We could have had him if someone hadn't baulked at sorting out his accommodation. This is a MASSIVE demonstration of what happens when we skimp on things, learn your lesson and learn it well Mr Lansdown and don't make the same mistake this window. You have to PAY FOR QUALITY. Alternatively, if you are happy to let us go down without so much as a whimper, this is of course your prerogative but if so, just let us know and we can choose how we deal with it...
It's Bristol City to a tee No ambition, no clue, no prospects, and no fit and proper ownership. Stay in Guernsey and bury your head in the sand. It's the best place for you.
As I said on another recent thread there were issues with the potential transfer of Andre Gray that were so minor that it left a very sour taste when they weren't addressed. I now believe we have an inherent streak of pettiness and stubbornness wandering around our club and it becomes more apparent with each passing year of the same old garbage, and the wise words of my confidante have brought an independent ribbon of truth to contradict the statements coming from my club. Can you wonder why potential transfers and top class experienced managers will always give us a wide berth or totally ignore us?
I like some of your wording Prem and the follow up from angelic echoes my thoughts perfectly. We are a dysfunctional organisation that wants to do everything on the cheap and if you look back at the last 5-6 years, and even beyond, you will notice that our promises never turned in to PROMISE. A managerial revolving door that scared most away and when we hire our current manager, who got the job done in fine fashion, we leave him stranded on the new shore without a chance of surviving the tempest about to drop on his head. Still I suppose a sickly smug grin will fix everything.
I believe we waste money. If we had a model similar to clubs on much smaller budgets like Gillingham, Crewe and Walsall, then with our money we could do so much better. For example ending up like Swansea. Lansdown can't be blamed for our failure to use money wisely. Just think of the money we are spunking away on Robinson, Moore and Cox. 9 million for a player is ludicrous, would rather have 3 2 million pound players. Kodjia is a steal at 2 million. Just an example of us not using money effectively
Very good point mtg and when you are strapped by the FFP rules it makes you think about where and how you are going to get reinforcements. There are still many players available at lower prices but you have to know where to start looking and you only have to look at Jamie Vardy to know that. When I hear praises about certain clubs having a very good scouting and youth policy development I see clubs who are extremely close to getting it right.
Most of all don't blame SC, he told his bosses that he wanted a top quality striker as a priority and they cocked it up and it seems someone departed over that. Also never criticise SL as he has bank rolled us for years. The current position is that the Chairman must ensure that within the rules, the club is strengthened as much as possible in the window in order to prevent relegation. That at the moment is the only priority.
The obvious response to this is that Gray now has twice the goals of Kodija, yesterday Gray had 3 efforts on goal and scored all 3, how many attempts did Jimmy have for his goalless return? This sort of small time thinking is why we are where we are. For the record, I think it is criminal to be paying those sums of money, but that is life in the Championship, it is rife with clubs with parachute payments , if we want to stay and play we have to learn the rules, which are pay the money or grow your own talent. We do neither well!! Bargains in football are pretty few and far between these days, and even big money purchases don't always cut it. This would be easier to bear if we did not have such a rich owner... An old adage, you pay peanuts.....
I can't criticise SL too hard. He has bankrolled us considerably and I am grateful to him for the money he has invested in Bristol City to-date. However, whilst he might be good at investing in the financial markets (as his vast fortune suggests), he has proved somewhat naive when investing in the shark-infested cut-throat world of football. Many other clubs (not all) would have taken SLs £millions and given him at least one season in the Prem. Somehow sadly for us that is not the case. Football is not an exact science and high investment only increases the probability of success. It does not guarantee it. Mr. Lansdown needs to bring in a proven football advisor to help him invest properly in the squad. He is in a difficult position, because whatever he chooses to do will end up costing him dearly. If he invests then we MAY still go down and it will end up costing him more, but if we don't invest then we WILL go down and it will end up costing him more.
DID YOU SEE SC on league programme stated we are a div 1 team in a championship league...and that is where we are at
Whilst this may be true, the same could be said for other teams like Preston, Charlton, Rotherham, MK Dons etc, but they use their L1 players more intelligently than we use ours. Those 5 lost points against Charlton and Rotherham may very well prove to be our undoing.
Add in the dropped/wasted points against the likes of Preston, Bolton, MK Dons eyc and we'd be a lot better off.
Transfer window coming up, ..... first things I would do is look at a season in the future ... 2019/20 re contract Korey Smith, Jonathon Kodija, Aden Flint, Luke's Freeman and Ayling, Derick Williams, Joe Bryan, Bobby Reid and Wes Burns and Max O'Leary and consider Little Pack and Agard....... we definetely need a striker, midfielder, defender (if not 2 of each ) and maybe a goalie? with Freeman Wilbs, Kodija we are almost certainly trapped in 3 - 5 - 2 but we don't score enough ... SO IS 3 - 5 - 2 our nails in the coffin? .... as a supporter of it before last season I now do not think so we need to look at 4 at the back full stop we need then to decide front line 1 , 2 , 3? then sort the middle .... Around Korey , NEWBIE, 4 - 3 - 1 -2 OR 4 - 4 - 1 - 1 WE NEED TO STOP TEAMS SCORING FREELY... WHO SAID THIS...... "I think clean sheets bring confidence, as well as helping to win games." Nice statement, last bit obvious! but you cant lose if you do!
It's not that I don't like the 3-5-2 formation - it's just that I don't like the fact that it's the ONLY formation we play.
Where? A different club. John Laycock ran a very steady club that at times operated in the black. Mr Lansdown has done what he has with no real opposition from fans = Approval.
You cant say that he hasn't put money into the club got to be approaching 100 million. We are never going to be able to compete with the giants of the league on a financial front. The we can spend more money approach doesn't work for a team like ours in this league Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
He has put in a shed load of money. But ask yourself where you think we'd be with a different owner who'd spent little or nothing ? Because aside from last season, when we spent small and achieved loads, all of the money he's provided has delivered very little. Personally, I reckon we'd be about where we are now with someone spending little on us. Or had we received serious investment in the club (not including the bank rolling of debts) a different owner might have already got us to the Premiership and we might be doing a Stoke and establishing ourselves by now. All speculation of course, but I don't think we'd be any worse off with someone else at the helm.
