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Going to Bath saved them. Their best seasons in half a century were while they were playing at a small, decrepit non-league ground. It was clearly a "good fit," finally Rovers had a ground to complement their crowd (small, untidy, ramshackle). A small crowd in a small ground (Trumpton) or a small crowd in a large oval of a ground (Eastville)? At Eastville their 3 or 4 thousand crowds, set miles back from the pitch, were stretched, anonymous and almost invisible. They might as well not have been there. At Trumpton they only had two sides to populate and were right on top of the action, they could make themselves heard. The opposition also disliked going there, accustomed as they were to finer facilities and surroundings (ie professional ones). The derby games at Eastville I attended, in the 80s, you could see but not hear them. At Trumpton, with a winning team admittedly, they were unpleasantly close and audible. At Eastville there was always City in the remains of the torched stand and the North stand, probably the Tote as well. We used to march there from town and feel like we had taken the place over (the Muller was a big end, 5000 I think, if not 6, for the December 83 cup game I think, in a 14k crowd). The combination of being in Bath and Gerry Francis's no-frills anti-football saved them. They've done nothing since being back in Bristol, even worse than before you might say. I wish they had limped on at Eastville, they were dying a slow, anonymous death there.

Poor mans Stamford Bridge. Everywhere they've been has been a shit tip, or it's turned into one. I honestly feel that, apart from their trampish fans, the colours used by their team makes everything look dull and dirty, though in reality, it probably is. When I started going, their Tote End crowd was made up of greebo's, hippies, scruffy gits, divvies and a few likely lad skins. On the other end of the fans spectrum was Ashton Gate, where the old East End was made up of mostly fashion conscious lads, a few greebo's and the odd hippy type.

on this date in 1936 a player called joe payne scored 10 goals on his debut for luton town against bristol rovers a record which still stands , what a lovely man !

The whole corona virus makes no sense, 100'000's of good people dying because a Nation cannot be bothered to control their meat / fish markets, the issue here is not football, not this season or even next season, not until we have this virus under some sort of control, as we surely have to have the Chinese held accountable. Not as if this is the first time these viruses have eminated from China, and as long as the W.H.O sit on their hands and do nothing it will happen again and again. I love and miss my football as much as anyone, but football, and all sport is just so irrelevant at the moment.

And rabies..?!

This is a football forum and sport specific thread, plenty of people will want to discuss football and its return, its something to look forward to, some hope, even when there is nothing else, there is hope. I'd be happy to see it back behind closed doors to start with, televised, what a boost that would be.

Condolences. Things are bad enough right now, without horrible things like that making them worse..!

I’d never been to Eastville. I didn’t start watching football until they’d @#@#@# off to Bath. When you hear tales reminiscing about their spiritual home, it paints a picture of an impressive old ground - whereas, in reality, from what I can see, it’s was a ramshackle dump. Probably only matched in its Chernobyl like appearance by their current ramshackle dump..! They really have, always, been a stain on this City! Absolute festering blight on the landscape, wherever they have left their skid mark stain of existence.

Totally agree. It is being put on the back burner at present but when this is all over, they should be come down on with harshness that will ensure this NEVER happens again. I don't mind admitting that nearly every day, I shed a tear about the waste of human life that is going on at the moment that has been started by the way one country has just ( in our opinion) flouted health rules and started this pandemic. As you say this isn't the first time but we must as a world ensure it is the last.

That’s all well and good, which teams are in which division?

Why can’t people just debate things without being told to stop? We have the time!

We lost obviously, but that prepared me for many more disappointments

I used to love going to Eastville Stadium every week.............to watch the speedway! :laugh:

What's the summary Mr P for those of us who refuse to click on that site?

I’ll probably learn all that before the gas average 10k..!

We're going to get in the play offs, win the final for the first time, get in the premier league for the first time..... ...and it'll all be behind closed doors and none of us wil be there to see it, just our luck.

Joe wasn't supposed to have played that day either IIRC. He travelled with the players but one of them became Ill so Joe had to play.

No change then! Probably waiting for us to move to our multi £M training centre so they can use our old one. OTIB

Lose.

Use Ashton Gate like your Reserves and Youth Teams do for their games (well so we were led to believed a few years ago) ???

Agree with this sentiment as this season has gone to far to not complete properly. Why not next season forget cups and internationals to give space to complete a full league programme again regardless of when the start is.

I'm not sure it will be safe in time to start next season, let alone finish this one.

On this day in 1974 I saw my first ever Rovers match !

I wonder if the dump becoming a dog track has anything to do with their obsession with assaulting canines..? Not Daryl Clarke’s type of assault, obviously. That probably just came from his private porn collection.

It wasn’t his debut, that came in 1934 - but what a superb feat that mauling of the sags was! Didn’t realise either that his record at Luton was so amazing - 83 goals in 72 games - even without the ‘never to be forgotten’ 10 goal haul against the sags, he was still averaging more than a goal a game! A legend!

quick trip down memory lane..... https://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/old-british-football-grounds-and-stands/lost-grounds/eastville-bristol-rovers.html#awhat-is-on-the-eastville-site-now I used to quite enjoy the old Muller Road End to be honest (with the M32 at my back and sand being blown in my face). It was a state ...which sort of summed the club up really

I was in the home end for one game there, with a gas work colleague. All was fine, until Matty Hewlett, who I knew through my sisters Ex, was warming up, spotted me and shouted “Hi Rob” & waved to me..! Then I had continual shouts of “sheed” aimed at me, by grown men who appears to be frothing at the mouth..! ?

Nearest the wall with a pound coin is my shout.

The only way to finish the season fairly is to have one player from each club we're playing against to roll a dice and the highest number wins 3 points and the game. This could be done live on TV.

This is what they do! Taken from facebook. Dom White The best piece of Bristol Policing I ever witnessed: Rovers came back home. First match at the Mem was sold out but in those days you could watch half the match from outside the ground. All of us Dads were outside the ground watching the game but half way through the second half all of our children started getting fractious and bored and wanted to go home. They were all moaning and mithering so a woman Police officer rounded up the children and locked them in the prison van so we could watch the match in peace, cos as we all know, Rovers fans are very well behaved. I asked a Policeman if he was expecting trouble, he replied, not from you lot, it's the other lot we have trouble with!!! · 2h Rich replied 31 August 1996 Stockport County H 1–1 Attendance 6,380. Sold out? Rich emphasised, sold out!???????

Kenny Dalglish has been released from hospital and is self-isolating. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52260490

Are they really..? Well there you go! Every day is a school day! I stand corrected. Thanks, you grumpy, miserable sod..!

With all the shortages at the shops in these trying times one thing in plentifull supply in north bristol is DELUDOMOL they seem to be guzzling it down in ever increasing doses

Only got this one....

tradition = handed down generation to generation generation = 25 to 30 years (you having kids to the kids having kids) you can do the maths but I personally think 2115 to 2020 is 5 years So NO they have NO tradition.

What a glorious day. All those d1ck heads on the pitch, couldn’t compute inside their tiny pea brains that real Mansfield fans would troll them like they did after the final whistle so it had to be ‘shitheads’....so what do they do? What they always do, look enthusiastic and wait for the Police to make a barrier. What a shame that BBC Radio Bristol Twentyman programme appears to have been wiped from history. If anyone has a recording PLEASE post it on here.

Unbelievable they were indeed, we danced all around that tiny ground. The look on the Crawley fans faces was priceless

Was at Crawley watching City, remember we equalised and people were not that bothered. Everyone was more interested 2nd half with the Rovers game than our own game. Celebrstions at full time were unbelievable.

Paradise garage. Ran by Richard. No health and safety there. Dick liked stacking things. Heavy boxes of shoes stacked really high. Heavy shoes with gurt soles on them. Turn round with your arms not tucked into your sides it caused an avalanche of creepers.

A good part of the Scandinavian Branch will watch Sham 69 in Bristol late October. I will watch Lloyd Cole in låndån.

Saw loads - Stranglers Exhibition - I am sure there was spitting and Hugh leapt off stage and poleaxed some geezer with his guitar :laugh: - never saw the Clash (grrrrr) had (still have) a ticket for the Pistols at the Bamboo Club Can even remember seeing Siouxie at YATE and Blondie - saw the Damned backing T REX and left after the Damned (fool that I was)