please log in to view this image Dear Peter, Due to the recent changes on the Bristol City FC Board, I am writing to update you on a number of matters. I intend this to be the start of regular updates to you on what is happening inside the club. Results have not gone our way for the first part of this season and I feel it is important that I explain in more detail where the club is at the moment and further, to reiterate our vision for the future. Our vision is based around five pillars, which are intended to take the club through what is inevitably a period of great change, but we believe change for the better. Our vision is to create a successful, financially-sustainable football club, totally in tune with its local community and focused on youth and local talent. Everything we are doing is designed to reach this point â but I want to be candid; it is going to take time. Along the way we will have operational hiccups, like the problems with ticketing recently, but we believe the path we are following is the right one. This is a club vision that Sean OâDriscoll is helping to implement on the training ground and which Keith Burt is reflecting in the transfer market. Over the last year we have focused on building an internal team with passion and experience. As well as appointing Keith as director of football, we have recently appointed John Pelling to lead our Academy. John has a 15-year successful track record in the higher end of football administrative and operational management. Doug Harman, a long-standing member of the Board with extensive business experience was, as publicised, also recently appointed chief executive. The purpose of that was to strengthen the operational reporting on the non-football side of the club. We will continue to strengthen the non-playing team as well as continuing to strengthen the playing squad as we go forward. I now want to turn to each of our five pillars, which together underpin our vision. Recruitment We have recruited 13 first team players since the end of last season; nine permanently and four on loan. Of the nine signings, seven were aged 24 or under, Frank Fielding was 25 and Marlon Harewood added experience to the group. This is a sign of our new recruitment policy in action. Time will tell how many of those will be success stories, but our belief is that these younger players offer us the best chance to develop and improve our own squad and potentially build value within it. This is balanced with experienced players on shorter contracts. Out of our four loan signings, two still fit the profile as 24 and under. As with any organisation, we are always looking to improve and recruitment never stops. If the right player is identified and can be recruited, we will always do everything we can to constantly improve. Academy The Academy has made its biggest impact on the first team squad this season for many a year. There have been regular starts for both Joe Bryan and Bobby Reid, and Joe Morrell became the youngest player to make his City debut since 1999. This is a sure sign that the player pathway from Academy to first team is well and truly in operation. Having secured Category 2 status, the Academy has now placed John Pelling at the helm, along with the return of Brian Tinnion to the club as director of youth recruitment and the capture of Carlos Anton, one of the leading young coaches in Spain at Malaga, as our lead professional development coach (18-21s). These additions to an Academy staff who have achieved a lot over the last 12 months mean the Academy has never been better placed to produce professional players. We are carrying out more community work and reaching out to more people than ever before. Player visits more than doubled last year and some of the projects that the community trust deliver include: - The Onside programme helping unemployed young adults find meaningful employment - A Futsal scholarship programme with 66 students - A Walking Football programme in partnership with Link Age - A Homeless Football initiative in conjunction with the FA - Evening player pathway centres across Greater Bristol - The Community Park at Ashton Gate on matchdays. This is just some of the great work performed by the Community Trust, which continues to go from strength to strength. Stadium Our application to redevelop Ashton Gate will now be heard in the latter part of November. Throughout this process there has been extensive consultation with fans, the relevant authorities and local communities in all forms of media. The feedback gained has been absorbed into bringing to the table what we think is an exciting and deliverable design. There are no guarantees when it comes to planning but we are optimistic we will gain a viable planning permission and then be in a position to make a considered decision over what to do in delivering a new stadium for the club. Financial Prudence In the first five months of this financial year the club has halved its losses against the same period last year. The level of cash needed to sustain its operations has fallen by over 60 per cent. Financial prudence is a key pillar and we are making substantial progress towards that goal. Bristol Sport We have been asked a number of times about the part Bristol Sport plays in club affairs and have heard mention that Bristol Sport âowns Bristol City FC, the stadium and/or the Rugby Clubâ. Bristol Sport does not own any of these things. This company was set up to offer commercial and financial advice to a range of sporting organisations (including Bristol City), promote the engagement of local communities with sport, provide a central reference for sports news and participation in the Greater Bristol area and oversee a resolution to the stadium issue for Bristol City FC. The club has worked with Bristol Sport on the redevelopment plans for Ashton Gate and how we can identify new commercial opportunities to lead to financial prudence. Bristol Sport does not run Bristol City FC. Summary There is no hiding the fact that our start to the season has been disappointing. It was always going to be a difficult transition with so many new players featuring in the first team, but everyone would still have hoped to pick up more points than we have to date. In the last league game at Port Vale, seven of the starting XI were new to Bristol City this season and two more were Academy products. This has been a regular occurrence. That doesn't mean they don't have the ability required to be more successful than they have been, I believe that they do, but it may well take time for them to improve as a side as they get to know each other and what the head coach expects of them. I believe that our strategy is sound. It is built on logic, the reality of a changing world of football finance and our identity as a club and will bring success in due course. Sean has experience of success at this level but it took time for him to create that success before and it will require patience for him to do it again. The sooner that starts happening, the better for everyone involved. Your continued support is a key part in that success and I thank every one of you for it. Jon Lansdown Vice-Chairman
It seems on first sight, a good message keeping supporters informed. But in hindsight, it could be construed as an effort to deflect our attention from the miserable results City have produced this season. Without a successful first team, the whole club will collapse.
It seems on first sight, a good message keeping supporters informed. But in hindsight, it could be construed as an effort to deflect our attention from the miserable results City have produced this season. Without a successful first team, the whole club will collapse.
It seems on first sight, a good message keeping supporters informed. But in hindsight, it could be construed as an effort to deflect our attention from the miserable results City have produced this season. Without a successful first team, the whole club will collapse.
All of this is all very well on paper, but this is not a virtual game, this is real life and we are struggling massively. The Acedemy and all the rest of it will fall by the wayside if we go down again. Plus as someome else said recently, if the Academy produces real talent then they wont stay with us anyway. It's fine to have this game plan and approach if you are an upper Championship team and can retain your talent and fend off approaches from the big boys, but we're not.
LOL....that was me! Must admit, I'm a bit fed up with all this hype for the Academy...yes it's a good thing if you are in the top two flights, adding to your super stars......but sitting 2nd bottom of league one, we will only be looked at as a feeder Academy for the big clubs. A few quid to help the debt...that's it!
