Bristol Live’s Bristol City fan columnist dissects the Robins’ defeat to West Brom and the hostility around Ashton Gate currently
10:25, 23 Mar 2026Updated 10:31, 23 Mar 2026
Bristol City defender, Ross McCrorie, in action against West Brom at Ashton Gate(Image: Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images)
I walked out of Ashton Gate on Saturday, genuinely lost for words, and that doesn’t happen often. A friend turned to me as we joined the stream of Bristol City supporters shuffling out of the stadium and said, “Rather you than me writing about that load of rubbish.”
He wasn’t wrong. It’s difficult to know how to capture the scale of the performance we saw against West Brom. Disjointed, lethargic, belief‑less, embarrassing. All those words fit and still somehow fall short of describing just how poor City were in a 1–0 defeat that felt far heavier than the scoreline suggested.
Even Gerhard Struber admitted afterwards that the game had lacked intensity and felt “like a friendly.” When the head coach himself is making that comparison, you know the performance was as bad as it felt in the stands.
OPINION
Daniel Carter
OPINION
Daniel Carter
In my many years watching this club, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the level of direct, sustained hostility toward the ownership that echoed around Ashton Gate on Saturday.
Chants of “I don’t care about Lansdown, he don’t care about me…” rang out, and the anger felt different this time. More unified, more visceral and from more parts of the Stadium. I understand it. I have written repeatedly in recent weeks that the structure of the club needs major changes. Yes, we have a new CEO, and yes, we’re in the process of recruiting a sporting director, but is that enough?
A large portion of the fanbase clearly thinks not. Unless the commercial side improves, unless investment arrives, unless the wage structure changes so that we can keep our best players and attract genuine Championship‑level quality, then the same cycle only repeats. We become a “player trading club” without the “building toward something” part. The Premier League will always be a pipe dream.
When the final whistle went, the boos rained down. I’m not one to boo the players or the head coach; it’s just not my way, but I also couldn’t bring myself to applaud them all off. They’d given me nothing to applaud.
Sign up for our City newsletter
Bristol City looking to build on last season’s play-off finish under Gerhard Struber and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.
All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.
It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE
The only exception was George Earthy, and that tells the whole story. When a substitute who came on in the 69th minute is being discussed as Man of the Match, it says everything about the other players who stepped onto that pitch. Earthy at least showed urgency, bravery on the ball, some forward thought, the absolute basics you expect from professionals.
Let’s be fair, injuries have hit us hard. The spine of the team has been disrupted with only one fit centre back. Selection has been a headache for Struber, but for the second game running, the head coach got big calls wrong.
A left‑hand side of Neto Borges and Ross McCrorie simply doesn’t work. Meanwhile, a midfield pairing of Adam Randell and Sam Morsy is too defensive, too slow, too same‑y. Everything was predictable: sideways, backwards, static. Honestly, it was worse than Manning‑ball, and we all remember how low the energy sank under Liam Manning at times.
At least then we got to see wins in the second half of the season, and we did make the play-offs. There was no tempo, no aggression, no intent and all this against a team that hadn’t won away since October. We’ve become the Championship’s comfort blanket. A team you can rely on when you need a result.
(Image: West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images)
Let me be crystal clear: I like Struber. I like the way he speaks about culture and identity, but he is not exempt from criticism. Right now, he is making poor decisions. The starting line-up, the lack of width, the baffling loyalty to players badly out of form and the substitutions that weaken rather than improve the team.
Take Delano Burgzorg, for example. How is he getting minutes? What is he offering? I’m not scapegoating him because almost everyone was poor, but Delano’s cameos have shown nothing. January’s fans’ player of the month, Sam Bell, is left sitting on the bench. I’m not saying Sam is the answer, but he would absolutely be getting game time over Delano for me. Is there a clause in the contract that means Delano must play a part in games?
Watching the players up close felt like watching individuals counting down games rather than fighting for a club. As fans, we can think about the summer, but players can’t. Mark Sykes looked like a man who knows he won’t be here next season. Ross McCrorie played with frustration; another whose contract is a big talking point on social media. Emil Riis gets no service and looks like he’s forcing everything and then stops working hard. We’re playing two attacking midfielders, Scott Twine and Tomi Horvat, and yet they provided virtually no creativity.
The only time we looked remotely threatening was when Sinclair Armstrong came on and at least rattled a few West Brom defenders, but even then, our decision‑making was woeful. Burgzorg stepping over the ball when he should have shot summed it up.
We may just have enough points banked to stay away from a relegation battle, but make no mistake, the direction of travel is downwards. To go from last season’s play-off push to this and to go from high‑intensity pressing and early‑season optimism to this, something has gone very wrong, and it isn’t just down to injuries, albeit they have played a major factor.
We are a team that has run out of ideas and seems lost. It feels like the players aren’t responding to Struber’s instructions or that the instructions aren’t working. We had 54% possession, an xG of 0.15, and 431 accurate passes, but honestly, it felt nothing like that in terms of accuracy. On top of it all, possession without intent is just boring.
Struber said recently that the gap between the Under‑21s and the first team was “too big”. I’m sorry, but I refuse to believe Seb Naylor, or others, couldn’t have brought more energy, heart, and bravery than what we witnessed on Saturday. Young players need protecting, yes, of course they do, but they also need opportunities. Similarly, senior players need consequences, because right now, no performance seems poor enough to be dropped. Earthy absolutely must be given minutes. Bell must be considered.
It isn’t a coincidence that form plummeted the moment that Zak Vyner and Anis Mehmeti left, citing ambition of their new clubs but also a veiled statement that City wasn’t moving in the right direction. You can’t underestimate the impact moments like that have on a dressing room. Players talk, players notice and players ask questions.
(Image: West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images)
Did we replace them adequately? No. Did we strengthen the positions we were desperate to? No. Did we add a striker? No. Burgzorg isn’t one, and we’re paying for it.
So… What Now? We find ourselves at a crossroads. The fanbase is fracturing, the performances are declining, and the head coach is coming under scrutiny from, I’m sure, the boardroom and some of the fanbase. The ownership faces open revolt, losing the trust of the fanbase, even ardent Lansdown supporters. A league position slipping week by week, and the club feels directionless.
I’ve seen countless long‑term supporters, fifty‑plus‑year fans, saying they’re seriously not renewing their season tickets for the first time. That should terrify the board more than any chant. Something must change, visibly and decisively. Whether that is appointing an ambitious, proven sporting director, retaining our best players, delivering a strong summer window, or, yes, potentially a change of ownership, because we cannot keep selling our best players and replacing them with players not at the level needed to achieve promotion.
Mr Lansdown cannot ignore what is happening, and I am sure he won’t. He is clearly not a stupid man. If he was impacted by previous “sack the board” chants, he would have been floored by some of the anger on show this weekend.
Bristol City Live on Whatsapp
Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone
Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community.
Whatever happens next, whether it’s structural change, investment, or a shift in leadership, City cannot continue sleepwalking toward mediocrity. What we watched on Saturday wasn’t just a bad day; it felt like a warning. A warning that if things don’t change on the pitch and off it, then far darker days could be ahead.
Our 3 Peaps in A Podcast player ratings were: Radek Vitek 5.5, Noah Eile 5.5, Jason Knight 6.0, Neto Borges 4.0, Mark Sykes 5.0, Ross McCrorie 4.5, Adam Randell 6.0, Sam Morsy 5.0, Tomi Horvat 5.0, Scott Twine 4.0,and Emil Riis 4.0.
For the substitutes, who must play a minimum of 20 minutes (including injury time) for a rating, we went for: George Earthy 6.0 *MotM, Cameron Pring 4.5, Max Bird 6.0 and Sinclair Armstrong 5.5. A game average player rating of 5.10, resulting in a season-to-date league average of 6.01. A surprisingly high average, but only really brought up by the 6.0’s for Knight, Randell, Earthy and Bird.
For head coach Gerhard Struber, it was a 4.0. We gave the game a rating of 4.0.
READ MORE: Gerhard Struber issues apology to fans as Bristol City belief questioned after West Brom defeatREAD MORE: Bristol City 0-1 West Brom reaction: Robins extend winless run as Struber’s side beaten in BS3