It’s safe to say George Earthy has had a mixed start to his first loan spell away from West Ham United. Having played and scored for the Hammers in the Premier League last season, Bristol City supporters were understandably excited to see what the young midfielder could do in the Championship under Liam Manning’s management.
The signing of Scott Twine and injuries on the right flank meant that the majority of the 20-year-old’s football in City colours came out of position in the first half of the campaign. Although Earthy impressed as a right-wing back against the likes of Norwich City and Sheffield United, he hadn’t been able to showcase his ability in the final third to kickstart his time at Ashton Gate. That changed on Friday night, however.
Having been introduced in place of Anis Mehemti with the Robins 1-0 down in the second half against Middlesbrough, the Irons loanee scored his first and second goals in City colours to complete the comeback and secure all three points for Manning’s side. They may not have been screamers, but their importance was not lost on the Reds’ support or Earthy himself.
“Obviously a brilliant result and a really good performance to go with it so everyone is buzzing,” the midfielder told Bristol Live after the full-time whistle. “You’ve got to be in and around it. They count the same as a 30-yard screamer so to get both tonight I’m absolutely delighted.
“It’s definitely a relief,” he continued. “I think you’re just waiting for one of those to literally fall for you so you can get off the mark. I’ve been waiting for a goal for a long while, ever since the start of the season I’ve just been chomping at the bit for a goal. To get two tonight, I think they come like buses so just buzzing.”
As they have done on several occasions at Ashton Gate so far this season, Manning’s side got the better of Boro in the first half, without managing to secure that all-important goal. It was Michael Carrick’s side who headed into the break with the lead after Tommy Conway headed from close range on his return to the West Country.
The forward, who is a product of the City academy, wheeled away in celebration before standing in front of Section 82 with his fingers in his ears as the home support made their feelings known. It almost felt inevitable that something like this would happen given the discussion around the Scotland international in the lead-up to the game.
While the celebration certainly wasn’t lost on the Reds fans who occupied three sides of Ashton Gate, it had also caught the eye of the players on the Robins’ bench. When Earthy scored the winner in front of the South Stand with less than 10 minutes left on the clock, he knew exactly where he was headed.
“I did enjoy it and I think it kind of speaks for itself why I did the celebration,” the midfielder smiled. “I saw what happened in the first half and just thought why not?
“I think definitely, we were knocking on the door in the first half, I thought it was a good performance from the boys and we were just lacking that last little bit in front of goal. To then come into half-time 1-0 down, everyone was a bit disappointed and felt we could have got a bit more from it but to go out in the second half and pick up a 2-1 win, everyone was absolutely buzzing.”
Under the management of David Moyes, Earthy made three first-team appearances for West Ham, featuring in both the Premier League and the Europa League. While his three appearances in the top flight only saw him play a combined 31 minutes of football, he did manage to find the net as the Irons secured a 1-0 win over Luton Town at the London Stadium.
Even with his brief experience in the Premier League, the Championship has thrown up a surprise or two for the 20-year-old. However, Earthy’s new teammates and coaching staff in the West Country have helped him cope with the “relentless” nature of England’s second tier so far.
“I’m enjoying it, the lads are great and the staff are great so I couldn’t have asked for a better loan really. I’m really enjoying it,” said Earthy. “The tempo of it, it’s just relentless, every single game. You look at the teams in the Championship, every single team’s a big team, with big stadiums, big clubs, and great supporters so every single game you go into is a really tough game.
“You go into it with the mindset that it’s going to be a really tough game today so that’s probably the one thing I’ve really taken out of it. I’ve been learning a lot from him and the boys. I’m kind of taking all the bits of knowledge from every single training session, every single game just to try and learn as much as I can from everyone here.”
For a matter of hours after Friday night’s win over Middlesbrough, City had climbed into the Championship play-off places for the first time in 2025. Unfortunately, the Reds’ time in the top six was rather short-lived as both Coventry City and West Brom climbed back above Manning’s side with wins over Oxford United and Preston North End respectively on Saturday afternoon.
But with just 12 games left of the regular league season, the Robins’ play-off hopes remain in their own hands. Currently, they are just two points adrift of sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers and have a rare blank week on their schedule before making the trip to The Den to face Millwall next Tuesday.
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The attitude from within the City camp so far this season has been that they will take a game at a time and let the table take care of itself come the end of the season. While Earthy is confirming with that thought process, the West Ham youngster cannot help but be excited about a trip to East London, particularly after opening his scoring account.
“Nah not really,” Earthy replied when asked if it mattered to him or his teammates that City had climbed up to sixth. “I think it’s just one of those things, you kind of take each game as it comes. I know it’s quite an old saying and everyone says it, but it is just how it is.
“You can’t get too high with the highs, you can’t get too low with the lows so I think we’re just looking at the next game which is Millwall away. That’s our focus tonight. I’m always looking forward to any game but when it’s Millwall, close to home, I’m looking forward to that.
“I feel like after getting off the mark tonight, hopefully, I can continue that into the 12 games left of the season,” he continued. “I just kind of want to continue on this form and hopefully continue scoring.”