Is it just me?

This is what i have mentioned in earlier threads, the con is on! hover around the play offs, good cup run in the JPT and kerching! club laughing all the way to the bank! I am more and more convinced that the relegation was planned and desired by the movers and shakers at the gate, lets be a bigger fish in a smaller pond!! the fans are fickle so lets lower our outgoings, keep prices much the same (5% reduction is an insult afetr two seasons of crap) if we flatter to decieve we can expect gates of at least 10k...................................................common someone tell me I am being paranoid!!

 

OK You're a Parrotnoid did that make you feel better?

 

Yes you are and no you are not. I wonder how much truth there is in the statement "the relegation was planned"

We've always been a "big fish in that little pond" and I have my doubts that we will ever be any different. But then, I am definitely a "Half full" person and "Always believe" for me is to add the words "that if Bristol City can mess up, they will!"

I'm trying to be positive for next season but when the player drain starts in July and through into August, we'll all find it hard to believe positive things will happen this season.

 

Sorry but in no way was the relegation planned.

As for finances, we lost £14m last year and we have to do something about that.

I too support Bristol City FC rather than individuals, but I think for the first time in a few years the Board (with the support of a decent manager) seem to have a plan - this is a plan with no "quick fixes", but one with, I acknowledge, some short term pain to get us back on the right track.

I've got over the disappointment of relegation and am looking forward to seeing our club start to flourish - I honestly believe they are doing the right thing

 

I think the pain could be well worth it in the long run I still think it might be harder to get out of this division this year than a lot of people seem to think as we are likely to have a lot of new players in the team and that could mean we might struggle early doors but I expect us to start playing 'better' and 'better more joined up football' as the season progresses. What we still lack is the steel spine Goalkeeper, If we do get Fielding, is supposedly a good shot stopper but does not command his area. Flint by all accounts does dominate the area so that helps but we need to see who he plays alongside. Midfield we are still lightweight and we do not have a Goal scoring striker yet, My worry about Baldock and Davies is simple they are going to get clattered a lot more in this division how many games are they going to be fit for if they both stay? Ryan Taylor for all his youth and lack of goals so far might be better suited to L1 football as he wouldn't be adverse to dishing out the rough stuff back, and that could be the making of him as if he can get some goals early on we might see a better player develop.

 

I did say "I wonder if" rather than "YES it was planned". Maybe in the short term, it is the best thing for us as to continue struggling in the Championship with low crowds for that league and very high wages for very average players was crippling us.

I got over relegation even before it was actually confirmed, well I've been there many times before in my 63 years supporting city.

And I am becoming more optimistic with all I hear about the Academy, the Category Two decision, the Community Team and the current management appears to be perfectly in tune with the New Vision outlined by the Board.
I'm still a bit more wary than some of our posters here on Not606 about being very optimistic that we will go back up this season. History and experience tell me that it will be a bit longer than one season.

I know some are still wary of the Club, claiming that they are not actually being more open with us, but the Club seems to be genuinely trying to change the way things are done at Bristol City.

I'll keep supporting My Local Team because at my time of life it is not at all easy to make such a momentous decision about changing one's religion!

 

Dont think it was planned as that would be unfair to other clubs, but I do feel that it was allowed to happen. That said, if it was planned, why sack McInnes as his form at the time was taking us there quite easily.
I try to think that the board for once are actually ahead of the game with FFP-They do appear to have grasped the nettle quite quickly on this one and I can see some clubs ignoring it and doing a Portsmouth going forward.

 

I am beginning to get the impression that SL, suddenly or over a short period of time, came to realise that the way he had run the club for the last five years prior to last season, was not going to achieve to things he, and all City fans, wanted for us.

So I think you've hit the nail right on the head by saying it was allowed to happen. Relegation is a traumatic event for any football club, but with the significant changes in financial operating that are now slotting into place, at least relegation is accelerating the clear out of underperforming and overpaid players who have clearly not given 100% of effort for 100% of match time.

I consider that one or two steps backwards, will allow us to go forward more positively and WHEN we get back to the Championship, with either a new stadium or a rebuilt Ashton Gate, a younger and hungrier squad, an Academy that will be producing quality footballers on a regular basis, that it will be as a serious player in that league, rather than as immediate relegation fodder.

 

Based on what Lansdown saved just on tax this year alone, we can afford to make those loses for another decade.

However, I'm really worried that after all this time the club continues to make such a huge loss, considering we were never exactly throwing around cash like Cardiff City were during their free-spending days. Some point towards Ashton Vale, but the club is clearly moving away from that now so if the board allowed so much debt to be racked up for absolutely nothing then it's farcical that they should be allowed to keep going.

I also believe that relegation was planned, mainly to keep costs down and to enforce a spending cap. If that theory is correct I think it is very likely that the club will also want to stay in League 1 for longer than we'd like, which is why we're buying a number of largely untested youngsters in Wynter and Williams. The best case scenario is that the gamble pays off and we have a team of young, gifted players with a good resale value, and at worst we struggle in the league with the old guard and some cheap youngsters on small deals.

 

We squandered it not only on transfer fees but higher wages than almost any other Championship club. That is the reason no-one under contract wants to leave. I would not mind betting that even with a 40% drop in wages, Fontaine is still on more than better players at top Championship clubs.

 

Was it 40% I thought it was 25% reduction if they were relegated.

 

Last time I checked, in 2011 we were in the top eight of wages in the Championship, and since then we were cutting down. It's still high, but I'm yet to find a source to say that we were any higher than that.

To be fair, at that time we were trying to be higher than top eight in the league, so I reckon those wages are pretty standard. Yes, Fontaine is probably on too much, and his failed transfer set off alarm bells, but ultimately if we cannot get rid where else is he going to go? Our only choice is to either buy his contract out or to let him run it out with us.

 

Of course it was planned because whether we like it or not we just couldn't continue to live beyond our finances. Now we have dug in and let's hope that we have learnt a valuable lesson and if we haven't then get ready for a rocky ride.

You only have to look at the total lack of making the right decisions when we still had a chance of survival that put me firmly in the relegation camp. Regrettably the terrible decisions made over a period of many seasons led us to this place and I hope we now have the moxy to survive and prosper. I love a half full glass but if some of it is spilled during the early part of the season the situation can turn upside down very quickly.

Some good signs and messages out there but caution will remain my mantra until the points are in the bag. Good luck lads|

 

You are beginning to sound positively upbeat Mike. I'm getting more confident as each new young and hungry signing arrives.