(FM14) Drink up thee cider!!!

Cardiff vs Bristol City - 19th September 2015
2-1
Pizarro 8.9 rating
Pizarro 36, 53 mins



Manager's review
Bristol City named exactly the same side that defeated Q.P.R last time out. Roy Keane made only one change as Steven Caulker was injured in the week so Ben Turner started. This meant that Matej Vydra lined up against his old side and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was on the bench for Cardiff. The two teams lined up as follows:

City went into this local Derby in good form and were the better team for the majority of the game. They took the lead in the 1st half through a rare goal from defensive midfielder Guido Pizarro who pounced onto a Alvarez Balanta knock down in the penalty area. In the 2nd half the Argentine capped off his MOTM performance by scoring his 2nd goal after a failed clearance from the Cardiff defence put him clean through on goal. City looked to be keeping a clean sheet after keeper ter Stegen made a number of world class saves particularly one in the 1st half from ex Bristol striker Vydra, however substitute Arouna Kone scored with 5 minutes remaining to give manager Andrew Booy a fast heartbeat but his City team held on for a fantastic 3 points against their fierce rivals.

Bristol City vs Wigan - 26th September 2015
3-1
Welbeck 8.8 rating
Welbeck 17, 85 mins
Buitrago 72 mins



Manager's review
Booy named exactly the same starting lineup for the 3rd match in succession. For Wigan manager Uwe Rosler wholesale changes were made to the reserve side that lost in midweek to Southampton in the Capital One Cup 3rd round. The two teams lined up as follows:

City really have found a rich vain of form in recent weeks and this continued today in front of a packed Ashton Gate. The first goal came as Rodrigo Gomez played a simple ball in the middle of the park to Danny Welbeck, the England international then ambled forward before screaming a 30 yard peach of a strike past Scott Carson in the Wigan goal......a beauty!!! The City fans had to wait until the 2nd half for the second goal as Mario Buitrago pounced on a saved shot from Tom Ince. Wigan's best player Wahbi Khazri then pulled one back for the visitors but MOTM Welbeck finished the game off in the 85th minute with a close range header after a lofted cross from the right from Agustin Allione. City have now won 4 games on the spin and are 4th in the Barclays Premier League!

September 2015 - THE REVIEW

Fixtures

Q.P.R. vs CITY - 12th September 2015 3-2
Cardiff vs CITY - 19th September 2015 2-1
CITY vs Wigan - 26th September 2015 3-1



Monthly Awards

Best Player - Tom Ince - average rating 7.57

Ince had a solid month but the main reason he picks up this award was for his brace and MOTM performance against Q.P.R. in the 3-2 victory at Loftus Road. He is under pressure from young star Lucas Ocampos who is biting at his heals for 1st team starts but is looking undroppable at present.

Highly commended
Guido Pizarro - average rating 7.53
Like Ince, Pizarro was consistent but needs to be recognised for his match winning performance against rivals Cardiff in which he scored City's two goals to win the match in Wales.

Danny Welbeck - average rating 7.43
Like the other two candidates for this award Welbeck gets a mention because of his brace in the final match of the month against Wigan. His 1st goal in particular was a contender for goal of the season and he now has 4 goals in his first 7 matches in a City shirt.

Lets not forget...........

Manager Andrew Booy also picked up an award this month. He won the Barclays Premier League Manager of the month award for September. His first award since entering the top flight in England after guiding his team to a 100% record in the month.

Bristol City vs Chelsea - 3rd October 2015
2-1
Ince 8.2 rating
Ince 23 mins
Allione 38 mins



Manager's review
For the 2nd time this season Andrew Booy's Bristol City welcomed one of the big spending Premiership top teams to Ashton Gate. This time Jose Mourinho's Chelsea arrived with both sides on 13 points in the Barclays Premier League prior to kick off. Bristol City made no changes to the side that had won 4 games in a row whereas Mourinho had keeper Thibaut Courtois and midfielder Willian out through injury. There was a surprise inclusion in the starting lineup for summer recruit Diego Costa who just passed a late fitness test. The two teams lined up as follows:

Chelsea started off the better side, in particular Eden Hazard was a threat down the left hand side. Andrew Booy decided it would therefore be best if his fullbacks would play a more cautious approach rather than their usual attacking wing back philosophy to counter this pressure. After the first 20 minutes City settled into the game and found themselves 2-0 up at half time. First MOTM Ince scored a wonderful goal after a jinxing run down the left after exchanging passes with left back Eder Alvarez Balanta. Then Ince turned provider setting up fellow winger Agustin Allione for a angled finish, the Argentines first goal in a Bristol City shirt. At half time Mourinho changed his formation to match Booy's 4-4-2 tactics and they did pull one goal back from a ex Man City midfielder Yaya Toure. Booy though managed to see out the remaining 25 minutes by bringing on Lucas Evangelista for Danny Welbeck and going to a 4-5-1 formation. The result meant that Bristol City went top of the league for around 24 hours but finished the weekend round of matches in 3rd position in the table.

Sunderland vs Bristol City - 17th October 2015
1-0
Allione 7.5 rating
Allione pen 71 mins



Manager's review
Bristol City named the same side that defeated Chelsea before the international break. For Gus Poyet there was only one absentee as David Limbersky was serving the last game in his three match suspension for his sending off in the Capital One Cup. The two teams lined up as follows:

Bristol City went into the game at the Stadium of Light knowing that victory would move them top of the table prior to Liverpool playing in the Monday night game at Hull City. The game turned out to be a cagey affair with both teams strong in defence and a little nervous going forward. However, City did have the better of the game for the majority and Andrew Booy was delighted when his team were awarded a penalty with 20 minutes remaining after it was adjudged that Mario Buitrago was backed into in the penalty area. Gus Poyet and the Sunderland bench were outraged at what was arguably a soft award. It didn't faze Agustin Allione as he slammed the spot kick down the middle for his 2nd goal in two matches. The right winger picked up the MOTM award and now is City's top average rated player with a OPTA rating of 7.36 over the first nine fixtures (he is also the 4th highest rated player in the Premier League). The result put City top of the table but they moved down to 2nd place when Liverpool beat Hull 3-0 on the Monday.

Bristol City vs Everton - 24th October 2015
2-1
Ince 7.9 rating
Buitrago 2 mins
Allione 14 mins



Manager's review
Andrew Booy made one change to the starting 11 as Lucas Evangelista was rewarded for his good work on the training ground with a start in place of Guido Pizarro. It was the youngsters first start since breaking his cheekbone at the end of August. Roberto Martinez made a number of changes to his Everton side as they had drawn the last three games 0-0 and were without a win in 5 Premier League matches. The two teams lined up as follows:

Bristol City started the game on fire against an out of sorts Everton and took the lead within the first 90 seconds of the match. After good work on the left from MOTM Ince he set up Mario Buitrago for a simple header in the 6 yard box. Before the match was even 15 minutes old Tom Ince was at it again on the left causing Everton right back Seamus Coleman all sorts of problems. This time he beat the Irishman for pace and drilled the ball in low for Agustin Allione to tap in at the back post for his 3rd goal in as many games. The game slowed after this and Ross Barkley scored a free header on the stroke of half time to half the deficit. In recent weeks it has been rumoured that Andrew Booy is interested in bringing Ross to Ashton Gate in the January transfer window so Booy managed to scout the player first hand and he put in a good performance. In the 2nd half Everton never got up enough steam to truly threaten the City lead and in truth the scoreline could of been more comfortable as Bristol City hit the woodwork 4 times in the match. This was City's 7th win on the trot and they remain in 2nd in the Barclays Premiership table.

Man Utd vs Bristol City - 31st October 2015
2-1
Rodrigo Gomez 8.0 rating
Denswil 10 mins
Buitrago 25 mins



Manager's review
Andrew Booy made one enforced change to his Bristol City side as Eder Alvarez Balanta picked up his 5th caution of the season against Everton so vice captain Marc Wilson came in for his 1st start of the season. Under pressure Man Utd manager Marcelo Bielsa had a number of injury concerns prior to kick off as Robin Van Persie, Jonny Evans and Ever Banega were all unavailable. The two teams lined up as follows:

Bristol City went into the game in great form and within 10 minutes were 1-0 up thanks to Stefano Denswil's 1st goal of the season from a well routined Agustin Allione corner. The home supporters at Old Trafford were further silenced on 25 minutes as Mario Buitrago was put through on goal by a superb through ball from MOTM Rodrigo Gomez. The Colombian slotted the ball past United keeper David De Gea to score his 6th goal of the campaign. After the break Man Utd went to a conventional 4-4-2 formation and from the restart City keeper ter Stegen saved a looping Wayne Rooney header onto the crossbar, the ball fell on the line and City defender Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik embarrassingly hashed his clearance into his own goal. After that United didn't really threaten City's goal and Andrew Booy's side claimed their 8th win in a row. The away support at Old Trafford was truly delighted by what has to go down as one of the greatest ever Bristol City results in recent history!

Duo sign new deals at Ashton Gate

Bristol City centre back Stefano Denswil has signed a new 31.5k per week contract at Bristol City until the summer of 2019.





The two year contract extension is a reward for the Dutchman's fine form in Bristol City's first ever Premier League season. It has been a joyful couple of months for the young defender who has been an ever present for the Robins this term and has also won his first ever international cap against Cyprus in a Euro Championship Qualifier in October. Denswil has played 56 games for City since signing from Ajax for 1.9 million in the summer of 2014 and was one of the star players in Andrew Booy's Sky Bet Championship promotion winning campaign last season. The new contract comes after rivals Manchester United were rumoured to be monitoring Denswil's progress and Bristol City fans will be delighted that the youngster has committed his future to the club.

England U21 goalkeeper Gerry Taylor has also signed a new 3 year contract extension at the club to 2020. The recently turned 18 year old has yet to make an appearance for the first team but is regarded by manager Andrew Booy as a future England number one so tying him down to the club is a move for the future.

Bristol City vs Tottenham - 7th November 2015
3-1
Allione 9.0 rating
Welbeck 37 mins
Denswil 67 mins
Allione 85 mins



Manager's review
Andrew Booy made one change to his side as Eder Alvarez Balanta retuned from suspension and Marc Wilson was relegated to the bench. Tottenham manager Michael Laudrup had a full strength squad to choose from and the only change to his side from the last Premier League match against Leeds was at right back as Gino Peruzzi started in place of Kyle Walker. The two teams lined up as follows:

Two very evenly matched teams squared up in front of a packed Ashton Gate crowd for a evenly fought matchup. Andrew Booy's side have performed above expectations so far this season and find themselves in the upper echelons of the league table. Laudrup's side however have not matched their performances from last season which saw them finish in 2nd place in the table. City got off to a dreadful start as Erik Lamela scored a well placed goal in the 6th minute. The Robins equalised after Mario Buitrago slotted in fellow strike partner Danny Welbeck for a fine finish in the 37th minute. In the 2nd half Bristol City took the lead as for the 2nd match in succession a Agustin Allione corner was converted well by Stefano Denswil. As Tottenham looked for an equaliser Bristol City sealed the match as MOTM Allione pounced on a Mario Buitrago flick on at the near post.

All change at the Gate

Bristol City have completed the planned upgrade to their newly developed training and youth facilities. The work that began way back in the summer of 2013 has now been revealed in a grand opening.





The facilities are still located on the original Failand training ground area but the improvement has meant that Bristol City now have Superb training facilities and Excellent youth facilities. Work has already begun on upgrading these facilities again and around 10 million pounds has been budgeted by owner Steve Lansdown for construction which will be completed in about 12 months time.

In other news......

In wake of Tottenham Hotspur's poor start to the season which finds them in the bottom half of the table the Spurs board have sacked manager Michael Laudrup after less than 1 year at the helm. Martin Jol has returned to White Hart Lane and been appointed the new manager. He will be the fourth manager at Tottenham in only 24 months.

Southampton vs Bristol City - 21st November 2015
1-1
Welbeck 69 mins



Manager's review
Bristol City made no changes to the side that beat Tottenham last time out. Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino however had to deal with a few absentees. Gaston Ramirez and Valon Berisha were out with a virus and Adam Lallana is still recovering from a hip injury. Ex City player Stefan Strandberg was in the Southampton team following his summer move from Ashton Gate. The two teams lined up as follows:

Southampton and Bristol City were statistically very even match in this game sharing possession and the number of attempts on goal equally. City were looking to avenge their defeat in the FA Cup semi final at Wembley on penalties last season but it was Southampton who took the lead after MOTM Ward-Prowse slotted in Ivelin Popov to volley home on 24 minutes. The teams then exchanged blows until a patient Bristol City finally equalised after Mario Buitrago played in Danny Welbeck for his 6th goal of the campaign. Both teams could then have won the game but it was Buitrago who perhaps had the best opportunity robbing a Southampton defender of possession but instead of slotting into an open net he dwindled and keeper Kevin Trapp made the block. The result means that City's run of consecutive wins ends at 9 but they are still unbeaten in 10.

October and November 2015 - THE REVIEW

Fixtures

CITY vs Chelsea - 3rd October 2015 2-1
Sunderland vs CITY - 17th October 2015 1-0
CITY vs Everton - 24th October 2015 2-1
Man Utd vs CITY - 31st October 2015 2-1
CITY vs Tottenham - 7th November 2015 3-1
Southampton vs CITY - 21st November 2015 1-1



Monthly Awards

Best Player - Agustin Allione - average rating 8.14

The right winger had a spectacular two months as he scored 4 goals and bagged two assists. His form meant that he won the Premier League young player of the month award for October and is now the highest average rated player in the entire Barclays Premier League with an average rating of 7.49. The Argentine is also rumoured to be the front runner for the European Golden Boy award.

Highly commended
Stefano Denswil - average rating 7.42
The Dutchman had a fantastic two months! He signed a new contract at Ashton Gate, scored his first two goals of the season and won his first international cap for Holland......not bad hey!!
Marc-Andre ter Stegen - average rating 7.16
The young goalkeeper was a consistent performer over the last two months. He made world class saves in most the matches and as City won many of them by the odd goal without the shot stopping of ter Stegen the team may not have gone on to win 5 out of the 6 fixtures.

Manager Andrew Booy also picked up his 2nd award of the season winning the Barclays Premier League manager of the month for October.

Bristol City vs Leeds - 1st December 2015
1-0
Allione 7.90 rating
de Vrij 5 mins



Manager's review
The Bristol City team was unchanged for the 3rd match in a row as City entertained a Leeds side at the opposite end of the table. Leeds manager Brian McDermott could not pick ex City top scorer Sam Baldock due to injury and ex city midfielder Franco Zuculini was surprisingly on the bench. The two teams lined up as follows:

City began the game with a high tempo and this rattled United who conceded within 5 minutes as Stefan de Vrij smashed in an Agustin Allione knock down in the penalty area. It was the right-backs first goal for Bristol City and he was clearly delighted. It was Allione who put in another fantastic performance for the Robins on the right wing and he deservedly picked up his 3rd player of the match award of the season. In truth the game should have been won by more than one goal especially after Leeds midfielder Ross Draper received his 2nd booking on 78 minutes, but it proved enough as Leeds were unable to muster one attempt on ter Stegen's goal in the entire 90 minutes. City are 2nd in the Premier League table with a game in hand on all their other rivals.

Crystal Palace vs Bristol City - 5th December 2015
4-0
Welbeck 9.6 rating
Welbeck 37, 49, 90+1 mins
Allione 86 mins



Manager's review
Andrew Booy made no changes to his City team that have been playing fantastic of late. That meant a return to Selhurst Park for former fan favourite Tom Ince. Ex City boss Tony Pulis could not select Adrian Mariappa through injury but otherwise had a fully fit squad to choose from. The two teams lined up as follows:

Bristol City were slightly nervous looking for the first 30 minutes of this game but after settling in at Selhurst Park they never looked back. Danny Welbeck put City 2-0 up with goals either side of half time. His 1st was slotted in after Jean Kouassi passed back poorly for Mario Buitrago to intercept and pass to his partner for the finish. His 2nd was a superb solo goal, Welbeck ran from the halfway line and beat three players before slotting in low past keeper Wayne Hennessey. The game then escaped Palace as Mile Jedinak was sent off with 20 minutes remaining after receiving two yellow cards in the space of 2 minutes. Substitute Guido Pizarro then crossed for Agustin Allione to tap in at the back post for City's third in the last few minutes. The last word came from MOTM Welbeck however as after Rodrigo Gomez found him just inside the area Welbeck looped the ball over Hennessey for his first ever Bristol City hat trick.

Bristol City vs Blackburn - 12th December 2015
3-3
Alvarez Balanta 9.2 rating
Alvarez Balanta 9, 67 mins
Welbeck 84 mins



Manager's review
There were no changes to the Bristol City side that put four past Crystal Palace a week ago. Blackburn manager Morten Wieghorst had only one injury concern as Jan Vertonghen was out with a sports hernia. Cole Skuse lined up against his old side for Blackburn. The two teams lined up as follows:

City started the game as strong favourites as Blackburn were deep in the relegation zone and had amazingly conceded 43 goals in only 15 Premier League matches this season! Things looked to be going as planned when Eder Alvarez Balanta bundled in a goal mouth scramble in the 9th minute to give City an early lead. However shockingly Blackburn hit back at City with 2 goals in the next 5 minutes, first from top scorer Jordan Rhodes and then from one time City transfer target Nathan Dyer. City mounted lots of pressure from then on but couldn't find a way through the worst defence in the league and astonishingly Blackburn scored a 3rd after the break after Lucas Evangelista missed a clearance from a free kick and Grant Hanley smashed in from close range. With only 25 minutes on the clock and his team's unbeaten record of 12 matches in a row under threat Andrew Booy substituted the poor Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and went to an attacking 3-5-2 formation. The change worked as MOTM Alvarez Balanta scored from an Agustin Allione corner almost immediately. Then with the clock ticking down Danny Welbeck pounced on poor Blackburn defending to equalise with 5 minutes to go. In truth 2 points dropped but under the circumstances Booy was delighted with his team's attitude to come back from behind like they did. As Liverpool did not play this weekend City have now moved top of the Barclays Premier League table!!