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The major problem with your position is that the concept of linking a state to its citizens is a relatively modern concept, it started in the 19th Century, but it wasn't until the aftermath of the First World War that it became of major interest to sovereign states. I'd also point out that modern Norway came into existence in the early 19th Century.

/Pedant mode on On a technicality, I would say that Max is keeping out more than the average keeper would do, with the same shot pattern. Depending upon how talented Max actually is, it could be that he is letting in more than he should. /Pedant mode off

Also because if you recruit better than Max I'd expect Max to go and get a first choice Championship gig elsewhere.

My best guess is that he already has one of these.

So we could be neighbours!

So actually it could well be that there is no need for a new contract then, the old one keeps rolling on, as most employee contracts do. I last signed an employment contract in June 2014, still there, still doing the same job, still getting paid ...

So I'm intrigued. What exactly are the terms of NP's contract? If he gets to the end of the 2023/24 season without being sacked does it keep rolling forwards with a 12 month notice period for example? Be delighted if someone could actually enlighten me. PS Manager contracts do not operate in the same way as player contracts.

Given the club has got itself into a complete mess and is run by people with no idea of what they are doing - how is the important bit - you know the football - going?

My view is that everyone is in danger of running down lots of rabbit holes with this one. Personally, following the 'Bristol Sport' reorganisation that took place earlier this year, it doesn't make sense to have a Football CEO and a Group CEO. The actual operations of the football club are relatively straightforward as are the finances. Football side director, everything else director, and NP keeping himself far away from anything but his day job - perfect.

I must be reading a different forum to you then. How much has football made over the last 10 years? It has many 'Scots' to go to even look at breaking even.

OK, lets guess that the club needs to raise £10 million a year. Do you honestly believe that you can find say 10,000 people to contribute £1,000 above their season ticket every year for the infinite future? Even if you can that is far less than SL is contributing and on here he is a miser who needs to open his wallet even further.

Currently yes - but have you read the posts on here? £30 million is based upon: £13 million for FFP purposes £7 million to cover costs outside FFP £10 million to improve the squad. The issue is that banks will not lend funds without proof of income.

And who would fund the £30 million odd a year needed to pay the bills and get the squad necessary for promotion. Assuming there are 10,000 fans able to pay the bills that's a £3,500 annual season ticket. Total pipe dream. Shows a complete lack of reality.

We will always differ on this. It's a business, it needs to make money. I work for a company owned by a billionaire, aka "The Boss" The customers pay us for a service and we are required to make a cashflow contribution to the center and not lose money. Coincidentally I spent Thursday morning in a meeting discussing my 2024 Business Plan (an excellent one I thought) and my request to add two staff to the team. If I'd gone in and said 'The Boss' will pay I would have been laughed out of the room. My plan showed exactly who was going to pay - the customers, eventually. We are increasing prices for the work we do, and the additional staff members will enable us to have more customers. If any customer wants a special project those fees are increasing significantly. Now we just need to deliver.

So how much more do you think that the wage budget should be increased by, who will that enable the club to acquire, and what proportion are you paying?

I think that people need to go back and read the planning permission details for both 'The Sporting Quarter' and 'Ashton Vale'.

I just see this as Nige being Nige. Direct and honest. Nothing else. There is a budget - I keep to it. I'd like more but so would everyone. Not my job to explain the budget. Seems to me that everyone hated the apparent 'pointless splurge' under the previous characters and now hate the 'pointless restraint' under the current characters.

Not everybody values themselves by the amount of somebody else's money they get to spend.

And how much did Mel get out of Derby?

Nah - buying a championship football club is a vanity project. You invest £20 million a year, £13 million for FFP plus all the other 'non-FFP costs' and you might get it right, and win promotion. If it doesn't work out in five years you are £100 million poorer, and have an asset basically worth nothing. Mind you if I could find £200 million behind the back of my sofa it would be a fun way of losing half my fortune and imagine the hate I would get on here for spending £100 million of my own money! ???

The company isn't there to make a profit. It is there to ensure that if the football club goes bust again, the ground is protected from the creditors of the club. The ownership structure is such that whilst that protection exists the club and the ground are there to sell as a single entity by selling BC Holdings Ltd. As to the P&L, AG Ltd has made a profit before interest, depreciation and amortisation for the last five years, a positive EBITDA is a good thing. It absorbs a huge sum of costs that would otherwise fall on the football club, and spreads it out amongst the other activities of the wider Bristol Sport empire and the other commercial activities,

NP does not want to be backed with lots of cash. What he wants is an agreed budget and to manage the team within that budget. Both of which he has. As I have said many times before we all know which pool we are paddling in for players and to be fair on balance the recruitment has been pretty good.

If you ran a ruthless attitude over the commercials of Bristol City Holdings Limited you would run a mile and not invest. End of story. Nobody investing with a sound commercial mind would go anywhere near a Championship club.

My original response seems to have disappeared, so let's try again. I am sure it has, but announcing that you have £x million to spend results in 'Oh - everyone has doubled in price'. On a simple level I think that the recruitment since Pearson has taken over has been above average. There will always be players that fail, given the pool we paddle in, but generally things have been good. We all know that Pearson likes to run a lean squad and likes to promote from within. All in line with what Lansdown says. I also note that Lansdown has been criticised on here for stating that Luton were promoted whilst spending less than Bristol City did, why criticise someone for telling the truth? I had the privilege of being in the same room as Pearson when he managed Leicester City, and listening to him as a person. He loved playing football and loves being a manager. He isn't motivated by talking b******** or money. He wouldn't be at Bristol City if he didn't want to be. Coincidentally I went to a Group Board meeting today. The owner/chairman (who paddles in the same wealth pool as Lansdown) said that he didn't like me, didn't see the point of what I did, but really appreciated what I was doing for the group and that you should never recruit people you like.

If you say so. But I doubt you know,