Extract from Round the Turnstiles
Romance and Residences
The Notts, The Potteries, The Villa, The Bristols, The Grecians
4. The Bristols
If you go back in time Rovers would have been in Gloucestershire and City in Somerset, though for local government purposes the place has gone through a number of labelling amendments – in recent history as the main ingredient of the much-loathed County of Avon (Avon and Somerset Police survives as a force, perhaps to provoke animosity towards them). Before then and since, it has been the discrete ‘City and County of Bristol’. Strangely, some of what is understood as ‘Bristol’, the place with a population of half a million in continuous urban development, is now in the district of South Gloucestershire, and more of it is in North Somerset. This is in common with other major cities, where there is a mismatch between local authority boundaries, population distribution and day-to-day interpretation of what a place means. Meanwhile many are surprised to discover that Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is based in the suburb of Ashley Down, a stone’s throw from the Memorial Stadium, Rovers’ long-term domicile and the home for much longer of Bristol Rugby club, subsequently to be renamed the ‘Shoguns’. ‘How common,’ said The Dude ‘we are now Bristol Rugby, plain and simple’ after the club followed Bath’s obvious model in 2006. Yes. Rovers had bought out Rugby in 1998. They have since shared the ground, whose conversion into a new 18,500 stadium finally got the go-ahead in early 2008, allowing the rebuilding to start after the 2007-08 season, your last chance to stand on terraces on three sides of the ground. Rugby programmes there were above the going rate, at £3. Admission was £20, but this was in Rugby Union’s top tier, 2008 vintage.
The Gasheads’ vitriol is focused on City, and vice versa, and no other team, exemplified in the mass reaction to half-time scores. By and large the team ...
The Gas
Bristol Rovers 1 Oxford United 1 Division III (4), 13/9/05, Memorial Stadium
Nelson, visiting from Florida, was entertained regally to a liquid foretaste of pints at the Wellington before and 90 minutes (plus six) at the Memorial Ground on a fine Tuesday evening. Rovers’ home and Oxford’s away records were identical: 0-1-2, so they could both have done with a win. The guest found it a ‘homey’, local atmosphere. The pies (chicken and mushroom for me, a pasty, the punters’ favourite, for him) in the enclave were tasty and the half-time majorettes, The Blue Flames, amusing in a gentle way...
The first official blew the whistle at 7.45pm and off we wafted, absorbed into the unfolding drama. Into the game forward Richard Walker suffered scorn and, with two notional fingers erect, eventually scored the only home goal. But the crowd was fickle, honouring him with ‘Richard Walker boom boom boom.’ The statistics showed that he was second-highest scorer in 2004-05 with 10 in the League and four in cup games, and the best ratio, ahead of shooting star Junior Agogo. More like ‘Aggro’ a year later during the unhappy process of his departure to top Third Division outfit Nottingham Forest (most expensive, biggest gates by far and early pacesetters, doubtless to be further helped by the inestimable Junior). So far in 2005-06 the tally was Agogo 6 Walker 2, both having appeared in all eight games.
Rovers did extraordinarily well for away support. They took 988 to Barnet for the opening game, and 1,521 to the more convenient Torquay, with significant effect, perhaps, as they came away with a 3-2 win. But then the Gulls did sink to the bottom ...
