Bristol City were a club that many expected better of last season in the Sky Bet Championship. It was an expectation that did not deliver.
Bristol City instead suffered from bouts of inconsistency which saw them end the 2020/21 Championship campaign in 19th place – just eight points clear of the relegation places.
This summer will be an important period of time for Bristol City. This is where the Robins will need to rebuild and restructure under Nigel Pearson. Pearson will need to assemble a squad more suited for the Championship than they had last time out.
They’ve already started that rebuilding with Oxford United centre-back Rob Atkinson. They will also sport a remoulded midfield. This is due to free transfer arrivals of Leicester City’s Matty James and OH Leuven’s Andy King.
This duo offsets the departures of some familiar faces from last season. These include Henri Lansbury (to Luton Town), Tommy Rowe (to Doncaster Rovers) and Liam Walsh (to Swansea City).
Nigel Pearson has explained the reasoning behind the departure of Liam Walsh per an article authored by Bristol Live’s Gregor MacGregor.
Walsh started out his football career in the youth set-up at Everton before a permanent move to Ashton Gate and Bristol City in early January 2018. He went on to make just 22 appearances for the Robins before being leaving for Swansea.
City coach Pearson said Walsh is a player the Robins “decided to allow to go.” He gave a basic reasoning behind this – value for money.
Pearson qualified this adding: “some players we felt for the wages they were earning, we couldn’t offer that.” Pearson mentions that at least the same terms need to be offered or a player becomes a free transfer.
Pearson feels as though the players that he has brought in so far are capable of strengthening the midfield. To that end, he feels as though Walsh leaving Ashton Gate will not dilute the Robins squad.
