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Ugh! how ghastly, who on Earth would wear such a hideous monstrosity? ? Cheap tat. Beautifully designed…perfect for any English gentleman travelling abroad in tropical countries. Classy.

What other club in the country that hasn’t played topflight football since the early 80s can match out attendance’s? Every single club (bar Coventry who had a freakish season and have a buzz because they are back home) above us in that table has been in the topflight in the last 10-15 years. After the horrendous football served up the past couple of seasons plus as i keep saying the lack of generational success to have pulled in an average of 19 almost 20 k is fantastic. The away team boosting the average attendance is irrelevant aswell, you can say that for any team in the division. Sheff united’s average for example wouldn’t be 27 k if it wasn’t for some sold out away ends at there place the same goes for Forest etc etc. Every team counts season ticket holders aswell present or not so again not overly sure what you are getting at with that, we aren’t the only ones that do it..

I'd say you were very much in the minority with that opinion.

Safe to say both our away kits look really good and I think a 100 times better than this year's poor home kit,

Tap into a demographic of the local community that we would want to attract down the Gate? Seems a good idea to me

Fair play mate. Top banter. It must be tough putting in all the hard yards at a tiny ramshackle ground with only a few stands, small gates, lower league football and a much bigger and more successful neighbour just down the road but anyway, enough about Bristol Rovers. Wish Lewes FC every success for the season.

They'll play. It's a friendly. If need be you can do 25 minute shifts, extra water breaks etc. They'll play.

Full kit looks really smart

Two decent stories about that: 1. Was in a tournament at the beautiful course of Goring and Streatley. Got announced onto the tee and hit my shot about 30 yards into thick rough before exclaiming ‘SHIT’ far too loud for anyones liking. The announcer said ‘it wasn’t even THAT good’ 2. different course and I forget where but a very tricky course is all I can remember. One guy who looked particularly nervous had been told what a tricky day lay ahead. First shot…air shot, second shot…..air shot. He turned to his pal and said ‘you’re right Steve, this is a tough course’

Chatting to a bloke last night, he went to that tattoo convention at The Gate over the weekend, his first visit since the redevelopment. I hadn't realised he was a Fewer until he mentioned it, anyway, he was massively impressed with the convention, the stadium, the speed of service for drinks and the prices (five and a half quid a pint), was even impressed with The Robins where he'd gone before hand. Clearly not one to be converted, but he did say that the more he visits other grounds, the more desperate the Mem looks. So evidently we are doing something we'll if a Gashead had nothing but praise for the stadium, organisation and even the local area!

it’s been on hundreds of times and I have never watched it and don’t want too.

You are right in what you say about our support being poor for a team in a city like Bristol but with prem football it would increase massively , even if it was for a few years it would create a whole new generation of city followers

Again, a property on Raynes Road adjoining the ground was on the market for £575k recently. So, the theory goes that in order for us to progress and push capacity towards 40,000, our owner needs to buy the following:- 18 houses on Ashton Road. 10 on Raynes Road Combined cost at current prices would be £18 million without allowing for the enormous premium that would have to be paid as, over the decades the club moved towards the point of owning all of them. Not to mention the fact that some people would, quite rightly, refuse to sell as is their fundamental right. Southbow House needs to be demolished and the 60+ tenants moved elsewhere. As everyone knows there is ample available social housing at the moment and it's not as if millions were recently spent on them or, that EE are going to stick a 5G mast on the roof. Good luck persuading any of the residents to move. Why should they? They're in one of the best Council blocks in Bristol. All of this to increase our capacity when we could possibly nudge capacity up to 30,000 without acting like total c***s. There is more chance of me having a 3some with Beyonce and Emilia Clarke.

I hear the Barley Mow has been lined up for next season's kit. They want all regulars to sit with a pint, and eat some pork scratchings whilst wearing the new shirt. They reportedly want to embrace the heart of the city.

I'm speaking from memory here regarding the Atyeo stand but, we had advisors within the club who seemed scared of upsetting the relationship that the club had with the planning department, I'd had meetings with them re boxes in the Dolman. As a result of that fear, the Atyeo stand was not built to it's possible height, or depth in proximity to the houses while still meeting planning guidance. So in current planning laws it could be rebuilt mirroring the South Stand. As far as the Dolman is concerned, it also could be built higher and closer to the existing flats. There is a space of nearly 4mts to the rear which could be built with an overhanging rake. This would allow emergency vehicles access along the rear of the stand, something required by law, as there's no access to parts of the ground from all sides. The lower Dolman is a hotchpotch of gangways, so a completely new stand would improve that and have a capacity increased to about 10k. So between those two increases we'd possibly add another 5k seats. Not needed currently but, I'm of the belief and more positive in my thoughts that, we could be a more successful club, with a much larger support base and we must aim higher. There's absolutely no reason why we couldn't compete with the majority of premiership clubs. Why think otherwise?

Look at his post history, this is super optimistic by usual standards.

Which with hindsight makes our inability to get the Ashton Vale project off the ground very disappointing. I know a lot of people were glad that we did not move but me? I think it was a lost opportunity to move the club forward.

I think you both make valid points. IMO we sit in an odd position as a club - we have a weird combination of high potential and low success, I can't think of many (if any?) other teams that are as "big" as us but have achieved as little as we have. Perhaps I'm an optimist, but I tend to lean further towards Bris Red's view of things here - I'm fairly confident we could sell out most weeks in the Premier League. Our attendances aren't that great relative to the size of our city, but that's because our history of achievement isn't either. As Bris Red said, how many other clubs can get 20k attendances in the Championship without top flight football for 40 years and without ever winning a trophy? The one positive about our historical underachievement is that it means we still have room to grow - and that includes attendances. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we're going to be getting 60k a week, but 30k a week seems very realistic for a club of our size in the Premier League. Maybe we would even see a larger surge in support as local 'glory supporters' finally have a local Premier League team to support?

Yes watching it once live at Wembley was more than enough times

desert island dick

?

Okay, fair one, it was me. Don't worry, this isn't a Gashead infiltrating, just a Gashead who has signed up to set the record straight. Born in Eastville, then joined the Army in '77 and met a Sussex lass. Now support The Gas and Lewes FC where I volunteer on the SC Committee, do stewarding and maintenance. At the end of last season the match board was still showing the final game so I was asked to clear it. The temptation was too great. No offence intended, just a bit of banter. I never expected it to be seen outside of Lewes. In fact, being on a no-through-road, it was only likely to be seen by people on their way to the council tip. It's come down now. As it happened, a lass from your women's team was coming for a look round and diplomacy prevailed. On the back wall of the main stand are just over 70 scarves from around the world. Rovers and City are represented. Rovers prominently, City maybe less so, but that's what happens when a Gashead puts the scarves up ?. Anyway, good luck for the season. Please don't get relegated, then we can have a couple of derbys when we come up for the 23/24 season. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XdCzFr8rYjnohLJb8

Another joke VAR over-rule. I think it flicks her thigh first too. Spoils the game.

We could call the campaign: Cancel Lewes If They Orchestrate Rovers Inclusive Signage But there's only one drawback with that, it stands for Clitoris.

So back to the financials. The old companies in the 'football group' have all been renamed pending a CVA and or liquidation. The 'Golden Share' and the other assets have been transferred to Derby County (The Rams) Limited (the new Football Club), a company owned by Clowes Developments (UK) Limited ("CDUK"), a company owned by a Discretionary Trust. CDUK has invested £500,000 in share capital into the Football Club, any other financing will be way of loan. Gellaw Newco 202 Ltd, which directly owns the ground, was also acquired by CDUK, my best guess is for £1, but with MSD loans remaining in place, leaving Morris free of that debt. The old 'Stadium Group', including Gellaw Newco 202, has been released from the MSD charges, so this suggests that the MSD finance has been replaced by a loan from CDUK. We will find out shortly what CDUK paid into the companies in Administration. However even with a reduced players payroll of £8 million it still looks like a significant input in cash from CDUK every year. That Category 1 Academy is looking like an expensive white elephant.

Shame about the still hideous badge.

I’m 51 and the street I grew up in had more city than gas, but maybe that was an exception.I think a lot of kids like me who’s families didn’t have a connection with either team naturally gravitated to City being as they were in the old first division back then.I reckon when I was in secondary school my year was about 50/50 city/gas. As you say in the ‘wood’ we are definitely taking over these days and hopefully that will continue!

This is a brilliant argument if we lived in China but as we live somewhere that house owners are (rightly) entitled to tell someone who wants to buy their property to eff off if they don’t want to sell, (with very few exceptions, like HS2) it is just fantasy stuff. I’m convinced those who post this tripe live absolutely nowhere near the ground & only visit the area once a fortnight. Ashton & Southville has in recent years gentrified beyond belief, (I could weep when I think of the fortune my late Grandparents could have made on their house in Truro Rd) & these people are not going to sell & even if a couple of them did, once a few house owners in crucial properties say no, we’re ******.

Seems a bit of an over complicated thread Just park up, get on the bus and get off at Ashton Gate 2nd stop ...then walk back after the game ..simple .

Was the only change to make at that stage of the game. Lee Johnson had played the majority of that season alongside Elliott where we’re top 2 for the majority! Big injury accepted McCombe being sick also massive loss but those are the breaks we still edged that game In high pressure circumstances without being able to create the clear chance but we didn’t have the quality as our squad was packed with League 1 fodder and Hulls back 4 defended for their lives! Again we had no right to be there Johnson was a miracle worker with us and the undertones of disrespect I detect from some of you on here amaze me! Thankyou Gary if you read this !

Take it from me Matt, as a 'Woody of some vintage, we were a rarity back in the day when Kingswood was most definitely gas. Apart from the Cobbler, pretty much every pub was blue and white. We were a united but heavily outnumbered group back in the day. Still loud as **** mind! That said, we've even taken over their Kingswood heartland nowadays!

Don't know if you've noticed but there's a block of 62 flats close to the Dolman. All the tenants are at least 50, some have been there for 40/50 years. Good luck getting them all moved, the block demolished etc so that we can get a theoretical extra 5,000 supporters in to watch us dominate European football etc.

Here's a couple of posts from the Fruit Loop thread on AssChat Demand for office space is on the decline, retail struggling as so much now online, there are fewer music artists capable of filling a big venue. Traditional advertising biz in decline due to google ads etc. Build a 40K stadium, have low ticket prices to maximise capacity and make more from merch, food and drink or build a small stadium and have very high ticket prices? & How long do we get to have an approved Ground when we hit the Championship next Season? ?

The discussion over an increased capacity is predicated and there being a need, i.e. we're in the Prem and there's a need for extra capacity. So, yes, all very hypothetical but it's not an obsession with increasing for increasing's sake. (And it beats checking the transfer forum every 5 minutes for tenuous links to players we've never heard of and will never sign.) As for the teams you list - they're all yo-yos (if only, of course!). The discussion we're having, as stated, is predicated on City enjoying a sustained spell in the Premier League, at which point, it's generally agreed, 25,000 seats for home fans would not satisfy demand - we're not the other bloody lot, revelling in how many fans they've got outside grounds - why wouldn't we want as many City fans as possible attending games if we became an established top flight team? Pigs might fly but worth debating during the slow summer months

I'm loving this thread which has engendered some real debate. There are differences of opinion but without any rancour and with many valid points being made on all sides of the argument. I do like most threads on OTIB, not minding the comical quips and setting off on tangents, but this one is a real winner.

Source?

We live in kingswood,I’ve always done since birth! It was never as big a rovers area as was made out to be even years ago when I was a kid.My daughter has sports week this week where they can wear in any sporty clothes and from what she’s saying there are a good few more city shirts than gas.She’s been flying the flag with the home and third kit.A few kids say they are gas but have never been to a game and we are taking one to the Sunderland game, maybe she can be turned?!

That’s the problem, you’re trying to give yourself a definite answer / rationale to an unknown situation…and taking other people’s views (OTIB, media, etc) as being the gospel…made even harder when two people have opposing views, so not knowing who’s right - probably neither!! We all do it to an extent.

"I propose we hit Lewes hard and we hit them fast, with a major, and I mean major, leaflet campaign..."

I wish I hadn't now but look what I found... https://krusteez.com/product/bristol-city-hawaiian-shirt/

If Magnum grew up on banjo island, not Hawaii

Anything to piss off Luton fans, then I’m all for it.

There is space behind the Dolman. pitch rotated 90 degrees. Lansdown becomes the away end, extended South Stand and new Atyeo at the sides, new Dolman home end.

“Has anyone ever told you that you are a disgusting pus filled bubo with all the charm, wit and self possession of an Alsatian dog after a head swap operation?…”

It was the same all over the country not just at AG during the 80s & early 90s

Yes, it was strange. Even with sub-5,000 attendances the place didn’t feel that deserted and the atmosphere was generally ok (thanks mainly to Mr Harling). Those were the times (with others) when our ‘deflated’ attendance figures were a standing joke. Cue general mutterings from those in attendance about the tax man.

I did say mid twenties was still pretty good, and yes our fickle lot did desert us in the 80s, and yes you are right Ashton gate was a pretty depressing place with 3 or 4 thousand in it and that was in the days it held 40,000, I like to think we made almost as much noise as some of the crowds we have had lately though to be fair we have not had an awful lot to get exited about for a while.

Yep. Back in our day bollocks. Actually it goes like this: Back in our day houses were 4 x our salary. Back in our day we had defined benefit pensions. Back in our day we planned to retire at 57. Back in our day we had free University education. Back in our day everyone got Child benefit. Back in our day fuel and energy were both cheap. Of course this is a one sided view - however the total lack of acknowledgment from the boomer generation that modern life is hard for young adults is blind to reality. Yet all we hear is the young are entitled. **** off

You are forever mentioning what it’s like these days- how people now are entitled, bad up bringing and yet conveniently forgetting the past. In the past we lived with riots, football hooliganism and an openly racist society. Even in this thread people have given you examples, in the past, of trouble they witnessed at cricket games. It’s not a modern day phenomenon it’s just nostalgia on your behalf.