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The Guardian, having criticised us for punching above our weight and blah blah blah blah blah are beginning to sing our praises with words like: -
Rare praise from the Grauniad
The Guardian, having criticised us for punching above our weight and blah blah blah blah blah are beginning to sing our praises with words like: -
"Rockin' Robins at home on their lofty perch Bristol City's meteoric rise towards the Championship summit has surprised no end of football folk, not least their own supporters."
"......perhaps, on reflection, we should not be quite so shocked by the Robins' lofty perch. As Luton and Colchester have shown in recent seasons, a club can prosper if backed by the momentum of promotion and Johnson was selective and astute with his additions to the squad over the summer: Marvin Elliott is one of the best destructive midfielders outside of the Premier League and was picked up from Millwall on a free; Michael McIndoe was chomping at the bit to realise the promise shown at Doncaster but unfulfilled at Derby, Wolves and Barnsley; Hibernian's Ivan Sproule was a sound investment at around £500,000. And then there is Byfield."
"This positive mental attitude (or PMA, if you're a fan of management seminars) has been a key factor in City's meteoric rise, but Byfield won't been drawn on the other secrets of their success. "I can't tell you," he says. "I've got to keep that in-house because if I didn't then everyone would be pushing for promotion and I'd be in trouble." "
"Do they have the wherewithal to succeed where others have failed? Johnson certainly seems to think so. "I think we'll be disappointed if we drop out of the race at any stage now," he said before last weekend's FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough."
".....save for a difficult first few months as he struggled to bring the best out of a squad that was not fit for purpose, the progress has been upwards ever since. Whether they can shatter the ceiling and break through to take a shot at the top-flight remains to be seen. There is a sense, though, that this could be City's season to do just that."
Of course it is the season. Is anyone else starting to believe?