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Steve Lansdown's Strength.

Discussion in 'Bristol City' started by wizered, Sep 23, 2021.

  1. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    Derby County disaster another cruel reminder of Steve Lansdown's strength as Bristol City owner
    Derby County have been deducted 12 points after entering administration following years of suspicion they've been cleverly navigating the EFL's financial fair play rules, which left rival Championship club owners exasperated
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    Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown has never been one for social media as a platform for self-congratulation or self-promotion. In fact, this year his Twitter feed contains just 12 posts, mainly retweets regarding wildlife conservation charities.

    For a billionaire owner of a Championship club, his modest tally of 8,397 followers reflects his minimal activity online activity. Which is why the tweet he sent on August 20, 2019 stood out like a sore thumb.

    As Bristol City claimed a 2-1 victory over Derby County at Pride Park via goals from Andi Weimann and Josh Brownhill, Lansdown - who attended the game - simply tweeted: “That feels good”.

    Devoid of context, it’s a largely harmless and standard message but why exactly would an early-season victory over a familiar Championship team arise such passion in the mild-mannered Lansdown?

    The answer isn’t difficult to deduce, and events over the last week only further illuminate the motive behind Lansdown’s emotion on that particular day, trivial as it may seem when encapsulated in a three-word message on a social media platform.

    Four months before that win in the East Midlands, Derby had claimed a 2-0 victory at Ashton Gate to crush City’s own play-off hopes. The Robins were well-beaten on the field by Frank Lampard’s side containing Premier League loanees Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Harry Wilson, but there was still a sense of injustice

    Derby’s wage bill was £47.8m for the previous campaign, having sold their stadium to a company owned by Morris for £81.1m and miraculously posted a profit as it was then leased back.

    City, meanwhile, from the summer window of 2018 to 2019 had sold Bobby Reid, Aden Flint, Joe Bryan, Lloyd Kelly and Adam Webster for a figure of approximately £60m to balance the books. It stank.

    For several years Lansdown, along with other Championship owners, has grown tired and increasingly angry at Derby and their creative financial management under Mel Morris, which made them regular play-off qualifiers but now has them staring League One, and potentially worse, in the face.

    Docked 12 points after entering administration due to liabilities totalling around £50m for creditors, loans and an substantial tax bill, Morris claims they’re losing £1.3m-£1.5m a month, and there could be a further EFL penalties on the horizon for separate financial fair play breaches.

    Bottom of the Championship on minus two points and under a transfer embargo, it’s hard to see a way back for Wayne Rooney’s spirited side.

    The out-ball for Morris has always been either Premier League promotion or, as a fail safe, selling the club given their weight of history and size of fanbase. It's hard to see which one looks most remote at present.

    Lansdown has undoubtedly made mistakes as City owner but is a man of integrity and a belief in what is right. And the Guernsey-based financier’s vision for City, as unsexy a word as it may be, has always been about sustainability, spending within their means and having a plan.

    You can make a number of micro arguments that the Robins haven’t always possessed such a blueprint and/or have been unsuccessful in their application of such, but he is very much a law-abiding citizen.

    It’s at times made him appear almost an outlier on Planet Football. For some bizarre reason, owners who want to be sensible are seen as oddities, rather than the norm. The spell of crass spending has remained an enticing one for stakeholders all under the false guise and intoxicating mirage of “ambition”.

    There are shortcuts to success in football, and all clubs to an extent have spent beyond their means; City, while the apparent models of stability, still possessed a wage bill that represented 123% of revenue in their most recent accounts and have been heavily reliant on player sales to break even.

    But they’ve always remained within the rules and Lansdown is one of several who have grown increasingly exasperated with those who either deliberately flaunt them, find loopholes and show little regard for what could lie on the horizon as they try to gain an unfair advantage.

    The shared dismay at the EFL either overlooking or not policing the actions of Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Reading (to name four) has helped forge a close relationship with Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson, the apparent pantomime villain among fans of those clubs for pursuing such cases.

    Covid-19 has illuminated such indiscretions and reckless financial management and the EFL has been left with little choice but to get tough.

    Such wanton disregard for basic economic sensibilities is partly behind Lansdown’s push for a salary cap in football. If anything, to help Championship clubs be saved from themselves.

    Football does funny things to people, often logic and reason leave the room once the adrenaline of results and adulation fills the veins.

    Mark Ashton’s football lexicon often landed him in trouble with City fans but the former City CEO was bang on when he often repeated how he, and the Lansdowns, were/are custodians of the football club.

    Their actions have a responsibility to the future of the club as well as the present. It’s hard to argue that anything Morris has done, Covid-19 influenced or not, subscribes to that theory.

    This isn’t to say there will be any smug recognition from the Channel Islands at the fate that has befallen the Rams, Lansdown simply isn’t that sort of character. He should, though, direct a firm “told you so” towards the EFL.

    Because, ultimately, while Morris’ reputation should take an irreparable hit among Derby fans for how he’s gambled and catastrophically lost, the fact it’s been permitted to go on this long and has reached this point is a burden that should also be carried by the EFL.

    Derby could shortly be followed by Reading in terms of a deduction and administration has to be a threat for the Royals, given the astronomical liabilities they’ve accumulated.

    Punishments have had to happen, but not at such a point where the very survival of the club as a football entity is at stake because the targets then end up being supporters, players and staff.

    Something Lansdown is acutely aware of with how he wants City governed. Not just for his own sanity and bank balance, but football itself. Common sense may be dull, but it stops disasters like Derby County from happening.
    https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/derby-county-disaster-another-cruel-5955318
     
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  2. Angelicnumber16

    Angelicnumber16 Well-Known Member

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    I get his conservatism and caution, and he's seldom been reckless with the money in respect of the FC. Compared to Reading, Forest, Derby, Portsmouth and all the others that have gambled and lost, we're well off and stable.

    But personally, and wanting to see top flight football again while I'm still around, and especially as the mid 1970's is now a long time ago. I would have liked to see a true determination and proper plan to get City to the Premiership in the last 15 years or so, because every year that passes makes it a harder task, and less likely that we could stay there and be successful were we ever to make it.

    We've had our chances previously but poor decisions were made at the time when a little investment and speculation may well have delivered the prize.
     
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  3. Red Robin

    Red Robin Well-Known Member

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    Same here not getting any younger-love to see city back in the top flight as I'm sure Mr L would as well-Mr Pearson is the man tasked with this in the next three years.
     
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  4. invermeremike

    invermeremike Well-Known Member

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    Due to my wandering I missed all of our time in the top flight and the subsequent near disaster because the internet was in it's infancy or non-existent. I too would love to come back to Bristol to see my beloved City in the Premier League, but not at any price to the stability of our future. While I was out in the wilds of the colonies chopping down trees and hunting moose you were all enjoying watching us play the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Man.Utd and going home to your cucumber sandwiches and cider. Please Nigel give me one of the items left on my bucket list. :emoticon-0128-hi:
     
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  5. realred1952

    realred1952 Well-Known Member

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    the secret of staying in the top [ middle ] 2/3rds of the Prem is to make sure you take as many points off bottom teams as you can … from top 6 teams need to take 8 points from teams 7 to 14 need 16points and bottom 15th to 20th 22 points = 46 points. [ at season end judgement ]
    the quicker you get them the better ….. Brentfords opening 5 games have been reasonable v under par ARSENAL, PALACE WOLVES and VILLA not up to speed … Brighton on song!! …. Norwich cruel fixtures whilst Leeds not easy as is Burnley but Newcastle should be doing better!!! Brentfords targets must be beat Norwich/Leeds/Burnley/ Newcastle and be on 20 points..... but before them have 4 top teams ……
     
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