I just hope that, Steve did not use (this club) us as his expensive toy and has got fed up.. If he still has the passion for BCFC, he will come back and sort this mess out before it's too late. He was the best thing to happen to this club 9 years ago, giving us hope with top flight football and a brand new stadium... It seems that what he's left behind at the board are saying nothing and doing nothing.. How I see it is that we are 2nd from bottom, a manager who is plainly not good enough, gates dwindling, fans unhappy and a sure threat of a club looking relegation in the eye. It wouldn't be so bad if we played entertaining football with a glint of hope that the manager could turn it around.. Maybe Millen will get a couple of results to ease things.....BUT there will be NO progress for this club if he remains in charge. For the future and for us to progress I believe we need Steve to invest again to make sure we stay in this division, he needs to come back on the board, at least until we get the new stadium up and running. He did say that by having a new stadium, it would bring in new investment to the club.. BUT this won't happen if we go down.. For the fans of Bristol City Do the right thing Steve....sort it out.
Yep - no arguments here. Steve's walking away from the club's day to day running is understandable. He cannot physically spend much time in the UK to retain his non resident status (& not pay UK taxes) and he clearly felt that the Chairman had to be within the 4 walls of Ashton Gate to have a finger on the pulse. Unfortuantely Sexy is just not "that" man. Steve will not come back to the UK for sometime but it would certainly be nice if he could send us some cash from the immense tax savings he is making. Let's be frank about this, with a personal wealth of some 650 million pounds, give or take a few bob, even if he had his cash in low yielding cash deposits , he would be saving income tax in the region of $5 to $7 million per year. That's a meaningful sum. Of course being an investment expert, Steve will have his wealth elsewhere but the fact is he will still be in a tremendous position to help get the club back on tract by financing managerial and player change. We can't sign anyone until January but the loan market would still afford us the chance to get some quality on a short term basis. No-one buys a football club to make money. It really is an expensive hobby or ego trip. Once you've made the purchse, it's not just a toy though. Every club has a history that is not for sale and most importantly, a fan base that is invested in the club with both money and emotions. That's the part that we want protected. The fans have always been there for the club and always will be. We just want the same in return from the club. Give us an opportunity to be proud again.
Lansdown is no mug and will protect his (considerable) investment, so I don't think he'll allow us to go down. That said, as he's shown us in the past, he does tend to remain too loyal to his staff when it's clear for all to see where it's heading. I'm just praying that he's learnt from this and has his finger on the pulse this time.
All spot on! Whether we like it or not our beloved team is a business and doesn't run on air. SL has been saying for years that we have to be self sustaining and run a balanced budget. As we all know that is virtually impossible in these high priced days, and unless the product on the pitch improves soon the balance sheet will only deteriate. One of the cornerstones of a successful business is an owner who oversees every aspect of his investment to ensure stability and future growth. Right now I see most of the criteria for success disappearing faster than a speeding bullet and if someone doesn't step forward and be counted then I despair for the future. Being a business owner also requires that you hire qualified employees that you can trust and count on for support when the going gets tough. This is a major shortcoming at AG and has been hanging around for many years and although most of us see the need for that to change it appears that management don't. I fear for BCFC in that I can't see any change coming soon and I really don't see anybody in our leadership that will make the so obvious change that is needed. Forgive me for making this comment but I really do believe that our management want to do everything on the cheap. Have we really become the unfashionable club that a lot of people say we are?
Very good points people and mostly well put.... As it is, without SL on the board I am seriously worried.
How I see it is that we are 2nd from bottom, a manager who is plainly not good enough, gates dwindling, fans unhappy and a sure threat of a club looking relegation in the eye. Maybe Millen will get a couple of results to ease things.....BUT there will be NO progress for this club if he remains in charge. Is there any other subjects that this forum might consider?? Theres been 7 threads started in the last week all about the same thing 1For - Agree with every bloody word. IT would be a massive surprise, like City winning 7-0 in the next 3 games if you didnt Lansdown is no mug and will protect his (considerable) investment, so I don't think he'll allow us to go down Last season well before Christmas we had people crying in their beer, or cider, or wine spritzers that we were doomed fuelled by the doooom merchants, we finished 15th 18 points above the drop and 15 from top 6 another win would have put us in top 12 It gets so boring having to read the same thing, in sentences and words slightly re ordered to meet the KEEF OUT obsession. Like people who shout in an argument are usually on the losing side, repetitive comments on the same thing must be its equal. Bit like using "Happy Clapper" TO AID THEIR opinion. the sad thing is for whatever reason KEEF will move on, and then they will say whooooppeeeeeeee we finally got rid of him, then in comes Joe Soap loses 3 in a row near the start of the season, we are in the bottom 6 and its JOE MUST GO....... Anyone hear ALEX FERGUSSONS COMMENTS on the radio Sunday afternoon? Was on about his early management days , and those of Wenger....and the new Chelsea boss...
You are still not getting it John, its not Keith out for the sake of it, there is actually a reason - very sadly, he needs to go BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE PERFORMANCES THAT WE SEE ON THE PITCH - nothing has changed, we continue to play with players out of position and without a plan (and a load of other things) and it would seem that no amount of time is going to change that. Now you can say that it is the players fault but the DJ article that Wiz reproduced yesterday goes a long way to answering that comment, read it again, very carefully...
It might be boring to you John. But the facts are; We are going nowhere very fast, we are a sinking ship while Keef is in charge. It's not a hate thing with Keef, It's just plain and simple.......Not good enough. Question is John; Are you saying you are happy with the current setup? Are you waiting for us to sink before acting. Even if we survive this season, can you see it getting any better next season? I don't. It's all gone stale mate.......it needs to be freshened up.
I said a while ago that if Millen could keep us in mid-table relative obscurity for a couple of seasons and steady the ship then that would be seen as reasonable, at least until the stadium saga is sorted and we can kick on again. At that time I think there will be a large injection of cash........ However, there is no evidence at all to suggest that we will be anything but a bottom 3 team this year I'm afraid, and relegation can't be entertained. Sexstone and the board can give it another couple of games, another 10 or 20 games, but I don't believe we're capable of winning more than 1 or 2 games every 10 or so and that's not enough to keep us up I can see passion and commitment in Billy Davies and a bloke who will rant at individuals who don't perform so he gets my vote over the quite and seemingly unassuming Dave Jones.
Now you can say that it is the players fault but the DJ article that Wiz reproduced yesterday goes a long way to answering that comment, read it again, very carefully... I did, was taken in, then found out it had no relevance to this season, and a follow up article LAST SEASON gave some credence to KEEF " ALL OF ONEFORS REPLY, dont want to bore people with tagging it here again " ..............DONT DISAGREE WITH ANYONES OPINION, or right of reply but the same comments and argument rammed down peoples throats day afterday shows signs of desperation and obsession that is what is BORING. I note wiz is taking a new slant, but same theme 10 failed managers sitting on the wall, if we picked one how far may we fall? I have commented on some of the " KEEF anomalies and why? " But different footballing brains, (and not referencing IQ LEVEL) have different interpretations. KEEF gave an opinion of LEEDS game, Wiz totally tried to trash it..failed.. most of what was said, and what I saw pretty much falls in with it. To back it up, the last couple of days various comments on the radio have, from players and pundits put the lack closure down to the players and their lack of resolve and concentration..........same old story sucker punch last 10 mins. Can you blame the manager for a defensive error, or player having a "bad one" wow bring on Hindsight. magic centre forward will score 30 goals a season AS previously stated 12 games and I WILL/ may begin to reassess my opinion till then BCFC and ALL the staff get my 100% support.....as I class my self as a supporter of the same
John, the article that I re-produced the other day was so relevant to our current situation and I thought, so interesting without any spin,personal gain to DJ and was so factual that I did put it up for general viewing and the general resonse to it has been good and a lot of people had not seen it previously.. I am quite suprised you had the impression that you thought it a current article when there are so many facts in it to indicate it's age. * When Houllier is mentioned as Aston Villa manager.. * When Avram Grant is mentioned when he was Portsmouths manager.. * Talking about Chris Hughton being sacked at Newcastle Utd.. * Talking about Wenger at Arsenal not having won a trophy for 5 years,we know it's 6 with all the recent goings on at Arsenal.. I even aknowledged it was a DJ/Gaurdian article and his fee was donated to a charity at the bottom of the page.. Sorry John,I have an opinion,I am entitled to it and will continue expressing it,it's not forced on anyone,people will agree or disagree thats up to them and you. If you don't like it,I can only say don't read it,to be honest as I've said several times I enjoy reading your comments and artiicles,and will continue to do so they make me chuckle sometimes. I still think Millen is wrong for our club and I would like to see him replaced ASAP..
John. Let me ram this down your throat......... Results don't lie.... Leeds Lost 2-1 Brighton Lost 1-0 Doncaster Drew 1-1 (just) Carling Cup Swindon Lost 1-0 and was outplayed Portsmouth Drew 0-0 Leicester Won 2-1 Cardiff Lost 3-1 Ipswich Lost 3-0 This is relegation form end of.
I mentioned it on another thread earlier...........IF we don't get six points from the next two home games,the board will have to act swiftly and decisively. A point in either of these games will not be deemed good enough. Onefor sums it up perfectly........this is relegation form. Only a hand full of games in and a noticable gap is growing in the table....small enough at the moment,but 2 or 3 more losses on the bounce and we will be up the brown smelly creek without the paddly thing. Players heads are down already and we have all seen at some time or other how hard it is for a current manager to lift them up again. On the flip side,we have all seen how a team CAN respond to a change of staff.
Look at this reserve squad we put out against an Exeter 2nd 11 in the 3rd tier,it's almost of a first team standard and we still get thumped 3-1.. It's bad down at the gate, for god sake Sexstone WAKE UP...... 'City's second string were beaten 3-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Exeter City. Brett Pitman scored the only goal for the hosts at the Failand training ground with a well-placed header. The striker's goal made it a 1-1 at half-time, but two second-half strikes for the Grecians earned an away win. City XI: Gerken; Edwards, Carey (Muggeridge 70), Hunt (Stewart 46), Ribeiro; Woolford, Bryan (Lennox 75), Cisse, Bolasie; Pitman, Taylor.'
The excuses will "it's a nothing game" or "For fitness only" or "it's Coppells fault, or ???????? etc..... We do not look good that's for sure
Hunt,Cisse,and Stewart all Coppout signings but internationals and prem experience... Gerken,Edwards,Carey and Ribiero all experienced Championship squad players... Taylor,Pitman,Woolford and Bolasie all Millen signings... The rest playing for experience,whats gone wrong... We are ****e......
I could think of at least 4 of those who probably had absolutely NO INTEREST in playing in that game whatsoever. If you KNOW you aren't wanted, and had no chance of making the 1st team, why would you... From the Reebok to Failand, where next....?
Gerken; Edwards, Carey (Muggeridge 70), Hunt (Stewart 46), Ribeiro; Woolford, Bryan (Lennox 75), Cisse, Bolasie; Pitman, Taylor Stewart isn't even ahead of Hunt for the reserves now? Bloody hell he needs to go sharpish... Also, who is Bryan? Any answers other than 'he's a very naughty boy' are welcome!
