Gerry Sweeney with his City award (Image: Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images) We are never so impressionable as when we are young. Early devotions stay with us like first love, never forgotten. He was a boyhood hero from the moment I saw him, with his curly mop of blonde hair, Bristol accent and immaculate moustache of a Victorian cad. I don’t think any player would want to be in a position where to say you either agree or this football club is gone. They don’t want to be a pawn in a political game, they just want to play football.

A rare Clive Whitehead goal early in the game on 20 April 1976 clinched the Portsmouth victory, who belied their already relegated status by putting up a mighty struggle, before Bristol City clinched their long awaited return to the top division of English football. However, in the words of Match of the Day commentator Jonathan Pearce, who worked for BBC Radio Bristol in 1982, the players had "absolutely no choice" but to surrender their contracts. I don’t know how well the Arsenal thing would have gone but I’d always regret not being involved in City’s promotion. Pearson has said previously he likes defenders who relish their role in the team, stifling the opposition.Their promotion, confirmed by a nervous home 1-0 win over Portsmouth, was no less than the team deserved; as they had been the outstanding side throughout that 1975/76 season and proof positive that a successful team did not need superstars to shine.

It's a huge step and a great turnout. It's a great friendly atmosphere here. It's really well run and they've got the success they've deserved and built on it. All the people involved are very, very genuine." And when we take a walk around the pitch on Saturday, I'm sure my eyes will fill up with tears and it will be very emotional. As hard as it was to leave the way I did, nothing will ever top the feeling of beating Portsmouth to win promotion,” he said. We felt the board were trying to put the onus on us. It’s the board that ran the club and they didn’t do it right and when that happens things are going to go wrong and that’s what happened.At the end of the day we've been looking to become a Western League Club - the first one in Nailsea and it's for the community. That's the ethic of the club, we're trying to do something here for the community to get good football here.