Someone has to ask these serious questions first. My first question would be WFT have you been these last few weeks.
That was a complete waste of time, we need to speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey. I can’t see that interview making any difference to the feeling amongst the fan base. Steve needs to address the fans .
In brief The £25m sale of Scott was allowed for in the budget talks in March, the players brought in were based on this, had it not gone through SL would have born the costs himself. We have wage budgets in place and are going to stick to them. They believe we’ve a good enough squad for top 6. (Delusional). Quoted renewing Max, Pring and Zacs contracts, almost as if they were signings. No answer to squad depth not being big enough, just kept reiterating they believe it is. Questions asked of him were crap, let him get away with too much. Kept on ass licking SL. When asked about Nige, just said he wouldn’t discuss it. No praise for Nige, just ass licking SL. Kept saying the ambition is promotion, but gave no idea how that’s likely to be achieved with a squad at present of 17 outfield player, one of which is 17 and has little first team experience. just a very poor PR exercise, questioner didn’t help letting him get away with too much, IMO. SL needs to speak to the fans, because personally feel no better, actually feel worse than before the interview.
I just read through the thread about the interview on OTIB, the one comment I thought totally valid below ~ 1 hour ago, Ian M said: Particularly given Nige has: reduced the wage bill by approaching £10m per annum, reduced amortisation cost by around £9m per annum, generated sales of around £35m, still kept us competitive on the pitch with a tiny injury hit squad. And yet he appears to have no supporters in the club’s hierarchy. It really is a concern what appears our leadership believe in, no mention of a contract for Nige,not even a complimentary mention,there is something wrong somewhere at the top SL as I have already commented his silence is deafening, JL is non existent, never appears from under his rock, PH a complete yes man to the owners, it appears none of them have any regard for Nige and his team and the efforts they have made.
Typical Bristol City Football Club then!! Sounds like we continue to be a big City but small fry in the footballing world!!
My take that interview was so soft-hard question's not asked. No comment regards Nige No comment regards SL For me the man himself needs to address the fan base.
Steve Lansdown issues honest message in wake of Bristol City managerial sacking Steve Lansdown admits he takes "full responsibility" for Bristol City's precarious run of form of late. By George Harbey Published Feb 20, 2021 City recently parted company with Dean Holden having embarked on a dismal run of form in recent weeks. The Robins have lost their last six games in all competitions, including their last five games in the Championship, leading to Holden's departure. City's board have invested heavily in the playing squad in recent years, but despite that investment, they remain in the Championship despite having ambitions of reaching the Premier League. Naturally, fans have turned attention to the board and owner Steve Lansdown, who has appointed two young, up and coming managers in recent years. In an honest interview with Robins TV, Lansdown insisted that he takes "full responsibility" for City's failure. He said: "I take the full responsibility for everything, although I'm not actually on the board, I am the owner, I do fund it, I do authorise the money to be spent, so success will be down to me and failure will be down to me. "It hurts, it just hurts. I want Bristol City to be successful. I want us to be in the Premier League and when these sort of things happen, you realise you are nowhere near it, and that's a big disappointment. "Everybody can blame anybody, but I take the blame, it is me, we haven't got it right and to get where we want to get to, we have got to get it right." The Verdict Lansdown has put his money where his mouth is in recent years. The club have spent big on some players and they gave Lee Johnson a lot of funds to work with as they looked to deliver promotion. Holden was an eye-opening appointment at first, and it's one that has failed to work out. Naturally, the eyes are always going to be on the board after that. He can now make amends by bringing in an experienced manager who knows how to hit the ground running and pick up results in the Championship. https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/s...e-in-wake-of-bristol-city-managerial-sacking/ This was his message after DH was fired, haven't times changed, looks like des ja vous? Again.
The commitment to improving our lot in life seems to have taken a nose-dive after what appears to be another PR nightmare. It has become so bloody obvious that we are going nowhere up any league table with this sort of annual pig trough type conversation and I am wanting to know where the hell SL's mind is, apart from the obvious. Churning out the same tripe but with a slightly different dressing is starting to make me feel quite sick and I have just about given up on hearing any common sense arriving anytime soon. There is something quite wrong with our owner and having to bang on about how well he has supported Bristol City over the years is now wearing extremely thin. Is there any wonder why we fail to attract decent managers and players that will stick around until the job is completed, because the reason that I see is they can't get past the boss when it comes down to the crux of the matter and have no say in critical on-field decisions. If you want to see success at Ashton Gate then perhaps it's time to support all the opposing teams coming at us down the turnpike.
EXTREMELY POOR INTERVIEW .............. Having a premeditated plan is fine , we have had at least 10 in the past 8 years! Making an assumption that we could spend money reliant on AS being transferred is a weird way to do business! they must have said OK WE SPEND £Xm if he stays then SL forks out the dosh..... but there must have been a bit of thinking attached, like what if he doesnt or what happens if he does.. better fix the spend quite low then!!! NP's comments throughout has been one of AS plays along side etc .... we have a limited budget! ..... we need to keep our best ! .. we are weak in that dept: .... but hang on... the backroom boys have a list of computerised prospects lined up along with scouting info .. just a case of moving in on them AQAP! BCFC is a mess....... end of
Poor at this, poor at that, poor at everything. And it's always been the same since I was a kid. From fiddling the attendances to the lack of a real plan to get to the top and no proper leadership. Sums up the club and successive owners. All amateurs.
I do have mixed feelings with everything going on and I do understand the frustrations amongst us wanting the success that we all desperately want. It's a tricky one in my mind, we do have an owner a self made billionaire that knows nothing about football but try's to run the club how he sees fit.. On the other hand I'm not really keen on some Saudi Prince wanting to buy the club and turn it into a circus and lose the authenticity of what we have.. I think what makes it so frustrating is the communication between the suits in charge and the fans.. The fans that should be listened to.....we don't want to be told that we have everything in place to make a go of success when we know dam well that is not the case......It's like playing the long ball blind and hoping it lands in the right place... I know we have Nige as the manager whom seems not to be involved in the stuff upstairs but imo we also need someone of similar ilk that can properly point out to SL what is really needed to create a successful squad enabling us to challenge and get to the Premiership.. A proper DOF that knows what is required........until then we will continue to be a big City with no ambition in the footballing world
Spot on Nige knows football, the Lansdown's don't. They may think they do, but they don't and that fact has been proven over and over again in the last however many years. Having a DoF with lots of contacts and influence within the game would be a really good idea, as long as it's not Johnson Junior, but it would still depend on whether the Lansdowns would listen to such a person either. Like you I don't want to end up with someone like Vincent Tan, the Glazers, Mike Ashley, or the Venkys in charge, and therein may lie the problem. Who, other than a foreign investor with no attachment to the club or area wants to buy a two bob Championship club with 'potential' ?
Imo SL doesn’t like people telling him what’s needed, he doesn’t like his decisions to be challenged, and Therein lies the problem.
Bristol City CEO explains transfer spend and Pearson's budget as Lansdown seeks sustainability Bristol City only added one extra player to their squad following Alex Scott's £25m transfer to Bournemouth, and that was the result of a long-term injury to Ross McCrorie Bristol City CEO Phil Alexander insists the Robins spent a portion of the Alex Scott transfer fee before the midfielder’s £25million sale was sanctioned to Bournemouth, as owner Steve Lansdown’s budget laid out at the start of the year demanded the club be more self-sufficient and less reliant on his own personal investment. City signed five players over the course of the summer transfer window with Ross McCrorie, Rob Dickie and Jason Knight arriving for combined fees in the region of £4m, Haydon Roberts joining on a free transfer, while Taylor Gardner-Hickman was a relatively late loan addition. The initial quartet had become City players by July 11, before Scott moved to Premier League Bournemouth 30 days later, as the club’s £25m valuation, which they had stood by throughout the summer, was finally met. There has been a degree of discontent within the fanbase that while elements of the window have unquestionably been positive, ultimately losing Scott, not directly replacing him and then leaving Nigel Pearson unable to strengthen his squad amid a number of early season injuries, has left them in an uncertain position. Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, however, Alexander insists the budget drawn up by Lansdown, with consultation then across all departments as to a plan of action for the summer, remained a strict one, to try and prevent the Guernsey-based billionaire from having to self-fund any shortfalls. Lansdown is estimated to have personally spent around £240m on City, to cover losses which have also rapidly increased during and after the pandemic, and Alexander estimated the 71-year-old propped up the budget last season “in the region of £20m”. “I'm really quite pleased with the way it went,” Alexander said of the window. “To understand the dynamics around that you need to go right back to March of this year, we set about creating a plan, a strategy, around the trading we needed to do over the whole summer period and we pretty much achieved that. From my perspective of what happened, it was a good window, and to come out of it in eighth position and in touching distance of the play-offs, is fantastic. “I suppose it’s worth spending a bit of time on how we got to creating the plan. I joined right at the very end of the January window and realised I was straight away getting into planning for the forthcoming summer. and I had a conversation with Steve Lansdown. Steve was keen to make the football club far more financially sustainable than it had been. "He’d put in some like in the region of £20m in the 2022/23 season and considerably more than that the previous year. It’s a large amount of money for one person to be putting into the club and he had a financial ambition of reducing that. He gave us some numbers which I took on board and said, ‘okay, leave us with those numbers and we’ll come up with a plan’. “We got together the financial team, the recruitment team, Nigel and the coaching team and we came up with a plan and that plan looked at all the challenges we were facing over the coming months; we had a number of younger players out of contract in 2024, that we wanted to secure, we also knew we had to strengthen in certain positions in the squad, which we needed to do in the summer, so we identified those positions and the cost of bringing new people in with some names along those positions and we put it all into the mix with the cash flow. "And what we didn’t know at that stage was whether Alex was going to go or not. There was a lot of noise in the media, he’s a great player, someone we’re really proud of to have at this football club, but we didn’t know if he was going to move, how much he was going to move for or indeed when that could happen. “We wanted to go early; there’s no point us waiting for Alex to go or not. Because we’ll make some last-minute decisions that will be wrong; any club we’re talking to will know Alex has been sold, we’d have some cash in the bank and they’d take advantage of that from a negotiating point of view. So we had to get the players in early: Rob, Ross, Haydon and Jason came in nice and early and then we had the negotiations on Alex, which went on for some while. “I was honoured to lead on those negotiations and work closely with Steve Lansdown on maximising the revenue from that particular deal. It’s not just about the amounts, it’s about the cash flow in those amounts and what’s going to be guaranteed and what’s going to be on a contingent basis - all of that had to be negotiated and in the end we got the deal done. “But if we hadn’t got the deal done, there was a risk. There was a risk that we’d gone early in the market and spent the money but hadn’t got the revenue from Alex. “That was a risk laid bare to Steve, and a risk he was prepared to take. If we had got all those players in and hadn't managed to get Alex away for whatever reason, then the extra revenue that we’d spent would have been all on Steve.” The lack of reinvestment in the squad post-Scott as Pearson has been left with reduced resources, and just 17 outfield players at his disposal following untimely injuries to McCrorie, Tommy Conway and Andi Weimann, and this very clear policy now being spelled out, has led to supporter concern around the concept of ambition with Lansdown at the helm. Having weathered the financial storm of Covid, as City’s losses reached a record £38.4m for 2020/21, to leave them on the precipice in terms of potentially failing the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability rules, Antoine Semenyo’s sale to Bournemouth in January for around £10.5m, and the subsequent recruitment of Anis Mehmeti and Harry Cornick had indicated the period of austerity was over. When interviewed by BBC Radio Bristol in the January transfer window, Alexander’s predecessor Richard Gould claimed that City’s financial reset was around 70-80 per cent complete but, crucially, added: “In terms of buying players, that will still depend on receiving fees and that's always going to be the case for any club outside the Premier League.” With City’s budgetary constraints now further detailed, amid the backdrop of Lansdown seeking fresh investment into the club and potentially even a sale, exactly what constitutes success, and how that can be achieved on what appears limited means, relative to some of their rivals, has created a degree of anxiety and disappointment in the Ashton Gate stands. “As an owner you couldn’t think of anyone better supporting your football club financially,” Alexander added. “Now, we’ve lost our best player, it’s not an easy thing to stomach, as fans, as a manager, as owners - he’s a fantastic player. But it had to be done in order to achieve the financial objectives that were set by Steve Lansdown. “But I need to stress, because we’re cutting costs in running the business, it doesn’t mean to say we’re actually cutting the ambition. Part of that plan, we had to make sure we had a team capable of challenging at the right end of the league. We want to go up, We want to get Premiership football. So there was a real juggling act, and that’s where the recruitment team with Tinns and Sean Gilhespy (head of technical recruitment) all came in to make sure the players we brought in were the right people, the right calibre, fit to our style of play and benefit our football club and at the right price. All of that went into the pot. “We also, if you recall, tied up the younger players - Max O’Leary, George Tanner, Harvey Wiles-Richards, Rob Atkinson, young Ephraim and latterly we extended the contracts for Cam (Pring) and finally for Zak (Vyner). I think that’s good business sense. “So all of that was done as well as bringing new players in and the cash flow was managed around those deals to make sure we were achieving the expectations by Steve and we were left with a team to compete in the Championship. “We had a plan. This was the plan and we stuck to the plan rigidly. The reality is we got a transfer out which was Scott, that transfer was made up of guaranteed payments and some contingent payments - for example, if Alex was to play games we’d receive more money and if Bournemouth do particularly well, we’d receive a bit more money as well. “It's not all sitting in the bank account and the guaranteed payments are spread over a number of years. We also do the same when we buy players as well. So you put it all into the mix and you come up with a funding number that Steve has to pay at the end of the year, and he’s made his position very clear. The budget is the budget and we’ve stuck to it and we’re going to stick to it. I believe we’ve got a strong enough squad to make a real impact on the top six this season. “We got the transfer done, we spent some money of that, but that doesn’t come in one lump, it’s spread over a period of years and that’s all factored into the cash flow position of the football club. Even on that one, there are contingent payments that could come away but you can’t spend contingent money because you don’t know if it’s going to come in or not. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-lansdown-pearson-transfer-8727775
I am not going to use this as an opportunity to slay SL he has without doubt been a huge benefactor to our club for many years, we have stadium and facilities other medium clubs fantsize about, I read recently that our club incurred losses of £4ook per week, we all know about that dreaded £38.4m debt NP inherited, also I was told SL had shelled out a cumulative £215m, where would we be without him, a busted flush like the bunch up the minimal, thakgod for Steve Lansdown. My major gripe, forget, many can't but here we go 20 years of history, forget the debt, it is now under control, forget owners past interference but give us communication, speak in a language we all understand, give the manager some recognition for the financial turnaround and maintaining our status in the Champiomship under the most arduous condituions, give junior an educational kick up the arsehole even though he is your beloved son, we here from our CEO, who has just popped up now the window is over, suprise, suprise, that he believes we are good enough for a top six spot does he think we are all thick, lets have some truth and accurate information from him, we could have a great combination if you and Nige could demonstate some togetherness, offer him a new contract, he has earned it, if he accepts it we move forward, if he tells you to stick it we all know why but at least you made the effort. Lastly fans are not muppets, respect us, we are loyal to the club and will be here long after you have disappeared.
It’s worked for him in business so I imagine he can’t see it any other way.. not sure within the club there’s anyone to tell him he’s doing it wrong..
I get the financial side, I don’t agree with it, but I get that SL is using the money received from the Scott sale to ensure he doesn’t have to dig so deep into his own pocket. But please don’t suggest we’ve a big enough squad to challenge for top 6. We aren’t stupid, he kept saying we’re ambitious and want promotion, No you aren’t. Keep saying your ambition doesn’t make it so., Be realistic I’m ambitious to buy Bristol Sport from SL, I can give him £10k for it. Being ambitious to buy it doesn’t mean I can. We have 17 fit outfield players, and they chose not to bring anymore in. That is complete incompetence, we only need a few more injuries and we’re completely up the swannie.
