pongo88

The last couple of sentences are spot on. My 10 a shares in City mean I now only own one hundredth of a door handle on one of the toilet doors. Not that I’m complaining as if could be worse. I could hold 100% of a tent at the minimal stadium

Got to agree with you about Coppell’s record, but I don’t think he would have got the job if there had been a proper interview process. He never seemed interested, so I don’t think he would have applied. If he had applied I can imagine the interview being a disaster with his “I can’t start at the moment because I’m a bit busy. Might be able to fit you in, in a few months time” attitude.

The top coaches wouldn’t be interested as they could work for top Premier League teams or clubs abroad. However, there are always plenty of good coaches who would want to work with a team like City. We’ve got a good ground, training facilities, the basis of a good team and an owner who gives a coach time and money. The way to identify them is to advertise the job, see who applies and then interview the top 5 applicants. Unfortunately, this basic principle doesn’t seem to happen at City and the job is just given to someone SL likes - eg Lee Johnson, Steve Coppell, Keith Millen, Brian Tinnion

The structure involving Bristol Sport, Bristol City and Bristol Bears etc is complicated to say the least and I don’t try to understand the way money flows between the various parts of the structure. There is however one thing that’s clear from the City accounts and that’s commercial income for City was (from memory) approx £15M last year. If Rovers end up in a stadium owned and paid for by a consortium, then the consortium will almost certainly get the commercial income. Ruinous for Rovers as said by @City Rocker . The only way to make money from the new ground will be for Wael to buy the portion of the fruit market site to be used for the stadium and finance it’s build himself. He may decide to do this or he may not. Time will tell

The academy route seems to be the likely option as Rovers have said they want to get rid of their “expensive” (!) players and replace them with lower league cheaper players with potential. As Rovers are in League 1, and aren’t prepared to pay much, the players they get aren’t likely to be of high standard. Any exceptional local young players will have the choice of joining City’s academy or Rovers. An easy choice

Exactly. Things are not as presented by Wael and the Rovers supporters. This is a business land development deal, with the Rovers thrown in as a red herring to ease the planning process. There will be much joy by the Rovers fans for the next few months or years, but the truth will emerge in time. As the man himself says, “these things take time”

Just the redevelopment of Ashton Gate cost in excess of £50m and that was without having to buy the land. A large percentage of the build cost was catering / hospitality facilities. Today, to build a ground of similar standard from scratch would cost In excess £100m plus the cost of the land. Nobody is going to spend that sort of money on a League 1 team that’s losing £3m a year. The sale of the Memorial ground will bring in a few pounds but nowhere near enough to make a meaningful contribution. The best Rovers can hope for is a basic 10-12k capacity stadium with basic facilities. The worst case is it all goes pear shaped.

Rovers seem to be debt free as of tonight but it doesn’t solve the problem of the weekly losses that are being accumulated. As Charles Dickens’ character, Mr Micawber, said: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." Adjust that for inflation and you have the scenario facing Rovers

OTIB must be the only football forum where we discuss riding boots and jodhpurs! Long may it continue

There’s a lot of pompous piffle poring from the pathetic rabble that provide piddling support for the Gas about the new grass at the colony. (Quite a few “P” words)

Basically MJ Abott Ltd laid some turf.

As the saying goes - the proof is in the pudding. City and Bristol Bears, with the help of Steve Lansdown, are constructing multi million pound training facilities, which have taken years to plan and build. Rovers, on the other hand, are going to knock something up by the start of the next season - ie a few months time. Rovers fans are in raptures on their forum about this new development, but they should be careful. What will they get in a few months? Just something to provide more laughs on the OTIB forum. We currently have pictures comparing Ashton Gate with the tents at Filton, but soon we’ll have pictures comparing the Failand facilities with some grass and portacabins at Almondsbury

I don’t think Rovers are likely to go bust in the near future, as they are better off not playing. Fixed costs will remain the same and there will be some loss of income from variables such as fake Fanta sales, but there are some benefits. If staff are furloughed and there are no match day costs the loss per week could be less than normal. There is also the benefit of players who will soon be out of contract and not retained, to be replaced by lower cost non-league players. If there is someone who has studied the accounts in detail they could provide an analysis of the benefits/ disadvantages of never playing.

Last game of the season for us to be the playoff final at Wembley?

The objectors wanted the Memorial Ground listed. It’s interesting to read the reason why this was rejected: “The decision not to list was based on the lack of survival of the original stand of 1921 and the fact that the replacement stands dating from the late 1930s onwards do not display sufficient levels of innovation in their design or the architectural interest necessary to merit listing” If the objection was made now I’m sure it would be upheld as the various tent structures are definitely innovative

Never fear Miah, Rovers will never go out of existence. They may fail financially, but the true core of supporters will keep the club going. I can envisage the situation in a few years when Rovers are playing in the Bristol Suburban League and the Gas forum is full of stories of them having the best away support in the league; every other club loves them etc. Plus the excitement of the cup run being knocked out in the second round of the Gloucestershire Junior Cup by Brimsham Green Reserves

Fake Fanta and Babe Station were classics

I’m in BS7 but it doesn’t feel blue here at all. I sometimes see strange people wearing da famous quarters walking towards Filton Avenue when there is a match, but that’s it.

The one I liked best was the discussion on what size capacity their new ground should be: “Once we are getting somewhere near capacity in the 21000 stadium will be the time to enlarge IMO”

https://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/30-Clubs/6020-councils-of-despair

Are you still receiving therapy?

With Holloway, he may be an annoying character but so are thousands of other, non football, people who are getting 80% of their salary from the government. With the current furlough scheme everybody gets it regardless of whether they talk sense or not. That’s the only way it can be. It’s best not to focus on Holloway but instead consider the many thousands who are struggling

Best of luck Miah. You pretend to be blue, but you’re far too sensible for that to be true

Shares aren’t worth anything if nobody wants to buy them. I decided to issue shares in by garden pergola at £1500 per share but, for some reason, there has been a distinct lack of interest

As you are the best poster on the forum you will be forgiven anything