Bristol City – Saturday 4th August: Fan Guide

I’m not sure what is shorter, this summer break or my patience. I’m getting rather eager to jump in the car and head to Bristol. A train trip would have been nice but it was bloody expensive and it’s also the wife’s birthday so a swift journey home is very much required. I suppose I should be grateful to be going at all. But she knows the score; missing this game was never on the agenda despite how much it’s cost me in compensation gifts!

For the past couple of seasons we have made our way to Bedminster Cricket Club (BS3 2JX) which is handily placed right off the A369; the long road that takes you in from Junction 19 of the M5. Unfortunately it appears that parking charges have now doubled to £10 but there are not many other alternatives – there is a large parking area close to the ground where the coaches are directed to but, from experience, it’s a battle to get out after the game and it might not be any cheaper. With it being cricket season there is a chance spaces may be limited due to the pitch still being in use. The club house is a decent option for a drink and food, however and there have been no issues in the past admitting away fans either, whether in colours or not. The cricket club is a 5-10 minute walk to Ashton Gate.

One big advantage is that it’s also on the M5 side of the ground so those using the motorway to get in and out don’t have to brave traffic directly around the stadium. You’ll find it’s a much quicker get away than other parking spots.

*EDIT 03.08.2018 – It has now been announced that Bedminster Cricket Club will have no parking available for this game. The club house, we are informed, is still open*

A few drinking spots can also be found on North Street (see the right hand side of the map) including the Tobacco Factory which will welcome Forest fans.

Something else to think about is what time to leave Nottingham. It’s usually a 2.5 / 3 hour journey but many holiday makers will be heading south on the M5 now the kids have finished school. It’s therefore probably worth giving yourself extra time to make it down in good time.

 

Q&A with The Exiled Robin

Something we are starting this season is to speak with an opposing fan ahead of each away game and get their thoughts on the game and a bit of local knowledge which should hopefully be of benefit to any travelling Forest. Paul, behind the The Exiled Robin Twitter account, kindly agreed to answer our questions…

 

1. What’s the mood like around your club at the moment?

It’s a bit of a difficult one to gauge, to be honest. There’s a fair bit of pre-season optimism, as usual and those who see last season as a real progression are optimistic, pointing at the extra experience of the new signings, but then you get that reminder that we fell apart for the last five months and had what was virtually relegation form, plus we’ve lost Bobby Reid and Aden Flint, with Joe Bryan still possibly going out the door, and that nagging doubt appears!

 

2. The Supporters Trust and many Bristol City fans were extremely vocal in showing their displeasure at season ticket prices for the new season. Was this resolved in any way and has it impacted upon the numbers purchasing season tickets? What sort of attendance are you anticipating for this game?

There were a number of issues, not just around pricing but also location of fan groups (juniors, disabled) and whilst some ground was given by the club, it certainly smacked of a lack of real understanding of what fans go through to watch their team. The main issues surrounded the ‘soft’ forcing of children out of the main, central stands by whacking the prices up significantly along with the suggestion they should move to the top tier, miles away from the pitch, to the family area.

I don’t think it’s had a major impact – as ever a few fans will have drifted away but most will have just sucked it up and got on with it. We’re actually going to have our largest opening day crowd in at least 25 years, since the terracing was removed, so there’s certainly a bit of a buzz around the place.

It seems like there’s a bit of a standoff between the Trust and the club at times. The club are obviously trying to maximise revenues and the commercial side – the whole Bristol Sport model revolves around this – whilst the Trust are concerned that everything becomes too money-oriented. It’s also notable that three lifelong City fans have ‘left’ their positions within the club in the last couple of seasons, and I know that has been the cause for some consternation at the Trust – losing well-established people who know the fans and think fans-first.

What I will add is that in Lee Johnson especially we have a manager who ‘gets’ the club and puts an awful lot of his own time to community and charity causes locally. It’s not something you get with every manager and he’s also got Scott Murray and Brian Tinnion – two club legends from the last couple of decades with almost one thousand City games between them – working on the staff and they both do a great job at interacting with fans so that promotes a lot of good feeling.

 

3. There will be a decent following coming down from Nottingham with all 2,700 tickets we were allocated being sold. From past visits it’s never been that easy to get a drink around the ground with the exception of the stalls outside the away end. Where do you suggest Forest fans head for a beer?

It’s tricky one at Ashton Gate, that’s for sure, although I think the club have recognised this a little by making the stadium area a genuine destination. If you didn’t come down last season they’ve opened up the whole end for away fans including food and drink stalls outside the ground so you can gather there pre-match, at half-time and even after the match (which is quite unusual). They have live bands playing at the ground from lunchtime onwards so it’s a good craic.

The only other obvious options away from the town centre would be a quiet beer in Bedminster Cricket Club (maybe watching a game as you drink – and there’s some parking there, albeit expensive) or The Pumphouse, which is a popular location halfway between town and the Gate.

 

4. And for those coming in on train? Where is worth visiting in the city centre and how far it is from Temple Meads station to Ashton Gate?

It’s a bit of a trek – not impossible but worth planning a little bit…Temple Meads is around two miles up the river so probably around 30-40 minutes walk for most. There are obviously pubs in and around the station but with the sun likely to shining hot it could be a nice mini-crawl to head along the river and find the riverside bars in Hotwells.

Or if you’re going straight to the ground then Parson St station is your best bet. A quick connection at Temple Meads, two stops away and less than ten minutes from the ground.

 

5. Ashton Gate has undergone a fairly dramatic transformation in the last few years. Away fans have been shifted down to the other end of the stadium with the old away end demolished and rebuilt. For those who are visiting for the first time or haven’t yet been since redevelopment is Ashton Gate now a better place to watch football and what’s the new away section like?

The Atyeo stand is now exclusively for away fans, all fenced off outside and with plenty of local food/drink vans outside. They sometimes have a band in there too, but I’m not sure if it’s always on. Having that end means the away fans are mostly away from City’s hardcore element who now largely gather at the opposite end of the ground, so the ‘banter’ can be somewhat lacking at times due to the distance between those sections. But overall it’s got to be a far better experience than it used to be, when you would have been crammed into a corner of the Eastend on those backless seats.

When Man United visited in the cup last year their fans raved about our away end facilities, saying they get nothing like that in the Premier League – especially the ability to hang around afterwards and have a drink whilst the crowds disperse.

 

6. While the view was never great in the old stand I always used to think your lot to our right made a decent racket. But that had been lost to some extent in subsequent visits after the redevelopment. Yet there was a definite improvement when we visited last season with a rowdy group in one corner of the ground. Has there been a conscious effort to improve the atmosphere at Ashton Gate and has it worked?

Yes there is no doubt the old Eastend, with away fans in, was a proper raucous, old-school atmosphere at times. The low tin/metal ceiling created a fantastic atmosphere at time and those fans have taken it upon themselves to try and create a bit of a European-style atmosphere.

They’re known as Section 82 and usually have plenty of flags and are trying to come up with new songs all the time to replace the same old, staid and often boring staples. For instance, I know they’re actively trying to move the core songs away from bashing the hapless Rovers and onto more positive ones about our club and players.

It’s the one area of the ground which is unreserved seating, so people can all stand with their mates and gather together, and – one or two misjudged and isolated incidents aside (like stopping them displaying a large St. George’s cross when we played Cardiff) the club has worked with them and supported them where possible.

 

7. This fixture is planned as another ‘Flag Day’. Can you tell us a little about what this involves?

Flag Day is a long-standing tradition in one of the local City pubs, The Three Lions and, like many things, has grown in popularity and attention with the advent of Social Media and the pictures and now videos which are shared annually. There’s even a great picture of a very young Maisie Williams – Arya Stark from Game of Thrones – attending nearly 20 years ago!

It’s essentially just a designated day each season (usually the first or last home game) where fans bring their flags along and deck out the entire pub, the surrounding walls, the trees opposite – wherever they can find a spot to be honest and then stand in the road drinking cider from 11am. It’s usually good-humoured although with flares going off and cars/buses sometimes being blocked off in the road the police inevitably wade in on occasions.

What it does guarantee is a really good atmosphere inside the ground as quite a few hundred will have had four hours of drinking in the sunshine before walking through the turnstiles. It’s certainly not one for away fans though, it’s a hardcore City pub, and on the main route from Bedminster and worth avoiding if you can.

If you fancy a quick gander, get to Parson St station and, before turning left towards the stadium, walk 50 yards right up the hill and admire/laugh from afar!

 

8. What would represent a good season for Bristol City?

Good would be a push for the play-offs, given we spent most of last season in the top six, but realistically, given the more recent form and the players we’ve lost, my view is that ‘acceptable’ would be somewhere around 10th-14th. Yourselves, Stoke, WBA, Derby, Boro are all likely to be strong, whilst Brentford and Preston are probably better placed than us, so will probably put the play-off positions out of reach.

 

9. Score prediction?

A good, solid opening day score-draw would be satisfactory, given the money you’ve spent this summer, although obviously it would always be nice to start with a win. We’ve got Boro following you into Ashton Gate later this month and it’s important for morale and momentum to not to be in a position where we’ve failed to win either of those first two home games.

 

Thanks to Paul for his words.

See you Saturday. We’ll be at the cricket club for a few before the game all being well.