Bristol City F.C.

Early years and early successes (1894–1911)

The club was founded in 1894 as Bristol South End and changed their name to Bristol City on adopting professionalism three years later when they were admitted into the Southern League. Finishing as runners-up in three of the first four seasons, in 1900 the club amalgamated with local Southern League rivals Bedminster F.C., who had been founded as Southville in 1887. City joined the Football League in 1901 when they became only the third club south of Birmingham (following in the footsteps of Woolwich Arsenal and Luton Town) to perform in the competition. Their first game in the Football League was on 7 September 1901 at Bloomfield Road, when Blackpool were beaten 2–0.^[2]

Winning the Second Division Championship with a record number of points when they became the first club in Football League history to win 30 league games in a season (out of 38 played) as well as equalling Manchester United's achievement of the previous season in winning 14 consecutive games (a record until 2018, also accomplished by Preston in 1950–51). Nicknamed the Bristol Babe at this time, they finished as runners-up in their inaugural First Division campaign (1906–07) as the only southern club to finish in the top two prior to World War I. Three years later they won through to their only FA Cup Final, though they were somewhat fortunate that a last gasp spot-kick saved them from defeat in the semi-final versus Derby County at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately, there was no such similar award to help them in the Final at the Crystal Palace (now the National Sports Centre) as Manchester United took the honours 1–0. After a five-season stay in the top flight, despite winning 1–0 at Newcastle at the start of the 1910–11 campaign, failure to beat Everton in the season's finale brought City's first ever taste of relegation and it was to be 65 years before top flight status would be regained.^[4]

10-year stay in the Second Division (1912–22)

Bristol City would then go on to stay in Division 2 until 3 years after the First World War had ended, and in that time they reached the Semi-finals of the 1919–20 FA Cup before being beaten 2-1 by Huddersfield Town F.C. and finished third in the Second Division in the 1920-21 season.^[5][6] However, in the next season they were relegated to the 3rd Division South.^[7]

The yo-yo era (1922–65)

Chart of yearly table positions of Bristol City in the Football League.

The 1920s were a rocky time as City bounced between the Second Division and the Southern Section of the Third Division. The season after City were relegated, they achieved promotion back to the Second Division, before being relegated back to the Southern Section of the Third Division again the following season. After successive high finishes in the league, they were promoted again in 1926-27. However, by the 1930s they had slumped into the lower division and stayed that way until over 10 years after the Second World War. During this stay in the Third Division South, they won the Welsh Cup in 1934, beating Tranmere Rovers in the final. However, in the same year they also suffered their biggest ever league defeat, a 9-0 loss to Coventry City F.C. The 1937-38 season was the most successful season for City since they were relegated to the Third Division, coming 2nd in the league and reaching the final of the Third Division South Cup, before losing 6-2 to Reading on aggregate.^[8][9] They then came 8th in the Third Division South in the final full season before the war, in which the Grandstand of Ashton Gate was destroyed by a German air raid.^[10] In 1946-47, City recorded a record league win by beating Aldershot F.C. 9-0, although despite Don Clark scoring 36 goals in the League, City failed to get promoted that season. Harry Dolman became chairman in 1949, a post he would hold for over 30 years. An engineer who had bought out the firm he worked for, he designed the first set of floodlights installed at Ashton Gate in the early 1950s. The late 1950s were a better time for City, with a five-year stay in the Second Division, a league they returned to for a further spell in 1965.

Back among the elite (1966–80)

In 1967, Alan Dicks was appointed manager, and things gradually began to improve, with promotion to the First Division in 1976, ending a 65-year exile from the top flight.

Between 1975 and 1981 City were regular participants in the Anglo-Scottish Cup, winning the trophy in 1977–78, beating Hibernian in the semi-finals, and winning 3–2 on aggregate in the final against St Mirren (managed at the time by a relatively new manager, Alex Ferguson). St Mirren had their revenge two seasons later, with an aggregate 5–1 victory over City to become the only Scottish team to win the trophy.

City's second stint in the top flight was less successful than the club's first, with thirteenth position in 1979 being their highest finish during this era. Stars of this era included Peter Cormack, Geoff Merrick, Tom Ritchie, Clive Whitehead, Gerry Gow, Trevor Tainton and Jimmy Mann.

Decline and financial ruin (1980–82)

In 1980, the City team went back to the Second Division in the first of three relegations, their debt mounted and their financial losses increased, with two successive relegations following. Thus, in 1982, they fell into the Fourth Division, and were declared bankrupt. A new club was formed^[11] and BCFC (1982) Ltd acquired the club's player contracts. The highly paid senior players Julian Marshall, Chris Garland, Jimmy Mann, Peter Aitken, Geoff Merrick, David Rodgers, Gerry Sweeney and Trevor Tainton, who became known as the 'Ashton Gate Eight', each accepted termination of his contract for half the amount due. The club's previous owners has failed to pay its debts to many local businesses which left the new owners difficulty in obtaining credit because of bad feeling toward the club.

Revival (1982–90)

City spent two seasons in the Fourth Division before winning promotion under Terry Cooper in 1984. They consolidated themselves in the Third Division during the latter part of the 1980s, and in 1990 Cooper's successor Joe Jordan achieved promotion as Third Division runners-up to local rivals Bristol Rovers.

There was a tragedy for the club, however, in that promotion campaign. In March 1990, two months before the club sealed promotion, striker Dean Horrix was killed in a car crash barely two weeks after joining the club, and having played three league games for them.^[12]

Second tier (1990–95)

Jordan moved to Heart of Midlothian in September 1990, and his successor Jimmy Lumsden remained in charge for 18 months before making way for Denis Smith. Smith's first signing was the 20-year-old Arsenal striker Andy Cole, who was an instant hit with fans. He was sold to Newcastle United in February 1993 and later established himself as a world class goalscorer, most prominently with Manchester United, where he collected five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the European Cup.

Meanwhile, City remained in the new Division One (no longer the Second Division after the creation of the Premier League in 1992) and Smith moved to Oxford United in November 1993. His successor Russell Osman was sacked within a year, being an unpopular figure with fans. One of Osman's few successful moments with City came in January 1994 when he led them to a shock 1–0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in a third round replay in the FA Cup, a result that would cause the Liverpool manager at the time, Graeme Souness, to resign.

Joe Jordan was brought back to Ashton Gate in September 1994, but was unable to prevent relegation to Division Two.

Promotion and relegation (1995–2000)

Jordan remained at the helm for two seasons after City's relegation, but left in March 1997 after failing to get them back into Division One. Former Bristol Rovers manager John Ward took over, and achieved promotion in 1998 as Division Two runners-up. But City struggled back in Division One, and Ward stepped down in October 1998 to be succeeded by Benny Lennartsson, their first non-British manager. City were relegated in bottom place and Lennartsson was dismissed in favour of Gillingham's Tony Pulis, who lasted six months before leaving to take over at Portsmouth. During his time at Ashton Gate he was manager of perhaps the worst City side since the one that completed a hat-trick of successive relegations almost 20 years earlier.

Coach Tony Fawthrop took over until the end of the season, when Danny Wilson was appointed. Wilson was arguably the most prominent manager to take charge of a City side since Denis Smith, as he had guided Barnsley to promotion to the Premier League in 1997 and Sheffield Wednesday to a 12th-place finish in 1999.

Stuck in the Third Tier (2000–05)

The early 2000s were a frustrating time for Bristol City. They were regular Division Two playoff contenders during Wilson's spell as manager. They just missed out on the playoffs in 2002, finishing 7th. The following year, Wilson almost took them to automatic promotion, finishing 3rd and winning the Football League Trophy in Cardiff in 2003. The taste of the play-offs was bitter though, losing to rivals Cardiff City 1–0 on aggregate in the semi-final. In his final year – 2004 – they finished in 3rd place again, and this time they reached the playoff final, but lost to Brighton & Hove Albion. He was sacked within days and replaced by veteran player Brian Tinnion.

City just failed to make the playoffs in Tinnion's first season as manager, finishing seventh, and he stepped down in September 2005 after a poor start to the season. City's form had slumped despite the addition of high-profile players, including Marcus Stewart and Michael Bridges. Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson was recruited as his successor.

Gary Johnson (2005 – 2010)

Pitch invasion at Ashton Gate after securing promotion in 2007

Johnson arrived in September 2005, making the move from Yeovil Town, with whom he had gained two promotions. Initial results were poor, but Johnson was soon able to recover the season and finish in a comfortable 9th place.

In the 2006–07 season, Bristol City finally achieved the elusive promotion that had evaded them in their 8 years in the third tier. Promotion to the Championship was confirmed on the final day of the season with a 3–1 win against already relegated Rotherham United, securing the runners-up place in the division and resulting in automatic promotion and joyous scenes of celebration.

After a good start in the Championship, City established themselves as real contenders, sitting in 3rd place at Christmas. By the start of March, City were top of the Championship, making an improbable 2nd successive promotion a possibility. However, a poor run ended City's chances of an automatic promotion place but qualified for the play-offs with a 4th place finish, their highest finish since 1980. City overcame Crystal Palace 4–2 on aggregate to progress to the play-off final at Wembley, where they were beaten 1–0 by Hull City.

After a poor start in the first half of the 2008–09 season, City recovered after Christmas, peaking at 4th place in late February. After a lot of draws, the season eventually petered out and City finished the season in tenth place. The 2009–10 season saw some good results in the autumn, but heavy defeats by local rivals Cardiff City (0–6) and Doncaster Rovers (2–5) in early 2010 led to much dissatisfaction amongst fans,^[13] and Johnson left the club on 18 March 2010.^[14] Assistant manager Keith Millen took charge as caretaker manager, and led a series of good results, resulting in a second successive tenth place finish.

Succession of managers and steady decline (2010–2013)

Steve Coppell became manager in 2010^[15] but resigned after just two matches.^[16][17] Longtime assistant manager Keith Millen was announced as Coppell' successor^[17][18] and City laboured to a 15th place finish in 2010–11. After a poor start to the 2011–12 season, Millen left the club in October 2011.,^[19]

Derek McInnes was appointed next, but after a promising start, City fell into the relegation zone, eventually surviving in 20th place, their worst since promotion in 2007. This steady decline would continue and after a poor start to the 2012–13 season, McInnes was sacked in January 2013 with City bottom of the Championship. He was replaced by Sean O'Driscoll, the club's fifth head coach in three years,^[20] but City were relegated to League One after six seasons in the Championship. O'Driscoll left with the team 22nd in League One.

Return to the Championship (2014 – present)

Steve Cotterill joined the club, which ushered in the start of the revival. When he joined, the club were bottom of League One. Cotterill guided the club to safety and finished the season 12th. Had the season started when Steve Cotterill joined the club, Bristol City would have finished 5th, showing the scale of the turnaround.

Bristol City were promoted back to Championship for 2015–16 season after securing the 2014–15 Football League One title, their first league title since 1955. In their last home game, against Walsall, they finished the season in style, winning 8–2. Bristol City finished the season with 99 points, the most points in a single season in the club's history, and only 5 losses. In the same season, they also won the 2015 Johnstone's Paint Trophy after a win over Walsall, which finished 2–0 and their third league trophy, a record held by the club for having the most wins in that competition.

Despite huge success in the previous season, the club struggled on their return to the second tier. Steve Cotterill was relieved of his duties in January 2016 after a poor run of form which had seen Bristol City slip to 22nd in the Championship table. Lee Johnson, former player and son of former manager, Gary Johnson, was appointed as Bristol City's new head coach on 6 February 2016.^[21] Bristol City eventually finished in 18th-place.

Bristol City started the 2016–17 season well, and after 11 games they were 5th in the league table,^[22] and City also appeared in the Last 16 of the League Cup for the first time since the 1988–89 season.^[23] However, a sharp downturn in fortunes followed over the winter, and City were only just able to accumulate enough points to ensure survival at the end of the season.

Lee Johnson remained at the helm for the following season, again making a good early start. At the midpoint of the season, after 24 league games, they sat 2nd in the Championship, whilst also knocking out Premier League opposition in Watford, Stoke City, Crystal Palace and Manchester United to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup.^[24] However, a bad run of form followed and City finished the season in 11th place.^[25]

Player of the season

Year	Winner	Position
1970–71	Gerry Sharpe	Striker
1971–72	Geoff Merrick	Defender
1972–73	John Emanuel	Midfielder
1973–74	Gerry Gow	Midfielder
1974–75	Gary Collier	Defender
1975–76	The Whole Squad
1976–77	Norman Hunter	Defender
1977–78	Norman Hunter	Defender
1978–79	Gerry Gow	Midfielder
1979–80	Geoff Merrick	Defender
1980–81	Kevin Mabbutt	Striker
1981–82	No award
1982–83	Glyn Riley	Striker
1983–84	Howard Pritchard	Midfielder
1984–85	Alan Walsh	Striker
1985–86	Bobby Hutchinson	Midfielder
1986–87	Rob Newman	Defender
1987–88	Alan Walsh	Striker
1988–89	Keith Waugh	Goalkeeper
1989–90	Bob Taylor	Striker
1990–91	Andy Llewellyn	Defender
1991–92	Martin Scott	Defender
1992–93	Keith Welch	Goalkeeper
1993–94	Wayne Allison	Striker
1994–95	Matt Bryant	Defender
1995–96	Martin Kuhl	Midfielder
1996–97	Shaun Taylor	Defender
1997–98	Shaun Taylor	Defender
1998–99	Ade Akinbiyi	Striker
1999–00	Billy Mercer	Goalkeeper
2000–01	Brian Tinnion	Midfielder
2001–02	Matt Hill	Defender
2002–03	Scott Murray	Midfielder
2003–04	Tommy Doherty	Midfielder
2004–05	Leroy Lita	Striker
2005–06	Steve Brooker	Striker
2006–07	Jamie McCombe	Defender
2007–08	Adriano Basso	Goalkeeper
2008–09	Dele Adebola	Striker
2009–10	Cole Skuse	Midfielder
2010–11	Albert Adomah	Midfielder
2011–12	Jon Stead	Striker
2012–13	Tom Heaton	Goalkeeper
2013–14	Sam Baldock	Striker
2014–15	Aden Flint	Defender
2015–16	Aden Flint	Defender
2016–17	Tammy Abraham	Striker
2017-18	Bobby Reid	Striker

Source for 1970s winners:^[26]

Top league scorer

Year	Winner	Starts	Sub	Goals
2004–05	Leroy Lita	42	2	24
2005–06	Steve Brooker	34	3	16
2006–07	Phil Jevons	31	10	11
2007–08	Darren Byfield	17	16	8
2008–09	Nicky Maynard	34	9	11
2009–10	Nicky Maynard	40	2	20
2010–11	Brett Pitman	21	18	13
2011–12	Nicky Maynard	26	1	8
2012–13	Steve Davies	29	8	13
2013–14	Sam Baldock	44	1	24
2014–15	Aaron Wilbraham	33	4	18
2015–16	Jonathan Kodjia	42	3	19
2016–17	Tammy Abraham	41	3	23
2017-18	Bobby Reid	45	1	21

First-team squad

As of 31 August 2018^[34]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Frank Fielding 2 DF Eros Pisano 3 DF Jay Dasilva (on loan from Chelsea) 4 DF Adam Webster 5 DF Bailey Wright (captain) 6 DF Nathan Baker 7 MF Korey Smith 8 MF Josh Brownhill 9 FW Famara Diedhiou 10 FW Matty Taylor 11 MF Callum O'Dowda 12 MF Liam Walsh 13 MF Jens Hegeler

No. Position Player 14 FW Andreas Weimann 15 MF Marley Watkins 16 MF Hakeeb Adelakun 17 DF Lloyd Kelly 19 MF Niclas Eliasson 20 MF Jamie Paterson 21 MF Marlon Pack 22 DF Tomáš Kalas (on loan from Chelsea) 24 GK Max O'Leary 32 DF Jack Hunt 33 GK Niki Mäenpää 40 FW Mohamed Eisa

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 23 DF Taylor Moore (on loan at Southend United) — GK Jojo Wollacott (on loan at Truro City) — GK Alhaji Sesay (on loan at Dorchester Town) — MF Tom Richards (on loan at Truro City) — DF Aden Baldwin (on loan at Cheltenham Town) — DF Cameron Pring (on loan to Newport County) — DF Harvey Smith (on loan at Hereford) — DF Zak Vyner (on loan at Rotherham United) — MF Jake Andrews (on loan to Torquay United) — MF Tyreeq Bakinson (on loan to Newport County)

No. Position Player — MF George Dowling (on loan at Eastleigh) — MF Opi Edwards (on loan to Torquay United) — MF James Morton (on loan at Bath City) — MF George Nurse (on loan at Weston-super-Mare) — MF Jonny Smith (on loan at Tranmere Rovers) — MF Connor Lemonheigh-Evans (on loan at Torquay United) — FW Freddie Hinds (on loan at Wrexham) — FW Antoine Semenyo (on loan to Newport County) — FW Shawn McCoulsky (on loan to Southend United) — FW Rory Holden (on loan to Barrow)

Development squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK James Carey — GK Lochlan Robertson — DF Aaron Parsons — DF Tin Plavotic

No. Position Player — MF Joseph McNulty — MF Joe Morrell

List of Bristol City players from 1890s to date

For a list of all Bristol City players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Bristol City F.C. players. Bedminster merged with Bristol City in 1900 for a further list of all Bedminster players with articles see Category:Bedminster F.C. players

Gallery

• 
  Atyeo Stand
• 
  Bristol City v. Cardiff City – 15 March 2009
• 
  Ashton Gate with Clifton Suspension Bridge in the background
• 
  An example of the flags used by the "Ultras" in the Wedlock Stand (The Eastend)
• 
  View from the home section of the Wedlock Stand
• 
  Inside the Wedlock Stand against fierce rivals, Cardiff City
• 
  The ground lying empty prior to hosting a concert.

Honours

• FA Women's Premier League Southern Division:
  • Winners: 2003–04