All these years and I have been saying to Gasheads: “Don’t worry about Bristol City (1982) Ltd. Just concentrate on what the Rovers are doing!” And tonight, I am enjoying City’s embarrassing reverse at home to Brighton. The changes at Bristol Rovers have reignited my enthusiasm for my old club and brought back to the surface my petty little vindictiveness. Come on Brighton.
Having been in the company of some City fans over the weekend and learning that many of their final games of the season will be “easy”, tonight’s battering must have come as an enormous shock. “Teams that are going to be relegated,”said one City fan, “don’t win three games in a row.” Maybe they don’t, but then teams that are going to stay up don’t usually get slaughtered at home like the City just have been.
Over-confidence is not something I am used to as a Rovers supporter and it’s not a lack of quality I am going to indulge in now. But those who support Bristol’s Big Club are, I am happy to say, often very guilty of it.
I had the sense of ‘job done’ from my City supporting mates. Their results had not reflected the way they’d been playing this season, you see. Cotterill had lost the plot long ago (which is actually true) and this was actually a half-decent squad (arguably not true). You are only as good as your last result and a 4-0 home gubbing at the hands of Brighton must surely set off some very loud alarm bells.
Can you imagine the City dressing room, now? Utterly deflated, quiet, wondering what the hell happened and perhaps doubting their own ability. Dangerous times? Maybe the appointment of Lee Johnson as the new head coach wasn’t the masterstroke I first suggested it might be? What if he can’t fire fight and City suddenly need to win? I don’t see that happening since the gap between City and the bottom three is now eight points and that is, believe me, all but unbridgeable but stranger things have happened.
I admit it. I do want City to not do well. Through a rich Jordanian family, I now feel enthused about my old club, Bristol Rovers, once again, far more engaged than I was when it was owned by a bunch of local millionaire businessman. I’m not going to try to explain why and how I feel like that: I just do. And part of that rediscovery is the desire to take the piss out of the team south of the river.
Good luck in trying to stay up, City. I don’t really mean it, though. Quite the opposite, actually. Johnson out!
