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20 hours ago, onehowie said:

Remember a banner in the crowd…’And the lord said come forth…and so we did’!

... and he said: "The last will be first, and the first last" but nothing about the 11th in the table ....

3 hours ago, ralphindevon said:

Today marks the 40th anniversary of our victory at Chester City, a win that clinched us 4th spot in the 4th division and promotion.

It was a bank holiday Monday and just a great day from start to finish. My friends and I only decided to go the night before, we lived in Minehead so it was quite a trip. Fortunately when we arrived at Ashton Gate Beryl Fudge managed to squeeze us on a small coach which she’d manage to secure at the last minute.

A sunny day, great music on the radio, a 1-2 victory thanks to a Trevor Morgan double, on the pitch celebrations, bumping into Swansea fans at a service station on the way home…..

Most Importantly, after a catastrophic few years of decline and almost not existing at all, we were back! 

I believe we were "back" the previous December, with the win at Eastville. York I enjoyed that season, only the 1,000 at that one but a great day out.

31 minutes ago, JAWS said:

If SL wasn't our owner but he had been employed & trusted with someone else's money to make ALL the decisions.

How long do you think he would've lasted in the 'job'?

Also imagine that 'someone's' reaction if they had just returned from extended leave (22 yrs ). 'So Steve, we're still not in the Premier league & I see we haven't been in there once in the 22 years I've been away!?  Not only that but you've bought a rugby & basketball team & saddled me with over £200 million in debt which I'm never likely to get back as no one's gonna buy us now ffs you melt! Our merch is shit too! I may as well have left Marina in charge. Now get your coat and take crayon boy with you 

.... it's easy if you try

(No promotion to strive for, above us only .... Man City)

42 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

Home support in terms of tickets sold is bloody great. Our away support remains fairly poor though, no reason we should have a lower average than the likes of Preston and QPR

 

Actually there is a good reason for Preston, see above.

22 minutes ago, Kodjias Wrist said:

Yeah I think there are a lot of variables though like who you are playing on what days etc. Also some clubs like Preston historically take loads to teams around them and we get our allocation limited in games like Swansea and Cardiff. But you are right we should have higher attendances. 
 

However those home attendances aren’t exactly accurate are they? There were several games at home where fans on here were saying that there was a few thousand short of what was being announced. I guess that happens everywhere but hard to 

Yes, Preston have about five or six trips closer/shorter than here to Reading; Blackburn is 10 miles from Preston (Twerton Park was further for most of us) and they are given a whole end, about 7000.

It's good to see our away numbers going up and people enjoying their away days following the City a bit more. Just need a thrilling season now, to bump them even more.

1 hour ago, Glen hump said:

He could make it a lot easier to get rid if his ego would let him’ I’m sure he could find something else for Jon to do’ there’s plenty of greens need cutting at his golf club 

I thought that but didn’t have the balls to write it.

Don't write with balls, mate, write with fingers. And thumbs. It's like all these bleedin people nowadays voting with their feet, no wonder the state we're in these days .....

Awoke this morning to the dulcet, Midlands drone of Mark Ashton trying not to crow on the Today programme sports news at 7.25, and my mind drifted back to the very same sports news (or was it the 8.25?) in May 2008, I remember listening to this as I came out of the shower, and it was either the morning after Palace and reaching Wembley, or just before the final, and our very own SL appearing on the BBC's flagship news and current affairs radio programme, my chest slightly puffing out with prowed - we're on the Today programme. Wow. I don't remember Les Kew on the Today programme, I thought to meself.

Now, of course, I note that Ipswich have their ceo not the owners doing these interviews, unlike Bristol City (maybe we didn't have a ceo in 2008, and Steve said: "Oh, ok: I'll do it this time if I have to, but just this once" ?)

Anyhow, Ashton said that they had decided to "attack the division" this season, and that sounded like Cotts to me summer 2015, trying to sign Andre Gray et al.

Ashton sounded like he'd been enjoying himself, and he didn't say "trust me" once. Hope Sir Steve was still fast asleep in Guernsey and not having his boiled egg with the radio on ....

Making Bristol prouwed

4 minutes ago, Komazawa said:

Gavin Marshall - a total leach stealing a living at Ashton Gate. Odious man.

Bloke said on Radio Local Monday that our women have been "competitive." 

I think those that are still traumatised/angry by the 0:3 Trumpton were/are doing the wrong stimulants/intoxicants. 

We had tickets for the Stone Roses at Spike Island the end of that month, we were buzzing all summer, The Few weren't spoiling that. Mad fer it, we were.

I hope we never win the Third tier again in our history. 

16 hours ago, BCFC31 said:

Lee Johnson was steve lansdowns appointment. There is the problem ... the lansdowns nothing will ever change with those prats pulling all the strings.

Yeah, thanks .... that's what I was saying, "it was Steve Lansdown," but without saying "it was Steve Lansdown," trying to find another way to say the same thing.

Ashton under Lansdown appoints LJ and Deano, and they go on to coach at a lower level, downwards, with no success; Ashton free of Lansdown appoints McKenna who's coaching career takes off, spectacularly. Even Steve Lansdown himself cannot fail to recognise the problem here now, and what is holding us back.

On 01/05/2024 at 09:17, Olé said:

I would have thought that rather than crediting this all to better ownership and control of Mark Ashton, the more obvious reason is they've simply got a generationally very good young manager and are all being carried along for the ride.

Do we really think Mark Ashton, his brother in law, and the other assorted rabble that left us in a mess suddenly turned into masterminds behind Ipswich's rise. Hardly wheeling and dealing either he's sold one player for money in 2 years.

Also post-promotion winning habit is a thing. Early April 2008 GJ had us top of the Championship on 70 points (win remaining games and we'd finish on 82 and promoted). Add in McKenna's quality and the 10 more points is not unrealistic. 

Thing is, according to an Ipswich fan on here, the appointment of McKenna was 100 % down to Ashton, given free rein to go out and pick someone; whereas here he feels it necessary to appoint Lee Johnson and Dean 'Deano' Holden, ffs. 

51 minutes ago, Oh Louie louie said:

Can remember Joe's press conference when he said he was leaving. He was reduced to tears,

This was, surely, the greater loss. That night at Trumpton, of course, was painful but the long term damage of Joe clearing off far exceeded the little local scrimmage between us and them. The 90s were a waste of time for us, poor, after starting the decade so well.

People on here keep indulging in this self flagellation, whipping themselves into a frenzy of what a trauma it was that night, each to their own I suppose; to me, 1989/90 was Bob Taylor, Big Joe, winning games, winning away, Swindon and Chelsea in the cup, Dave Smith tearing down the wing, Shelts everywhere, Birmingham away, Tranmere away, cheeky John Bailey, wanting a slightly taller keeper, Biff, Psycho, Rennie flicking corners on at the front stick, Cambridge, singing "and now you're gonna believe us: the Welsh are ****ing sh*t" as we score 4 then 5 at Swansea .....

If there was any "trauma" it was blown away by August when we blitzed Blackburn 4:2. We had a great season in 90/91, very enjoyable. I've just looked it up, the Few lost that opening day at Leicester and won one in their first 10 games.

It's just not how I remember 89/90 or even the conclusion to 89/90; the sun was shining, we were up, and we had Bobby Taylor and Big Joe, the sense that we were on to something (I was young back then, forgive my charming naivety) . Happy Days.

If I could wave a magic wand and win one game we didn't win that season, it would be Cambridge in the cup meaning a quarter final at Highbury over winning at Trumpton, no question. 

2 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Exactly, Bournemouth as well run..

They cheated when it was far easier to do so, reaped the benefits ever since. Of course that will entail some aspects of being well run but the initial cheating  underpinned their next decade financially speaking, combined with a wealthy owner of course...all gives a huge FFP advantage.

Bournemouth "found a way" to get there, as did Luton. As might Wrexham. Fair means or foul football is all about getting away with what you can get away with, it always has been.

3 hours ago, phantom said:

I really like this 

I am critical of our media team but this is absolutely spot on 

 

This is good, you say? I'm not a consumer of any of this stuff but that to me is made for people with very short attention spans experiencing a sugar "high" or some other attention problem. Absolutely dreadful (but perhaps, as you say, "spot on" for those it is aimed at).

16 hours ago, BigTone said:

Conversely he could be the next Benny Lennartsson. 

But we keep appointing English/ Brit blokes when they could be the next Deano, LJ, SO'D, McInnes, Coppell, Tinnion, Keith Millen, Wilson, John "I need help" Ward, Osman, Denis Smith, Pulis, Lumsden (DM me for the full list), so maybe we just appoint no-one when Manning goes?

The numbers attending this season have been excellent, imagine what they might've been like if we had one England player, one star, or managed to win two or three at home. Or played Barcelona at AG now. Imagine Arsenal's crowds if they had our team.

When West Ham played Everton in December the crowd was 614. When we played Arsenal away, it was 3,500.

Leicester are a good comparison, playing at their own ground like us: average 2,300 or so. To our 7000 plus. I don't think "plastics" quite explains this entirely.

Sadly, I fear it will be quite some time now for local (girls) fans to see the top level of women's football and all the top players. Very disappointing. 

3 hours ago, GrahamC said:

I suppose you can argue Manning was a break from that.

LJ was the previous manager we took from another club but due to his history with the owner it was hardly ground breaking.

I just wish for once we would look to Europe, but think a combination of Tinnion being our technical director & an obsession with the fact that Benny Lennartsson didn’t work 25 years ago, means we won’t.

Not once but consistently; chances are we won't strike gold immediately. Benny was the once; the only real mistake there was not going back to Europe again to find a coach. It was the right idea.

Assuming those that follow SL will be from beyond Blighty (whenever that comes about) I cannot imagine they will be delving in L1 for a head coach, or appointing "from within." Not when football is played, managed and coached all over the bleedin' globe.

2 hours ago, Tim Monaghan said:

 

We can't do anything about the past, so why are we continually obsessing over it? 

.... because, the rumination about what might have been or was not been distracts us from the anxiety of what will be and the inevitable failure and disappointment/disaster of the fast-approaching future. Try it!

2 hours ago, GrahamC said:

 

Probably the same people moaning will be those saying we never “go for it”.

I suppose most people's idea of us "going for it" is football people choosing the footballers, and Steve keeping well out of it/just "signing the cheques"

14 minutes ago, Leabrook said:

Those of us that said sack him have to start admitting soon that we got it wrong. He’s making progress. Seagulls might not like it but that’s what’s happening 

I really hope so. It's absolutely devine to be right, delicious, it's what we all crave; but that would mean City being shite and struggling grimly against relegation next season, and as much as I love being right, and being seen to be right, I don't like seeing us being shite. 

7 minutes ago, Fpcity said:

Broke his jaw didn't he? 

Yes, Kalas was out for months.

1 hour ago, Pip King said:

What's this forum called again?

It's called: One team in Bristol. And you only have a phrase like that when there's two or more teams in one place. They don't tend to go around Norwich saying: there's only one team in Norwich. I don't suppose.

1 hour ago, Alan Dicks said:

But we’re the only team in Bristol that championship teams recognise, take it as a compliment.

Norwich played the Few earlier in the season,  I'd imagine they called them Bristol too. The pair of us are pretty anonymous, as professional clubs go. Unremarkable. So unremarkable are the Few I am convinced that when they started wearing the comedy quarters jester strip again in the 60's or 70s or whenever, it was a desperate attempt to be noticed, because they're never going to get attention for their football. 

38 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

No one has to “bother”.

Personally I love being in the Championship, the standard is decent, you play against some huge clubs yet it is still unpredictable enough for a side to beat Leicester & Southampton & to draw twice with Huddersfield.

Seeing clubs like Sheffield Wednesday struggle to even stay in it, Derby & Portsmouth happy to be returning to this level, is why I “bother”.

 

Much of what you write there applies to, say, Brentford in the PL. Or Burnley, under Dyche. You sound resigned to our mediocrity here but a regular of this forum might be forgiven for thinking that you are wanting more, and better, from the club, its owner, its staff and management. And matchday officials ........