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The myth that Bristol is too nice to have successful football clubs.


Major Isewater

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Bristol is my town and a beautiful place to live but I have also lived in Norwich which is equally beautiful and that doesn’t seem to have hurt them. 
 

What is the difference ? 
 

Why have the Canaries been so successful and we’ve stayed relatively still ?

When I was a youngster Norwich were a third division club and a bit of a joke.

They have a lovely ground in the city centre and great training facilities.

They are two hours from anywhere but still attract quality players. 
 

It is amazing what they’ve achieved.

 

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16 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Bristol is my town and a beautiful place to live but I have also lived in Norwich which is equally beautiful and that doesn’t seem to have hurt them. 
 

What is the difference ? 
 

Why have the Canaries been so successful and we’ve stayed relatively still ?

When I was a youngster Norwich were a third division club and a bit of a joke.

They have a lovely ground in the city centre and great training facilities.

They are two hours from anywhere but still attract quality players. 
 

It is amazing what they’ve achieved.

 

There isn't really a correlation between a town being 'nice' and the team being successful. Many of the successful Northern footballing cities are very nice and it hasn't stopped them. 

One thing we do have that's a disadvantage is lack of proximity to other successful clubs. It means we are less of an option for players who don't quite make the grade at Prem level and need to drop down a level. It's really helped teams like Brentford for example over the years. 

A successful team is just the result of effective decision making in player recruitment, manager recruitment and then a bit of luck. A club's situation can change very quickly - look at Leicester, Sheffield United and Bournemouth just a few years back. 

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20 minutes ago, East Yorkshire CideRed said:

I remember a talented lad in my school being scouted by Norwich City back in the early 90s. Always seemed bizarre that a club from East Anglia would have scouts in Bristol. But perhaps therein lay the difference?

I knew 4-5 local lads who were at Norwich around that time. Not sure what it’s like now but they had a strong network down here then. 

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I have often wondered the same.

It's often stated that Bristol is not a location that attracts players as it is distant from London/Midlands/etc where they would rather be - but the same (even more so) could be said of Norwich. 

They do seem to have good gates but then they are typically either in the prem or fighting for promotion.

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14 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

There isn't really a correlation between a town being 'nice' and the team being successful. Many of the successful Northern footballing cities are very nice and it hasn't stopped them. 

One thing we do have that's a disadvantage is lack of proximity to other successful clubs. It means we are less of an option for players who don't quite make the grade at Prem level and need to drop down a level. It's really helped teams like Brentford for example over the years. 

A successful team is just the result of effective decision making in player recruitment, manager recruitment and then a bit of luck. A club's situation can change very quickly - look at Leicester, Sheffield United and Bournemouth just a few years back. 

For many years Norwich bought in Spurs players who didn’t quite make the grade in London. 
 

They , also , don’t benefit from Prem clubs on their doorstep but I agree with you about Brentford and Preston are a club who have often had Man Utd cast offs. 
 

 

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24 minutes ago, steveybadger said:

 Apart from that in the past they have possibly been better run than us, on and off the pitch?

Absolutely right. It really is that simple.

City now have the infrastructure to be a PL side. It’s just the most important two factors that are missing, a proven manager and a squad capable of achieving promotion.

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4 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

For many years Norwich bought in Spurs players who didn’t quite make the grade in London. 
 

They , also , don’t benefit from Prem clubs on their doorstep but I agree with you about Brentford and Preston are a club who have often had Man Utd cast offs. 
 

 

Proximity isn't the only reason for why a team can attract players, but it plays a part. As you say, Preston and Brentford have benefitted from this. Blackburn also is another good example. Being in London is a big draw for foreign players particularly - although apparently we've really improved how we sell Bristol to foreign players. That side of it is a big part of our international recruitment and something we've really improved.

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53 minutes ago, steveybadger said:

Maybe that 2 hours from anywhere is actually an advantage? Apart from that in the past they have possibly been better run than us, on and off the pitch?

It’s 100% that they have been run better all day long. We have been poorly run really. Not in a reckless crazy foreign owner kind of way but in a naive and just lacking that drive and ruthless streak. Placing too much faith in the wrong people because they are nice
 

we have a CEO who has assembled a squad full of cowardly dross and our owner thinks he is some sort of messiah. Says it all. 

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1 hour ago, steveybadger said:

Maybe that 2 hours from anywhere is actually an advantage? Apart from that in the past they have possibly been better run than us, on and off the pitch?

Precisely, we can attract good players also, Andy Cole, Tammy Abraham’s came here amongst others.
Most actually enjoy it here. Andy Cole speaks very well of Bristol.
BUT Bristol City FC is a shambles when you compare how it is run v Norwich. Norwich’s scouting network is well known to be excellent (as are others such as Southampton who have had a presence around Bristol for many years), just to name one. Southampton’s local scout lived near me (I know him well) and he has good connections around Ashton Gate and other local clubs along with amateur football around the south west including Bristol. 

Bristol City FC are light years behind them. I am sure NP will have raised this with SL at some stage.

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3 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

Bristol is my town and a beautiful place to live but I have also lived in Norwich which is equally beautiful and that doesn’t seem to have hurt them. 
 

What is the difference ? 
 

Why have the Canaries been so successful and we’ve stayed relatively still ?

When I was a youngster Norwich were a third division club and a bit of a joke.

They have a lovely ground in the city centre and great training facilities.

They are two hours from anywhere but still attract quality players. 
 

It is amazing what they’ve achieved.

 

Norwich is lovely. If there was a Norwich Rovers which split the city I doubt that Norwich City would be as successful.

Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester etc. have historically been more passionate about their football.

If Bristol only had one club, I firmly believe it’s football history would have been much different.

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9 minutes ago, 054123 said:

Norwich is lovely. If there was a Norwich Rovers which split the city I doubt that Norwich City would be as successful.

Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester etc. have historically been more passionate about their football.

If Bristol only had one club, I firmly believe it’s football history would have been much different.

Do you honestly believe that without us the Gas would be in the Prem? 
:rofl2br:

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1 minute ago, Major Isewater said:

Do you honestly believe that without us the Gas would be in the Prem? 
:rofl2br:

Well it's possible, who knows. One club in a large city like Bristol is far more attractive for investment. Easy to aftertime about these sort of things, but theoretically the only club in Bristol would've had Bryan, Kelly, Reid and all our other successful academy products over the years.

I think it's far more likely a one club Bristol would've had a prem team by now, although the amount of 2 club cities who've had footballing success proves it isn't a prerequisite. 

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Bristol itself is not to blame, Bristol itself is just fine. It really is all about how the club is run. If you look back to the 70s, we were a top flight team then. We had no problem attracting quality players (Hunter, Royle, et al), and even prior to that, in building that promotion side, we had no problem attracting top talent from even as far away as Scotland (that squad had a number of Scots). Back then everything was peachy.

City's success (or lack of since the 70s) has been entirely commensurate with how the club has been run, from administration at the executive level, through to scouting and recruitment, down to training and team management, ethos, and culture. That's what I automatically think of when someone says infrastructure, or the 'DNA of a club'. If the DNA is lacking or broken that translates to the product on the field. Basically, garbage in garbage out.

There's nothing wrong with Bristol at all, the city or its location. If you're looking to explain the last forty years, and why it hasn't been good enough, why we haven't lived up to expectations of the club's potential (given the size of the city) all faults lie with the infrastructure in place.

Success on the field is proportionate to the framework off it. For Norwich, or Southampton, both less than half the size of Bristol and just as distant from 'big' football centres, theirs - over the same 40 year period - must have been in much better shape than ours.

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I always think it's an excuse when people say Bristol's location and rugby support is the deep lying issue with the club not being successful. Swansea are significantly further from Premier League clubs than us and you'd think there's greater support for rugby around Swansea than Bristol and yet they've had a significant recent spell in the Premier League and may get promoted back again this season. 

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5 hours ago, 054123 said:

Norwich is lovely. If there was a Norwich Rovers which split the city I doubt that Norwich City would be as successful.

Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester etc. have historically been more passionate about their football.

If Bristol only had one club, I firmly believe it’s football history would have been much different.

Probably time for a merger then.

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