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Last updated: 14th February 2008

Bristol City celeb

Bristol City: on the up

I would say there are definitely five teams in the hunt for automatic promotion and I would certainly not write Bristol City off.

Chris Kamara
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Tony Pulis said this week that his Stoke side were one of four teams in the hunt for the automatic promotion spots in the Championship.

He named West Brom, Watford and Charlton as their rivals for the top two places, missing Bristol City out, despite the fact that, as I write, they are in possession of second spot.

The perception is that City won't last the pace and it's up to Gary Johnson and his players to change that perception by carrying on their magnificent form and picking up results.

Their run in the Championship has just been relentless. You keep expecting their form to level out, but it hasn't and you've got to give credit to Gary for the job he's done.

At the start of the season, not many people expected them to be this high up the table and it has all been achieved through consistency and hard work. Man for man they are not as strong as some of the sides around them, but in this game it's the team that gets you promoted, not the individuals.

I would say there are definitely five teams in the hunt for automatic promotion and I would certainly not write Bristol City off.

Ipswich fans might argue there is a sixth team in the hunt, but I think the top two will be just beyond their reach because their away record has let them down. But now that they've started to win on the road, even they might fancy themselves for the automatic places. Nothing is closed off in that division.

But I don't think we have ever been in a situation where we've got into February and the lead is changing so regularly. It's quite amazing really.

Wait and see

Bristol City didn't spend that much money in January and that is why some people think they might fall off a bit, but they have continued to defy all expectations.

We will have to wait and see if the failure to bring in new faces will prove to be costly, but at the moment all evidence suggests that they will be right up there in the mix for the automatic spots in May.

Gary's philosophy is to try and play good football. He likes to pass it around, he doesn't want to see his sides lumping it and they seem to be benefiting from that.

Their home record has been massive for them and if they can carry on playing consistently well at home until the end of the season then they will definitely be in the play-offs. And if they start to pick up a few more wins away - as they did the other night against Scunthorpe - then the top two is definitely not beyond them.

They are quite far behind their rivals in terms of goal difference and that is important, but at the end of the day Gary won't worry too much about that. He'll tell his players to go out and win the league by a point.

It's hard to pick out individual players, but Darren Byfield has impressed me with the job he's done for them. He came in on a free at the start of the season and has scored plenty of goals.

Bradley Orr has been a colossus at the back, the goalkeeper Adriano Basso has been fantastic and Lee Johnson is in the team because he's a good player, not because he's a manager's son.

Team ethic

So there are plenty of talented players there, but their success has been built around their team ethic.

If the season finished tomorrow it would be hard to name anybody else other than Gary Johnson as manager of the season, but there is still a long way to go and he won't want to win that award unless he's been successful with the team.

They play Crystal Palace in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday and we mustn't forget that they were struggling in the relegation places when Neil Warnock took over.

Neil told me in November that this is the hardest job he's ever had in football, but look at the position he's put them into. Much like Gary Johnson he has done brilliantly and raised expectation levels.

Instead of looking at survival this season, they're now looking at the play-off places, so it should be another cracking game.

But they will all be good games between now and the end of the season because there are so many teams with so much to play for.

Things are going to fluctuate and change between now and May and there is a fantastic end to the season in prospect.

Do you agree with Kammy? Let us know what you think by using the feedback form below and continue to email him your questions here

Now to your email...

Hi Chris, Having heard that Iain Dowie was sacked as Coventry manager, who do you think is the right man for the job? I personally would like Billy Davies as manager because of his previous record in the Championship. I am worried because we have very important games coming up. Do you feel we have the personnel to stay up? Alexander.

KAMMY REPLIES: First and foremost, I'd like to say Iain Dowie's sacking was very harsh. I sent him a text the other day asking if he'd run over a black cat in the last couple of years because he doesn't seem to get any luck!

He wasn't given money to spend at the start of the season and he has worked fantastically well with what he'd got. In one-off games they've proved they are as good as anybody else in the Championship and if he'd been allowed to bring in a few players they might be doing even better.

But the king is dead, long live the king and that's a very good shout for Billy Davies, Alexander, because he is a manager who knows what that division is all about. Ray Ranson didn't give Dowie any money in the January transfer window so maybe he has a bit up his sleeve to make one or two loan signings before the end of the season.

They are in a precarious position, but because they do so well in one-off games, I'd be surprised to see them get relegated.

Hi Chris, I was just wondering what you thought of the job Phil Brown is doing at Hull and what the chances are of us going up to the Premier League this year? James, Scunthorpe.

KAMMY REPLIES: Hull are the top team in Yorkshire! I know you might say it's Humberside, but as far as I'm concerned it's East Yorkshire and it comes under the Yorkshire umbrella.

We had Browny on Goals On Sunday last week and he is desperate to make the play-offs. He thinks they've got a chance with the players they've got - people like Fraizer Campbell, Caleb Folan and Dean Windass. They picked up another good away point in midweek and they are in the mix with about 13 or 14 other sides for the play-offs.

Browny's enjoying the job and things could happen for him this season. They've got a decent squad and they can score goals, but his competition will be thinking the same thing.

He was very positive on Goals On Sunday and he wasn't worried by what has happened to Derby this season. It's never too early to go up and it's better to be up there and to come back down than to never have been up there in the first place.

Kammy, are AFC Bournemouth finished? Just as we put a run together, and look like we can escape the drop, we go into administration. With no real potential investors, things look bad. You also mentioned before that Harry Redknapp said he will step in to save us in the long run, but it doesn't look likely. Can this be the end of Bournemouth? Sandeep Marwaha, Bournemouth.

KAMMY REPLIES: I was as disappointed as anybody to see Bournemouth go into administration just as they'd found a bit of form. If you gave them the 10 points back now then the picture wouldn't look so bad. It's a shame the chairman couldn't sort the financial situation out and give them a stay of execution between now and the end of the season.

Harry Redknapp said he'd love to finish his career where he started it in management, but he is obviously preoccupied with Portsmouth at the moment. You can't be involved with two clubs at the same time!

But there is hope, Sandeep. Other clubs have gone into administration and survived. It's going to be hard work, but the chairman is trying to rally the fans to get behind the players and get them out of the relegation places. They won two on the bounce after going into administration, but they lost in midweek after losing an early goal to a very good Doncaster side. Leeds wiped out their deficit in a short space of time and there are still plenty of games to go.

Under circumstances such as these, players get galvanised and they know they can't get a move away at this moment in time. The only way for them to secure their footballing futures is to play to the best of their abilities and who knows what could happen? If they can keep believing then anything is possible.

Comments

Sean Pope (Bristol City fan) says...

I think its great to see what Gary johnson has done for us, after the long years of sitting down in League 1 we have got the right man for the job. Gary has been brilliant, he gives us the football we like to see, rapid wide men and excellent passing of the ball as well as success, what more could a city fan ask for? The promised land of the Premiership? Manchester united away? We can dream for now.

Posted 09:59 6th March 2008

Adam Hindhaugh (Stoke City fan) says...

As a Stoke City supporter, I have to say what a wonderful job Tony Pulis and Peter Coates have done this season for Stoke City. I wasnt one of Pulis' biggest fans but the football played this season is up there with the best I have seen as a Stoke fan. Lets not forget though that this isnt a flash in the pan as we have been slowly building over the last few seasons since escaping relegation. Missing out on the play offs on the last day of last season along with 2 seasons of finishing mid table have led us to the point of serious contenders, not only for the play offs but now automatic promotion. We are certainly up there at the top on merit and have given all teams a very good game this season. We have a very strong and stable squad and with the acquisitions of maybe 2 more loan players before the ned of the season to further bolster the team, there is no team in this division that we should be afraid of. I am now starting to actually believe that this could be our year! Come on Stoke, lets do it!

Posted 22:06 21st February 2008

Will Taylor (Ipswich Town fan) says...

Hi Kammy, I'm an Ipswich fan, and would love it if you could finally curse Glenn Roeder with your manager of the month award. Any chance for February... please???

Posted 17:04 14th February 2008

Brian Salih (Stoke City fan) says...

I have never seen a team so resilient and determined as the current Stoke side. This is the first time in many years that we actually have strength in depth in most positions within the squad. Most teams in this divisoion would have folded against Southamptons onslaught in the second half buit Stoke showed what they are made of and if we get in top spot tommorrow it will take something very special to knock us off.

Posted 16:49 14th February 2008

Darren Gaskell (Bristol City fan) says...

Tony Pulis' comments about Bristol City not being in the run in for automatic promotion at the end of the season do not surprise me. A few years ago Tony was manager of Bristol City and he did a very convincing job then of showing his ability to recognise a promotional team. Keep the comments coming Tony.....

Posted 13:40 14th February 2008

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