Bristol City F.C.
| Bristol City badge | |||
| Full name | Bristol City Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Robins | ||
| Founded | 1897 | ||
| Ground | Ashton Gate, Bristol | ||
| Capacity | 21,497 | ||
| Chairman | Stephen Lansdown | ||
| Manager |  Gary Johnson | ||
| League | The Championship | ||
| 2006-07 | League One, 2nd (promoted) | ||
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Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England, (the other being Bristol Rovers). They were promoted to the Championship on 5th May 2007. Their ground is called Ashton Gate Stadium, located in the south-western portion of the City. Gary Johnson has been the team's manager since 23 September 2005, succeeding Brian Tinnion.
The Bristol City kit for the 2006-7 season was produced by sports brand 'Puma'. Home colours for 2006-7 are the traditional red shirts and white shorts, which have returned after several years of all red kits. The away kit is white with gunmetal grey shorts, and a black third kit is also available. In the past a variety of away combinations have been used, particularly white shirts and black shorts, but yellow, green-and-purple, all black, all white and "champagne gold" have also been seen in recent years. The club's nickname is "the Robins", and a robin featured on the club's badge from 1976 to 1994. Official club merchandise, including replica kits, still has a label showing a robin. A recent attempt by the club to alter the club's badge was abandoned after the club was criticised fiercely by fans. Many supporters still choose to sport the club's old Robin and suspension bridge badge.
Bristol City reached the 1909 F.A Cup final where they lost to Manchester United, but they did win the Welsh Cup - despite being an English team - in 1934. In 1907 they finished runners-up in the league, which is their highest-ever final position.
In 1982, Bristol City became the first English team to suffer three successive relegations and just before falling into the Fourth Division they almost went out of business. But a takeover deal saved them from going under, and by 1990 they were back in the Second Division. Another relegation followed in 1995, when City finished second from bottom in the new Division Two, and a return to that division three years later lasted just one season. Most of their seasons between 1999 and 2006 were spent challenging for promotion in the upper half of the division.
Bristol City currently play at Ashton Gate stadium in the Bedminster area of the city of Bristol, which has an all-seater capacity of more than 20,000. There have been plans, if the need arises, for expansion work to be carried out at their current ground. There have also been proposals to build a new stadium, the first option being a 36,000-seat stadium at Hengrove Park. In 2002, the local council was looking at possible sites for a new 40,000-seat stadium which would house both City and Rovers, but these plans were scrapped and it is widely accepeted that this would not have been welcomed by the majority of supporters from both clubs. Ashton Gate's current capacity is larger than most other League One grounds, and it is still to be seen if the attendance figures in the Championship would require further expansion to the ground.
Honours
The team played in the FA Cup final, losing 1 - 0 to Manchester United at Crystal Palace, London, on April 26 1909, and won the Welsh Cup in 1934, defeating Tranmere Rovers 3 - 0.
Their highest finishing position in the League was in the 1906-07 season when the team were runners-up to Newcastle in Division 1.
Minor honours include: Second Division champions 1905-06; Third Division South champions three times; Associate Members' Cup winners 1985-86 (as Freight Rover Trophy); Football League Trophy ; Third Division runners-up to Bristol Rovers in 1989-90, after being beaten 3-0 at Twerton Park; winners 2002-3 (as LDV Vans Trophy); Anglo-Scottish Cup winners 1977-78.
History
The club was founded in 1897, when Bristol South End F.C. turned professional and changed its name to Bristol City. In 1900 the club merged with local rivals Bedminster F.C., who had been founded as Southville in 1887. The side joined the Football League in 1901. They first entered Division 1 in 1906 as Division 2 champions, and as newcomers became known as the "Bristol Babe", a nickname that would last into the thirties. They were runners-up in their first season in the top flight, but couldn't match this performance again, and were relegated in 1911. They would not return for sixty-five years.
The 1920s were a rocky time as City bounced between the Second Division and the Southern Section of the Third Division. By the 1930s they had slumped into the lower division, and stayed that way until the Second World War. Harry Dolman became chairman in 1949, a post he would hold for over 30 years. An engineer who had bought out the firm he worked for, he designed the first set of floodlights installed at Ashton Gate in the early 1950s. The late 1950s were a better time for City, with a five year stay in the Second Division, a league they returned to for a further spell in 1965. In 1967 Alan Dicks was appointed manager, and he eventually led them back to the top division in 1976 when they were runners-up in the Second Division - ending a 65-year absence from the top flight.
Surviving just four seasons in the top division and only managing a peak of 13th position in the 1978-79 season, they were relegated in 1980 and after three successive demotions went bankrupt and were only able to continue playing under the ownership of a new company, BCFC (1982) plc, because eight highly-paid senior players (the "Ashton Gate Eight") accepted redundancy.
City's stay in the basement was short - just two years - since when they have remained in the middle two divisions of the League structure. The late 1990s were a period of instability for the club, with five managers in four seasons. Danny Wilson was appointed as manager in June 2000, but left by mutual consent in June 2004 after successive seasons of finishing third but narrowly failing to win the play-offs. Long-serving City midfielder Brian Tinnion became player-manager in his place and led the team to a place just outside the play-offs in his first season.
The summer of 2005 saw a major rebuilding of the squad, bringing in the Premiership strikers Marcus Stewart (who supported City as a boy) and Michael Bridges. Three games into the 2005-2006 season City were one of only two clubs in the entire league without a goal; the drought ended abruptly in their fourth game, with three goals in the first quarter hour of a 4-2 victory over Port Vale. Results remained poor, however, and Tinnion resigned as manager after a 7-1 thrashing by Swansea. He was replaced by Gary Johnson, who was lured from west country neighbours Yeovil Town. A club record of nine successive defeats was brought to an end with a 2-0 victory at home to Huddersfield on 10 December. Since then, a continuous run of only three defeats in sixteen games was capped with City beating Gillingham 6-0, with defender Louis Carey scoring a brace. This was City's largest league win since late 1969, and was an encouraging sign of things to come.
The 2006/2007 season started poorly for City. After a win over Scunthorpe on the first day of the season, a run of four successive defeats had the crowd calling for Johnson's head. The club also sold young prodigy David Cotterill to Wigan just one hour before the transfer window shut. However, City didn't seen to miss him as they went on to win 6 out of their next 7 games, firing them into the top 6 of League 1. An undefeated run of 11 league games, from late November until the last game in January, put City on top of the league and promotion seemed a real possibility. City also put together an impressive FA Cup run, being knocked out in the 4th round on penalties after a replay in which they held Premiership side Middlesbrough to a 2-2 draw in both ties. They knocked out Championship side Coventry City in the 3rd round.
Bristol City FC secured a place in the Championship for the first time in nine years for the 2007/08 season, after winning 3-1 against Rotherham with two goals by David Noble and one by Alex Russell
Bristol are favourites for the drop next year, and will have a lot of work to do to ensure survival. A full squad overhaul and new fans are a must.
Kit 2006/2007 Season
At the beginning of the 2006/2007 season Bristol City signed a 4 year deal with Puma to produce their kits. Before the season started fans were allowed to vote on a combination of shirts, shorts and socks. The fans voted to return to red shirts with white shorts after several seasons playing in all red. As well as the white and gunmetal grey away kits, they also have a third black kit of which only 250 replicas were made.
      Home Kit
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   Away Kit
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   Third Kit
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During the season they have also worn black shorts and/or socks with the home shirt to further avoid colour clashes.
Alternate Home Kit 1
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Alternate Home Kit 2
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The front of the shirt has the badge of the kits main sponsor Bristol Trade Centre. The back of the shirt is sponsored by Blackthorn Cider.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Famous players
- Australia
- Bermuda
- England
- Nigeria
- Poland
- Scotland
- Former Youth Products Currently in the Premiership
- Leroy Lita (Reading F.C.)
- Liam Rosenior (Fulham F.C.)
David Cotterill (Wigan Athletic F.C.)- Scott Golbourne (Reading F.C.)
Managers
- Sam Hollis (1897-99)
- Bob Campbell (1899-1901)
- Sam Hollis (1901-05)
- Harry Thickett (1905-10)
- Sam Hollis (1911-13)
- George Hedley (1913-17)
- Jack Hamilton (1917-19)
- Joe Palmer (1919-21)
- Alex Raisbeck (1921-29)
- Joe Bradshaw (1929-32)
- Bob Hewison (1932-49)
- Bob Wright (1949-50)
- Pat Beasley (1950-58)
- Peter Doherty (1958-60)
- Fred Ford (1960-67)
- Alan Dicks (1967-80)
- Bobby Houghton (1980-82)
- Roy Hodgson (1982)
- Terry Cooper (1982-88)
- Joe Jordan (1988-90)
- Jimmy Lumsden (1990-92)
- Denis Smith (1992-93)
- Russell Osman (1993-94)
- Joe Jordan(1994-97)
- John Ward (1997-98)
- Benny Lennartsson (1998-99)
- Tony Pulis (1999)
- Tony Fawthrop (2000)
- Danny Wilson (2000-04)
- Brian Tinnion (2004-05)
- Gary Johnson (September 2005-Present)
Ashton Gate
Bristol City play at Ashton Gate in the south-west of Bristol, just south of the River Avon. The ground has an all-seated capacity of about 21,500, with an effective capacity (depending on how many away tickets are allocated, and how they are segregated) of around 19,100. It was the home of Bedminster F.C. until the 1900 merger, and the merged team played some games there the following season, but it did not become the permanent home of Bristol City until 1904.
The East End at the south-east end of the ground is the traditional home fans' end. However since 1994 it has controversially housed visiting fans. During the late 1990s, it was named the Database Computers stand and then Blackthorn Wedlock stand. It has since acquired a new name, the Micra Wedlock Stand.
The Williams Stand,. on the south-west side, which includes the directors' box and press box, was built in 1958. The Williams stand also contains the premier seating.
The Dolman Stand, which lies opposite The Williams Stand, was built in 1970. The stand contains a lot of wooden seats, many of which were set to be replaced with more modern plastic seating before the start of the 2006/07 season. Delays have meant that this change has not yet commenced.
The most recent addition to the stadium is the Atyeo Stand at the north-west end, which was built in 1994 to replace an open terrace, and contains new dressing rooms and a large gymnasium.The Atyeo has in recent years become a stand which seems to cater for a more family orientated supporter.
Ashton Gate has also played host to many big music concerts in recent years. They have had such stars as Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams, Elton John, Neil Diamond, The Who and Ronan Keating.
Famous fans
Famous fans of Bristol City include:
- Jenson Button - F1 Driver.
- Gareth Chilcott - Former Bath and England Rugby Union player.
- John Cleese - Comedian who has starred in Monty Python and Fawlty Towers.
- Justin Lee Collins - Comedian.
- Mark Dudbridge - Professional darts player.
- Dominic Mohan - Journalist.
- Jonathan Pearce - Football Commentator.
- Tony Robinson - actor who starred in Blackadder and presenter of Time Team.
- Marcus Trescothick - Somerset and England cricketer.
- The Wurzels - Somerset based band.
Trivia
The BBC comedy show Only Fools and Horses features a block of flats called Nelson Mandela House. These are intended to be in Peckham, London, but the flats used for filming are in fact right next to the Ashton Gate ground in Bristol.
References
Woods, David M. (1994). The Bristol Babe: The First 100 Years of Bristol City F.C. Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. ISBN 187442795X.
External links
- Official website (requires registration)
- Fans' forum
- Bristol City Supporters Trust