Alan Dicks

[Mr Mosquito]

I was the best manager Bristol City ever had though I admit the time I was given was helpful.Despite several near misses with relegation I was able to build a decent footballing side.

From memory one of the differences from today's side was that in Gerry Sweeney/Donnie Gillies & Bryan Drysdale/Terry Cooper/Clive Whitehead (yes he did play left back) I had defenders that could attack and PASS the ball to their own teammates.You invariably find that this helps when attacking.

Of course the midfield was packed with class.

Gerald Gow,Jimmy Mann,Gary Emanuel,John Bain,P Jantunen,Peter Cormack etc all provided brilliant defensive cover and aided attacking flair.Of course none of them could come near my own all time hero Trevor Tainton.When you young uns talk about legends who have been here for 5 minutes have a look at the playing record & loyalty shown by my adopted son Master Tainton.

On a slightly different subject I note Mr Redkanpp is trying to bring in a drinking ban on players.I would have liked to have seen him try that with my lot !!!!!!!!!

I thought the Alan Dicks era goalies were good as well, especially Ray Cashley and John Shaw (Yul Brynner). I reckon we could have done the double over Man U in the 1978-79 season as well were it not for Cashley getting injured at Ashton Gate. We'd already beaten them at Old Trafford and the goalie injury turned the game so Man U won 1-2 at Ashton Gate.

[lager loud]

Peter Shilton was an oaf of a goal keeper. There were far better goalies than him around at the time - e.g. Ray Clemence of Liverpool and Joe Corrigan of Manchester City - but England always seemed to favour Shilton from the late 1970's onwards. The way he let dwarf Maradonna rise above him to score with his hand was crap.

I've got to declare an interest here - I grew up in Leicester and Peter Shilton's dad ran our local shop, so I used to see him around when I was little. I interviewed Shilton for our school "radio" station in about 1971 when I was 9, and he (like Gary Lineker, who grew up about a mile away) is a real local hero for me. So I'm biased.

But...Shilton at his best was class. I'm not sure if he was better than Clemence at his best, but he was certainly better than Corrigan - who in turn was unlucky to be around at the same time as two great keepers like that. At just about any other time Corrigan would have been England number 1 for about ten years.

By 1986 Shilton was definitely past his best. Keepers lose their "spring" at some point, and Shilton's had gone by 1986 (and hadn't returned by 1990, when he could have stopped the German goal in the semi if he'd got his feet off the ground). But at his peak he was superb, bettered only by another ex-Leicester, ex-Stoke keeper, Gordon Banks.

In spite of him being a bit of a hero, though, one of my best memories to do with Shilton was when he came back to Leicester (with Forest, I think) not long after his "indiscretion" with another woman had been revealed in the News of the Screws. For the half he was in front of the Kop at Filbert Street he got 45 minutes of uninterrupted (literally) stick from the Leicester fans: "Six foot two, eyes of blue, Tina's husband's after you...", "England, England's 69..." and a few more.

[Mr Mosquito]

For the half he was in front of the Kop at Filbert Street he got 45 minutes of uninterrupted (literally) stick from the Leicester fans: "Six foot two, eyes of blue, Tina's husband's after you...", "England, England's 69..." and a few more.

Superb

[gavlin]

Alan Dicks was Jimmy Hill's assistant, came Ashton Gate the year after City near promotion season and Atyeo's last season. Took over a City side that needed major rebuilding. Like Jimmy Hill recognised the importance of building a successful youth policy with a mixture of local talent and scottish kids ( can't remember the scottish youth scout but he had eye for talent recommending Gow, Ritchie Brothers and Mark Magee).

For the first four years he relied on a strong centre back and hard working midfield similar to Johnson. Bought John Galley when his leg was in plaster (There was a lot outcry then)he prove to be start of City's most boring football in the last fifty years. Every week you would turn up at AG expecting a 1-1 draw and usually ended 1-1. We lived to survive relegation and did, we called it consolation or survival football . Garland did give us some relief with his class but was eventually sold to pay for the Dolman stand. I admit we had to survive by buying players in the in the last throws of their careers (Quigley, Wimshurst, Kellard, Rooks, etc). There was little money after building the Dolman Stand and what he bought helped in City's survival.

Going on in the background was a successful youth policy and I remember watching City youth in Front of 8000 lose a QF youth tie against Arsenal and my dad saying I can see at least six of those lads being potential first team player in a couple of years. Once these players started to become 1st team players we started to a more attacking side with a rock solid back for in Gillies, Crowley, Merrick and Dryadale. A midfield with tiger Gow at it's core, two wide players in Whithead and Tainton and a big man in Cheesley. He liked to play down the channels and using the wingers to get behind the full back to cross and provide the big centre forward with goal opportunities.

[alandicks]

Alan Dicks was Jimmy Hill's assistant, came Ashton Gate the year after City near promotion season and Atyeo's last season. Took over a City side that needed major rebuilding. Like Jimmy Hill recognised the importance of building a successful youth policy with a mixture of local talent and scottish kids ( can't remember the scottish youth scout but he had eye for talent recommending Gow, Ritchie Brothers and Mark Magee).

For the first four years he relied on a strong centre back and hard working midfield similar to Johnson. Bought John Galley when his leg was in plaster (There was a lot outcry then)he prove to be start of City's most boring football in the last fifty years. Every week you would turn up at AG expecting a 1-1 draw and usually ended 1-1. We lived to survive relegation and did, we called it consolation or survival football . Garland did give us some relief with his class but was eventually sold to pay for the Dolman stand. I admit we had to survive by buying players in the in the last throws of their careers (Quigley, Wimshurst, Kellard, Rooks, etc). There was little money after building the Dolman Stand and what he bought helped in City's survival.

Going on in the background was a successful youth policy and I remember watching City youth in Front of 8000 lose a QF youth tie against Arsenal and my dad saying I can see at least six of those lads being potential first team player in a couple of years. Once these players started to become 1st team players we started to a more attacking side with a rock solid back for in Gillies, Crowley, Merrick and Dryadale. A midfield with tiger Gow at it's core, two wide players in Whithead and Tainton and a big man in Cheesley. He liked to play down the channels and using the wingers to get behind the full back to cross and provide the big centre forward with goal opportunities.

Why are you telling me all this.I was there !! Apologies, yes it was John Emanuel.. just blame it on old age

[Mr Mosquito]

Why are you telling me all this.I was there !! Apologies, yes it was John Emanuel.. just blame it on old age

Alan Dicks is still the second greatest manager in this club's history with regard to giving us the top flight football status from 1976-80. That's all that you and everyone else needs to remember.

[Nogbad the Bad]

with a rock solid back for in Gillies, Crowley, Merrick and Dryadale.

Garry Collier and Gerry Sweeney might disagree with you about the rock solidness and appearance record of Crowley ( who barely played for the club, if I remember rightly) and Gillies ( a forward later converted to full back, with limited success, who moved on to Rovers.)

Sweeney, Collier, Merrick and Drysdale were the defensive bedrock of the promotion team.

[BCFC OF SWEDEN]

Don´t forget Kevin "Hattric" Mabbutt, i´m sure all MUFC fan remember him. One, of i think, 3 players who scored a hattric at Old Trafford in all times!

Next season will be ours!

[Guest]

Garry Collier and Gerry Sweeney might disagree with you about the rock solidness and appearance record of Crowley ( who barely played for the club, if I remember rightly) and Gillies ( a forward later converted to full back, with limited success, who moved on to Rovers.)

Sweeney, Collier, Merrick and Drysdale were the defensive bedrock of the promotion team.

Is that the same Crowley who I used to play footie and cricket with in East Brizzle :noexpression: think so, not giving to much away like.

[Nogbad the Bad]

Is that the same Crowley who I used to play footie and cricket with in East Brizzle :noexpression: think so, not giving to much away like.

Paul Crowley. wasn't it?

Another young player, like Ian Broomfield, Kevin Griffin, Bob Wardle, Eddie Woods, Martyn Rogers, and one or two others, who were around the squad for a year or two around that time but rarely featured because the City team hardly ever changed and we only used about 14 players in the whole season. :noexpression:

[Guest]

Paul Crowley. wasn't it?

Another young player, like Ian Broomfield, Kevin Griffin, Bob Wardle, Eddie Woods, Martyn Rogers, and one or two others, who were around the squad for a year or two around that time but rarely featured because the City team hardly ever changed and we only used about 14 players in the whole season. :noexpression:

Lets just say he was better at footie than cricket; geez that takes me back, over 40years :noexpression: