Subs Bench team serve up some wonderful memories for City fans
SO much goes on at a football club, and even more so nowadays with their growing staff, stadiums, training grounds and expanding media teams.
Sports journalists Richard Latham, pictured, and Nigel Turner have been covering the Robins for more than 40 years and may well have as good a handle on what happens at Ashton Gate as anyone.
The pair make up the popular Subs Bench team, who have been covering sport in the West Country for many a season, and who have a new book coming out this Christmas featuring the best of their tales.
Bristol City Memories rounds up the pair’s chats with a vast number of Robins, with some 22 managers having served the club since Richard reported on City alone. Take record appearance holder Louis Carey (646 games), who Nigel and Richard quizzed over whether he should have a statue made of him at Ashton Gate, alongside that of the great John Atyeo.
The pair also asked him who was the best City manager he played under as well as much more, such as surviving a near-fatal head injury, suffering an injury at a barbecue and leaving for Coventry City.
“I always answer that question with a top three because I am not able to put them in any particular order. John Ward, Danny Wilson and Gary Johnson had different personalities but each had fantastic attributes as managers and I like to think I learned from them all,” said Carey.
Further interviews range from Paul Cheesley - scorer of the winner at Arsenal in City’s first game in the top division - to club president Marina Dolman, to legendary physio/kitman Buster Footman, to Brian Tinnion, Scott Murray, wing wizard Alan Walsh and even club owner Steve Lansdown.
Lansdown told the Subs Bench team: “In the past I have been very hands-on as Bristol City owner, but since I moved to live in Guernsey I have left much of the work to other people.
“I want the community to be involved with the club and for the directors to know what is good, not just for the club, but for the fans. I want the players to think the same way and I think we are in a very good place as far as all that is concerned.”
Another interviewee is Steve Cotterill, who reflects on that 2014-15 double-winning season and winning the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final at Wembley, often billed as the ‘Family Final’.
Cotterill says in the book: “My family certainly enjoyed it as much as any other final. When you get to the stadium for a big game like a final you always worry about where they are and whether they are okay, having been caught up in 70,000 people trying to enter the ground. My youngest daughter couldn’t be there because she had to work, so that was a bit of a downer for her.
“But my eldest was up in the Royal Box and I was able to hand the trophy to her to hold up during the presentations.”
Geoff Merrick, Rob Edwards, Tom Ritchie, Leroy Rosenior and Keith Curle feature too, along with many others.
Bristol City Memories costs £20 and is available from today. It can be ordered from www.bristolcitymemories.co.uk and is full of facts and details which every Bristol City fan will want to know.