Bristol City fan view: Robins put Manningball firmly behind them

Bristol City secured their first win in five games and, in so doing, increased the pressure on former manager Liam Manning who has steered the Canaries to their worst start to a season in terms of home fixtures in more than 120 years.

Manning will be remembered for securing a play-off place for City last season but many fans were not overly upset when he jumped ship to join a club whose owners have deeper pockets than the Lansdown family when it comes to improving the team.

Why did supporters feel this way? Well, save for the last four months of the season when City's home form was very good, the type of football served up by Manning was not geared to getting the fans up and out of their seats through excitement.

Judging by the gloomy faces on the Norwich fans when the cameras panned to the crowd they are seeing the worst of Manningball.

Although City's keeper Radek Vitek had to produce a few smart saves, they pretty much controlled the whole game and deserved to win by more than a well-taken goal by Mark Sykes who is one of the many players out of contract next summer.

Another of those is Zak Vyner who, if reports are to be believed, was subject of a £3m bid from Wrexham in the transfer window.

The club turned that down and you can be sure that come January any hope of getting a similar sum will have evaporated.

Vyner is playing in an unfamiliar midfield role because of City's injury crisis and was a contender for man of the match.

Barring injury, he will move on in the summer for very good personal terms having not reacted to City's contract offer, a fact confirmed by technical director Brian Tinnion at the club's fans' forum last week.

Goalkeeper Max O'Leary returned to the squad for the first time since May having recovered from his ankle injury.

He will find it difficult to replace the impressive Vitek and it will be interesting to see if he, or summer signing Joe Lumley, are loaned out in the January window.

That would only happen on the basis that Manchester United do not exercise the recall option on their young keeper.

City are doing alright so far and if, by the turn of the year they are in or within two or three points of the play-offs then it will be an interesting second half to the season as the injured players return.

None of those absent are in forward positions, so expect City to delve into the transfer market in that area of the field.

That's based on Tinnion's admission at the forum that their hopes for the acclimatisation to Championship football and development of Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong has so far not materialised.

Click here to read article