Bristol City: 'England's most boring club' gets a lot more interesting with Championship promotion race hotting up

Last Friday, some 20 minutes after full-time, Liam Manning strolled back out to the touchline at Ashton Gate.

Whether he or someone else had been the one to hear Bristol City's unofficial 'ultras' singing block Section 82 still singing from half-way across the ground after beating Sunderland to move fifth in the table, their commitment warranted recognition.

He strolled over to applaud their efforts, and they responded in kind. "That's the thing, those memories," he told the club's official channels soon after. "That's what it's about, turning up, being around people you enjoy the company of, turning up and being proud of the club you support."

Manning was not the only one impressed. A clip of the interaction made its way to the club's social media and a week later has racked up more than 500,000 views.

"Class that, hope you get promoted," replied one Nottingham Forest fan to the club's post on X. "They're one club I'd really like to see in the Premier League next season," said another Wigan supporter, in among others politely reminding the Robins fans they could have been at the pub.

This is a far cry from a team dubbed "the most boring club in England" in a YouTube video which went viral barely 12 months ago. At the time, it was a fair criticism.

City, along with Preston and QPR, are the Championship's longest-serving clubs. But looking further back to the turn of the millennium they have managed just two promotions and one relegation, plus another three unsuccessful play-off campaigns - though none since 2008.

At least QPR can boast some Premier League memories, as well as off-field moments chaotic enough to spawn a documentary, while Preston spent the first half of this century to date more often than not involved in top-six battles, in addition to their four-year flirtation with League One.

This summer, City could still extend their own second-tier stay into an 11th season, but for the first time in almost 20 years there is a material chance they could actually achieve something more.

And for the first time in those almost two decades, people away from the banks of the Avon are actively talking about Bristol City.

The fact the UK's ninth-largest city has never managed to host Premier League football, and not even a top-flight team since 1980, normally plays a central role on the odd occasion City enter the wider zeitgeist.

Now, it is Fan Cams of last-minute winners against West Brom, clips of 'Section 82' in full voice and well-wishes from opposition fans eager to see a new side join the usual faces in the top division.

There is good reason for the hype around the West Country, who have been without any top-flight representation since Swindon's relegation in 1994 - even if many of the region's clubs would not be overly keen on the Robins breaking that duck.

The Robins need one win from their final two games to enter the lottery of the play-offs. Less if Middlesbrough and Millwall, the chasing pack, fail to win either of theirs.

Since Boxing Day, they have picked up 40 points from 22 matches, two fewer than Frank Lampard's rocketing Coventry City and behind only them and already-promoted Leeds and Burnley.

Prior to Monday's defeat at relegation-battling Luton, more a surprise by the league table than the form book or the volatile nature of the Championship, City had lost just one of their last 12, and that a narrow defeat at Turf Moor.

The Robins are used to falling short at the final hurdle. In both 2018 and 2019 they found themselves in the top six heading into the final stretch before crumbling under the pressure, but this season has been different.

The run-in has already seen them take on then-promotion rivals Millwall, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Norwich, West Brom, Sunderland and Burnley, with only the Clarets able to find a way to beat them.

Without much in the way of eye-catching names on the team-sheet, City have been forced to become more than the sum of their parts to make it to this point, which arguably also stands them in good stead to continue their steady but unspectacular progression all the way to Wembley on May 24.

Only West Brom and Watford have won fewer games of the top-half sides, but City have lost only one less than third-placed Sheffield United, despite sitting 21 points behind them if ignoring deductions.

They have trailed in more than half of their games this season but picked up 20 points from losing positions, behind only Sheffield Wednesday. They lack some of the raw strength of their rivals, but make up for it in resilience.

Nine of the Robins' 17 wins have come by the odd goal, including five of their last six. You could see any of the other three sides currently in the play-offs blowing each other away on their day. City look more likely to edge their way to success.

The consistency of doing so has got them here, and so has finally finding their shooting boots. Though still heavily reliant on 34-year-old striker Nakhi Wells, who was forced to play almost four hours of football over nine days across the Easter week, unlikely sources have begun popping up to help out the Bermudan stalwart.

The Robins still have the third-worst shot conversion rate of any top-half side across the season, but have begun to outperform their expected goals tally in recent weeks - aided by some unlikely screamers from defenders Rob Dickie, Ross McCrorie and George Tanner.

Of the 12 goals scored by City's backline this season, five have come in the last five matches.

Piece by piece, the collective around the squad at Ashton Gate has begun to click into gear and the club's surge since Christmas has been built around getting the most out of that team unit beyond any individual player, though the synergy of midfield pairing Max Bird and Jason Knight deserves highlighting.

But with at least two, perhaps as many as five final tests to come, none come much tougher than a trip to Elland Road on Monday night, live on Sky Sports. Promoted Leeds still need points to wrestle Burnley's hands off the Championship trophy.

City have not won in West Yorkshire since November 1979 - the last season they were in the top-flight. A rare victory this weekend to guarantee a play-off spot, and those dreams of a famous return will become all the more real.

Watch Leeds vs Bristol City from 7pm on Monday, live on Sky Sports Football; kick-off 8pm.