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Steve Lansdown interview


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4 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

To protect Ashton??

Partly , and because he’s little choice, (and because fair play he takes ultimate responsibility )

Neither Jon or Ashton have any credibility with %99 of the fan base

First interview I’ve heard where he hasn’t bigged up Ashton at some point 

 

Ill go as far to say , 

 

The clock is ticking on Mr Ashton IMHO

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Simon bristol said:

I do get the impression that steve isnt happy with the value for money hes getting from bristol city, hes footing the whole wage bill to see that lot not barely manage a shot at goal... the cost of eddie howe for example, isnt much compared to the total wage bill, but he could be the difference. I get the feeling hes got to the point that hes realised a top championship manager is needed to get out of the championship and is prepared to spend on that position now. We shall see i guess.

Which is always my point. 
 

The manager (not coach) is THE most important person in a Club. He should be the highest earner.

As clearly proven by our Club’s experience, it is the Manager who can turn an asset bought for peanuts into an absolute diamond, he can also turn an absolute diamond into a turnip. 
 

We have been very good at producing turnips recently. 
 

Not sure that Howe is the bloke we need though at present. 

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Have to give Steve great credit for making himself available and seems determined that we will get it right and clearly he will be more involved.  He will fund the club to 20million this year for sure and I think we should all be very grateful.  We just need to get a good manager, pay top wages if need be who can sort some of these average players out!

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1 minute ago, RedRock said:

Which is always my point. 
 

The manager (not coach) is THE most important person in a Club. He should be the highest earner.

As clearly proven by our Club’s experience, it is the Manager who can turn an asset bought for peanuts into an absolute diamond, he can also turn an absolute diamond into a turnip. 
 

We have been very good at producing turnips recently. 
 

Not sure that Howe is the bloke we need though at present. 

I think of Bielsa and the cost of him and his coaching team (£4.5m pa ?)

Besides getting them promoted to Premier League with few signings or splashing the cash he’s put how much ? value on a whole number of players

The increase in value of just Bamford and Ayling alone , would cover his and his staffs cost for a decade

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I'm glad he did the interview, but didn't really reveal much at all overall.

A bit worried we have a list of over a dozen potential managers. Surely you saw Holden's firing coming from quite a way out, and even if you don't contact the managers, you should be able to whittle the list down to your top 6 maybe? Especially considering we already did a lot of research and interviews in the summer.

Was nice he acknowledged the lack of updates and communication in the summer; will be nice to get a bit more from them. Sounds like we're in for another long one though I think; sounds like no interviews yet at all. Was hoping we'd have people interviewed today and over the weekend?

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We're extremely fortunate to have Stephen Lansdown as our owner, despite the poor Manager / Head Coach appointments.

However, surely it's time for a change of CEO and restructure to ensure we get the next Manager / Head Coach appointment right. Ashton's position is untenable after the Holden fiasco. I'm sure that would happen at the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown. 

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49 minutes ago, lenred said:

‘We’ve missed our support more than anyone’ Really Steve?  It would’ve been bloody toxic last few games that’s for sure! 

An Ashton Gate crowd can’t do ‘toxic’ - a few murmurs of discontent is not ‘toxic’ - go to Italy to see ‘toxic’ or revisit Man City when they wanted Peter Swales out. A couple of years after that I was at Maine Road in 1996 on the day Man City were relegated - now that was ‘toxic’ - but it also hit me as to how loyal and passionate their traditional fans really were. Also, you could revisit the atmosphere within St. James’ Park when Newcastle fans wanted Pardew out - again, that was ‘toxic.’

I’m afraid in this lovely corner of the West Country, ‘toxic’ does not sit well and it doesn’t often rear its ugly head, if at all. LJ oversaw our record number of consecutive league defeats - our response? The odd disgruntled comment thrown bench-wards ... in Italy they’d have stormed the training ground ... ‘toxic’ we just don’t do ...

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My overall impression is that it was a lot of talking from SL and very few questions. 

I honestly thought a new manager would be appointed really quickly, that's clearly not the case. 

Most intresting parts for me were to do with what sort of head coach/manager he wants. SL clearly has red lines which are non negotiable for example recruitment, academy, staff in post. 

Seems to me the only freedom the head coach has is tactics and selection. This will rule out many. 

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55 minutes ago, Simon bristol said:

He did say specifically that names are being considered who they spoke to in the summer, but they werent in a position to take it on then.... that would suggest cook is now being considered, he would be one who may not have been available due to the administration situation at wigan.

As would Howe as he publicly said he needed time away from the game.

Most would be happy with either I should think.

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I’m happy that Steve has taken the time for this interview, and as others have said, I’m definitely glad to hear his voice rather than the CEO’s. 
I thought it was an honest interview and he’s accepting responsibility, and taking ownership going forwards. 
 

A couple of things that rankle with me though :

- He says what a great club we are and the rest of football know it, but perhaps our own fans don’t realise. Uhh, yes we do Steve, we all know exactly how good this club is and can be. It’s your dumbass CEO together with your dumbass appointment of a total novice that is holding it back. 
 

- He says he’s never in for the short term on managerial appointments, but ummm....what’s just happened. You’re only as good as your last game, so right now I’m judging you on Holden. Time to step up. 
 

- I didn’t like that he threw Towler under the bus a little. I appreciate he wasn’t meaning to but there was no need to go there. 
 

- He was very steady throughout, until it came to explaining the interview process where he then stumbled horrendously when trying to say who makes the final decision. I’m not sure what to take from that, but I’m hoping it was that he will make the call himself rather than with Mark & Jon’s help. 
 

- He mentions that the delay to the training ground hasn’t helped the injuries. Why is that? It’s not as if we’re training on a cow field at the moment! The current facility is still probably one of the best in the league, so why is that being used as an excuse for the injuries? He mentioned it on the radio interview earlier this week too. 
 

- We are 3 days in already and apparently there isn’t yet a shortlist!! We must know who we want to talk to, why haven’t we picked up the phone already?? Later says that perhaps he’d like to interview face to face once covid restrictions may be eased. Jeez - so we’re looking at about April then!!! Wow! This ain’t gonna be a quick process guys, prepare yourself for another long wait. 
 

A good listen, and I enjoyed the honesty and I know that he wants the best for the club, but actions speak louder than words and we need to see some evidence that you are willing to invest in the right person. 
To me it’s clear he wants Eddie Howe. So just call him and offer him what he wants. Get it done now. With this demotivated bunch of charlatans and 2 inferior coaches in charge, another 6 weeks might be too late. Just get it done!! 

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1 minute ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

An Ashton Gate crowd can’t do ‘toxic’ - a few murmurs of discontent is not ‘toxic’ - go to Italy to see ‘toxic’ or revisit Man City when they wanted Peter Swales out. A couple of years after that I was at Maine Road in 1996 on the day Man City were relegated - now that was ‘toxic’ - but it also hit me as to how loyal and passionate their traditional fans really were. Also, you could revisit the atmosphere within St. James’ Park when Newcastle fans wanted Pardew out - again, that was ‘toxic.’

I’m afraid in this lovely corner of the West Country, ‘toxic’ does not sit well and it doesn’t often rear its ugly head, if at all. LJ oversaw our record number of consecutive league defeats - our response? The odd disgruntled comment thrown bench-wards ... in Italy they’d have stormed the training ground ... ‘toxic’ we just don’t do ...

All relative 

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Positive interview with SL. Thought the interviewer could have been stronger. Should have stressed the sense of urgency getting someone in before a relegation fight. With the amount of injuries should we be looking at out of contract players. Yes we have kids coming through but you play too many together?

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20 minutes ago, RedRock said:

He only listens to you Ralph ‘cause you sit in the ‘posh’ seats! 

Don’t forget to remember me when you get your seat on the Board and are sat in the Director’s Box!

Assume you’ll be flying up for matches now from Exeter Airport, so don’t forget to mention the managerial vacancy to Mr Warnock in the Executive Departure Lounge.

 

It’ll be nice to move up to them cushioned seats.

Yes, if I see Warnock I’ll be sure to mention the managers job........I’m sure he’ll know someone suitable 

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1 minute ago, Spoons said:

My overall impression is that it was a lot of talking from SL and very few questions. 

I honestly thought a new manager would be appointed really quickly, that's clearly not the case. 

Most intresting parts for me were to do with what sort of head coach/manager he wants. SL clearly has red lines which are non negotiable for example recruitment, academy, staff in post. 

Seems to me the only freedom the head coach has is tactics and selection. This will rule out many. 

Yep. 
 

A bit worrying we plan 2/3 transfer windows ahead for players but don’t keep a ‘live’ shortlist of 2-3 managers. Which goes back to my point of priorities and the importance attached to the managerial role.

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34 minutes ago, The Bard said:

Difference now is that he is clearly owning this one.  

That was refreshing to hear. 

A much better interview than his 'its my money, my club and I'll do,what I see fit' interview past year.

What does baffle me is that so much has been made over the last few years about our player recruitment planning, where we have multiple players on our radar for every position but we don't appear to have done the same for the managerial position. 

Admittedly, he did say that some of our targets weren't available last time so maybe I'm wrong, but taking 6 weeks to appoint DH smacks of not having a plan to me

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29 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

I might be wrong , but I think he said they’d all come up with the short list before Ashton conducts the first round of interviews . 
apart from Jon who will be in the corner drawing each of the candidates  in crayon before showing it to them at the end . 

Mark will have make the initial chats....but proper interviews will be done between the three of them.

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5 minutes ago, Bob Thompson said:

Positive interview with SL. Thought the interviewer could have been stronger. Should have stressed the sense of urgency getting someone in before a relegation fight. With the amount of injuries should we be looking at out of contract players. Yes we have kids coming through but you play too many together?

It wasn’t t an interview as such and not intended to be , I’m not sure why anyone would expect some form of grilling from an employee of his

It was a Club Employee opening subjects and facilitating , for SL to comment on and explain

 

I didn’t expect a 20man type grill

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I think he feels he has had to step up to the plate because he has let Ashton take an awful lot of flack for the appointment of Holden. Now if it was genuinely Ashton’s recommendation then fair enough.
However if the situation was actually that Ashton or even Jon L recommended someone else in the summer & Steve over-ruled one or both of them you can see why he feels he now needs to face up & protect his CEO & Chairman.

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3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Mark will have make the initial chats....but proper interviews will be done between the three of them.

I think the horrendous stumbling on that question points to Steve doing the final analysis himself. 

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26 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

Partly , and because he’s little choice, (and because fair play he takes ultimate responsibility )

Neither Jon or Ashton have any credibility with %99 of the fan base

First interview I’ve heard where he hasn’t bigged up Ashton at some point 

 

Ill go as far to say , 

 

The clock is ticking on Mr Ashton IMHO

 

 

Lets flipping hope so.

 

Anyway good interview that I thought.  I remain ever optimistic of seismic change

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3 minutes ago, dREDful said:

I genuinely don't see all the positivity you lot do. 

This is just confirmation the same failing system will apply and you can expect a shit appointment from him as we usually get. 

 

Perhaps you need to watch it again. I saw a different interview this time. He’s pissed off & it’s not because of our criticism . He knows as a board they’ve ****** up  

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1 hour ago, Cider red said:

Can't win can he! Honest interview i thought. Confirms he is still the final decision maker.

Heard from the grapevine via a good source that this is very true, and that although it's easy to blame Ashton. If Ashton(hypothetically) is just doing his job( aka LJ days), finding players for LJ and LJ choosing from them. Aswell as deciding  how much we spend depending on how much profit we make on player profits from the last season.  

I Know on here it was said on here ( maybe only gossip) , that the board were putt off  Hughton  as he didn't have that much of a plan or do his research on how City are set up. Could this just be a smokescreen for Managers wanting more of a say of the players that come in and the ones that are sold.

I know we have made some really good profits this season and if any champ team has a good season but doesn't go up, if they get a good offer they'd be stupid to say no/or deny the player/agent.

It is all quite interesting and does make you wonder if much which ever change under SL or now that we have the top notch training facilities and SL has set up the Rugby so well , that SL will bring in  quality manager in the same standard manager of a Footballs Lam?!

I mean we haven't invested that bad in player recruitment if you see how many former city Players are in the Premier league or in a top champ team. Yet if we don't invest properly in the infrastructure e.g the coaching system... then everything else is a little futile unless we get a lucky season/manager

 

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Pretty much confirmed what a few of us have said recently...that he won't be altering the system in place. Mentions academy a lot and the pathway...and our recruitment. And that they will be selling that to any potential appointment and that they have to fit in with it and agree to it, and if possible help improve it...but within the structure.

It's between a rock and a hard place.

For years we've said how useless the academy was...now it's producing good players.

But imo...they are good middle of the road Championship players. Not promotion level.

He mentions these players being sprinkled with experience.

That imo, could work after a few seasons...as long as you keep building the team and not selling the best. Otherwise it's one step forward, two back. 

As for the list...imo.. it's MA who gets the list and whittles it down,band then SL and JL join at later stages.

Imo...it's very obvious that MA pretty much runs this club now. From recruitment in both players and managerial candidates.

SL and JL may never be aware of potential players or candidates if they aren't presented to them.

They obviously very much trust his judgement.

 

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I’ve just watched it and I understand a lot of what he says is corporate talk and the same old rhetoric, but I tend to agree with most of the things he says.
The main thing I disagree with him on is the fact he highlighted our recruitment process as very good, where I’d argue it’s been average at a stretch. 

He seems intent on keeping Mark Ashton and although there’s a witch hunt out for Ashton at the minute, I’m still undecided. I think he does good and bad things in his role. I think he’s good at negotiating transfer fees and corporate parts of the business that a lot of fans don’t see, but I also think he’s poor on the recruitment side.

What Steve’s interview highlights to me is that fact that we won’t be hiring a McCarthy or Warnock and it is more likely to be a Howe or Cooke (albeit it might not be to their calibre), but there was a stress on long term appointment. 

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Just now, spudski said:

Pretty much confirmed what a few of us have said recently...that he won't be altering the system in place. Mentions academy a lot and the pathway...and our recruitment. And that they will be selling that to any potential appointment and that they have to fit in with it and agree to it, and if possible help improve it...but within the structure.

It's between a rock and a hard place.

For years we've said how useless the academy was...now it's producing good players.

But imo...they are good middle of the road Championship players. Not promotion level.

He mentions these players being sprinkled with experience.

That imo, could work after a few seasons...as long as you keep building the team and not selling the best. Otherwise it's one step forward, two back. 

As for the list...imo.. it's MA who gets the list and whittles it down,band then SL and JL join at later stages.

Imo...it's very obvious that MA pretty much runs this club now. From recruitment in both players and managerial candidates.

SL and JL may never be aware of potential players or candidates if they aren't presented to them.

They obviously very much trust his judgement.

 

Any out of contract managers who use academy players by choice (I say that as Lampard had it forced on him)

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