Bristol City

David Pottier
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

The unthinkable happened on Tuesday night as Bristol City crashed out of the FA Cup, losing to League One basement club Port Vale.

This win by the home team will not linger long in the mind as a giant-killing act but with 38 placed between the two sides in the EFL ladder it was a match City should have taken in their stride and entertained Sunderland at Ashton Gate in the fifth Round on Sunday.

More disturbing than the result was a performance which created an outcome that, barring a miracle turnaround in league form, signals that the 2025-26 season is over and all City have to play for is pride.

Coach Gerhard Struber made eight changes from the starting line up that faced Watford last Friday.

The 1,600-plus fans that made the trip to the Potteries to watch the game would have come away with the feeling that only one player emerged with any level of credit.

That was Seb Naylor, the 20-year-old defender signed from Manchester City in the January transfer window.

He did not look out of place on the quagmire of a pitch that was more brown than green and reminiscent of what playing surfaces looked like in the 1970s.

The final whistle heralded chants of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' by the City faithful, a comment born out of frustration at how this season is going when it promised so much.

League leaders Coventry City rock up at Ashton Gate on Saturday and they will be looking to strengthen their hold on pole position.

With seven home reverses at Ashton Gate already this season you would not bet on the Robins taking anything from the game, but they are so consistent in their inconsistency that they could pull off a shock win.

That being said, with the visitors having no midweek fixture and City tired from 120 minutes of exertion, the result should go according to the formbook.

City travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester on Tuesday before visiting Middlesborough at the Riverside in a Saturday lunchtime game.

Former striker Tommy Conway will be keen to get one over on his old team-mates whilst City will have to rest the two Boro players they have on loan.

Defender Neto Borges is doing an adequate job so far but, based on performances to date, the forced exclusion of Delano Burgzorg will be seen as a blessing by most, such has been his ineffectiveness in providing additional goals.

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

Gerhard Struber has urged Bristol City fans to stick with the team as they prepare for a 'big test' in the wake of their FA Cup exit at Port Vale.

Robins fans turned on the players and the board as the Championship play-off chasers were knocked out of the FA Cup deep into extra-time in the fourth round on Tuesday night against a team rock-bottom of League One.

Instead of a home tie with Premier League Sunderland on Sunday, City are now preparing for a visit from Championship leaders Coventry on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

"This is the only thing we can focus on now, fully on the Championship," Struber told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We know we have a good chance to bounce back on Saturday with a good performance and [execute] the basics on a really high level.

"It's a really big test at the moment for us, we realise we're in a difficult time [but] we are really close together."

He added his side need to "show a big heart on Saturday and show a big connection between the brain and the heart".

The Austrian said his first season in charge at Ashton Gate has been a "rollercoaster" and added: "We have to take it and be honest with ourselves. We have to find a way, we have no time to moan or cry, we have to stand up and show we are fighters.

"It's a really good chance to show teamwork and show we want to bounce back and everyone should feel this on Saturday."

Struber admitted he felt sympathy for the more than 1,600 City fans who travelled to Vale Park.

"The 12th man was there, they deserved to celebrate the game together at the end," he said.

"It's not what I want, I feel sorry for them, but it's the moment in the season when we need our fans the most.

"The moments when things have gone wrong and we have a difficult time with results, we need the fans very close to us and we have to stick together, it's a really big test, not only for the team but for the club, how we bounce back."

Image source, PA Media

Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber said his side should be beating League One strugglers Port Vale, who they were knocked out by in the FA Cup fourth round.

City created just two shots on target and were forced into extra time by the side bottom of the third tier, with Ben Waine scoring their winning goal in the 112th minute.

"Really disappointed, we had a completely different plan to jump in the fifth round and again it was in big moments, in these basics [we were] not on top, especially when we realise chances, that we are ready to bring the ball in the net, we miss here a little bit," Struber told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Then we get cheap goals against us, when you look at this goal how we get it it's a long ball, lose the first duel and then it was not connected enough.

"We have some new players in the backline and we have to create a good wall but I'm really unhappy how we deal in this moment.

"We know FA Cup is always a little bit special but we have to win this game, this must be our clear standard and we don't jump in this direction."

Struber also confirmed George Earthy missed the game due to an injury that could keep him out of the squad for two to three weeks.

"He has something on the ankle and he's injured, we have to look and if it's not so bad maybe two or three weeks - after the international break maybe he is back," he said.

"Sometimes in your career, things feel fated," Bristol City chief executive Charlie Boss told BBC Radio Bristol on his new role at Ashton Gate.

"Everything I've done to date and the opportunity here at Bristol City were the perfect match."

Boss was appointed on Thursday to replace Tom Rawcliffe, who stepped down because of family commitments.

But while the former Southampton chief commercial officer will play a similar role to Rawcliffe, his experience suggests the club are looking for a different approach in the hopes of reaching the top flight.

"Tom has a phenomenal track record in finance, I come from a much more commercial and marketing background. I've been in other sports so I think I'll bring a different flavour to the role, said Boss.

"I definitely think we can generate more revenue and that's partly about making smaller losses, but actually it's just as much about creating more money to invest into the playing side to help us achieve our ambitions.

"We should be aspiring to be in the Premier League. To get there, we have to be behaving like a Premier League football club in every aspect, starting from today.

"What we really need is a clear ambition and a plan that we all stick to, to get us there. I can't promise that it will be this season, although we will try incredibly hard to make it happen."

Listen to the full interview on Sound of the City on BBC Sounds

Listen to more Bristol City content on BBC Sounds

Image source, Opta

Port Vale welcome Bristol City for their rearranged FA Cup fourth-round tie on Tuesday night (kick-off 19:45 GMT).

The original encounter scheduled for 14 February was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch and a fifth-round tie at home to Premier League side Sunderland awaits the winner.

Vale are rooted to the foot of the League One table, 10 points adrift of safety, and have won three of their past 11 matches (D3 L5) in all competitions since beating Fleetwood 1-0 in the FA Cup third round.

The Robins are 10th in the Championship, 38 league places higher than Vale, though their play-off bid has stuttered with Gerhard Struber's side seven points behind the top six after three wins in their past nine league games (D2 L4) since the 5-1 win over Watford in round three of the FA Cup.

• Port Vale and Bristol City have never previously faced each other in the FA Cup, with this the first meeting between the two sides since a 3-1 victory for the Robins in League One in February 2015.

• Bristol City have won eight of their past nine games against Port Vale (D1) – since the first game in this run in April 2005, their 89% win-rate against the Valiants is their strongest against any side they've played more than three times.

• This is Port Vale's first FA Cup fourth round tie since falling to a 3-1 defeat to Brighton in 2013-14. The Valiants have been eliminated from five of their past six ties at this stage of the competition, last progressing to the fifth round in 1995-96.

• Bristol City have progressed from five of their past six FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, while they have won eight of their last 10 away games in the competition against lower tier opponents.

• Emil Riis has been involved in five goals in four starts in the FA Cup (4 goals, 1 assist), scoring a hat-trick for Bristol City in their 5-1 win in this season's third round, their first FA Cup hat-trick since Phil Jevons in December 2006 against Gillingham.

Gerhard Struber criticised his Bristol City team for giving away cheap goals in their home defeat by Watford.

The Robins head coach told BBC Radio Bristol: "I am really frustrated and we expected a different result in the end, and a big loss is really painful.

"The control of the game was good, but some small details such as decision making... we were not lucky with the last decision that we did, and how to bring a player into a better position with a higher chance to score.

"Then how we gave away the goals was really cheap and it is really hard to describe. It is all small things - typical Championship.

"When you want to be in the play-off spots you have to win games in a row more and more times, and we must be honest with ourselves that this is a gap.

"We have to be better and we have to improve, how we bring a clean sheet home and how we score on a different level."

Image source, Coventry City FC

You might not hear the old terrace refrain of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' as often as you used to, but it still has a better ring than 'the shirt's not fit for you to wear'.

Championship leaders Coventry City launched a new collection on Friday, proudly taking inspiration from a kit widely dubbed the 'Worst of All Time'.

A take on the club's infamous brown change strip worn away from Highfield Road from 1978 to 1981, the modern reinvention features what the club calls "a deeper chocolate plum colour with sky blue elements".

Many would suggest it sounds tastier than it looks.

But it's got us thinking... what are actually the worst EFL kits of all time? Let us know which of your club's shirts is hiding in the back of the wardrobe, or even if they were too ugly for you to even part money for them.

We'll collate a list of the biggest eyesores and will give you the chance to vote on the ghastliest of all next week.

Click here to let us know your suggestion, and you can even attach a picture if you really want to convey the horror.

Both these sides still have realistic hopes of gatecrashing the Championship's play-offs with Bristol City in eighth place and four points behind the top six but a win for 12th-placed Watford at Ashton Gate on Friday would take them above their opponents.

The Hornets will be without wingers Othmane Maamma and Kwadwo Baah while the Robins have been dealt a blow with the loss of forward Yu Hirakawa.

• Bristol City are unbeaten in their past five home league games against Watford (W2 D3) since a 2-0 loss in March 2012.

• In their league history, Watford have only drawn more games against Bournemouth (36) and Brighton (33) than they have against Bristol City (32), with this season's reverse fixture finishing 1-1.

• Bristol City have lost 5-0 against Derby and drawn 2-2 with Wrexham in their past two home league games, conceding as many goals in these two games as in their previous 10 at Ashton Gate (7).

• Watford have lost just one of their past seven away league games (W2 D4), going down 1-0 at Southampton earlier this month.

• This will be Bristol City's fifth Friday game in the Championship this season (W1 D2 L1), with only West Bromwich Albion playing more on a Friday this term (6).

Image source, Shutterstock

Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber has described the injury loss of defender Rob Dickie for all-but the rest of the season as a "big hit".

The club confirmed before kick-off against Blackburn on Tuesday that Dickie is expected to be out for eight to 10 weeks with a hamstring issue, which also saw him miss the trip to Swansea on Saturday.

Dickie has started 29 of City's 34 Championship games this season and joins fellow centre-back Luke McNally, who has not played since February 2025, on the long-term injury list.

City are assessing defender Rob Atkinson who was substituted at half-time at Ewood Park with an ankle problem.

"Rob Dickie is not only an experienced player but he is also for this group a leader in the dressing room and this for us [is] a really important role," Struber told BBC Radio Bristol.

"He is a key player, how he build up our game, how he developed our game and with his personal power in first duels, box defending moments it's a big hit for us."

Struber also confirmed that Joe Williams is set to have a scan on a hamstring issue that also ruled him out of Tuesday's win.

"It looks not good at the moment, in the training [on Monday] he feels something again on his hamstring," Struber added.

"We know not exactly right now but the scan will give us a better picture and then we know more, but right now it looks not good with Joe Williams."

Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber was left upbeat following his side's come-from-behind victory at Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday.

Goals from Emil Riis and Scott Twine before half-time meant they picked up just a third victory from nine Championship games in a 2-1 win.

"It was not easy. After five, six minutes they earned their lead but the reaction was great from the boys and how we played football in the first half and how we drived them down - we realise there could have been another goal or more for us," he told BBC Radio Bristol.

"That's us. In this direction, we showed how good we can be and of course the second half - they [Blackburn] were much more aggressive against us, gave us absolutely no space.

"It was difficult for us. We defended our own goal. It was not always easy to watch but this is not the Blackburn from a few weeks ago - this is a different energy.

"It was really difficult to win here but the boys did it. This could be a really important week, this could be a tipping point for us. We are really, really happy."

Prior to kick-off at Ewood Park, City confirmed on X, external that defender Rob Dickie will be out for eight to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury, effectively ruling him out for the rest of the regular league campaign.

David Pottier
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

Saturday's defeat at Swansea means that City have managed to accumulate just 11 points from the past 10 league games.

If this form is continued it will simply not be good enough to mount a play-off challenge with 13 games remaining. The maths dictate that City have to win eight of those fixtures and add in a couple of draws to reach the 73 points that I think will be necessary to achieve a top-six finish.

I cannot see it happening, indeed, reaching last season's total of 68 is looking a big ask right now.

Come next Tuesday night we will know if City have anything to play for other than pride between then and the first weekend in May.

By then they will have completed two league fixtures at Blackburn and at home to Watford, along with the rescheduled FA Cup fourth round tie against Port Vale.

Four points is a minimum requirement from the two league games while cup victory would see them play faltering Premier League side Sunderland just four days later at Ashton Gate. Another victory would secure a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1974.

So what's gone wrong at City such that yet again, at the end of their 11th successive season in the Championship, they look destined to finish in that all too familiar mid-table position?

For me they have quantity not quality in a squad that overall is strong in numbers but lacking players that can make a difference.

Up front City tend to play with a sole striker. They now can select from Riis, Armstrong, the recalled but out of contract in the summer Sam Bell and recent loanee Delano Burgzorg.

Compare that with Coventry City, a non-parachute payment club who have enjoyed similar success in player sales over recent seasons as well as acquiring their own ground and generally getting their financial house in order.

They can select from Ellis Simms, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Haji Wright and Ephron Mason-Clark. All those named are superior to any of our strikers and while none are 20-goal a season superstars, our four would be lucky to accumulate that number of goals between them.

In midfield, be that defensive or creative, is there much difference between a four of Knight, Bird, Horvat and Earthy or Randell, Morsy, Williams and Twine?

In defence, assuming it's a four, is there much difference between McCrorie, Eile, Atkinson and Borges or Tanner, Dickie, McNally [when fit] and Pring?

Yes, the matchday 20 is as strong as it has ever been, but the pathway for promising youngsters is blocked. We seem to have a wage policy that sees us prefer to pay three players as much as two who, in theory, would be just that bit better and enough to make a difference.

The transfer window may have shut but there was one departure from Ashton Gate last week which caught everyone by surprise. Chief Executive Tom Rawcliffe tendered his resignation, stating he wanted to return to his Nottingham home to be closer to his wife with the couple expecting their first child in the summer.

Only in his present role since the summer having been with the club for five years as FD then later COO, Tom was proving a popular choice amongst the fans for a position that has been occupied by no fewer than nine individuals over the past 15 years.

Looks like being a CEO at City is as precarious as being head coach/manager!

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

Image source, Opta

Blackburn will seek to put more ground between themselves and the Championship relegation zone when they host Bristol City on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

Rovers are five points clear of the drop-zone after a dramatic derby win over Preston on Friday, their second straight victory, and have lost just two of their past nine at Ewood Park, earning 13 points.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Swansea saw the Robins slip to 12th, though still within four points of the play-off spots in a tightly-packed table.

City have won just one of their past five away games to earn four points and failed to score in three of those.

• Following their 1-0 win in November, Blackburn are looking to complete a first league double over Bristol City since 2019/20.

• Bristol City have lost their past two away league games against Blackburn, last losing more consecutive visits to Ewood Park between 1957 and 1967 (4).

• Blackburn have won three of their past five league games against Bristol City (L2), more than they had in their previous 13 (W2 D5 L6).

• Blackburn have won just one of their past nine midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) home league games (D3 L5), though it came in their most recent encounter against Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month.

• Bristol City have won just one of their past six midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) league games (D2 L3), beating Portsmouth 5-0 on New Year's Day.

Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber said his side did not take their chances in their 1-0 defeat by Swansea.

"We expected a difficult game, that was crystal clear. But at the same time, we have to have a different determination in the final third," Struber said.

"They had one chance and they used it. We controlled the game in a good way but we need a different determination in the final third.

"We had big chances. We have to use them. Everything is really close, every game has its moments. In these moments, we have to be ready."

Both these sides still hold hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs, although Bristol City's chances seem more realistic, as they stand only one point short of the top six going into the weekend.

Swansea City have moved themselves 10 points clear of the relegation zone under boss Vitor Matos and are unbeaten in their past seven games at home.

• Swansea have lost three of their past five league games against Bristol City (W1 D1), after only losing one of their previous eight beforehand (W4 D3).

• Bristol City can do the league double over Swansea for the second time in the past three seasons with a win here (won both in 2023-24 and 3-0 at home this season). This after not winning any of their four league meetings in 2022-23 and 2021-22 (D1 L3).

• Swansea have won six of their past seven home league games (D1), with no other Championship side collecting more home points than the Swans (19) since that run began in December (level with Ipswich Town).

• Bristol City have conceded multiple goals in each of their past three league games (9 goals conceded); they last conceded 2+ goals in four consecutive league games in October 2022.

• Swansea's Zan Vipotnik has scored 11 goals in 15 home league appearances this season, including five goals in his past three games at the Swansea.com Stadium.