The Robins narrowly missed out on a top 6 finish after a season flirting with the play-offs.
Overview
Bristol City ended the season in 8th place; their highest league finish since returning to the Championship 4 seasons ago.
Despite their best season for a number of years, The Robins will feel they could have done better after spending a total of 14 game weeks in the top 6.
Manager Lee Johnson continues to impose an exciting brand of football on his team and has transformed the West Country club into Championship overachievers.
Highs
Chelsea pair Tomas Kalas and Jay Dasilva joined on loan during the summer transfer window. They both had fine seasons and played big roles in helping to sure up City’s defence.
Andreas Weimann also joined the club. The Austrian arrived from Derby County and enjoyed a successful first season, with 10 goals and 5 assists in the league.
Bristol City had a couple of notable winning streaks last season. After picking up 4 wins in a row at the beginning of the campaign across August and September, they went on to claim 7 straight victories at the turn of the year.
3 draws prior to those 7 consecutive wins meant they were unbeaten in 10 matches, which saw the club climb 9 places from 14th to 5th in the table.
Stand out performer
England under-21 defender Lloyd Kelly was immense for The Robins last term. The academy graduate plays with a maturity and calmness which would fool anyone into thinking he was a lot more experienced than he is.
Unfortunately for Bristol City, talent like this doesn’t go unnoticed. Kelly recently signed for Premier League side Bournemouth for £13 million; the highest fee ever received for a City player.
What went wrong?
Losing star man Bobby Reid clearly affected the club last season. The striker joined newly promoted Cardiff City after featuring in every Championship game the season before, netting 19 times.
The club’s failure to finish in the top 6 can’t be based solely on the loss of a single player though. Ultimately, Bristol City’s form fluctuated massively and their winning streaks were often followed by barren spells.
One to watch
Josh Brownhill claimed the club’s Young Player of the Year award for the second season running. The 23-year-old played a total of 49 games in all competitions, scoring 6 goals.
His box to box qualities means he is already likely to be on a number of Premier League club’s radars but everyone at the club will be desperate to see him at Ashton Gate next season.
Next season
As the team’s loan stars head back to their parent clubs, Lee Johnson will be hoping he can find suitable replacements.
Having flirted with the possibility of a play-off spot in the previous 2 seasons, the expectations of Bristol City’s fans will be high going into the 2019/20 campaign.