Neil Warnock believes it's an exciting time to be a Bristol City fan as he sees parallels in their squad to his former Sheffield United side that achieved promotion to the Premier League.
The Huddersfield Town manager set up his side to battle out a hard-fought point against the Robins last night, frustrating the visitors by disrupting the flow of the game with a series of niggly fouls and a direct approach going forward.
City were the better side throughout with Nigel Pearson brandishing the contest as a missed opportunity to pick up all three points. After the game, Warnock was complimentary of the squad the City manager has built, in particular making note of the blend between youth and experience.
Pearson had five academy players starting in Max O'Leary, Zak Vyner, Cam Pring, Alex Scott and Sam Bell and another two on the substitute bench in Omar Taylor-Clarke and Marlee Francois. It reminded Warnock of his Blades side back in 2005-06, having finished as runners-up with his success built on the academy players breaking into the senior side.
When asked about his thoughts on City after last night's game, the 74-year-old responded: “It’s almost like I had at Sheffield United. I had (Nick) Montgomery, (Phil) Jagielka, (Michael) Tongey, they all came at (age) 17/18 and, all of a sudden, we had a really good side and they cared because they were locals.
“That’s what he has got, young lads coming through and it’s an exciting time for Bristol City.”
Warnock pinpointed 19-year-old Scott as City's main dangerman in midfield and therefore deployed Jonathan Hogg to man-mark the talent throughout. The Huddersfield captain followed his every move and was robust in his challenges, eventually earning a yellow card towards the end of the first half.
Scott had positive moments breaking through the lines but ultimately couldn't provide the quality required to break the deadlock. "Absolutely," Warnock responded when asked if marking Scott was Hogg's main role last night.
"I told him if he went to the toilet at half-time then go with him. A good player isn't he (Scott)? He didn't do a lot tonight, I thought Hoggy was super."
Likewise to his counterpart, Warnock was also disappointed his side were denied a penalty in the first half when Jay Dasilva took down Brahima Diarra when Huddersfield made a rare venture forward. Up the other end, Mark Sykes' appeal was turned down when he was barged in the back following a delivery into the area.
Warnock added: "I was disappointed that we didn't get a penalty in the first half really. I think Nigel complained about them not having one for about two years.
"The referee said to me coming off he thought Diarra kicked the air or something, but when you look at it, he took all his legs. I don't understand. I'll get a phone call apologising this week, no doubt. I don't see other people's (claims) to be honest! But ey, he daren't give that one if he didn't give ours."
Warnock's relationship with City fans is well documented with a rivalry that stems back to 2008 when Gary Johnson was in charge. Since then, he's enjoyed playing the pantomime villain at Ashton Gate and recently reiterated his wish to have a minute's booing at Bristol City when he passes away over a minute's applause.
"My missus said to me 'please don't talk about you dying again will you?'" he joked in his post-match press conference. "She said 'I hate it' so I said I won't anymore.
"I think I'm going to organise one of my shows in Bristol now, that will be a sellout - will you come to that? I'll tell them to do it at one of the theatres."
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