Bristol City

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Bristol City forward Olly Thomas has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract extension with the Championship side.

The 20-year-old has also agreed a loan deal to Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic that will run until the end of the season.

Thomas made his Robins debut as a substitute in October and has gone on to make three appearances in total.

"We are pleased Olly has signed an extension after what has been a positive few months for him, including a first team debut," Bristol City technical director Brian Tinnion told the club website., external

"Dunfermline is a great loan for him and one where he can get valuable first team football. We look forward to seeing how he does."

Championship clubs including Watford and Bristol City are on high alert as Chelsea attacking midfielder Leo Castledine could be sold. The 20-year-old has starred on loan at League One Huddersfield, scoring 12 goals in 27 appearances, but has a January break clause in his deal and is out of contract in the summer. (The Athletic, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

David Pottier
Fan writer

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An intense programme of league fixtures - nine in 37 days - came to a disappointing end as City faltered at the weekend, losing 2-0 at Ashton Gate to play-off rivals Preston North End.

City fell short across all areas of the pitch, with the players looking quite jaded but that cannot be used as an excuse as their Lancashire opponents had been through a similarly exacting schedule.

Thirteen points from those nine games. I would rate at C+ but with 20 fixtures remaining and, by my estimation, 74 points being needed this year to secure sixth, the maths dictate they will likely have to win 10 of those.

This coming weekend sees City entertain Watford in the FA Cup third round.

Few would argue that over the past two decades this competition has lost the "magic" label that was once attached to it.

The match should see both clubs give minutes on the grass to players who have been on the fringe of first-team action and, with the transfer window now open, perhaps an opportunity to give any early acquisitions a chance to integrate with the team in a competitive game.

The term is often bandied about of this or that team being a "good cup side" with history showing famous giant-killing acts or a fairly consistent ability to reach the latter stages of the competition.

This label cannot be applied to City who, in my 58 years of supporting the team, have a record I do not think I am being harsh in calling abysmal.

You can count the number of memorable days on one hand, if you say cup success is to reach the sixth round.

In 1974 they beat the then mighty Leeds United in a replay at Elland Road played on a Wednesday afternoon during the "three-day week".

City hosted Liverpool in the next round and Bill Shankly's team came away with a 1-0 victory and went on to win the cup. That's it.

Yes, their have been some famous wins in earlier rounds like Chelsea in 1990, Liverpool in 1994 and more recently West Ham in 2024 but, for City fans, it would be fair to say the FA's competition is certainly not a cup that cheers.

You can hear more from David Pottier on the Forever Bristol City podcast., external

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Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber said his side were "not ruthless enough" after their defeat at home to Preston North End which saw the Robins drop to 10th in the Championship table.

Goals from Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine, either side of half-time, meant City went down to a home defeat just three days after their thumping 5-0 victory against Portsmouth.

"Big frustration. My boys are really disappointed right now. Between the two boxes, we created a good game but we made it easy for them, the goals that they scored," Struber told BBC Radio Bristol after full-time.

"These two times, we were not sharp enough to come out and clear the moments. I think we could be more pragmatic in these moments.

"In the opponents' box, we were not ruthless or clinical enough today. Preston are a really good, organised team, with great physical power, and the early goal did not help us today."

On Sam Morsy's debut for the club, Struber added: "There were really good actions, really good developments in his game, exactly the picture I would have of him."

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Bristol City manager Gerhard Struber has described midfielder Adam Randell's performance level as "crazy right now".

Randell opened the scoring for City during their 5-0 thrashing against Portsmouth, adding to his strike against Millwall on Monday.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, Struber said: "Adam Randell is crazy right now.

"He is at an outstanding level and I am super happy with how he is growing and that he has had a really good development."

Struber said he was "really happy" about the team performance too.

"This result could be nearly perfect. We executed the high press so well and this is what makes me really happy," he added.

"We gifted Portsmouth nothing today. We got a clean sheet, we were stable and in control, and killed every hope they had."

David Pottier
Fan writer

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City end 2025 and can rightly claim to be genuine play-off contenders.

This is supported in the just published Championship table compiled from the matches played in the calendar year January-December;, external they lie third with Coventry well on top [92 points] and Millwall a surprise second on 73 points - and a negative goal difference!

On Monday night, Millwall made sure it was not a completely happy Christmas for the Robins as they completed the double in a match City, like at Ashton Gate 23 days previously, could and perhaps should have won.

Dominating for long periods, they ought to have built upon Adam Randell's strike which brought the teams level. But, like for their opener, the second strike for the Lions was more about City's defensive inadequacies rather than the home team's striking prowess.

Fans will say a striker is a priority for City in the transfer window but from that table only Coventry [86] and, surprisingly, QPR [62] have scored more than the 61 times we've found the net.

At the other end of the pitch it is a similarly impressive picture, with only Coventry, Middlesbrough and Stoke conceding fewer than City's 51 goals.

It is a conundrum as to how we take that next step to make things better. With a midfield consisting of the increasingly impressive Randell and Jason Knight, the much heralded arrival of former Ipswich player Sam Morsy is going to strengthen that area even more.

Throw in the free-kick prowess of Scott Twine and the talents of the mercurial Albanian Anis Mehmeti [seven goals, six assists], what's not to like?

I would argue that, when fit, City's best defensive unit as a five - Ross McCrorie, Zak Vyner, Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson and Cameron Pring - is automatic promotion standard so this brings me back to the strikers.

We have quantity, not quality: Emil Riis, Sinclair Armstrong, Fally Mayulu, Harry Cornick and Sam Bell, who is currently on loan at Wycombe.

Whilst there has been a marked improvement in Armstrong's performances over the past couple of months, he's still only found the net once this calendar year. Too much is expected from Riis and, to be fair, good Championship striker though he is, his goalscoring is not prolific.

The combined wages of Armstrong, Mayulu and Cornick would give you one star forward but that is just a pipedream!

Finally, for any City fan expecting to see a big lump of the likely Antoine Semenyo profit share going on a flagship signing - do not hold your breath. Most of that money will be used to cover the flawed operating cost model that sees the club losing just short of £20m per annum before any player sales.

You can hear more from David Pottier on the Forever Bristol City podcast., external

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Bristol City will look to keep their play-off bid on track when they welcome relegation-battling Portsmouth on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT kick-off).

The Robins picked up two wins on the bounce over Middlesbrough and West Brom before defeat at Millwall last time out and are two points behind the top six.

Pompey's dramatic late winner over Charlton on Monday extended their unbeaten run to four games (W2 D2) - their longest in the league so far this season.

John Mousinho's side are three points clear of Oxford in 22nd with a game in hand.

• Bristol City beat Portsmouth 3-0 in this fixture last season and are unbeaten in each of their previous seven home league meetings with Pompey (W3 D4), since a 2-0 loss in September 1991.

• Portsmouth lost 1-0 to Bristol City in the reverse fixture at Fratton Park in November, last losing both league games against the Robins in a campaign in 1975-76.

• This is the first time Bristol City are playing a league game on New Year's Day in four consecutive years - the Robins are winless in the first three matches of this run (D2 L1), drawing 2-2 with Plymouth Argyle in 2025.

• Portsmouth have won their past two league games on New Year's Day, never previously winning three in a row on this day.

• Portsmouth have won only one of their previous nine second tier away games in the month of January (D2 L6), winning 3-0 at Peterborough United in 2012.

Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber spoke to BBC Radio Bristol after his side's defeat at Millwall:

"We have to be really critical of ourselves [for] how we defended two times [for Millwall's goals].

"This was not the standard we have to be in the end that [means] we can win away at Millwall.

"We controlled many times in this game. The game was exactly in this direction that we want.

"We have enough moments for us in transition, in possession so it's really, really difficult to analyse this game."

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Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber has hailed his side's "efficiency" following their 1-2 win at West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day.

Anis Mehmeti and Ross McCrorie's first half goals were enough for the Robins to see out the match despite a late goal from the Baggies' Ousmane Diakite to ignite a late comeback effort by the hosts.

Albion had 10 more shots (16) than City at The Hawthorns (6).

"I would say this was, again, a big fighting victory, how we invested and tried to bring everything out to pick up points here," said Struber to BBC Radio Bristol after the match.

"As we know from the last few weeks they give nothing away points-wise and we know we have to come today [be] on our ball for energy, but also efficiency.

"In both directions, the boys were really committed, in all directions against the ball. We were also in on-the-ball moments, especially in the first half, really efficient but also really creative.

"I think this [efficiency] is something where we're growing at the moment and now the key word is consistency."

West Brom have taken more than double the number of points at home than they have away so will be relieved be back at The Hawthorns having suffered eight successive defeats on the road.

Bristol City have won just one of their past on the road.

• West Brom have won seven of their past eight home league games against Bristol City, with the exception being a 2-0 loss in October 2022.

• Bristol City won their last league game against West Brom 2-1 in April but haven't won consecutive league meetings with the Baggies since December 1993.

• West Bromwich Albion have played more games on Boxing Day than any other side in English Football League history, with this year's being their 108th. They have won 46 of their 107 so far, with only Manchester United winning more (54).

• Bristol City have won their past two Boxing Day league games, last winning three in a row between 1995 and 1997.

• In English football, Bristol City manager Gerhard Struber's only previous Boxing Day match was against West Brom in 2019 when he was Barnsley manager, drawing 1-1 at Oakwell.