Tenacious City gain deserved point against fancied Fulham
Talking points from Bristol City’s draw against Fulham at Ashton Gate, by
IF there was an abiding image from this game, it wasn’t Kasey Palmer’s expertly extended right leg to divert the ball into the roof of the net, it was the sight of half the Bristol City team collapsing to the turf having exerted every last drop of energy.
If Luton Town 10 days previously was a 1-1 draw that felt like a defeat, this was the same scoreline but with all the adrenaline rush of a victory due to the effort, application and just the sheer ability to remain in the game against probably the Championship’s best attack.
Yes, Fulham could and should have put the game to bed and who knows what happened to Aleksandar Mitrovic’s bearings in the final few moments as the division’s premier striker spurned three opportunities. And we all know deep down that Palmer was offside.
But at no stage did the Robins look beaten in this game and the mental strength, belief and will to claim a point from what appeared, at about the 77-minute mark when Neeskens Kabano bore down on Dan Bentley’s goal, a lost cause is a huge indicator of where this team is at.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
HE didn’t really expand on it when asked to, for obvious reasons, but there was a pertinent statement made by Nigel Pearson in assessing the attitude that enabled City to draw, in a match that was in danger of getting away from them.
“They’re a tighter group than I’ve seen here,” said Pearson. “When I’ve come here in the past as either a manager or a player, I wouldn’t expect the tenacity that we’re showing now.”
It may be a tough read for some fans, and is also a bit of a sweeping generalisation, but City, certainly since returning to the Championship, have had a reputation of being a little too nice/soft; a welcoming stadium, great facilities, beautiful part of the world but not the right level of nastiness or inner steel to get over the line.
That was also the feedback the club encountered when interviewing candidates for the manager’s post in the summer of 2020.
When Pearson talks about cultural change, it’s about altering and developing mindsets; City are now hard to beat, and that is because they collectively have a toughness, resilience and fortitude never to stop going.
We’re only nine games into the Championship season but it’s hard to see this team losing too many matches by a significant margin. They’ve quickly developed an ability to always remain in a contest.
That might be sometimes down to Dan Bentley’s goalkeeping - as was the case at QPR and at times against Fulham, in particular when he saw the whites of Kabano’s eyes - but it goes beyond just the goalkeeper’s resistance.
George Tanner thundered into tackles in the first half and was constantly on the toes of the opposition as they appeared to target his right flank during the opening 30 minutes.
Tomas Kalas, as we know, and Rob Atkinson throw everything at the ball, whenever it’s their jurisdiction and then further up the field Andi Weimann and Nahki Wells were accelerating to press defenders, and while Chris Martin may not possess express pace, he still finds space and a way to chase down balls into the channel.
but when specifically asked in midweek if he would like to play Nahki Wells, Andi Weimann and Chris Martin in the same team he insisted he wouldn’t change his system to accommodate them all.
Now, you could make a case that didn’t happen yesterday given Weimann moved to the right side of midfield, moving Wells alongside Martin for his first start of the season, but there was much more going on with City in possession than a customary 4-4-2. Something did change.
Off the ball, Weimann was stationed in front of George Tanner, but when City had their moments of possession, the Austrian moved much further up the pitch and in a slightly more central area, not unlike when Han-Noah Massengo plays right midfield, just in a more advanced sense.
There were certain periods of play when one of Wells or Martin would come deep, and Weimann would then run a route almost like a NFL wide receiver - starting on the outside and then cutting infield to occupy the position of striker.
It didn’t work all the time, in fact you could make the case that as a trio there was more failure than success, given the connectivity wasn’t quite there which, given it’s the first game together, is understandable. But Weimann’s USP is that you can be flexible during a game and he will slot into any position or role as you wish.
Which proved the case when Pearson introduced Joe Williams, Nathan Baker and then Kasey
Palmer, moving to a 3-5-2 and shifting the Austrian to a very advanced right wing-back.
WELLS BRINGS SOMETHING EXTRA
THERE’S a strong case to be made that Wells was City’s best player.
He’s had to bide his time and has obviously had to convince Pearson far beyond scoring the winner at QPR, putting in the work on the training ground and, if anything, we were given a clue prior to kickoff when the manager said: “Hopefully Nahki does what he does best and that’s score goals but also be a threat to defenders when they’re in possession.”
The second part was crucial because Fulham had to be pressed constantly and maybe, just maybe Wells hasn’t done enough so far to convince his manager he can do that. Well, he certainly did on Saturday. Always on the move and making Fulham hurry their possession from the back. Then when City did have the ball, the Bermudian was always trying quick and clever little runs into open areas and then trying to knit things together with Weimann and Martin.
As mentioned above, it often didn’t come together but the willingness to try to make something happen was always there. It’s great to see a striker work hard but it’s concerning when they don’t get chances to score. Wells ticked both boxes and if they continue, along with consistency in his first obligation enabling him to stay in the team, City will surely soon have a more consistent source of goals.