Blackadder’s Baldrick, a Bristol City fan, could be the unlikely mastermind behind the team’s remarkable run of form which could culminate in promotion to the Premiership.
City are five games away from a second successive promotion in as many years and actor Tony Robinson, who played the accident-prone, idiot servant Baldrick (pictured above) in the BBC comedy series Blackadder and now fronts Channel Four’s TimeTeam, thinks he knows why.“For 28 years I had a season ticket for Bristol City,” said Robinson. “For the last two years I haven’t had one and I think my negative act has been responsible for our promotion to the Championship and form this year, alongside Gary Johnson’s tactics.
“28 years, and the moment I don’t buy one the team improves beyond recognition.”But City fan Robinson won’t be deterred from buying a season ticket in the summer if the club are promoted.
He said: “I will have to buy one if they go up. I’ll pass it on to friends at Christmas if I’ve jinxed the results and they look like going down.”
His involvement aside, he thinks the fans have played a key part in City’s success this season. “The last game I was at was the away match at Charlton. When we went 1-0 down the fans didn’t whinge, they simply got behind the team and we equalised. They were exemplary. The players react to that kind of support. It was a very moving moment.
“I think there are some teams whose fans always tend to whinge a bit, like Fulham, or Spurs. Whether it’s part of the DNA of being a Bristolian or not I don’t know.”
Another key to City’s success in Robinson’s opinion is manager Gary Johnson and the team ethic he has instilled in the Robins. “We tended to be one of those clubs that if we were trailing with 20 minutes to go we would panic, hoof the ball up and get most of the players into the box in the hope of scrambling an equaliser.
“Now, Gary has created a much more creative and positive team. They keep on playing football, right to the final whistle.
“The perfect example of this is the Norwich game where we kept on playing and got the winner in injury time. What a team finish.“You can’t single out a player for us this season. It’s a team thing. If you look at the goals scored, it’s people who have come off the bench.”
Like any other fan Robinson has been doing the maths on City’s run in and is confident the Ashton Gate faithful could be watching the likes of Manchester United next season.
He said: “My son and I have spent the most of the morning looking at the fixtures for the top five teams and I’m convinced there are other teams with tougher run ins. If we keep our heads and play the way Gary wants us to, then we should do it.”
OTHER FAMOUS FANS
Gareth Chilcott
Former Bath and England rugby legend Gareth Chilcott (pictured left) is a regular at Ashton Gate and has high hopes for his “beloved” City.“I believe they can go up. A lot of people have been slagging them off but they’ve been magnificent.I do worry about our goal difference, we haven’t been winning as many games as we could have.
“When you think about all the points we have dropped we could have been nine clear at the top.“They’ve definitely provided their money’s worth this season. We went up from League One expecting just to stay up.
“If we do go up again, and I believe we will, we have got to be realistic, take the millions and consolidate.“The league speaks for itself, you cannot criticise Gary Johnson at all. He’s done a great job and can take us further.”
Pete Budd
The Wurzels' front-man Pete Budd (pictured left) was watching City years before Chilcott was even born and remembers being on his Dad’s shoulders at Ashton Gate, aged eight, 60 years ago.“I never thought it would be as it is. I think we are playing the best football we ever have.“I used to go when I was a little lad. It’s a different game now. The players are a lot fitter, the ball is a lot lighter. They look like a real football team now.
“I would love to see them go up but I would hate to see them flounder.They’re not there yet so I don’t want to predict anything.
“They have got great management and I’m sure they will do it. My dad would have been chuffed.“It’s like having a hit record for a second time. If they go into the play offs they will still do it. They’ve got a lot of fight that team.”
Marcus Trescothick
Somerset and former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick (pictured left) missed City’s last stay in the top flight in the late 70s but is an honoury vice-president of the club and crossing his fingers for a return to the top tier.“It’s crunch-time now and I particularly fear West Brom as they are able to step up a gear when they want to.“Whatever happens it is a fantastic achievement and I just hope they can hold their nerve.
“The last time City were relegated from the top division I was five years old so it would be wonderful to see them compete at the highest level. For me, personally, it will be nice to see them play in the Premiership against the top teams as I was too young last time round to remember it.”
Mark Watson
Bristolian comedian Mark Watson (pictured left) may be currently on tour Down Under but he's still checking up on City’s progress and is hoping his next gig in at the Colston Hall on October 4 will coincide with Premiership football at Ashton Gate.“Logically we should run out of steam, but logic has played no part in the insane events of this season.
“I still think play-offs looks the most likely outcome, but then I'm an extreme pessimist and I've only just started to admit to myself that we were promoted last season.”
“I thought Johnson was a great appointment from the outset, even when we lost nine games in a row (luckily, I'm on record as having said this), because of his record with Yeovil.
“But what he's achieved over the past two years is truly spectacular. He deserves to be Manager Of The Year regardless of what happens from now on.
“Marvin Elliott has been my player of the season. Probably the least hyped summer signing, he ended up being the most crucial one.
“Stoke is obviously our toughest remaining game, in theory, but we tend to raise our game on the big occasion; it's the winnable games I worry about.
“I can see Wolves being tricky as they're still in the play-off race and they're exactly the sort of nasty outfit who could ruin things.
“I still have nightmares about when Wolves beat us 6-1 at the Gate and our mascot fought with theirs, and it was on Sky News. Great days for the club.
“It's been a truly amazing season, the best I've witnessed in twenty-two years of supporting City. I just hope, if we do miss out, we can build upon this and become a long-term force in the Championship."
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