This has to be one of the best reads for any true football fan,sums up what many fans around the country think of modern football. http://popularstand.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/out-of-love-on-finding-it-hard-to-follow-your-club/
"Too often in the minds of many if you’re not spending money then apparently you don’t possess ambition, as if one signals the other" Thats a fairly strange post from someone who so strongly appeals for our club to spend and buy like the world was going to end at any moment? Weren't you posting just a few days ago that we had become "a laughing stock" because we weren't throwing money around and following the likes of Forest and Cardiff in the transfer market? For what its worth I agree with every word the guy says and quite often feel that way too, but tell me RR which way is it for you? cos you cant have it both ways.
Banksy. Where did I say spend money like its going out of fashion, if you read the post it was concerning Dels commitment to cisse and Keough, I just don't understand why he is hanging around for them. The season starts in five weeks and yet we have to make the signings to hopefully keep us up. The bookies have us second for the drop behind Barnsley, to me that is a tad concerning. I would like to see the signings here for a proper pre season, and then be ready to rumble. It just reminds me so much of the last couple of seasons. I appreciate we need to tighten the belt and bring costs into line. After all I have not been in business for 25 years and not understood the facts regards finances, you can't keep putting funds in as it will normally come back to bite you. I personally think Del is having problems bring the right players in,just may be I might be wrong,time will tell. Regards the link above, I sympathise with those fans and many around the uk with this factuation of foreign investment and owners.lets be fair how many of these owners have the passion for the club as the fans that support it? The game has been crippled in the uk with the vast swathes of foreign players and owners. The national teams have been poor. Uk players don't play with each other week in week out. We all wonder why the british game is dyeing you only have to look at the link to find out why.
Some of that article pretty much sums up how I have felt about the City for the last 3 years.... Not so much the money thing but the fact that despite the large amounts of money that SL put in, (see annual losses), the club was stagnating as the "football" was deteriorating season after season. This was driven initially by fear and then developed into the inevitable downward spiral that losing games and confidence brings. I don't however agree with the "out of love" thing because football for most clubs, like many other things, goes in cycles - sometimes, we will play rubbish (e.g. last 3 seasons) and fans will become disaffected BUT, it only takes a new manager to come in and bring a bit of success for all that to change as most football fans have short memories... Fortunately for us, the club acted just in the nick of time and installed a manager who has the know how and ability to rebuild this club and I believe, drive it on to greater heights. Yes, we can't afford some of the players that we want but there again, we have probably spent more on Cunningham than some clubs entire annual transfer budget, its all relative... As far as the bookies are concerned, ****'em - they have clearly massively under estimated DM and what he will bring to us and if you can bet on NOT being relegated, get your dosh on now. I don't really understand the spread betting thing however if anyone can point me in the direction of betting on the margin of points we will avoid relegation by next season, I would be grateful as I fancy taking some mugs money off them... Call me bullish, I don't care - I am really looking forward to the coming season and something new and exciting...
Of course he is having difficulty getting players in, our owner has now stated no more mercenaries, no more inflated salaries for journeymen who give nothing in return, and the fact that as you say we are favourites for the drop. Why would all the Marquee signings in the championship want to come here? Just stamping our feet up an down because we haven't signed the best available prem players wont make it happen. It's gonna take a manager with a good eye for the potential in a player and good connections and the ability to get us going in the right direction first, with a team around him all working toward the same goal. I believe that man will be Derek Mcinnes.. Football has to change and I think we are in front of these other clubs in learning to cut our cloth accordingly and it may well pay off for us in the longer term. Its not like SL has said "I'm off, I've had enough" he's just trying to bring good business practice to a game renowned for its appalling ability to run itself well even though the money is being put in by the worlds most successful business people. We should always try to compete, thats the whole point of sport but lets not destroy ourselves doing it. its happened now to too many, too often. we need to get players like Greg Cunningham in who are buying in to what the club is looking to do and believes we have a very good manager! That doesn't make us a laughing stock, I think it makes us very sensible. As for the way the club treats the fans well thats another debate. I look forward to some new signings too RR but I'm patient enough to wait for the right ones..
Some of that blog did ring true. There is an air around football now. A feeling that the game has lost its way and all that matters is winning and money. Couple of seasons ago fans and fans bodies were talking about making BCFC unique for its colour and passion. Now fans have thrown in the towel. A little success will paper over the cracks at City, fans can see they are being treated as mugs, not all but more than few. Even the club kit was whored off by the commercial team for a bit of silver.
That "bit of silver" may well help to keep us afloat. In these times of great hardship, even the biggest (e.g. Rangers) can fail so I have no problem with the club making sponsorship deals HOWEVER, they really needed to do a fans poll as this years shirt is horrible and for the first ime in many years, I will not be buying it, even at half price...
Think the shirt reference is down to the black switch, a switch that is down to the club not sponsors. A sense of traditionalism can make money as well. Involving fans makes cash again, look at Germany and Dortmund. That is a **** load of club merch being flogged on that big yellow end and it is not done by ****ing their fans off. Listen to support and clubs can end up with something positive, noisy and they can profit from. Clubs hav forgotten that clubs were often formed by fans not spreadsheets.
