Marked for Kacper Pasiek
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 Sep 2027
A 2‑0 win over Fleetwood Town, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
A brace, and Yu Hirakawa takes the afternoon — 8.30
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Yu Hirakawa provided it, and the 8.30 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Cameron Pring: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bristol City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad20 Sep 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Antwoine Hackford is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Toni Fruk and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Jayden Wareham has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The terraces20 Sep 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vito Mannone and Bristol City agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Toni Fruk in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bristol City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market9 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Kacper Pasiek is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad9 Aug 2027
At 26 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Luke McNally gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch9 Aug 2027
“I watch every Bristol City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bromley runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Market9 Aug 2027
Toni Fruk linked with a move away
The name of Toni Fruk keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bristol City say nothing, which says plenty.
Market9 Aug 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Jan 2027
Beaten 2‑8 by Middlesbrough, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market25 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Preston, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Preston may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
A brace, and James McAtee takes the afternoon — 7.84
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. James McAtee provided it, and the 7.84 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market25 Jan 2027
Preston say no — this time
The offer from Portsmouth for Ali McCann was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad25 Jan 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Kacper Pasiek has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Harry Clarke in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Preston this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Jan 2027
James McAtee among the goals in a wild afternoon
10 goals in one match, James McAtee on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Preston and Middlesbrough.