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Dear Mr Lansdown


Loderingo

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Dear Mr Lansdown,

I don't know if you ever visit this forum any more but I'm writing on the off chance that you might.

I've been a fan of this club since 1988 and during that time we have been a club which has alternated between the top half of League 1 and the bottom half of the Championship.  Like many fans I took my seat against Wigan in August hoping we could finally break that cycle with a stadium fit to grace the Premier League.

I'm sure you must also share that dream of one day seeing City play against Arsenal and Man U in front of 27,000 fans.  I can't believe you would have invested all that time and money in the stadium (and in the Ashton Vale project before that) if you wanted us to play in front of 13,000 fans against Gillingham and Rochdale in League 1.

And yet that is what we could be facing.  Like so many fans I have hoped beyond hope that we would turn around this awful run.  I thought the new signings would it turn around.  Then I thought the win against Rotherham might be the catalyst for a change in fortune.  Then maybe the draw against Newcastle.  However, none of these have turned it around and we have now slipped into the relegation zone.  3 points in 6 games and 1 win in 2017 tell the story

So what can turn it around?  You have invested amply in players and the manager has plenty of options to pick from in all departments.  No-one can say we have an injury crisis.  Unfortunately the only thing that can really make a difference is a new manager.

To have any chance of staying up, we are going to need at least 4 wins from our last 11 games.  If things continue as they are, I struggle to see us getting 1 win let alone 4.

I realise there is a cost to sacking the manager particularly after awarding him a new contract.  However, there are also costs to getting relegated:

 - The cost of slashing ticket prices to make sure the stadium isn't half empty

- The cost of a firesale of the squad to ensure we can comply with League 1 SCMP regulations.

- The cost of seeing new fans who were drawn in by the new stadium drift away

And we certainly aren't guaranteed to bounce back from league 1 straight away.  Charlton and MK Dons are both bottom half after being relegated last year.  Sheff U get 3 times the fans of some clubs in that league but have still been down there for 6 seasons, and it took us 9 years in the Wilson era.  

If Lee Johnson cannot save us from relegation with the resources he has had, can we really expect him to get us straight back up?  The danger is that we struggle again next season as happened with Sean O' Driscoll.

My belief is that replacing the manager (even just putting Pemberton in charge until the end of the season) could give the players and fans enough of a boost to get those 4 wins and save our Championship status.  However, time is running out though.

I urge you to act now for the good of the club and to ensure we can build on the legacy of the new stadium

Yours Sincerely

 

Gareth Nelson

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