Don't expect big signings in jan 2016 Steve Lansdown spoke at the Snr Reds Xmas lunch today When asked if any players had already been signed up and ready to come straight in, in January his answer was "Hand on heart i dont know of any so 'No' is the answer to that"He also said that the club still weren't prepared to break the wage structure to get us out of this mess He wont bow down to players and their greedy wage demandsHe stressed we will still target young and hungry Div 1 players (under 24 mentioned) who will improve the squad and fit in with our wage structure. Quoted £2k a week is an average wage in Div 1 so feels Players would jump at the chance to come here and be good value for money However we would consider experienced players over 24 but only if they fall within our wages structureHe thought that Wade Elliot hadn't been replaced in the summer and we were lacking that sort of experienced leader type playerAlso he didnt like what he was reading in the paper this week about the squad not being good enough (Obviously a pop at Cotts) SL said he thought the squad were good enough however needed more experience added
This will not go over very well with the faithful and am I wrong in thinking that he isn't supporting SC as he should? Trouble at the henhouse methinks.
The bloke is clearly deluded. It's the usual head in the sand kind of attitude I've come to expect from the board, after SL admitted that he had little or no clue about what wages were expected at this level at the start of the season - but only after we'd failed to attract player after player. Money can buy you a lot of things. But it cant buy you love or it seems common sense.
Say no more a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse. I have been wondering for years what all the millions have brought us and to be honest I want to say - not very much. Now some will consider my comment to be very damning of our financial benefactor, but like ever other supporter of Bristol City I admire the man for his personal success and integrity, and yet we have not seen that business acumen bring the level of football that we all crave so much and have been promised since I was a lad. The many sorry things that have been inflicted on Bristol City over the years and the lessons learned from some of the mistakes don't appear to have been filed away for future guidance and reason. We all understand the changing face of the sport and it is beyond my belief that a football club owner/board haven't got the message that if you want to compete at this level you need to get your act in gear for the challenge. The simple answer is we have never received that message and from what I have seen again this year, and many before, sadly we never will. Will someone please turn off the switch on the merry-go-round I'm starting to feel sick of it.
The owners/chairmen of clubs, rich or not, that really wanted Premiership football, and I'm taking about the likes of Dave Whelan, Mohammend El Fayed, Huw Jenkins, and John Madejski here, all managed it seemingly fairly easily, What did they do, what was their strategy, or who did they employ that SL can't/won't would seem to be the pertinent question ? I guess before FFP came in, 'buying success' was probably easier, but it didn't always work for the likes of Man City and Man U back in the 70's and 80's did it ? You still need to employ the right people and have the right backroom staff.
I went through last season openly stating whilst I doubts I was 100% behind him. That was not to be confused with the drop to 5 -10% from 70% NOT BEING sure about him. I said there were niggles about him come seasons end that I just feel gave him the full package. I have kept my "cool" so far but my point of tipping and losing faith regarding "IS he the TRMFTJ" .. was game 21 and in my opinion after a couple days to think about, it is NO ... He cannot make my cut off point of 28 points from the first 23 games we cannot get the neutral goal difference +/- 2 we are shy on the goals scored 27 (by 7 ) and well over by 17 the worst in the champs conceded in fact 23rd WORST DEFENCE only Rotherham by 1 goal is worse Time to act? maybe an assistant coach/ (manager new eyes ) we lost a couple of good ones over the past few years! both good enough to represent the national team! I shall not bitch about it, said all I am going to say for the present, but get invers drift.... wheres the bucket!
Biggest problem is, SL sees things in a different way to the rest of us. Why? Because its his dosh at the end of the day. As football spirals out of financial control he has probably worked out that relegation would not be a financial disaster. However if we stay in the championship with players on 20k plus a week it would hurt his pocket much more. He probably sees investment into Rugby as a far better financial bet with a good chance of Bristol getting back into the topflight, eventually. What is concerning is the lack of communication between SL the board and SC over financial affairs. Why the hell were we chasing 9 million players when it appears the playing budget is fixed and wages capped?
Do you think anyone bothered to check how other teams have succeeded where we have failed, angelic? Surely you build a business not just on financial strategies but also sound managerial and player recruitment combined with research in to how others have achieved the success that you desire. So who better to research than successful competitors that you secretly envy, due to them getting there, and learn from their business model? Is that so difficult to implement?
I think the problem may well lie with SL. His comments basically say he will release the purse strings to SC for " young, hungry players under 24 from L1", and he may well feel frustrated that SC has not heeded his advice. In SC defence, he may well feel that majority of our team from last season fitted that bill, and we had the best players from L1 already, and realised we needed to add some more experienced seasoned pro's to the squad (which we do), if the players we have that pretty much walked last seasons L1 cannot compete in the Championship, why would SC buy more players from the same league, it doesn't make sense! So who is at fault?
I do wonder if SL has sights elsewhere,what with his involvement with the rugby, and basketball teams,What with his stadium plans,i fully understand his criteria about being self sufficient,but as a business man myself operating costs are what makes or breaks a business,but as we all know there are only a handful of clubs that operate at profit. SL has spent a fortune on this club over the years.personally i do not think in the best way,however it his money and he is entitled to do as he pleases with it. I do have reservations as to him having so much power at the gate,especially as he pretty much owns everything to do with BCFC. That info above does concern me,unfortunately i only see us returning to league 1 at the first hurdle.
Bristol Sport and the stadium will be a complex which is to encourage income- Corporate venues such as this are in use 7 days a week now. Football is played there once a fortnight which only fits part of that business model. Hence the reason that other sports, such as Rugby, Basketball and also concerts etc all driven towards income. That's what a business is. To my mind, BCFC is only part of that. It cant be the biggest financial drain. Attendances would fall somewhat in League 1 but as earlier stated, that is 1/14 of the model. It will be interesting to see how things develop
Absolutely not, but we seem to make hard work of most things. City do things their way. Not necessarily the right, or conventional way mind you !
The relationship between SL and Cotts i believe is non existent. I feel for COTTS,It is like asking a cart horse to run the National,when in-fact you need a Thorough breed.
You talk bollocks, how you made it into a business is completely astounding. A snippet of what SL said today on RB Said we couldn't get summer signings across the line. Not because we couldn't afford the salaries but the players only wanted to drop into the Championship to clubs they felt were going to challenge fro promotion. SC had the backing of the board and will continue to have. Its not like we are cut off adrift of anyone and every game he has seen all the team are giving 100%. Will purchase in January if player are available
I copied that content from another site,however that is different from what SL said on the radio today,i personally did not here the interview with GT. However a chap that sits a couple of seats from me told me what he said today. That is completly different to what apparantly he said in WSM on Thursday night porky pies i think.
You copied it from OTIB, but strangely didn't copy the pages and pages of fans (not all but vast majority) slating SOD as a total ****er when he was at our club thats on there at the moment ??
