CliftonCliff

…. and they’ve now amended it.

1 minute ago, Midred said:

BBC has Sykes as CB?

They invariably get it wrong.

1 minute ago, Dan Robin said:

What an impact by Sykes!

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.

4 minutes ago, Red Army 75 said:

Really bad Cliff. But looking at the 2 sides we have put out in the friendlies I’m not surprised. I’m not enjoying watching city at the moment. But these friendlies are awful 

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.

Just now, Red Army 75 said:

Pathetic from England. 

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

13 hours ago, Nugget said:

I just don’t get why SL doesn’t think, “I’m not getting any younger, you can’t take this (money) with you” & just go for it or let someone have a go that can rather than keep making mistakes over and over. Create a legacy, stop taking the cheap options that stroke the ego, get some decent folks in & let them cook.

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.

14 hours ago, Dr Balls said:

Bit that’s what you get for dispensing  with an experienced manager and replacing him with an inexperienced coach. And the same could be said about sacking an experienced CEO and not replacing him at all, but instead relying on the son of the owner (one of only 2 board members and the other is the company accountant) and the development (academy) manager to cover that role. Nobody in their right mind would run a business big or small like that, so why has Lansdown Snr let it happen? 

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.

9 hours ago, Frenchay Red said:

Why not join Senior Reds Cliff. Make new friends with a shared love of the club. Some who go home and away to every game. Some who go to every home game, some go occasionally and some who no longer go. It's a good mix. Ex players such as Geoff M and Paul C and Tom R are regulars and if you talked to the right person you would know exactly why Nige was sacked.

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?)

13 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

This Cliff, this.

When my dad was given the news that his cancer was terminal it was in the Covid period. I remember him crying, and one of the things him saying was that he’d never get to Ashton Gate again. And he didn’t - he was gone before the grounds reopened. His name and memory for me is all over the ground though and I feel closer to him there than anywhere else.

It’s what you love. And it’ll be what you love irrespective of what’s served up because it’s a huge part of your life. I’d renew if I were you, come what may.

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. 

1 hour ago, Superjack said:

I understand your sentiment, but this is where the solution lies.

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.

On 10/03/2024 at 17:26, Silvio Dante said:

Not at all. My club before his, my club after he’s gone. It’ll be like Japanese Water Torture to sit through his “football” but I’ll renew mine and the kids.

Doesnt mean I like the regime. And my micro protest will be to leave it until the last minute. But by god, it’ll be a slog.

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.

11 hours ago, The Bard said:

Sheff U were shite last season I thought. Didn't understand how they got up. Obviously repeated the trick of winning 1 0 despite being terrible a few times.

Burnley were great at dominating at our level but they aren’t managing that in the Prem.

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.

6 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Great post Cliff.

I’m not a million miles from you, even if I perhaps am more opinionated in my posts.

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.)

46 minutes ago, Bazooka Joe said:

It looks very much like . . . . .

 

Manning has lost the dressing room.

The Club has lost it's fan base.

The team have lost their last three games.

Most fans have lost all hope.

Those who backed the dismissal of Pearson/appointment of Manning, are lost for words

Tinnion and the Lansdowns have lost their marbles.

Downsey has lost his voice (if only)

 

Have I missed anything?

 

 

 

 

No, that about covers it.

12 hours ago, WarksRobin said:

They’re working on an echo chamber with no external voices in the boardroom to provide counterbalance. It’s a classic problem when you operate with a small board. 
 

IMO they need to appoint a couple of non executive directors to challenge the group thinking that is clearly happening at the top of the club. 

Absolutely this. There is a total lack of professionalism and nobody to challenge the half-baked proclamations emanating from the Chairman’s office. Pearson did that and was sacked for it. Brian Tinnion, who I have admired in the past and in whom I am hugely disappointed, lacks the balls to call out the nonsense and instead either cravenly agrees or keeps his head down. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Someone just posted on the match thread that it’s now showing on Sports 10, though I haven’t personally verified that.

On 29/01/2024 at 18:05, CodeRed said:

 I would never use a VPN but a " friend" uses windscribe ( as recommended by our own Davfevs) , simple to download, there's a free version which allows you to stream about 4 games a month if you don't start until just before ko and log off at FT. The pay version is from memory about £50-£60 per year and is unlimited.

Once you have downloaded windscribe an icon will appear on your desktop/ or phone...you can load it on both ......open the app, turn it on and set the location to anywhere outside of the UK eg Frankfurt., then sign in to Bristol Sport and RTV and the game will be available to buy.  The game appears on RTV about 30 mins before ko, click on the screen not the white play arrow and it should start playing.

I was a VPN virgin until last night, but following your advice I took my first trip to Frankfurt to watch a game and it was a very satisfactory experience. Thanks again for the helpful tips to you and the other guys on the thread who shared useful information. Excellent! (Shame about the equaliser.)

3 hours ago, CodeRed said:

 I would never use a VPN but a " friend" uses windscribe ( as recommended by our own Davfevs) , simple to download, there's a free version which allows you to stream about 4 games a month if you don't start until just before ko and log off at FT. The pay version is from memory about £50-£60 per year and is unlimited.

Once you have downloaded windscribe an icon will appear on your desktop/ or phone...you can load it on both ......open the app, turn it on and set the location to anywhere outside of the UK eg Frankfurt., then sign in to Bristol Sport and RTV and the game will be available to buy.  The game appears on RTV about 30 mins before ko, click on the screen not the white play arrow and it should start playing.

That’s really, really helpful. Thanks so much for going to the trouble. Appreciate it.

40 minutes ago, elhombrecito said:

I'll be taking my usual flight to Frankfurt to take in the game. It's lovely this time of year

46 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

 

Live for "international" viewers.

Which is good as I'll be in Japan...

 

I must get around to flying with VPN Airways. Never used a VPN and not sure what it entails. Do you guys use a free service or pay? Anything you’d particularly recommend?

There would appear to be no Robins TV coverage, as far as one can gather from the website. Just audio. Bummer.

19 minutes ago, Malago said:

I’ll have you know The Malago is classified as a River.

Really? Blimey! Must have increased in volume since my childhood days when we used to catch sticklebacks. Unlike my own flow rate, which like certain others on this thread began in those long-off days as a raging torrent, mellowed into a sedately flowing river, slowed to a small stream and now, in my mid seventies, has finally reduced to a trickle. I can readily empathise with what HRH King Charles is experiencing. Unfortunately, most of us don't have access to the kind of health care he receives...

5 hours ago, BCFC Rich said:

This means I'll need a stream 

The Malago? (Local knowledge required.)