Miah Dennehy Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 On 01/04/2020 at 21:01, Mr Popodopolous said: Would ther AG8 have given it up in modern times- or should that be with modern equivelants? Really not so sure. Like night and day, chalk and cheese- good thread. They had no choice, they were given a fait accompli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dolman Pragmatist Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 5 hours ago, Robert the bruce said: Absolutely.... 'Football' is a crock of shite....and that includes City. I guess we already in our hearts knew it but the tragedy now unfolding brings razor sharp focus. Sickened & disappointed by attitudes. Why are footballers being singled out? I don’t hear anything about the super rich who have been the main beneficiaries of ten years of Tory cuts to the NHS. What about the bl**dy royal family paying fir a hospital or two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatchers Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 How about the obscene bonus's still being paid on top of multi million pound salaries for our bosses of failing business's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoystonFoote'snephew Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 24 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said: Why are footballers being singled out? I don’t hear anything about the super rich who have been the main beneficiaries of ten years of Tory cuts to the NHS. What about the bl**dy royal family paying fir a hospital or two? I agree with this. I've been a socialist all my life but don't feel the need to pillory the wealthy, as its not a crime to be rich. Many wealthy people, including top flight footballers, are doing their bit in both financial support and morale boosting but they don't all court publicity and shout it from the rooftops. Rather than go after a group of professional sportsmen (has super rich Lewis Hamilton been asked for a contribution by the way) I just want to see strong measures to stop tax avoidance or tax dodging, so that everyone pays their proper share and we can fund the NHS properly. No more cosy chats with multi million pound companies (like Starbucks) who pay reduced levels while the taxman goes after the poor sod who runs a single coffee shop in a rural town. Let's tax people truly at source I. E. I don't care where you live if your wealth derives from business in the UK you get taxed at UK rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheasant plucker Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 1 hour ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said: I agree with this. I've been a socialist all my life but don't feel the need to pillory the wealthy, as its not a crime to be rich. Many wealthy people, including top flight footballers, are doing their bit in both financial support and morale boosting but they don't all court publicity and shout it from the rooftops. Rather than go after a group of professional sportsmen (has super rich Lewis Hamilton been asked for a contribution by the way) I just want to see strong measures to stop tax avoidance or tax dodging, so that everyone pays their proper share and we can fund the NHS properly. No more cosy chats with multi million pound companies (like Starbucks) who pay reduced levels while the taxman goes after the poor sod who runs a single coffee shop in a rural town. Let's tax people truly at source I. E. I don't care where you live if your wealth derives from business in the UK you get taxed at UK rates. Great post, although I'm not a socialist, sums up my thoughts too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Dante Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 https://www.theguardian.com/football/that-1980s-sports-blog/2020/apr/08/eight-bristol-city-players-money-save-club-ashton-gate-eight-coronavirus?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other In the Guardian today. Nothing we don’t know already but rightly portrays the AG8 in a good light Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cider hoss rules Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 for those that cant view/open thew link; When eight footballers tore up their contracts to save Bristol City Players may lose money during the coronavirus pandemic but few will sacrifice as much as the Ashton Gate Eight By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog Steven Pye Wed 8 Apr 2020 15.07 BST Shares 16 Comments 12 The Ashton Gate Eight in February 1982. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images Many footballers will have to take pay cuts to help their clubs survive during the coronavirus pandemic but, when it comes to making career and financial sacrifices, surely nothing can match the story of the Ashton Gate Eight. Bristol City were struggling to balance the books in the early 1980s and faced the very real threat of extinction. Having been promoted the top tier in 1976 under the management of Alan Dicks, the club’s problems began when players’ contracts changed in 1978. Read more Previously, players were bound to clubs even after their contracts expired. But new legislation stipulated that players could now leave once their contracts had expired. The selling club would still get a fee, but the ruling changed the footballing landscape. Gary Collier, an important player at Bristol City, took advantage of the change. “He took his chance to test the new system and walked out,” explained Dicks. “The players who stayed heard he was being offered £500 a week by Coventry, which was certainly more than they were getting, so I went to the board and said we should reward loyalty. We were in the First Division and it was essential to keep our best players.” Dicks and the board were determined to secure players on long-term deals on relatively decent wages so that there would be no repeat of the Collier move. Clive Whitehead agreed an 11-year contract, with Gerry Gow and Tom Ritchie both signing up for seven years. With average attendances of 19,000 and First Division football, the future looked bright. “Whitehead, Gow and Ritchie were all put on around £450 a week,” said Dicks. “I didn’t think that was exorbitant for a First Division club.” Maybe not, but the gaping hole in the plan became evident when Bristol City were relegated in 1980. The combination of declining attendances and players on lucrative deals was not a good one for their finances. On and off the pitch, the club was lurching from one disaster to the next. Dicks was sacked in September 1980 and replaced by Bob Houghton, the English manager who had led Malmö to the European Cup final the year before. Roy Hodgson followed Houghton back from Sweden to work as his assistant, but the pair were unable to prevent a second straight relegation. The club was spiralling out of control. Houghton left in January 1982 with the club in the relegation zone yet, more importantly, their very existence was in danger. Bristol City were £850,000 in debt, owed the Inland Revenue £100,000, were reportedly losing £4,000 a week and still had to pay transfer money to Newcastle for Mick Harford and Malmö for Jan Möller. Read more There was seemingly only one way out of the hole: the club would be declared bankrupt, a new club would be formed under a new board and the players who were on long-term deals would be asked to tear up their contracts. Without these measures, the club would die. Enter the Ashton Gate Eight. Geoff Merrick, Chris Garland, Trevor Tainton, David Rodgers, Gerry Sweeney, Jimmy Mann, Peter Aitken and Julian Marshall were given an ultimatum to end all ultimatums. Either they agreed to have their contracts terminated or the club would fold. No pressure then. The discussions between the club and players were time-consuming and stressful. With new PFA secretary Gordon Taylor fighting the corner of the players, pressure grew on the eight. They were on deals worth between £20,000 and £25,000 a year, which hardly made them the wealthy footballers of the modern era. Merrick, who had been at the club for more than 15 years and was the club’s PFA representative, explained the predicament. “We have families and mortgages and are obviously reluctant to give up the protection of our contracts, although we appreciate the seriousness of City’s plight.” Taylor was firm on his position: “It is unfair that the eight should be sacrificed because of the mismanagement of the club over a number of years.” FacebookTwitterPinterest Bristol City captain Geoff Merrick. Photograph: Nick Rogers/ANL/REX/Shutterstock Initially, the eight players turned down a combined deal worth £58,000 from the club. “How can players be expected to go on the dole so that a club which has been badly handled can be given a second chance?” protested Merrick. But deep down the loyalty of the players involved was always going to pull at their heartstrings. Merrick, Garland, Tainton, Sweeney and Mann had played more than 200 games each for the club; Merrick, Tainton and Rodgers had been at Bristol City for their entire careers. As much as they wanted to protect themselves, the prospect of seeing the club they loved go under was too much to contemplate. Another offer of £80,000 was rejected, as the scrutiny on the eight ramped up. “This is positively the last chance,” said Ken Sage, a new member of the board. “I think everyone believes we are kidding, but we are not. We have dug into our own pockets to spread a little extra money around and this is the final offer. If the players don’t take it by noon on Wednesday, the club folds.” Finally, on 3 February 1982, the Ashton Gate Eight agreed a deal that meant Bristol City would survive. The players put the concerns of the club above their own interests and accepted £10,000 each plus gate receipts from a special testimonial match between Ipswich and Southampton at Ashton Gate that would be held a month later. “It’s wonderful to see the club survive and tremendously emotional for us at the same time,” said Merrick. “There’s also got to be some bitterness at the way the eight players have almost been held responsible when everyone else seems to blame bad management.” Taylor was quick to praise them. “My eight members have become sacrificial offerings to keep Bristol City alive. They have handled themselves with so much dignity. Hopefully what has happened here will not happen again.” Read more Caretaker manager Hodgson battled manfully to keep the club in the Third Division, but to no avail. They went down again, their third relegation in as many seasons. Yet the fact that the club survived was a victory. The match after the good news broke attracted the biggest crowd of the season, with Garland and Aitken among the 9,228 spectators at Ashton Gate for the visit of Fulham. The players were lauded for their actions, but they had mixed feelings. “We’ve been let down,” said Merrick at the time. “Now I have no job and nothing coming in. I’ll have to go on the dole.” Merrick never played league football again. The business Tainton had been running alongside his football career was pushed into bankruptcy. A plaque outside Ashton Gate commemorates the role the eight played in saving Bristol City. The sacrifices they made will never be forgotten by supporters of the club, and rightly so. Footballers often received bad press. The Ashton Gate Eight did their best to redress the balance and they saved a football club in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City oz Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 On 02/04/2020 at 05:14, BS4 on Tour... said: What a load of bo$$@cks . I think joe Lewis should have a good look at himself and decide on forgoing one of his billions to keep the support staff at the club financially secure during this desperate time. After all its not just the players and coaches it is all the support staff that support football clubs across the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City oz Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 On 09/04/2020 at 01:51, cider hoss rules said: for those that cant view/open thew link; When eight footballers tore up their contracts to save Bristol City Players may lose money during the coronavirus pandemic but few will sacrifice as much as the Ashton Gate Eight By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog Steven Pye Wed 8 Apr 2020 15.07 BST Shares 16 Comments 12 The Ashton Gate Eight in February 1982. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images Many footballers will have to take pay cuts to help their clubs survive during the coronavirus pandemic but, when it comes to making career and financial sacrifices, surely nothing can match the story of the Ashton Gate Eight. Bristol City were struggling to balance the books in the early 1980s and faced the very real threat of extinction. Having been promoted the top tier in 1976 under the management of Alan Dicks, the club’s problems began when players’ contracts changed in 1978. Read more Previously, players were bound to clubs even after their contracts expired. But new legislation stipulated that players could now leave once their contracts had expired. The selling club would still get a fee, but the ruling changed the footballing landscape. Gary Collier, an important player at Bristol City, took advantage of the change. “He took his chance to test the new system and walked out,” explained Dicks. “The players who stayed heard he was being offered £500 a week by Coventry, which was certainly more than they were getting, so I went to the board and said we should reward loyalty. We were in the First Division and it was essential to keep our best players.” Dicks and the board were determined to secure players on long-term deals on relatively decent wages so that there would be no repeat of the Collier move. Clive Whitehead agreed an 11-year contract, with Gerry Gow and Tom Ritchie both signing up for seven years. With average attendances of 19,000 and First Division football, the future looked bright. “Whitehead, Gow and Ritchie were all put on around £450 a week,” said Dicks. “I didn’t think that was exorbitant for a First Division club.” Maybe not, but the gaping hole in the plan became evident when Bristol City were relegated in 1980. The combination of declining attendances and players on lucrative deals was not a good one for their finances. On and off the pitch, the club was lurching from one disaster to the next. Dicks was sacked in September 1980 and replaced by Bob Houghton, the English manager who had led Malmö to the European Cup final the year before. Roy Hodgson followed Houghton back from Sweden to work as his assistant, but the pair were unable to prevent a second straight relegation. The club was spiralling out of control. Houghton left in January 1982 with the club in the relegation zone yet, more importantly, their very existence was in danger. Bristol City were £850,000 in debt, owed the Inland Revenue £100,000, were reportedly losing £4,000 a week and still had to pay transfer money to Newcastle for Mick Harford and Malmö for Jan Möller. Read more There was seemingly only one way out of the hole: the club would be declared bankrupt, a new club would be formed under a new board and the players who were on long-term deals would be asked to tear up their contracts. Without these measures, the club would die. Enter the Ashton Gate Eight. Geoff Merrick, Chris Garland, Trevor Tainton, David Rodgers, Gerry Sweeney, Jimmy Mann, Peter Aitken and Julian Marshall were given an ultimatum to end all ultimatums. Either they agreed to have their contracts terminated or the club would fold. No pressure then. The discussions between the club and players were time-consuming and stressful. With new PFA secretary Gordon Taylor fighting the corner of the players, pressure grew on the eight. They were on deals worth between £20,000 and £25,000 a year, which hardly made them the wealthy footballers of the modern era. Merrick, who had been at the club for more than 15 years and was the club’s PFA representative, explained the predicament. “We have families and mortgages and are obviously reluctant to give up the protection of our contracts, although we appreciate the seriousness of City’s plight.” Taylor was firm on his position: “It is unfair that the eight should be sacrificed because of the mismanagement of the club over a number of years.” FacebookTwitterPinterest Bristol City captain Geoff Merrick. Photograph: Nick Rogers/ANL/REX/Shutterstock Initially, the eight players turned down a combined deal worth £58,000 from the club. “How can players be expected to go on the dole so that a club which has been badly handled can be given a second chance?” protested Merrick. But deep down the loyalty of the players involved was always going to pull at their heartstrings. Merrick, Garland, Tainton, Sweeney and Mann had played more than 200 games each for the club; Merrick, Tainton and Rodgers had been at Bristol City for their entire careers. As much as they wanted to protect themselves, the prospect of seeing the club they loved go under was too much to contemplate. Another offer of £80,000 was rejected, as the scrutiny on the eight ramped up. “This is positively the last chance,” said Ken Sage, a new member of the board. “I think everyone believes we are kidding, but we are not. We have dug into our own pockets to spread a little extra money around and this is the final offer. If the players don’t take it by noon on Wednesday, the club folds.” Finally, on 3 February 1982, the Ashton Gate Eight agreed a deal that meant Bristol City would survive. The players put the concerns of the club above their own interests and accepted £10,000 each plus gate receipts from a special testimonial match between Ipswich and Southampton at Ashton Gate that would be held a month later. “It’s wonderful to see the club survive and tremendously emotional for us at the same time,” said Merrick. “There’s also got to be some bitterness at the way the eight players have almost been held responsible when everyone else seems to blame bad management.” Taylor was quick to praise them. “My eight members have become sacrificial offerings to keep Bristol City alive. They have handled themselves with so much dignity. Hopefully what has happened here will not happen again.” Read more Caretaker manager Hodgson battled manfully to keep the club in the Third Division, but to no avail. They went down again, their third relegation in as many seasons. Yet the fact that the club survived was a victory. The match after the good news broke attracted the biggest crowd of the season, with Garland and Aitken among the 9,228 spectators at Ashton Gate for the visit of Fulham. The players were lauded for their actions, but they had mixed feelings. “We’ve been let down,” said Merrick at the time. “Now I have no job and nothing coming in. I’ll have to go on the dole.” Merrick never played league football again. The business Tainton had been running alongside his football career was pushed into bankruptcy. A plaque outside Ashton Gate commemorates the role the eight played in saving Bristol City. The sacrifices they made will never be forgotten by supporters of the club, and rightly so. Footballers often received bad press. The Ashton Gate Eight did their best to redress the balance and they saved a football club in the process. This has bought up on many occasions. They are heroes and always will be. I know all on OTIB and even the greater football community in bristol will never forget them. 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Mr X Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Playing the devil’s advocate having read the article it could be thought that the players didn’t want to tear up their contracts and did so as they had no choice as they wouldn’t have been paid anyway if the club went bust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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