Goal Makers and Ace Strikers

108 goals  

Jim was a hard, wiry lad, just out of the airforce when he came to Ashton Gate. It was at a time when to shield the ball was deemed obstruction and shirt pulling was for school boys playing tag.

Certainly in his era, there were some great characters and he shone through as a charismatic ( a little mischievous) fearless and inspirational member of the team. He still ranks as one of only 4 players to have ever scored over 100 goals for City. An amazing feat as for most of his career he played right wing. During his “purple patch”( seasons 54/55 ) he scored an amazing 50 goals in 78 matches.His greatest attribute was said to be his tenacity. He gave as good as he got and was very hard but fair. A true model player of his time.

87 goals  

‘I’d walk a million miles for one of your goals’ would ring out from the East End in homage to the impressive and hugely popular figure of John Galley. Born in the Midlands and on the books of Wolves as a youth, Galley joined Rotherham United before being noticed up by Manager Alan Dicks. Who described John as his best-ever signing,  He repays the faith shown in him scoring all three goals at Huddersfield Town, when making hid City debut in December 1967.  John Galley who was good in the air and particularly effective from corners scored 16 goals in season 1967/68 and the goals were a big factor in City’s survival. He enjoyed an impressive partnership with local boy Chris Garland and Scottishmidfielder Johnnie Quigley. 

John left City with a goal scoring record of almost 1 goal every 2 games to join Nottingham Forest.

102 goals

Signed in July 1969 after being scouted playing in Edinburgh by the legendary Tony Collins  After initially starting his City career as substitute against Sheffield Weds in a 2/1 defeat in 1972, Tom Ritchie went on to establish himself in the Bristol City attack, playing a key role in the club's rise to the First Division by 1976. During the late seventies he became nicknamed ‘TV Tom’ for his ability to score every time the TV cameras were in town. Tom was a dedicated and prominent member of the team in the years leading to and during the promotion winning season of 1976. Tom scored some vital goals for City and formed a brilliant partnership with striker Paul Cheesley His career spanned almost fifteen years and in which he played for City in all four divisions of the football league. 

  32 goals

Born in Bristol Jantzen joined Bristol City at the age of sixteen and enjoyed popularity as a skilful and talented winger. A goal maker who played 260 games for his beloved City,  A tricky winger for defenders to play against he fulfilled his dream of playing for his local club and he became a regular name on the team sheet. Playing alongside the legendary John Atyeo and enjoyed promotion success in the 1965 team taking City back to the then second division. A popular figure at Ashton Gate and one of the local lads who became a household name in the area.   

  77 goals

Alan had an interesting career, starting as an apprentice at Middlesbrough before joining Darlington, where he scored 87 goals in 251 matches, attracting interest from the then City Manager Terry Cooper. Terry had secured promotion for City the season before from Division Four and hoped the tricky winger with a penchant for the step over technique and renowned for a hard accurate shot would provide torment for visiting defenders in his bid for City to build on the previous seasons success.  Alan certainly delivered on his potential finishing as top scorer in his first season, scoring 22 goals from 45 appearances in the 84/85 season with the club finishing and 19 Goals from 44 appearances the following season, and ultimately being top scorer in four of his five seasons at the club. He was named as Man of the Match in the 3-0 Freight Rover Wembley final victory over Bolton Wanderers in 1986. 

When his playing career ended Alan stayed on as coach at the club for a period of 11 years.

 50 goals

The signing of Taylor was certainly an important one for Bristol City and its fans. Between 1980 and 1982 the club endured three consecutive relegations, the first club ever to experience this unwanted feat.  With Terry Cooper as manager the team regained some stability following promotion from the Fourth Division, but by 1989 the fans were frustrated after several years of austerity and a failure to make the next step into the Second Division. The signing of Taylor provided them with a long sought-after goal-scoring hero.

Taylor made an instant impact at his new club, scoring eight goals in 12 games during the remainder of the season. His immediate impact on the teams fortunes earned him the deferential nickname of both ‘Super Bob’ by the fans and there was a reference to God' a significance that was noted by the club's influential fanzine The Bountyhunter. The front cover of the Bountyhunter in  April 1989 issue conveyed supporter sentiment by contrasting the signing of Taylor Hope' with the club's board members 'Hopeless'

In 1989/90 his first full season at City, he helped the club achieve promotion to Division Two. Taylor finished as Division Three leading goal scorer with 27 league goals, 34 in total and was also named Bristol City Player of the Year.

He was disappointingly sold to West Bromwich Albion after three years, but Super Bob had made his mark on Bristol City’s faithful and remains one of the most popular strikers of his time. 

  It's well known that there is only one team in Bristol and I was born to be a City fan. My Dad, Jimmy was a firm favourite in the 50's and 60's scoring 108 goals, often from the wing. I attended my first match in 1956 sat on my Mums knee in the Directors Box aged 4months, or so I am reliably informed! I've told my son Alex and my daughter Charlie that we will reach the Premier League in my lifetime so we'd better get a move on! 

COYR.

  Been waiting for a home win to give it a more sunny disposition. 

My life following City..? How about... Up, down, up, up, very up, down, down, down, up, down, up, down, very down, very very down, Up. 

Wouldn't miss it for the world!!!

  I am a Bristol boy through and through and although I don’t go to Ashton Gate that often I am proud to support this project as it represents Sport, culture and Bristol’s renowned Artwork  

I was a teenager in the 70’s and reflects memories of the times I grew up in. Great days with my mates (mainly City boys!) through all the years. 

Thanks for asking me to be involved

  I watched my first game at Ashton Gate in 1972. I played for Bristol Boys U11-U15 and during this period was scouted by Cliff Morgan and Jock Rae and signed Associate Schoolboy forms for Bristol City in 1976. The same year I was in the schoolboy enclosure the night City beat Portsmouth 1-0 with a Clive Whitehead goal to secure promotion to Division 1. Other standout nights at the Gate was beating Hereford in the second leg of the semi final of the Freight Rover Trophy to go to Wembley and of course that quarter final win over Man Utd in the Carabou Cup….It’s Smith!!!

  Steve sadly passed away July 2015, he had been ill for a while, but he insisted on being at City’s last home game of that famous promotion season and an 8-2 win against Walsall. His eyes welled up with joy during the lap of honour, but also with sadness knowing it was his finale and what he was leaving behind.

Like City, his life had it’s up and downs Division One in the 70’s and the lows of the 80’s. He made great friends along the way. His family, his music fame with the Avon Soul Army and BCFC were his passion. A true Cider Red! RIP  

  I’m a Director/Co-Owner of Del Bosque Group, a specialist construction consultancy

providing Project & Amp; Programme Management service in the public and retail sectors. I saw my first game with my Dad on 18 th September 1967 – 7th birthday treat – home to Blackpool, lost 4-2. The perfect start to life as a City supporter! 

I often think that I dodged a bullet as if the Rovers were at home that day and growing up on Banjo I could have easily swayed the other way.

Spent many years in the 60’s and 70’s going to game with my Dad, Paul Alexander and in the Pomeroys Supermarket van, a selection of old boys which included Bill Holloway, father of Ian, and who was an avid city fan at the time..

30 years a season ticket holder and have passed on the obsession to my sons Tom and George who now follow from afar in Canada. These days accompanied by the grandkids Ellis 10 and Ivy 7.. is this child cruelty??

Favourite player – John Galley

Favourite games – Coventry away to stay up, Crystal Palace in the Play Offs and Sheffield Utd away – Weiman hat trick.

Do I care if we get to the premiership – not really, like my football on a Saturday!

  Many people know me by my DJ stage name of Paul Alexander of Soultrain which transitioned to Terrace Soul 5 years ago . Me any my cousin Keith Johns have been life long city supporters for 6 decades , in fact it was Keith’s Dad- Cliff that would take us to the home games when John Atyeo , Chris Garland , Janztzen Derrick , Gordon Parr and Jack Connor etc would form the backbone of the Team

I  have followed the City both home and away , I have fond memories of the promotion years and play offs at Wembley with friends Chris Bradfield (of Sounds Commercial who hosted testimonials for ex City Players )  &  Adrian and his brother RIP Steve Ashby .

My legacy is that I will be survived by William, Luis , Jack , Russell , Rebecca and Greg .

My favourite players / era were Geoff Merrick 1968-1982 , Gerry Gow 1969-1980 , Bob Taylor 1989-1992 . Dariusz Dzieksnowski 1992-1993 , Scott Murray 1997-2003 and David Noble 2005-2009 . I have to mention one of Chris Bradfield’s favourite player’s who was Mark Gavin 1988 -1990 . 

My favourite Manager was Steve Cotterill who I will always remember came in and turned the club around and won us promotion, it was a shame the board never backed him like they did Lee Johnson. Incidentally I knew Scott Davidson personally who was Chairman 1996-2001 and still connected to the Club today

Would love to see City in the Premiership ! The closest they got to this was 2008 which was watched by a crowd of 86,000 under Gary Johnson, we were one player short upfront who could put the ball in the back of the net.

   My first trip to Bristol City seemed inauspicious. Stepping out of our car onto a greasy cobbled street, the gusting wind propelled icy rain into our screwed-up faces. The packed pubs were inviting with the Bristol City fans amusing us with their sharp, ribald banter. I warmed to their resilience.

The game that changed everything was on 26 October 1974, the day my Dad took me to see the Robins playing Notts County at home in front of a 10,343 crowd. 

I remember I could just about get my head above those ancient metal turnstiles. We were right at the back of the East End stand and I was only a child, so it was a question of peering between people's shoulders. A stranger with callused, bucket-like hands picked me up as if I was a packing case and lifted me onto the iron support railings that ran across the stand, the smell of Embassy Number 1, Silk Cut and John Player’s No.6 cigarette smoke in my nostrils. I was nine-years-old and from that day there was no going back.

There I was – a skinny-as-a-pipe-cleaner schoolboy – trembling in anticipation of my first view of Second Division football. 

When moving from Weston-super-Mare to North Weston, in Portishead, this gingery-haired youngster momentarily dabbled with supporting Bristol Rovers at the new scary primary school and sported a blue-and-white rosette. Easy to locate because of my carrot-coloured hair, I am sure I deliberately flouted the Seagulls colours to infuriate the bullies who tormented me in the playground, and who passionately supported the Reds rather than the Blues.

But when I first clapped eyes on Bristol City, it was love at first sight. The persistent asking to go again started, and so my grandfather, father and me went together. It was only later that my passion would lead to me writing about the club in papers, programmes, magazines and on-line. 

Dad always parked some way from the ground and as we walked down the road past the old Bedminster Cricket Club ground, amongst crowds of people, I was transfixed. For a nine-year-old boy, it was a magical and spine-tingling experience, and I picked up on my Dad’s genuine excitement about going to see our team and his expectation of converting me to the religion of worshipping Bristol City.

I remember witnessing defender Geoff Merrick diving across his goal as if in imitation of Superman. He could play the most remarkable pass, make a crunching tackle or an acrobatic flying header, and he possessed every attribute required for that role. For the whole game he threw his battered body about the place with the same disregard a builder shows for a firm's Transit. Gary Collier walks on to the icy pitch as if there’s a ribbon of red carpet beneath his feet. He ran and tackled without ever looking disheveled and left the field the way he’d arrived on it: virtually unblemished and with barely a crease or muddy mark on his shirt.   

Super-striker Paul Cheesley was this fledgling fan's first superhero. Near the end, I did see him climb to an extraordinary height at the far post, his header scraping against the side netting. He seemed able to rise as if he had wings in his boots, which allowed him to hang almost motionless in the air. It was hard to decide whether he had descended from the belt of cloud above him or levitated vertically from the grass beneath; either way, he seemed to defy gravity. 

Wonderful!