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Known throughout Football as "the Club that always bottles it"


southvillekiddy

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IMHO, we're known as the Club that bottles it. Fans from other Clubs have said this to me. If it's true why does it happen?

Right now I’m betting 1000s of City fans in the UK and all over the World are thinking what I’m thinking.

‘Typical City, we’ve bottled it yet again” “How have I got stuck for life supporting a football Club that always seems to bottle it when we come to the crunch”.

I suspect that people throughout football have this opinion of us. If so how can the people in charge of Bristol City, those that have the power and resources to make our plans a reality, live with that? It twists my guts up. Does it twist your guts up? For all the talk of wanting Premiership football they just don’t seem to take that idea seriously enough judging by their actions.

This season start was amazing. Like many I imagined something substantially different was happening this season - high tempo, skilful attacking football that took us to 2nd and in and around the top 6 for the first half of the season. I had my doubts about Johnson but the coaching blend with Holden and MaCalistair was a revelation.

Promotion to the Premiership seemed possible if we kept going in the same fashion.

Then the bottling starts – we’re playing exciting pressing football good enough to beat 4 Premiership teams but no-one in charge seems to have allowed for the toll this will take on the players. The transfer window arrives, we have serious long term injuries but we do not take the opportunity to buy or loan in the players with the quality to have a rotation of players necessary for our playing system and good enough to achieve promotion

(Interesting to note that Johnson Snr did not make the necessary signings in the January window during his best season, believing we could make it to the Premiership with what we had)

Some would say that the promotion from the Championship is the toughest in football, it’s seems impossible to ensure it will happen, even if your pockets are bottomless.When there is a reasonable chance of it surely you have to go for it – the chance may not arise again for decades. Look at the famous Clubs in the Championship who have not been in the Premiership for a very long time. With a golden chance this season, what do City do? We announce that we are not necessarily interested in promotion this year – as though this were something that could be controlled. How would you describe this remark, naïve, arrogant, stupid?

At the very least it’s a mistake to say this publicly even if you are thinking it.

What effect would this remark have on you as a player? I would say we have seen a loss of belief, ethos, energy from the players in the last 25 games.

My theory is that the powers that be, especially the owner, want to keep it safe, keep things under control and avoid employing people at all levels who might threaten this control. This in my view. Unless this changes I can't see us achieving Premiership status. An Alan Dicks turns up at BCFC once every 100 years maybe this is what SL is waiting for?

 

 

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Some excellent points.

We are serial bottlers, but people say the same about Tottenham. They always choke at the crucial moments (yesterday another case in point).

I was asked earlier in the season whether I thought we would go up, my friend said he thought we were nailed on having watched us a few times on the box. I said 'no' and he was surprised by my certainty. I said, 'we're Bristol City, and we always screw it up'. 

I have literally no idea why we have failed so miserably so many times but I've come to fear the worst with this club and never get over confident!

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4 minutes ago, JBFC II said:

There's only one universally known bottlers and that's Derby, we haven't quite hit their levels yet... 

Thing is mate, in the context of where we think BCFC should be, Derby have been there and played in the Premiership, (as well as having an impressive history in the old First Division)

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I don't know if the opening post is entirely true tbh.

To a lot of the football world, I would suggest that we have overachieved this season- people won't like this view.

I would think that if you did a straw poll of football fans or writers that perception would surely arise a decent amount. Let alone the Cup run and particularly v the 2 Manchester clubs.

Derby bigger bottlers yeah, would suggest they're overrated personally, but still that's how they are or might be perceived.

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14 minutes ago, Robbored said:

In all the years - decades that I've followed football I've never ever heard of any particular club known as "bottlers" 

Its all utter made up bollocks.

People have said this to me. In my opinion based on watching City for 50 years it's justified. Maybe it's a new idea to you. Can you explain why the 6th biggest City in England does not have Premiership football?

My essential point is that BCFC do not have the resolve to play in the Premiership, when we were close to achieving it this season we were weak and failed. You don't have to use the term "bottlers" if you don't want to

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Speaking from the viewpoint of a Bristol City fan living outside of Bristol, I can promise you the original post is not true at all. Tottenham are known as the club that always bottles it. Maybe fans with a bit more of an in-depth knowledge of British football might suggest Derby or Leeds. But I can pretty much guarantee you that, if you asked 100 random football fans who "the club that always bottles it are", nobody would say Bristol City. And anyone who thinks otherwise is massively overstating how famous and high-profile we are to other football fans. We are absolutely definitely not known throughout football as the team that always bottle it.

Generally we are a club nobody thinks about at all. Where we are, we're thought of the team who "maybe play in red or is it the blue and white quarters?", for a brief period earlier in the season we were thought of  as the team who knocked Man Utd out of the cup. But, whilst people find it strange Bristol has never had a top flight football team, very few people think of us as being "bottlers" because very few people think we are a team that should be in the Premier League. Had we got to the play-offs, people would have felt we were overachieving and we'd probably be pleased just to be taking part. 

And, much as I hate that, it's hard to blame people. We've spent most of the last two decades in League One and barely troubled the top half of the Championship in that time. It's preposterous to think that people think we always throw away promotion to the Premier League because it's only twice decades that we have got close enough. Granted, there was a point in the early 2000s where we may well have been known as the team that always screwed up promotion from League One (or Division Two or whatever it was then). Maybe some fans think Bristol City should be in the Premier League. Certainly I think Bristol should have a top-flight football team. But, earlier this season and 2007/2008 aside, we have done nothing to suggest we deserve that to be us. Where we should be is pretty much where we are, and where we'll stay until we prove we deserve otherwise. 

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5 minutes ago, southvillekiddy said:

People have said this to me. In my opinion based on watching City for 50 years it's justified. Maybe it's a new idea to you. Can you explain why the 6th biggest City in England does not have Premiership football?

My essential point is that BCFC do not have the resolve to play in the Premiership, when we were close to achieving it this season we were weak and failed. You don't have to use the term "bottlers" if you don't want to

It's all made up in your head mate. 

Its utter and complete nonsense.

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Ill be honest with you... No one up here knows enough about us to consider us "bottlers".

If anything we are known as a club with "massive potential" due to "huge catchment area".

The only people who consider us to have bottled it are our own fan base,  possibly rovers and maybe cardiff. 

I know everyone is disappointed with our season since the turn of the year but some of the comments and hyperbole on here are utterly ridiculous. 

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5 minutes ago, Robbored said:

It's all made up in your head mate. 

Its utter and complete nonsense.

Arrogant of you to think you know what is in my head and at the least very forgetful of you to ignore all the thousands of disappointments that we have all had following City. You miss the essential point. Bristol City are insufficiently serious about achieving success. That is why we have failed, bottled, screwed up, under-achieved throughout our history.

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5 minutes ago, southvillekiddy said:

Arrogant of you to think you know what is in my head and at the least very forgetful of you to ignore all the thousands of disappointments that we have all had following City. You miss the essential point. Bristol City are insufficiently serious about achieving success. That is why we have failed, bottled, screwed up, under-achieved throughout our history.

Every City fan has the same frustrations as you SK but don't post stuff like "bottlers" on social media.

Perhaps your understanding of the word bottlers different to everyone else because to me it mean cowardice and is an insult.

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2 minutes ago, reddoh said:

Bristol city were bottlers but since the  late seventies early 80's but I now think only a few brewers still do it  

Now you are talking. George's. What a delight it was to walk around Bristol Bridge and enjoy the delightful odours coming from the Brewery

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31 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I don't know if the opening post is entirely true tbh.

To a lot of the football world, I would suggest that we have overachieved this season- people won't like this view.

I would think that if you did a straw poll of football fans or writers that perception would surely arise a decent amount. Let alone the Cup run and particularly v the 2 Manchester clubs.

Derby bigger bottlers yeah, would suggest they're overrated personally, but still that's how they are or might be perceived.

At least Derby have won the League title and been to FA cup finals in living memory but what have City achieved in their entire history? 

Sweet FA! 

YES, Bristol City can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Again and again. 

And I and many others dared to dream in December that at long last it would be different this year. Stupid sods aren't we. 

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4 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

Generally we are a club nobody thinks about at all. 

Well, nobody thinks about us that much, although the same can be said for the likes of Huddersfield and Bournemouth and look where they are now.

If you're after a football team that no one has any regard for whatsoever, then let me present the English league's most mediocre ever club...Bristol Rovers. 

However, when I read the thread title and the word 'bottlers' I just thought 'Cardiff City'. 

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6 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Every City fan has the same frustrations as you SK but don't post stuff like "bottlers" on social media.

Perhaps your understanding of the word bottlers different to everyone else because to me it mean cowardice and is an insult.

Ah there you have it. People can have different ideas, how enlightened. What's a fascist?

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1 minute ago, southvillekiddy said:

Now you are talking. George's. What a delight it was to walk around Bristol Bridge and enjoy the delightful odours coming from the Brewery

it took courage to say that but I worked in Cardiff and had Brains :dunno:

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6 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

At least Derby have won the League title and been to FA cup finals in living memory but what have City achieved in their entire history? 

Sweet FA! 

YES, Bristol City can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Again and again. 

And I and many others dared to dream in December that at long last it would be different this year. Stupid sods aren't we. 

It's a small sample size but maybe I'll ask ppl at work tomorrow (as a %, not so many from Bristol, very few support either Bristol side) whether we've overachieved or not in their opinion.

That is, if we even register with a lot of them- or this League does. Funny feeling they would think we've done not too bad...

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Interesting points to come out of our discussion so far mates.

Can I broaden out the debate please and ask you why BCFC is not known? Why have we only had a brief spell at the highest level in our history. Can you suggest how, with all we should have going for us, BCFC might stop bumbling along as we do?

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1 hour ago, southvillekiddy said:

An Alan Dicks turns up at BCFC once every 100 years

Yup, indeed.....and I can remember in the early 70's, City fans in the East End chanting "Dicks Out!!" (No weird perverse pun intended) Bit like those calling for LJ's blood at present.:yawn:

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