League Two Form Guide

		P	GD	Pts
1	Bromley	6	+6	15
2	Notts County	6	+3	13
3	Accrington Stanley	6	+5	12
4	Walsall	6	+4	12
5	Tranmere	6	+4	11
6	Colchester	6	+4	11
7	Crewe	6	+2	9
8	Swindon	6	+1	9
9	Cambridge Utd	6	+1	9
10	Cheltenham	6	-1	9
11	Barnet	6	+4	8
12	Crawley Town	6	+2	8
13	Oldham	6	+2	8
14	MK Dons	6	+1	8
15	Fleetwood Town	6	+1	8
16	Salford	6	-2	8
17	Chesterfield	6	0	7
18	Gillingham	6	0	7
19	Shrewsbury	6	-3	6
20	Newport County	6	-3	5
21	Grimsby	6	-3	3
22	Barrow	6	-6	3
23	Harrogate Town	6	-8	2
24	Bristol Rovers	6	-13	0

Full Form Table
Prem|Champ|L1|NL|VN|VS
SPL|SC|S1|S2

Question of the Week

Where will Grimsby finish?

Bristol City Preview

By: Richard Hubbert
Date: 28/08/2003

TOWN travel to Bristol City on Saturday, looking to make it three wins on the bounce after two successive Bank Holiday victories against Luton and Wycombe Wanderers, against a Bristol City side who are among the bookies favourites for promotion.

Home > 2003-2004 Season > Previews > Bristol City (a)

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Town

Bristol City

W	Wycombe	(a)	3-1
W	Luton	(a)	2-1
L	Port Vale	(h)	1-2
L	Doncaster	(a)	2-3
D	Plymouth	(a)	2-2

L	Colchester	(a)	1-2
D	Hartlepool	(h)	1-1
D	Chesterfield	(a)	1-1
W	Swansea (cup)	(h)	4-1
W	Notts Co	(h)	5-0

The Robins had a dream start to the new season when they thrashed Notts County 5-0 at Ashton Gate. However, since then, they have found league victories hard to come by and two 1-1 draws with Hartlepool and Chesterfield were followed by a loss on Tuesday night to Colchester United, who recorded their first victory of the season. Therefore, Bristol City will be keen to get back on track with a home victory against the Mariners.

Bristol City Facts

Last Season

3rd in Division Two. 3rd in Division Two. After a hugely successful season, in which the Robins won the LDV Vans Trophy (formerly the Auto Windscreens) and finished 3rd, Danny Wilsonâ€™s side were bitterly unlucky to bow out of the play-off stages through a single goal scored by Cardiff City in the second leg. Their great form last season has made them early favourites for the Division Two title.

Manager

Danny Wilson. Ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley manager who is in his third season with the club. Has guided the Ashton gate team to finish in and around the play offs in his every season, but now needs to deliver much wanted first division football.

Top Players

Lee Peacock (left). Former Mansfield Town and Manchester City forward who was bought by Bristol City for a record Â£600,000. Has endured some niggling back problems over the past few seasons that have prevented him playing a full season. However, Peacock has shown that he is a dangerous forward he does not find it hard to hit the net. He has 6 goals already this season.

Luke Wilkshire (left). The Robins' new No. 7 after the departure of last years top scorer, Scott Murray, to Reading. Wilkshire is an Australian youth interantional who cost the club Â£250,000 from Middlesbrough in the summer. Equally at home on the right wing or in the centre of midfield.

Brian Tinnion. Left-footed midfielder who is now in his 10th season with the club. He joined the Robins in 1993 when they paid Bradford Â£180,000 for his services. A Bristol City legend, Tinnion has been inspirational in Danny Wilsonâ€™s reign where he has occupied a berth in the centre of midfield.

Team News

Town

Bristol City

Town will certainly be without the services of the suspended Marcel Cas, Iain Anderson and Des Hamilton. Hamilton and Anderson both serve three match bans, while Cas will return for next weekâ€™s game against Peterborough.

To further Townâ€™s woes, it is expected that midfield dynamo Iain Anderson could be out for two months with a cartilage problem.

This means that John McDermott will return to the side at right back with the recently impressive Jason Crowe being given an advanced role in the midfield. In the centre, Chris Bolder will replace Hamilton, who will be joined by Paul Groves and Stuart Campbell.

Also definitely out is young striker Darren Mansaram who could be sidelined for quite a long while after tearing a muscle in Mondayâ€™s game with Wycombe.

Danny Wilsonâ€™s side have not had the start theyâ€™d have wanted, so changes could be rung for their side. He will have to decide whether to stick to a 4-4-2 formation or a 3-5-2.

Back in the squad after a huge seven match ban is Aaron Brown who could go straight into the starting lineup in the midfield. He will at worst, however, receive a place on the bench.

Veteran Brian Tinnion could also be handed a start after only making a substitute appearance in the midweek loss to Colchester. Should City play 3-5-2, then both Brown and Tinnion will be starting at the two wing-backs.

Probable Starting XI's

Town

Bristol City

Aidan Davison

John McDermott

Darren Barnard

Tony Crane

Simon Ford

Jason Crowe

Chris Bolder

Paul Groves

Stuart Campbell

Michael Boulding

Jonathan Rowan

Steve Phillips

Matthew Hill

Louis Carey

Daniel Coles

Aaron Brown

Brian Tinnion

Joe Burnell

Tommy Doherty

Luke Wilkshire

Lee Miller

Lee Peacock

Subs

Town

Bristol City

Mike Edwards

Graham Hockless

Laurens Ten Heuvel

Iain Ward

Andy Pettinger (GK)

Mike Stowell (GK)

Mickey Bell

Tony Butler

Aaron Brown

Lee Matthews

On This Day

30th August 1986

The Mariners drew 0-0 at home to Bradford City in their first home game of the league campaign. Mick Lyons was in charge of the Mariners, in a season when Town infamously plummeted from 8th in the middle of March to the third division by the beginning of May after loosing nearly all of their last ten games. In the 0-0 draw, Town fielded Gary Hobson and Ian Walsh up front. Don Oâ€™Riordan was the Mariners top scorer from midfield that season with 8 goals.

Meanwhile, visitors Bristol City, in the third division, drew 1-1 away at Gillingham with Gary Hamson netting their only goal in front of 4,029 spectators. That season, the Robins finished in 6th place under the stewardship of Terry Cooper.

Last Time Out

Town will want to avoid a repeat of the last time they visited Ashton Gate. It was the 1998/99 season when Town finished 11th, and they got thrashed 4-1 by City, who ended up being relegated. Similarly, the season before that when Town gained promotion, they also got a whipping â€“ loosing 4-1 yet again! The scorer for Town on that day in the April 1999 was Lee Ashcroft, while it was a brace from Adi Akinbiyi and one from both Brian Tinnion and now Scunny forward Steve Torpey that gave City the points.

Town Team: Love, McDermott, Gallimore, Livingstone, Lever, Burnett, Coldicott, Black, Ashcroft, Lester, Groves.
Subs: Nogan, Clare, Butterfield

Bristol City Team: Andersen, Brennan, Sebok, Locke, Taylor, Carey, Howells, Brown, Akinbiyi, Torpey, Tinnion.
Subs: Goodridge, Andersen, Shail

Attendance: 11,116

Bristol City Head-to-Head (59th on The Opposition Ladder).

Prediction

Fishy prediction: 1-0 to Town

Reader's POMs

Directions

Click on the link for directions to Ashton Gate (left).

Food and Drink

Click on the link for eating and drinking places around Ashton Gate.

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