The Big Dicks Incider Interview

City’s former manager Alan Dicks took Bristol City to the promised land in the 1970s. Here he talks about his 13 years at the club, the players he signed, his decision to sign our stars on long-term contracts which many believe led to the club’s disaster in 1982 – and reveals the current City players he rates highly.

How did you come to leave Coventry and manage City?

I was at Coventry with Jimmy Hill. We had a terrific run from the Third Division to the First. He was the manager, I was the assistant manager and coach and also played in the reserves bringing on the young lads. It got to a point where Jimmy wouldn’t sign a long-term contract and told me he was going into television. So at that stage I had a three-year contract but Jimmy said they didn’t want to take me as full-time manager because they wanted to get a bigger name. At that stage I wasn’t a name in the game or anything. But he said: “Bristol City are looking for a manager. Fred Ford has just left the club.”

I was at Reading and lo and behold, I’m sitting behind Fred Ford. He said to me, “Ah, you’re getting the job down at Bristol City.” I said, “You what?” because I had not been down and seen anybody at that stage. He said they were talking about me coming down as manager. He said, “Jimmy Hill has set it up with Harry Dolman.” Fred was such a nice guy and there was no way I would have taken it if he was still there, but he said he had already gone and there was no problem. So I actually got it without applying for it.

What did you know about Bristol City at that stage?

Very little. I came and played Bristol City as a schoolboy for South London Schoolboys and we got tanned 3-1, and I think I came down in the Combination with Chelsea, but those were the only times I had been here.

What was your impression of the club when you arrived? Did it have the basis for promotion at that time?

When I first came, it was the October and we were down in the bottom of the league. For the first four years, it was always a scrap for survival. You just had to build and build and build. The potential of the city itself was huge. It’s such a big city and you always wonder why it hasn’t gained the kind of Premier League status it should have. We battled away. The first year we had an epic battle with Bristol Rovers in the cup. I was very lucky because we never lost against Bristol Rovers in my 13 years there. It was a very enjoyable time, except for the first couple of years, when I was on tenterhooks.

Which players did you rate when you arrived?

Chris Garland was the up and coming player. The first thing that caught your eye with him was his hair! But in training, I always remember he went down the wing and crossed it with his right foot and I thought, “Oh, he’s right footed.” Then he went down the left side and crossed it on his left foot.

Gerry Sharpe was always one with a lot of flair and a lot of pace. He was hot and cold at the time, though. One minute he would play well and then next he wouldn’t. Ken Wimshurst and John Galley I rated too.

What sort of a manager were you – a disciplinarian or more easy-going?

I liked to have a laugh. If the players stepped out then there was a problem. There was one incident was when we were in Holland and a boy stepped out of line which probably shouldn’t become public because it involves people still in the game now. But I fined everyone involved.

I was easy to get on with. I didn’t like people cheating on the field or lying to you in training. Keith Fear’s brother was one. He hadn’t turned up for two days and the coach said, “Fear’s not been in and I want you to talk to him.” I said, “Well what did he do?” He said, “He’s been away. We’ve heard he has been at the local fair.” He walked in and I said, “I’m very disappointed in you. Your brother is showing a professional attitude but you’re not. I’m going to fin you £5.” So he asked me when I wanted him to pay and I say by the end of the week. He had gone five minutes and he walked back in. He had obviously gone in to see his brother and got it off him. He brought the fiver in and said in a cocky way, “There’s your money.” I said, “Well come with me.” I took him to the toilet, tore it up, put it down the toilet, pulled the chain and said, “That’s how much I think of it. You’ve got to realise that you can’t do things like that and stay at the club.” He was young and played in the youth side but he never made it as a pro like Keith.

Who was the best signing you made?

At the top level it was Norman Hunter. Norman gave us so much quality when he came here. I always remember speaking to Ron Greenwood when Bristol City played an England side for a testimonial. Norman played for England and Ron came up afterwards and said: “You know, I never knew Norman had so much skill.” His left foot was magic. He could go off his right, but his left was amazing and he was such a competitor.

Was there anyone you thought wouldn’t make it who did?

Well I let a few go! Colin Lee went from us and ended up at Tottenham. We did have a £25,000 knock-on fee, so at least we got that. But I didn’t think he would make it. He was playing at the back here and he was a little bit too leggy in those days. But he went up front and just had an eye for goal. He struck the ball very well and before I knew it he was down at Tottenham.

Mark McGhee was another. But I had Kevin Mabbutt, Shaun Penney and him. Mabbutt was scoring for us and was one of the most chased-after young players of the time, and we had got him. And then Penney was another international, so we kept those two and let McGhee go. Unfortunately, Mabbutt had an injury which stopped his career and McGhee went off to Hamburg and became a really top notch player. You just have to talk to your staff and make a decision with what you’ve got at that time. Sometimes your players don’t rise to the occasion and others do. It’s like buying a player in. You never know whether they can raise their game.

It’s just like Bristol City’s Second Division players now. Hopefully we are looking forward to going into the First Division, but can they raise their game to that level? That’s a question that no-one can answer until they see it. Everyone believes they can but when the test comes, there are those that make it and those that fall back.

What was it during your time that enabled the club to make the leap into the top flight ?

Well we had continuity. I had a lot of Bristol boys. Ray Cashley the goalkeeper, Collier, David Rodgers, Brian Drysdale, Trevor Tainton, Paul Cheesley, Chris Garland. We also had a few Scottish lads. But the trick was keeping them together. We had a great run against Tottenham in the League Cup. We reached the semi-final and lost in extra time and that helped. But it was just slow, progressive work when you cannot buy players in who are in the top echelon. We used to buy players who had to do a job for us.

I bought John Galley for £27,000 from Rotherham and he still had a plaster on his leg! I had been chasing Galley and we got him early in the week. I was in the boardroom and the directors were asking: “I presume Galley is playing on Saturday?” I said: “No, he’s not. He’s got his leg in plaster.” You should have seen the look on their faces. Then we went to Huddersfield, he came out of plaster and scored three goals in his first game. It wasn’t really a risky buy because he was such a goal-scorer.

I knew I needed to get a striker of that quality so I got on to his manager, Tommy Docherty. We talked about £22,000, and then it went up to £23,000 and £25,000. Then he said, “You can have him for £27,000.” I said, “Tommy, you’ve just put another two and a half thousand on him!” He said, “You can have him for £27,000 now or not at all.” I put the phone down, left it 20 minutes and then went back and paid the money. And Galley saved us that year, there’s no doubt about it. He got 17 goals and kept us in the Second Division.

City have built an Academy now and a lot of boys are coming out of there and playing in the first team, so there is a similarity starting to show.

Who do you rate at the moment in the team?

They have still got to prove themselves in the First Division. But they are young and if they can take on board how to build on their strengths, they can go far. Scott Murray may not be there next year but he gets goals. Can he score goals in the next division up? We’ll have to wait and see but he certainly has a flair in front of goal and he has got pace.

Roberts has got pace but I think he needs to gain experience because he’s young. Peacock runs and works hard up front. I don’t know if he can raise his game, but the strike force is quite solid and we’re among the highest goalscorers in the division, so that side of it is good.

In the midfield, I think we need a little bit more culture. Both the central midfielders are hard-working lads. Burnell is very basic and more of a defender than a midfielder but does a very good job of breaking it up. But I feel for City to go forwards we need a class above that in terms of delivery. Out of four passes, I would say four were going astray, which is not good enough.

At the back, Tony Butler lacks pace but is solid. There’s no doubt about it, he delivers the ball well and he is quite cultured. He does add composure to the team at the back. He gets it down and gets the ball rolling to feet rather than thumping it away or heading it away. If you get it down to play, then you can start the moves, which City have been doing. He does get caught out a little bit for pace sometimes, but he impresses me and of course he has proved himself at First Division level.

There are lots of pluses but you just need to avoid the injuries. I sometimes wonder if players stretch too much these days. Everyone stretches as if it’s the be all and end all. We used to warm up with a hot cup of tea in the ‘50s. Obviously it’s a proven fact that you have to stretch, but I wonder if you can overdo it. There are so many breakdowns now at the top level because of the demand on the players.

What was the one game that sticks in your mind?

Not many people will remember it. We played at Charlton Athletic and this was the first year, and if we didn’t win we were relegated. To me the Charlton game was a more important game than the Leeds win in the long run. It kept me in a job. I was very young in those days and it was important to keep our Division Two status. We had got to a position where we were 2-1 with 20 minutes to go. I can’t remember who scored but I was in the stand because I didn’t sit in the dugout and I tried to walk down. I was so nervous I lost control of the muscles in my legs. My legs were like rubber. I’d never experienced that before. Success never put that pressure on you. But we won it 2-1 in the end.

And of course, the Coventry game was unbelievable too.

Do you take any of the blame for 1982? Looking back now would you have done anything differently?

In 1982 I had been gone a year and a half. Some of those boys who walked up into that tribunal I never even signed. The ones I signed and gave long contracts to, well they sold Tom Ritchie for £150,000, Gerry Gow for £170,000, Kevin Mabbutt for something else. Three or four of them were sold off. Geoff Merrick I didn’t give an extended contract to.

I reacted to Collier going to Coventry. The Monday morning after the season ended, he came in to get his cup final ticket. I told him not to sell it because we’d fine him £100 if he did, because we had all the problem with players selling tickets in those days. He said, “All right boss, I’ll see you at nine o’clock in the morning.” At 12 o’clock I got a call from Gordon Milne, the manager of Coventry. He said, “I’ve got Gary Collier here and I’m going to sign him under freedom of contract.” I said, “Hold on a minute, he was only in my office two hours ago. May I speak to him?” And he said, “No, he doesn’t want to speak to you.” We were the first club to get a fee for that from a tribunal. We got £350,000 for him from the tribunal. But I decided that we were not going to let the best players go. I signed them because I knew you could always sell your better players. I gave other players four or five years and made sure we tied them up. Unfortunately we went down and I left. Then we went down again and down again. On the way down they had the problems. You live and learn in life. You look back and there are certain players you wouldn’t keep, but I signed all the better players to 35 because that was the time they might retire. And they all signed up in no time. I had a £50 status fee for going up, so when they came down they all lost that, but no-one talked about that.

Do you still go and watch City?

Yes, I go to all the games. I go in the boardroom and they make me very welcome. I feel quite privileged to be able to go back.

Do you have any involvement in the game?

I’m working with the Premier League doing a bit of monitoring. I go and see Academies in the area and check them out at places like Aston Villa, Birmingham, Coventry, West Brom. I go and see that the parents can park, there are refreshments, the dressing rooms are clean and tidy and secure, the referees are okay and qualified and that they coach in an acceptable manner. I am not there to check the way I play but I look at the general standard of the Academies. But I do see a tremendous opportunity for young players to play at a level that I never had. We played in the street. Now they are playing from the age of nine. It really is pure football when you see nine-year-olds play. I watched a game the other day with Alan Walsh. We were laughing because nine-year-olds wouldn’t know how to kick anyone else if they tried, but they go after the ball and their skills are very good. They roll the ball back, move the ball out from under them. It’s great to watch.

I also play golf. I feel I need to get involved in the game of football again. I don’t want to be out there training because I can’t show players any more how to chip or pass but I still have something to give. If not, I’m quite happy because I’ve been in the game 50 years. I can’t grumble.