2 months ago
Bristol City will travel to Deepdale this evening to take on Preston, as they look to pick up back-to-back wins in the Championship.
The Robins got their first three points on the board on Saturday, beating Portsmouth 2-1 in front of a packed Ashton Gate. Lorent Tolaj opened the scoring by netting his first Championship goal, before Jason Knight headed home a second on the hour mark. A late penalty for Pompey made for a nervy final few minutes in the South West, but Michael Skubala's side ultimately got over the line.
Preston, meanwhile, have lost their opening three matches to Bolton, Wolves and most recently Charlton Athletic, giving cause for concern amongst fans ahead of taking on a side that will be aiming for a play-off spot come May, whilst the Lilywhites are more worried about securing their spot in this division for next season.
Preston have underperformed their xG so far this season, creating enough chances to have scored three goals, but only netting two so far. They have also only registered an average of two shots on target per match, the lowest in the league. By contrast, the Robins have netted four goals in their last two outings, against Birmingham City and Portsmouth, with both Tolaj and Dom Ballard opening their accounts in the process.
Bristol City have picked up four points from their last two trips to Deepdale; it arguably should be six, but Anis Mehmeti failed to make his chances count last year, meaning the game finished 0-0. Max Bird, Yu Hirakawa and Nahki Wells were on the scoresheet the year before, as Liam Manning's side picked up a 3-1 win. Preston won the last meeting between these sides 2-0, back in January, when Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine found the net.
#preston #side #bristol #deepdale
The Robins got their first three points on the board on Saturday, beating Portsmouth 2-1 in front of a packed Ashton Gate. Lorent Tolaj opened the scoring by netting his first Championship goal, before Jason Knight headed home a second on the hour mark. A late penalty for Pompey made for a nervy final few minutes in the South West, but Michael Skubala's side ultimately got over the line.
Preston, meanwhile, have lost their opening three matches to Bolton, Wolves and most recently Charlton Athletic, giving cause for concern amongst fans ahead of taking on a side that will be aiming for a play-off spot come May, whilst the Lilywhites are more worried about securing their spot in this division for next season.
Preston have underperformed their xG so far this season, creating enough chances to have scored three goals, but only netting two so far. They have also only registered an average of two shots on target per match, the lowest in the league. By contrast, the Robins have netted four goals in their last two outings, against Birmingham City and Portsmouth, with both Tolaj and Dom Ballard opening their accounts in the process.
Bristol City have picked up four points from their last two trips to Deepdale; it arguably should be six, but Anis Mehmeti failed to make his chances count last year, meaning the game finished 0-0. Max Bird, Yu Hirakawa and Nahki Wells were on the scoresheet the year before, as Liam Manning's side picked up a 3-1 win. Preston won the last meeting between these sides 2-0, back in January, when Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine found the net.
#preston #side #bristol #deepdale
3 months ago
[Getty Images]
Football has a habit of compressing an entire afternoon into a few seconds. At St Andrew's, Bristol City's performance will inevitably be remembered for two of them: one moment of extraordinary invention from Dom Ballard and one raised flag that left Michael Skubala describing the eventual penalty decision as "crazy".
Ballard's goal deserved to win any match. With his back to goal, the substitute met Rio Cardines' cross with an improvised flick that looped beyond James Beadle and into the Birmingham net.
It was audacious, instinctive and almost impossible to defend. The sort of finish that momentarily silences a large home crowd because everybody inside the ground needs a second to understand what they have just seen.
It put City 2–1 ahead with five minutes remaining and appeared to have completed an excellent away performance. Then came the fifth minute of stoppage time, a crowded penalty area and an ******* istant referee convinced that Jason Knight had handled the ball.
#penalty #bristol #skubala
Football has a habit of compressing an entire afternoon into a few seconds. At St Andrew's, Bristol City's performance will inevitably be remembered for two of them: one moment of extraordinary invention from Dom Ballard and one raised flag that left Michael Skubala describing the eventual penalty decision as "crazy".
Ballard's goal deserved to win any match. With his back to goal, the substitute met Rio Cardines' cross with an improvised flick that looped beyond James Beadle and into the Birmingham net.
It was audacious, instinctive and almost impossible to defend. The sort of finish that momentarily silences a large home crowd because everybody inside the ground needs a second to understand what they have just seen.
It put City 2–1 ahead with five minutes remaining and appeared to have completed an excellent away performance. Then came the fifth minute of stoppage time, a crowded penalty area and an ******* istant referee convinced that Jason Knight had handled the ball.
#penalty #bristol #skubala
3 months ago
Birmingham open their home campaign having lost only three of their past 46 league games at St Andrew's with all those defeats coming on their return to the Championship last season.
Bristol City started life under Michael Skubala with a 2-0 home loss to Millwall and, coupled with their Carabao Cup exit to Walsall, are yet to score this season.
Birmingham City have won three of their past four home league games against Bristol City (D1), keeping a clean sheet in three of those matches which is as many as they managed across their prior 14 attempts combined.
Bristol City have lost eight of their past 13 away league games against Birmingham City (W3 D2), losing this exact fixture 2-1 last season at St Andrew's.
Following a 0-0 draw with Sheffield United on the opening day, Birmingham will be hoping to avoid failing to score in each of their first two league matches of a campaign since 2002-03 – losing 2-0 to ****** nal and 1-0 to Blackburn in the Premier League that season.
#bristol
Bristol City started life under Michael Skubala with a 2-0 home loss to Millwall and, coupled with their Carabao Cup exit to Walsall, are yet to score this season.
Birmingham City have won three of their past four home league games against Bristol City (D1), keeping a clean sheet in three of those matches which is as many as they managed across their prior 14 attempts combined.
Bristol City have lost eight of their past 13 away league games against Birmingham City (W3 D2), losing this exact fixture 2-1 last season at St Andrew's.
Following a 0-0 draw with Sheffield United on the opening day, Birmingham will be hoping to avoid failing to score in each of their first two league matches of a campaign since 2002-03 – losing 2-0 to ****** nal and 1-0 to Blackburn in the Premier League that season.
#bristol
4 months ago
With less than a month to go until the start of the new season, Bristol City fans are again wondering if this is going to be our year for achieving promotion to England's top flight after an absence of 46 years.
There have been massive changes at the club over the past five months with a new CEO, the sacking of boss Gerhard Struber, Roy Hodgson's managerial swansong, the appointment of James Ellis as sporting director, the departure of playing legend Brian Tinnion as technical director and the arrival of Michael Skubala as manager.
Are fan expectations more elevated than they have been for a while as City approach their 12th successive Championship season? On balance I would say yes, even though the hierarchy at the club say this is the start of a three-year plan to achieve Premier League status.
My mildly positive view is based on the fact that City have done a lot of their transfer activity early rather than in the latter stages of the window.
First through the door was goalkeeper Sam Tickle from Wigan while former England Under-21 midfielder Sam Greenwood was signed for an undisclosed fee from Polish side Pogon Szczecin.
#season #director #bristol #james
There have been massive changes at the club over the past five months with a new CEO, the sacking of boss Gerhard Struber, Roy Hodgson's managerial swansong, the appointment of James Ellis as sporting director, the departure of playing legend Brian Tinnion as technical director and the arrival of Michael Skubala as manager.
Are fan expectations more elevated than they have been for a while as City approach their 12th successive Championship season? On balance I would say yes, even though the hierarchy at the club say this is the start of a three-year plan to achieve Premier League status.
My mildly positive view is based on the fact that City have done a lot of their transfer activity early rather than in the latter stages of the window.
First through the door was goalkeeper Sam Tickle from Wigan while former England Under-21 midfielder Sam Greenwood was signed for an undisclosed fee from Polish side Pogon Szczecin.
#season #director #bristol #james
4 months ago
Bristol City have signed goalkeeper Brad Collins on a two-year deal after he was released by Coventry City earlier in the summer.
The 29-year-old was out on loan in League One with Burton Albion last season.
While he did not feature for the Sky Blues in their Championship ****** le-winning campaign to return to the Premier League last term, he did make 46 appearances for the club before that.
Collins, who was on the books at Chelsea as a youth player, moved to Coventry in the summer of 2023 from Barnsley.
Bristol City manager Michael Skubala said Collins would come in to add competition to the goalkeeping department.
The 29-year-old was out on loan in League One with Burton Albion last season.
While he did not feature for the Sky Blues in their Championship ****** le-winning campaign to return to the Premier League last term, he did make 46 appearances for the club before that.
Collins, who was on the books at Chelsea as a youth player, moved to Coventry in the summer of 2023 from Barnsley.
Bristol City manager Michael Skubala said Collins would come in to add competition to the goalkeeping department.
4 months ago
Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho revealed that summer speculation over a potential move to fellow Championship side Bristol City was based on legitimate interest from the Robins.
Following the close of a second consecutive season where Mousinho had ensured that Pompey maintained their Championship status, talk was rife on social media about a potential move to Ashton Gate.
At one stage it looked like Mousinho may have been on his way, but with pre-season now getting back under way and Bristol City appointing Michael Skubala as their new head coach, Mousinho admitted that the talk never got further than conversations with his agent.
"The interest from Bristol City was real," he told BBC Radio Solent.
"That was something at the start of the summer that came from club to agent, and there was a conversation there.
Following the close of a second consecutive season where Mousinho had ensured that Pompey maintained their Championship status, talk was rife on social media about a potential move to Ashton Gate.
At one stage it looked like Mousinho may have been on his way, but with pre-season now getting back under way and Bristol City appointing Michael Skubala as their new head coach, Mousinho admitted that the talk never got further than conversations with his agent.
"The interest from Bristol City was real," he told BBC Radio Solent.
"That was something at the start of the summer that came from club to agent, and there was a conversation there.
5 months ago
Bristol City have signed Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Sam Tickle on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
The 24-year-old moves to the Championship club having played 158 times for the Latics, keeping 54 clean sheets since making his senior debut in 2021.
Tickle's signing is the first announced by the Robins since they appointed former Lincoln City boss Michael Skubala their new head coach.
Skubala told the club's website: "We're delighted to bring in a player of such high quality, who already has a lot of experience for a goalkeeper of his age. We're looking forward to him joining the squad tomorrow for pre-season testing."
Skubala appointment sets tone for Robins future - Ellis
The 24-year-old moves to the Championship club having played 158 times for the Latics, keeping 54 clean sheets since making his senior debut in 2021.
Tickle's signing is the first announced by the Robins since they appointed former Lincoln City boss Michael Skubala their new head coach.
Skubala told the club's website: "We're delighted to bring in a player of such high quality, who already has a lot of experience for a goalkeeper of his age. We're looking forward to him joining the squad tomorrow for pre-season testing."
Skubala appointment sets tone for Robins future - Ellis
5 months ago
Bristol City forward Sam Bell has signed a new three-year contract at the club.
The 24-year-old made his debut for the Robins in December 2020 and has gone on to make 99 appearances in the Championship.
After spending the first half of last season on loan at League One outfit Wycombe Wanderers, Bell returned to Ashton Gate on New Year's Day and was a success under interim head coach Roy Hodgson, scoring four goals in City's final four games of the campaign.
"I'm very happy to have got the deal done. I spoke to James [Ellis - Bristol City's new sporting director] first and he explained to me the desire to keep me at the club," Bell told the club website.
"I also had a good talk with the new manager [Michael Skubala] and he is a big part of the reason I wanted to stay here so much."
The 24-year-old made his debut for the Robins in December 2020 and has gone on to make 99 appearances in the Championship.
After spending the first half of last season on loan at League One outfit Wycombe Wanderers, Bell returned to Ashton Gate on New Year's Day and was a success under interim head coach Roy Hodgson, scoring four goals in City's final four games of the campaign.
"I'm very happy to have got the deal done. I spoke to James [Ellis - Bristol City's new sporting director] first and he explained to me the desire to keep me at the club," Bell told the club website.
"I also had a good talk with the new manager [Michael Skubala] and he is a big part of the reason I wanted to stay here so much."
5 months ago
Bristol City have appointed former Notts County and Forest Green Rovers boss Ian Burchnall as their **** istant manager.
Burchnall joins new head coach Michael Skubala's team having most recently worked under interim boss Peter Leven at Aberdeen last season.
The 43-year-old spent just over a year at Notts County and was in charge of Forest Green for eight months during their spell in League One during 2022-23.
He has managed in Norway with Viking FC and at Swedish side Ostersunds FK and held **** istant manager roles with Anderlecht in Belgium and Wolves under Gary O'Neil.
"Ian is a great first addition to my coaching staff and an excellent coach, having been a head coach and an **** istant manager across Europe, including the Premier League," Skubala said.
Burchnall joins new head coach Michael Skubala's team having most recently worked under interim boss Peter Leven at Aberdeen last season.
The 43-year-old spent just over a year at Notts County and was in charge of Forest Green for eight months during their spell in League One during 2022-23.
He has managed in Norway with Viking FC and at Swedish side Ostersunds FK and held **** istant manager roles with Anderlecht in Belgium and Wolves under Gary O'Neil.
"Ian is a great first addition to my coaching staff and an excellent coach, having been a head coach and an **** istant manager across Europe, including the Premier League," Skubala said.
