Since joining in the summer, Max Bird is becoming a mainstay in the Bristol City team.
A versatile midfielder, the 24-year-old has shown himself as somewhat of a Swiss Army Knife in the central areas.
Bird joined the Robins having been utilised as a number eight and number six for Derby County, but head coach Liam Manning has recently deployed him as a 10.
A new responsibility for the Burton-born boy, but he has taken to it like a duck (or Bird) to water, improving game on game and recently adding more output to his game.
Just last week, Bird expressed his desire to get more goals and assists to his name operating higher up the pitch and immediately followed up with his first goal for the club against Preston North End and then created the penalty from which Anis Mehmeti put the Reds ahead against Sheffield United.
“I just look at Birdy at being a top footballer,” Manning revealed in his pre-Norwich City press conference.
“He’s got a really intelligent brain. His awareness before he receives it and knowing what he’s going to do prior to receiving it is excellent and then he’s got a terrific feel on the ball.
“You see that with the weight of pass for Sinclair Armstrong the other night for the penalty. I spoke to him after he missed one at Stoke; he Cruyff-turned it in the box and then he missed one at Preston and I had a joke with him the other day just because of what I think he’s capable of, that I expect him to score them because of his level and what I get to see in training every day.
“He’s definitely someone that, in terms of goal contributions, is going to continue to get better and better over the course of the season mainly because of the quality that he’s got.”
Bird has become valuable in the Manning machine since his arrival, especially with the loss of Scott Twine to injury over the past couple of months.
The adaptability of players is something that the Reds boss requires of his players as it offers to more solutions to problems that may arise, such as injury.
“I think that’s the advantage of Birdy; you can play him in any of those three (no.6, no.8, no.10). I’m not fixated on a certain position,” Manning continued.
“It’s having certain profiles in certain positions that allow us to bring our qualities so when you haven’t got Twine playing, someone that’s terrific between the lines, you might now with Birdy playing there. But Birdy’s played deep and done a terrific job as well.
“I’m not fixated on ‘so-and-so has to play in that position’. It’s about putting them in positions that will allow them to get their strengths out and that might be a positional thing, but it also might be a style thing from the game.
“When we played Sheffield Wednesday and it was a scrap, and we knew there might be lots of second balls etc., we obviously went with Williams and Knight, and had Bird higher for us to go through to.
“But the other night I thought there’d be space between the lines because of how Sheffield United press. In the first half Anis Mehmeti received quite a few in the pockets that started us on attacks and Birdy obviously did well for the goal.”
Still only 24, Bird has plenty of years ahead of him like lots of the City squad.
One of the most talked about of those youngster is fellow summer addition Sinclair Armstrong who played the second half of the Robins’ defeat to Sheffield United, replacing the experienced Nahki Wells at the break.
Somewhat of a rough diamond, Armstrong has shown flashes of brilliance after impressing early on in a City shirt, however, has since lost his place to his Bermudian colleague.
The Irishman and young teammate Fally Mayulu have both struggled to find consistency so far in BS3.
It is of paramount importance to allow young players time to develop and grow as players and the red side of Bristol has a good track record of doing so.
“What you can’t do is put a time frame on when the penny’s going to drop and when it’s all going to come together,” Manning emphasised.
“The club has a history of [bringing players through] like with Antoine Semenyo, Alex Scott, Tommy Conway; all the people that have come through and moved on but also the ones we’ve got at the club now. It doesn’t follow a smooth [process] where it clicks, and you’ve got it. The one thing with young players coming through is the inconsistency.
“Arguably, if Sincs had scored a load of goals and made a hatful of starts then it would be the Premier League that would be looking at him. So, he’s definitely someone that, over the games we’ve had so far, has shown what he’s capable of, shown his strengths. He’s excited me, he’s excited the fans a lot.
“It’s then a case of having to be a little bit patient with him and that’s why having the three [strikers] over the course of a 50-game season, we’re going to have to rotate them. We’re going to have to try and put them in when they’re on a bit of a hot streak as Sincs was when he first started and as Fally was when he was coming off the bench. It’s the understanding that they’ll continually grow and improve over time.”
City have built a reliable amount of depth to their squad, something that has shown and had to be used with the recent injury struggles.
Where most of the roles on the field are relatively open to competition, the goalkeeping position is one that has been undisputed since Manning’s arrival a year ago.
Max O’Leary has saved many a point for the Robins since he became the go-to number one almost two years ago, putting in show-stopping displays on numerous occasions.
As with any ‘keeper, though, he is susceptible to mistakes in rare moments.
One of those moments was against the Blades on Tuesday where instead of catching a looping ball into the box, the 28-year-old opted to punch it with the ball spinning out for a corner which then led to Ryan Oné’s equaliser.
O’Leary’s place as number one has previously been called into question by some fans, with young Stefan Bajic waiting in the wings, although O’Leary is still in fairly early stages for someone in his position.
“It’s a year today since we joined and Max has done a great job for us,” Manning said, speaking on Thursday afternoon.
“You have to remember for his age, he isn’t hugely experienced in terms of games when you look at others his age. He’s still learning and growing and improving. He’s got to continually do that, and I know he does because Pat Mountain does a terrific job with him in terms of reflecting on performances, learning what to do better, how can you improve?
“Against Preston, he plays a pivotal part in the second goal where he sets Sykesy off for the counterattack. That’s how quickly it can change.
“I know he would’ve been disappointed with the punch but at the same point he has to learn and move on and he’s done a terrific job for us since we’ve been here.”
City’s competition for places and depth will be shown in force this coming Saturday as they head to Carrow Road with less players available than they would like.
The recruitment that the club did in the summer is beginning to show its importance, but it is still crucial to allow time for young shoulders to learn to carry the weight of Championship football and Manning’s methods.