CliftonCliff

…. and they’ve now amended it.

They invariably get it wrong.

Which should surprise nobody. He’s been doing that ever since he got here.

Don’t want to sound churlish and it was a cracking finish, but thank Christ he finally got something right.

Bloody hell. What did I say earlier about my over 70s walking football defending? I take it back. This is worse.

They’re looking like a bloody pub team at certain moments. I’ll cut them a bit of slack for the number of injuries and withdrawals, but there’s no excuse for some of what we’ve seen in the opening 20 minutes. Worryingly poor.

The defending reminded me of my over-70s walking football team. Gobsmackingly bad.

I understand that sentiment, but as I commented on another thread recently, SL is at heart a money man, not a football man. It would be like asking him to change his DNA. When he reaches the end of his days, the criterion by which he judges his own success will be how much he’s worth, not where BCFC stand in the league pyramid. His early professional training was in accountancy and he’s still a bean counter when it comes right down to it. Bankers exhibit the same mentality. It’s how they keep score and demonstrate who’s got the biggest dick, and explains why they continue to accumulate wealth when they’ve already got far more than they can possibly use. It will go against every bone in his body to accept a huge financial loss. I find it contemptible and it’s certainly dysfunctional, but it’s the way some people are, and I’m afraid SL is one of them.

You’re absolutely right and you’ve summarised it very well, as have many others, repeatedly. I’ve written practically identical posts myself. I’ve pretty much stopped now, because it’s become an absolutely futile exercise. We’re preaching to the converted: nobody else is listening. The only people who can do anything about it certainly aren’t. I think a kind of paralysis has set in at the top:the classic rabbit in the headlights response, if you like. They’ve frozen and don’t know what to do. At some level they must know they’ve screwed up spectacularly, but are either in denial or cannot bring themselves to admit, perhaps not even to themselves, and certainly not publicly, that they’ve got it horribly, horribly wrong - again. And again, and again. SL, with his Bristol Sport vanity project and his blind insistence on handing huge responsibility to his sadly very limited son, who lacks the qualifications and experience required, has painted himself into a corner he can’t get out of. It’s like watching the proverbial car crash in slow motion. I am becoming resigned to the possibility that it will only get turned around, if at all, by us all having to watch, helplessly, as the disaster unfolds, until the current ownership finally departs in disgrace, reputation in tatters, and a huge, bottom up rebuild commences. I hope I’m wrong, because if I’m not, I will, frankly, almost certainly be dead by the time it plays out and the story comes full circle. Negative, defeatist, call it what you like, but those are not characteristics that I would normally associate with myself and over sixty years of support should be enough to demonstrate that I’m no quitter, but I cannot see how the present incumbents are going to reverse the trend, and neither can I see them letting go of control. I do, quite literally, despair.

Thanks for that, mate. I’ll certainly bear it in mind. I do already lead a fairly busy social life and, in addition to the guys with whom I attend games, I regularly rub shoulders with quite a few fellow supporters of a similar age through my walking football activities. I was aware of the Senior Reds but have never really thought about joining. I wouldn’t rule it out, though, especially with that little tempter you threw in at the end there! (Wouldn’t we all like to know what went on there?)

Reading that was genuinely really affecting. It also goes to the heart of the issue, in every sense. Weighing up financial arguments against emotional factors that are impossible to quantify is, well…. Impossible. I’m truly sorry about your Dad.

I know, I know. Lansdown, when it comes right down to it (dare I say, in his DNA), is a money man, not a football man. It’s the only language he really understands and responds to, in the end. But I AM a football man. I’m also getting into my late seventies and can’t know ho many more seasons I will see. So am I to walk away, in order to force SL’s hand in some way? And how, exactly? How many other supporters will be willing to do likewise? How many would it take to have an impact on the owner’s behaviour? Do we actually believe that a drastic fall in the number of people attending will actually bring about change, given that they appear to be incapable of making a sound decision? It’s not as simplistic as your comment implies, though I’m with you in spirit.

Not a million miles from my own perspective. I’ll probably renew, with a heavy heart and absolutely no optimism or enthusiasm whatsoever, but a good deal of anger simmering below the surface that’s been there for a considerable period now and is unlikely to subside anytime soon. Perverse, almost, you could say, I suppose. Why do it, if that’s how I feel? But a history of over 60 years of supporting the club, as did my father from boyhood, is not that easy to walk away from. And yes, my attachment to the surviving members of my friendship group with whom I’ve been attending games for several decades. Those things are important and outweigh, just, my deep and ever growing dislike of the people running - or should that be ruining - the club. I know from talking to those mates and others that I am far from being alone in feeling this way. Not that the ownership gives a rat’s arse, as long as money comes in. I’ve never known such a broad consensus among the fan base or so much antipathy towards the club hierarchy. It speaks volumes about them that they appear to be either unaware of the depth of that dislike or else are indifferent to it. It cannot bode well for the future of the club.

At some point during last season, I remember posting a comment, in passing and without giving it a great deal of thought, to the effect that I thought Sheffield United were a mediocre side, even at Championship level, were getting away with murder at times, thanks to the kind of refereeing that used to drive NP up the wall, barely deserved to be where they were in the league and would, if promoted, get absolutely mullered in the PL. Somewhat to my surprise, some bloke jumped down my throat and gave me a right rollicking about it. I was rather taken aback and slightly peed off, as I didn’t think I’d said anything particularly contentious. I don’t know what rattled his cage and I can’t remember who it was, but whoever he is, I hope he’s reading this thread. Have a nice day, mate.

Thanks, Dave, appreciate it, coming from someone who talks more sense than most. (And without wanting to turn this into some sort of mutually congratulatory love-in, you do yourself an injustice. Having firm and clearly expressed, respectful opinions does not equate to being opinionated. We have plenty of posters who fit that description. You’re not one of them.)