Former Bristol City boss goes behind the scenes on life with Steve Coppell and David James Ex-player and manager discusses everything Robins in fans podcast, including highs and lows from the Ashton Gate dugout. Keith Millen captained Bristol City to a Wembley final, became manager and scored against Bristol Rovers in an eventful 12 years in the West Country, both playing and standing in the dugout - and so he has a story or two to tell about the Robins. Scoring that goal against the Gas, playing under and being assistant manager to Tony Pulis, working under Danny Wilson, and living through that 7-1 loss to Swansea City before Brian Tinnion departed and much more is all covered in a great podcast from One Stream in Bristol (which we heartily recommend; do check it out for the full chat). Millen also discussed getting punched by a player, going to prison to visit City players, the infamous Steve Coppell era and David James' antics, Tinns' managerial career and more. The former manager of Swedish sports club Örgryte IS, Millen has been caretaker manager a whopping six times in total across his career, twice at City and three times at Crystal Palace where he was in the youth ranks, with MK Dons the other. He explains why he was promoted at Ashton Gate. "I had a good relationship with Steve [Lansdown] - he trusted me and knew that I wanted what was best for the club. It wasn't just about me," said Millen, on the aftermath of the heavy defeat to the Swans in 2005. "That's why I said after Tinns left that it wasn't the right time for me [to be manager] and I think he appreciated that. I could have easily said, 'give it to me' looking after myself, but I didn't think it was the right thing to do. "You can't pick and choose your jobs anyway. At the time I felt that I needed to work with more experienced people before I had a go at it," he said. Five years later and following another caretaker spell, Millen did become the Bristol City boss, anointed in October 2010. However the former Brentford and Watford defender only lasted just over a year in the hot seat. Millen went on to discuss the infamous Bristol City incident involving Bradley Orr, Steve Brooker and Dave Partridge, after the three Robins players were jailed in 2006, admitting their part in a brawl outside a city nightclub. Wales international David Partridge admitted affray and causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for two months, while team-mates Steve Brooker and Bradley Orr each received 28 day sentences for their involvement in the booze-fuelled fight in October of the previous year. "I remember going to visit the lads with Gary [Johnson]. It was scary. Wow. The prison in Bristol where they stayed near Rovers, it was a Category One prison. They weren't in the worst area of it but there were some serious criminals in that prison," he explained. "I remember going to see them in there and I thought 'wow'. That was so tough for them. That must have been a really tough experience for the players. But from our point of view as the coaches, with the team, they were all our best players. "You've lost a massive chunk of your players there in one go. "Gary made a good point [in previous 'A Cider with...' podcast episode]: we managed to get some good inside help from some lads. It was almost like protection. There were these people in there that protected the lad because you hear about things that go on in prison and that and imagine them going in, wow... people looking at them and thinking all of a sudden, 'okay, we've got some footballers in here have we?' "We managed to get some sort of protection for them and they said they never really slept at night, they were too scared to sleep at night in case someone came knocking on the door. That was a really hard experience and I don't know how much it affected the lads after," said Millen, who admitted being present when Leroy Lita kicked Steve Brooker in another incident. Scuffles and fights were not unusual in those days and Millen also explained how while coaching Bristol City's U17s a 6ft5" goalkeeper punched him accidentally as the coach tried to separate two warring youngsters. And Millen also explained in detail about Steve Coppell being briefly in charge at Ashton Gate, and how Bristol City's poor recruitment that summer played a huge role in the switch of manager after just one league game. The 54-year-old discussed plenty of his former players, such as his uneasy relationship with David James arriving just after the 2010 World Cup, who did not take kindly to being chipped in training sessions. "David James would only come up for training once a week and if he felt okay he would let the lads do finishing training against him," said Millen. "Brett [Pitman] was brilliant and used to put them in the top corner - and they'd have some banter and he'd say 'Jamo, you can't save any of my shots!'. Then Jamo would have a go at him and it would all kick off. "And if someone tried to chip, Jamo, oh my god... I used to ref games in training and I'd think, 'please no-one chip him'. Because you knew what was coming. "He'd grab the ball and launch it into the trees. He'd say, 'that's what you get for trying to chip me'. I'd be like, 'c'mon Jamo, we're running out of balls," explained Millen brilliantly, comparing it to that classic 'Av it John Smiths advert'. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bristol-city-coppell-david-james-5457108
Reading this, is it any surprise that we've never scaled the heights of other similar sized clubs !!??
This just strengthened my belief that Steve Lansdown has no clue how to run a football club. Yes, he's pumped in millions, and built a good stadium and facilities, but again remember these are not for the sole benefit of BCFC. I think that SL mis-handling of the club was exposed by Coppell who knew what good looked like and wanted out immediately. I still think we are known as 'that club' in the better managers circle, which is why we have never been able to attract a good/top manager to our club. The appointment of NP is perhaps putting that notion to test, but would we have got him in a non-pandemic world?
You've hit the nail square on the head there ! Absolutely clueless football wise and we've wasted years under his 'leadership' which could have been spent getting to and staying in the Prem. The ground is amazing, but little else has been
I have been saying the same for years about SL, but people get bogged down in the shiny stuff and him being a nice guy. That piece highlights how institutionally dysfunctional the playing side of the club has been for far too many years. Coppell never wanted the job, but was badgered into taking it and he made 3 disastrously expensive signings. The appointment of Millen was another huge mistake. David James was an SL vanity signing. And Steve Brooker was another in the long line of 'if only he wasn't as brittle as a quaver' injury wise type player for us.
Spot on with all of that. I'm in a minority that has never been a SL fan, despite (and properly) recognising what he's done for the club in terms of the stadium and facilities, compared to how AG used to be. But I feel that the subsequent birth of Bristol Sport and his mis-management and interference with the FC has diluted the football club over the last 20 or so years. When easy looking decisions have been taken he has invariably got most of them wrong and it's done a lot of harm in terms of our progress, and where I feel we could, and should be in the footballing pyramid.
The protection was a City hooligan very well known as one of the CSF and doing a serious sentence of twelve years. It all sounds a bit underworld and gangstery but Partridge confirmed it when out of jail.
