00:01Now, Bristol City face a big summer window after obviously achieving the playoffs for the first time in a number of years.
00:09And obviously, Liam Manning now has the task of trying to go again, trying to bounce back and go on better,
00:14obviously falling short in the semi-finals against Sheffield United.
00:18But they do want to keep those goals up.
00:20They want to make sure that they are there or thereabouts again.
00:23And to do that, a big summer window is probably needed in terms of, you know, building on the core they've got,
00:29building on this group that they've got under Liam Manning and the success that they were so close to having.
00:34You know, two games from the Premier League at the end of the day.
00:37Liam Manning has really brought this group together with a bit of fantastic togetherness, especially in 2025.
00:43But if you look at the championship, there's a number of teams who are a bit uncertain about where they stand,
00:48about what their goals are going to be.
00:50You know, Bristol City aren't one of those sides.
00:53And then you also have to look at the bigger picture with the likes of Birmingham City,
00:56Wrexham, all coming up to the championship as well to make it even harder in terms of their financial backing,
01:03their ownership situation as well.
01:05So there's going to be a lot to contest with for the likes of Bristol City.
01:11We're going to go to our Bristol correspondent, Daniel Wales.
01:14Dan, just give us a rundown on how important the window is for Bristol City and what their sort of transfer plans are,
01:20how they're going to navigate, what they have to work with in terms of a big summer window at the club.
01:26I think it really is an important window for Bristol City, Charles, because, of course,
01:32they got themselves into the playoff and the season just gone.
01:35And yet they didn't really have a squad that could compete at that level, to be honest.
01:40Liam Manning certainly had his side overachieving for a lot of the second half of the campaign.
01:46And obviously that's testament to him and the players who achieved what they did.
01:49But it was probably unsustainable eventually, and that's probably why they were beaten so heavily in the playoff semifinals against Sheffield United.
01:57Of course, yes, you can argue the red card in the first leg effectively killed the tie, to be honest.
02:03And it did.
02:05But I think at the same time, you could also argue that Bristol City probably wouldn't have won either way.
02:13Certainly, second leg, yes, they were already 3-0 down
02:17and trying to chase what was a lost cause.
02:20But even then, Sheffield United still looked relatively comfortable.
02:23So from that argument and that viewpoint, certainly they perhaps had come to the end of that cycle
02:31and that way of overachieving as to where they'd got to in the championship last season.
02:36But obviously, huge credit has to go to all the players and the staff for getting themselves into that position.
02:40But now they need to build on that depth they had.
02:42Because as much as they have a lot of mid-table championship players, they do have some quality in there as well.
02:48You look at the likes of Scott Twain, for example, Ennis Mometi, even Naki Wells,
02:52although he's perhaps coming to the other end of his career.
02:55So you could argue that even he needs depth and replacement within the squad over the summer as well.
03:03So it is a hugely important window for Bristol City, one that Liam Manning and his staff will look to get as right as they can.
03:11Because if they do, then you have to say, well, there's no reason why Bristol City can't compete at the same extent next season,
03:18perhaps even higher up the table.
03:20But of course, that depends on whether Liam Manning can get some of the players he already has,
03:23performing to the same levels that he has at the second half of the season, just gone.
03:28And that's a tall order for them, given just how much they put into that.
03:34But it's not to say it can't happen again, because Liam Manning clearly is a capable coach.
03:39To get that much out of a squad who, let's be honest, probably on average would finish,
03:44you'd imagine around the championships mid-tail, sort of 10th, 9th would be probably the highest they could have normally hoped for.
03:51But yet, they came 6th, they could have even come 5th if they won the last game of the season.
03:55And that just shows how much they were playing more than what they were probably capable of at the end of the season.
04:02So, huge credit to them, but the summer is really important.
04:05I think certainly, up front, they need more goal-scoring threat, because they did create a lot of chances last season,
04:10but failed to take as many, perhaps, as they would have liked as well.
04:13And perhaps, if they'd taken more than they'd created, or at least, you know, even at that ratio, a little bit,
04:19we could be talking about Bristol City still being in the playoffs at this stage as well,
04:23going into the final at Wembley at the weekend.
04:25Of course, though, it is Sheffield United and Sunderland there instead.
04:29But, certainly, strike force, that needs improving, and perhaps, you could argue the midfield,
04:34I mean, obviously, you could argue everywhere around the pitch needs improving for every team,
04:38but I think midfield is so much as to control games a little bit more.
