Rich

That's three questions.?

Obviously they all start at the same point, I was referring to the bit just prior to that point. You're probably in the minority of your supporter base with that then, as the shouting, chest thumping and bluster from your lot over the ensuing years regarding those events, has been over the top. I suppose it's about not having much to shout about.

There's definitely been a bias towards a certain club historically, that's over the 55 years I've been reading the EP and watching local news. Having a large editorial staff of Rovers supporters was a major reason at the EP, possibly the same but, also the underdog scenario gave them an easier ride with the other media and also the EP influencing other media sources. We also have to consider how the media works, tell the story about the biggest organisation with the biggest audience, in local football terms that's BCFC.

I bet you have the same opinion for the 89/90 season then?

The rule where an injured player has to leave the pitch if treated. This is especially annoying if the player has been injured by an opponent and a foul was committed, resulting in a free kick. The offending team get to keep their eleven players on the pitch, while the player fouled and injured has to leave the pitch, utterly stupid. Take the offending player off as well, until the injured player or substitute rejoins play.

We seem to forget life outside of actual games. All things need to be taken into consideration, regarding form.

You mean the buckets have gone?

Apologies for the late reply, been busy. I don't recall any feeling that he hadn't fully recovered from his Hamstring injury in the following season, certainly that was the feeling at the end of the previous season. As I pointed out, he'd had seven months back playing and fit. Lumsden had other options after the signing of Wayne Allison and decided to rotate the strikers in what seemed like, if they don't score in three games, change them. I feel that Bob Taylor needed a run of games, to get properly match fit, this never happened. As someone else pointed out in another post, Bobby Gould was quoted as saying Taylor is worth a million, he bought him as soon as he could for a quarter of that sum. As for medical teams, admittedly they weren't as good as nowadays but, this was a hamstring (serious enough), not an ACL.

His hamstring injury was late in the previous season, 89/90, making a comeback for the last six games I believe. He wasn't sold until the following January, approximately seven months later. He was fit and playing in the new season but, instead of giving him a run of games, he was in and out of the side, so ultimately not scoring, Wayne Allison or Nicky Morgan being preferred. His best season we were playing with two wide men and Turner, providing lots of chances. The second season, we played mainly with one wide player (Dave Smith)? Gavin was sold in the August. Given a run of games by WBA, he scored 8 times in 19 games that first season and, followed it up with a return of 37 goals the following season. Surely our medical team and WBA medical team would have known if he'd had a serious problem.

Talk of cocaine use at football grounds and reference to police swabbing surfaces within Ashton gate. Yet no reference to what was found. Typical crap journalism. Surely the journalist should have enquired what if anything, was the result of the police forces swabbing investigation. Typical Post click bait and, negative reference to Bristol City as the police operation was carried out at AG and the vicinity, even though Rovers were mentioned in the headline.

It really does raise the question of why so cheap. Just as Cureton was sold to Reading, which seemed very quickly and much lower than the usual £1m for top scorer in the third tier. I'm not linking the reasons for why they both left though.

Is that Gingist?

Would you see it as magnanimous to provide things for the local community, or even the local football club and it's supporters? Oh! wait a minute.? Sorry RR.

Sadly, in Jimmy Lumsden we had a manager who didn't know how to get the best out of Bob Taylor. He was sold to WBA and promptly scored 37 goals for them. I can't help thinking that at £ 250k I think, it was way to little and perhaps it was planned, by way of reducing his effectiveness, then value.

I quite agree. Too much bluster and bullshyte are most often seen as just that, then the piss taking starts and, in some instances is replaced by even more bluster and bullshyte, followed by years of piss taking.

So, when asked, surely you realise he had to give a positive response, no matter how fanciful it may have been. I'm not sticking up for him by any means, I think he was very fortunate to ever get the chance to manage at that level and most people thought he spoke a load of shyte, me included.

But as I remember, it was only Johnson talking about his desire to get there, not a projection or promise. It was not the entire fanbase projecting fanciful dreams. Everybody needs to have aspirations but, usually they are tempered with reality. There is every chance that in a few years City will be in the premiership, challenging for the title, winning the F A cup and becoming champions of Europe. Shit, sorry, I was getting carried away and comparing My clubs ambitions using Rovers fans logic.

How would you have noticed if he's deaf in one ear? Do you know him?

How could I have possibly forgotten Radio Bristol, with their regular trips to "The Mem" and to see how the "Gas" are getting on. Then on other occasions they'll see if there's any updates from BS3 and Bristol City. It's not cold towards City but, often comes across warm and friendly to the ground stealing family from hell club. I'm not certain but, I doubt there'd have been the same coverage in Nottingham for County as there is for Forest, equally Port Vale wouldn't get equal coverage as Stoke. I watch local TV news and I am often left wondering who's the team with most support and consistently in the higher division. As for the ground reference, you can bet your sweet buddy that Marvin's Right hand man and Gashead, Craig Cheney, is beavering away behind the scenes, trying to give developers long leases with peppercorn rents on council owned land. With the promise of easy planning applications as long as they provide a stadium within their plans.

As an addition to this topic, the OP states he doesn't know where the Swan Inn is, neither do I. What I do know is, if I remember correctly, we travelled past Hereford and stopped in the Swan, then came into Hereford from the North, avoiding police checkpoints and a police escort.

I was away in Devon when I heard the news, I thought, there has to be something really funny going on for the results to transpire as they did. Well there was, the gods were shining on them. Then I suddenly thought, this is going to be intolerable. We'll have the Post, Points West, HTV all swooning over them for their marvelous achievement, which is usually portrayed as so much more than we ever achieve, I suppose that's the plucky underdogs, or that Rovers supporters demand more exposure and still have simpathysers in high places. I also thought how long until I see one of those tramps wearing a tramps shirt. I didn't have to wait too long, Sunday morning I'm on my way home and stop in Highbridge caravans and, there it was, a tramp wearing a tramps T shirt at 11am in the caravan shop. Spoilt my day. I will also add that I live in Bristol, yet only know one active Rovers supporter, fortunate you might say. He wasn't going to be able to make a meet with the lads this Wednesday, now he's managed to make the time, surprise, surprise.

Somehow I was on that Photo and, in the Maypole. A few of us South Bristol boys were on the coach. Crap first game watched from the side stand. Different story for the second game, watched from the Dolman. Celebrated after with a trip into the only club we could get in, Lourdes? Fairfax St up the steps.

As I've said in previous posts, how can you tell if there's no noise coming from other areas if you and those around you are making a noise? Your efforts and attention are put into making that noise. To hear other parts of the ground you'd have to be separate from that noise source. Where I sit I am separate from that source and, you can also hear other areas and the whole ground. I'm not saying it's perfect or that it's the whole ground, just small pockets. It takes an awful lot to get 50+ year olds chanting songs, especially if they're not known and, there's very little hope of anything other than the odd traditional older songs. Shouting encouragement and clapping the teams efforts is about the best you'll get from most people, at most grounds. Frankly some of it is embarrassing as well. Can you imagine being there with your family or anyone else's family and chanting about some footballer shagging your wife and you encouraging it? As for being next to away supporters, it has no desired effect in getting others to take part as it's mostly aimed at the away support, the rest of the ground is separated from it. No doubt there's been great atmospheres at away matches that you've enjoyed, because you enjoy that aspect, others don't want it. I'd also bet that most clubs don't want that either, as they want to nullify away support. If it were directly adjacent to other home support, then it has a chance of spreading, in the Atyeo it hasn't, as there's a natural break. Plus there's also the fact that the allocated away area has to be of a certain size for cup games, meaning that at times the home section is outnumbered by the away section, not good practice. That's why central to the South Stand is the ideal place, just like in the old East End days, when it would encourage adjoining fans to join in, either side of the main group. Currently the powers that be can control any rowdiness, which is why S82 are in that corner.

With all due respect, I don't think you properly understood what I'm saying. You state that you cannot hear the away supporters from S82, unless they are deafening. Does this not also apply to other sections of the ground then? Or why opposition fans say they never heard the home fans. When your crew are quiet, what is the reason for that and, that reason might also be why the rest of the ground appear quiet. I would suggest that it's a lull in the play or, it's just not inspirational enough to get people excited enough to sing/chant whatever. The best atmospheres are created when it's a good game, nullify that a bit by keeping fans under control, which is why S 82 are in the corner and, it lessens the atmosphere by making it less likely to join in. Hence why I said about splitting up the away support, other clubs do it. As for those that would get aggressive anyway. That is of course the case but, put a barrier between two groups of opposing fans and it makes the animosity worse and "some", will take that a little further. Does this extra competition with the away supporters actually help the team? I would argue that it is tenuous at best. A lot is not aimed at either encouraging the team or discouraging the opposition, merely a who can insult the opposition support the most. And I'll be quite honest, most other supporters ignore it anyway, as they're engrossed actually watching the game. As for making the middle sections of the SS unreserved, it's plainly obvious that, there are people that would go there and enjoy encouraging the team when attacking and helping the team when defending. Currently they cannot do that because of reserved seating, the same thing happened at the opening of the Atyeo, when the singers were pushed from pillar to post over quite a few years until, they finally shoved them in the most innocuous fragmenting space possible. Increase the amount of people singing and you increase the noise. Position that behind the goal and it helps the team. That's why it's traditional to have the popular ends behind the goal, Think of all the successful teams and the majority have their what was once known as "choir" behind the goal. I've seen defending teams players almost quaking in their boots with the volume created at the old East End. It would appear that like most people from S82 that have an opinion, it's more to do with their personal enjoyment of the game, than actually getting behind the team.

Different parts of the ground for different types of supporter. When I go, I want to see as much of the pitch as possible, so go I on the side. I want to see as much of the game as possible, to wonder at the intricacies and great play. Have you ever thought that when you are reacting to the game, or shouting and singing, you're not aware/can't hear of the others in the ground that are also out of their seats, because I can see it all around the ground from where I sit and the crowd do interact, mostly when the team plays well, which hasn't been for some time now. I could hear the lads in the Dolman chanting yesterday, the people in and around me jumping up and singing about AW. But if you expect 40, 50, 60, 70 year olds to stand up and do the childish "bounce around the ground", then I think you're expectation levels need lowering. As for standing next to opposition fans to improve the atmosphere, how does that really work? I understand that there's banter and opposing chants and reactive chants, but, the best and most noise, is created by the most people in the best area for it to spread, not stuck up in the corner, or next to another bunch of like minded away supporters, where all you get is a cacophony of noises drowning out each other. The other factor is the violent side of it. There are bound to be people that target the opposition, recognise them and then possibly sort it out after, or get agitated and animated during the game, ending up with people being ejected. That isn't wanted by this club and the owners, that's why they stuck you (S82) up in the corner, fragmented from as many other fans as possible. That's also why we're having this debate on this forum, relating to the behaviour of supporters. If you go back a little further when the East End was for home supporters only, before your time I believe, there'd sometimes be a good atmosphere and sometimes ok, and quite a few times pretty poor. It was all in relation to the football. Whether it was a bigger crowd, a local derby or just an exciting game. We also had groups that would sing in the open end and the old enclosure. In summary and speaking from experience, as I was once a nutter in the East End, you have to accept that not everyone wants to jump up and down going "mental", throwing peoples shoes around, shouting at and threatening opposition supporters. They might just want to watch a game of exciting football and show their appreciation in different ways than a few hundred currently do in the corner. I do agree that things could be done to improve the overall atmosphere though. 1. Unreserved seating in the two central blocks of the South Stand, still no standing though, as then everyone would need to stand, as at top premiership clubs. 2. Break up the away supporters into two or three separate sections. 3. Turn off/lower the lighting above the exits during night games.