Bristol City have largely managed to make a lot of progress as a football club over the last decade or so with the Robins managing to establish themselves fully back in the Championship and redevelop Ashton Gate.

The Robins were relegated from the Championship during the last ten years with that relegation campaign coming in the 2012/13 season. They did not bounce back at the first time of asking, but in 2014/15 Bristol City managed to achieve the double success of winning promotion back to the English second tier and also claiming the Football League Trophy.

Since their return to the English second tier, the Robins have set about trying to make themselves promotion contenders as they eye up a Premier League place. To that end, investment has been made in the stadium and the playing squad, but despite a number of promising starts to seasons they have not finished higher than 8th since their return.

With so much achieved by the club in the last decade, here we have put together our dream Bristol City starting XI from the last ten years. The line-up will be 4-4-2.

If this starting line-up was made up from just the quality of players then Tom Heaton would have to have a place in goal here. However, overall it was Frank Fielding who made the most difference of any keeper for the Robins in the last decade.

Fielding was an ever-present during the 2014/15 promotion and Football League Trophy-winning campaign and managed to become a regular in the side in the Championship during the subsequent three seasons. He was often able to fight off the challenges of numerous goalkeepers brought into the club during his time at Ashton Gate.

The keeper was also by far the club’s most used keeper during the last decade and he was capable of pulling off some excellent saves for the Robins in crucial stages in matches. Perhaps he was let down by his ability to command his penalty area, but with over 180 appearances in the last decade, he cannot be overlooked for this team.

Taking the right-back spot ahead of Mark Little is Luke Ayling, with the defender having been a crucial member of the side that won the promotion and Football League Trophy double in 2014/15.

He was often used in a back three rather than his more natural right-back, but he excelled at times on the right-hand side of a back three and has also shown how good he is in his natural position since his switch to Leeds United. Ayling was a regular for Bristol City during his three years in the first-team squad and managed to make 95 appearances between 2014 and 2017.

Ayling also managed to score four goals during that 2014/15 season and he then showed that he can step up and play Championship football with his performances in the 2015/16 campaign. In the summer of 2016, the defender sold to Leeds United in a move that shocked a lot of supporters and has continued to make even less sense given his influence at Elland Road.

This might be somewhat of a contentious choice at centre-back, with a lot of Bristol City supporters perhaps feeling that Louis Carey deserves a place here. However, the Robins were on a decline at the start of the last decade and the influential defender was not as important a player as he had been earlier in his time at the club.

Flint makes the line-up at the centre of defence simply because of how influential he was during that 2014/15 campaign. The defender produced several memorable moments including the hattrick he scored against Walsall and the EFL Trophy final strike. In all, he managed to fire in 15 goals in all competitions in that promotion-winning campaign which is stunning for a defender.

The defender was then at times an impressive performer in the Championship and managed to continue to be a real goal threat with six, five and eight league goals during the next three campaigns. He was eventually sold to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2018 netting the club around £7 million. Since then, he has not managed to impress too much for either Boro or Cardiff City.

For quality alone, it was always going to be difficult to leave out Adam Webster from this line-up. The defender was first class in nearly all of his matches for the Robins and always looked a player above the level of the Championship.

Webster only managed to make 47 appearances for the Robins during the last decade, and although there have been a lot of other centre-backs in that time none were as impressive as the defender. The 26-year-old only arrived at Ashton Gate in the summer of 2018 and would spend just a single campaign with the club as the Robins finished in 8th place in 2018/19.

The defender’s quality and composure in possession made him an eye-catching player to watch and he was the perfect foil for the physical presence of Tomas Kalas alongside him. Webster’s form was so good for the Robins that Brighton decided to swoop in and pay around £20 million for him in the summer of 2019 leaving Bristol City with a huge profit on the 26-year-old.

There simply is no other contender for the left-back role within this side than Joe Bryan. The defender was an outstanding performer for the Robins and was a hugely popular figure amongst supporters due to his string of impressive displays for the club.

Bryan came through the club’s academy and was a terrific servant and was a key performer during their 2014/15 promotion-winning campaign scoring seven goals in his 50 appearances in all competitions. He was then able to establish himself as one of the best left-backs in the Championship over the next three campaigns and was a crucial member of the side.

The left-back was also a standout performer during the Robins’ exciting run to the semi-finals of the League Cup during the 2017/18 campaign, with him also going on to score an impressive tally of seven goals in 48 appearances in all competitions that term. Bryan was eventually sold to Fulham in the summer of 2018 for around £6 million.

It is very hard to overlook the contributions that Albert Adomah made for the Robins during the first part of the last decade and he remains a popular figure amongst supporters even after spending time more recently with rivals Cardiff City.

Adomah arrived at Ashton Gate towards the start of the period we are concerned with for this line-up making the move to the club in the summer of 2010. He proved to be an astute acquisition for the football club with his ability to drive at defences and commit full-backs. While he was able to get his head up and often make the right choice in the final third and create a lot of chances.

During the 2010/11 campaign, the winger managed to score five league goals, while he managed five more league goals the following campaign before firing in another seven in 40 appearances during the 2012/13 campaign. Adomah’s form during his 136 appearances was always going to attract other clubs and eventually, Middlesbrough swooped in for him in the summer of 2013.

The heart of midfield is a position that will be a contentious one for this line-up, with the likes of Marlon Pack, Marvin Elliott, Korey Smith and Josh Brownhill all worthy of mentions to make this starting XI. However, the first option we have gone with is Pack.

The reason for selecting Pack is that he had a major influence during his time at the club in the last decade as a leader on and off the field. The midfielder made 282 appearances for the Robins between 2013 and his departure and he was another player that was crucial to helping the club get out of League One and establish themselves back in the English second tier.

Pack was a player that could be relied upon by all of the different managers that came and went during his time at Ashton Gate. The midfielder enjoyed impressive personal campaigns in 2015/16, 2017/18 and 2018/19 in particular and he had a massive influence around the dressing room and managed to set the tempo and dictate play often. His move to Cardiff though will have soured his relationship with supporters.

Both Elliott and Brownhill can consider themselves very unfortunate to miss out on a place in this side altogether. However, we have opted for Smith to come into the side alongside Pack in the middle of the park due to his longevity more than anything else.

Smith has been arguably one of the club’s most important players in the last decade or so, even if at times his quality has been overlooked and overshadowed by some of the other players around him in the side. The midfielder was an integral part of the 2014/15 promotion-winning campaign.

The midfielder was a regular in the side in the Championship in the subsequent years, barring periods where he was affected by injury troubles. Smith was also able to cement his place in the club’s history by netting that winning goal against Manchester United during the club’s run to the League Cup semi-finals in 2017/18. He left the club to join Swansea City last summer.

Into the side on the left-hand side of midfield is Luke Freeman really because of just of how good he was for the Robins during that 2014/15 campaign. He is not naturally suited to a role on the left-wing, but did play on the left-hand side of midfield on a few occasions when a 4-4-2 was utilised.

Freeman was outstanding in that 2014/15 season and he managed to establish himself as arguably League One’s Player of the Year that campaign with Dele Alli the obvious contender for that accolade. The attacker managed to register an impressive tally of seven goals in 46 appearances that term, whilst also contributing massively in a creative sense with 17 assists.

The attacker was less productive for the Robins in the Championship, but he did still weigh in with six assists and one goal in his 41 league appearances during the 2015/16 campaign. Freeman was also able to score twice in 18 league matches in the first half of the 2016/17 season, which tempted Queens Park Rangers to make a move for him in the January window.

As far as players go who demonstrated sheer quality for the Robins during the last decade, Tammy Abraham is arguably top of the list. The forward might only have spent one campaign with the club but he was so impressive during his loan spell that he has to make this line-up.

Abraham was brought into the club by Lee Johnson in the summer of 2016 on loan from Chelsea with the Robins looking for a real natural goal scorer. They certainly managed to find that in the form of the forward and he managed to showcase his star potential by firing in an impressive tally of 23 goals in the Championship, behind only Chris Wood in the league’s scoring charts.

The forward was able to impress in a side that largely had an underwhelming campaign and finished in 17th place in the Championship. That raises the question about where they would have been that year without Abraham’s goals. The forward won the club’s Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards as well as being their top scorer.

Both Bobby Reid and Jonathan Kodija to a lesser extent can consider themselves unfortunate not to have made this line-up. However, alongside Abraham up front has to be Aaron Wilbraham simply because of how impressive a signing he proved to be against the odds.

Wilbraham was one of the most unglamorous additions on paper the Robins have made in the last decade or so and when he arrived there would have been many fans wondering why he had been brought in. However, he proved to be the real difference for them in 2014/15 and linked the play up superbly and was also a reliable scorer chipping in with 18 goals and five assists that term.

The following season, Wilbraham showed that he could even still perform to a high standard in the Championship and he managed to score eight goals and provide three assists in 43 appearances in 2015/16. While the forward also chipped in with a further five goals in all competitions in 2016/17. Overall, he managed to make 124 appearances in this period and remains a hugely popular figure.