Why Gerhard Struber will hate what’s happening at Bristol City right now | OneFootball

Bristol City are being backed heavily in the transfer market this summer, which wasn't the case this time last year

It's been a very productive transfer window thus far at Bristol City, with seven new faces already arriving at Ashton Gate by mid-July.

Michael Skubala has brought in a couple of goalkeepers who have performed well in League One: Brad Collins, who was on loan at Burton Albion last year, has arrived at the end of his Coventry City contract, and Wigan Athletic's Sam Tickle also made the move to Bristol City.

Fees have been paid to bring Sam Greenwood back to the EFL after a year in Poland, and Romanian international Lisav Eissat joined from Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa. Gibson Yah is a young midfield option, while Jed Wallace, on a free, adds some vital Championship experience out wide.

The Robins are showing no signs of slowing down, though, and have attacked the League One striker market for a new frontman.

They had a bid rejected by Leyton Orient for reigning Golden Boot, Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year Dom Ballard, but a move for Plymouth Argyle's Lorent Tolaj, who is highly regarded as one of the most promising frontmen in the division, has gone through, continuing the 24-year-old's rapid ascent from the fifth to the second tier in as many years.

Gerhard Struber must be slightly frustrated at Bristol City's transfer activity this summer

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There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to Bristol City's transfer activity this summer, but former Robins boss Gerhard Struber is probably feeling a little frustrated at it all.

Struber arrived at Ashton Gate last summer to replace Liam Manning, who left for Norwich City after getting the Robins into the Championship play-offs for the first time in 17 years during the 2024/25 campaign.

However, not much was done in the transfer market to build on that. Bristol City signed just five players last summer, two of which were goalkeepers, as Radek Vitek joined on loan from Manchester United and Joe Lumley arrived on a free from Southampton.

Only Yu Hirakawa and Adam Randell arrived for fees, and Emil Riis on a free transfer completed their summer business.

Despite that, the Austrian boss had Bristol City in and around the top six at the halfway point of the season, even with an almighty injury crisis. The likes of Anis Mehmeti and Zak Vyner were doing a lot of the heavy lifting, having to start virtually every league game.

Unfortunately, those two were in the final years of their deals and were sold to divisional rivals Ipswich Town and Wrexham, respectively, to avoid losing them for free at the end of the season.

With a week left of the January transfer window, Bristol City had let go of eight players, whether they be permanently or on loan, but had only signed two; Sam Morsey on a free and George Earthy on loan.

Struber would state that the club didn't have a good balance, and owner Steve Lansdown responded by spending €4.2 million on centre-back Noah Eile and loaning in Delano Burgzorg from Middlesbrough.

Solid additions, but ultimately, the Robins left the January window in a worse state than they began it. Results took a hit, and Struber was sacked in late March with the club in 16th.

Gerhard Struber would have loved this transfer window last summer

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Steve Lansdown admitted in late January that Bristol City don't have the finances to do "everything straight away," following criticism of their transfer strategy both by fans and perhaps even inside the club itself.

Less than six months later, it seems that the Robins do have some finances to get on with doing good deals early in windows. The only issue for Gerhard Struber is that he is no longer at the club.

The reaction to sacking the Austrian boss at the time was mixed, but the majority of the fanbase was in agreement that he should have been afforded more time.

Ultimately, a lot of pressure will be on Michael Skubala to prove he can do better with what he's being given as Bristol City boss than what Struber could have done if he was afforded that time.

Only time will tell, but there's definitely been a difference in the movement this summer than last, and that may annoy the former Robins head coach somewhat.