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I put that up by mistake. Funny, though, Bill "Artful" Dodger going on about a lack of support, and the "fickle" support, at Eastville. As the letter writer above suggests, if they had some level of home support (instead of going to away games in tens of thousand) they might've still owned Eastville, and, like, built new stands, like we have done (and almost every other football club has done), instead of burning their stands (like we also have done. Burnt their stands).

Football enjoyed it's boom years after the Second WW, lasting most of the 1950s, but then beginning to tail off and slowly decline through the 1960s (coinciding with the abolition of the maximum wage, and a widening of leisure pursuits and opportunities). There was a spike post 1966, what with us being World Cup winners and all that, with crowds going back up again, lasting two seasons, before attendances again continued to decline. Crowds shrank steadily through the 1970s, as fewer goals were scored, players were paid more and wore their hair longer (then having it permed, and blow dried) and behaved more "unsportingly," the game became more "professional" and increasingly less like it had been during the post war boom years, reaching a low point in the 1st Division in 1984. Crumbling grounds and crowd violence contributed to the decline. And unemployment and recession. People were giving the game a miss (just as we were getting our act together on the pitch). Crowds were made up of a greater proportion of young (angry) males. Attendances didn't really recover until the late 90s. We - City - missed a great opportunity to cash in on potential support by messing about in the bloody 3rd division for much of the 50s, and the lower half of the 2nd when we finally got out of the 3rd. The advent of televised football, from the mid 60s, was a great time to have a great team. Leeds United timed this perfectly (and still enjoy the benefits of this today). Liverpool did nicely from it to, as did some smaller but also successful clubs (eg Ipswich, Forest, Derby). By the time we got to the top in 1976 the game was becoming deeply unpopular, loathed by much of the rest of the country. Crowd violence at home and abroad (eg England games) helped to turn thousands of those who might be tempted into armchair viewers, if that. We missed out again by only playing top class clubs on a regular basis as football across the country began to nosedive into its greatest unpopularity. Interestingly, although Fewers like to seize upon our disappearing support through three successive relegations, the 4th division's lowest two seasons for support in its existence were the two seasons following our promotion out of it in 1984. To suffer an unprecedented "trauma" of three successive relegations and play two seasons of 4th division football at the same time as football was at it's least popular and support nationwide was at its nadir was bloody unfortunate / typical for us, and is the context that Fewers always neglect to include, or simply don't understand, when saying how massive their support was in the Banana pub league (when football's popularity, and attendances, across the country, the game and the divisions, was the polar opposite of the game in 1983 and 4). Wolves' support dropped lower than ours, when they were in the 4th in the 80s (a greater decline from bigger crowds than ours during the good times). Cardiff's attendances in the 4th were thinner still, sub 3k average in more than one season). Our support was ok, in the circumstances, more than ok, and only less than theirs, Rovers,' for one of those dismal seasons: the first season down in the 4th, when we were 92nd for a week or two. And they were a division higher than us, chasing promotion/having a good season. So, in conclusion: we're more bigger-er than Norwich; they're more bigger than Northwich.

Played alongside John Byrne, who went on to better things. They had John McPhail at the back, too; McPhail and Byrne played all 46 games that season, Walwyn 45. Managed by Denis Smith, of course, who bought Keith Houchen in the March deadline. Smith had already signed the 16 year old Marco Gabbiadini, but I don't think he played until the following season. And Ricky Sbragia was part of that York team, and that's a name that sticks.

Just as an interesting comparison betwixt us and them, from a 1970s perspective: Rovers v Tommy Doc's exciting young Man Utd + the Red Army, at Eastville, 1974/5: 19,337 City v Tommy Doc's exciting young Man Utd + the Red Army, at Ashton Gate, 1974/5: 28,104. And they wonder why we went on to do better than them? And have our own ground? And bounce back from adversity? And attract millionaires and billionaires? While they bitterly reject the notion that we are the preeminent club in this city (they did back then). But to go back to the "we're bigger than Norwich!" idea, they, Norwich, also played Tommy Doc's dashing young team that season, so let's have a look at how many turnt up there in Norfolk back then: Norwich v Tommy Doc's exciting young Man Utd + the Red Army, at Carrow Rd, 74/5: 24,586. It would appear to me, then, from a careful analysis of the numbers: City v Man Utd: 28 thousand Norwich v Man Utd: 24 thousand Rovers v Man United: 19 thousand ...that it is us! We are more bigger than Norwich, not them! Unbelievable. Who'd have thought it?! This won't go down well with the Few ("yeah, but ... we took loads to Braintree .....")

We did. But not through invitation (or officially). I don't think.

Just to put that April '76 26,000 Bristol derby game crowd at Eastville in some sort of context, Rovers played some other "glittering" league fixtures at the home around that time, including: Man Utd, March 75: 19,000 Tottenham, 78 (the "second leg," they were 0-9 down on agg): 17,700. Villa, 74: 14,000 Chelsea 76: 13,000 (played Chelsea four or five times around then, 16k in 75 being the largest). West Ham, 79: 12,400. So, nothing came close to us playing there, in the league, in 1976. Which suggests a considerable visiting support! Same as when they played Man Utd, who would take 10,000 everywhere back then. To get a crowd at Eastville to match or better that league derby match in '76, in the 70s, you have to look at cup games. In '78, they had 26,000 v Southampton, with10k Saints fans, from what I can find. This suggests the Muller held at least 10k back then. Meaning at least 10k of us in '76, and at most 16 of them. Prior to this you go back to '72 and a league cup visit from Best and Charlton, and 33,900! at a Bristol Rovers home game (you see! They are huge, massive. In 1972. With a visit from two of the greatest this country has ever seen). They managed two, losing, league cup quarter finals in 70 and 71, pulling in 33,000 for those. Thirty three thousand* - blimey! Long time ago, mind. Half a century. What might've been. My search has not been exhaustive but I believe the '76 game v us was the last home league crowd of 20,000 plus at theirs, and possibly the only 20k plus crowd for a non-cup tie since the days of record crowds everywhere and their one and only half-decent team of the late 50s, early 60s (not sure if they had a "bumper" turn out for promotion in '74?). And it was only so many because there were thousands of us. Like many, many poxy clubs (and not unlike ourselves, in truth), Rovers could/can get a big crowd once or twice a season, for a knockout game or the visit of some all-time greats, or a family day out to Wemberlee, drawing in many neutrals, day-trippers and casual observers, few if any of whom will ever be interested in their run of the mill, mundane league games that make up the majority of a season. The mistake, or perhaps intentionally misleading or deluding conclusion, they come to, is to read far too much into the big one-off occasion and envisage from that the potential of many, many thousands trudging through the wind and the rain, and the grey (and the boob cricket, and the horse interfering) to witness league fixtures against the same old bloody dross week after week, year after year. Lord knows I have made the same error and deluded myself similarly about us. *Many of these "loyal and true/once-in-blue-moon" diehards from 50 years ago in 1971 would be waiting to go again regularly, should they get a ground/take the Prem by storm/overtake us again, were it not for the sad fact that they are now dead. And the "faith" has not lived on through the generations.

Put simply, the (entire) Muller Road end was not always room enough for us, while two of the three parts of the Park End always seemed to accommodate them ok. And sometimes, just the one.

A few years now since I was in the central library, thumbing through old Evening Posts, but do remember reading the papers from the week leading up to the December 83 game and I think it was 6000 tickets sold for the Muller Rd end. That's 6000 out of a 14000 crowd. There were also reports of police warnings about forgeries and measures in place to stop City fans entering via skullduggery. The last derby game there, I was stood in the small enclosure where the torched South Stand used to be, the night hundreds of City were in that bit, many jumping on the pitch when we - Stevie Neville? - scored. Think that was only 9000 odd.

That's what the hare thought.....

All this "over-taking" - like with the tortoise and the hare, they only manage this when we stop for a nap (are periodically properly shee-ite), but then, the last time that was the case, 2013/14, they must've been in the pits having their tyres changed?

You cannot help but be tickled by the "bigger than Norwich" thing. Norwich have averaged 10,000 or more every season - like, every season; no, "yeah, but we was in the Banana league in 2015" - an unbroken, no exceptions, no excuses (no "yeah, buts") - since 1932. Rovers have not managed a five figure, 10,000 plus ("yeah, but we was in Baff") average home attendance since the 1975/76 season (when they had a large away end, with room for 6 or 7000). That was 10,022. I don't suppose the average away support at Eastville that season was 22, so you have to go back even further to find a season when 10,000 of them went every week (ie, were "bigger than Norwich"). Indeed, of their 91 football league seasons, in just 29 of those have Rovers averaged 10,000 or more. Two thirds of the history they have had a tinpot home crowd. The "yeah, but .... if we didn’t have a restricted capacity and instead had a 40,000 all seater ground, we'd ....." falls down when you ask: why do you have a poor ground? Why have you not had your own ground for decades? Why did you have to leave Bristol and go cap in hand to a non-league club? Why do able/minted men end up at AG and not Camp Few/Canopy Nou?

32,000? For a game against Stoke? In Bristol? Even following a win at Arsenal, and a 65 year wait, the good people of Bristol are not that daft/desperate/short of things to do/into football/willing to part with their cash.

You are confusing this forum for the crowd at the ground. And you don't go to other grounds. It would appear.

But we pulled in 27,000 v Liverpool in March 1980, just weeks before we bid top class football a sad adieu. Who could make any sense of the numbers down AG in the 70s and 80s?

The Leeds and Liverpool cup ties in '74 were all-ticket, and both had 37,000 crowds. I don’t know if the Liverpool game in the league in May '77 was all ticket - I'm thinking it wasn't - but the official attendance for that was 38 000 plus. More than should've been allowed in, maybe. Maybe, it was a bit of a melee that evening. In his programme notes for the first home game the following season, in August '77, Alan Dicks informed us that the club had had to spend £100k on ground improvements over the summer to comply with the recent Safety of Sports Ground Act. He said that this had cut the ground capacity to 30,000. A big cut from 37 (or was it 38) thousand. However, a quick glance at the programme for Man United at the end of the 77/78 season, shows that we attracted two crowds during that season of more than 31,000! (v Forest and Liverpool). Did we let more in than we were supposed to? Could we add up properly? Did Dicksy get his sums wrong? Did we - the club - know what was going on? Did we - the crowd - know what was going on?

Going to Bath saved them. Their best seasons in half a century were while they were playing at a small, decrepit non-league ground. It was clearly a "good fit," finally Rovers had a ground to complement their crowd (small, untidy, ramshackle). A small crowd in a small ground (Trumpton) or a small crowd in a large oval of a ground (Eastville)? At Eastville their 3 or 4 thousand crowds, set miles back from the pitch, were stretched, anonymous and almost invisible. They might as well not have been there. At Trumpton they only had two sides to populate and were right on top of the action, they could make themselves heard. The opposition also disliked going there, accustomed as they were to finer facilities and surroundings (ie professional ones). The derby games at Eastville I attended, in the 80s, you could see but not hear them. At Trumpton, with a winning team admittedly, they were unpleasantly close and audible. At Eastville there was always City in the remains of the torched stand and the North stand, probably the Tote as well. We used to march there from town and feel like we had taken the place over (the Muller was a big end, 5000 I think, if not 6, for the December 83 cup game I think, in a 14k crowd). The combination of being in Bath and Gerry Francis's no-frills anti-football saved them. They've done nothing since being back in Bristol, even worse than before you might say. I wish they had limped on at Eastville, they were dying a slow, anonymous death there.

Yes, compared to them. Which isn't saying much/enough!

It means, the club you measure yourself against, the club you fancy to be your rival, the club your supporters obsess over, are more successful, are higher in the pyramid than you, have more support than you, and they have modernised, are a 21st century football club. It means you are small fry and lower league. It also means, "we tried to modernise but failed" and have only the "tradition" nonsense to fall back on.

I like it. Camp Few perhaps?

It was appropriate or relevant 50 years ago, under Shankly. They need a new song for 2020

Offer people inside, wash your hands, save the GHS

Dicksy could've updated everyone via his matchday programme notes as to the bungled (if that's what it was) rehabilitation of Cheese, but he was too busy telling folk that were there at home games buying the programme and paying to get in, that not enough people were there buying the programme and paying to get in. And also, asking fans to be more patient/understanding, less vulgar/foul-mouthed.

Pro footballers tend to move to, rather than emerge from Portishead. Can't be many that make it from there?

While we had a scouting network based in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh. Presumably, Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Hearts were watching lads kicking a ball about in Norfolk....

They could be our away following - go to away games - and we'd cover the home games. We'd be huge! The envy of all ......