exAtyeoMax

surely we have to sell an "enchanted cardie of inordinate expense and magic?"

42 minutes ago, Lorenzos Only Goal said:

It isn't what you know it's who you know is the very definition of subconscious bias.  The problem he has, is to get the right job at a lower level, you don't want a thankless task it will screw you forever.  You want an underachieving team that you can augment to get the most out of them.

it's the same everywhere. SL and LJ, JL and BT…NP and JE

14 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

I thought it was a young Giles Brandreth !

that'd be a laugh!

1 hour ago, italian dave said:

Probably the case for many/most clubs?

And not just because 20.00 on a Monday at Norwich is a pain, but because you won’t even know that’s when it’s going to be until shortly before the game. 

yes of course. I won't be able to make many home games next season because of SKY

But Plymouth do have a fair distance to travel to any away game

1 minute ago, TV Tom said:

That's excellent support but will drop significantly next season now the novelty has worn off, will no doubt be impressive though considering the distance they have to travel, i find travelling to Cardiff now is too far !!!!

Probably reduce because of altered KO times and days. Not so easy to get to Hull for a 12:30 KO or 20:00 Monday night in Norwich.

Hopefully get to Elland Road next season then. That Friday night game against them this season was beyond dreadful. Dull as ditchwater. 

29 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Agreed...although with the pivot towards younger managers at all costs, across the game seemingly does it carry as much weight as it should- among decision makers at clubs anyway.

Kompany to Bayern is probably the peak.

Burnley could do worse than make an approach towards NP. Then again so could a range of clubs IMO, be it top 3rd Championship, bottom 3rd PL let alone below- should a vacancy arise of course.

Yes, plus they are cheaper, but if you want complete control employ a rookie type coach, obviously not guaranteed but less likely to call you out, if they are treated badly they'll probably just leave at the first opportunity.

9 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I don't think Manning is a 'yes man'.

Wanting a 10, a winger and a striker is an element of intent although I'm worried about the lack of experience and prime leadership in midfield we may end up with.

I suppose the other thing, I don't see him as being an inherent 'yes man' but I suppose early in your career both in real terms and at the club, level you're at..NP would push back, he had the experience and indeed success under his belt. Bit hard for a manager/Head Coach still making his way but he seems ambitious so he will want us to push on IMO.

LM doesn’t have the authority and prestige that Nige has. That’s not a slight on LM but the honest truth of it. 

I’d rather go to Elland Road though. I’m not that fussed so can’t decide.

It might be what he needs. I don’t want to see Plymouth relegated so it will be interesting how they do next season

We went here in April. Had nice pizzas. A nice chilled vibe

London, North London

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

I think the houses at Longmoor fund the Sporting Quarter.

Unless houses are built on Ashton Gate? Perhaps that land is more valuable? I think the heyday of the supermarket is over (I don't think JS will want to buy the site and relocate).

2 hours ago, NcnsBcfc said:

Many thanks @Harry, I was guessing that it was PA, that JL was referring to in his "Ego" comments.

Ultimately i can't understand the concept of the "committee", that the club seems to have now settled on. Surely as an organisation if it wants to do things better, then it needs more experienced employees who not only have the right contacts in the game, but also have the right mentality (read Ego). Whereas a committed group, who are all focused on the same goal is commendable, you do need people who challenge and have their own views, or the group can just fall into Confirmation bias around every decision.

At the moment, the club looks like a bunch of people who "think" they know what they're doing. That may well be the case in terms of the stadium/City finance, but does Gavin Marshall know anything about being the Chief Executive of a Football club (i think not). Hence why Lisa Knights insisted on being present during the FBC podcast interview with him, in case he said anything that he shouldn't (I can't imagine PA would have needed such a babysitter).

When asked in the Podcast, what the club were going to do differently next season and in the next few years to get into the playoffs at least (given that we hadn't done in in the previous 9 seasons), GM was completely flummoxed and starting using ideas like "hope" and "fingers crossed". In essence the SLT at the club don't really have a plan as to how we are going to do things better or more effectively. You can't help feeling PA was telling them things that they didn't want to hear and thus had to go (not unlike the breakdown in relationship with NP).

Interesting summer ahead. I think I'll just follow Ian Gay on twitter (@bristolboy) as he seems sure in his own mind exactly what's going on at the club, even if the Chairman, Board, Tinnion don't. 

It made me think of this… it came up on my thread this morning…

13 hours ago, italian dave said:

Maximum and expected target are not the same things. 

I don’t know what that means in relation to them pushing STs?

54 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

Fruit market?

I did think that . Or the arena site near BTM. I don’t know what sort of sized area you need. The Emirates is squeezed into quite a tight area and is a nice stadium. With Bristol’s poor public transport system you don’t want to be too far out of town

I did a quick Google earth a couple of weeks ago to see if there was another site where you could build a stadium, I couldn’t see on at first glance.

2 hours ago, Harry said:

As far as I know from the rumour mill - when he first put the club up for sale a couple of years ago there were a number of interested parties. Not one off big benefactors, but more the business-investment style groups. 
I’m certain 777 was one of them. 
There were others that were batted away immediately. 
So, with 777, it could be that Steve made a good call and pulled out, but I think the truth would more likely be that they weren’t anywhere close on price. 
I think 2 years ago they probably looked like a decent investor. 
I believe that with all talks, they’ve quickly stumbled when it comes to a few things :

1) Structure. We are the most complex of structures, more so than any other championship club that’s been available in the last few years. 
2) Ground. Steve ballsed up with the Ashton Vale situation and the Ashton Gate rebuild is not something some of the potential investors saw as a great facility. In terms of size rather than anything else. It’s a very good championship facility but if new owners have ambitions for Prem football, there are no grounds for expansion and many thought it’s too small to sustain a Prem club. 
3) The cost base at the club is ridiculous. (Mainly loaded with mates of Jon). There are reams and reams of positions that just aren’t required or provide very little value for money. When someone arrives and challenges this (Phil Alexander) they are quickly removed for asking too many questions and telling too many home truths. 
4) The people. I know that a party who were previously interested a couple of years ago were very satisfied with the Gould/Nige/Tins set up and felt they could really work with that. 
We are now miles away from that and I can’t see how any investors would currently be happy with how we’re set up. 
5) The price. Steve wants his money back. Basically. He might settle for being about £50million down as an absolute maximum but he basically wants his money back. 
That doesn’t make us a very attractive proposition when other championship clubs can be purchased for a lot less and without the complexity of the Bristol Sport model. 
 

So, short answer is, how far has anyone got, a lot closer a couple of years ago than they are now. 

Seems strange for SL and co to get rid then?!

I don’t really care but I do get a bit annoyed when people from overseas ask who your prem team are, I just put that down to ignorance of UK/English football culture. The same how I would view foreign leagues.

An English friend of mine doesn’t understand people supporting lower league teams. I guess he only watches for the level of football