The Bristol City Chronicle
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for Max Bird
Defensive actions: 31. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for Adam Randell
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Luke McNally was immovable
24 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Bristol City
Max Bird was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
3 academy players handed senior numbers at Bristol City
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Market17 Aug 2026
Bristol City promote Anthony Simmons from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Anthony Simmons has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market17 Aug 2026
One of our own: Adam Scott joins the Bristol City first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Adam Scott is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market17 Aug 2026
One of our own: Benjamin Phillips joins the Bristol City first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Benjamin Phillips is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Luke McNally falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
- Player ratings Nobody could get near Scott Twine
- Squad Bristol City lose Isaac Abbott
- Squad 5 new faces, and Bristol City are still learning each other