This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Fan’s Voice’ series, where we gather original opinions from those closest to the clubs concerned on matters surrounding their team and share them with a wider audience…

After just six months in charge at Ashton Gate, time was called on Dean Holden's tenure in charge of Bristol City last week.

A 2-0 midweek defeat to Reading was Holden's final match in charge, having only been appointed as head coach of the club back in August.

Things weren't always as bad as they have been recently, with the club on a downward spiral having lost six successive games in all competitions before Holden's termination.

He actually won his first four league games in charge on a permanent basis, having steadied the ship until the end of the season prior following Lee Johnson's sacking.

Injuries began to mount though mid-season and the wheels ended up falling off - and now the job has been given to Nigel Pearson to steer the ship in the right direction until at least the end of the season.

 

 

 

 

FLW's Bristol City fan correspondent Kory Cook has given his view on Holden's departure, and like seemingly a lot of Robins supporters he believes it was the right move.

"We were absolutely right to sack Dean, unfortunately," Cook said.

"He’s been fantastic for us since joining in 2016 as assistant to Lee Johnson, and he's a genuinely fantastic bloke, but it just wasn't working.

"We started really well, but injuries to our key players halted our momentum, and it all went downhill from there really.

"By the end of his tenure we were shipping goals and hardly creating a chance per game, so it was the correct decision."

Our Verdict

I think you'll be hard-pressed to find many people who believed that Holden deserved more time to turn things around at Ashton Gate.

His appointment back in August came with a mixed reaction, with sections of the City support criticising the board for going with the 'cheap' option when they could have tried to get an experienced head in Chris Hughton.

The early good results could have been put down to momentum, and when Bristol City needed some guidance through a tough spell with a lot of injuries, Holden's inexperience probably let him down.

In Nigel Pearson though they have a man who knows how to win promotion, so if he stays beyond the end of the season, then the Robins could be automatic promotion challengers in 2021/22.