Rovers at Ashton Gate

[Bar BS3]

Now, I knew that Rovers played an unpopular 5 game stint of "home" games at Ashton Gate in 1980, after the Eastville fire. 

I did not however know that in 1987/88 season, their first of 10 seasons at the relatively (compared to the Mem today) plush surroundings of Twerton Park, Rovers played one "home match" at Ashton gate! It was Vs Swindon, in a move to raise much needed cash for Rovers. A crowd of 8,196 attended. I have no idea how many were locked out. 

Is this common knowledge that I had missed..? 

 

[DKM Len]

Remember the day,it was the day of the bar pentathlon up the CEGB club. That was messy.

[Bar BS3]

8 minutes ago, DKM Len said:

Remember the day,it was the day of the bar pentathlon up the CEGB club. That was messy.

That would explain the low attendance then. 

[kmpowell]

"The nomads of football" 

 

[Calculus]

I believe that the City and Rovers Boards agreed a permanent ground share sometime in 1982/3. At the time we were struggling and Rovers were the higher placed, more stable club. Am told that both Boards shook hands on the deal, which then blew up the day after once Rovers' lawyers got involved. My source is someone who was in the room at the time and, imo, very reliable.

Anybody else heard this?

[Homer Simpson]

I was there. Only time I have supported the away team at Ashton Gate. A few groups of City there that day. Remember one group in particular got a bit enthusiastic in the Enclosure, don't think they watched the match.

[Bar BS3]

3 minutes ago, Hampshire Red said:

It's only a matter of time until they are consumed into that great concept called Bristol Sport:, otib for football  and the same for rugby 

That means no more BRFc!!!! 

I don't think so. 

What was SL's quote..? "Soon nobody will even talk about Bristol Rovers"

It'a no coincidence that they are nothing to do with us/Bristol Sport.

and they still claim he's a gashead..! 

[Bar BS3]

12 minutes ago, Calculus said:

I believe that the City and Rovers Boards agreed a permanent ground share sometime in 1982/3. At the time we were struggling and Rovers were the higher placed, more stable club. Am told that both Boards shook hands on the deal, which then blew up the day after once Rovers' lawyers got involved. My source is someone who was in the room at the time and, imo, very reliable.

Anybody else heard this?

On that occasion, they played 5 "home" games. 3 league & 2 cup matches. 

Low crowds present at all the games, so they moved back to Eastville, for low crowds..! Was it 3k at their last ever game there..?! 

[Red34]

Phew the title made me think the blue few were going to darken our door again - maybe trying to sneak in overnight when the Mem gets sold for housing. 

The thought of them sullying the beloved new Gate had me worried! 

It'd be confusing for them though - "What are those seats for? Why is your roof not made of tarp?" - bit like a Stone Age man entering an electronics store...

[1960maaan]

18 minutes ago, Homer Simpson said:

I was there. Only time I have supported the away team at Ashton Gate. A few groups of City there that day. Remember one group in particular got a bit enthusiastic in the Enclosure, don't think they watched the match.

I think this was the one me and about 40 others were thrown out of the Dolman, some paid to get back in, I didn’t bother.

[City exile 79]

1 hour ago, Bar BS3 said:

Now, I knew that Rovers played an unpopular 5 game stint of "home" games at Ashton Gate in 1980, after the Eastville fire. 

I did not however know that in 1987/88 season, their first of 10 seasons at the relatively (compared to the Mem today) plush surroundings of Twerton Park, Rovers played one "home match" at Ashton gate! It was Vs Swindon, in a move to raise much needed cash for Rovers. A crowd of 8,196 attended. I have no idea how many were locked out. 

Is this common knowledge that I had missed..? 

 

I was actually at that game with a few Swindon mates. There were more Swindon fans there than rovers. Also a pretty big group of city fans in the Dolman. Swindon had the Dolman & the open end. Rovers the rest. As soon as Swindon started singing the city fans made them feel very unwelcome & chased them across the stand. There were pockets of city in the Williams & Eastend all match. I think rovers were three nil up at halftime in gale force winds but lost 4-3. Memory not what it was though 

[Bar BS3]

11 minutes ago, City exile 79 said:

I was actually at that game with a few Swindon mates. There were more Swindon fans there than rovers. Also a pretty big group of city fans in the Dolman. Swindon had the Dolman & the open end. Rovers the rest. As soon as Swindon started singing the city fans made them feel very unwelcome & chased them across the stand. There were pockets of city in the Williams & Eastend all match. I think rovers were three nil up at halftime in gale force winds but lost 4-3. Memory not what it was though 

Even against Rovers, I'd struggle to get much enjoyment out of a Swindon victory, but watching the gas lead 3-0, to lose 4-3, sounds like a cracking day out to me..! 

[wendyredredrobin]

Don't let them anywhere near the gate or they would try to steal it as they did in 82/83.

[slartibartfast]

See, I don't remember that at all.......weird!

Yes I remember the few games they played at AG, but not that one.

[h hills left shoe]

1 hour ago, Homer Simpson said:

I was there. Only time I have supported the away team at Ashton Gate. A few groups of City there that day. Remember one group in particular got a bit enthusiastic in the Enclosure, don't think they watched the match.

So was I.yes there were quite a few of us in the enclosure that day and you are right to say that we didn't watch the match.your memory serves you well!

[In the Net]

I was there, watched from the Williams Stand - it was confusing working out who was chasing who at some points.  I can only assume that the police personel who decided that it would be it would be less problematic for Rovers to play Swindon at Ashton Gate, rather than at Twerton Park, knew very little about football.

[NOTBLUE]

1 hour ago, h hills left shoe said:

So was I.yes there were quite a few of us in the enclosure that day and you are right to say that we didn't watch the match.your memory serves you well!

We were very enthusiastic neutrals.

[Super]

2 hours ago, Red34 said:

Phew the title made me think the blue few were going to darken our door again - maybe trying to sneak in overnight when the Mem gets sold for housing. 

The thought of them sullying the beloved new Gate had me worried! 

It'd be confusing for them though - "What are those seats for? Why is your roof not made of tarp?" - bit like a Stone Age man entering an electronics store...

I heard we will only accept them if they bring their tents.

[Bar BS3]

27 minutes ago, In the Net said:

I was there, watched from the Williams Stand - it was confusing working out who was chasing who at some points.  I can only assume that the police personel who decided that it would be it would be less problematic for Rovers to play Swindon at Ashton Gate, rather than at Twerton Park, knew very little about football.

From what I've read, so it could be wrong, the match was played at Ashton Gate to help Rovers raise more money. 

Kind of like similarly nice gestures from Rovers to help us out during our financial plight. 

Oh no, that's not what happened was it. You just tried to "steal" our ground to finish us off! 

[Guest Babbacome Dave]

Regarding the ground sharing situation in 82/83, I was told that although both boards were in general agreement it was alleged at the time that the then Rovers chairman (Mr. Dunsford senior) stated he would rather see the City "Go to the wall before he would have any ground sharing".

i may be wrong with this but I was at the ground at the time when the discussions callapsed and this story was flying around at the time. 

Thank goodness it never happened!!!

 

 

 

[Lanterne Rouge]

10 minutes ago, Babbacome Dave said:

Regarding the ground sharing situation in 82/83, I was told that although both boards were in general agreement it was alleged at the time that the then Rovers chairman (Mr. Dunsford senior) stated he would rather see the City "Go to the wall before he would have any ground sharing".

i may be wrong with this but I was at the ground at the time when the discussions callapsed and this story was flying around at the time. 

Thank goodness it never happened!!!

 

 

 

If Leroy Rosenior gets his way it will.

[RedM]

I remember going to watch City away that day, went on CATS so parked in the Williams/Winterstoke Car park, told our cars would be ok there.  I can't remember where we went to but when we came back our car and quite a few others had damage, our windscreen wipers were all twisted up and wrecked. #Scumbags

Im pretty sure it was that day, if not it was another time when they got in as they later claimed they had done it

[Lanterne Rouge]

6 minutes ago, RedM said:

I remember going to watch City away that day, went on CATS so parked in the Williams/Winterstoke Car park, told our cars would be ok there.  I can't remember where we went to but when we came back our car and quite a few others had damage, our windscreen wipers were all twisted up and wrecked. #Scumbags

Im pretty sure it was that day, if not it was another time when they got in as they later claimed they had done it

Boro away I think. Our car got done as well and it bloody snowed on the way back to Taunton, not fun.

[Guest Ashdangate]

I was there in the dolman...Swindon lads came up to us and said are you Swindon we all stood up and started singing city.we where also in the Williams as well. I think we get a mention on Htv news ..also went off outside as well! 

[Norn Iron]

IIRC, the official attendances for Rovers brief stay at the Gate, after the fire (Der Kommissar), dropped by 2000 a game. Apparently hard core Rovers fans boycotted the games because they were playing at the Gate.

[1960maaan]

8 minutes ago, Norn Iron said:

 Apparently hard core Rovers fans boycotted the games because they were playing at the Gate.

They seem to do that a lot 

[GrahamC]

I vaguely remembered it but as it is 30 years ago now in truth not too well.

It looks like it was played on the Saturday around Easter, so although this was their first season at Bath this wasn't early on that year.

Looking at the footage of the postponement they had the previous week, Twerton Park looks like a bog, so as their gates had often dropped below 3000 that season they were probably in serious trouble (again) with their cash flow, so I guess that was why we let them use our ground.

Typical (naive?) of us to try and help us our poor relations, eh? Even when those thieves had tried to steal our ground only five years previously...

Match footage on YouTube suggest Rovers were 2-0 and then 3-1 up before finally losing 4-3, but as the game didn't involve us I have honestly no recollection of it at all.

[Guest Ashdangate]

8 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I vaguely remembered it but as it is 30 years ago now in truth not too well.

It looks like it was played on the Saturday around Easter, so although this was their first season at Bath this wasn't early on that year.

Looking at the footage of the postponement they had the previous week, Twerton Park looks like a bog, so as their gates had often dropped below 3000 that season they were probably in serious trouble (again) with their cash flow, so I guess that was why we let them use our ground.

Typical (naive?) of us to try and help us our poor relations, eh? Even when those thieves had tried to steal our ground only five years previously...

Match footage on YouTube suggest Rovers were 2-0 and then 3-1 up before finally losing 4-3, but as the game didn't involve us I have honestly no recollection of it at all.

It involved us of the pitch trust me,we got kicked out of the Williams and ended up in the dolman...getting kicked out eventually 

[handsofclay]

I recall around that time that City bought Trevor Morgan from them and Bobby Gould put it in the deal that City would give over Ashton Gate for the day to Rovers to stage Rovers home game against us as obviously Rovers would make about double the money on that fixture compared to staging it at Twerton. Both clubs agreed but the league forbade it citing that City would have an unfair advantage over all the other Div 3 teams by playing one extra home match, and thus, one less away than the other clubs.

[Rudolf Hucker]

1 hour ago, Norn Iron said:

IIRC, the official attendances for Rovers brief stay at the Gate, after the fire (Der Kommissar), dropped by 2000 a game. Apparently hard core Rovers fans boycotted the games because they were playing at the Gate.

They can stop the boycott now.

[Rudolf Hucker]

6 hours ago, Bar BS3 said:

Now, I knew that Rovers played an unpopular 5 game stint of "home" games at Ashton Gate in 1980, after the Eastville fire. 

I did not however know that in 1987/88 season, their first of 10 seasons at the relatively (compared to the Mem today) plush surroundings of Twerton Park, Rovers played one "home match" at Ashton gate! It was Vs Swindon, in a move to raise much needed cash for Rovers. A crowd of 8,196 attended. I have no idea how many were locked out. 

Is this common knowledge that I had missed..? 

 

11th April 1987. Local derby attendance 8196

30th September 2017. Local derby attendance 9879.

30 years has seen a massive increase in their gates. Loyal and true. I know that I keep on saying it but they really do need a bigger ground.

[Bar BS3]

57 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

11th April 1987. Local derby attendance 8196

30th September 2017. Local derby attendance 9879.

30 years has seen a massive increase in their gates. Loyal and true. I know that I keep on saying it but they really do need a bigger ground.

Be fair, that's triple what their attendance was for the last game at Eastville..! 

They obviously weren't as loyal, or true back then. 

[Offside]

I remember being aware that the gas v Swindle game was taking place at Ashton Gate, but I didn't think much of it at the time. From what I recall it was because they thought it would attract a bigger crowd than Trumpton could hold. 

Seems strange now, though, and I couldn't imagine it happening now, even though their current ground is not really much better than Trumpton.

[pride of the west]

4 hours ago, Ashdangate said:

It involved us of the pitch trust me,we got kicked out of the Williams and ended up in the dolman...getting kicked out eventually 

Yes even malone mentioned it in the clip.  "The police were happy with the bahviour of both parties however less so with a third party who infiltrated the occasion" 

[adamski]

10 hours ago, Bar BS3 said:

Be fair, that's triple what their attendance was for the last game at Eastville..! 

They obviously weren't as loyal, or true back then. 

Nooooo way, here is a picture of the last Eastville game, from the M32, note the space where the South Stand stood! Over 110,000 with many more thousands locked out!

[Bar BS3]

20 minutes ago, adamski said:

Nooooo way, here is a picture of the last Eastville game, from the M32, note the space where the South Stand stood! Over 110,000 with many more thousands locked out!

Nonsense. That could be any away end at any match that Rovers travel too. 

Indeed, here is a photo from the car park outside this seasons visit to Bury. 

[Tin Soldier]

14 hours ago, Ashdangate said:

I was there in the dolman...Swindon lads came up to us and said are you Swindon we all stood up and started singing city.we where also in the Williams as well. I think we get a mention on Htv news ..also went off outside as well! 

Went to that game.

Went off in the Park post match. We ambushed them as we were all tucked away behind the shrubbery at the top of the Park. Went in enclosure 1st (got kicked out by OB after a scuffle)!. Then got back in the Dolman, went off with Swindon. Kicked out again. Fair few City there that day, so some plotted up at Liquid Assets up North Street until game finished.

It was a perfect ambush from the Park. Used to do it often and pretty successful as we always held the high ground, coming down on them in the attack. One of the key strategies of war according to Henry 5th.

OB had a nightmare keeping three mobs apart that day. "One man went to mow" was a popular chant in those days amongst BCFC fans. Swindon fans were singing there "Lou Macari red and white army" chant and it was impressive.

"The General" was with us that day. Perfect planning prevents ............

Good days.

[adamski]

1 hour ago, Bar BS3 said:

Nonsense. That could be any away end at any match that Rovers travel too. 

Indeed, here is a photo from the car park outside this seasons visit to Bury. 

But not as impressive as their travelling army photographed jamming the M25 on its way to Braintree !

[In the Net]

16 hours ago, Babbacome Dave said:

Regarding the ground sharing situation in 82/83, I was told that although both boards were in general agreement it was alleged at the time that the then Rovers chairman (Mr. Dunsford senior) stated he would rather see the City "Go to the wall before he would have any ground sharing".

i may be wrong with this but I was at the ground at the time when the discussions callapsed and this story was flying around at the time. 

Thank goodness it never happened!!!

 

 

 

Denis Dunford did not become Chairman until 1986, when he was persuaded by his son to become part of the group who took the club from Eastville to Twerton Park.  He was one of football's gentlemen, like your own Harry Dolman and Des Williams.

[BRISTOL86]

I hope it was thoroughly deloused 

[Lanterne Rouge]

7 hours ago, BRISTOL86 said:

I hope it was thoroughly deloused 

We never could completely get rid of the contamination. So much so that even thirty years later we had to demolish most of the ground.

[Guest Ashdangate]

9 hours ago, GasDestroyer said:

Went to that game.

Went off in the Park post match. We ambushed them as we were all tucked away behind the shrubbery at the top of the Park. Went in enclosure 1st (got kicked out by OB after a scuffle)!. Then got back in the Dolman, went off with Swindon. Kicked out again. Fair few City there that day, so some plotted up at Liquid Assets up North Street until game finished.

It was a perfect ambush from the Park. Used to do it often and pretty successful as we always held the high ground, coming down on them in the attack. One of the key strategies of war according to Henry 5th.

OB had a nightmare keeping three mobs apart that day. "One man went to mow" was a popular chant in those days amongst BCFC fans. Swindon fans were singing there "Lou Macari red and white army" chant and it was impressive.

"The General" was with us that day. Perfect planning prevents ............

Good days.

Yeah there where a few faces out that day who I won’t mention on here