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Last chance saloon for SL


Ivorguy

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If SL fails to deal decisively and successfully with the present crisis, then I believe his own position may become untenable in the medium to long term.

Why? Because fans will vote with their feet.  This is already an unacknowledged problem occasioned by Covid, as the attendance cycle has been broken.  It has been rendered more serious for City as results, and wide criticism, have led to even diehard fans threatening not to renew their season tickets.  Many, of course, will renew whatever they say.  But my guess is a serious drop in season ticket sales if the crisis continues or worsens. But that isn’t the real threat to SL.  He is unlikely to worry overmuch if there was a 25% fall in ticket sales. What he should worry about is the wider fan base who buy on the day.  This group is far more likely to have been affected by the Covid break.  This means that the City’s profile in the city will suffer decline, maybe a lasting one.  In short it will be apathy rather than anger that will make SL think again about his sporting project focussed on the city as a whole.  Only the City can give him that city, regional, and national (forget international for that horse has long bolted) recognition he seeks.

Act now in your own self interest if not ours as City supporters.   Bristol, the city, is losing interest in your project, Steve.

 

 

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The impact of Covid is the big unknown of course. 

That aside though, we've had this suggested since the half way point of LJs reign - if people did what they said then there are already a fair number already boycotting - and yet crowds continue to rise. 

Its pretty clear that season ticket sales will look very different this year but - a little like Brexit - it will be very hard to distinguish the underlying impact of performances from all the uncertainty around the pandemic. Indeed, just as Covid has spared Johnson (Boris that is) the spotlight on the true cost of Brexit, so it may be that Covid spares SL the spotlight on the impact of his managerial appointment and the team's performance. 

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11 minutes ago, Ivorguy said:

If SL fails to deal decisively and successfully with the present crisis, then I believe his own position may become untenable in the medium to long term.

Why? Because fans will vote with their feet.  This is already an unacknowledged problem occasioned by Covid, as the attendance cycle has been broken.  It has been rendered more serious for City as results, and wide criticism, have led to even diehard fans threatening not to renew their season tickets.  Many, of course, will renew whatever they say.  But my guess is a serious drop in season ticket sales if the crisis continues or worsens. But that isn’t the real threat to SL.  He is unlikely to worry overmuch if there was a 25% fall in ticket sales. What he should worry about is the wider fan base who buy on the day.  This group is far more likely to have been affected by the Covid break.  This means that the City’s profile in the city will suffer decline, maybe a lasting one.  In short it will be apathy rather than anger that will make SL think again about his sporting project focussed on the city as a whole.  Only the City can give him that city, regional, and national (forget international for that horse has long bolted) recognition he seeks.

Act now in your own self interest if not ours as City supporters.   Bristol, the city, is losing interest in your project, Steve.

 

 

Wonder what percentage of fans do pay on the day.

 

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3 minutes ago, Lrrr said:

Fans - 'We demand that Steve steps back from football affairs, he needs to leave it to other people'

Things don't go well

Fans 'Steve where the hell are you? We demand that you do something!'

...or Fans: 'We make a substantial financial and emotional investment in Bristol City - in fact many of us were doing so before you came along. Could you please run it professionally?'

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It may not be just a few who will not return. Many go for the match day experience. Meeting up with mates for a few pre match drinks  then the game  then back to the pub. Doing that without the game bit and you are £500 a year up. There are loads who go in groups, so if one gives up the football bit , maybe they all will. Apart from the absolutely dire football, there could be rocky times ahead.

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1 minute ago, Red Exile said:

...or Fans: 'We make a substantial financial and emotional investment in Bristol City - in fact many of us were doing so before you came along. Could you please run it professionally?'

But the thing is lots of people on here seemingly don't want Steve involved with running the club because they don't trust his judgement in the first place when it comes to football matters so he steps back to act as a benevolent owner rather than getting involved and signs off on the decisions of others. If we're begging him to come back and get involved he may as well reassume his position as chairman and be fully involved with the day to day running of the club again.

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For at least the last half a dozen games, I have caved in, in the last hour before kick off, and bought my £10 BCTV pass.

Is it really worth wasting the money? Football is entertainment with two sides battling to win. When did we last see us battle?

I know that for a football fan to also watch rugby, there must be some historical reason for any interest in the oval ball game. But compare the quality of the match between Watford and City with the rugby this weekend.

Bristol Bears in a ding dong match with longtime rivals Glawster and Wales against Scotland. Both games ebbing and flowing, one side in the ascendancy and then seconds later under the cosh. Both ended with a one point win with me for one, and probably thousands more, on the edge of my seat. Entertaining, exciting and at the end, an appreciation of what both teams put into the game.

Compare that with City matches going back two/three years, with yesterday as the final nail in the coffin. 

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5 minutes ago, Lrrr said:

But the thing is lots of people on here seemingly don't want Steve involved with running the club because they don't trust his judgement in the first place when it comes to football matters so he steps back to act as a benevolent owner rather than getting involved and signs off on the decisions of others. If we're begging him to come back and get involved he may as well reassume his position as chairman and be fully involved with the day to day running of the club again.

Stevie, get your hand dirty, boot Teflon's arse down the street, appoint Scudamore alongside a proper DOF if you can afford them and then step back and let them run the operation properly.....................no mates in key positions, no three time failures as Head of Performance, no completely inexperienced Head Coaches alongside Laurel and Hardy etc. etc.

Best of both worlds!!

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1 minute ago, Lrrr said:

But the thing is lots of people on here seemingly don't want Steve involved with running the club because they don't trust his judgement in the first place when it comes to football matters so he steps back to act as a benevolent owner rather than getting involved and signs off on the decisions of others. If we're begging him to come back and get involved he may as well reassume his position as chairman and be fully involved with the day to day running of the club again.

I think having someone other than the owner running the club is fine as long as you have the right separation of roles and the right people in place.

We have the wrong set-up with a CEO that just has too much control of footballing affairs with the first “football” person being the Head Coach. There needs to be a Director of Football at the very least, and ideally a separate recruitment role/scouting role. Either that or you go back to having a traditional manager.

To compound matters, the person we have in that all powerful role is Mark Ashton.

So the question to SL is whether or not he will pin any of the blame for our footballing fiasco at Ashton’s door, and make the decision that after 5 years it’s not working and it’s time to let him go. I have little confidence that he will make that decision, and worse I would still worry about who he would bring in instead.

As GMG correctly noted, the club is well run in so many levels (including not being too much of a drain on SL’s funds) except the one that really matters to most fans, which is the football itself. And that’s the problem - a football club that’s not very good at football ultimately fails!

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8 minutes ago, Lrrr said:

But the thing is lots of people on here seemingly don't want Steve involved with running the club because they don't trust his judgement in the first place when it comes to football matters so he steps back to act as a benevolent owner rather than getting involved and signs off on the decisions of others. If we're begging him to come back and get involved he may as well reassume his position as chairman and be fully involved with the day to day running of the club again.

I don't see many people - some maybe but not many - wanting him to walk away from running the club...its his club, unless he sells up - and I see even fewer calling for him to do that. 

He can do what he likes - and does!

I do however see a lot of people bemused by his decision making and regular repeats of old mistakes.

For what it's worth I think he should come back as Chairman and be fully involved, and hire the very best football people to advise him, as he doubtless did financial folk when he was running his business.

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2 minutes ago, Loco Rojo said:

Can I be the first to say welcome and thanks for offering to plow your own millions in to the club. Who needs Steve hey. ?‍♂️

Untenable my arse. For ***** sack. Some on here.

I think 99.99% of posters realise it's Steve's club and he won't be going anywhere. Unfortunately that title and statement ruined a post that was reasonably on the money in the other respects.

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Interesting set of comments from the orig. Op statement. 

But at the end of the day SL owns Bristol Sport which Bristol City are just a part of. So he will run it his way. How much the supporters feelings are catered for or even listened to Is down to SL so he is going to follow his plan what ever. 

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14 minutes ago, Loco Rojo said:

Can I be the first to say welcome and thanks for offering to plow your own millions in to the club (and thats just to keep it going). Who needs Steve hey. ?‍♂️

Untenable my arse. For ***** sack. Some on here.

It's SL's business and his customers aren't satisfied with the product. Simple as that.

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4 minutes ago, Rocking Red Cyril said:

Interesting set of comments from the orig. Op statement. 

But at the end of the day SL owns Bristol Sport which Bristol City are just a part of. So he will run it his way. How much the supporters feelings are catered for or even listened to Is down to SL so he is going to follow his plan what ever. 

Completely agree. SL has told us numerous times that it's "his" club

Well, as fans, it's our prerogative to judge the performances based on what's been served up to us as customers, and people aren't liking what they're seeing. Once again, that's their choice, however, there comes a point whether SL decides whether he wants to play with his "ball" all on his own, or whether he wants to enjoy the football with the rest of us.

Personally, I'm glad we've got SL as the owner, but some of the appointments and comments he make just grate a little time to time.

Objectively, having him on board is definitely better than a far eastern owner trying to asset strip the club, or by going for broke and crippling the club!

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49 minutes ago, Ivorguy said:

If SL fails to deal decisively and successfully with the present crisis, then I believe his own position may become untenable in the medium to long term.

Why? Because fans will vote with their feet.  This is already an unacknowledged problem occasioned by Covid, as the attendance cycle has been broken.  It has been rendered more serious for City as results, and wide criticism, have led to even diehard fans threatening not to renew their season tickets.  Many, of course, will renew whatever they say.  But my guess is a serious drop in season ticket sales if the crisis continues or worsens. But that isn’t the real threat to SL.  He is unlikely to worry overmuch if there was a 25% fall in ticket sales. What he should worry about is the wider fan base who buy on the day.  This group is far more likely to have been affected by the Covid break.  This means that the City’s profile in the city will suffer decline, maybe a lasting one.  In short it will be apathy rather than anger that will make SL think again about his sporting project focussed on the city as a whole.  Only the City can give him that city, regional, and national (forget international for that horse has long bolted) recognition he seeks.

Act now in your own self interest if not ours as City supporters.   Bristol, the city, is losing interest in your project, Steve.

 

 

If you ever watched the fly on the wall program about Sunderland the comparisons are scary. Great ground and facilities, most of the players there for the money only and policies that no decent coach could work with.

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15 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

I don't see many people - some maybe but not many - wanting him to walk away from running the club...its his club, unless he sells up - and I see even fewer calling for him to do that. 

He can do what he likes - and does!

I do however see a lot of people bemused by his decision making and regular repeats of old mistakes.

For what it's worth I think he should come back as Chairman and be fully involved, and hire the very best football people to advise him, as he doubtless did financial folk when he was running his business.

Did he this time though? With regards to the appointment of a head coach, seemingly he all but removed himself from the process bar signing off on the decision other people made, clearly he has stepped aside in this case. 

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24 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Stevie, get your hand dirty, boot Teflon's arse down the street, appoint Scudamore alongside a proper DOF if you can afford them and then step back and let them run the operation properly.....................no mates in key positions, no three time failures as Head of Performance, no completely inexperienced Head Coaches alongside Laurel and Hardy etc. etc.

Best of both worlds!!

Totally agree ? clean sweep needed.

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5 minutes ago, Lrrr said:

Did he this time though? With regards to the appointment of a head coach, seemingly he all but removed himself from the process bar signing off on the decision other people made, clearly he has stepped aside in this case. 

I don't believe he has stepped aside to that extent or indeed that anything significant is confirmed without his approval. Holden is his man, as is the CEO.

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1 minute ago, Red Exile said:

I don't believe he has stepped aside to that extent or indeed that anything significant is confirmed without his approval. Holden is his man, as is the CEO.

The question I was trying to make is was it Mark Ashton's process and choice of Dean Holden has manager where Steve signed off on the choice, or was Dean selected by Steve out of the choice of a few that Mark had found and presented the option of. Mark being Steve's choice as CEO is a different question to me as this is more about Dean's appointment and the real decision maker of choosing him.

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20 minutes ago, Loco Rojo said:

Can I be the first to say welcome and thanks for offering to plow your own millions in to the club (and thats just to keep it going). Who needs Steve hey. ?‍♂️

Untenable my arse. For ***** sack. Some on here.

I think you misread my original post.  In a nutshell. If SL fails to respond in a positive way to this latest crisis there are implications for his whole project of Bristol Sport.

I am calling for a rethink on the way the club is managed.

 

if you wish for suggestions, all made in one way or another on Otib in the past, here are some:-

1 An external audit of the club from top to bottom and a commitment to implement recommendations.

2 A functioning Board with a larger base, including City (Bristol) and fan, representation..

3  Bring in new investors alongside SL

4 A new strategy and policy over recruitment including coaches, medical team, as well as players.  This to include appointment of outside consultants.

5 improved media communication with fans and wider city of Bristol.

I have said, again on numerous occasions, that SL’s management style is 19th century.  No one can today say ‘This is my club, I can do what I Like’ and expect to be taken seriously.  
 

So, action required,

1. Acknowledge past failures, now stretching over two decades, when measured against declared aim of playing in top flight

2. Take positive action to remedy this

 

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4 minutes ago, Lrrr said:

The question I was trying to make is was it Mark Ashton's process and choice of Dean Holden has manager where Steve signed off on the choice, or was Dean selected by Steve out of the choice of a few that Mark had found and presented the option of. Mark being Steve's choice as CEO is a different question to me as this is more about Dean's appointment and the real decision maker of choosing him.

MA and JL were tasked with the job of recruiting the new head-coach.  Don’t let JL get a free-pass.  This is a CEO and Chairman running this...perhaps another nail in their incompetent coffin.  If JL has a bent for marketing (kits, branding, etc), just let him concentrate in that area if as owner you want your son to be involved.  He’s not doing him any favours is he?

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7 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

MA and JL were tasked with the job of recruiting the new head-coach.  Don’t let JL get a free-pass.  This is a CEO and Chairman running this...perhaps another nail in their incompetent coffin.  If JL has a bent for marketing (kits, branding, etc), just let him concentrate in that area if as owner you want your son to be involved.  He’s not doing him any favours is he?

Don’t forget that Jon Lansdown is the heir to throne. He’s going to calling all the shots, probably within a decade, so he won’t be relinquishing responsibility any time soon.

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38 minutes ago, mozo said:

It's SL's business and his customers aren't satisfied with the product. Simple as that.

Sorry. For some fans to think his position is untenable because they aren't happy with results on the pitch is just plain arrogant and stupid.  Perhaps some should consider supporting another club if they feel that way.

That Wigan owner, that was untenable, that Blackpool owner, that was untenable.  Landsdown isn't even in the same vicinity as some owners that shouldn't even be allowed to own clubs.

Some on here have very short memories and need to be careful what they wish for.

Edit: just to clarify, when I say stupid, I mean in relation to the comment/view and not the poster.

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I have been a football fan all my life, never interested in rugby other then 6 nations and World Cup. 

I now find myself looking at the Bristol bears fixtures and not even interested in city. The bears have got it so so right and the key factor in that is the man in charge pat lamb, the type of leader who galvanizes a community and not only knows what people want to see but knows how to deliver it!

We need to **** the current men in charge of the football side off and start again, the first thing to do is put a leader in charge who has a history of Success.

As it stands I can see my self getting a bears season ticket over a city one next year!

 

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5 minutes ago, mozo said:

Don’t forget that Jon Lansdown is the heir to throne. He’s going to calling all the shots, probably within a decade, so he won’t be relinquishing responsibility any time soon.

What a depressing thought Jon Lansdown calling the shots in a decade or so, dear god.

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6 minutes ago, Loco Rojo said:

Sorry. For some fans to think his position is untenable because they aren't happy with results on the pitch is just plain arrogant and stupid.  Perhaps some should consider supporting another club if they feel that way.

That Wigan owner, that was untenable, that Blackpool owner, that was untenable.  Landsdown isn't even in the same vicinity as some owners that shouldn't even be allowed to own clubs.

Some on here have very short memories and need to be careful what they wish for.

I'm not sure that's how supporting a football club works though - is it? I'd be pretty certain that regardless of ownership Wigan fans still support Wigan and Blackpool fans Blackpool...but they might have done a bit of protesting along the way.

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