The Bristol City Miscellany E-Book

David Clayton

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

The Bristol City Miscellany - a book on the Robins like no other, packed with facts, stats, trivia, stories and legend. Now, with the club experiencing previously uncharted highs, look back at what has made this club what it is today - the players and characters that have represented City over the years and the events that have shaped the club. If you want to know the record crowd for a home game, the record appearance holder or longest-serving manager, look no further - this is the book you've been waiting for. From record goal scorers to record defeats; from Ashton Gate to Kevin Mabbutt, and from Wembley appearances to Gary Johnson - it's all in The Bristol City Miscellany - can you afford not to own a copy?

Leseprobe

For my son, Harry Ethan

CONTENTS

Title

Dedication

Introduction & Acknowledgements

Foreword

Gary Johnsonisms

The Gaffers

Basil, Baldrick & Buttons

Relegation Farce

FA Youth Cup

Nicknames

Bath Time

Club Legend: John Atyeo

By George – We’ve Scored!

Ram Raiders

Royle Approval

Anglo-Scottish Cup

Zenith Systems Cup

Bermudan Short

A Theme is Born

The Other Robins

Songs

The Curse of Cloughie

Early to Bed

Christmas Crackers

They Said it…

Bonus!

Hop Scotch

The Lucky Tam-O’Shanter

New Year’s Woe

Eight Too Much?

Shanks for the Memory

Honourable Mentions …

Clifton Can’t Bridge Gulf

Shot Down

Free View Restrictions

Mascot De-Cider

Wurzel Scrummage

A Game of, Er, Four Halves …

Only City …

They Said it…

April Fools?

Goals Aplenty

First Name on the Sheet

Songs

The Goalden Boys

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times …

Red, Red Robins

‘Accrington Stanley – Who are They?’

An A–Z of City Players

Toffee Knows

City Slickers

Division One 1906/07

Abandoned Games

Sent to Coventry

Like Sending Cole to Newcastle

League Positions

The Ashton Gate Eight

On Yer Bike!

The Gloucestershire Cup – The Early Years

Green Behind the Gills

Jobs for the Boys

Bristol South End

Let there be Light!

Ups and Downs

Play-off Woes

Goalmouth Scramble

The Hairdryer Treatment

Animals, etc.

Just not Cricket …

Highest Finish

Feed the Goat!

Run Over a Black Cat?

First League Season

Pirate Invasion

Robin Attacks Swan

Name Game

Kop That!

American Scream

Caesar’s Salad Days

Time, Gentlemen?

When Will I Be Famous, Mr Chairman?

On a Roll

Legend: Gerry Gow – ‘The Ashton Gate Growler’ (1969–80)

Derby Days

Records Against Rovers

Ashton Gate

Johnno Said It…

Billy’s Boots

The 1909 FA Cup Story

Ladies Only…

Robin Red Breasts

Vat Man and Robins

The Big Tissue

Random Fact

Robins Off to a Flyer!

City in the League Cup – Complete Record

Bristol City Milestones

And the Band Played on…

Boxed Off

Capacity Crowd

Born in Wedlock

Bloody Amateurs!

Goals Aplenty

FA Cup Mystery

Walk Like an Egyptian

Not Them Again …

Bogey Men

Calling the Shots

Red, Red Robins

They Said it…

The Fergie Factor?

Anglo-Italian Cup

1993/94

Zenith Data Systems Cup

The Associate Members’ Cup – Complete Record

No-Brainer

They Said it…

Dog Gone Puddles!

Sub Snub

Greece is the Word

Cult Hero: Dariusz Dziekanowski

Losing Faith

Johnno said it…

Johnno v Keano Part One – (This could Run and Run)

That was then …

Sum Total

The Twelfth Man

Hand(s) of God?

Basso Quotes

Players of the Year

City’s Complete FA Cup Record

City’s Complete League Cup Record

Copyright

INTRODUCTION & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I loved the old Ashton Gate with its mixture of terracing, paddocks and dilapidated stands, and I’ll miss it sorely when City move to their new state-of-the-art home in the not-too-distant future. Kevin Mabbutt and Gerry Gow have always been my favourite players. This is a club that deserves Premier League football and I reckon we’ll have exactly that by the time they lock Ashton Gate up for the last time. Well, we can dream, can’t we?

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it and if you do, buy me a cider and then down it for me – I’ll be with you in spirit. Briefly, thanks to Michelle Tilling, my editor at The History Press and thanks to my wife and three young children, Harry, Jaime and Chrissie. That’s pretty much it for this one as most of the digging was done by Yours Truly – for facts and figures from elsewhere, the City stats pages proved invaluable as were the books by Peter Godsiff, Ivan Ponting and Tom Morgan – thanks to all of them.

David Clayton, 2012

‘This club could be the Manchester United of the West Country. The opportunity is there and all we have to do is seize it. The potential fan base is colossal, but we’ve got to give the people something they can really believe in. There is a special aura about this place, so much has happened here down the years – and it’s dripping with a magic that is still untapped.’

John Atyeo (1932–93)

FOREWORD

by Shaun Goater

I loved my time at Ashton Gate and will always have a place in my heart for Bristol City and their supporters. When my wife Anita and I came to look around the city in the summer of 1996, we thought it was the closest place to Bermuda we’d come across since leaving our home island almost a decade earlier. The sun was shining, I could smell the sea and there were seagulls everywhere – heaven after seven years under the leaden skies of Rotherham!

The City fans were quick to get behind me and I’d like to think I repaid that faith out on the pitch. Many games stick in my mind but the hat-tricks against Notts County and Wigan evoke particularly strong memories for me.

We were gunning for the title in 1997/98 when I was sold to Manchester City – it was a massive move for me, even though they were on their way to relegation from Division One – but ultimately, it gave me a chance of playing in the Premiership. I’d always dreamed at playing at the highest level in England and even though I was extremely happy in Bristol, I couldn’t turn down the chance of fast-tracking my ambition. If I’d been worried about the reaction of the people of Bristol to that move, I shouldn’t have been because the reception I got when I finally returned to Ashton Gate will stay with me forever. It must have been scripted that my final game before retirement would be for Southend, my final club, away to Bristol City. With the Southend, Bristol City and several hundred Manchester City fans all singing ‘Feed the Goat’, it’s a day I’ll never forget.

I was delighted to be asked to write the first few words of this book and I hope you enjoy The Bristol City Miscellany as much as I have – maybe there’ll be one or two facts about the club you didn’t know. Test me if you see me next time I’m in town! Feed the Goat – with facts!

Shaun ‘Lenny’ Goater, Bermuda, 2009

GARY JOHNSONISMS

‘I am a Championship manager, but you mustn’t treat it like the actual computer game, Championship Manager.’

Gary Johnson – PC as ever

‘Lee’s been a great player for us and we have to see that. On occasions, he may not be the best player on the pitch, but we need him around.’

Johnno on his son, Lee

‘We couldn’t have been drawn against a higher-placed team, as they are currently second to Everton.’

Johnno confounds the laws of mathematics

‘I might be pleased with the point on Sunday, but at the moment I’m not. I felt we had enough decent chances and I’m still fuming about the one that wasn’t.’

Johnno reacts in riddles to a goal that never was at Sheffield Wednesday

‘Yes, more than one or two were ill. We took them to a place where maybe they hadn’t been. That was important to me. I wanted them to know they had a bit more in the tank, even if they felt ill. There’ll be no extra day off. They do deserve it – but they ain’t going to get it! The good thing is they’ll be working with a smile on their face.’

Johnno – hard taskmaster and fitness guru ups the levels of training after a disappointing loss

‘If Fontaine scores I’ll bare my behind in Burtons window.’

Johnno, banking on the thought of such horrors inspiring goals for shot-shy striker Liam Fontaine – it did!

‘I don’t usually speak to anyone over 30, never mind sign them.’

Gary Johnson – promoting ageism?

THE GAFFERS

Bob Hewison’s seventeen-year reign as boss took in the Second World War years and an eight-month suspension, but he remains easily in pole position, with Alan Dicks the second longest-serving boss on thirteen years. Alex Raisbeck and Pat Beasley (both eight years) and Sam Hollis, who also spent eight years in charge – though over three different periods – are also worthy of note. Roy Hodgson (four months), Tony Pulis (six months), Benny Lennartsson, Denis Smith (ten months) and the ill-fated partnership of Tony Fawthorp and David Burnside (five months) all spent less than a year in the hot seat. The full list is:

Manager

From

To

Sam Hollis

April 1897

April 1899

Robert Campbell

May 1899

June 1901

Sam Hollis

June 1901

April 1905

Harry Thickett

May 1905

October 1910

Frank Bacon

October 1910

January 1911

Sam Hollis

January 1911

April 1913

George Hedley

April 1913

January 1917

Jack Hamilton

January 1917

May 1919

Joe Palmer

May 1919

October 1921

Alex Raisbeck

December 1921

July 1929

Joe Bradshaw

August 1929

February 1932

Bob Hewison

April 1932

March 1949*

Bob Wright

April 1949

June 1950

Pat Beasley

July 1950

January 1958

Peter Doherty

January 1958

March 1960

Fred Ford

July 1960

September 1967

Alan Dicks

October 1967

September 1980

Bobby Houghton

October 1980

January 1982

Roy Hodgson

January 1982

April 1982

Terry Cooper

May 1982

March 1988

Joe Jordan

March 1988

September 1990

Jimmy Lumsden

September 1990

February 1992

Denis Smith

March 1992

January 1993

Russell Osman

January 1993

November 1994

Joe Jordan

November 1994

March 1997

John Ward

March 1997

October 1998

Benny Lennartsson

October 1998

July 1999

Tony Pulis

July 1999

January 2000

Tony Fawthorp/

January 2000

May 2000

David Burnside

Danny Wilson

June 2000

July 2004

Brian Tinnion

July 2004

September 2005

Gary Johnson

September 2005

March 2010

Steve Coppell

April 2010

August 2010

Keith Millen

August 2010

October 2011

Derek McInnes

October 2011

present

* Bob Hewison was suspended between October 1938 and May 1939 – club skipper Clarrie Burton took on player/manager duties during the intervening period.

BASIL, BALDRICK & BUTTONS

Weston-super-Mare-born John Cleese, creator of the finest British sitcom ever – Fawlty Towers – is perhaps City’s most famous supporter, though there is an impressive list of celebrities after his name. Baldrick himself – Tony Robinson, of Time Team and Blackadder fame and F1 racing driver Jenson Button follow the Robins, as does Sunday Night Project host Justin Lee Collins. Deputy Editor of the Sun, Dominic Mohan, plus graffiti artist Banksy and former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick have all professed their love for City at some point and former Bath and England rugby union star Gareth Chilcott is not an uncommon face at Ashton Gate. Add BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce, comedians Russell Howard and Mark Watson and there’s only Somerset’s finest, The Wurzels, missing!

RELEGATION FARCE

It all came down the last day of the 1976/77 season. City had fought so hard to get into the top division and they weren’t going to go down without a battle. One of three teams – Coventry City, Sunderland and the Robins – would join Tottenham and Stoke City in Division Two and, as fixture lists often do, the irony was City were away to Coventry on the final day. There were numerous permutations and Sunderland had the best goal difference, but the fact was if City drew, their safety would be guaranteed. More than 15,000 Bristolians made their way to Highfield Road for the showdown and after just 15 minutes, they were biting their nails anxiously as Tommy Hutchison put the Sky Blues ahead. In a tense affair, relegation looked a certainty when Hutchison made it 2–0 after 52 minutes, but it took the Robins just 90 seconds to begin their fightback. Gerry Gow reduced arrears on 54 minutes and 11 minutes from time the City fans went wild as Donnie Gillies equalised from 10 yards. Suddenly it was Coventry who looked like going down, particularly if Sunderland were level or winning away to Everton.

With 4 minutes remaining and on the instructions of Coventry managing director and Match of the Day anchorman Jimmy Hill, the scoreboard then flashed up a latest score: Everton 2 Sunderland 0. Both sets of fans began celebrating – except if a winning goal went in for either City or Coventry, the loser would still be relegated. The solution was simple – play out time and make sure both teams survived. What had been a blood and thunder contest suddenly became a stroll in the park with City keeping the ball in their own half for the last 5 minutes, unchallenged by Coventry. Eventually a bemused referee blew for full-time and the celebrations began in earnest. Thank goodness for Jimmy Hill … not many times you’d say that in a lifetime!

FA YOUTH CUP

City have only ever reached the final of England’s most prestigious youth competition – the FA Youth Cup – on one occasion. In 1973 City’s talented teens faced Bobby Robson’s Ipswich Town in a two-legged final, with Ipswich taking what proved to be an unassailable 3–0 first-leg lead at Portman Road. The mountain proved too great to climb for the young City side and despite a gallant 1–1 draw at Ashton Gate, City lost 4–1 on aggregate to, it has to be said, an exceptionally talented Ipswich side who were to win the competition again just two years later.

NICKNAMES

There have been several memorable nicknames for City players over the years, some funny, some a little on the insulting side! Case in point, one of City’s greatest players, Billy Wedlock was nicknamed ‘Fatty’ because of his sturdy build – Wedlock, as with everything else in life, took it all in his stride and accepted it was an affectionate tag rather than anything more sinister. Paul ‘Ago’ Agostino was a little less original and Wayne ‘Chief’ Allison was questionable to say the least. Dariusz ‘Jacki’ Dziekanowski was for practical reasons, while Shaun Goater became universally known as ‘the Goat’ after he left Ashton Gate. He had been nicknamed ‘Lenny’ because his first name is actually Leonard.