Hero Takes A Fall

With Northampton Town parting ways with playing legend Ian Sampson as their manager, Nobes looks at how it worked out for others who made a similar transition at their club.

Club legend Ian Sampson had been in charge at Sixfields for just 16 months

"It's not about Sammo the legend," remarked Northampton chairman David Cardoza when explaining the difficulty of the decision to remove boss Ian Sampson from his position last week.

The Cobblers have experienced a disappointing campaign in League Two. Although expected to challenge for the top seven, new boss Gary Johnson finds his side lying well off the pace in 16th, a full 12 points off the play offs.

Sampson spent a decade serving Town as a player, making the second most appearances in a claret shirt. He then joined the club's coaching staff before replacing Stuart Gray in the top job in September 2010.

He oversaw an encouraging second half of the campaign, eventually steering Northampton to 11th, but has been unable to build on that momentum this term.

Despite a memorable League Cup victory on penalties over Liverpool, it's the bread and butter which has let Town down. Events at Anfield couldn't disguise underachievement at Sixfields.

Not that Sampson is the first, and he won't be the last, to have a go managing the club he represented with distinction as a player. Here's my look at how it turned out for a few others:


Roberto Martinez (Swansea City)

The Spaniard only spent four seasons as a player in South Wales, but became a fans' favourite for his cultured displays in midfield as captain of the Swans.

He helped guide them away from relegation to the Conference in 2003 before playing an important role in their promotion to League One in 2005.

He was controversially released by boss Kenny Jackett at the end of the next season - a move which upset many City fans.

Less than a year later he had returned to the Liberty to replace Jackett as manager and took them to the League One title in his first full season playing a brand of attractive passing football.

Consolidated them in the Championship before leaving for Wigan - arguably laying the foundations for Swansea's current push for the Premier League.


Bryan Gunn (Norwich City)

A Scot by birth, Gunn is an adopted son of Norfolk after spending more than a decade between the sticks as Norwich keeper.

He was twice voted player of the season during his time at Carrow Road, and was part of the side which, in 1993, finish 3rd in the Premier League - the club's highest ever finish.

A member of the Norwich team who upset Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup during the '90s as well as the Canaries' Hall of Fame. There's even a club at the ground named after him.

Initially was a goalkeeping coach at City before stepping up to replace Glenn Roeder as boss in January 2009. However, he was unable to stop Norwich sliding into League One at the end of the season.

He retained his post only to be removed after the first game of the new season, a 7-1 thrashing at home to Colchester.


Eddie Howe (Bournemouth)

Howe joined his local club as a youngster and spent the majority of his playing career with Bournemouth before leaving for Portsmouth in 2002.

However, he suffered an injury-hit time at Fratton Park and eventually re-joined the Cherries, initially on loan, before fans helped raise money to re-sign him permanently.

He progressed to the role of reserve team boss before taking over as caretaker manager from Jimmy Quinn with the club staring relegation to the Conference in the face.

The Football League's youngest boss engineered a great escape, despite an 18-point deduction. Then, last term, not even a transfer embargo could prevent him leading the Cherries to promotion to the third tier.

Before leaving to take over at Championship Burnley in January, Howe had taken Bournemouth into contention for back-to-back promotions.


John Askey (Macclesfield Town)

When Askey first joined the Silkmen, they were plying their trade in to the Northern Premier League. However, he helped them win the title in 1987 and gain promotion to the Conference.

During his time at the Moss Rose as a player, Macc twice won the Conference title and also secured the FA Trophy before finally reaching the Football League in 1997.

Twelve months later, Askey had again played a major role in Sammy McIlroy's side's elevation to League One as they secured successive promotions.

By the time of his final game for the club in 2003 he was assistant to boss David Moss, and stepped up to replace Moss a few months later - overseeing an improvement in results for the struggling Silkmen.

As they began to struggle again though he stepped down to assist the experienced Brian Horton as Macclesfield avoided the drop and then qualified for the play offs in 2005. Now in charge of the Town Youth Team.


Steve Tilson (Southend United)

As a player with Southend in the '90s, Tilson was part of the Shrimpers side who secured back-to-back promotions into the Championship.

After retiring as a player he joined the club's Centre of Excellence before being named caretaker manager of the first team in 2003 after the departure of Steve Wignall.

Tilson helped keep United in League Two and guided them to consecutive Football League Trophy finals, although they ended up on the losing side on both occasions.

However, in his first full season he took Southend to promotion via the play offs and a year later they had repeated his feat as a player - winning back-to-back promotions as League One winners.

He couldn't keep them in the Championship though, and eventually left the club after financial problems condemned them to relegation to League Two last season. Now at Lincoln.


Stuart McCall (Bradford City)

The Yorkshireman began his career at Bradford and during his first spell at the club was part of their third tier title winning side in 1985.

He returned to the Bantams in 1998 and captained them as they secured a place in the top flight of English football for the first time in 77 years.

They stayed there for a couple of years and, after retiring and spending time assisting Neil Warnock at Sheffield United, McCall returned to Valley Parade for a third time in 2007.

On this occasion it was as manager, with the club newly relegated to the basement division. Despite lofty expectations, he failed to guide them to the play offs in his first two seasons.

Persuaded to stay on by supporters, he eventually resigned midway through his third campaign - again with the Bantams struggling to make the top seven. Now managing at Motherwell.


Jim Gannon (Stockport County)

As player with Stockport, Gannon spent a decade helping the Hatters to two Football League Trophy finals as well as a couple of promotions.

Hugely popular with the Edgeley Park faithful, after retirement and a move into management in Ireland, the club turned to him to aid their battle against relegation to the Conference in 2005.

He helped them escape the drop on the final day of the season and then transformed them into a young side playing good football which, two years later, won promotion via the play offs.

However, County's financial turmoil saw him unable to take the club much further, and they only narrowly avoided the drop back to the basement division.

He was made redundant by cost-cutting County at the conclusion of the 2008/9 season. Now at Port Vale, but is constantly linked with a return to the Stockport job.


Mick Harford (Luton Town)

Often voted the best ever player for the Bedfordshire club, Harford spent six years with Luton during the 1980s.

During his time with the Hatters, he helped Ray Harford's men win the 1988 League Cup and preserve their top flight status. He also appeared for the England senior side.

He spent a short spell at Derby before returning to Kenilworth Road again, almost scoring the goals to keep Town amongst the country's elite. However, he left after relegation.

Harford was assistant to Joe Kinnear in 2001, helping Luton win promotion from League Two before leaving a couple of years later. He returned as manager himself in 2008, with the cash-strapped Hatters facing relegation back to the basement division.

Docked 30 points, he was at the helm as Luton crashed into the Conference in 2009, but did secure them the Football League Trophy. He left the club early on last term after a poor start to the campaign.


Ronnie Moore (Rotherham United)

Now in his second spell as manager of the Millers, Moore has a long and successful connection with the South Yorkshire club.

He first went to the club as a player in the '80s. His goalscoring exploits over three years made him a terrace favourite and saw him recently voted United's greatest ever player.

In 1997, he returned to Millmoor as manager and guided the club to successive promotions to the Championship where, despite a comparatively small budget, he kept them for four seasons.

Eventually, with relegation looking likely, he departed in 2005. However, he returned to Rotherham last season to replace Mark Robins.

Moore took the Millers to the play off final where they were beaten by Dagenham. They are once again in contention for promotion from League Two this term.


Brian Tinnion (Bristol City)

Despite being a man of the North East, 450 appearances over 12 years as a player at Ashton Gate means Bristol is the city most associated with Tinnion.

He was part of the Robins side who fluctuated between the second and third tiers during the '90s - winning promotion in 1998 but suffering relegation in 1995 and 1999.

Working with the club's youth system, Tinnion was already being groomed for the top job before becoming a player coach under Danny Wilson as City once again fought for promotion from League One.

He replaced Wilson as manager after successive play off failures, but in his first year at the helm Tinnion was unable to even guide the Robins into the top six.

A poor start to the next season saw him resign from his post following a 7-1 thrashing at Swansea left City in the relegation zone.

Gimme A Break

As Peterborough part company with boss Gary Johnson, Nobes suggests that sometimes taking time out of the game is the best thing for a manager's career.

Gary Johnson's Peterborough had the worst defensive record in League One

Once upon a time, Gary Johnson stood just 90 minutes from completing a meteoric rise from Conference boss to Premier League manager in just five years.

Ultimately, Johnson's Bristol City side ended up losing their 2008 Championship play off final against Hull. After being sacked by League One Peterborough this week, he will be wondering whether he will ever get as close to the top flight again.

Some time to wonder may be exactly what the 55-year-old requires though.

The end of his nine month spell at London Road follows his sacking by City last season after a poor run of results saw the West Country side dip into lower mid table. Now he has two P45s in the space of less than 12 months on his CV.

It was a CV, too, which appeared faultless not so long ago. Having made his name taking Non League Yeovil from the Conference to League One in the space of three seasons, he then moved onto the task of rejuvenating City.

He did just that, leading them to promotion in his first full season before finishing 4th on their return to the Championship and earning that trip to Wembley.

They were achievements built on his philosophy of attractive, attacking, passing football. His teams went out to entertain and, if needs be, to simply outscore their opponents in order to win matches.

When Yeovil were crowned League Two winners in 2005, they actually conceded more goals than Cambridge United, who ended the season bottom of the entire Football League and were relegated.

It comes as little surprise then that his Peterborough side seemed to have the same cavalier attitude in matches this term. Tuesday's evening's 2-1 win over Brentford saw their tally increase to 45, the best in the division.

However, only relegation threatened Walsall have a worse defensive record than the 43 goals United have conceded in 22 games. Fans of the Cambridgeshire side certainly can't complain of not having been entertained this term.

Their side has dished out some hammerings over the past few months, notably beating Oldham 5-2 and Huddersfield 4-2. They also edged a nine goal thriller against Swindon 5-4.

However, they've also been on the wrong end of a few heavy beatings, going down 5-1 to Bournemouth and Charlton, and 4-1 at the hands of Southampton.

Johnson can point quite rightly to the fact that, although his side have been leaking goals, he was actively looking to strengthen his defensive options.

The league table also showed them 7th, just a point outside the play offs with games in hand when he left United - their win over Brentford moving them up to 5th.

Hardly a disaster, particularly for a seasoned campaigner who knows all about constructing a promotion campaign in the lower leagues.

Critics will argue though that, having been relegated last term, this represented Peterborough's best opportunity to bounce back to the Championship and they should be higher.

Darren Ferguson is back at Peterborough - but could he do with a break?

That need for promotion is heightened with other clubs sniffing around their prized attacking assets. One, Aaron McLean, has already departed for more than £1 million to Hull, but with George Boyd and Craig Mackail-Smith still in his arsenal, the side has the firepower for promotion.

Colourful owner, Darragh MacAnthony, who got through four managers last season alone, cited differences on 'policy' for Johnson leaving - believed to centre around the manager's plans for recruitment in the January transfer window.

However, while the Irishman deserves some criticism for the rapid turnover in the London Road dugout, Johnson may well reflect that this sacking was probably avoidable.

That's because, while it's true that staying out of the game too long can be dangerous, so too can throwing yourself back into employment so quickly.

Football may well be a drug that some cannot live without, but less than three weeks separated his departure from Bristol in March and his arrival in the Fens at the beginning of April.

The question is, was getting back into the game so quickly the best thing for someone who had just ended a four-and-a-half-year tenure at Ashton Gate?

Towards the end of his time with the Robins, there were the usual stories circulating that he had lost the support of the dressing room.

Two of Johnson's final home matches had also ended in a humiliating 6-0 loss to Severnside rivals Cardiff and a 5-2 defeat against Doncaster.

It's the kind of defensive fragility which has been the hallmark of his reign at London Road. New club, same problems.

Now, Johnson has not become a bad manager overnight. Far from it. Indeed, neutrals can't help but hope managers with a positive attitude who seek to entertain do well. It's for the good of the game.

However, for the good of Johnson, taking some time away to reflect on his time with Bristol City may have been a wiser choice.

Time away would have allowed him to consider what mistakes he may have made, where things went wrong, looking at ways he could have done things differently and better.

It was striking that Paul Jewell, in his press conference when being unveiled as Ipswich's new manager, spoke about his two years out of the game, saying he had been "re-evaluating mistakes" he had made in the past.

Sometimes jumping right back up on the horse, as Johnson did, is not always the best thing. Sure, it may mean you end up unemployed for a while, but it's not like Championship managers are poorly paid.

Plus, what would be better - taking some time out of the game before getting back in and making a success of your next job? Or immediately taking another job, it not go well, and finding yourself with two sackings in a short space of time?

There is no better example of the benefits of a break than the success of Ian Holloway at Blackpool last term. The 47-year-old spent a year out of management after leaving Leicester in 2008.

Ian Holloway came back a better manager after time out of the game

He returned to the game at Bloomfield Road a changed man - with a new attitude and approach to the game. He had considered why and where he had gone wrong at the Walkers and sought how to avoid it happening again.

He spent time at other clubs watching how they did things - taking particular inspiration from the work of Roberto Martinez when the Spaniard was at Swansea.

He had time to combine media work with watching matches and scouting for players for when he did return. He also had time away to spend with his family, and out of the pressure cooker that is football management.

Holloway came back refreshed, rejuvenated, and re-born. The Seasiders reaped the dividends with promotion to the top flight. Ask their Bristolian boss, and he will speak with positivity about his 12 months in football exile.

Contrast his break with the fortunes of others, including Johnson, though.

Brian Laws was sacked from Championship Sheffield Wednesday last term. However, less than a month later they had, rather fortuitously, found re-employment with Premier League Burnley.

He couldn't keep the Clarets up and then saw his reign brought to an end in December after a below-par beginning to this season.

What did he expect though? Did he really think he had been unfortunate in receiving the sack with Wednesday fighting relegation? Did he also think that his methods were not to blame at all - and sticking to them would work out at Turf Moor?

It's beyond ironic, too, that Posh have opted to replace Johnson with former boss Darren Ferguson. After being sacked by a struggling Peterborough last season, he showed breathtaking naivety in repeating his mistakes when landing the Preston North End job.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, dooming one team to relegation by throwing together a group of youngsters playing a kamikaze brand of attacking football can be considered unfortunate. To do it twice is just carelessness.

Is it any surprise to see Preston now looking destined for relegation after Ferguson was given an opportunity to wreak havoc at Deepdale.

Unbelievably, with his managerial career in tatters, he has been given the chance to rebuild it at the place it all began.

Had he actually taken some time away, and looked at where he went wrong at Posh first time around though, the same mistakes may not have been made again at North End.

Ditto with Laws, whose career, after working his way up after so many years in the lower divisions, has now suffered a significant blow.

There comes a time to resist the temptation of launching yourself straight back onto the market and instead take time out for self examination and improvement.

So, when the opportunity arises and the time is right to return, Johnson and co. can ensure both them and their new club can life happily ever after.

Up For The Challenge

After Steve Coppell announces his resignation from Bristol City and retirement from football management, Nobes considers the importance of motivation for a manager.

Steve Coppell was in charge at Ashton Gate for just two games

On his appointment as Bristol City boss at the end of last season, Steve Coppell spoke about the ambition of his new club and the "challenge" of taking them into the top flight of English football.

However, his resignation just two games into the new campaign - citing an inability to become "passionate" about the role - suggests the 55-year-old himself wasn't up for such a challenge.

It's not the first time the Liverpudlian has departed a club after such a brief stint - he left Manchester City after just 33 days in 1996 because of the pressure involved with the job.

His decision on this occasion to pack in management altogether though illustrates a man who has lost the fire and determination required to succeed in this most cut-throat of industries.

It is the kind of hunger that friends and colleagues speak about in amazement in regards to the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson - who at 68 continues to have the same desire to succeed that he always had.

That passion to continue working in such a demanding and pressurised environment - where expectations are always so high - is not for everyone.

For Coppell working in it, as part of a long-term plan to build a team capable of reaching the promised land, was clearly something he felt he no longer wanted to engage in.

It was no doubt a feeling heightened and a decision accelerated by a poor start to the season that saw City thrashed 3-0 on the opening day at home to Millwall before being knocked out of the League Cup in midweek to basement side Southend.

Of course, there will understandably be a sense of anger, bemusement, and even embarrassment in the West Country at this briefest of encounters. Why, they will be thinking, did Coppell even take on the job in the first place?

Here, his previous record at Manchester City will probably count against him, with observers suggesting he is someone who lacks the bottle and, when the going gets tough, he inevitably walks.

That would be harsh on a man who felt, after leaving Reading in 2009 and spending a year out of the game, he had re-charged his batteries and was ready for another crack at management.

Perhaps he had to get back on the training field and in the dugout to realise that, actually, it wasn't a break he had required, but a permanent hiatus from football management.

This is also a man who showed loyalty to Reading after relegation from the Premier League. Reports suggested he wished to leave the Madejski Stadium, but the support of fans persuaded him to stay on and try and get the club promoted.

Only after being beaten in the play offs and failing to re-capture their spot in the top flight did he hand in his notice and bring to an end his five-and-a-half-year association with the Berkshire outfit.

Some might suggest that it would have been better had he left after relegation - as he cut the figure of a man drained from his efforts with the Royals.

It would also be worth remembering, too, that Coppell has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years after being made Crystal Palace boss aged just 28. Football management can take it out of even the strongest characters.

Keith Millen and Steve Lansdown will now pilot City's top flight dream

On reflection therefore, his decision to part company with Bristol City early doors could, for all the current turmoil, be beneficial to the club in the long run.

Just as there is no point in keeping a player at a club who wants to move, there is no point having a manager at the helm who isn't completely committed in his position.

City have able to respond quickly, too, with assistant Keith Millen - who oversaw a good run of results as caretaker last term - taking over permanently. Ambitious Chairman Steve Lansdown will hope it is a smooth transition.

Millen, so long the Number Two at the club to former bosses Brian Tinnion and Gary Johnson, now has the opportunity to take the Robins into the Premier League for the first time in their history.

It is the kind of challenge that requires great drive from a manager - and Millen will undoubtedly be keen to prove that he is up to the task of being in sole command and worthy of the role.

Unlike Coppell he is a man with no real track record who will have to prove the doubters wrong and ensure his first attempt as a manager is a successful one.

Of course, there is no knowing whether he will do a good job or not - but he at least will bring the hunger to succeed that Coppell was, by his own admission, bereft of.

I spoke last season after Southend's demotion to League Two of the need for their long-serving boss, Steve Tilson, to have the required drive for the re-building job at Roots Hall.

A manager only thrives when he is aiming high and pushing himself to succeed in the same way he pushes his players.

It is the same reason why fans should never, despite their disappointment, begrudge their manager for moving onto a new club - even if it turns out to be a wrong move.

Taking a new opportunity at a bigger club or accepting a fresh challenge can help re-invigorate a manager and help them improve themselves. It can even help cure any staleness surrounding his former employers.

That desire to better oneself and, at the same time, improve a club's fortunes are essential to a successful managerial appointment. It's why managers can leave a club in a higher division, or even leave a bigger job, to accept one lower down the table.

Simon Grayson knew exactly what he was doing in leaving Blackpool for Leeds in 2008.

He wasn't just taking over at his boyhood club, he was accepting the challenge to resurrect a sleeping giant, albeit one who were, and still are, at a lower level than Blackpool.

He felt unable to take the Seasiders any further after consolidating with them in the Championship. How long before things became stale at Bloomfield Road and he was simply going through the motions?

Ultimately, it was a beneficial move for both club and fans.

After all, supporters want their manager to reflect the same kind of passion and hunger for the club's fortunes that they do. That's why, for both Coppell and City, this decision was the right one.

City give Johnson the Gate

After Bristol City part company with manager Gary Johnson, Nobes criticises the Westcountry club for letting their ambition obscure their perspective.

Gary Johnson had been in charge at Ashton Gate since September 2005

They've big ambitions down by the Severn. Bristol is one of the cities that could stage World Cup matches should England's 2018 bid be successful.

A new 30,000 stadium is in the pipeline and, for Bristol City's chairman Steve Lansdown, bringing Premier League football to the country's sixth largest city is the next goal.

That's why just two wins in their last 12 games - a run that's seen the Robins slip from play-off challengers to lower mid-table obscurity - has been deemed unacceptable. Manager Gary Johnson has paid with his job.

However, has chasing the glory of being part of football's biggest showpiece event, and jumping aboard the gravy train that is the Premier League, clouded any sense of realism?

The answer, I believe, is yes. City are by no means one of the big fish of the Championship. They currently lie 15th in the division and appropriately attract the 15th highest attendances too.

Average crowds at Ashton Gate are around the 13,000 mark - less than sides like Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, and less than half the size of Derby's. All three teams are below the Robins in the league table.

City are also one of only nine sides in the Championship never to played in the Premier League and only ended eight consecutive seasons in League One as recently as 2007.

That promotion back to the second tier was completed in Johnson's first full season as manager. He had initially taken over with the club struggling towards the bottom, eventually leading them to 9th.

The next year he fashioned a young side playing attractive football who entertained fans on their way to promotion.

Their first season back in the Championship was a resounding success too - Johnson leading his side all the way to the play-off final where they narrowly lost out to Hull.

Their 4th place finish was also the club's highest since they were relegated from the top flight in 1980. For a side who had spent the past 20 years yo-yoing between the second and third tiers, Johnson had revitalised Bristol's fortunes.

Perhaps too much though. The club had come so close to a place in the promised land that expectations were at an all time high.

Bristol City's new Ashton Vale stadium hopes to stage World Cup matches in 2018

Suddenly last season's 10th place finish was disappointing. People had already begun to forget where they had come from.

Now, Johnson's departure has added further credence to the theory that any manager is only a bad run of results away from the sack. However, it is a desperately harsh decision.

City are seven points above the drop zone and, in all reality, only require a couple of wins from their remaining games to ensure survival. Reality seems to be in short supply down in the Westcountry though.

It raises this simple question too - how bad does a run of form need to be for chairmen to completely disregard a manager's track record and make a knee-jerk decision?

How can you justify sacking a manager who, on a modest budget, has established City back in the country's top-44 clubs, and taken them to within 90 minutes of the Premier League?

How can you condone parting ways with a manager who, was once so highly rated by the club, he signed a five-year contract extension less than two years ago?

Also, is a mid-table finish really unacceptable for a club of their size? After all, there is a very thin line between finishing in the top six and not in the Championship.

Indeed, had Johnson's side been able to convert some of their 15 draws this season into wins, then they could still be in with an outside shout of the play-offs.

Are they really that far away from being a top six team? No. Is replacing Johnson the solution to their current problems? Unlikely. Are expectation levels unrealistically high? Certainly.

When you're head is in the clouds though, as Mr Lansdown's appears to be, you lose all sense of perspective.

City have dispensed of the services of a manager who tries to play the game the right way and who has transformed the club during his time there.

Not only did he deserve more time to turn things around - he had earned it.

Big Match Review - Cardiff 3 Bristol City 0

Championship

Cardiff City 3-0 Bristol City (Att: 20,853)

Sunday August 23, 13:15, Cardiff City Stadium

Rampant Cardiff made it two wins out of two at their new ground as they returned to the top of the Championship table on after a convincing win over previously unbeaten Bristol City.

The home side were dominant in the first half, and could have taken the lead within the first quarter of an hour when Liam Fontaine blocked Chris Burke's shot after the midfielder had rounded Robins keeper Dean Gerken.

Gerken then made a great save to deny Joe Ledley before getting himself into a bit of a pickle with a poor clearance that Paul Quinn could only send wide of the vacant goal.

It was no surprise when Dave Jones' side eventually did take the lead then - Jamie McCombe turning in Adam Matthews' low cross into his own net, eight minutes before the interval.

It seemed to stir the Westcountry side into action, and after David Marshall saved a McCombe header from a free-kick, Marvin Elliott hit the post with the rebound.

And City were soon punished for their profligacy as Michael Chopra lifted the ball over Gerken and into the net in first half stoppage time to double Cardiff's advantage.

2-0 became 3-0 midway through the second half, Burke's through ball allowing Gavin Rae to slot the ball low past the keeper and send the home team top on goal difference.

Big Match Preview

Championship

Cardiff City vs. Bristol City

Sunday August 23, 13:15, Cardiff City Stadium

You wouldn't be too far wrong describing this as the biggest game at Cardiff City's ground. Then again, this being just the second game at the club's new 22,000 capacity arena, that's not too risky a statement to make.

However, as the cities of Cardiff and Bristol prepare to do battle in the Severnside derby, both sides know this season there's more than local bragging rights at stake. Three games in and the Bluebirds and the Robins are flying high.

It's been an excellent start to the season for Dave Jones' side. Cardiff missed out on the play-offs by virtue of scoring one goal fewer than Preston last season. And, allied to having to settle into a new stadium, and many observers expected a bit of a hangover effect and for them to get off to a slow start.

A thumping 4-0 opening day win over Scunthorpe, followed by a point at Blackpool and away win at Plymouth in midweek, and the Welsh club top the table at this early stage.

Striker Michael Chopra, signed on a permanent basis in the summer, scored a hat-trick in that game at Home Park, and has already bagged six goals this term. Along with the attacking power of Jay Bothroyd, Joe Ledley, and Ross McCormack, and it's no surprise why Cardiff have been tipped to do so well this season.

A new era for Cardiff: City's new 22,000 stadium

However, Sunday's game is likely to be their toughest examiniation of the season to date. Gary Johnson's visitors have also notched up seven points from their first three games, and also sit in the top six.

City squandered a two goal advantage late on to draw at Preston on the opening day, but have followed that up with two 1-0 home successes over Crystal Palace and QPR.

The first of those, of course, featured the highly controversial refereeing decision where a clear Palace goal was missed by all the officials. Nicky Maynard's goal at the death eventually sealed the win for City, and with luck like that, perhaps this could be a good year for the Westcountry club.

Manager Johnson has been operating with a 3-5-2 system that proved successful during pre-season and with Maynard and summer signing David Clarkson up front, along with former Celtic man Paul Hartley pulling the strings in midfield, Bristol will travel over the Severn confident of getting a result.

This game has the potential of being very exciting, with both sides liking to play attractive football with plenty of attacking power. It'd be very surprising if we don't see any goals, and this one could well end all even.

Nobes' Prediction: Cardiff City 2 Bristol City 2