BRISTOL CITY BLOG: Robins face spending big if they are to realise Premier League dream. IF the last 96 minutes of on-the-pitch action have given reason to be positive in the last week, it's safe please log in to view this image to say that it is the events off the pitch which have generated the most attention inside Ashton Gate and beyond. While those observers with little or no affinity to the club have expressed astonishment at the size of our recent bids ,most City fans have at least understood how we've managed to make the bids, although many have questioned why we are "blowing all our money" on one player, when everyone recognises the need to add three or four more players to this young and developing squad. A common comment has been "I'd rather spend £3m on three players". The answer to this for me is relatively simple – we surely wouldn't be blowing 'all' our money on one signing – surely the lessons of David James' wages have been learned and if one of these big money offers came off, I'm convinced more cash would be made available for the right players. The overall fee has naturally been a key talking point - is any player worth us spending £9m on? Well, first of all, it was not £9m up front. More likely around £6m (still a huge fee!) with the rest in add-ons, never likely to be paid if the whole deal went wrong, or if the player or club had a nightmare. This sort of fee is a huge gamble but also one backed by a certain knowledge of investment. Both Dwight Gayle and Andre Gray are such an age that, had they signed, even if they had a stuttering season, we'd still get around one-third of our investment back as an absolute worst case by someone willing to take a punt on their form returning. If you were reviewing this as an investment in business, this 'on-sale' price would be factored into the risk of purchase. It's very different to buying the likes of, say, a Kenwynne Jones, who by the time another relatively fruitless Championship season goes by, would be too unattractive to anyone able to afford his wages. Equally, getting to the Premier League is, more than ever, about a return on investment. Owner Steve Lansdown is eyeing the £100m+ prize of the Premier League as well as the long-standing ambition he holds to see us compete at that level. If he spends £30m-£40m getting there, the club get a return on investment any bank or business would bite your hand off for. If – and it's a huge if - the likes of an Andre Gray were to sign, score 25 goals and help us get to the promised land, then he'd be worth a lot more than £9m to the club. Lansdown will know what he's prepared to spend and, I'm sure, has a 3-5 year plan laid out. If that's £15m this year, to get to an upper mid-table position, it might be another £10m in the summer to push further, and so on. Saying all that, as suggested by Burnley manager Sean Dyche in a recent interview, the Championship has changed beyond all recognition in the two years since he took the Clarets up, with fees and wages both escalating rapidly. If Dyche has been surprised at the level of spend required, I'm pretty sure City have been too, especially when you piece together certain comments and the way City's summer's dealings have - or haven't - gone. Another common comment has been around the timing of these bids, with fans suggesting we've become desperate now the season has started and are now bidding silly money. Perhaps there's an element of truth to that. As alluded to above, we're undoubtedly now bidding amounts of money we thought we wouldn't have to spend earlier in the summer, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're getting desperate, we're just getting into the game. It's not ideal, but it's also clear that as you progress through the leagues it seems to be more and more how things get done. Look at Transfer Deadline Day and how little business is done by clubs in Leagues One and Two. They're simply not really affected. There's a huge trickle effect from the chess games played at highest level and, to give an example, if when Spurs buy Berahino, West Brom will then sign a striker, maybe a Charlie Austin or Gayle, then QPR will be after another one and thus the best players wait as long as they can before committing, as do selling clubs because they know they can usually get a lot more on August 30th than they can in July. We're just not used to this way of working and certainly aren't big enough to change the direction of the train. My final word on this is in response to the reaction to both players when they have dared to take more than a few hours to decide if they want to join City. Many have decided that if their heart isn't in it, we don't want them. What some fans seem to forget when talking about footballers is that these guys are people, very well-paid people admittedly, but both Gayle and Gray are making the single most important move in their career. This can be the difference between Premier League and even potentially International glory, and being a Championship stalwart. Should they really be expected to decide within 48 hours, especially when there are other potential routes available? Why should they commit themselves to us when a lower Premier League club or recently relegated one in Burnley's case, could be available instead? Would you make the biggest decision of your career in such a short space of time, when you knew other options were just around the corner? No, of course you wouldn't, but that also wouldn't mean you'd be anything less than 100% committed once you made that decision. Finally, just some footnotes from the last two, more successful games. There was a lot to dissect from the Leeds game but my main takeaway was that when it came to the crunch, boss Steve Cotterill went back to his tried and tested men, and all ten outfield players on the pitch for the comeback were at the club last season, and part of the team spirit we created. All three substituted players were new signings, and whilst I am not for one second questioning their fight, it suggests Cotterill believes they still have some way to go to be a full part of this squad, and perhaps even fit enough to be part of a comeback like that. Secondly, the use of Bobby Reid and Wes Burns has been particularly positive and surprising (if necessary!), given both were loaned out extensively to League Two last season. Both appear to have matured and strengthened, and if they continue to develop in the manner Joe Bryan did, we have a fantastic please log in to view this image couple of additional options available. The hope is that any new signings - permanent or on loan - don't block their way to the squad on a regular basis. Paul Binning http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTO...e-accumulate/story-27673657-detail/story.html
It depends what Lansdowns plan is....if he has one. Will he be content with getting to the Prem (if we ever do) and then become a Norwich/QPR/Sunderland and yo-yo between the Prem and the Championship, or will he spend the Sky money and try and establish our presence?
It's very difficult to 'plan' getting promoted - having said that, it does seem as though there is a distinct policy to try to sign young players that will hopefully develop and actually increase their value (or at least, not lose it as quickly). I do think that lessons have been learned from our last experience of the Championship and a more long-term view is being considered, although the bids for Gayle and Gray show that SL isn't afraid to make the funds available in the right circumstances. If we do ever get to the Premiership then I'm sure our manager would be supported well financially - just don't expect QPR-esque indiscriminate spending on aging 'stars'.
Some very interesting comments in the article and the ins and outs of the updated reality of life in the Championship are quite scary but at the same time a wake up call. We as supporters and critics have the right to make our thoughts known through sites like 606 and although we may be bordering on the edge of reason sometimes it is evident that our comments are reaching other ears. I have never not believed that our mail was being read outside of it's supposed intended audience and some of the article's comments prove the point. The article hits many nails on the head and perhaps makes more sense of what is a more complicated process than we want it to be, however I do see some hint of acceptance that we weren't totally prepared for where we were about to go in the footballing world. The transfer market is a minefield particularly in the Championship where many dreams will be realised or broken in the time it takes to say Bristol City. The main thing that surfaced in the article for me was that we could be in for a difficult time attracting new players to our club for so many reasons beyond management's control but if you want , or have aspirations, to play with big boys then you had better carry a big stick. The rules of being able to sustain the challenge ahead of us is getting more difficult with each passing day during the final hectic days of the transfer window when cooler heads rarely prevail. Bristol City has set out it's intentions for the future and now they need to determine how they are going to achieve that goal without breaking the bank and risking financial repercussions from the authorities. It really irks me that the minders overlooking us are the same people who would certainly approve of a 250 million pound transfer of Neymar to Man Utd which goes to prove that we as a lower club live in a different world. Good luck in the last days of this transfer window to both Steves and we are watching and hoping you get what we want.
