City sort of crept by unnoticed last season with 13 home draw hindering their bid for a second consecutive play off finish. They will be hoping for better this season after a busy summer in the transfer market.

Last Season: 10th Bristol City found the Championship tougher going second time round after threatening consecutive promotions in 2007/08 when they reached the play off final but lost to Hull City. Too many draws at home, a league leading 13, let them down with eight wins on the road better than promoted Burnley managed. Gary Johnson enjoyed only a limited return of 11 goals from his big £2.2m summer capture Nicky Maynard from Crewe and lost influential midfielder Marvin Elliott to injury early in the season and again at Christmas. Ultimately it was a pretty dull, mediocre season and much more like what I had expected to see of them when they first came up and caught everybody by surprise with some super football.

Head to Head: Rangers took four points from City last season with Dexter Blackstock’s scrambled goal earning a 1-1 draw at Ashton gate in August, a game QPR played almost half of with ten men following the stupid sending off of Emmanuel Ledesma. At Loftus Road QPR won 2-1 thanks to a spectacular free kick from Jordi Lopez and a close range finish by Adel Taarabt after great play down the left flank by Damien Delaney.
Bristol City 1 QPR 1
QPR 2 Bristol City 1

Odds: City seem to have added intelligently to their squad this summer but the bookies are expecting more of the same with title odds ranging from 34/1 with Expect down to 22/1 with Stan James averaging out at a midtable finish.

The Manager: Gary Johnson is a much admired lower league manager in this country and abroad who gets his side playing an attractive brand of football – he hasn’t been without his critics among the Bristol City support though as three seasons of progress came to a bit of a stagnation in midtable last season. Johnson started coaching at Cambridge United with John Beck but after a successful time as national coach of the Latvia team he has returned to England playing a style of football a long way from Beck’s preferred hoof and hope tactics currently being shown at Conference side Histon. Johnson took Yeovil out of the Conference and into League One for the first time in their history, then moved to Ashton Gate. He made an inauspicious start with an eight game losing run, including hammerings like 4-2 at home to Chesterfield and 3-0 at home to Southend, plunging them deep into relegation trouble. It has been near constant improvement since then though with relegation avoided, promotion achieved, and the Championship play offs reached prior to last season’s mid-table finish. At Loftus Road last season the City side looked like one that needed freshening up, Johnson has been given the opportunity to do that this summer and is more than likely to see the season out regardless.
Survival Chances – 7/10

Players: City have gone for a mixture of pacey youths and wily old heads this summer as they attempt to push back on towards the top six. I like the signings of Danny Haynes (Ipswich) and Lewin Nyatanga (Derby) a lot. Both have plenty of potential with Haynes possessing raw pace and skill that has alerted Premiership sides in the past and Nyatanga earning full Welsh caps at a very young age. Both arguably played their best football while out on loan from previous clubs, Haynes at Millwall and Nyatanga at Barnsley, but neither had a manager as good as Johnson at their parent clubs to guide them and teach them their games. If Johnson clicks with those two as I suspect he might City have two very exciting prospects on their hands. Old hands Scott Murray and Dele Adebola have left, and problem child Michael McIndoe looks set to go the same way with Coventry sniffing around him, but Johnson has added Celtic’s Paul Hartley to his side for experience and Marvin Elliott will be hoping for an injury free season after being one of the division’s stand out talents in 2007/08. Goals were a bit of a problem last season with Nicky Maynard failing to live up to his price tag – he gets a second chance this season and Johnson has added Moherwell’s David Clarkson to his attack after 14 SPL goals last season. Experienced and talented goalkeeper Adriano basso has been transfer listed after refusing a new deal but is still likely to start the season as number one ahead of new arrival from Colchester Dean Gerken. It remains a mystery to me how Jamie McCombe is earning a living at this level.
Likely Star Man – Marvin Elliott fitness pending.

Transfers:
In:
David Clarkson from Motherwell – Undisclosed
Andre Blackman from Portsmouth – Undisclosed
Dean Gerken from Colchester United – Undisclosed
Paul Hartley from Celtic – Free
Danny Haynes from Ipswich Town – Undisclosed
Lewin Nyatanga from Derby County – Undisclosed
Out:
Chris Weale to Leicester City – Free
Dele Adebola to Nottingham Forest – Free
Peter Styvar to Skoda Xanthi – Loan
Jennison Myrie-Williams to Dundee United – Free
Scott Murray to Yeovil Town – Free
David Noble – Released
Izzy Iriekpen to Hamilton Academicals – Free


Prediction: City lack sufficient fire power in attack to make a real impression but have strengthened well this summer and can expect to do better than they did last season in my opinion. I am always surprised by the amount of stick Johnson seems to get on the City forums as I think he is an excellent manager who I’d walk over broken glass in bare feet to have at Loftus Road – can he finally be the man to unlock all that obvious potential in young Danny Haynes?
Verdict: Falling just short of the six.

Photo: Action Images

Queens Park Rangers Polls