The ACN Match Review: Bristol City (a) | OneFootball

How did we play?

Literally every professional football match is a game of two halves, and this one was no exception — except that it was even more so. 

The first half screamed “on the beach” as Norwich yet again struggled to work out what to do in the face of a team nicking an early lead and then sitting in a low block. Lots of possession but not many ideas. 

The word is that Big Phil’s halftime team talk was “clear and to the point”. You don’t need to be fluent in management cliches to translate that into “a massive thunderbollocking”. 

The second half was glorious. Energetic, faster, wider, more forward facing. Bristol City were pulled in different directions rather than having time to suffocate attacking play. 

I’m not sure any of the goals will make the goal of the season shortlist, but all four were very, very fun to celebrate. Ashton Gate was all but empty apart from the noisy away fans by the time they got their consolation. 

What was the best bit of the game?

We scored from a set piece! A set piece cross! I didn’t know we were allowed to do that! 

What was the worst bit of the game?

Giving the ball away, on purpose, straight from the kick off then conceding a goal 75 seconds later without regaining possession, was not great. I don’t want to sound old and out of touch but I have no idea where this trend for simply giving the other team the ball from the kick off came from. I’m sure there’s some data to justify it, but if that’s moneyball, we need a refund. 

What was the atmosphere like?

I really do like an away day in Bristol. It’s a cracking city with friendly fans and good pubs. And if you can make a weekend of it, there’s a huge range of food options and lots to sight-see. Ashton Gate is a nice ground in a nice area. Big shout out for the large number of excellent murals on the walk down to the ground. They even have outdoor drinking options literally at the back of the away turnstiles. It’s nice to not be treated like trash once in a while. 

Bristol City fans weren’t on their game today, though. They were quiet even after their early opener and it got worse from there. The patches of empty seats grew and grew as the Norwich goals went in. It seemed like there was more of us than them as soon as we scored our fourth (on 75 minutes!) But the ground emptying didn’t really change the volume from the home fans. 

After a so-so first half, the full away end reacted to the players turning up in the second half and turned the noise right up. Helped by a low roof too. Some very, very good audio to match the result on the pitch. 

We still haven’t solved the absence of a quality song for Big Phil. “He’s got no hair, we don’t care” isn’t good enough – a view the man himself has endorsed. We’ve got super Philippe Clement, he knows exactly what we need; Ruari at the back, Touré in attack, he’ll take us to the premier league. It’s not perfect but it would be better. 

Hero of the match?

It’d be easy to go for Mo, who added even more shithousery goals to his collection of shithouse masterpieces. You could go for Cordoba for yet another assured performance and a well-taken goal. Or for Schwartau simply for his second half performance alone. 

But my hero of the match is Phillipe Clement. For today’s turnaround, yes. But more for the turnaround he’s brought to the team and to the club. 

November feels like a lot longer ago than earlier this season. The change in the team has transformed more than our league position. We had reached a point where you started to wonder whether football was going to be fun again. Not only is it fun, this team – this project – is something we can believe in again. 

Summary in Five Words

We’ve got super Philippe Clement.