Steve Coppell is refusing to sacrifice his principles in search of a quick-fix solution to Bristol City's mounting problems. City's new manager saw his team trounced 3-0 by Championship new-boys Millwall in a one-sided opening-day clash at Ashton Gate. To make matters worse, the injury jinx which has deprived Coppell of several key players struck again when loan signing Sam Vokes was carried off with a suspected torn hamstring 13 minutes into his debut. The Welsh international joins last season's top-scorer Nicky Maynard and Danny Haynes in the treatment room and early assessments suggest he could be out of action for at least six weeks.
Bristol Evening Post
As first-night performances go, this is one new City boss Steve Coppell and his red-faced charges will want to forget in a hurry. Ashton Gate was packed to the rafters with expectant supporters buoyed by the arrival of one of the most successful Championship managers in the business and the chance to see England number one David James in action for the first time in a City shirt. But the feel-good factor engendered by a summer of mounting expectation evaporated with indecent haste in an 11-minute period either side of half time as plucky Millwall, no respecters of reputation and eager to make a good impression upon their return to the English second tier, scored three times to throw a giant-sized spanner into the works. In short, just about everything that could have gone wrong for the new manager, did go wrong. So much so, that acting Robins captain Cole Skuse, deputising for the injured Louis Carey, emerged from a shell-shocked dressing room to offer a heart-felt apology to supporters in the aftermath of what can only be described as a horror show.
Bristol Evening Post
Bristol City captain Cole Skuse has trained with David James for just a week but reckons the 40-year-old goalkeeper has what it takes to be a future England manager. That is all well and good, but James will be more concerned this morning with whether he still has a future as an international No 1. Axed from Fabio Capello's squad for Wednesday's Wembley friendly with Hungary, James will instead be preparing this morning for a trip to Southend in the Carling Cup first round. 'England's No 1' was a chant used to mock him by Millwall's 2,000 travelling fans as they seized control in the 20 minutes either side of half-time.
Daily Mail
AXED by the Three Lions and floored by three from the Lions, at least David James did not have far to drive home. The convenience of his Devon pad to his new side City's Ashton Gate ground was the only bright spot for old Calamity on a day both his international and club careers were left in tatters. His exclusion from Fabio Capello's 23-man England squad for the bridge-building friendly against Hungary at Wembley on Wednesday may not have come as a great surprise to anyone. It would have been no shock, either, to the keeper who stunned football with his decision to snub the Premier League for the Championship in order to play regular football and be nearer his family pile in the West Country. But this drubbing on his Robins debut was a major shock as he discovered defending in Bristol is even worse than it was in Bloemfontein - where he and England crashed 4-1 to Germany in the World Cup. No wonder the shellshocked keeper, who had spent all week giving interviews, refused to speak afterwards.
The Sun
Steve Coppell admitted that Bristol City have an awful lot of improving to do after his side crashed to a comprehensive home defeat to Millwall in their Championship opener at Ashton Gate on Saturday.
Independent
