Q: Bristol Boy lives North of London[?]. Explain?

A: I was born & bred in Bristol, leaving briefly to join the RAF where I served in a number of places. After returning to Bristol, I started a business, eventually sold up to the current owners and moved away with work. I've lived here for about fifteen years however, having recently started a new job in Bristol, I may well move home in about a years time, all being well.

Q: How long have you been a City fan and what have been the highs and lows?

A: 42 Years and the high has to be the Promotion to what is now the Premiership. The three relegations on the spin were pretty hard to take.

Q: If you chose a decade to watch City in what would it be?

A: The years that preceded promotion to the top tier and the seasons we had in it-Mind you, you can keep the three seasons after that!! The atmosphere at AG was electric and the craic was unbelievable. Real characters, Really funny stories, although some weren't funny at the time and you took you life in your hands going to some places. People who lived through those times have a different view from some of our younger supporters on what constitutes "trouble."

That team had a relationship with the fans that modern players can only dream off and that's a great sadness to me.

Q: At the start of the season what were your expectations for Bristol City ?

A: After spending what we believed was £2m on new players, I was very optimistic based on what Colchester had achieved the previous season. I wrote an article on this at the time and I'm delighted that we're living the dream. I said the play offs and that I would be very disappointed if we finished lower the 10th.I can't understand people who still talk about finishing four from bottom and staying in the CCC as being an achievement in itself although, it's the minimum fallback position. If you set low standards you'll achieve low standards, what's the bloody point in that?

Q: Where are City now going to finish?

A: I'm afraid the answers all start with the worlds biggest word. IF!

If we sign two or three quality players.

If we remain reasonably free from injuries & suspensions.

If Brooker comes back fit & firing he'll be like one of those new signings.

I reckon we will make the play offs, at least.

Q; If you picked three City players as being not for sale who would they be?

A; Here's where I differ from some fans. All players are for sale, it just depends on the price-However, based on right now-Carey-Elliott and, after yesterday, Nicky Carle! It's all very well fans saying don't sell Elliott, but what if we're offered £7m?? Liam Fontaine is another player who has come to the party this season along with Basso, however Chris Weale is chomping at the bit and may well get his chance soon.

Q; During the 2005 -2006 season City were getting battered every week and you made some comments that other fans did not see as being supportive. What is your view of the manager now?

A; GJ has my total support. You can't knock his record at City although, if that hand grenade, nine game period (The worst in the cubs entire history) when those poor loans came in to replace better players, who had given him a winning start to his reign, was a deliberate tactic then he sure had me…….and a pile of other people, fooled!

The problem with some people is that they want unconditional support & agreement and I won't give that to anyone. The fact that he's done well does not make him omnipotent and, for example, I thought his substitutions at Palace may well have contributed to our defeat. Not all of his signings have been great and the jury is very much out on his biggest, let's be honest. Those loans were a low point, however, over the piece, his record is right up there and the end may very well justify the means. I really hope it does and wish him all the success in the world while he's our manager.

Q: Have you met Gary Johnson and what was the reception like?

A; I've met him two or three times and we've had a frank exchange of views on occasion. My concern with Gary is that he finds criticism very difficult to take, however constructive or well meaning. That is all very well in the dressing room at BCFC, but it may well preclude him from moving on to a "big job" although the fact that he's English and hasn't managed a Champions League team may very well preclude him from that anyway.

He appears to believe that anyone who disagrees with his view is negative & anti club, almost wanting us to fail and that's just not true. Hearing & debating different opinions at football is all part of the fun and may that debate last forever.

He's very forthright and so am I and I think we were both clear on the others opinion. If you look at the stick Benitez gets-you know the bloke that's won the Champions League & FA Cup, Finished 4th in the Prem and got to the Champions League final-yes, that Benitez, on a daily basis and the scrutiny that Prem League bosses decisions come under every day, he would have to adapt to that, however media savvy he is.

Q: What is the big difference between Wilson's and Johnson's Bristol City's?

A; I think the best football we've played under both managers was in the earlier part of their tenures. Under GJ, I really enjoyed the run in of about twenty one games in his first season, win or lose and even with Bas Savage up front, we kept the ball, passed it and really looked the part. Both managers sacrificed an element of their flowing football to be effective and get results. GJ proved much better at that than DW and is obviously a far stricter disciplinarian, changing both the reputation & culture of our club which was no mean feat after years in the Doldrums. DW's teams always had a softer underbelly and the football we played under DW started well, but declined, culminating in that debacle against Brighton at The Millenium.That was a disgrace and Wilson's comments were wholly inappropriate. I think SL & I are agreed on that, at least

Q: Why do you write so much about BCFC?

A; As with this, I'm asked to and the ST also asked me to put the R&R's on their site. I enjoy it, in the main and, above all, I'm a City Fan!

Q: As a player could you be trusted to pass a ball from one side of the road to the other and do you have any Coaching badges?

A; Yes & Yes. I started life as pacey left winger and represented Bristol Boys Brigade and played in the RAF. As I got older……….and slower, I moved back to left back and centre back next to a big centre half. I picked up quite a bad back injury and started coaching, gaining an FA Coaching Badge through the NABC. I'd love to do the UEFA badge because I appreciate that football's moved on and there's always loads to learn, however, with work commitments, that may not happen until I retire!

Q: You are supportive of the Bristol City supporters trust and write articles for their website. What are your hopes for the trust say in five years time?

A; I don't kid myself that the ST will ever run the club unless we really fall on hard times, however, particularly as the club grows, even becoming a Premier League Club, it may well lose touch with all elements of our fan base and that, regretfully, has already started to happen. The ST, I hope, will become the voice of ALL sections of our support and keep the Board grounded on issues such as pricing and affordability. Fans are the lifeblood of any club-No fans-No football and all too often that's forgotten at worst and at best, it's paid lip service.

Q; This possible new ground. How do you think BCFC will finance this and be able to keep a successful team?

A: It will happen barring major disasters.

In terms of financial investment & planning, I have complete faith in SL and I'd be happy to advise on contractors & supply chain given my background in the Construction Industry….I won't hold my breath waiting to be asked, though!

In simple terms, one would hope that Ashton Gate would be to small, moving forward, if we have any real measure of success. The new ground will need to become the regions major events venue and there's no reason why it can't earn revenue all year round, not just with football. The old ground means a lot to me and it'll be a wrench to go, but I'm afraid that's progress and a price worth paying for success.

Q: You made a round trip of two hundred miles plus to attend a meeting to discuss reopening the East End but were never going to use this stand. Why did you attend and has the East End lived up to your expectations?

A; I've always made it clear that I prefer to watch football seated and from around the half way line, so I didn't attend out of self interest. It's just a better view of both halves from where I sit in The Dolman. However, there are a large number of people who prefer to stand and football, like all other business's MUST listen to its customers and give them want they want-Safe Standing-Not a return to terracing.

I was asked to attend and my belief is that City should be mould breaking and cater for those who wish to stand in a safe standing, singing area, at the new stadium. In purely selfish terms I don't want people standing in front of me and blocking my view ala the early leavers in The Dolman-People with truly wonderful homes! Actually, the problem with the early leavers is that they don't leave early they just stand in front of other people who remain seated and City's attempts at stewarding this problem last week were anonymous, shambolic and possibly dangerous.

In terms of the EE, less fans than I thought bought ST's however, given the position of those seats and the area allocated to away supporters, that's not a surprise and I don't feel the club wants the EE to work seeing it as a nuisance as opposed to an opportunity. It has made for a better atmosphere and the "incidents" have been very minimal. Home fans should be at both ends of a new stadium.

In terms of bad behaviour, ban those who can't behave, don't penalise the ones who do. If I'm caught speeding on the M32 they don't close the motorway and ban driving on it, they fine me and move on!!

Q: You know a lot of well known City fans who are into watching England abroad. Any appeal in it to you?

A; Not really. I'm a proud Bristolian & Englishman and I'd love to see our National team do well. I remember the World Cup in '66 and I could still name the team off the top of my head (Anorak!!) However, at the end of Eriksson tenure and for most of my old mate Steve Maclarens, it wasn't great to watch, particularly away and whilst I watch it on TV, I've no great desire to travel and give up the holidays abroad I have. Work commitments also come into it and given the fact that it costs a bomb to follow the City around the CCC, I can't retire for a few more years yet!!

Now the finale and the really big questions.

Q; Is Steve Phillips a Weirdo?.

A; Steve has one great problem. He says what he actually thinks and that just won't do in this media savvy culture. I imagine he's kicking himself for falling out with GJ-But you know what, knowing Steve, he'd do it again if the same thing happened again tomorrow! He committed the cardinal sin, disagreeing with GJ.

Q; Ruby or Stacy?

A: Both

Q; Blackthorn or Strongbow?

A; Both

Q: Ice in cider! Is this 100% gayer?

A: Ice is for soft drinks……except in the States where they put it in just about BLOODY everything, including the food!