BrizzleRed

49 minutes ago, Dullmoan Tone said:

Hate to ruin your argument but it’s almost nobody pays National Insurance for 50 years - it’s almost impossible.
Even if you started work at 15 and retired at 65!

It’s not paid once you retire, or when you earn small amounts after leaving school many, many years ago as you would be below the threshold!

Yep, fair comment there DT and probably more like 45 years NI.

2 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

When you’re talking about a huge sectors of society based solely on their age, then generalisation is unavoidable and appropriate. And it is absolutely and demonstrably true that they are one of the wealthiest groups in society - see the chart below.

The “easy ride” refers to the fact that today’s pensioners are not survivors of the war. They are baby boomers. They have benefitted from affordable housing and the house price boom

Have you ever heard of inflation? House prices are relative and what may appear to be affordable housing, looking back from the present day,  certainly didn’t feel like it at the time, when you look at what people were actually earning then.  Do you also realise that interest rates on mortgage repayments reached 15% at one point, meaning you were repaying the price of your house approximately every six and a half years.  House prices are dictated by supply and demand and if people aren’t buying, the prices will reduce to a point where people start buying again.

that is so crippling for younger generations now. They could raise a family on a single income when now it takes two if you want to own a family home - and all the childcare costs that go with that.

My wife and I are in our mid 60’s and we certainly couldn’t manage on one wage.  We had to shop around at various building societies to find one who would offer enough of a mortgage using our combined wages to get the mortgage we needed, which we subsequently had to pay back several times over due to high interest rates.  We had grandparents helping out with childcare and school runs, which we’re now repaying with our grandchildren.  It’s all part of the cycle of life.

They were able to go to university for free, rather than leave with enormous debt.

Sure, some benefitted from that, but many didn’t, as there was more value given to in-job training  Many left school and went straight into apprenticeships, on piss poor money for a few years, then went into the job they’d actually trained for.  Nobody forces people go go to uni nowadays, but how many choose uni, then come out with debts and degrees for something, and then find there’s no career out there requiring that degree?  

Many of them have final salary pensions and will likely have retired younger than today’s working population.

Another massive generalisation.  SOME have final salary pensions, but there are plenty who don’t have that luxury and find themselves stuck on basic state pensions.

Yes, it is true to say that not all pensioners are wealthy and many struggle. But that is the case across all age groups. And it absolutely true - in broad terms - to say that pensioners are the wealthiest group in a society.

So in summary, I think we are in an age where people like to rewrite history and if enough young people convince themselves that current pensioners had it so easy then it must be true, when that was actually far from the truth in most cases

Payback time will come when they themselves reach pension age and the next generation of young ‘uns are telling them that THEY had it so easy!!!

33 minutes ago, ZiderEyed said:

Probably fantasy, as I kind of mentioned in my last post on this thread. 

Point regardless is that one of the wealthiest groups in our society get a pretty easy ride and mostly have done for their entire go round, whilst working people today struggle. 

Long term ST holders should definitely get a reduced fee, but not because they happen to be retirement age. It ends up being unfair and uneuitable.

 

You’re doing a lot of generalisation in labelling pensioners as ‘one of the wealthiest groups in society’ and also not sure where their ‘pretty easy ride’ has come from either.

Sure there are some who are well off, as there are people in every area of society, but there are plenty of pensioners who struggle to make ends meet, especially as many can have failing health issues to add to their problems too.

Don’t forget most pensioners have had around 50 years paying taxes and National Insurance, so aren’t exactly getting something for nothing.

1 hour ago, WeAreThePigs said:

I look forward to seeing the Tinnion out banner, not that it will happen.

Who needs a banner?

There could be a fair few voting with their feet for next season, so it’ll be interesting to see how smug the BS lot and their fanboys on here are then.

11 minutes ago, eardun said:

Yes I entirely understand this. I like my SS seat too - plus it’s cheaper than other stands - and if you give it up you may never be able to get a season ticket in there in future. I will renew and see how the TV deal impacts KO days/times this season as that may influence me in future seasons as evening matches are harder for me to get to. 

 

Looks we’re of the same mind here and need to see how this TV deal pans out.  That said, I think I’m just one more **** up by the people at the top to finally push me over the edge.

Although the club and the owner are separate things, lately it feels like the lines between the two have blurred to the extent they’ve now become one entity, with us fans very much on the outside, with our views counting for naff all.

It really doesn’t feel like my club any more.

1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

£2-2.5m which isn't exactly a gamechanger if accurate for all the potential disruption.

Maybe it's more but..I dunno.

….. so I had a look and it appears all Championship clubs are getting a 50% increase in TV revenue with this new deal.  The club then have the cheek to slam a 10% increase on ticket prices for fans, with no consideration for the hassle we’ll have  in trying to fit round all the re-arranged kick off times.

Add that to the NP fiasco, the appalling football we’re stuck with and then we get Tinnion’s face stuck on the new Season Ticket prices announcement, just to top it off.

Talk about sticking two fingers up to the fanbase.

2 minutes ago, Superjack said:

Don't give in!

To be honest, the only thing keeping me going is a really good SS seat, which I’ve had since it opened.  I’ve also got a lot of really decent ST holders around me, which it would be a shame to lose.

As they aren’t letting people get new ST’s in the SS, if I don’t keep that current ST going, that’ll probably be me done for good.  I’m not that far off 70 and if I get out of the football habit now, I think it’s very unlikely I’ll be coming back.

I’ll say it now, I’m starting to really hate Lansdown with a passion.
 

26 minutes ago, Tim Monaghan said:

Shorter wait at the bar next season then, so a little bonus. 

Come on lads, next season is the one! 

COYR's 

If I actually give in and renew next season, you certainly won’t have me blocking the bar.  

My protest will be to make sure I don’t give a single extra penny to to those *******!  

If anyone says that’ll hurt the club, my answer will be bollux to em, as they obviously couldn’t care less about us.

1 hour ago, Redshorts said:

Season tickets are out today, got to say they look reasonable prices.

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/season-ticket-renewals-from-march-18th/

 

 

 

You reckon??

They’re getting extra TV revenue from the new deal ….. and us fans are getting pissed around with ko times and days all over the shop to accomodate the televised games, to say nothing of the shit football on offer.

Sounds anything but reasonable to me tbh.

49 minutes ago, Bat Fastard said:

I think the bean counters will be of the opinion that a PR person would be an expensive luxury.  I reckon that they could get a more enthusiastic following with better communications, but what do I know?

…… well, if our bean counters have that much power over critical appointments  within the operation and aren’t over-ruled by their boss SL, then that tells you all you need to know about his ability to run a successful football club!

2 hours ago, WeAreThePigs said:

The flip side is if he was popular fans would be praising him for his honesty. 

He used to be popular though, didn’t he.   That’s only changed because he’s now been promoted well beyond his apparent skill level and to a position where he could do serious damage to this club.

Coming out with a string of lies and bullshit isn’t going go do much for his popularity either.

10 hours ago, YorkshireSection said:

This.

 

Sums up exactly what needs to happen ASAP, we will NEVER achieve ANYTHING with the current ownership and if you doubt that, then please look back over the last 20 something years and count our achievements (not the embarrassing JPT wins), its laughable to expect anything other than further failure, its almost as if they are happy to just rinse & repeat, continuing to bounce between this league & the one below, where we are a bigger fish and can compete without having to place a hairline crack in their nest egg.

 

I honestly believe "THEIR" expectations do not match the majority of ours "The Fans".

 

People may say: "be careful what you wish for we could be Gas", but were not and its their abject failure that maybe makes our situation and the atmosphere generally apathetic rather than down right toxic. (For now).

 

Lansdown OUT

I’d also add to that, it’s clear to see how shite and tinpot the Sags are and they haven’t got a pot to piss in most of the time.  

In spite of all that, even though Lansdown has pissed away tens of £millions in his 20 years of ownership, for most of that period, the Sags have only been one division below us.

Proves how ineffective SL has actually been in pushing us to success on the the field, regardless of how much money he’s thrown at it.

6 hours ago, Barrs Court Red said:

They should absolutely give the facts when selling season tickets.  What % of games will be on a Saturday at 3pm (in fairness, I don’t include games moved by the police in that ask) 

If they try to make us commit to a ST to keep our seats, before we even know the terms of the TV deal and the range of KO times, that’ll be really taking the piss.

It’s all very well the club wanting to get your money in the bank as early as they can, but with the uncertainty around the TV schedule, the only fair option is delay imposing the seat reservation deadline until we know what we’re committing to.

35 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Swansea we’re prettier than us but even more toothless!!

Totally agree on both counts and you can easily see why they’ve had a really poor season.

59 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

I would hope that Manning watched Swansea play the way he seems to want us to play and might realise how ineffective it can be without the best players in the division. Swansea didn’t have a single shot on target all game and our only effort on target was the goal. If you wanted to see how football dies, this would have been prime evidence!

Spot on!  

For all their possession, Swansea were toothless and didn’t look like scoring.  I didn’t even feel nervous in added on time!

As you say, that was a clear example of what you get with a posession based side and no end product.  I can see that being us, if Manning survives here.

16 minutes ago, Tim Monaghan said:

Because that’s my opinion. He needs a summer to bring in some of his own players etc. He’s trying to build something. I don’t expect you to agree with me and that’s fine. 

It’s going to take a hell of a lot of money to build a team capable of playing the way he wants.  Can you see him getting that from Lansdown, because I certainly can’t.

14 minutes ago, Tim Monaghan said:

And so he should be. Huge summer incoming. 

Why, have you got reliable info that Lansdown is selling up?  That’s the only thing that would get me excited about the summer, football wise.

That was shocking again today, but the result was everything today, so we can breathe easier now.

I certainly can’t look forward to watching that shit again next sesson though.

I’ll be there, getting bored shitless yet again most likely 

1 minute ago, JAWS said:

No

My thoughts exactly and is why I just can’t see how they think Manning will work out here.

2 hours ago, JAWS said:

Scored again today. A very astute signing by ambitious Ipswich in a move to give them added impetus to reach the promised land.

Could we have pushed the boat out? I have read a lot of fans say there were no strikers available in January. He was clearly available AND had been touted as a possible signing for us previously.

Could we afford him? Pops probably knows more than anyone but from what I've read we had some headroom. His wages would be high but it was only until the end of the season and are Ipswich in a better financial position than us?

A lot of fans saying no point speculating/gambling too much in January as we were neither going up or down. On boxing day we were one point off top 6. ONE point! After previously beating Sunderland and Hull. I'm sure any negotiations for Jan would begin before Jan when top 6 was in reach & not midway through when our form & prospects of top 6 had seemingly dropped off. And Kieffer Moore wouldn't be a gamble as he's proven at this level and only a loan so not long term financial commitment.

Admittedly Ipswich were a more attractive prospect from a league position point of view but with us on verge of top 6 we would still be attractive and it's not as though the player is committing his long term future. He'd also be first choice here whereas Ipswich have more options.

We are also much closer geographically to Bournemouth and Wales (his country of origin) so that might have tipped the scales.

The question is how much are we prepared to go for it?? Its not the first time......

 

All except the most optimistic of us could see we were miles off being a genuine promotion candidate, so what was the point of shelling out a big wedge on KM?

The far bigger and more relevant question is, will Lansdown be prepared to shell out what it takes to fund the Manning team rebuild, if he manages to avoid getting his P45???

So reading this discussion, it’s sounding very much like the Club are living in cloud cuckoo land.  How on earth do they think we can convert our squad to LM’s playing style and with the quality needed to be competitive at the upper end of the Championship, whilst staying within ffp limits?

Questions that immediately spring to my mind.

1). Have the club completely changed their plans, both in terms of finance and so-called sustainability?  One minute we’re shopping in the lower leagues for bargains and now it seems we’ll be needing players of top quality and high cost, just to have a chance of making LM’s system work.

2).  Over the years, we’ve lurched from one plan to another and never seem to stick at any of them for very long.  This would appear to be a particularly fundamental change of direction and would surely need a very big churn of our squad to have any chance of working.  When Manning does go, what are the chances this new squad would then suit his eventual successor, or will we need another massive clear out?

3.  Is it just me, or do others think this just smacks of an ill thought out punt by JL and BT, with little thought of how it’s actually going to be put into practice, especially within our budget?  If by some miracle, it has been thoroughly planned, it makes you wonder what the Club have seen in LM, to think he justifies the massive change in direction, playing staff and associated costs this will involve.  You would expect this has all been run past SL, but I just can’t see how he would buy into shelling out major cash on a load of new players to suit the new plan.

It strikes me that if we’re moving in this direction, we’re taking a massive gamble.  As has been discussed earlier in this thread, it appears the system has to be working to its absolute maximum for success, as if you aren’t right at the top of your game, you fall well short.  Working fairly well just won’t cut it.

I just can’t see SL cracking open the nest egg to fund this lot and if we try to do it on the cheap, we could fail massively and soon find ourselves trying to find another Nigel Pearson, to get us out of the smelly stuff again.

This whole thing just doesn’t show any sign of joined-up thinking to me, or am I missing something?

9 hours ago, AshtonGreat said:

That's a fair opinion, though i think we looked really good against Ipswich

That’s true, but the most worrying thing is his inability to counter any deep lying and ultimately defensive teams.  

As we get sucked closer to the relegation places, I’ve got precius little confidence that we’ll beat any of the low lying teams in those six-pointer games coming up.

Let’s just hope he finds a solution super quick, or we could be in real trouble, which you wouldn’t have expected after the comfortable position he’d inherited.

9 hours ago, Baldyman said:

If we stay up , it’ll thanks to the form under Pearson and nothing to do with Manning . 

 

It’s certainly looking that way.  If the average points per game under Pearson had been as low as under Manning, we’d have been right in the middle of a relegation battle right now, not just a potential one.

There’s definitely no way JL or BT can claim they’ve released any additional potential from this squad by the appointment of Manning, which was supposedly their aim.

5 minutes ago, AshtonGreat said:

Yes true - and Pearson had longer to work with the players

He did get longer AG, but to be brutally honest, it appears the longer ‘time on the grass’ Liam gets, the worse the players become.  It’s a very worrying trend for me and is why I’ve got little optimism that LM is likely to turn it round.

Definitely hope I’m wrong and he improves very quickly, or it’ll will be a very uncomfortable end of the season for us.

1 minute ago, AshtonGreat said:

 

So what we can deduce from these stats is that neither Manning nor Pearson performed particularly well, but Pearson performed slightly less bad than Manning 

The team morale, work ethic, fitness levels and various other factors were very different.  Far too nuanced to be directly comparing both records.