City to honour Atyeo

Last updated : 17 November 2008 By Smallsy
THE Bristol City supporters club have begun a fundraising scheme to honour former player John Atyeo, which if successful would mean that a statue of the former Robin would be built outside the new Ashton Vale stadium.

The official website reports that a survey by the trust revealed that 80% of supporters believe a stature should be constructed outside the new ground and around 70% of opinion believe that Atyeo should be the player honoured.

Atyeo made 647 appearances for City scoring 350 goals while his record at international level was five goals in just six appearences. A stand at Ashton Gate is named after him but Stuart Rogers, chair of the Trust said the intention is to 'pay further tribute to City's greatest ever player,

"As Bristol City continues to take bold steps to a promising future, it is important that we also keep in touch with the club's roots," he told the official website,

The size of the sculpture will depend on the amount of money raised. We're setting ourselves the target of raising £100,000 by summer 2011. The Trust already has £15,000 earmarked for the statue, and we call on all City fans to contribute."

Steve Lansdown has already been in discussions with the trust and agreed that money raised by the Trust for the statue will be invested in Shares and the club will then use the money to commission the statue. He said,

"The Supporters Trust survey showed there is a demand from supporters to have a statue at the new stadium, and John Atyeo is the clear favourite with fans for that.

"John Atyeo is arguably the most famous player in the club's history and the Trust's decision to raise funds for a statue in memory of him comes with the full blessing of the club.

"With the new stadium being a capital project, plus the ongoing funding of the team, we couldn't envisage building in costs of a statue on top, so I'm delighted the Trust and our supporters are willing to take on the fundraising for this project."

Visit the official site for details of how you can donate money.