Random Stuff!

[Jerry]

might be a joint Severnside promotion with Cardiff City.

Now that would be good for both cities and give each other a derby match as the way things are looking with Swansea City Cardiff could replace them as the Welsh representative in the Premier League though as a Welshman it would be good to see both there again but as a Cardiff boy it would be nice to see Cardiff replace them!
Fingers crossed!

 

[Aviador]

There are reports of a huge fire at Bristol University.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

There are reports of a huge fire at Bristol University.

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-university-building-involved-huge-1022108

It's in one of the historic buildings in the University Quarter that was undergoing a major refurbishment.

 

[Aviador]

Thanks. That's such a shame, I hope it's restorable.

 

[Jerry]

Hopefully the damage isn't that catastrophic and no one was hurt!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Thanks. That's such a shame, I hope it's restorable.

Hopefully the damage isn't that catastrophic and no one was hurt!

About three years ago there was a major fire in a large university building used for students' accommodation situated about a quarter a mile away from the current incident. I don't think there were any injuries then either but it took the best part of two years to repair before it was re-opened. That was in a modern building so no loss of important heritage there, although the fire was mainly confined to the roof.

Tonight's fire is now reportedly extinguished. Hopefully, the building will not have to be completely demolished.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Further to the university fire, it doesn't look as if damage was as serious as the spectacular fire scenes might have suggested. According to press reports damage was confined mainly to the roof area and top floor and didn't spread to the rest of the building, although some water damage was caused to other parts of the building.

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-university-fire-not-thought-1025471

 

[rollo]

Good luck to Bristol City tomorrow they'll probably need it as Man City don't really do reserves by normal standards, any team with the initials B.C.F.C. will do for me even if they play in the wrong colours?

Best of British will be watching.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Bristol City played several 18-years olds at Watford in the FA Cup on Saturday and lost 3-0, having beaten Watford 3-2 away in the League Cup earlier in the season. I'm not sure they were worried about it too much. As with Villa and Leeds who were also dumped out of the FA Cup at the weekend the League is far more important.

The League Cup has been an interesting adventure for Bristol City but with a severely depleted squad (about six first-teamers have been out through injury for a number of months including their two main strikers but it has given youngsters the chance and some of taken it) they have achieved miracles this season and will be hoping not to lose any more players.

The effort of maintaining a challenge in the Championship and reaching the later stages of the League Cup is beginning to catch up with them though. The 5-0 hammering at Villa was their sixth competitive match in 17 days, including high profile games against Manchester United and Wolves.

No-one in Bristol is really expecting them to beat Manchester City especially over two games - a freak result in one match would be just about possible but still extremely unlikely - but the fans will enjoy the occasion. Over 7,000 are going to the first leg tomorrow - all available tickets were quickly snapped up.

We all hope (except the blue half of Bristol) that Manchester City won't gain a big win in the first leg. We want the second leg to be at least theoretically possible to spring a massive surprise rather than a dead game.

Thank you for your good wishes.

 

[rollo]

I know the Premiership is seen as the holy grail these days (money) my team have been promoted to it and relegated three times since 2002 but the highlight during that time for me was beating Arsenal in the 2011 League Cup Final 2-1 after beating Villa and West Ham in the quarter and semi finals to gain only our second major trophy since 1875 ?

So in my opinion go for it and enjoy as promotion to the premiership issue great fun but for most sooner or later we end up being relegated you only have to look at the ex premiership teams in the lower divisions in my area alone Blues,Villa, Wolves,Coventry and likely West Brom next season all within about 20 miles of St Andrews not to mention Forrest and Derby not far away from Birmingham

I take the point over 2 legs really stacks the cards but if you don't try you don't get so I really hope that they go flat out after all you've already sorted Manchester United out.

Good luck.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I know. Apart from the so-called Big Clubs (or very big clubs) - there used to be a lot more big clubs in the sense of equal chances of success at the top level - which I suppose are the Manchesters (and City really only since the ME owners took them over), Arsenal, Chelsea (again really only since the Russian Mr A took them over), Spurs (in theory - they are yet to win much of importance in the present era) and Liverpool (can they recapture glories of the past?).

Almost anyone else could find themselves in a relegation battle in any season.

When I began to follow football in 1955 - I was only a lad in short trousers and my first game was in January 1955 involving Second Division Bristol Rovers 2 First Division Portsmouth 1, FA CUP 3rd Round, Eastville Stadium before 36,000 spectators when the FA Cup really meant something - the likes of Bournemouth, Southampton (I remember watching Soton v Bournemouth in a Div 3 South match in 1956), Crystal Palace, Swansea Town (as they were then), Brighton, Coventry (featured in my first league match v Bristol City who won 2-0 at Ashton Gate in Div 3 South in February 1955 when Coventry had England Under 23, later full international, Reg Matthews in goal) and Watford were 'traditional' third tier (no fourth tier then)/occasional second tier clubs.

Some of the bigger clubs who were regulars in the First Division in that era were Blackpool (with the great Stanley), Bolton, Preston, Wolves (those wonderful televised floodlit* friendlies against the likes of Moscow Spartak and Honved in the days before the European Cup and before the Football League would allow its matches to be played under lights), Everton, Villa, WBA, Sunderland (once called the 'Bank of England' club), the Sheffields (the yo-yo clubs of the 50s between the First and Second divisions) and, go on, Birmingham City with dear old Gil Merrick the first England keeper I was aware of, as well as todays so-called giants.

The first FA Cup Final I saw live on the telly was the 1954 match WBA 3 Preston 2. In those days FA Cup Finals and England internationals on Wednesday afternoons were about the only live football shown on the telly although in 1954 the World Cup Finals were in Switzerland and many of the matches were shown live, albeit the transmission would frequently break down. My folks had just got themselves a small 12 inch telly and I was able to watch some of the games, those in the evenings.

* the pictures were very grainy and in monochrome of course.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Can the League Cup semi final end now please? Half-time Tale of Two Cities: Manchester 0 Bristol 1.

Last Saturday Burnley were leading 1-0 at half-time at the Etihad in the Prem but finished up losing 4-1.

At least BC can say they won the first half of the first leg.

 

[rollo]

So far so good, great goal line clearance just before half time.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Blast! Another last minute winning losing goal! The same thing happened against Wolves over the holiday period.

Great performance against arguably the best club side in Europe at the moment by a Championship team depleted by so many key injuries this season. They did better than some Prem clubs at the Etihad both in performance and result.

At least the tie is still theoretically open in the second leg.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/costa-rica-new-zeland-bristol-1042327

Another 'best place in the world to visit'(various international travel guides in recent years)/ 'best place in the country to live' (Sunday Times) 'accolade' has been bestowed on Bristol, this time by the New York Times that cites the city as one of the world cities to visit in 2018. The other UK city in the list is Glasgow.

It's a pity then that there is no direct New York flight. Mind you, I'm never wholly convinced about these lists any more than I am when airports win various accolades each year.

A few years ago an American travel guide described Bristol as 'Britain's best kept secret'. There are some Bristolians who'd like to keep it that way.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-star-incredibly-blames-1041341

Man City star incredibly blames Carabao Cup ball for lacklustre Bristol City display

I've heard it all now. Wrong type of snow caused problems on the railways in the UK a few years ago, now it's the wrong type of football being blamed for Manchester City's less than spectacular display against Bristol City this week.

Give the poor cotton-wool clad, pampered, over-paid darlings an old-fashioned leather T-ball and see how they get on with that, especially on a wet day. Ronaldo wouldn't make one of those swerve and dip and keepers would do well to kick it over the half-way line, not nearly to the opposing penalty area as is now the case with the lightweight, plastic-covered spheres used in 'soccer' (association football to my generation, actually just football).

As for Mr Toure's remarks, I can only say the same ball was used by both sides and Bristol City didn't complain.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I have to wonder how modern day 'superstars' would perform back in a time where the pitch was a total pudding and defenders were there to kick lumps out of you with very little protection from the ref?

Major technological advances in boot/glove/ball technology, playing surfaces like glass and players who fall dramatically to the floor should someone look their way in a manner that displeases them.

What price for players such as Pele, George Best, Maradona etc in today's market?

 

[rollo]

Lucky the poor souls weren't playing the old Leeds team with Bremner, Hunter Charlton etc with maybe Tommy Smith from Liverpool for good measure. Actually I thought it was a really good game.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Lucky the poor souls weren't playing the old Leeds team with Bremner, Hunter Charlton etc with maybe Tommy Smith from Liverpool for good measure. Actually I thought it was a really good game.

Look at this one 40 seconds in. Not even a free kick awarded against McParland, and because of the injury Wood the Manchester United keeper was forced to play on the wing for most of the rest of the match (no subs then of course) with Jackie Blanchflower performing miracles as a stand-in keeper.

These days the 6' 8 giants wearing oven gloves only have to drop a high ball with an attacker a yard away and they invariably get a free kick such is the protection refs give them.

Just imagine a player hitting a keeper like that these days. There would be a mass riot on the pitch with handbags being waved all over the place, and demands that McParland be banned for life.

Incidentally, I saw Villa beat Bristol City 2-1 in the 5th round on their way to winning the Cup in 1957. 63,000 at Villa Park on a mud heap. Lots of coaches from the Bristol area took the fans to Birmingham and I was one of them. John Atyeo, Bristol City's greatest ever player, scored the visitors' goal and he said it was his best ever. On that muddy 'brownsward' with the leather ball probably twice its weight he sent a 25-yard thunderbolt past Nigel Sims who barely saw it. Like Bobby Charlton, Atyeo was genuinely two-footed and, unlike Charlton, a great header of the ball. The goal at Villa Park that day was scored with his 'non-natural' left foot.

 

[Jerry]

That was more of a rugby challenge and even in rugby today he'd get a yellow card for that!