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"He's taken us as far as he can"


Kid in the Riot

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I was reading that article, waiting for it to mention City and then read a load of nonsense….but it was spot on.  Matt Slater is a good writer, but I wondered whether he had some conversations with Gregor or James too.

Not sure Derby won’t be sold without Pride Park, but the company structure makes Pula look like a kids jigsaw puzzle!

I do wonder in hindsight whether LJ was SL’s last hurrah?  I often joked it was his Trading Places equivalent with Eddie Murphy being played by LJ!  Was that SL’s final go at showing the fans / football world he knew football?  I dunno, but I sense the flame is going out.

I don’t go down the line of “be careful what you wish for”….I don’t think SL would sell to a bunch of sharks.

Interesting times ahead.  Need to stay in the Champ though.

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I think it would be fair to say that apart from our success in league one the league cup run and a couple of ok seasons in the Championship it would be right to say that city under SL has not been the success we or he would have hoped for, personally I wouldn't mind somebody else having a go but that is a bit of a risk but who knows it could be for the best.

Edited by pillred
punctuation
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I also wonder that if Mr Hargreaves had been a football man, would we be where we are today?

There are always at least two in every partnership and anyone at Hargreaves Lansdown will tell you who was the boss and the driver and who knew that there was no upside to owning a football club.
 

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I think Steve and family will stay as long as what they are doing makes them happy. They are getting older and you do look at life differently. You have different priorities with your time, which is just as precious as money believe it or not. Right now how happy is the club making them? 

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33 minutes ago, RedM said:

I think Steve and family will stay as long as what they are doing makes them happy. They are getting older and you do look at life differently. You have different priorities with your time, which is just as precious as money believe it or not. Right now how happy is the club making them? 

As much as we moan about paying high prices to follow the club we haven’t ,or ever will ,pour in the millions that the Lansdowns have. It must be very frustrating for them. 
SL has seemingly tried every type of set up, he finally gets a top experienced bloke in and we are still struggling. 
We are a bit unlucky but ultimately the responsibility for failure to go up or produce attractive winning football lies at his feet. 

I hate to say it but I am sure the Bears give him more pleasure than the football club.

 

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24 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

As much as we moan about paying high prices to follow the club we haven’t ,or ever will ,pour in the millions that the Lansdowns have. It must be very frustrating for them. 
SL has seemingly tried every type of set up, he finally gets a top experienced bloke in and we are still struggling. 
We are a bit unlucky but ultimately the responsibility for failure to go up or produce attractive winning football lies at his feet. 

I hate to say it but I am sure the Bears give him more pleasure than the football club.

 

Sorry @Major Isewateryour top comment really irks me and the same when the Lansdowns come out with it. Input into the club is relative to income, and whilst none of us (I suspect) could put the amount of money the Lansdowns have into BCFC there will be many who’ve  put in a higher % of their wealth / income

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2 minutes ago, daored said:

many who’ve  put in a higher % of their wealth / income

I don’t know the percentages but I suspect even those will be higher for SL than us.

Ultimately the buck stops with SL and his guardianship of the club has left the supporters frustrated by his lack of footballing nous and success whilst other clubs have show us how it’s done. 
 

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20 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

I don’t know the percentages but I suspect even those will be higher for SL than us.

Ultimately the buck stops with SL and his guardianship of the club has left the supporters frustrated by his lack of footballing nous and success whilst other clubs have show us how it’s done. 

And how many have shown how it's not done? More I would guess.

The magic formula is elusive, it's not just a case of putting good people in the right place as many clubs have failed with people who on paper should have brought them success, people who have had it before and often go on to have it again elsewhere. 

 

Edited by Port Said Red
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Think it’s only fair to judge when financial clout in terms of spending on fees returns to the championship. The impact of FFP is well known and that we can exactly go out and spend £5m - £10m without income. Steve’a priority at this time is a financially stable championship club to get through this period. 
 

And on Szmodics, in hindsight, not a bad championship signing, however seems not one our head coach wanted at the time. 

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I started a thread about a month ago about new investment. SL and JL have both said about seeking investment. JL won’t be taking over from his dad IMO. Me personally am looking forward to a new era . People say on here be careful what you wish for but times change people get old people lose interest. It’s inevitable Bristol City will change ownership. I expect SL to invest in the playing side in January to hopefully keep are Championship status. As we are a much more attractive proposition in the Championship than League 1. Always be grateful to SL for the finances he has spent trying to get us to the promise land. 

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41 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

I don’t know the percentages but I suspect even those will be higher for SL than us.

Ultimately the buck stops with SL and his guardianship of the club has left the supporters frustrated by his lack of footballing nous and success whilst other clubs have show us how it’s done. 
 

Agreed the last comment is the key to his stewardship.

In defence to the Lansdown family , the championship is an unfair league financially. The parachute payments have to be reviewed 

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43 minutes ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

Are we a potentially good investment? The infrastructure is there, good catchment area, one of the most desirable cities in the UK, and have no competition. I’d like to think so.

Hard to tell as we’re now tangled up with the rest of Bristol Sport. Unless the stadium and training ground are included then it’s hard to see what there is to invest in. 

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5 hours ago, billywedlock said:

I don’t even like AG . It is an average Championship ground

What pisses me off is when the likes of Mark Kelly describe the facilities as world class. Maybe if you’re going to a conference or are in hospitality, but I don’t call the concourse bars or the toilet facilities world class by a long chalk. Having to queue for the entirety of half time to get a pint is far from world class. 

 

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7 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

or is that "he's taken us as far as he wants to take us"? 

It's difficult to know with the Lansdowns, and it's probably time to recognise them as a collective. Whether it's in terms of day to day decision-making or a horrible worst case scenario, it's not just Steve that is, or would, make decisions involving the football club, it is also Maggie and Jon. Some may consider it inappropriate to speculate in this way, but should the worst happen to Steve, I believe Maggie would inherit his shares. And so forth. Therefore, it is important to recognise that Bristol City FC, RFC, WFC and Flyers are owned by "The Lansdowns".

Steve owns 99% shares in Bristol City FC, yet I still see people banging on about there being "a board". The board is Steve, Maggie and Jon, because guess what? They own 99% of the club. Brian Tinnion, Lee Johnson,  Mark Ashton, Nigel Pearson,  Richard Gould - employees, nothing more. Their say, pretty much subservient with their level of power at the club. 

Over the past 20 years The Lansdowns have presided over the football club and been key to all decision making, including the appointment of managers. When I say "key", I mean appointing every single one of the football managers and agreeing to every single signing made by the football club, without exception. Ah, bar one Steve Cotterill, who was only appointed following an extremely persuasive case put forward by recruitment specialist Keith Dawe. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure very persuasive cases were put forward, by someone, of why we should sign Gustav Engvall and Sammy Szmodics, however the buck stops with the man, and his family, that sanctioned these signings.  And sanctioned the people that were put in place to make these signings. 

Recuitment has been an unmitigated disaster over the past three years, and ultimate responsibility must be laid at the door of the family signing off this wastage. 

As we head back towards L1 for a potential third relegation under The Lansdowns, the question has to be asked:

Have they taken us as far as they can, or indeed, as far as they want to take us? 

From where I am, it's a resounding yes. And I'd go further and say they would be quite happy with us being a big fish back in L1.

Derby County are about to be sold for £50m. It got me thinking. The Lansdowns picked up the club and ground for comparative peanuts. Mel Morris still owns Pride Park so that is not part of the deal. 

If The Lansdowns were to sell Bristol Sport  including the ground, I would hazard a guess that it wouldn't be too far off the £150m+ they have invested. Further to that, I would speculate that once the sporting village is complete they would break even AT WORST on their investment.

This isn't supposed to be a hatchet job, just an honest appraisal of The Lansdowns running of our football club.

From where I'm standing, I hope what I read today in The Athletic, and what I already knew to be fair, is true and help or potentially a full takeover is on the way. 

What did you read Kid :aok2:

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6 hours ago, billywedlock said:

Steve L must be the most unsuccessful billionaire owner of a football club. His heart is there but the application has been dreadful . Why did it take so long to have a training complex or a ground redevelopment? Why did he not invest in a tier 1 academy outside of ffp. Worst though is employment of poor people . Never at his day job would he employ the rabble he has at football . You hire the very best . He hired LJ . And spent all his money trying to justify it . Add in his awful appointment of Ashton. I know my business world and I know many serious players . But how he could not see through Ashton makes you wonder how in hell he ever became a billionaire . It was obvious .

I like Steve and Maggie , but they have made terrible decisions . They needed a proper football advisor yet did it all themselves . Crazy. 
 

I don’t even like AG . It is an average Championship ground . Where is a Prem stadium ?

for the money spent the return has been pitiful . 
 

if it were my millions I would have hired the very best . Steve chose not to . 

Why do you think that was?
I’ve often thought it was a kind of class thing…Hire well spoken nice people, who don’t rock the boat, when I would think many top people are ruthless and tough. That’s probably why he didn’t like Cotts, he was too rough around the edges and straight talking. SL doesn’t like Warnock, possibly because he’d be straight talking and direct (not rude) but is relatively successful in his remit. 

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As we face Blackburn next it’s opportune to consider what happened there. The following comparison, between Mr Walker and Mr Lansdown, illustrates that they had certain things in common, such as investing huge sums into their respective clubs and living in the Channel Islands, there are, however, also differences beyond the fact that one was a millionaire and the other is a billionaire. The significant difference is what their remarkable contributions have achieved. I’m not, for one moment, belittling SL’s astonishing generosity, merely highlighting a fundamental difference. 

Jack Walker

Jack Walker (19 May 1929 – 17 August 2000) was a British industrialist and businessman, who lived in Jersey. Walker built his fortune in the steel industry, amassing a personal fortune of £600 million. He then went on to become the owner and benefactor of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, winning a Premiership title under his guidance.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/aug/19/guardianobituaries.football

Steve Lansdown

Stephen Philip Lansdown CBE is an English-born Guernsey billionaire. He co-founded, with Peter Hargreaves, the British financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, founder of Bristol Sport and majority shareholder of Bristol Rugby, Bristol Flyers, and Bristol City Football Club. His reported net worth is circa £2.6 billion.

https://www.forbes.com/profile/stephen-lansdown/?sh=b738e9b50b06

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@Kid in the Riot Some interesting points, but like others have asked, what article are you referring to in the Athletic?

I think it's a classic case with the Lansdowns of a businessman, who probably doesn't know that much about football trusting the wrong people to invest on his behalf. That article that showed we had recieved the most in player sales in the EFL (£75M+), but rather than invest in 15 quality players, we bought 60 mediocre ones in an attempt to generate future income. In the process, we have sold the family silver (I know some of the players wanted to leave), and have invested in something akin to a dodgy timeshare investment.

Unlike other owners in the Champ, Lansdown can't bring himself to push the moral boundaries of FFP. Probably more down to his personal ethics, than a business decision.

If you look at the clubs that haven't had parachute payments, and got up to the PL, then there's probably only a few that haven't gambled financially. I just can't see us doing that.

The whole Bristol Sport set up is probably more of a hindrance than benefit to City. The infrastructure of the club means that to spin it out on it's own, would make the whole concept unsustainable. Rugby/basketball, wouldn't really work on their own.

Would any interested party also have to buy the whole Sports village plans? Once again a massive potential investment, that might not be in their future plans.

For me, what is the point spending £60m+ on a ground upgrade, training facilities; and then a Sports Village in the future, when the main attraction on the pitch gets relegated?

Tough decisions in Jan i think. Relegation would set us back a number of years, and knock tens of millions off any purchase price. But this team at the moment is only going in one direction, and has been for a number of years.

24 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

Thank you ?, but as you say probably needs a cut and paste by someone with a subscription. 

Edited by NcnsBcfc
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The entire Lansdown era, starting with the missed appointment of Moyes right up to current wreckage left by Ashton, has been a huge missed opportunity IMO. Yes, he’s been a safe pair of hands, for which I’m grateful, but it’s long gone stale and BCFC needs new impetus.  

Every one of his managerial appointments except for GJ have been underwhelming (most of us know Cotterill was Dawe’s man). Even when we were top of the Championship under GJ and before FFP, he kept the purse strings tight. We could've had Ebanks-Blake, ended up with Adebola. 

Getting involved with Ashton, after SOD had done the donkey work to put the sort of backroom hierarchy in place that we now crave, was his worst mistake. I think SL gets hoodwinked by bullshitters, which makes him a classic fool in the footballing world IMO.

The Gate’s a nice ground nowadays, but I preferred the old days of the East End. Maybe it’s too nice; too nice for the opposition, little atmosphere etc. As for the new training ground, it delivers anything but high performance and therein lies the irony.

Can anyone share the whole article from The Athletic, please? 

Edited by tin
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7 hours ago, billywedlock said:

i don’t even like AG . It is an average Championship ground . Where is a Prem stadium ?

Do you remember AG before the upgrade?     :cool2:

AG has been redeveloped to its maximum potential given the location in BS3. There’s no other ground space available to expand it further. That’s why SL wanted to relocate but the ‘village green’ legislation put a stop to that.
AG is now as good as gets.

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