"hopefully Get In The Premier League One Day"

[Warwickshire Red]

SL made this comment in the after match interview following last night's game.

Some may say this was just a throw away interview comment, not to read too much into it and take it out of context. But surely it reinforces what many on here have said in that SL, at least in the shorter to mid term, has lowered his/ the club's ambition and realistic chances of acheiving PL status which all started with the permanent appointment of KM.

Of course, it's SL's right as the club's financial backer to reign in the spending and reduce the club's debt as a prudent accountant and re-set the club's realistic aims but this makes it no easier to hear and really saddened me. We were a club with forward momentum and hope and what I find incredible is how things have appeared to change in such a short space of time. Where did SL's ambition go? Yes, the Coppell episode put us back but the sad fact is that we've regressed further due, in my view, to a mixture of lack of leadership and under-performing player performances (yes the squad still isn't fully balanced and continues to be lacking in certain positions but this squad has shown it's capable of some good performances so it should be doing better than it is).

This isn't intended to be a KM or SL bashing post - just a feeling of deflation and disappointment that the bar has been re-set so soon after great club positivity and stated ambition to push on. Looks like we won't be pulling up any trees any time soon and we'll have to get used to it ****il/unless maybe the Stadium gets the go-ahead which allows greater investment in the squad, in time, led by the best Colin-type manager we can afford).

[myol'man]

Maybe SL knows more about the new stadium than he says publicly,

maybe he's fed up of battling the council, the NIMBY's, and tree huggers.

Personally, i think we missed our big chance the season after the play-off defeat,

it's been downhill since then.

Still, if Blackpool can do it, there is always hope

[Slave to the rhythm]

SL made this comment in the after match interview following last night's game.

Some may say this was just a throw away interview comment, not to read too much into it and take it out of context. But surely it reinforces what many on here have said in that SL, at least in the shorter to mid term, has lowered his/ the club's ambition and realistic chances of acheiving PL status which all started with the permanent appointment of KM.

Of course, it's SL's right as the club's financial backer to reign in the spending and reduce the club's debt as a prudent accountant and re-set the club's realistic aims but this makes it no easier to hear and really saddened me. We were a club with forward momentum and hope and what I find incredible is how things have appeared to change in such a short space of time. Where did SL's ambition go? Yes, the Coppell episode put us back but the sad fact is that we've regressed further due, in my view, to a mixture of lack of leadership and under-performing player performances (yes the squad still isn't fully balanced and continues to be lacking in certain positions but this squad has shown it's capable of some good performances so it should be doing better than it is).

This isn't intended to be a KM or SL bashing post - just a feeling of deflation and disappointment that the bar has been re-set so soon after great club positivity and stated ambition to push on. Looks like we won't be pulling up any trees any time soon and we'll have to get used to it ****il/unless maybe the Stadium gets the go-ahead which allows greater investment in the squad, in time, led by the best Colin-type manager we can afford).

I genuinely think he's given up on BCFC and would like to pass the reins to somebody else.

How come we never get linked with these megabucks takeovers, like what's recently happened at Leicester? They've got Yakubu, for ****'s sake!

[spudski]

I genuinely think he's given up on BCFC and would like to pass the reins to somebody else.

How come we never get linked with these megabucks takeovers, like what's recently happened at Leicester? They've got Yakubu, for ****'s sake!

He has a fist full of Dollers, a great business mind, but imho, has his head in the Clouds when it comes to running a football Club. He might be good at business and the accounting side of a football Club, but when it comes to coaching staff, playing staff, and decision making, his judgement is as good as anyone else on this forum.

[Tales From The Front]

I hope he hasn't, but the problem as I see it..is he has spend a lot of "his" money on transfer fees and players saleries and really hasn't in themain got value. Unfortunately the choice of managers hasn't helped but that is very difficult.....A cleaver business man and a man who undoubtedly in my view has had Bristol City best interests very much as heart and without his investment we would not have had what we have...the frustrating thing is we have come so cose...but now need a revolutionary managerial appointment in the long term to project us forward agagin....for Brighton it was Poyet...for Blackpool it was H******, I remain convinced that he and us as fans was let down by Gary Johnson the secound half the first year back in the Championship and we have not recovered, just my contraversial view...momentium was lost in poor player recruitment and players that needed to moved after Wembley were on long contracts. Gary Johnson was a victim of his own initial success but what the last four years of Championship football illustrates is that you cannot stand still and perhaps as a football club we did with as I said not revitalising the squad quickly enough

We will come again of that I am sure...its just that fans perception of the likelyhood of success is so key in modern football and at the moment the general feeling is not good and it is what is probably making SL reaccess his goals no pun intended, and his long term asperations for the club. But we know this can change quickly...what is past is now gone, and the most important thing is that Keith Millen and his squad keep the club in the Championship, once that is achieved the club will need a big internal audit in my view and structure itself as to what it wants to achieve and equally as important what is possiable. But make no mistake a club that lacks ambition quickly becomes a marginal force of little interest and I think the majoirty of us at least have enjoyed being taken a lot more seriously as a football club and for that alone I say - Thank You Steve Lansdown.

[BCAGFC]

Think the club has been in decline for a few seasons now...

Even though we finished top half in the last 3 seasons, we went through stages in each season where we couldn't score/win a game, successful clubs don't usually go through that.

Let's face it the previous 2 managers did sign some crap (including loans)......most of which we have found it more or less impossible to get rid of.

Hopefully we can get through this disaster of a season, get some good footballers in and build again.

BCAGFC

[WellRedPhil]

He has a fist full of Dollers, a great business mind, but imho, has his head in the Clouds when it comes to running a football Club. He might be good at business and the accounting side of a football Club, but when it comes to coaching staff, playing staff, and decision making, his judgement is as good as anyone else on this forum.

His footballing decisions have not been great and I was only saying a week ago how I'm amazed that this doesn't get mentioned more. One very good appointment, two disasters and one that was at best rushed and naive does not exactly make great reading. The amount he's invested in players and the 'Ashton Vale Project' seem to have made him exempt from all criticism.

[Red]

IMO, when England were turned down for the World Cup, this has had a really bad effect on SL.

With the council then thinking yeah this would be good for the City Of Bristol.

But it crashed.

Now with Sainsbury's buying out the gate under threat, and those plonkers of ashton vale spouting crap, SL is coming to the end of his lot.

All his plans for the club are slowly burning away, i dont think Millen would have been offered the managers job if we got the world cup.

We have to get the new Stadium otherwise i can see SL getting someone else in, then moving on.

Loving and supporting the club is just not enough for him, he wants to take us further.

Hope im well and truly wrong!

[neilos]

His footballing decisions have not been great and I was only saying a week ago how I'm amazed that this doesn't get mentioned more. One very good appointment, two disasters and one that was at best rushed and naive does not exactly make great reading. The amount he's invested in players and the 'Ashton Vale Project' seem to have made him exempt from all criticism.

Agreed .. but i think that for whatever the reasons it was a loss Gary didnt work out, whereever he's gone he's done well but then other than Yeovil he's been moved on.

I think SL deserved the GJ recruitment to work out.

It's all at a bit of a loss at the moment with the world cup being pulled and us being where we are, what Bristol as a city should do is come out in droves like Derby, Nottingham, Liverpool, being the south west we just don't seem to have the football heritage, but then Southampton have done it as have Portsmouth, albeit in smaller numbers

attendances for now, that's the answer amongst a million others !

[spudski]

The thing is... there is no 'University' in becoming a Football Club Chairman. Money Talks, and that's all that counts. Anyone on here could win the Euro Millions and go buy out a football Club tomorrow. They may know **** all about football. The same can be said of our Chairman. He's got Millions of £'s, and obviously a good business sense in his field. But apart from going to watch football, what knowledge of the game has he got than you or me?

The same can be said of football managers to a certain extent.

Considering the amount of money involved in Football, as a comodity, i'm always amazed at the level of Chairman and managers. As an Employer, I would struggle to employ many of them. Many are incoherent, and unprofessional. It's a very strange business imho.

Personally, as a fan of BCFC, I can see the benefits of having a Chairman like SL. But in many ways, i feel he runs the Club in the same way as he does his Financial business. He seems too loyal to certain employees.

No one wants to see people sacked. There are families and children involved, and Bills to be paid.

But the Chairman who are most ruthless, seem to be the most successful.

[Modestant]

He has a fist full of Dollers, a great business mind, but imho, has his head in the Clouds when it comes to running a football Club. He might be good at business and the accounting side of a football Club, but when it comes to coaching staff, playing staff, and decision making, his judgement is as good as anyone else on this forum.

's

What an absolutely ridiculous post to add to this ridiculous thread. I am not happy with where we are in the table and I do not back Millen at all, but to question Steve Lansdown's running of the club is naive and shabby. To think that he is detrimental to the club is unbelievable. I can understand criticism of SL with re: to his appointment (and subsequent lack of dismissing) Millen, but to question his ability to run this club - not a chance. Remember, this time 4 years ago, we were still fighting for League 1 playoffs. I think you are just another one who has inflated expectations as a result of a remarkable 1st season back at Championship level. Get some perspective.

[beaverface]

I do get worried reading threads like this, I think some of comments posted are likely to drive Steve Lansdown out of the club.

We don't know how lucky we are to have someone like him with the "potential" financial muscle to support us.

You've only got to look at the previous boards we've had ie. Des Willimas et al- did a brilliant job for making us finanically sound, but didn't break the bank for anybody and that board still made dodgy appointments ie, Lumden/Osman.

The David Russe saga - less said the better, promised the World but delivered nothing and forced us sell Andy Cole at a knock down price, plus reappointed Jordan for our 1995 relegation.

Then you've got the Scott Davison/John Laycock board who spent all their money on strikers that John Ward didn't necessarily want, and then they appointed a coach behind the managers back - they also appointed Pulis, nuff said!

No rich owners want to support clubs in the West Country, you only need to look at the Gash, Swindle and Plymuff to realise that - not one of those football clubs has ever had a sugar daddy!

You could say that a rich oil owner from the middle east could come in, but how many of them did Portsmouth have? - and they're a club about the same size as us - but those owners didn't have the heart or the fight to tackle the financial hardships and planning laws to rebuild the club from top to bottom including a new stadium.

It's time we got behind Steve Lansdown and support him when things are going against us rather than just moan.

[downendcity]

The thing is... there is no 'University' in becoming a Football Club Chairman. Money Talks, and that's all that counts. Anyone on here could win the Euro Millions and go buy out a football Club tomorrow. They may know **** all about football. The same can be said of our Chairman. He's got Millions of £'s, and obviously a good business sense in his field. But apart from going to watch football, what knowledge of the game has he got than you or me?

The same can be said of football managers to a certain extent.

Considering the amount of money involved in Football, as a comodity, i'm always amazed at the level of Chairman and managers. As an Employer, I would struggle to employ many of them. Many are incoherent, and unprofessional. It's a very strange business imho.

Personally, as a fan of BCFC, I can see the benefits of having a Chairman like SL. But in many ways, i feel he runs the Club in the same way as he does his Financial business. He seems too loyal to certain employees.

No one wants to see people sacked. There are families and children involved, and Bills to be paid.

But the Chairman who are most ruthless, seem to be the most successful.

Disagree witth you on the Spudski.

The chairman who have been the most loyal have been the most sicessful. They see their clubs first and second in the Premier League, in the last 16 of the champions league, and have been among the most cnsistent club in the topflight for the last 15 years or so.

[Jesus]

My fear was when SL moved from the country. Do long distance relationships work? Especially expensive ones. If you add Bristol's Council and the fickle never happy fans into the equation then you've got one frustrated person.

I wouldn't be surprised to see SL leave when the final nail is put into the stadium coffin.

[spudski]

Disagree witth you on the Spudski.

The chairman who have been the most loyal have been the most sicessful. They see their clubs first and second in the Premier League, in the last 16 of the champions league, and have been among the most cnsistent club in the topflight for the last 15 years or so.

My mistake, I should have added, 'when things are going bad'.

Leicester and Ipswich are good examples this year.

[spudski]

's

What an absolutely ridiculous post to add to this ridiculous thread. I am not happy with where we are in the table and I do not back Millen at all, but to question Steve Lansdown's running of the club is naive and shabby. To think that he is detrimental to the club is unbelievable. I can understand criticism of SL with re: to his appointment (and subsequent lack of dismissing) Millen, but to question his ability to run this club - not a chance. Remember, this time 4 years ago, we were still fighting for League 1 playoffs. I think you are just another one who has inflated expectations as a result of a remarkable 1st season back at Championship level. Get some perspective.

Excuse me....? Read the whole of what i wrote. It say's exactly what you are implying. Runs the Club but poor decision making when it comes to staff etc...

[Dastardly and Muttley]

My mistake, I should have added, 'when things are going bad'.

Leicester and Ipswich are good examples this year.

So, Fergie would have gone a couple of years into his reign then? If the board were as ruthless as you would like.

For me, with Millen, there are enough positives to stick by him for a while longer. The players are with him, his signings have all improved the team and are slowly wiping out the dross that we've had for several years now.

Give him the summer to bring in four or five more and we'll have around 11 players that are his signings. Then judge him on that.

[marmite]

My mistake, I should have added, 'when things are going bad'.

Leicester and Ipswich are good examples this year.

So, Fergie would have gone a couple of years into his reign then? If the board were as ruthless as you would like.

For me, with Millen, there are enough positives to stick by him for a while longer. The players are with him, his signings have all improved the team and are slowly wiping out the dross that we've had for several years now.

Give him the summer to bring in four or five more and we'll have around 11 players that are his signings. Then judge him on that.

Who are these 4 or 5 players that will make the difference and why were they not added in the window? We could be in Div 1 by the end of the season! Will they sign then?

[spudski]

My mistake, I should have added, 'when things are going bad'.

Leicester and Ipswich are good examples this year.

So, Fergie would have gone a couple of years into his reign then? If the board were as ruthless as you would like.

For me, with Millen, there are enough positives to stick by him for a while longer. The players are with him, his signings have all improved the team and are slowly wiping out the dross that we've had for several years now.

Give him the summer to bring in four or five more and we'll have around 11 players that are his signings. Then judge him on that.

We'll have to agree to diagree on that then.The dross arose from hanging onto GJ too long...and so it continues. Like i've said in previous posts. I don't blame Millen. I may not rate him as a manager, but i don't blame him for the direction the Club is going.

[Roger Red Hat]

Who are these 4 or 5 players that will make the difference and why were they not added in the window? We could be in Div 1 by the end of the season! Will they sign then?

I should imagine one player is Billy Jones, PNE, who will be a free agent in the summer, the chairman having turned down our bid in Jan not having any say in the matter come the end of the season.

[Roger Red Hat]

My fear was when SL moved from the country. Do long distance relationships work? Especially expensive ones. If you add Bristol's Council and the fickle never happy fans into the equation then you've got one frustrated person.

I wouldn't be surprised to see SL leave when the final nail is put into the stadium coffin.

I too wouldn't be surprised at this scenario, then we too will be up the proverbial along with the rest of the english clubs west of London.

[citybs3]

My fear was when SL moved from the country. Do long distance relationships work? Especially expensive ones. If you add Bristol's Council and the fickle never happy fans into the equation then you've got one frustrated person.

I wouldn't be surprised to see SL leave when the final nail is put into the stadium coffin.

i agree too, and i think the final nail has already been firmly nailed in - when was the last time bcfc.co.uk didnt have anything on thier home page re the new stadium? i am completely grateful to SL for the past 4 years, its been much better than anything i can remember down the gate, but i reckon no stadium = no SL = League 1 club (eventually...)

what i dont get is bcfc had planning permission for ashton vale, and the issues only came about when sainsburys failed. why oh why did SL let his whole dream die purely down to stubborness that AG must be sold to sainsburys? they were willing to pay £20M - im sure he could have sold it easily for £10M to other people, and then could have then cracked on. it has probably cost him £5M since sainsburys failed so his loss wouldnt have been £10M compared to now.

like i say, im very grateful to SL, but cant help but feel everything has gone wrong due to a bit of stubborness. whats £5M for the team you love when you have got over £500M?

ps...all figures stated are guestimates but probably not too far off the mark

[Simon79]

Funny how people take things differently. I thought it was a good interview, with a balanced and well thought answers to the questions that were being asked. I think in this case he was saying that staving off relegation is at the fore front of his mind. I mean if he started talking about getting promoted with us in the position we are, people would be on here saying that he lives in cloud cuckoo. So i dont think that he has lost his ambition or drive for this club, certainly not from what i heard and saw in his interview anyway.

[spudski]

i agree too, and i think the final nail has already been firmly nailed in - when was the last time bcfc.co.uk didnt have anything on thier home page re the new stadium? i am completely grateful to SL for the past 4 years, its been much better than anything i can remember down the gate, but i reckon no stadium = no SL = League 1 club (eventually...)

what i dont get is bcfc had planning permission for ashton vale, and the issues only came about when sainsburys failed. why oh why did SL let his whole dream die purely down to stubborness that AG must be sold to sainsburys? they were willing to pay £20M - im sure he could have sold it easily for £10M to other people, and then could have then cracked on. it has probably cost him £5M since sainsburys failed so his loss wouldnt have been £10M compared to now.

like i say, im very grateful to SL, but cant help but feel everything has gone wrong due to a bit of stubborness. whats £5M for the team you love when you have got over £500M?

ps...all figures stated are guestimates but probably not too far off the mark

No disrespect, but do you not feel that is a lot of presumption on your part?

No one knows what SL will do. We have gut feelings, based on what we read in the press, or should that be, not read? Everything is very quiet from SL these days. I can understand why many feel the same way as you...But we just don't know.

tbh...It's the not knowing, that's killing us all.

I know a lot of ST holders who are not going to renew until they know a little more, as to what to expect from our club.

[citybs3]

No disrespect, but do you not feel that is a lot of presumption on your part?

No one knows what SL will do. We have gut feelings, based on what we read in the press, or should that be, not read? Everything is very quiet from SL these days. I can understand why many feel the same way as you...But we just don't know.

tbh...It's the not knowing, that's killing us all.

I know a lot of ST holders who are not going to renew until they know a little more, as to what to expect from our club.

absolutely, 100% presumptions and gut feeling! SL proved me very wrong before when i thought he didnt want to go up from league 1 for various reasons. lets hope im very wrong again.

will be getting my ST this week, life without City isnt an option, even if we do go down.

[Roger Red Hat]

No disrespect, but do you not feel that is a lot of presumption on your part?

No one knows what SL will do. We have gut feelings, based on what we read in the press, or should that be, not read? Everything is very quiet from SL these days. I can understand why many feel the same way as you...But we just don't know.

tbh...It's the not knowing, that's killing us all.

I know a lot of ST holders who are not going to renew until they know a little more, as to what to expect from our club.

Just renewed mine, although if we go down it probably wont get a lot of use. I don't know if can face league one footy again.

[semblar]

Everything is very quiet from SL these days. I can understand why many feel the same way as you...

It's pssible that the relative quietness about the stadium is down to the ongoing arbitration process - effectively not giving the NIMBY's an excuse to call off the talks and blame SL....

[Barrs Court Red]

Exactly. I'd rather city do the talking behind closed doors.

[REDOXO]

Funny how people take things differently. I thought it was a good interview, with a balanced and well thought answers to the questions that were being asked. I think in this case he was saying that staving off relegation is at the fore front of his mind. I mean if he started talking about getting promoted with us in the position we are, people would be on here saying that he lives in cloud cuckoo. So i dont think that he has lost his ambition or drive for this club, certainly not from what i heard and saw in his interview anyway.

Exactly my thoughts! Amazing what people hear, unfortunately not so amazing is the way one or two jump on the SL has no football brain/bad decision maker band wagon at every available opportunity.

The only obviously questionable manager decision SL has made was Brian T. To this day Wilson and Tinnion dont talk so I cant help but think there is a hell of a lot that doesn't meet the eye!

However Danny Wilson couldn't quite get us over the finish line..That was his failure not SL's...GJ got us into this division, Coppell (Knob) was a real coup but how was anyone to know he had a screw loose and now KM who is busy clearing up the resultant mess.

This football club has traditionally been a second/third tier club with one or two flirtations with tier one and tier four. Without SL at the helm we would not be where we are and not have the players we do, yes the bloke himself would probably say he doesn't get everything right, but most of us know this already.

Criticise the guy if you wish and if the situation warrants it, but keeping on saying the same things on a forum smacks of an agenda and we already know what some of you think you have told us enough times now!!!!

[REDOXO]

Excuse me for being trite, but how is 2 games lost a mess? and Millen has had significantly more than that to put it right, plus several before Coppell's

Please explain to me how you consider Coppell considering he signed less players, and had less time with all the staff at the club at the time is some how responsible 6 months on?

Iam intrigued to say the least

I was going to say you are excused but on second thoughts I wont.

The mess was brought about over a number of months which I thought was implied by my sentence which included the words GJ got us promoted before you tritely clipped it!

Would you like me to explain further regarding the mess KM inherited from two managers one of whom lost the players and the second of whom lost his bottle.

Would you like me to explain a ****** like Hunt is on massive wages but impossible to shift because he's crap, as is Stewart. Would you like me to explain further how most of our players are worth nothing in the transfer market and are not going to move until their rich contracts expire or perhaps I should explain that regardless of what some say on here SL does have limits to his generosity and has left the task to Millen to keep us up while balancing the books in someway

I could also talk about the massive injury crisis we have endured this entire season from Maynard thru Vokes Stead McAlister etal and the fact we had one fit striker after Coppell left Clarkson who most agree is better playing from midfield...

KM has bought in excellent players everyone of them good at their trade, where as GJ and Coppell (knob) couldn't pick their nose quite apart from a footballer (with one or two exceptions) AND KM saved our arses at the back end of last season...This deserves respect and support, maybe you should try some your triteness