KOREY’S RETURN BOOSTS ROBINS
Midfield dynamo getting closer...
KOREY Smith could be set for his first appearance of the season in the Severnside derby after coming through 15 months of injury hell.
The Bristol City midfielder underwent knee surgery at the start of the 2018-19 campaign and didn’t return until the end of March.
However, Smith’s comeback lasted just three games as he broke two bones in his foot and tore yet another ligament in a 1-1 draw with Reading.
Confined to crutches once again, he has spent the entire summer in rehab but is now finally back in full training.
Robins boss Lee Johnson spoke in midweek about how much his side had missed Smith’s energy and tactical acumen.
After City blew a 2-0 lead to draw with Barnsley last weekend, Johnson said he’d have played Smith “even on one leg” to assist in seeing out the game. Now, at last, he has both limbs to call on.
“Korey has trained with us over the last seven or eight days,” he revealed. “He had an outstanding day on Wednesday and he looks to me like the real deal again.
“I was very encouraged by that, because with the amount of time he’s been out, you think to yourself ‘Is he going to get back to what he was?’.
“But if anybody can then I know Korey can because of his character and his attributes. He can be a very important player for us.”
A little protection is certainly what the Robins’ back four needs, especially against a Cardiff side who thrive on second balls around the edge of the box. Johnson’s players have blocked more shots (75) and made more interceptions (249) than any other side in the Championship.
However, those ostensibly impressive stats are a reflection of the rather more worrying fact that City have also faced more shots than any other side in the division. They are, in other words, wide open.
Much depends on the quality of those shots, of course. Yet even measured against Expected Goals (which accounts for several such variables), the Robins should be at least ten places worse off than the sixth position they currently occupy.
That they are not suggests that the XG metric has failed to account for some aspect of Bristol City’s tactics - or that they are due a major slump.
Whatever the case, Johnson is convinced that it won’t come at the Cardiff City Stadium this afternoon, a ground where Bristol City haven’t tasted success since 2002.
“We’re going there to give the fans a good day,” he said. “It’s about the performance of the individuals, and doing what’s needed to win at what is a very difficult place to get a result.”
Johnson, of course, is no stranger to a fiery touchline showdown. With Neil Warnock patrolling the other technical area, what transpires on the touchline promises to be as interesting as events on the pitch. Johnson, though, says he is full of respect for his managerial rival.
“It might be an unpopular opinion, but I do quite like Neil,” he added. “First of all, I do respect the jobs he’s done throughout his career.
“Over the last couple of years, I’ve got to know him better. Talking to him after matches, meeting him at games, discussing various things.
“Take the rivalry aside and it’s always good to pick the brains of any successful manager - and if there’s one thing Neil has been at Championship level, it’s successful.”