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Is Bristol England's football enigma?

Neither Bristol club is doing as well as they would like at the moment.   Steve Lansdown has been a generous benefactor of Bristol City, but promotion to the Premier League has eluded them.  (Lansdown's recent views on the club's situation can be found here: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/steve-lansdown-updates-supporters/  Bristol is a vibrant city and the regional capital of the west of England, but is punching below its football weight.

Bristol City — the Robins — have never won the league title. They have never won the FA Cup, nor the League Cup. Bristol Rovers — the Gas — have never won the top-flight title either, nor the FA Cup or League Cup. Bristol City have at least tasted top-flight English football, most recently in 1980, though many will not consider that to be recent. Bristol Rovers have never made it to the top division; they did come sixth in the old Second Division in 1959.

Consequently, the city of Bristol has never staged a European football fixture. It has never staged a Premier League fixture. Yet Bristol is accepted on various population/boundary measurements as the seventh-largest city in England. It has, moreover, an organised football tradition dating back to 1883 when a team called the Black Arabs were formed on Stapleton Road. They would quickly morph into Bristol Rovers. Bristol’s credibility, infrastructure and location meant it was one of the FA’s chosen 12 host cities in its unsuccessful bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Bristol is English football’s enigma. Over the past week, since the clubs’ two new managers were appointed, The Athletic has spoken to those involved today and historically to understand why Bristol, the city, does not fulfil its potential.

I’m not sure they come up with any answers, but it’s an interesting story and I find The Athletic subscription good value.

One of the most interesting ideas was that Bristol lacks an ‘industrial cluster’ of clubs of the kind you find in Lancashire.   I would add that it has been and remains a strong rugby area.

Cities that have two clubs often become absorbed with the rivalry for understandable reasons.  Merger is unthinkable - even in Dundee where the grounds of the two clubs are in the same road.

[The writer is a client of Hargreaves Lansdown].


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