added.

"We gifted Portsmouth nothing today. We got a clean sheet, we were stable and in control, and killed every hope they had."

David Pottier
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

City end 2025 and can rightly claim to be genuine play-off contenders.

This is supported in the just published Championship table compiled from the matches played in the calendar year January-December;, external they lie third with Coventry well on top [92 points] and Millwall a surprise second on 73 points - and a negative goal difference!

On Monday night, Millwall made sure it was not a completely happy Christmas for the Robins as they completed the double in a match City, like at Ashton Gate 23 days previously, could and perhaps should have won.

Dominating for long periods, they ought to have built upon Adam Randell's strike which brought the teams level. But, like for their opener, the second strike for the Lions was more about City's defensive inadequacies rather than the home team's striking prowess.

Fans will say a striker is a priority for City in the transfer window but from that table only Coventry [86] and, surprisingly, QPR [62] have scored more than the 61 times we've found the net.

At the other end of the pitch it is a similarly impressive picture, with only Coventry, Middlesbrough and Stoke conceding fewer than City's 51 goals.

It is a conundrum as to how we take that next step to make things better. With a midfield consisting of the increasingly impressive Randell and Jason Knight, the much heralded arrival of former Ipswich player Sam Morsy is going to strengthen that area even more.

Throw in the free-kick prowess of Scott Twine and the talents of the mercurial Albanian Anis Mehmeti [seven goals, six assists], what's not to like?

I would argue that, when fit, City's best defensive unit as a five - Ross McCrorie, Zak Vyner, Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson and Cameron Pring - is automatic promotion standard so this brings me back to the strikers.

We have quantity, not quality: Emil Riis, Sinclair Armstrong, Fally Mayulu, Harry Cornick and Sam Bell, who is currently on loan at Wycombe.

Whilst there has been a marked improvement in Armstrong's performances over the past couple of months, he's still only found the net once this calendar year. Too much is expected from Riis and, to be fair, good Championship striker though he is, his goalscoring is not prolific.

The combined wages of Armstrong, Mayulu and Cornick would give you one star forward but that is just a pipedream!

Finally, for any City fan expecting to see a big lump of the likely Antoine Semenyo profit share going on a flagship signing - do not hold your breath. Most of that money will be used to cover the flawed operating cost model that sees the club losing just short of £20m per annum before any player sales.

You can hear more from David Pottier on the Forever Bristol City podcast., external

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Bristol City will look to keep their play-off bid on track when they welcome relegation-battling Portsmouth on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT kick-off).

The Robins picked up two wins on the bounce over Middlesbrough and West Brom before defeat at Millwall last time out and are two points behind the top six.

Pompey's dramatic late winner over Charlton on Monday extended their unbeaten run to four games (W2 D2) - their longest in the league so far this season.

John Mousinho's side are three points clear of Oxford in 22nd with a game in hand.

• Bristol City beat Portsmouth 3-0 in this fixture last season and are unbeaten in each of their previous seven home league meetings with Pompey (W3 D4), since a 2-0 loss in September 1991.

• Portsmouth lost 1-0 to Bristol City in the reverse fixture at Fratton Park in November, last losing both league games against the Robins in a campaign in 1975-76.

• This is the first time Bristol City are playing a league game on New Year's Day in four consecutive years - the Robins are winless in the first three matches of this run (D2 L1), drawing 2-2 with Plymouth Argyle in 2025.

• Portsmouth have won their past two league games on New Year's Day, never previously winning three in a row on this day.

• Portsmouth have won only one of their previous nine second tier away games in the month of January (D2 L6), winning 3-0 at Peterborough United in 2012.

Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber spoke to BBC Radio Bristol after his side's defeat at Millwall:

"We have to be really critical of ourselves [for] how we defended two times [for Millwall's goals].

"This was not the standard we have to be in the end that [means] we can win away at Millwall.

"We controlled many times in this game. The game was exactly in this direction that we want.

"We have enough moments for us in transition, in possession so it's really, really difficult to analyse this game."

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber has hailed his side's "efficiency" following their 1-2 win at West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day.

Anis Mehmeti and Ross McCrorie's first half goals were enough for the Robins to see out the match despite a late goal from the Baggies' Ousmane Diakite to ignite a late comeback effort by the hosts.

Albion had 10 more shots (16) than City at The Hawthorns (6).

"I would say this was, again, a big fighting victory, how we invested and tried to bring everything out to pick up points here," said Struber to BBC Radio Bristol after the match.

"As we know from the last few weeks they give nothing away points-wise and we know we have to come today [be] on our ball for energy, but also efficiency.

"In both directions, the boys were really committed, in all directions against the ball. We were also in on-the-ball moments, especially in the first half, really efficient but also really creative.

"I think this [efficiency] is something where we're growing at the moment and now the key word is consistency."

West Brom have taken more than double the number of points at home than they have away so will be relieved be back at The Hawthorns having suffered eight successive defeats on the road.

Bristol City have won just one of their past on the road.

• West Brom have won seven of their past eight home league games against Bristol City, with the exception being a 2-0 loss in October 2022.

• Bristol City won their last league game against West Brom 2-1 in April but haven't won consecutive league meetings with the Baggies since December 1993.

• West Bromwich Albion have played more games on Boxing Day than any other side in English Football League history, with this year's being their 108th. They have won 46 of their 107 so far, with only Manchester United winning more (54).

• Bristol City have won their past two Boxing Day league games, last winning three in a row between 1995 and 1997.

• In English football, Bristol City manager Gerhard Struber's only previous Boxing Day match was against West Brom in 2019 when he was Barnsley manager, drawing 1-1 at Oakwell.

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Bristol City goalkeeper Radek Vitek will be sidelined until February after undergoing what the club are describing as a knee "procedure".

The 22-year-old, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester United, missed Saturday's 2-0 Championship win over Middlesbrough.

Vitek has made 21 appearances in all competitions for the Robins this season, keeping seven clean sheets.

The club say he will undergo his rehabilitation from the injury at Bristol City rather than returning to Old Trafford.

City had Max O'Leary in goal for the victory over Middlesbrough and also have goalkeepers Joe Lumley and Lewis Thomas in their first-team squad.

David Pottier
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

City got the Christmas and New Year period under way with a fine and much-needed win over high-flying Middlesbrough.

Goals from Emil Riis and Rob Atkinson were the difference in a very open game where over 40 shots rained in on goal.

Fans received the gloomy news before kick-off that goalkeeper Radek Vitek had sustained a knee injury in training which will keep him out of action for several weeks.

Former number one Max O'Leary took his place between the sticks and despite a nervy display, perhaps indicating a lack of proper match practice, the record will show he kept a clean sheet and, when it mattered, pulled off a couple of fine saves.

City's technical director, Brian Tinnion, spoke at a lunch event for the Senior Reds and left the fans in no doubt that they should not expect the purse strings to be relaxed at Ashton Gate any time soon.

There was no Plan A or Plan B dependent on whether or not City had a £10m windfall in January derived from the sell-on the club would receive if Antoine Semenyo leaves Bournemouth.

New contract offers remain on the table for Zak Vyner and Anis Mehmeti while, as things stand, Mark Sykes' representatives are holding out for a better deal with nothing as yet offered.

The hope is that Fally Mayulu will go out on loan and when asked about Harry Cornick, the reply was that something similar would benefit City's perennial bench-warmer as it would increase his chances of getting a contract somewhere else in the summer if he were in the shop window between now and then.

The chances of Cornick getting a loan move might depend on any punishment he receives for his part in the fracas at the end of the Millwall game on 6 December.

An FA spokesperson said: "Both clubs allegedly failed to ensure that their players and/or technical area staff did not behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way after the match finished."

Joe Williams and Ross McCrorie were also charged individually along with Millwall's Joe Coleman and Doug Livermore for their part in what happened.

Any appeals must be tabled by 5 January, with the likely punishment being fines for both clubs and match bans for the players.

With the opening day of the transfer window fast approaching, I am sure there will be movement into and out of Ashton Gate in the coming weeks.

To avoid the commitment of offering three/four-year contracts to any newcomers, my reckoning is that we will see inbound loans while it will be interesting to see if City maintain their resolve in not succumbing to a cheeky offer for one of their squad members out of contract this summer.

You can hear more from David Pottier on the Forever Bristol City podcast, external

Adam Cottier
BBC Final Score reporter

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Having seen Middlesbrough have more than 70% of the possession and 28 attempts at goal, Bristol City fans could be forgiven for leaving Ashton Gate feeling their side had been slightly fortunate in claiming a remarkable win - arguably the standout of Gerhard Struber's time in charge so far.

But scratch the surface of this statement victory, which came in the wake of a dip in form and a plummet down the table, and there's a Bristol City side with a gutsy resolve and players who seem to shoulder responsibility very well.

The type shown by Emil Riis - a player who can wallop a ball harder than most - as he drove forward and smashed his team ahead against the run of play.

Then there's the type shown by Adam Randell in preventing Hayden Hackney from scoring, bailing Bristol City's returning goalkeeper Max O'Leary out of a first muddle.

And the type shown by Rob Atkinson - on as a sub after nearly two months out - as he made sure he connected with a typically excellent Scott Twine set-piece.

There were others who excelled as Bristol City bust a gut to give themselves a platform in a high-octane contest.

Middlesbrough are a powerful and fluid side who may be destined for automatic promotion.

Such a result should stand the Robins in good stead as they look to build another promotion bid themselves.

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Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber has praised his side after their 2-0 win over Championship high-fliers Middlesbrough.

Emil Riis shot the Robins into a first-half lead before Rob Atkinson headed in a second-half corner to seal an impressive win.

The three points moved City up to ninth place in the Championship, two points off the play-off places.

"We fought on a really high level today," he told BBC Radio Bristol:

"We know Middlesbrough is a really good team and also has really good momentum and it's difficult against them.

"In the end it was a box-defending fight on the highest level, how the boys did it together.

"I would say we could be better in transition moments today, we sometimes gave the ball away too easily, but in the end I'm super happy ahead of Christmas that we celebrate three points."

Middlesbrough head into Saturday's game (15:00 GMT) having won all four of their Championship matches since Kim Hellberg took over as head coach and are now only five points behind the leaders Coventry.

Bristol City are 11th in the table, four points short of the play-offs having failed to win any of their past three league outings.

• Bristol City are unbeaten in their past seven league games against Middlesbrough (W5 D2), winning each of the last four in a row.

• Middlesbrough have lost their past two away league games against Bristol City – only once have they lost three in a row against them (March 2013-December 2017).

• Bristol City are winless in their past three Championship matches (D1 L2) – if they fail to win here, they would equal their longest run without a win in the competition this term (four between September and October).

• Middlesbrough will be looking to win five consecutive Championship matches for the first time since a six-game run between September and October 2023.

• Middlesbrough's Morgan Whittaker has scored in each of his past six league appearances and could equal the record for scoring in most consecutive EFL Championship outings (since 2004-05), a record of seven that is jointly held by Emmanuel Latte Lath (Aug 2024), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Nov 2021), Jordan Rhodes (Feb 2013) and Charlie Austin (Oct 2012).