A Christmas message to City fans.

On behalf of the club I’d like to wish you all the best this Christmas. We hope you have a fun festive season and a safe time with family and friends.

As another year ends, I want to thank you for your support over the past 12 months.

You continue to turn out in great numbers, home and away, and that support has only increased this season.

Our average home attendance is now over 22,000 – up nearly 2,000 on last season – with 15,000 Season Ticket holders. That is a fantastic fanbase and I know Liam and the players greatly appreciate the backing you give them.

The same goes for Lauren and the women’s team who have broken their own record three times for a crowd at Ashton Gate, including 14,000 for the Manchester United game. There are now 1,800 City Women Season Ticket holders, many watching women’s football for the first time.

Both teams are benefitting from our Academy system, with the men having an average of six academy graduates in the first team matchday squad and the women eight.

For the men’s team we have the highest percentage of minutes played (33.7%) by club-trained players in the top two divisions in England – players who have been with us for at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21. We are sixth in the top five European leagues behind only Athletic Club, Olympique Lyonnais, Real Sociedad, Real Madrid and SC Freiburg. The Academy will remain a strong focus for us going forward.

We have had three debuts from the Academy this season so far, Joseph James, Jamie Knight-Lebel and Ephraim Yeboah, and a lot of credit should go to all those involved in developing the next generation of players.

Academy players are integrated into the first team environment when the time is right and we believe that, given Liam’s experience in developing players and supported by Brian Tinnion, we will have many more coming through.

Liam has settled in well and, while it is going to take time, everyone is fully behind him, Chris Hogg and the rest of the staff.

I firmly believe that we are heading in the right direction and we are all looking forward to 2024 with a lot of optimism.

There is plenty of work to do, on and off the pitch. You will have seen that we have announced the accounts for last year with a significant loss although we are continuing the recent trend of reducing those losses each season.

It was good to hear your questions and views at the Fans Forum last month and at the recent Senior Reds Christmas lunch.

Please be assured that we want to listen to you and improve because ultimately we are all seeking the same thing – a growing Bristol City, playing at the highest level and inspiring our community.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Jon Lansdown