FM10: Official Bristol City Thread - Home of The Robins

A Brief History

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England, (the other being arch rivals Bristol Rovers). They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-western portion of the City. Gary Johnson has been the team's manager since 23 September 2005, succeeding Brian Tinnion. They were promoted to the Coca-Cola Championship in the 2006-07 season after finishing second in League One but failed to make a second consecutive promotion to the Premier League after they were defeated by Hull City in the Championship Play-Offs.

Bristol City won the Welsh Cup - despite being an English team - in 1934. In 1907 they finished runners-up in Football League Division One, which is their highest-ever final position.

In 1982, Bristol City became the first English team to suffer three successive relegations but by 1990 they were back in the Second Division. Another relegation followed in 1995, when City finished second from bottom in the new Second Division, and a return to that division three years later lasted just one season. Most of their seasons between 1999 and 2006 were spent challenging for promotion in the upper half of the division.

The club's nickname is "The Robins", and a robin featured on the club's badge from 1976 to 1994. Official club merchandise, including replica kits, still has a label showing a robin. A recent attempt by the club to alter the club's badge was abandoned after the club was criticized fiercely by fans.

Bristol City currently play at Ashton Gate stadium in the Ashton/Bedminster area of the city of Bristol, which has an all-seater capacity of 21,497.

Football Manager Info

Nation - England

Year Founded - 1897

Status - Professional

Reputation - National

Chairman Status - Loves the club

Legends – John Atyeo, Dariusz Dziekanowski

Icons – Terry Cooper, Gary Johnson

Favoured Personnel – Brian Tinnion

Fierce Rivals - Bristol Rovers, Cardiff

Other Rivals - Yeovil, Swindon

Finances - Secure

Average Ticket Price - £23.20

Average Season Ticket Price - £403

Season Ticket Holders - 13530

Estimated Value - £15.5million (Loan Debt: £2.4million)

Continental Competition - None

Media Prediction - 11th

Stadium - Ashton Gate (Capacity 19,500)

Training Facilities - Good training facilities

Youth Facilities - Good youth facilities + Youth Academy

Transfer Budget - £1.6million for Top Half Finish, £2.4million for Winner

Squad

2 Bradley Orr

3 Jamie McAllister

4 Liam Fontaine

5 Jamie McCombe

6 Louis Carey (captain) *

7 Marvin Elliott *

8 Lee Johnson

9 David Clarkson

10 Nicky Maynard *

11 Paul Hartley

14 Cole Skuse

15 Gavin Williams

16 John Akinde

17 Ivan Sproule

19 Christian Ribeiro

21 Frankie Artus

22 Dean Gerken

24 Tristan Plummer

25 Brian Wilson

26 Marlon Jackson

27 Ashley Kington

28 Joe Edwards

29 Evander Sno (on loan from AFC Ajax)

30 Stephen Henderson

31 Danny Haynes

32 Lewin Nyatanga

33 Álvaro Saborío (on loan from FC Sion)

35 Adriano Basso

36 Jordan Walker

Out on Loan

18 James Wilson (to Brentford)

23 Lee Trundle (to Swansea City)

— Peter Štyvar (to Skoda Xanthi)

* = Key Players

Squad Analysis

* = Definite targets

Goalkeepers:

A solid enough area. Basso is a great keeper even at Premiership level but I found that he was being courted by several clubs immediately so I sold him because he was becoming unsettled. Gerken is a decent backup goalkeeper but not really your first choice goalkeeper. Henderson is merely a third goalkeeper and not to be relied on.

Possible targets: Silviu Lung Jr*-200k, Henk Timmer*-Free, Ian Walker-Free, Asmir Begovic-Loan, Alberto Fontana-free

Defenders

Probably the most versatile area in the squad with players who can cover most positions.

Centre Backs-In McCombe and Carey you have two great centre backs who are great in the air but lack pace. For that reason you may want to sell McCombe to raise money. This isn't neccessary though. Also players who can play at centre back are Fontaine, Nyatanga and Ribeiro. Fontaine is a great player and a player who you could pair with one of McCombe or Carey to compensate for lack of pace against teams with fast strikers. Nyatanga is a decent player who lack aerial ability and positioning so may be better off at left back. Ribeiro is a player who really should be anywhere near the first team considering he cannot jump so cannot play at centre-back and cannot dribble or cross so isn't really suited to left back.

Possible Targets: Sergiy Federov*-free, Glauber-free, Sol Campbell-free

Possible Sales: McCombe-500k+, Fontaine-500k+, Ribeiro-500k+

Full Backs-McAllister should be your first choice left back as he is both great going forward and defending. Technically and mentally he is very impressive for a Championship player. Fontaine, Nyatanga and Ribeiro-maybe-can cover for him so no more left backs are needed. Orr should probably be your first choice right back unless you want to play Carey at right back. Orr is an incredibly solid full back defensively and can offer something going forward. Mentally he is fantastic. Right back may perhaps need another player to cover as Walker and Edwards aren't quite there.

Possible targets: Richie De Laet*-Loan, Elliot Omozusi-free, Baklary Soro-free(needs a WP), Iban Zubiaurre-free

Midfielders

The area which needs most work and is sadly lacking.

Central Midfielders-In Elliot you have one of the best central midfielders in the Championship so your midfield should be built around him. Skuse is also a more than adequate backup for Elliot so no defensive midfielders are needed. For the other central midfield spot you have Johnson, Williams, Sno and Hartley battling for a spot. They all aren't brilliant and I would recommend selling Williams, loaning out Hartley and terminating Sno's loan. They are all inferior to Johnson and are wasting your wage budget. But you will need to bring in one more midfielder, preferably with some creativity or flair. I'm not entirely sure who to go for as Dos Santos costs a bit much.

Possible targets: Patrik Berger-200k, Giovani Dos Santos-£5m+, Alvaro Novo-Free, Adam Lallana-£2m+, Antoine Sibierski-free, Nacer Barazite-free

Possible sales: Williams-100k+, Hartley-loan(won't be transferred), Sno-terminate loan

Wingers: You have absolutely no half-decent wingers here. This is the key area where you MUST bring in players because it is by far the weakest area. Sproule is useless and Wilson is even worse. Luckily I have many targets here. Bring in at least 3 or 4 wingers and sell Sproule and Wilson. They have nothing to offer, not even Sproule with his ridiculous pace.

Possible targets; Sergey Krivets*-500k(offer him as high wages as you can), Vladimir Weiss*-loan, Jordan Henderson-loan, Andy Van Der Meyde*-free, Gokhan-loan, Andrew Driver*-£1.5m+, Adam Johnson*-£3m+, Seol Ki-Hyeon-loan/£1m, Rachid Bouaouzan-loan

Possible sale: Sproule-250k+, Wilson-100k+

Strikers

Probably the strongest area of the squad with a vast array of different strikers.

Maynard is probably the key player here though he may not look it and your Ass. Manager may disagree. He has all the stats in the right places to score bucketloads in the Championship. Saborio is also a good player who is a good foil for any other striker. Clarkkson is a decent player who I've never really used but may be useful as a backup. Hyanes has devestating pace but is severely lacking mentally. He may be useful as an impact player however. Akinde, Plummer and Jackson all have decent pace and could do a job. Nonetheless I'd recommend grabbing Smolarek on a free ASAP. He is ridiculously good for the Championship and most of all FREE! There are also many strikers who are transfer listed at the start but they probably aren't any better than your current strikers. Smolarek is probably the only striker available who would improve your squad.

Possible targets: Ebi Smolarek*-free, Christian Vieri-free

Conclusion

Bristol City have a surprisingly good squad especially up front. But I would definitely buy Smolarek, a few wingers, a defneder who can cover at right back and grab some cover in other areas. You do get a pretty decent transfer budget of at least £1.5m+ so you can splash out but that's not needed with the amount of freebie deals around. I would definitely aim for the title as you get a hefty transfer budget and it's quite possible with the squad available and the money. As for tactics a short, quick passing game with a 4-4-2 formation should do nicely. Or default passing with a quick tempo.

Nice one.

Good op mate

Cant wait to get cracking with City as i support them. We really need a couple of wingers, an attacking centre midfielder and possibly a new centre half. City have been in the Championship for 3 years now so are in my opinion, a proven solid championship squad. Surely this should mean that the likes of Brian Wilson and McCombe should have better stats than what the game gives them. On the game they are not good enough to be back up for City, but in reality they have 3 years of experience with a top half championship side. Plus Cole Skuse needs his stats improving. He is probably the 2nd fastest in the squad behind Sproule but he only has 10 for pace on FM10.

McCombe is fine, he's pretty damn good actually. He just lacks pace. And he isn't quite as good as Carey which isn't a crime.

Actually this is our 3rd year in the Championship, so we have had 2 years in the championsip.

McCombe nowhere near Carey irl tbh

Hey guys, I start with City every year and generally I don't make too many changes to the squad early on. Been playing 3-5-2 so far (as our centre halves are very strong) and occasionally switching to 4-4-2 when needed. I've created 21 different tactics, sounds alot but it's only different variations of 442, 352, 433 etc and with the tactics creator it only took half an hour.

I'm at the end of September and as yet haven't sold anyone (terminated Velicka's contract) and just brought in Barazite, Fabio and Theophile-Catherine on loan although they have only started 1 league game between them. I've won 7 and drawn 3 from the opening 10 games to lead the league and am through to the 4th Round of the League Cup where Arsenal lie in wait. Never had a good as start as this with City since the League 1 days but Maynard and Saborio have been blasting them in, Hartley/Sno/McAllister setting them up and the back line has been rock solid bar one 3-3 draw.

I accept in FM it's normally quite easy to dump the current squad and bring in better players asap but to be honest I have more fun playing with the current squad and seeing where they can take me, I do bring in and sell players as I go along but I like to give the current squad a go first and whilst my current form can't last much longer im loving the start.

Couple of questions, any ideas on how best to use Clarkson? He strikes me as too slow for the Maynard/Haynes role and not physically strong enough for the target man/Saborio role. I can't fit him in at all so far.

I'm also interested to know for those of you who play 4 at the back which centre halves do you leave out? Carey, McCombe and Nyatanga have been awesome for me so far and Fontaine who was injured opening day has been the one to miss out. Plus you have Ribeiro and Wilson coming through the ranks aswell.

Right hopefully this thread is more succesful than last year.

Firstly i'd like to say Hartley is more than worth keeping, the bloke has been awesome for me.

Transfers

I started by adressing the lack of wingers at the club by bringing in three wingers permanently and Barazite in on loan who can also play there. I tried to bring in Smolarek (sp) in as a striker but as you'll see later that was a blessing in disguise. Also i highly recommend Zenden he has been a fantastic signing for me, keeping Halfresson out of the team. Happy with the signings so far and have Manchester United as a parent club.

Starting 11

Clarkson has been in awesome form scoring 9 goals in 8 games so far. Maynard is my second top scorer with 7 in 7. Nyatanga has been quite poor for me but to be fair he is playing left back because Mcalister was injured for the early part of the season. I'm currently top of the league after 6 games winning 5 and losing the other. In these five wins that includes a 7-0 opening day victory over PNE. The only down side was losing in the league cup second round to derby on penalties.

Clarkson

Anyone who wants more information/screenshots feel free to ask

Just started with Bristol City. Thank you Briz Lad for making me realise Walters can be bought, he will hopefully be a good player dfor me if he comes. Anyways Ill keep you posted with form and results etc.!

Right quick update, the January transfer window has just closed and i'm sitting in a pritty decent position and it would take a major collapse in my remaining games to fall out of the play offs. However that isn't my aim and i want to finish in the top 2. I didn't make anymore permanent signings, although i did bring in Matt Hill on a months loan because i had a injury crisis with Carey, Fontaine, Nyatanga and Mcallister all out injured or suspended.

League Table

Good work so far Briz lad. Started with City, seeing if I can flog Sproule, Wilson and maybe Williams depending on the price. How did Saborio get on for you? Thinking of terminating the loan to save the cash as there a numerous good free strikers available. Not a Johnson fan so he might be off too. I'm not planning on getting many in, priority being wingers! Got a current squad screen shot out of interest? Good luck with the rest of the season.

Briz Lad, I'd be interested in knowing how you finished that season, my first season went great for 30 games or so but then my team seemed to fall apart under pressure. Reading won 10 games in a row and Newcastle put on a great run while I was drawing and losing most games. I went from 1st and 8 points clear to 3rd, finishing a good number of points back on 2nd place. I made the play-off final but got beat in extra time by West Brom, that was frustrating!

Timmers, Saborio was great for me and scored over 20 goals. My main problem is not getting enough goals out of Maynard.

I hardly made any changes in my first season to the squad but after falling away at the end of the season I decided to make some. I sold McAllister, Clarkson, Williams, Wilson and couldn't afford to bring back Saborio. I brought in a few loan players but my two best signings were Amir Zaki and a 33 year old Spanish left back, Pernia on free transfers. Added a few loan players aswell mainly for cover.

My second season has been similar to my first, I'm in 2nd place after 38 games, 2 points above Forest. Zaki has been awesome but he became unsettled in the January window when Everton, Burnley and Kiev came sniffing around. He's still with me and valued at £4m but he's just handed in a transfer request so looks like i'll be needing another partner for Maynard next season!

From memory as my second season comes to an end my squad looks like this.

GK: Basso, Gerken

RB: Orr, Thompson (loan)

LB: Pernia (free), Mulgrew (free)

CB: McCombe, Fontaine, Nyatanga, Carey

RW: Sproule, Haynes, plus loanees

LW: Lansbury (loan), Assulin (loan)

CM: Hartley, Elliot, Johan Andersson (£1m), Skuse, Johnson

CF: Zaki (free), Maynard, Haynes, Sears (loan), Acuna (£250k from Real Madrid but not great, backup for Zaki)

Out of the current City squad the defence has been great, McAllister was fine but Pernia and Mulgrew were both frees so made some money there. Hartley and Elliot have been great as regular starters although I will probably not be renewing Hartley's contract, especially if I do go up. Maynard has been good but can't seem to get him scoring enough, 11 in first season and 13 so far second season.

Any ideas on getting Maynard to score more goals? I'm playing him as an advanced forward (attack) mainly in a 442 but I need more goals and If I do go up I can't see him getting me enough goals to keep me up.

Right i blew my autmomatic promotion chances, with three games to go i was second level on points with Newcastle but with a greater goal difference. However I didn't win in my last three games. I lost 3-1 away at Scunthorpe and drew 2-2 with Derby and 1-1 with Blackpool which saw me slip down into 4th place.

Play Offs

I drew QPR with the first leg away at Loftus Road. I was lucky to escape with a 1-1 draw, with Basso keeping me in the game with many good saves. I then took them back to The Gate and won 2-1 after extra time. I had Orr sent off in the 78th minute. However Hartley popped up in the 107th minute to send me to Wembley. I then went and beat Reading 3-1 in the play off final with two goals from Maynard and one from Clarkson.

Squad Analysis

Goalkeepers Number one choice was Basso and he performed admirably during the course of the season and kept Gerken out of the side. He was fantastic for me in the play offs. Gerken played mainly in a few cup games and covered for Basso when he was injured. Both solid keepers and both good enough for this level.

Defence Carey, Fontaine and Nyatanga were the three who stood out defensively for me over the course of the season. However only playing two centre halfs ment that one of them often missed out. This was normally between Nyatanga and Fontaine as Carey was my captain and kept the defence together. Nyatanga also did a good job at left back in the early parts of the season before Mcallister came back. Both fullbacks (Orr and Mcallister) were solid enough although neithers final delivery was particularly brilliant however they are both solid enough defenders. Mcombe was used sparingly and J Wilson and Ribiero made a few appearences when i had a real injury crisis and I feel they both have decent futures at the club. I also brought in Matt Hill for a months loan and Coleman from Everton as cover for Orr.

Midfield Hartley was the stand out player in the whole squad contributing 15 goals and 14 assists and was rightly awarded player of the season, the only downside being his age. Another older player Zenden was brilliant, i could always turn to him if i needed a goal, him and Halfresson were both very good options for me down the left hand side. Walters was pritty poor for me and i had hoped for much more from him however i had Haynes and Barazite to turn to and both could make the difference coming off the bench. Skuse and Johnson between them didn't really get a look in with how well the midfield were performing.

Strikers Clarkson was top scorer with 31 goals in 43 appearences as a advanced forward, recommnded very highly scored many goals. Maynard was my second top scorer and was used as a poacher which seemed to get the best out of him as it enabled him to get in and around the box to have plenty of chances, which he often needed to put one away. Fleck was brought in on loan and could change a game in an instance and i could always turn to him for a goal. When he was injured towards the end of the season it wasn't surprising i wasn't convincing infront of goal. Saborio was barely used mainly due to the lack of injuries and good form of the other three strikers.

Overall I feel we have a decent squad that is capable of making it out of the Championship but who will struggle in the premiership. Major strengthening is needed. Without the infrastructure in place for the preimership it will be hard to compete. The lack of money brought in from gate receipts and ability to pull in players who will strengthen the side.

Final League Table

Transfers

I was given 20 million to avoid relegation and a wage budget of 200k, which isn't really alot, however i am relatively pleased with my signings. I felt i had to bring in many new players to strengthen my squad. I started this by copying Steve Bruces style of strengthening the Core of my side. I managed to bring in Begovic, Pineda, Crosas and Vaughan to give my side much more strength in the middle of the pitch. I badly needed fullbacks and i better right midfielder and hope i have adressed all the issues i had with the squad. Petrov has been a fantastic signing so far and his crossing will be a huge asset to the side.

The Season Ahead

There's no doubting this will be a difficult season for me and i do feel it will come down to my tactics and how quickly my players gel together. It hasn't been a great start so far but hopefully we can get start to put a few results together. We did play very well against Chelsea and took the lead only to concede two late goals to lose 2-1.

Anyway i shall update again around January and hopefully a few more people will join in, in the meantime.

At the end of the first transfer window heres my Transfers,League Table and results

Wow you guys are really far on. I'm still in my first season, a couple of games in and top I haven't really bothered to buy any more players as I feel I've bought enough but if Cristaldo gets a work permit I'd definitely bring him in. Just because Maynard isn't looking as good as I thought he'd be and he keeps missing easy one-on-ones. So I need somebody with pace, strength, finishing and composure to play alongside Smolarek. Saborio has no composure, not much pace. Clarkson hasn't got much pace or strength. And Haynes...his mental stats are just amazingly bad. Brilliant impact sub though. Especially with him set as targetman with a 'Run onto ball' supply. Anyway Maynard has all the stats to be that guy but he's not performing atm.

After achieving promotion to the premiership i struggled to attract players of a sufficient quality to keep us up and finished very disappointingly bottom of the league. Quite simply my team were not strong enough to cope with the sides in the division. The main problem i had was the lack of goals, which was quite surprising considering how many i scored the previous year in the championship. I didn't really have anyone capable of creating enough goals for the front men. Defensively we made far too many mistakes from individuals.

Signings

My two biggest signings were Gonzalo Pineda and Victor Anichebe. Pineda took far too long to settle in england and was a complete liability in the early part of the season. He eventually found some sort of form after christmas, so when i recieved and offer of £5.25mil offer at the end of the season i simply couldn't turn it down. Anichebe also took his time to settle into my side however he still finished as my top goalscorer and i will be expecting much more next season in the championship.

Squad Analysis

Goalkeepers

Begovic was my first choice keeper and proved himself very valuable to the side keeping the score down in countless games. One for now and can only improve, I had alot of attention in him during the summer but didn't want to let him go as i can keep him in my side as i move up the leagues and hopefully into the premiership. Gerkin is still here as a back up and only plays against weaker sides in the cup.

Defenders

This is where i strengthened my side quite heavily bringing in Pineda, Shorey and Degan. All three were particularly poor but as i had no one of any significant improvement in my squad i stuck with them for most of the season. Degan was another i let go in the summer as he was shocking and i know i can rely on Orr in the championship. The remaining spot was shared mainly between Carey and Fontaine, although neither was brilliant.

Midfielders

Moro, Dessena, Crosas and Petrov were brought in to the midfield. The only one who really impressed me was Petrov, on huge wages but worth every penny. Crosas was solid enough when i brought him in to play in a 5 man midfield with him Elliot and Moro. Dessena was pritty poor and was another who i moved on in the summer. Moro was ok but when i recieved an offer of nearly 3 million for him i had little choice but to replace him and bring in someone better. Elliot was my second best midfielder behind Petrov controlling the centre of the pitch.

Strikers

Anichebe, Naki, Clarkson and Maynard were the 4 strikers used the most this season. Anichebe was used the most, with Naki brought in for the future mainly. He did make 10 starts though and was quite impressive and I will be expecting big things from him in the championship. Clarkson and Myanard proved ok back up but none of my strikers were consistant enough to score enough goals when we did get chances.

Final League Table

Third season Pre Season

I had to rebuild my side as i didn't want to leave my squad intact for the upcoming season, as they were simply not good enough and I didn't want any sense of a major hangover from relegation. I went through and sold anyone i felt wasn't abolsutely necessary to keep when an offer came in for them. This saw Degan, Pineda, Moro and Dessena the main players to leave, bringing in over 10 million. I didn't feel i had to completely change the squad but with a few changes I feel I can get straight back up.

I'm currently sitting 3rd in the league 3 points behind Birmingham in second place and a massive 11 points behind the leaders Sunderland who look like they are going to run away with the league already. I still fancy my chances of achieving atleast 2nd place.

Good read Briz lad. I will post my end of 09/10 season report when I get there, I'm at the beginning of Feb now but don't want to say to much in case I hex it! but we are doing well so far although I see from other comments on the thread it is hard to maintain it in the second half of the season.

From your experience can't say I'm that excited by my prospects of staying up, should I get promoted. At least it's realistic though and interesting that all 3 promoted sides went down again!

I haven't spent much cash this season, only buying one player Julius Wobay, who after a slow start has been brilliant. Clarkson the same but Maynard has been awesome from the off. Top scorer so far with nearly a goal a game (in all comps).

I see you got £20 million for spending on transfers, I guess not much income is generated from match day revenue thanks to a small stadium capacity for the Prem though? Any news on City's new stadium in the game or an Ashton Gate extention? Did you ask the board to improve youth facilities? Think I might, it would be good to generate quality youth prospects.

Good read Briz lad. I will post my end of 09/10 season report when I get there, I'm at the beginning of Feb now but don't want to say to much in case I hex it! but we are doing well so far although I see from other comments on the thread it is hard to maintain it in the second half of the season.

From your experience can't say I'm that excited by my prospects of staying up, should I get promoted. At least it's realistic though and interesting that all 3 promoted sides went down again!

I haven't spent much cash this season, only buying one player Julius Wobay, who after a slow start has been brilliant. Clarkson the same but Maynard has been awesome from the off. Top scorer so far with nearly a goal a game (in all comps).

I see you got £20 million for spending on transfers, I guess not much income is generated from match day revenue thanks to a small stadium capacity for the Prem though? Any news on City's new stadium in the game or an Ashton Gate extention? Did you ask the board to improve youth facilities? Think I might, it would be good to generate quality youth prospects.

Cheers mate. Sounds good looking forward to reading it Very difficult to stay up however if you buy better than i did i reckon you could stay there. No i hardly made any money and am still running at a loss in the second season per month. Hopefully if i can get back up again and stay up then i can improve my stadium and no there's nothing in there about a new stadium in there. No i didn't barely had the money but this year i do so it will be something i'm looking to improve this season.

hiya fellow city fan here,

started the season by loaning Akinde of to wycombe, anyone know how the younger players turn out? then signed Seol Ki Hyeon from fulham for 700k and 600k on Iker Muniain from athletico to add some prospect to the squad, also bought in Nabil El Zhar (loan) to test him out, failed there, and Fabio (loan)who has been quality.

now just gone past january window sitting 2nd in the table battling with west brom and preston, top scorer is clarkson with about 20 goals in total followed by Haynes whos been superb with 15 and quiet afew assists, saborio is used in a rotation with Haynes and has 9 goals and a similar number of assists, Maynards really not broke into the team for some reason.

young prospect muniain is now 17 and scored 6 goals in 4 appearances and valencia have offered to buy him for 1.5mil but gonna see how he turns out.

line up so far:

GK: Gerken ( bassos is injured)

RB: Orr

LB: Fabio/Mcalister

CB:Carey

Cb:MCcombe

MR; Sproule ( worth 2.5mil on my game:confused: does the job) also play Haynes when saborios up top

ML; Hyeon/fabio

CM; Hartely/sno playing box to box midfielders

CM: elliot/Skuse defensive mentality

ST: Clarkson all out attack

ST: Haynes/saborio supporting

bench is rotated depending on fitness.

plans are, get promoted and bring in some proper wingers another keeper and some general squad strenghing i suppose, will update soon

Started with Bristol City last night. First thing I did was to look for left wingers, due to the lack of any half-decent players in this position. Bought in George Boyd from Peterborough for £1.1 million, which is probably a bit too much, but was in desperate need for a left sided player. Also training Jamie McCallister to play in left midfield role.

At the end of the first transfer window, other transfers in include Fabio (loan), Nacer Barazite (loan) and Graziano Pelle (loan to buy). These were to be used mainly as back up, but Saborio got injured pre season, so Pelle came in and has done well - scoring 6 in 5 starts and 1 sub appearance. Only transfer out was selling Gavin Williams to Preston for £250k, and also terminated Velicka's loan.

Am sitting in 3rd after 5 games, with wins away to Preston (3-0) and at home to Palace (2-0), QPR (3-1) and Middlesbrough (1-0). Also drew 1-1 away at Cardiff in the league and have beaten Bournemouth (4-0 with Pelle hatrick) and Rovers (3-0 with Haynes hatrick) in the league cup.

Current Line Up: 4-4-2

GK: Basso (Gerken)

DR: Orr (Wilson/Carey)

DC: Carey (McCombe)

DC: Fontaine/Nyatanga

DL: McCallister (Fabio)

MR: Sproule (Wilson/Barazite/Haynes)

MCd: Elliot (Sno/Skuse)

MCa: Hartley (Johnson)

ML: Boyd (Wilson/McCallister)

STd: Saborio (Pelle/Clarkson)

STa: Maynard (Haynes)

Defence has been rock solid, all averaging over 7.35. Pelle has been top scorer with 6 goals in 5(1) appearances and Boyd is top of the assists with 5 from 6 appearances. Only problem so far has been trying to get the best from Clarkson, anyone got any ideas?

I play Clarkson as a target man as the left striker with Maynard or Saborio poacher up top with him. Clarkson had a fairly slow start but now has over 20 goals (in Feb 10). I have my playmaker play the ball to Clarksons feet, seems to work for me but Clarkson seems very hit and miss from reading this thread. City's defence is good, I've conceded less than 20 in over 30 league games. Good luck!

Ah right, thanks

At the moment Maynard and Saborio/Pelle playing well up front, but may give that a go soon

Hey all, Its been a while since I posted but last time I did my City team were on the verge of the Premier League. I ended the second season on 95 points but missed out on auto promotion on goal difference to Forest. Luckily though I made my second play-off final in a row and this time won, 4-1 over Birmingham. Stars of the season, Zaki (30 goals), Maynard (23 goals) and the entire defence.

My preperations for the PL were not helped by Amr Zaki who was still desperate to leave so I ended up selling him for £9.5m to West Ham where he totally flopped with 1 goal all season.

2011 Pre season signings:

Guillermo Ochoa - £8m from America

Ottman Bakkal - £1.1m from PSV

Baba - £2.5m from Maritimo

David Alaba - £5.5m from Bayern

Micheal Owen - Free

Martin Petrov - Free

2011 - Pre Season Outs:

Amr Zaki - £9.5m to West Ham

Sproule - Free

Hartley - Free

Blackman - Free

What you may notice from my signings there is that I was pleased enough with the defence to leave it as it was from the previous two seasons, big mistake! Ochoa was superb in goal upto January and was the only reason I wasn't bottom of the league. Owen was poor for me and Baba was my only decent striker with 8 goals upto January.

Along came the dreaded transfer window and as Zaki before him, Ochoa got itchy feet and I was left with little alternative but to sell him on after only half a season and find a replacement.

2011/12 January Signings:

Felipe Caicedo - £1.8m from Man City

Silviu Lung jr - £7.5m from Feyenoord

Mariano Barbosa - £1.4m from Atlas

Fernando - £3.3m from Tenerife (Generated player)

2011/12 January Outs:

Guillermo Ochoa - £15m to Genoa

For the second half of the season I played Lung jr and Barbosa in goal, Lung never settled and I had to drop him for Barbosa. Caicedo was mostly injured but was useful. In the end I was comfortably relegated back to the Championship finishing 19th with 24 points. No doubt, the jump from Championship to PL is a big one and to be honest I was lucky to get 24 points.

One thing I did make use of in the PL was my scouts, I sent them pretty much everywhere I could looking for quality young players that I could sign relatively cheaply, I've got 4 or 5 quality youngsters set to join me over the next 12 - 18 months. If nothing else they should help me make some good money over the next few years.

So, after just one year in the big time i'm back in the Championship and I am currently halfway through the season, once finished I'll be back with another update.

Again another campaign in the championship which saw me fail to gain automatic promotion. I finished 3rd behind Sunderland who ran away with the league and Birmingham. It was a three horse race for the premiership for the whole season with no one else getting close to any of us. It was disappointing to finish behind Birmingham as i felt i had a better squad than them I deserveldy got promotion in the play offs beating Middlesborough in the semi finals then Huddersfield in the final.

Goalkeepers

Begovic again was my first choice keeper playing very well across the season and contributed to my brilliant defensive record over the course of the season. I have still kept Gerken as back up, the best thing is he doesn't complain alot about a lack of football.

Defenders

Orr, San Jose, Stansgaard and Shorey made up my back four for the majority of the season. I needed to address my centre half positions as i didn't feel they were strong enough. San Jose and Stansgaard were fantastic for me, both rocks at the back and chipped in with a few goals a piece across the season aswell. Shorey and Orr were solid enough but not really Premiership material.

Midfielders

Gera, Elliot, Pacheo and Petrov made up my four midfielders with Crosas providing the main back up across the season when my two centre midfielders were unavailable. Gera was fantastic for a season but will be replaced come the premiership as will Petrov as i would prefer someone younger. Pacheo is still improving and could turn out to be a very important player for me in future years. Elliot is still the backbone of my team and will still be for a fair few more years depending on how well we do. Other mentions go to Walters who came in for Gera occasionally when he was unable to play performing solidly.

Strikers

Anichebe and Naki really came into there own this season following a very disappointing first season in the premiership. Both of them contributed important goals and struck up a good partnership. Maynard was my main back up for the season with Clarkson joining Hull in January. Definate strengthening will need to take place over the summer.

My squad was alot stronger in the Championship compared to the Premiership the previous season, so i had less signings to make which will hopefully see my team gel much quicker than last time out. With my signings i have brought in I really fancy my chances at staying in the division at the least.

First Season, January Transfer Window Update

Am currently top of the Championship by 5 points after 28 games with Reading and West Brom 5 points behind with a game in hand.

I have let Evander Sno go back to Ajax on loan as he wasn't performing that well and had became my 5th choice centre mid behind Elliot, Hartley, Johnson and Skuse. Sold Ivan Sproule to Coventry for £900k and James Wilson to Blackpool for £625k. Bought in a left midfielder, Danny Guijt, from SC Cambuur for £240k and Danny Simpson for £475k. Renewed Barazite's contract to the end of the season and made the Graziano Pelle deal permanent.

What a great season, better than I imagined. It has taken my ages to get through the season but it has been worth it. My one loss was against QPR.

Fantastic achievment timmers, good luck in the prem

So a great season and looking forward to the Premiership. I beat Fulham away, drew with Arsenal away, lost to Arsenal in extra time and got battered by Liverpool in the cups so hopefully I can hold my own in the Prem. My last league game against Blackpool was postponed so I played that after the rest of the league had already finished. If I lost to Blackpool Cardiff would have been relegated - it was so tempting to put out a weakened side but after Holloway had something to say about beating us I thought better of it. Not sure that was the right decision now.

Was really impressed with the side, good defensive and offensive record. Screenshots of my most important players above. McCombe, Weiss, Elliott and Wobay also really good. I used a variety of formations and tactics depending on the teams I was playing, 4-4-2, 4-1-1-2-2 and 4-5-1. I always used a back 4 and wingers though.

Not sure how to tackle the Prem. I don't want to rip the side apart and feel some loyalty to the players that got me there. I want to buy young English players and develop my youth set up but English players come at a premium and experienced foreign players are often cheaper. Decisions, decisions!!

Into my 2nd season in the Prem now after having won the FA Cup and finished 10th in my first year in the prem. My current first team is below:

GK Joe Hart

DR Serkan Kurtulus -

DL Ryan Bertrand

DC Kamil Zayette

DC Mark Beevers

MR Sofiane Feghouli

ML Martin Petrov

MC Miles Addison

MC Morgan Schneiderlin

FC James Vaughan

FC Valeri Bojinov

Preparing now for the Euro cup but struggling finding full backs, does anyone have any ideas?

Wow, great achievement. FA Cup winners and 10th!! Gives me hope for the season ahead. Beevers, Feghouli, Petrov, Addison, Schneiderlin and Vaughan are on list as potential targets, especially Addison. How have they done for you?

Left backs Monzon (Boca), Sepsi (Benfica) ,Christian (Racing) and right backs Ansaldi (Rubin), Jesus Gamez (Malaga) and Pedro Lopez (Valladolid) have been great for me in Spain saves on FM09, don't know how good they are this time round.

Petrov in his first season with me has been great although now into the 2nd season in the premiership he has declined quite badly and suddenly, Beevers started slowly but is getting better, Feghouli is being played as a right winger so not great, Vaughan has been average at best but Addison is great playing centrally and in defence.

Managed to buy Paul Dixon from Blackburn for left back and Damiano Ferronetti for right back in the end.

Petrov in his first season with me has been great although now into the 2nd season in the premiership he has declined quite badly and suddenly, Beevers started slowly but is getting better, Feghouli is being played as a right winger so not great, Vaughan has been average at best but Addison is great playing centrally and in defence.

Managed to buy Paul Dixon from Blackburn for left back and Damiano Ferronetti for right back in the end.

I noticed that with Petrov aswell. Mattock would do a good job if you've got any money left

In January in my game about 18th with 20 points. 3 points off 14th place though. The leagues very tight between 19th and 14th is just 3 points. Upto 12th is just a 5 point gap. Just had a horrible run of games playing Man united, Arsenal, Chelsea, Birmingham (who are fourth) and Villa. Fully expect to climb up the league in the comming games.

Decided on loaning Traore (Arsenal) as a replacement for Petrov, cost me 1.8 million for the loan and had to agree a future fee of 9.75million!!!! Not going to buy him but a great stop gap. Sitting 8th after 5 games with 3 wins in that time, beating Bolton then Arsenal and then Hull. Also beat Chelsea for the Charity shield on Penalties. Bojinov has thrown his toys out of his pram and has demanded a transfer on 2nd September!

Playing very inconsistently just had 2 loses (Fulham & Liverpool) followed by a 4-2 win over Man U.

End of 2009-10 Season Update

Bristol City shall be playing in the Premiership next season after finishing the season in 2nd place, one point behind West Brom. Was knocked out of both cups by Sunderland, losing on penalties in the League Cup 3rd round and 4-1 on a replay in the FA Cup replay.

Nicky Maynard was my top scorer with 16, closely followed by Alvaro Saborio on 14. Louis Carey topped my average ratings with 7.24, the third best in the division. Marvin Elliot had the highest pass completion in the Championship with 86%.

After a promosing loan spell, Graziano Pelle was disappointing after making the move permanent. Danny Simpson played well at right back, keeping Bradley Orr out of the team. Geroge Boyd and Danny Guijt did well rotating on the left side of midfield. Have signed David Beckham and Tobias Linderoth (both on free transfers) for next season.

Can anybody who have played long campaign with Bristol confirm that the club have plans on the new stadium in the near future?

currently in my 5th season and finished 10th last year, no new stadium, not even and expansion lol, my finances are low. still started the 5th season strongly only losing 2 in 17 games, line up as followed:

GK: Joe Hart

RB: Bradley Orr

LB: Nicky shorey and some regen

CB: Craig cathcart

CB: M.Turner

DM;Cole Skuse

CM: Lucas

CM: M.Elliot

AMR:J.Wilshere

AML: cant spell his name but some serbian

ST: Delfouneso

Wow, Orr, Skuse and Elliott still there and first teamers in 5 seasons. I like it - and the mainly English core! I want Turner and Wilshere too, expensive for now though. I'm a Liverpool fan too but so wouldn't touch Lucas with a barge pole even though he is highly rated on the game (he is Man City on my version). Shame nothing happens with the ground, have you been in the Prem for 4 years with no expansion?

I'm in second season up to Boxing Day.

My side is

GK Lung Jr/Basso

RB Carey/Orr

LB Mattock/Riberio/Fontaine

CB McCombe/Fontaine/Riberio/Carey/Spence

RM Simon Davies/Wobay

LM Oscar Serrano/Wobay

CM Addison/Elliott/Skuse/Hartley

AM Shelvey/Brazilian regen called Ferriera

ST Nisterooy/Clarkson/Maynard

Doing too well at the moment, I'm top at Christmas which is just ridiculous. I was looking forward to the relegation scrap but instead we are fighting for the title, which is so unrealistic I feel it's spoiling my game. I only lost 1 game in the Championship and 2 I think so far in the Premiership.

2009-10 SEASON

Was Bristol C on a network game, just finished the 1st season and won the league with 95 pts, 12 or 13 clear of Newcastle/QPR will post up some screenshots later.

My first time as Bristol City and have just finished the first season as champions.

I've got a lot of work ahead to compete in the Premiership as the backbone of my squad was made up of season long loan players who'll obviously be returning to their clubs.

I brought in: Asmir Begovic, Nicky Shorey, Damien Johnson and Darron Gibson all on season long loans as well as buying Daniel Opare (Real Madrid £275k), Solvi Ottesen (SonderjyskE £800k), Lacina Traore (CF Cluj £700k) and Silvio Lung jr (U Craiova £800k).

£3m was brought in through the sales of Sproule, McCombe, Carey, Basso, Wilson and Williams.

Squad at the end of season 1

im much further in now. has anyone else been taken over by a sugardaddy on here?

im getting almost 200 million to spend on my bristol city squad every year. succome to say i havent a single player left from the original

Can anybody who have played long campaign with Bristol confirm that the club have plans on the new stadium in the near future?

yes im in 2015 or 2016 lost count now and had a new stadium in 2014 and being expanded.

it is at aston vale as well:thup::thup:

ok so i am on the lookout for a good amc sitting behind the front two. my team is bristol city in the championship 1st season i have a budget of £500k i dont mind if the player suggestions are young prospects or older proven players. also is there any good freebies to play this position? all help appreciated.

Try the Bristol City thread.

Edit: If you want a good AMC look to see if you can get the likes of Fran Merida or Wilshere on loan.

Try the Bristol City thread.

Edit: If you want a good AMC look to see if you can get the likes of Fran Merida or Wilshere on loan.

ive already tried looking in there mate and to be honest it isn't a very busy thread so that's why iv'e put it here for EVERYBODY to see hope this way i will actually get a few idea's

Have you tried the good midfielders thread? Also try getting Grenier on loan (He's at Lyon)

Have you tried the good midfielders thread? Also try getting Grenier on loan (He's at Lyon)

just having a read of the above now!!