Jack Dawe Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 In today's Telegraph Sport, on a page about Plymouth and their '84 cup run to the semis, and their "potential" (!), it mentions that Plymouth have never made it to the top level. And under the "Boondocks" heading - as per the thread title - it lists the 32 clubs that have spent their history trundling around the "Boondocks," or the lower leagues, the leagues that do not matter and no one ever takes any notice of, even when you finish top winning 99 points: Accrington, AFC Wimbledon (?), Barnet, Bristol "Boondock" Rovers, Burton A, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Colchester, Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster, Exeter, Fleetwood, Gills, Hartlepools, Mansfield, MK Dons, Morecombe, Newport, Posh, Plymouth, Port Vale Rochdale, Rotherham Scunthorpe, Shrewsbury, Southend, Stevenage Walsall, Wycombe Yeovil. What great, glittering company they keep, the Boondocks of Horfield. I don't know how they do it? We might fail over and over up amongst the big boys, but I'd rather that than we play safe and stay in the comfort zone of the lower leagues and the "challenge" of yer Accringtons, and yer Barnets, and yer Crawleys. I think the Boondocks of Horfield loathe and despise us so much because we have had the gall, the audacity, the temerity, in this dopey, backward backwater of the country, where nothing ever gets done, to even think about reaching the top, and then to succeed and get there, twice, and live amongst yer Arsenals, yer Liverpools, and yer Man Utds, no matter how briefly. How dare they, think the Boondocks of Horfield. And their quiet, unspoken fear, is that here we are again, thinking the unthinkable. They won't, will they? Not again, think the Boondocks of Horfield. Deluded, they cry. We are deluded. Well, listen up, Boondocks: to think the unthinkable, and reach the unreachable, in this dopey, backward football-forsaken backwater, to even contemplate it, you need to be deluded. At least a bit. If you don't have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come true? That's where you start. And Steve Lansdown has that dream. He dreams big, and the Boondocks get jittery. It unsettles them. No wonder they relish and rejoice at his profligacy and our failure. We are deluded, us City fans, we think we are bigger and better than we are. Or should be bigger or better. For those of us of a certain generation, it is the price we pay for having seen this little club of ours dining at the top table. It messes with the mind, distorts our expectations. Even now. Similarly, there must be a generation of Boondocks up Horfield who think they should or ought to be Championship, second tier, having seen them reach such giddy heights before, many years ago now. But when did anyone ever get anywhere worthwhile without thinking and pushing themselves further than might be expected? Optimism, and delusion, go hand in hand. Unfortunately, this delusion of ours, born of our history, and its consequent expectations, unrealistic as they may often be, can make us a difficult, hard-to-please, never satisfied, complaining and ungrateful lot too much of the time. But that is Bristol City, that's what we are, and it is the gift of those that went before us and watched us finish second in all of England and reach a cup final, and disappear without trace, and then rise again 65 years later, and then crash and burn, and then claw our way back again (pissing the lead away, pissing the lead away. We get knocked down, we get up again. You're never gonna keep us down. We like a cider drink.....). We are restless and not satisfied, and a little bit deluded. Like those before us. You need a bit of that to drive you on, to think big, to think the unthinkable. The alternative is the boondocks of L1 and L2 (and the one below that) and that's just never going to be enough for us. So, dream on, Steve Lansdown. Dream on, Bristol City. And keep it tight at the back. You Reds. (It's amazing what one win can do for you. I'm expecting another one now!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivorguy Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 You are too young perhaps to remember when both City and Rovers were in the second tier together, and both had an England centre forward playing. And, incidentally, none of the sometimes very nasty anti Rovers remarks found on here, just friendly rivalry between two good teams. I don 't know when the nastiness began, but I do wish we could put the clock back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOTBLUE Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Boondocks,love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slartibartfast Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 29 minutes ago, Ivorguy said: And, incidentally, none of the sometimes very nasty anti Rovers remarks found on here, just friendly rivalry between two good teams. I don 't know when the nastiness began, but I do wish we could put the clock back. It may have always been there, but in the olden days you didn't have social media to highlight it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted January 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 21 minutes ago, Ivorguy said: You are too young perhaps to remember when both City and Rovers were in the second tier together, and both had an England centre forward playing. And, incidentally, none of the sometimes very nasty anti Rovers remarks found on here, just friendly rivalry between two good teams. I don 't know when the nastiness began, but I do wish we could put the clock back. I'm sorry, Ivor. And I'm sorry, you Boondocks up Horfield. I was too young Ivor, to see all that. The nastiness began in 1968, Ivor, as @slartibartfast will confirm. I did see some of that. I wish we could put the clock back, Ivor, to 1976. Or 1909, or 1907. Or forward to the day we once more reach the top flight, before we inevitably collapse once more in a blaze of ignominy and drop like a stone into the depths of the boondocks, and start all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse With No Name Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 MK Dons have because technically they are Wimbledon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hunt-Hertz Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 1 hour ago, Jack Dawe said: In today's Telegraph Sport, on a page about Plymouth and their '84 cup run to the semis, and their "potential" (!), it mentions that Plymouth have never made it to the top level. And under the "Boondocks" heading - as per the thread title - it lists the 32 clubs that have spent their history trundling around the "Boondocks," or the lower leagues, the leagues that do not matter and no one ever takes any notice of, even when you finish top winning 99 points: Accrington, AFC Wimbledon (?), Barnet, Bristol "Boondock" Rovers, Burton A, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Colchester, Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster, Exeter, Fleetwood, Gills, Hartlepools, Mansfield, MK Dons, Morecombe, Newport, Posh, Plymouth, Port Vale Rochdale, Rotherham Scunthorpe, Shrewsbury, Southend, Stevenage Walsall, Wycombe Yeovil. What great, glittering company they keep, the Boondocks of Horfield. I don't know how they do it? We might fail over and over up amongst the big boys, but I'd rather that than we play safe and stay in the comfort zone of the lower leagues and the "challenge" of yer Accringtons, and yer Barnets, and yer Crawleys. I think the Boondocks of Horfield loathe and despise us so much because we have had the gall, the audacity, the temerity, in this dopey, backward backwater of the country, where nothing ever gets done, to even think about reaching the top, and then to succeed and get there, twice, and live amongst yer Arsenals, yer Liverpools, and yer Man Utds, no matter how briefly. How dare they, think the Boondocks of Horfield. And their quiet, unspoken fear, is that here we are again, thinking the unthinkable. They won't, will they? Not again, think the Boondocks of Horfield. Deluded, they cry. We are deluded. Well, listen up, Boondocks: to think the unthinkable, and reach the unreachable, in this dopey, backward football-forsaken backwater, to even contemplate it, you need to be deluded. At least a bit. If you don't have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come true? That's where you start. And Steve Lansdown has that dream. He dreams big, and the Boondocks get jittery. It unsettles them. No wonder they relish and rejoice at his profligacy and our failure. We are deluded, us City fans, we think we are bigger and better than we are. Or should be bigger or better. For those of us of a certain generation, it is the price we pay for having seen this little club of ours dining at the top table. It messes with the mind, distorts our expectations. Even now. Similarly, there must be a generation of Boondocks up Horfield who think they should or ought to be Championship, second tier, having seen them reach such giddy heights before, many years ago now. But when did anyone ever get anywhere worthwhile without thinking and pushing themselves further than might be expected? Optimism, and delusion, go hand in hand. Unfortunately, this delusion of ours, born of our history, and its consequent expectations, unrealistic as they may often be, can make us a difficult, hard-to-please, never satisfied, complaining and ungrateful lot too much of the time. But that is Bristol City, that's what we are, and it is the gift of those that went before us and watched us finish second in all of England and reach a cup final, and disappear without trace, and then rise again 65 years later, and then crash and burn, and then claw our way back again (pissing the lead away, pissing the lead away. We get knocked down, we get up again. You're never gonna keep us down. We like a cider drink.....). We are restless and not satisfied, and a little bit deluded. Like those before us. You need a bit of that to drive you on, to think big, to think the unthinkable. The alternative is the boondocks of L1 and L2 (and the one below that) and that's just never going to be enough for us. So, dream on, Steve Lansdown. Dream on, Bristol City. And keep it tight at the back. You Reds. (It's amazing what one win can do for you. I'm expecting another one now!) It's like when you went on geography field trips at school, and scraped up that fetid gunge from the stream bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miah Dennehy Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 5 minutes ago, The Horse With No Name said: MK Dons have because technically they are Wimbledon. I could be wrong, but I thought the FA decreed a few years back that MK Dons were not Wimbledon, and Wimbledons history was 'given' to AFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Brent Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 42 minutes ago, Ivorguy said: You are too young perhaps to remember when both City and Rovers were in the second tier together, and both had an England centre forward playing. And, incidentally, none of the sometimes very nasty anti Rovers remarks found on here, just friendly rivalry between two good teams. I don 't know when the nastiness began, but I do wish we could put the clock back. Since they started raging with jealousy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse With No Name Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 10 minutes ago, Miah Dennehy said: I could be wrong, but I thought the FA decreed a few years back that MK Dons were not Wimbledon, and Wimbledons history was 'given' to AFC. Well as emotive as the subject is, they were wrong. MK didn't start from scratch as all new clubs have to, they took Wimbledons League status, their players and a lot of their fans and only changed location and name. AFC are the brand new club, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheasant plucker Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 1 hour ago, Ivorguy said: You are too young perhaps to remember when both City and Rovers were in the second tier together, and both had an England centre forward playing. And, incidentally, none of the sometimes very nasty anti Rovers remarks found on here, just friendly rivalry between two good teams. I don 't know when the nastiness began, but I do wish we could put the clock back. Seems at present most of the vitriol is saved for our own club, Ivor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairman Mao Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 No words, Rovers not making the top flight is further proof of how pathetic this city is when it comes to football, what is the closest they've got? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 1 hour ago, The Horse With No Name said: MK Dons have because technically they are Wimbledon. No they're not, they passed all the trophies back to Wimbledon, including the FA Cup won in 1988... so clearly and publicly acknowledged that Wimbledon had the past that they didn't have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppyDAZE Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 1 hour ago, Ivorguy said: You are too young perhaps to remember when both City and Rovers were in the second tier together, and both had an England centre forward playing. And, incidentally, none of the sometimes very nasty anti Rovers remarks found on here, just friendly rivalry between two good teams. I don 't know when the nastiness began, but I do wish we could put the clock back. It seemed to start getting more nasty around the mid 80s when Rovers had to move to Bath, if I remember rightly. They started developing a real backs to the wall attitude (and why wouldn't they) and when Gerry Francis arrived, he really bought into it big-time and struggled to hide the fact that he pretty much hated us. Holloway was the other big contributor. Them winning the title 1990 turned up the heat again.. and added to that just the general way football has gone. Rivalry is good, but you're right some of it makes me a bit sick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 7 minutes ago, Chairman Mao said: No words, Rovers not making the top flight is further proof of how pathetic this city is when it comes to football, what is the closest they've got? On a scale of nought to 'couldn't care less' ??! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanterne Rouge Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 22 hours ago, AppyDAZE said: It seemed to start getting more nasty around the mid 80s when Rovers had to move to Bath, if I remember rightly. They started developing a real backs to the wall attitude (and why wouldn't they) and when Gerry Francis arrived, he really bought into it big-time and struggled to hide the fact that he pretty much hated us. Holloway was the other big contributor. Them winning the title 1990 turned up the heat again.. and added to that just the general way football has gone. Rivalry is good, but you're right some of it makes me a bit sick They had some thoroughly detestable players too - Ian Alexander, Vaughn Jones, Devon White, Gary Penrice and of course, Pulis. Didn`t Alexander get sent off after about five minutes at AG once for almost crippling Dave Smith? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 22 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said: On a scale of nought to 'couldn't care less' ??! @Chairman Mao apologies for my reply (above) to your post about how close Rovers have come to the top flight...just re-read it and think it sounds more patronising and dismissive than was intended. Sorry fella... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aizoon Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 Port Vale and Plymouth are the odd ones out there. All the others have either been consistently crap over the years or are fairly new to the professional levels. Both have had half-decent spells where they haven't quite made it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One BCFC Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 52 minutes ago, Red Right Hand said: They had some thoroughly detestable players too - Ian Alexander, Vaughn Jones, Devon White, Gary Penrice and of course, Pulis. Didn`t Alexander get sent off after about five minutes at AG once for almost crippling Dave Smith? Mehew another - always scored against us. They were the Wimbledon of lower league back then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kodjias Wrist Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 So the term boondock is associated as a backwater boring and unsophisticated area. Wouldnt laugh at the gas because its a dig at Bristol as a city not just the football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairman Mao Posted January 21, 2017 Report Share Posted January 21, 2017 On 19/01/2017 at 20:31, BS4 on Tour... said: @Chairman Mao apologies for my reply (above) to your post about how close Rovers have come to the top flight...just re-read it and think it sounds more patronising and dismissive than was intended. Sorry fella... Just seen this, no worries!! Haha it was mainly made to give me more ammo to take the piss out of a rover mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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