BUTOR Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Would anyone be willing to get behind the idea of a permanent banner honouring the Ashton Gate 8 to hang over the new two tiered Williams stand? A bit like the banners seen in Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford etc that hang over the tiers. Don't think enough is done in terms of appreciation towards this time and the players who saved our club, and it would be a nice edition to the new AG. Please let me know what you think, probably a small amount of fund raising would have to be organised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welcome To The Jungle Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 I'm completely in agreement but I bet sponsors will go there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 It's a yes from me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chivers88 Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Yeah definitely all 8 names and some sort of phrase would be brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Thought it would be nice of the club to have a bar/area to salute them. Photos etc around , maybe Bar8 ? The banner would be good , I'm sure there will be space somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Dazzler Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 No , and I believe Steve Lansdown has expressed a similar view that they represent a dark period for the club. The A8 are not heroes for saving the club, they nearly bled the club dry by taking massive wages (not their fault) and putting in performances that took us from the old 1st Division to the bottom of the third. If they had not torn up their contracts and the club had folded, their contracts would not have been honoured anyway. Back in the day, before fanzines and fans forum, we were drip-fed info from the media and the 8 seemed to come out of this mess as heroes. If the situation existed today (overpaid players bleeding the club almost into oblivion and being rubbish on the pitch) this forum would go into meltdown and they would probably be run out of town. Just to clarify, its a big fat NO from me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciderup Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Watching the Arsenal game and I like the way they have their honours around the front of one tier. If we could put the names of the 8 across the front of the top tier of the new Williams, I think that would be a suitable tribute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 No , and I believe Steve Lansdown has expressed a similar view that they represent a dark period for the club. The A8 are not heroes for saving the club, they nearly bled the club dry by taking massive wages (not their fault) and putting in performances that took us from the old 1st Division to the bottom of the third. If they had not torn up their contracts and the club had folded, their contracts would not have been honoured anyway. Back in the day, before fanzines and fans forum, we were drip-fed info from the media and the 8 seemed to come out of this mess as heroes. If the situation existed today (overpaid players bleeding the club and being rubbish on the pitch) this forum would go into meltdown and they would probably be run out of town. Just to clarify, its a big fat NO from me.. Wow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Has anyone involved in this idea actually spoken to any of the AG 8? They might be very surprised if they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollymarie Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Would anyone be willing to get behind the idea of a permanent banner honouring the Ashton Gate 8 to hang over the new two tiered Williams stand? A bit like the banners seen in Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford etc that hang over the tiers. Don't think enough is done in terms of appreciation towards this time and the players who saved our club, and it would be a nice edition to the new AG. Please let me know what you think, probably a small amount of fund raising would have to be organised.Have you not seen the giant 8 next to the players entrance with all the names on it? The AG8 themselves unveiled that years back. The SC&T membership donations paid for it. We will more than likely get it relocated somewhere more prominent when the Atyeo becomes away fans only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calculus Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 No , and I believe Steve Lansdown has expressed a similar view that they represent a dark period for the club. The A8 are not heroes for saving the club, they nearly bled the club dry by taking massive wages (not their fault) and putting in performances that took us from the old 1st Division to the bottom of the third. If they had not torn up their contracts and the club had folded, their contracts would not have been honoured anyway. Back in the day, before fanzines and fans forum, we were drip-fed info from the media and the 8 seemed to come out of this mess as heroes. If the situation existed today (overpaid players bleeding the club almost into oblivion and being rubbish on the pitch) this forum would go into meltdown and they would probably be run out of town. Just to clarify, its a big fat NO from me.. Nail on the head... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Has anyone involved in this idea actually spoken to any of the AG 8? They might be very surprised if they did. Yep, I played for a couple of seasons alongside one of them for a local team. I'm all for having a big, permanent tribute to them somewhere in the new ground. Perhaps a bar or lounge named after them with appropriate photos and memorabilia etc. And with all due respect to Dolly's post above, and everyone who made it happen, i don't think the '8' by the players' entrance is really that big or prominent enough to mark what they did and we could do much more. Even a small gesture like retiring the number 8 shirt might be an option. Yes, it was a very dark period in our history but it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nogbad the Bad Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 What about Derryn Coller and Ken Sage? Surely they did more than the AG8 to save the club? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Yep, I played for a couple of seasons alongside one of them for a local team. You should know then that the majority of the 8 are pretty underwhelmed by the whole sad event and subsequent "admiration" for them that raises it head every so often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristol Rob Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 No , and I believe Steve Lansdown has expressed a similar view that they represent a dark period for the club. The A8 are not heroes for saving the club, they nearly bled the club dry by taking massive wages (not their fault) and putting in performances that took us from the old 1st Division to the bottom of the third. If they had not torn up their contracts and the club had folded, their contracts would not have been honoured anyway. Back in the day, before fanzines and fans forum, we were drip-fed info from the media and the 8 seemed to come out of this mess as heroes. If the situation existed today (overpaid players bleeding the club almost into oblivion and being rubbish on the pitch) this forum would go into meltdown and they would probably be run out of town. Just to clarify, its a big fat NO from me.. So it's their fault they got offered good contracts, not their fault for accepting the terms of the contract and the wages they were offered, bit their fault for the period leading up to 1982 by taking the wages it wasn't their fault for accepting. Have you ever considered a career in politics? It rare to find so many contradictions in such a short message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo88 Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 No , and I believe Steve Lansdown has expressed a similar view that they represent a dark period for the club. The A8 are not heroes for saving the club, they nearly bled the club dry by taking massive wages (not their fault) and putting in performances that took us from the old 1st Division to the bottom of the third. If they had not torn up their contracts and the club had folded, their contracts would not have been honoured anyway. Back in the day, before fanzines and fans forum, we were drip-fed info from the media and the 8 seemed to come out of this mess as heroes. If the situation existed today (overpaid players bleeding the club almost into oblivion and being rubbish on the pitch) this forum would go into meltdown and they would probably be run out of town. Just to clarify, its a big fat NO from me..There are always different ways of looking at things, but I fee that your summary does the 8 a disservice. They were not on massive wages, but only what was the norm for lower division one teams of the day. The attendances were much bigger than today, but they were paid less than the current high earners in the City team. This is even before you take inflation into account. If you apply inflation and the re-structuring of the leagues, they were playing in the Premiership, whilst being paid league 2 wages (As were most players of the day). If they were paid massive wages, why did they end up as postmen, security guards etc. when their career was over? What was also disgraceful was the pressure placed on them by the club and some of the "fans". They received threats and hate mail telling them to tear up their contracts, but still managed to act with dignity throughout the entire sorry process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUTOR Posted January 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 There's a grey area around it, I understand that. There's others that have done lots for City, Alan Dicks would be suitably entitled to a banner or a tribute around the new gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashtonboy Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 No , and I believe Steve Lansdown has expressed a similar view that they represent a dark period for the club. The A8 are not heroes for saving the club, they nearly bled the club dry by taking massive wages (not their fault) and putting in performances that took us from the old 1st Division to the bottom of the third. If they had not torn up their contracts and the club had folded, their contracts would not have been honoured anyway. Back in the day, before fanzines and fans forum, we were drip-fed info from the media and the 8 seemed to come out of this mess as heroes. If the situation existed today (overpaid players bleeding the club almost into oblivion and being rubbish on the pitch) this forum would go into meltdown and they would probably be run out of town. Just to clarify, its a big fat NO from me.. Duck!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miah Dennehy Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Well I know one of the 8 who wouldn't be to happy about it! They didn't tear up their contracts to save the club, they were delivered a fait accompli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
22A Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Yes; honour them - they accepted the contracts they were offered, as would any of us. No; don't honour them - their performance deteriorated enough to see City who had finished 14th the year before suffer two consecutive relegations. Any of us performing badly at work would be down the job centre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whooooossshhhh Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 No , and I believe Steve Lansdown has expressed a similar view that they represent a dark period for the club. The A8 are not heroes for saving the club, they nearly bled the club dry by taking massive wages (not their fault) and putting in performances that took us from the old 1st Division to the bottom of the third. If they had not torn up their contracts and the club had folded, their contracts would not have been honoured anyway. Back in the day, before fanzines and fans forum, we were drip-fed info from the media and the 8 seemed to come out of this mess as heroes. If the situation existed today (overpaid players bleeding the club almost into oblivion and being rubbish on the pitch) this forum would go into meltdown and they would probably be run out of town. Just to clarify, its a big fat NO from me.. Out of interest Dazz, roughly what age group are you? Just wondering if you were around at the time or not. No hidden agenda here, I just think it would clarify whether your thoughts are based on the scant, BEP / Club filtered non-digital news available at the time, or on much of what has been written, said or blogged online in the age of the interweb thing, but without having been close to it at such a horrible time. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Out of interest Dazz, roughly what age group are you? Just wondering if you were around at the time or not. No hidden agenda here, I just think it would clarify whether your thoughts are based on the scant, BEP / Club filtered non-digital news available at the time, or on much of what has been written, said or blogged online in the age of the interweb thing, but without having been close to it at such a horrible time. Cheers I remember the whole sorry saga very well and having spoken to most of the 8 I now know their side of it. As a said before the ones I have spoken with are not overly impressed with way the entire buisness panned out and don't see themselves as saviours of the club at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidered abroad Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 There's a grey area around it, I understand that. There's others that have done lots for City, Alan Dicks would be suitably entitled to a banner or a tribute around the new gate. Again there are two sides to look at. AD worked a miracle in getting a home grown team promoted to the top tier and keeping us there for four seasons. AD was significantly responsible for the club going bankrupt in 1982 because he, and the less than lily white Board, put the whole squad on eight to eleven year contracts. So should he be honoured within the new stadium or vilified with a big reminder about financial prudence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 I remember the whole sorry saga very well and having spoken to most of the 8 I now know their side of it. As a said before the ones I have spoken with are not overly impressed with way the entire buisness panned out and don't see themselves as saviours of the club at all. Fair to say Archie Gooch always seemed to suggest they held the club to ransom. Don't think any real tribute appeared till after his death,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Dazzler Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Out of interest Dazz, roughly what age group are you? Just wondering if you were around at the time or not. No hidden agenda here, I just think it would clarify whether your thoughts are based on the scant, BEP / Club filtered non-digital news available at the time, or on much of what has been written, said or blogged online in the age of the interweb thing, but without having been close to it at such a horrible time. Cheers I was 26 at the time (gives you a bit of a clue) and was just happy to see the club survive, having been in a state of shock since losing the great days of the late 70s. The whole thing was very emotive, and I must make it clear that 6 of those players were very much heroes of mine when playing at the highest level for 4 years. At the time my opinion to them was pretty much what the local (and national) media pumped out, that they had saved the club. As the years have gone by, I have just thought the whole thing through and formed the opinion that I have many years ago (and argued it out on this forum when the idea of "honouring" these players rears its ugly head). I am sure that a lot of fans who wish to "honour" them weren't around at the time, and don't realise how badly they were under-achieving. By the time the administrators came in most of the saleable players (Gow, Ritchie, Whitehead, Mabbutt, Moller) had left but it is quite interesting how they didn't insist on John Shaw, Terry Boyle, Paul Stevens, Russell Musker and Alan Nicholls being made redundant - or Mick Harford but that is a different story. These players were all fairly new or had recently signed more realistic contracts. The administrators realised the contracts of the A8 were one of the major causes of the club's financial mess, and my hunch is that the club would have somehow survived without the players leaving, but they had an opportunity to hold the players to ransom to keep the club alive. But I keep coming back to this point of the modern day with this forum and fanzines etc, a player gets abuse on here and at the Gate for looking unfit after not playing for 2 months - the A8 wouldn't have had a hope with 3 years of collective under-achieving and crashing down the leagues in record time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City fan 1982 Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 only a flame retardant banner, in a yellow marked box, with the clubs permission from the control room, must be wearing a hi viz jacket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheatus59 Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 They deserve to be remembered . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnclosureSurge Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 I'm completely in agreement but I bet sponsors will go there... **** the sponsors, we're Bristol City, we'll hang (it) where we want... A permanent banner hanging from some unsponsorable area is an excellent idea. Good work, Bounce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUTOR Posted January 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Right, so if we can't all agree on the 8, is there a compromise, a city legend that none of us have a bad word to say about? A permanent banner can only be a good edition to AG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedYoshi Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Right, so if we can't all agree on the 8, is there a compromise, a city legend that none of us have a bad word to say about? A permanent banner can only be a good edition to AG. Bas Savage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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