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Ashton gate 8


Dollymarie

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As there isn't a thread about this yet, I thought I'd start one. 

It's 35 years this week since the Ashton Gate Eight players ripped up their contracts and saved our club. 

Gerry Sweeney, Dave Rodgers, Peter Aitken, Geoff Merrick, Chris Garland, Trevor Tainton, Jimmy Mann and Julian Marshall. 

8 names we should never forget 

 

IMG_0807.JPG

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1 hour ago, Dollymarie said:

As there isn't a thread about this yet, I thought I'd start one. 

It's 35 years this week since the Ashton Gate Eight players ripped up their contracts and saved our club. 

Gerry Sweeney, Dave Rodgers, Peter Aitken, Geoff Merrick, Chris Garland, Trevor Tainton, Jimmy Mann and Julian Marshall. 

8 names we should never forget 

 

IMG_0807.JPG

How long ago was the AG8 dinner Dolls ?  Great night

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The fact is that the club was broke and the players knew that they would not be paid even if they had not ripped the contracts up, so in some respects, it was purely osymbolic

It was however, enough to save the club from going under.

Prior to this, it was a joy to be able to watch top class football at the gate for 4 heady seasons.

 

 

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I'm ill at ease with this ' had a dream ' angle it just smacks of marketing bullshit .

Eight honest men got royally shafted would be more accurate.

A badly run club on it's knees tells eight employees to tear up their contracts to save the Directors bacon, hardly à Bloody dream ! 

And after all that the Club relaunched itself .

There is nothing glorious in this story it is shameful .  

IMHO  

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4 minutes ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Would like to have seen a seat for each of them in the Lansdown Stand for Life, with their names on them 

Would be a good call. Pretty sure Gerry Sweeney pays for his ST, or was up until a couple of years ago.

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Just now, glynriley said:

Would be a good call. Pretty sure Gerry Sweeney pays for his ST, or was up until a couple of years ago.

Sir Geoff doesn't have to pay to enter the ground, I'd be surprised if Sweens did.

All City fans owe them a continuing debt of gratitude.

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1 hour ago, Dollymarie said:

As there isn't a thread about this yet, I thought I'd start one. 

It's 35 years this week since the Ashton Gate Eight players ripped up their contracts and saved our club. 

Gerry Sweeney, Dave Rodgers, Peter Aitken, Geoff Merrick, Chris Garland, Trevor Tainton, Jimmy Mann and Julian Marshall. 

8 names we should never forget 

 

IMG_0807.JPG

Remember it all very well....Unfortunately.

One thing that seems to get missed a lot is the fact the only sellable assets we had were Gerry Gow, Clive Whitehead and Tom Ritchie that all had to be put up for fire sale or the club would have gone under immediately....Just a little bit of recognition there too

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2 minutes ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Always an appropriate time to pay respects to Beryl Fudge RIP, bless her , for playing a massive part in those dark years that followed

:clapping:

Bless her , if she was hear now she'd be bending LJs ear if he came in the shop !!

Slightly before my time what did Beryl do mate?

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10 minutes ago, Benjam!n Ultra said:

I really dislike the song connected to this event. 

Quite agree as Major Isewater and Slartibartfast have stated in no way did these players have a dream to save our football team they had a ruddy nightmare. I actually find the song disrespectful because it never happened that way. Of course the players should be applauded for tearing up their contracts, although they were caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea, but not one of them would have been happy about it and would not have done so had there been an alternative where they could have still received a fair bit of what their contract was worth.

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I was working at Temple Gate house at the bottom of Temple Meads incline.  The deal was done and a press conference was held in a hotel just round the corner (can't remember the name), I went to the hotel and got talking to Trevor Taintons wife, she said a press conference was being held in one of the rooms but was too nervous to go in, so we walked in together, listened to the conference and got interviewed by ITV.  

Thank you Gerry Sweeney,  Dave Rodgers, Peter Aitken, Geoff Merrick, Chris Garland, Trevor Tainton, Jimmy Mann and Julian Marshall.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

Remember it all very well....Unfortunately.

One thing that seems to get missed a lot is the fact the only sellable assets we had were Gerry Gow, Clive Whitehead and Tom Ritchie that all had to be put up for fire sale or the club would have gone under immediately....Just a little bit of recognition there too

I might be wrong but I am pretty sure Gow and Ritchie were sold for their value a year plus earlier not long after we dropped out of the top division. The 1982 biz occurred when we were midway through Division 3.

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In fact, Whitehead too had been sold, though for under his value, not long before the 1982 biz as surely he too would have been required to tear up his contract, seeing he had an 11 year one at one point.

Our only player assets in 82 were Mick Harford and Jan Moller who were sold off cheaply in a fire sale.

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