In the fullness of time, Bristol City fans may come to recall the events of 2008 with dewy-eyed nostalgia.

After all, it was the year when one of English football's more notable under-achievers came within a whisker of pulling off an unthinkable coup.

Bristol City's unexpected march to the play-offs in their very first season back in the Championship following a decade spent in the lower league wilderness represented a quite remarkable story in itself.

To actually reach the Wembley final and be one game away from reaching the Premier League's promised land ranked as the stuff of dreams.

Although Hull shattered the dream and broke the hearts of 40,000 Bristolians who made the journey from the West to the capital, City manager Gary Johnson and his players had much to congratulate themselves on at the end of what must surely rank as one of the more memorable seasons in the club's history.

Who will ever forget that wonderful night when Crystal Palace were beaten into play-off semi-final submission at Ashton Gate?

Given that the Robins had punched above their weight during the first half of the year, it came as little surprise that what followed amounted to a damp squib in comparison.

Nevertheless, City have gone a long way towards establishing themselves as a club of genuine Championship stature and there is a good deal to look forward to in 2009.

Manager Johnson has money to spend in the transfer window and, providing his squad remains relatively free of injury and suspension, City can still mount a challenge for the play-offs between now and May.

Looking further ahead, 2009 could be the year when chairman Steve Lansdown's vision of a new state-of-the-art 30,000 all-seater stadium becomes a reality.

Bristol City will commence the process of seeking planning permission for a new stadium less than a mile from Ashton Gate in March and, if all goes well, could be given the go-ahead to begin construction before the end of the year.