Bristol City Holdings has today (June 18th) announced a business restructuring programme aimed at improving the overall financial performance of Ashton Gate Ltd. Employees of the company have been informed that a consultation on the future staffing needs will now be taking place and that this will involve some posts across the business becoming redundant. It is the wish of everyone at Ashton Gate Ltd to make this process as straightforward as possible. As such the company is inviting applications for any voluntary redundancies in the first instance. It is anticipated that following this stage, further posts will be under review. The restructuring is part of the group's ongoing commitment to the future of Bristol City Football Club, its shareholders and fans. As part of this responsibility, the group will also work towards aligning the finances to the incoming Football League's Financial Fair Play framework. Very worrying... http://www.bcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10327~2815456,00.html
Seems to me the belt is being tightened,it will be interesting to see where the redundancies happen. Things cannot be to Rosie regards ST sales and ongoing commercial income at the gate. When you think Bolton, has sold double the STs over Blackburn, it shows how tight it is out there.
guess SL has two sporting clubs to now manage. In fairness this should have been done years ago as the books dont balance. They spent a fotune getting the new scanner systems in on everygate yet everygate is still manned by a person in the booth and usually at least one on each gate to check bags. I remember the first season in the championship we went up to Coventry and they had scanners on each gate for your tickets but they had no one there to sit in a booth watching you. Maybe the next step is to replace the overpriced food court areas with vending machines which would probably mean more stock. In fairness I am pretty sure the area is just rented by a private food firm but what is the cost to City, is there a cheaper option. They could I guess get rid of the shop and get local stores to sell all their goods as dont know how much it cost to run a shop like that 7 days a week, some Asda stores are already selling the shirts. The one area I hope they dont alter is the ground staff who every year give us one of the best pitches in the league. Good luck to all the staff and their family who may lose their jobs, hopefully it wont take them long to find new jobs. Having a wife who is a newly qualified nurse and cant find work has hit home how hard it is to find work even as a qualified nurse with many hospitals in this area.
the one positive thing is that the club is in a position to make cuts, many clubs.particulary in the lower leagues are running on the bare bones and really are facing tough times, i fully expect at least one club to go to the wall this season.
This is a rational step in light of our losses over the past few years and the new financial fair play regulations. It's worrying that we've lost so much money with little to show for it but at least with SL's backing, we are still aliove and kicking. When you think what has happened to Glasgow Rangers and what still might happen to them, it's staggering. The ultimate hope is that this creates a better overall health for the league but the reality is that it will just widen the gap between the Premier League and the rest of us even further. The latter has done nothing but ruin our national game, whilst agenst and their overpaid clients make out like bandits. What a disgusting mess this has created...............
I sincerely hope that a few honest citizens aren't pressurised into giving up their living while some dilitante absorbs their yearly salaries in one week's overpaid income. I felt that the Fair Play rule was meant to cap the players ridiculous salaries.
Looking at things since the play off final in 2008 we have been in sharp decline ever since and our management failed to act to stop it in a timely manner when they had loads of chances. This is the fall out from this failure to act 3 years ago whilst gates and ST sales have continued to fall and only picked up at the tail end of the season just finished.
Some very interesting thoughts on this club statement and although something negative can be extracted from this announcement, I think in reality it is a long awaited dose of common sense. The management at BCFC has been ignoring the blatantly obvious for many years and perhaps the arrival of Derek has made them realise that we are not a club, based solely on our existing infrastructure, that are heading for stardom anytime soon. This was always perceived to be a rebuilding couple of years and what I have seen so far is a key indication that the process is in it's infancy and needs time to grow successfully. I believe we have a footballing thinker at the helm and with the support of the management Derek can build a strong team based on commitment and skill that will serve BCFC fans needs for the short term future, and then move on to securing financial stewardship that will keep our heads above the water for the longer term. With the new season soon approaching I am looking forward to DM's first full season in charge - how about you?
