ScottishRed

You are so right. If we really want promotion that would be the dream team.

Wish him all the best. It was an opportunity lost.

Agreed. He is the pantomime ‘villain ‘ but in reality, not only has he had a very good career I have it on good authority he is a decent bloke. That is from my friends back in my home town in Scotland where he has spent a lot of time in the past. I have have spent many times watching his teams at AG and their’ professionalism ‘ I do wonder what would have happened with him here. I cannot remember the season, but Neil was at Cardiff and LJ was our HC, and in the pre - match presser his comment stuck with me ‘ Lee talks a good game ‘ ......oh how true.

I think he would jump at the chance! LJ’s ego would not allow otherwise and the ‘ I was right all along’ quotes would not be long in coming. It would be a disaster, yes, at times, we played better football but not in his last two seasons and remember he / they spent more money than has ever been spent here. All of that said, I am pretty sure Nige will go in the summer and it would be no surprise if LJ walks through the door. Be interesting to see how that would go with a zero transfer budget - badly, I suspect, with a return to the #cosyclub.

I am completely uncomfortable with that too. I doubt it will happen, HMRC have no sympathy towards football, quite the opposite and rightly so. There are two reasons why this won’t happen, 1. It sets a massively dangerous precedent in all businesses not just football clubs. But as regards football what if a club splashed out a record transfer fee for a player and then didn’t bother paying the tax man their monthly dues! 2. The current very real pressure on government finances makes this a true political hot potato that the public in general, regardless of political allegiances would view in a very bad light. HMRC are not known for their benevolent nature, it is a non- starter, and rightly so.

@Davefevs That is a terrifying prospect but not altogether unlikely. If it were to happen ai don’t think we would have to wait too long for the ‘ I was right along’ insinuations from LJ. I hope Nige stays but I can see a fallout with SL and JL coming and I suspect Nige would walk of his own violation. We are in a mess financially in no small part due to LJ ( although not all down to him). Re-hiring him would be a huge mistake and not go down well but as we have heard before the mantra from SL of it’s my club would come back into play.

The confusing thing is that the German investment - they now own the club - does not appear to have made any difference. Also, the appointment of Peter Grant, the manager that got Alloa relegated from the same league last season was bizarre in the extreme.

Good to hear that @Sweeneys Penalties. My home town team Dunfermline went to my first game there when I was 5. I have lived around Bristol for much longer than my place of birth, but still follow the fortunes of the Pars. Looking very much like relegation for them this season.

Don’t think HMRC will be playing ball in anyway, nor should they. It opens the door to so many businesses to follow the same route and simply not pay their taxes. HMRC have been on football’s case for many years and they will not be conceding any ground on this in my opinion.

No fella, I am not holding my breath either. In reality, in the world we currently live in, all Football Federations should take a stance and say ‘ we will not play in Quatar ‘ , clearly there is zero chance of that , ££££, are the marker and the driver. Again, not holding any hope of this, but it would be excellent if some star players from individual countries refused to go - imagine the impact if, for example, Harry Kane, said no, I am not going, could just maybe, be a domino effect. Love to see it, won’t happen. To use the much touted phrase, the game has gone.

A heartfelt thank you to all of you for your kind words. I am incredibly upset and angry that I felt that I had to start this thread because of the events of 18th December, but it has shown, which is no surprise to me, what a caring and compassionate group of people are members of OTIB.

I have thought long and hard about posting this but feel that I have to say something. The ‘Gabe’ mentioned in the earlier thread which is now understandably, locked was my son. He died in a road traffic accident last September, as a pedestrian. He was 21. Gab, loved football, he would watch any game at any level, except when he was playing, but mostly he loved Bristol City. I first took him to AG when he was 5 and he was hooked instantly. For many years we have had season tickets in the Dolman. I have been unable to attend AG since his death as it is still very ‘raw’. The point of this post, and I am being very careful what I say here, is to state my utter disgust at what occurred at the game on the 18th of December and even more so at what happened afterwards. I cannot emphasize enough that I hope the victim of that cowardly attack makes a full and speedy recovery and, that justice is served. I know, without a shadow of doubt, that Gabriel would be equally appalled and disgusted. I am not going to say anymore other than the club meant so much to him and gave him a lot of joy during his short life.

Highest paid leader of a trade union in the world - utterly disgusting.

We lack ‘ strong characters and leaders at the club’ - absolutely. And the reason for that is those are not qualities that MA and LJ wanted. Ultimately, they both knew that characters of that nature would, in the end, expose them, and that was not a risk they were prepared to take.

Not a chance. Why would LJ leave Sunderland unless he was pushed, which is possible but not right now. As for DH, assistant manager at Stoke could be working in the EPL next season. Would be hugely surprised if either would want to work for Swiss Tony again in any case.

Until they sort out the parachute payments this is simply tinkering around the edges. FFP, or whatever they call it now, is simply a mechanism to ensure that the clubs that benefit from massive TV payouts remain in the EPL, although now and again they may need to spend a season in the Championship. Think about this, SL could wake up tomorrow and decide to give Nigel £100m to spend next month, he can afford to, but is not allowed to - not saying that he would, but that is wrong. The upshot is that TV money has ruined the game both in this country and elsewhere.

He forgot to thank the Lansdowns for their support........IIRC that used to be in sentence two

Can’t argue with much of that. He reminds me of JET albeit in a completely different position. Just to be clear I loved JET but he frustrated me as he had so so much talent but did not always use it. I fear Tyreeq may be the same. Certainly with JET I was never sure how important football was to him, lots of other interests.

Jon who?

Appleton is a very good shout, there is of course the possibility that he might invent a new role in football CEO and Head Coach

Heard that too , gave me a good laugh cooking tea!

Not sure they are safe from relegation. Highly unlikely, but with no money to spend after burning £400m there could be a problem. On R5L last night they had a guy on who runs a popular Everton You Tube channel. He reckons that the club are in utterly disarray and really fears for this season - I will assume that he knows more about their situation than we do.

Could not agree more. My hope, and it could be in vain, is that SL has said to Nigel, you are totally in charge of the football side of the ‘business’ you have 3 years and X budget get us promoted. Because ultimately, I believe SL would love to be the owner of an EPL club - even if it is only for 1 season - but, remember his background, there is no way that he is going to break rules to get there and nor should he.

I think that is fair. My feeling is that NP has total control of the football side and, is currently, much more than simply the first team manager. I suspect that Nigel will look to appoint a DoF in due course, which may be himself once he has other fundamentals in place.

Agree entirely. But not the time for sentimental returns. I think Bentley will want to move on come the summer but unless it was silly money January is not the time. He would need to be replaced as Max scares the life out of me !