It was fantastic to have Dean Holden on Robins On the Wire this week. He speaks so well and with such enthusiasm, a big thanks to Dean for taking the time out to chat to us. There was a lot to take from what he said too.
I loved the story of how Dean Holden, Jamie McAllister and Lee Johnson turned up to the League Manager Awards last year in black tie when in fact just a suit would have sufficed, and how Holden took the blame!
It was fascinating to gain an insight into his relation with Lee Johnson.
We may think from the outside they are best mates and although it was explained how they very much do get on, they don’t socialise together.
This is probably a positive, no lines can be blurred and there is clearly a mutual respect. It makes you also wonder how long will this three stay together? They obviously have a solid working relationship and Johnson was keen to have Holden with him in BS3.
'Karma' - Bristol City legend sends message to Derby's ex-Robin after play-off triumph over Leeds
At the time of writing there has been much speculation about Lee Johnson being in the running for the Brighton job.
I was shocked to hear they had sacked Chris Hughton, he kept them in the Premier League and they reached the FA Cup semi-final. I can understand they want to progress, however they are still new to the Premier League, personally I thought Chris Hughton had done a good job and deserved better treatment.
Their form since Christmas had been poor but at the end of the season they retained their Premier League status. I cannot imagine he will be out of work for long, he is a true gentleman of the game and his next club will be lucky to have him.
I cannot see Johnson going there, he has a project here at Bristol City that he is so passionate about but we are still yet to hear about a new deal for him which only furthers speculation.
Swansea boss Graham Potter is said to be favourite. I have seen some people question this but for me he was one of the managers of the year. He put his trust in youth at Swansea, partly because he didn’t have any choice and I suspect Swansea will sell more players this summer.
If Potter is not given the backing he needs to challenge for promotion then Premier League status with Brighton must be tempting.
Tyreeq Bakinson has put pen to paper on a new deal with the Robins. His season at Newport County is testament to what an amazing job Brian Tinnion is doing managing these young players loans.
How often do we see players loaned to club and it not being the right fit resulting in very few minutes?
Look at the number of successful loans this season, young Bristol City players have had big impacts and Bakinson is one of them.
It will be interesting to see if he goes out on loan again or if he can force his way into the first team squad.
Gregor recently asked on the podcast, is Tinnion having even more impact now with his work than he did on the field as a player?
He was a key player and so influential, yet now his body of work is so big arguably he now has a wider effect.
Even if these young players don’t have a future at City he is still helping get them moves by placing them at clubs where they enjoy decent game time.
It is not without exaggeration to say he is changing these young men’s lives. We all meet people like this who impact our paths at some point along the way, these lads are lucky to have Tinnion in their corner.
