Liverpool legend gives Bristol 2018 World Cup bid hope

In the days when Liverpool didn't lose at home, Bristol City caused a dramatic FA Cup upset.

Now the city as a whole hopes to create similar headlines by earning a place in England's 2018 World Cup bid – something their football fans probably deserve according to Liverpool legend John Barnes.

Bristol submitted its case at Wembley this week to be part of the England bid and Barnes, who is now a Vice President for the England 2018 team, was on hand to greet the delegation which travelled across from the West Country.

"I've been to Bristol before, played at Rovers and City and seen how passionate the fans are down there," Barnes told the Evening Post on the Wembley pitch.

"The same can be said for all the bid cities but also the cities that aren't even bidding. And that for me is what the World Cup is all about.

"The fervour of the fans all over the country."

In some quarters the West has been dismissed as outside the traditional heartlands of football.

But, as the FA will discover on reading Bristol's meaty submission, the area is awash with enthusiasm for the game at every level and has a remarkable number of first-class facilities to host the World's finest players and the fans that follow them.

From Glastonbury to the Bristol Balloon Fiesta it has also shown it is more than capable of throwing the best bash possible for hundreds of thousands of people.

And it is blessed with a fan-fest site to die for in Ashton Court, a football kick away from the proposed new stadium in Ashton Vale, which is now classed as a "low risk" build by the FA after Bristol City Council agreed it was 'minded to approve' planning permission for the project.

For Barnes though, one memory of Bristol stands out from all else.

Sporting a fetching purple shirt and green shorts, Bristol City's Brian Tinnion checked his forward run to receive the ball on the edge of the Liverpool box.

Time stood still as he swung his left peg and curled the ball perfectly past the outstretched Bruce Grobbelaar. Scoreline: Liverpool 0 Bristol City 1.

"We drew down in Bristol and we were supposed to bring them back up, Bristol City, to give them a good spanking in the FA Cup," recalled Barnes, laughing at the assumption Liverpool would outclass their lower league opposition.

"But of course Brian Tinnion had other ideas," he added.

Tinnion did indeed. Ian Rush had come close to breaking City hearts in the Third Round replay at Anfield but somehow scooped the ball over the bar from two yards.

Liverpool keeper Grobbelaar also escaped a red card for handling outside the area as luck seemed to favour the home side.

Winterbourne United will be hoping the veteran keeper doesn't do the same when he makes a guest appearance in goal for their Gloucestershire FA Trophy tie against Patchway Town next weekend.

The result went City's way though and the generation of 1994 were forever bound to follow the Robins as a result.

If selected as part of England's bid, the arrival of World Cup football in Bristol will ensure more generations are drawn to their local clubs, Bristol City and Bristol Rovers, as media attention on the city's participation reaches every corner of society and ensures the game continues to beat strong in the South West.

"Anybody can support Liverpool or Manchester United when they are doing well," explained Barnes. "But to go to Crewe, Stockport, Tranmere, places like that where you have 4,000 people, not winning football matches, but they are there. Passionate about their club and about football, and that is the essence of football."

The England 2018 team will decide on December 16 which of the 15 applicant cities to include in England's bid.

You can back Bristol by texting BRISTOL to 62018 or register your support on the FA site via www.bristol2018.net.