Why does the media still fail to acknowledge the job that Gary Johnson has done at Bristol City this season?
True, The Robins have exceeded everyone’s expectations this season – including their own, but they don’t sit on top of the Championship for no reason. From what I’ve seen, they’ve played some decent football and the recent addition of Dele Adebola can surely only been seen as a positive.
They don’t have a squad of big names. I mean, players such as Bradley Orr and Jamie McCombe barely register on the football Richter scale (no offense intended), but they possess great talent and an enviable team spirit. Then when you add the fact that their manager has his head firmly screwed on, it is no wonder Bristol are flying high.
So why is it Paul Merson has decided that if teams like Stoke and Bristol City went up to the top flight, they would ‘ruin the Premiership’? Now I don’t mind Paul Merson, but please Paul, try and explain how these two honest, hardworking sides would ‘ruin’ a league riddled with over paid pretty boys with ego’s bigger than Jade Goody’s rear end?
Personally, I think that the Premiership needs teams like Bristol City and Stoke. It might just give the place a dose of realism! They may well appear unfashionable, but just because they don’t boast players who would much rather pose for ‘Hello’ magazine than get stuck in to bulky six foot defenders on a cold November night, does not mean they can’t hold their own.
I am wondering if what Merson was actually trying to say, in a less than articulate manner, is that the Premiership doesn’t need another Derby County. If that were the case, then I would have to agree. But Derby are an odd one, they got promoted more by luck than judgment, they won the play off final just one year into a three year plan that had been set by the Rams board! But still, Derby will view this season as a learning curve and will return to the Championship with a wealth of experience and a shed load of cash.
Teams like Bristol City would provide a breath of fresh air to the top flight and if they can hold on to Johnson, then I see no reason for them not to emulate the success of teams such as Portsmouth and Reading.
Posted by stepney88 