*I said when SOD was appointed back in January he was the latest mug in line who will affect a 'new manager' upturn from these players for a while and that they would then revert to type! Exactly what happened! This is very, very simple. The players weren't good enough. We can all see we have needed central defenders for at least 3 years nothing happened! The failure to recruit quality central defenders is the reason we have been relegated, you can blame as many managers as you like, most of us can read between the lines from the managers public statements that despite their desire to recruit these players the money just wasn't there. OK we cant keep spending etc, but this failure to invest has cost us our championship status. Before someone says "yeah but hasn't SL spent enough?" Maybe, but Before I bought my ST last season I was told "We are ambitious, We are aiming top 2" What happened to that?
Agree with everything you say Banksy, i still say both managers hands were tied when it came to recruiting two central defenders, if we were as ambitious as aiming for a top two place, no doubt we would have done the business, money talks, and we don't have any, at least not for the Championship.
AD's right, we didn't have the money to stay in the championship. You might argue McInnes spent it wrongly on Davies and Baldock but that's history. AD - Think Carey's been injured up to the last few games. 'Take Kilkenny for example, **** in the Championship but I actually think he would be a huge asset to have in League One' Never in a million years, the moaning bas*ard is **** in any league. And as proved against Birmingham - Kelly, Anderson and Kilkenny should NEVER start together. Girls.
"You might argue McInnes spent it wrongly on Davies and Baldock but that's history" Trouble is We weren't exactly scoring for fun last season, to get them in within the boards wage structure was a no brainer! (Baldock isn't on 19k a week as I heard a rumour yesterday!) Mckinnes said in an interview He was able to sign them both within the limits imposed on him. I agree it may have been better to take just one and spend a little more on a CD. but we don't know the circumstances, we were linked with plenty of defenders but couldn't complete the deals?
I don't know about Kilkenny, I'm probably one of his biggest critics and never had a good thing to say about him. But talking to Leeds fans who said he was great for them in League one but dog **** in the championship. Maybe he might be good, but I don't feel comfortable in taking that chance with him. I say horse him out of our club as soon as this season finishes. Liam Kelly is a lot better than you give credit too Redprint but to be truthful you rate Marv so I won't take your opinion on anyone apart from Kilkenny thanks Anderson is lightweight I said so earlier on in the season when everyone was shouting down Del for not playing him and Albert together. But what Anderson does well at on form he is a live wire and players struggle to keep up with him going forward, so I think he will be good for us next season. To me Anderson is like Bolasie and we were all wrong on that one. Baldock, I get pissed off with on this one because he was offered to us on money owed that we would of just got back now!! At the time it looked like a bargin.
I remember on talksport mciness said he didn't have the financial backing to buy defenders.. Simple as he bought wrong, bought in the likes of Wilson and morris, not to mention ricky foster.
Anderson is nothing like bolasie. Bolasie had flair and a lot of skill to his game. Anderson is a solid hard working winger. Can put in a good cross and will score a few.
'we don't know the circumstances' - is the important bit, we'll never know. Me, I find it hard to believe (Banksy, I'm trying) that we couldn't have afforded a decent CH if McInnes had only bought 1 striker. 'Liam Kelly is a lot better than you give credit too Redprint' - He isn't the worst and I'm hopeful he'll do ok in L1. But he found it bloody difficult playing without Marv against Birmingham. Kelly isn't strong enough to carry Anderson and Kilkenny but to be fair not even Yaya Toure could carry those two.
Kelly will definitely need an all action ball winner alongside to him to see the best of him. I cant think of many successful players who have come to us who settled in straight away (Tinnion being a prime example) I will judge him next season when he's had a few games.
"Me, I find it hard to believe (Banksy, I'm trying) that we couldn't have afforded a decent CH if McInnes had only bought 1 striker" Mckinnes has probably said the same to himself at one time! trouble is we live in a hindsight world where its all so easy to stack it all up after. He may have been given the impression that they would both be good signings, get them in, while the opportunity arises? LAN mentions the Marc Wilson signing! I can distinctly remember him hesitating over signing him, saying he's just training with us at the moment, I am sure Del thought he could get better. I also remember a lot of the fans saying "sign him up" a Celtic full back, he must be decent? what we waiting for? Pity we cant sack some of the fans...
The biggest home truth is that we have lived on false and broken promises for way too long. How come we as spectators can see all the problems on the pitch and yet nothing, repeat nothing, was done to address the issues and using lack of funding as an excuse doesn't sit well with me. The only reason that lack of funding comes up time and time again is down to all the wasted money thrown out the door by incompetent managers and board of directors and we need to face that sad fact. So many things about BCFC are all wrong and don't meed the major factor in providing a successful football club and that is financial competence when spending the bosses money. If I had been Steve Lansdown during these troubled times I would have headed down to the Gate and fired everybody, without compensation, due to their obvious lack knowledge of what is expected to run a football club. Kick ass Steve and don't entertain the lame excuses we've been hearing from your employees. Fed up doesn't even begin to explain my frustration of the events at Ashton Gate for the last 4 years.
Mike I know your disappointed we all are, but re read your comment and think for a minute. Then you might grasp the fact that Steve Lansdown is doing those things you are bleating about. He has put his son in charge and said you will do it like this from now on. Going on about the past is the past and we can't change it. We go forward now we SL saying we will not be spunking his money no more, he wants us to be self sufficient and that is producing our own if that takes a few years then so be it. We will be like a phoenix raising from the ashes. If we are impatient then that's our fault but this is how it's going to be from now on. The only way the club makes money is by us paying to go to games. Simple really we lived on hand ours from SL now let's get behind the team and support the club by doing what we can and that's paying through the turnstiles.
It might take more than one season to rebuild the team we shouldn't expect it to be a cake walk in Division One although we will be one of the bigger fish in the pond but that also has the effect of other teams raising their game against us. I have a feeling that Sean and his team have been looking at players for next season already probably two different sets of players one if we had managed the Great Escape and the other if we did the Morris dance down the plug hole. We are likely to lose more players than we keep those out of contract and any of those players in contract who want to leave provided we get reasonable fees for them then thats fair enough. I just hope that we get rather fewer 'sicknote' than we seem to have had in the last few years some injuries are unlucky but we do seem to have had rather a lot of them. It is about time that our scouting network managed to find some gems from the 'non leagues' and Div one two and Blue square other teams seem to manage to do it why have we consistantly failed? John Akinde looked the part but was less prolific than Heskey on a bad day, the players we need are out there we have to find them either as youngsters that we can train up or as players who have missed the cut as an 16/17 year old but started to develop later the question is can we find them before other teams do. I have said before our scouting network has been really poor for years now even the Gas have done a better job it's time our scouts had their arses kicked and got told to start doing their jobs.
That would appear to be the reason why we got Keith Burt (ex Forest) in recently to head up the recruitment team. We'll all be able to judge his value to City during the coming summer when a turnover in players will probably happen like never before.
I understand your comments ROD and yes I know the past is in the past and nothing we can do will ever change those facts but how many more times do we have to hear the same old addages about our future and the steps that must be taken to improve our lot. My comment was never intended to bring the Lansdowns in to a bad light, but rather I wish the millions that have disappeared could have been put to better use then they have been. This next season is a pivotal point in the history of BCFC and I just hope there is someone who can get it right this time because our past in that respect is very poor. Maybe the drastic rebuilding and branding of the team is just what we need and let's all hope we can see an improvement in attitude from the last 4 years.
As an afterthought I believe the statement about the team having to be self sufficient came about 2 years ago and then looked what happened. Wasn't that around the same time that Coppell headed for the hills?
Like others I was happy when Coppell was appointed having looked at his record but started getting worried almost immediately when he disappeared off to do media work almost as soon as he was appointed. But this is all in the past now looking back and trying to second guess what could have been done differently isn't going to help now we have to look forward as many said here when S O'D was appointed it looked as if he would be starting from Division One next season and they were right, I had hoped that he might have been able to turn things arround but then the City Injury jinx struck and that was that no one will ever know if things might have turned out differently but hey ho thats life and we have to deal with what has happened and get on with it. I for one will try and remain optimistic about the future, because as my father once said to me 'Pesamists might be right more often but they live miserable lives' So I look forward to next seasons fixture list and seeing which games I will be able to get to.
Sir Lansdown has stated for MANY years that we need to be self sufficient, that has always been his ultimate aim as he won't keep sticking his hand in his pocket ad infinitum. THIS IS WHY the new stadium has been such a priority as even full every week, AG with its current capacity cannot finance the wages of a decent NPC side so it is an absolute MUST if we are to progress.... IMHO, he never took his eye off the ball as some have accused him of - SL has the funds to try and move the team forward AND get the new stadium done and had we stayed up, we still would have been on the right track, especially with the turnover in players expected in the summer however we didn't so, We start again....
Well said Mike. There are a lot of clubs that are doing a lot better than we are, and with less money, resources, or one of the richest men in football in charge. It ain't rocket science to see where the issues are.
