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Silvio Dante

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Silvio Dante

Silvio Dante

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monday september 19 2016

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UNDER THE SKIN OF THE GAME

Chelsea teenager Abraham aiming to be reunited with Rashford at highest level

Loanee has scored eight goals as Lee Johnson’s City seek to match Andy Robinson’s rugby union side by reaching top flight

Henry Winter | Chief Football Writer

September 19 2016, 12:01am, The Times

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Abraham has been an instant hit at Ashton Gate, showing an impressive ability to poach from close rangeMATT MCNULTY/JMP/REX
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It’s a broiling hot Bristol afternoon and two coaches, Lee Johnson and Andy Robinson, are standing in the shade by the side of Ashton Gate’s pristine pitch. They’re swapping ideas. Johnson, the enthusiastic 35-year-old head coach of Bristol City, listens intently to the more experienced Robinson, a respected leader of England and Scotland fortunes in the past and now director of rugby of Bristol. They watch the new screens being put into the rebuilt ground they share and await the opening of the dressing rooms. Johnson and Robinson are basically on snagging duty.

Mark Ashton, the chief operating officer of Bristol City, looks on with a smile. Such information exchanges, as well as the dramatic upgrading of a 129-year-old ground, all form part of the vision of Bristol Sport, the group of sporting clubs owned by local billionaire Steve Lansdown.

What impresses me with rugby is the level of detail they go into, those marginal gains that they’re very good atLee Johnson

“Andy and Lee are two really good guys who’ll sit in the coffee shop here, talking tactics, match preparation, training methods, drones at the training ground, kit and travel to games,’’ says Ashton as he guides me on a tour of Ashton Gate. “Lee goes into their dressing room to observe.”

Johnson breaks away from the football-rugby confab to expand on this quiet revolution by the Avon. “I really like Andy,’’ Johnson starts. “He’s great for me. What impresses me with rugby is the level of detail they go into, those marginal gains that they’re very good at. I went to congratulate the team after one match and they had such a detailed plan of the warm-up times — arrive, strappings, team meetings, first whistle, second whistle, team huddle — a list of 20-odd things. The same happens in football but sometimes you’re pulling people off the physio bed. I stole that from rugby. The best coaches are the best stealers.”

Bristol got promoted to the Aviva Premiership last season while City target the Premier League. “The Championship’s brutal, because you’re not in heaven or in hell,” Ashton says. “You’re almost in purgatory. You’re desperate to get to that promised land and we’ve seen so many clubs overstretch and pay the price.” He thinks of Leeds United and Portsmouth. “Any chief executive who’s responsible thinks of those. You have to build sustainable success. You have to build a house of steel, not a house of cards. We’re custodians.“Some clubs pay wages twice ours, and transfer fees that we can’t. We have to fish in ponds, rivers and lakes that others won’t.” City look for loans like Tammy Abraham from Chelsea. “How did we sell it to Tammy? Honesty. We spent quite a lot of time giving the family the comfort that a) Tammy’s going to be looked after b) was going to play, and c) would continue his development. Chelsea wanted some comfort that he would not be sitting on the bench. We report to Marina Granovskaia and Michael Emenalo [the director and technical director respectively] on how Tammy’s doing. They take a very close interest.”

The attraction for Chelsea is that Abraham will play regularly and develop. “Part of the challenge we have with the academy system in this country is that there’s a bottleneck, they don’t play,’’ Ashton says. “There’s a pathway here.”

Abraham is on the pitch where the team photograph is being taken. It is stickily hot, so he strolls to the Atyeo Stand to discuss pathways. “I look on this as an opportunity,’’ says the polite, ambitious striker. “No matter what team I’m playing for, I have to show my quality.” He is doing that, scoring eight times in ten games for City, many poached from close range. Although he failed to score in the 1-1 draw away to Derby County on Saturday, he was there right to the end, battling it out until Aaron Wilbraham’s late equaliser.

I see us going places. Hopefully we can fight for the play-offs. I love how the crowd have been with me. They’ve made me so welcomeTammy Abraham

“Playing against players older and stronger, I have to adapt my game, knowing when to go, when to hold my run and following up loose balls,” he says. “It’s more physical here. I have to use my brains. It’s something you’re born with.” It has also been honed under Adi Viveash, Chelsea’s development squad manager.

“When you’re working day in, day out with fantastic staff, coaches and players you start to build the talent you’ve always had and bring it out more. My idol growing up was Didier Drogba,” Abraham says. “I loved his hold-up play, strength and how he always made good banter with the kids, really made us feel welcome. He was always a great role model to me. My dream is to play in the Premier League and I have to keep working hard until I get there.” Last May, Abraham came on against Liverpool and Leicester City. “That was an amazing feeling making my debut, playing at places like Anfield and Stamford Bridge.”

He smiles at the mention of how another 18-year-old, Marcus Rashford, is faring. “I’ve played against this guy so many times. I played against him two weeks before his debut [for Manchester United in February] and we just knocked them out of the FA Youth Cup. I was so excited for him. It just proves when young players have a chance they do well. That’s what he’s showing at Man United and I’m really happy for him. He’s a really nice guy, a humble lad.

“I see us going places. Hopefully we can fight for the play-offs. I love how the crowd have been with me. They’ve made me so welcome. Scoring goals is what I love doing. From a young kid, I always wanted to score. Even when I played centre back I’ve always run forward. If I haven’t scored, I’m not happy with myself no matter how well I play, and if we haven’t won, I’m not someone to talk to. I’ll be angry and frustrated with myself.

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Johnson is unrepentant about stealing coaching ideas from other sportsMATT MCNULTY/JMP/REX

“I just love being on that field. My family had to sacrifice a lot for me, they took me everywhere as a kid, very supportive, and I want to pay them back.” Abraham has represented England at under-18 and under-19 levels, but is eligible for Nigeria. “Nigeria is always an option because it’s my country,” he says. “I’m playing in England right now, so I don’t want to take my mind off that. Hopefully, I can make it to the top and the senior team with England.”

Ashton appreciates that desire for involvement with England. He knows Nobby Stiles and Sam Allardyce from his days with West Bromwich Albion, where he was ballboy, reserve goalkeeper — even playing in a friendly against Real Madrid — community officer and director. “Nobby was my coach when I was 13 to 16,” Ashton recalls. “A World Cup winner! He taught me discipline, hard work and teamwork. He taught me the difference between right and wrong.

“I remember playing as an 18-year-old at Wycombe’s old stadium in the reserves with Sam and he was inspirational. He made me feel a million dollars. Lee said to Sam this summer, ‘I’ve got Mark Ashton here, keeps saying he was a player, was he any good?’ Sam said, ‘Well, let’s hope he’s a better chief executive than a player.’ Cheeky sod. I really hope Sam does well with England and my instincts are he will. He has huge experience.”

Ashton likes to see home-grown coaches prosper. He has worked with Sean Dyche at Watford, Michael Appleton at Oxford United and now Johnson. Johnson understands the scale of the challenge. City are 12th in a league full of ambitious, wealthy rivals. “It’s very, very difficult,” he says, watching Abraham juggle the ball by the side of the pitch. “I don’t think people realise how parachute payments affect the division; you’re £20 million-plus behind and that’s before a foreign owner goes and chucks in millions and millions.

“For us, it has to be about quality coaching and good recruitment. We’ve got to get the stars of the future before they are stars, like Tammy although he’s not ours. We got Callum O’Dowda from Oxford, Tammy on loan, Taylor Moore from Lens and the kid from Juventus, Hordur Magnusson, players we believe within the next three years will have us ready for promotion. The group has not quite found their spirit, because we’re not old enough. We’re trying to fast-track it with Gary O’Neil and Lee Tomlin, established Championship players.”

We soon meet the lady Johnson calls “the Queen”. In the 1,000-seat banqueting suite, playing host to the Senior Reds lunch is Marina Dolman, whose late husband, Harry, was chairman and president. Marina is an elegant link to the club’s past, a reminder of continuity. “This club’s about the people, people like Marina,” Johnson says. “She’s so supportive it’s unbelievable. My little girl, eight, always gives her a big cuddle. That’s the spirit of the place.”

Downstairs, huge pictures hang from the rafters of the much-loved likes of Billy Wedlock, Ivor Guy, John Atyeo and Gerry Gow. Kids from the club’s community scheme are playing table tennis in one of the concourses.

“Steve’s very, very passionate about community and so is his son, Jon [the vice-president],” Ashton says of Lansdown. “Steve’s a Bristolian. You won’t find a better owner. Look at the facilities for fans in these concourses. Gone are the days standing in the back of a wet cowshed.”

Johnson agrees. “If we get it going here, this will be massive. This is a Premier League club in training.”

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Port Said Red

Port Said Red

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Almost perfect, shame they thought we were away to Derby, other than that a very good piece. I am glad to see that, as I suggested in a post last week, that LJ is taking the opportunity of sharing with a rugby club to find where their training techniques can be incorporated into ours and I would imagine, vice versa.

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cidered abroad

cidered abroad

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Another piece of good publicity for City. It's not the same shaped ball, but to have close contact with Andy Robinson, a coach who has managed at international level, is a plus point that many football managers do not have.

Should make us all realise that the pressure we put on the Head Coach and players for results is small compared with the expectations from SL via Mark Ashton to Lee Johnson. We, as a club, have made a significant change to our philosophy from days gone. We used to hope that we would achieve whereas now it seems to be that we will / intend to do it.

The word "hopefully" should now be erased from the vocabulary of everyone connected with Bristol City. 

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Phileas Fogg

Phileas Fogg

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That article shows that LJ is clearly still learning and wanting to improve. I really like that he's obviously fascinated by management theory and is prepared to steal ideas from other sports. I love his hunger to succeed and I'm sure he will.

I don't think I've wanted a manager to succeed more than him, something nice about it when you know the manager is also a fan of the club. I really hope if we have a poor run of form, which probably will happen, fans remain patient. We are a work in progress and it'll be worth the wait.

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