This is bloody ridiculous. We live in a city of 430,000, a contiguous urban area of 600,000 and a surrounding hinterland of 1.1 million. There is no other major city within 90 miles. Our city is attractive, relatively well-to-do and a great place to live. Our city has the population to support two successful football teams. Yet, we have one team becalmed in mid-table League 2 and another rock bottom of the Championship. Our football stadia are rubbish. Our crowds, for a city the size of Bristol are lamentable. Why? Nottingham is a fairly wealthy place and sure their teams aren't great at the moment, but they've got a great pedigree and track record of success. Southampton isn't the sort of gritty Northern town associated with footballing brilliance, but they're doing brilliantly. From Swansea to Ipswich, far smaller towns have found far greater success than Bristol. When is it going to happen for us? It's the same with rugby and cricket - Bristol is crap at those too. I just can't understand it and it's beginning to really piss me off. It's also beginning to affect my enjoyment of football, something I've had for almost 40 years. Normally I'd be watching MOTD right now, but Frost/Nixon is far more entertaining.
I am a firm believer that the Council has a large part to play in the failure of sport in this city. Several times, they have turned down requests to build new stadia and have held back progress in this area and it's not just the sport, the entertainment venues are pathetic. Every city of our size has a 8-15,000 seater arena, what do we have...? The 2,000 seater Colston Hall which has recently had a large tin bath/lobby built on the side of it. This looks ok but the original venue is still so MASSIVELY outdated, its untrue. It hasn't changed since I had my school concert in it in the 70's... NOTHING gets done in this city thanks to the weak willed counsellors, they only approved the stadium this time because they knew the strength of feeling in the city meant that they would be committing political suicide if they didn't. Now new facilities don't automatically mean better teams but there is the pride and ambition involved with playing in a new stadium, it gives everyone a lift and attracts more investment and it is an upward spiral rather than the downward death spin associated with aging and deteriorating stadiums... As the saying goes, build it and they will come....
Yes Premiership, I have to agree with you on your points. Despite being a great city, our overall infrastructure is woeful. No Arena, appalling public transport, no conference facilities, rubbish stadia (including Nevill Rd). On the rare occasions that someone is prepared to invest in our city, the whole process seems to become a Kafkaesque nightmare of bureaucratic obstruction. Why are our elected representatives so against any kind of infrastructure improvements - apart from the ubiquitous shops n' flats? But this can't be the only reason. You only tend to get a shiny new stadium when you're successful. Apart from occasional flashes, neither Bristol team has had the kind of sustained success that requires new facilities.
Hi wfc fan in peace I live in wiltshire and workin bristol Your problem is you have the very worst transport Infrastructure of any city in the countrt. Plus the council seems to be a patrish council rather than a model administration
I live in South Wilts - I travel up to Hengrove to pick my brother up, and then on to the Mem. I leave home about 11:30 ish - it takes me an hour to get to Bath - then another 3/4 of an hour to get to Hengrove. Then 1/2 hour to get to Filton - 10 - 15 mins to park then a walk to the ground. I go in the Blackthorne end - basically an old terrace with a tin roof on it. The facilities are poor, including the toilets, and the view isnt exactly great (stanchions in the way). By the time I have dropped my brother off and drive home which is about 7 'o' clock ish it has taken up most of my Saturday. For the privilege of ALL this it costs me about £40 all in ... and for those of you who were there against Aldershot and Cheltenham what did I get for my time and money? I have said many a time, all I want is a bit of decent football! Is that too much to ask? Lower expectations? FFS - who was it that raised them in the first place! I have made more effort to get to games this season - both home & away, as I really do miss it when I can't get to a game, but after the last 2 home games once again doubt is beggining to creep in. I don't expect us to win the league, or walk over every team - but it would be nice for once - just once to say "at least we played well". I went to Bradford - 2 goals - the first a great header by MH after as couple of good passes. The second a solo effort by Richards. £ goals at Morecambe - a header from a corne and 2 solo efforts. Yesterdays goal a strike from the full back! When was the last time you saw a team goal? A well worked goal? A one-two played around the box? A worked opening? Answers please on a postage stamp cos I can't remember! PB's new saying "we did'nt see that coming" - well keep up this crap and you won't see me coming until something is sorted out along with a fair few other gasheads I would say. 6,000 there yesterday - we will be back to the faithful 4,500 by Xmas if it goes on like this! I would like to say rant over, but inside I am seething - all I wan't is for us to play some footy and entertain - not the crap that was served up against the likes of Aldershot & Cheltenham!
Oooops - sorry, maybe this should have gone on another thread, but once I got started I couldn't stop! Anyway perhaps if you do read my last comment then you will know why the crowds are dwindling at the Mem. Play decent footy and tyhe crowds will come! ENTERTAIN!
bristol's professional clubs are in the doldrums. look back to the 1960's gates of 20/30k. city are the dominant club, why, they have kept their stadium, whereas rovers have moved several times losing part of their fanbase each move. why is their poor support for sport in bristol and elsewhere- greedy directors greedy players and greedy agents. what is to be done, build new stadiums with leisure centres and conference facilities. this can only be done with a property deal for the old ground. cap wages, make more use of stadiums, attract big business men to club boards not worn out old hacks who would not know the difference between a business opportunity or stockport county, successful clubs involve well run clubs by the board, tightfisted managers, vision and ambition. most clubs aspire to the championships. city are doing their best to leave it. finally reduce admission prices!
well the only way to get Bristol football on the map (and im sure gas heads will agree) is if city go up, were the closest and most likely to go up out of the two which is actually quite sad. At the start of every season, ambition is at a all time high, because there is every chance we/you could go up, and then come October were back to where we are now, joining as one to moan about how crap Bristol is in general, and for the that reason is why i want to move out of the country, its not just Bristol, the whole country is a mess, i know there are not a lot of other countries better than England, but its just the little things, for here a £150,000 house will get you the standard, 3 bedroom garage garden etc, for that in america you could get a villa house next to some beach and the weather is always good, now im not saying i hate England, but overall its just a crap place to be, i live in stockwood a right **** hole full of crackheads, my mum comes home from work with a different story of how someones robbed the shop or how shes been threatened, this just gives me more reason to move rant over
but in usa, you only have netball and nancy football, rovers and city are a good reason for staying in bristol, got to get the crowds back somehow
they have "soccer" over there, also i don't mind hockey and ill learn to like NFL, and i do love basketball
I feel your pain..if you need to talk about it ,there are sympathetic listeners on leicester's forum..your too down on yourselves,look on the bright side. nicky likes bristol fine.Im sure Mr. Millen will fulfil yours and nickys dream and get you out of this division..have faith..
still bitter about not getting maynard clearly.. hows your league 1 striker doing and the storming of the championship??
I couldn't agree more about the lack of facilities. I have been exiled in Cardiff for 30+ years now, all in all a city app half the size of Bristol and they have 70,000 seater National Stadium 27,000 seater Cardiff City stadium 5-6,000 seater events hall 1 x new athletics stadium (outdoors) 1 x Athletics stadium indoors New white water run and are building a sports village even bloody Swansea and Cwmbran has a new stadium and good outdoor athletics facilities. Don't get me wrong I'm proud to be a bristolian but it ain't half hard bragging about it over here.
You only have to look at the standard of the councillors we vote in to explain half the problem (Charlie whatsisface for one!) The apathy we show towards local council elections in Bristol is unbelievable, this is how minority groups get too much say on things, they exploit the apathy shown elsewhere. Plus even amongst ourselves we dilute that ambition to progress, Rovers and City fans doing their utmost to prevent the other from gaining an advantage. (BB you are the only exception to the rule here and I can remember you voicing support for our stadium.) Look at our current bunch of councillors, not the brightest looking lot are they. i hope the next generation of Kids can make Bristol a better place at least.
Talk about Lions being led by Donkeys.......Bristol City Council,Bristol City FC,Bristol Rovers FC ect,ect.......
Redexile, you echo my point however it is a little unfair to use Cardiff as a comparison as after all, it it the capital so you would expect it to have some half decent facilities. The point is still valid however...
How I read it certain parts of the council are for a new stadium its the locals kicking up a stink. I don't think that the land that Cardiff got for their new stadium no one could complain, waste land next to a exsisting football ground. Surrounded by car showrooms. I still believe and shoot me if you want but if the two clubs agreed to share a plot of land and put a joint stadium then that could go through. The ground would make money as it is open 2 -3 times a week! It works in Italy why not here? The biggest question would be where in Bristol? Where there is easy route for travel routes. But back to the original question why are we as a area so s**t probably because kids choose to support teams they will only see on sky! I live in Wales and Welsh (another reason to shoot me) but family originally from Bristol and work in Bristol but I get the piss taken out of me every week about how **** city are, by people born and bred in Bristol but support Chelsea Arsenal Man U Liverpool and Spurs!
ROD, that changed for a short while whilst we were doing well - places like JJB did something that they had never done before which was to stock our kit, this was because there was demand. Had we managed to build on that, there would have been a whole new generation of kids wearing City shirts (sorry Gasheads) however we signed Dele Adebola instead and managed the age old Bristol thing of raising hopes briefly, only to not have it followed through on...
I have always been amazed that a city of your size with the potential supporter catchment you have hasn't caught the eye of someone with some money to invest who wants to buy a club that has the potential for conciderable success and to be able to return a profit. PS And it iseems a nice place to live although I have only ever been a visitor.
