Davefevs

Being facetious....worth going and having a look how competitive Millwall, Blackburn, Preston, Barnsley, Brentford are on fractions of our budget / costs. It’s almost immaterial whether you take players wages or not, we are still vastly higher....even when just looking at the football club. Here’s the same picture (above) with the football side separated. If you take: Millwall - Income £18.4m / Costs £23.4m (staff costs £16.9m) / Transfer Profit (£5.4m) If you compare that to just our football side, they have bigger revenues (£2.2m more), smaller overall costs (£26.4m less) and smaller wage bill (£10.5m less). Brentford - Income £17.8m / Costs £35.3m (staff costs £16.9m) / Transfer Profit (£27.2m) So you can be competitive on a fraction of the costs City are. I’d suggest we’ve got a bit carried away!

Accrington Stanley jumped over them into 6th tonight. Jon Coleman, what a job he’s doing. Really like like their owner too.

She’s rapid

Would be a good appointment for them.

For me, great insight, just that as it’s on tv, you can let the pictures unfold, rather than describe it all.

Well said GD. Much as I thought it was time for Lee to go, and that I liked Holden’s opening dozen games, the trend was downward for quite a while, and somehow results hid that. I don’t think performances would’ve been quite as bad under Lee as some under Dean, but I think we’d be staring the same trend in the face, a team around mid-table not able to bridge the gap for a long enough period. I think ultimately by the end of this season, had Lee been in charge we would be wondering why we can’t progress. By next season with the financial trend of our accounts, Lee would be cutting a disillusioned figure wondering why he had nothing left to spend. As you say the CEO has had a huge impact on that downward trend. Johnson had peak resources, both in personnel and finances. At this peak he wasn’t a million miles away. A shrewd DOF in Jan 2018 might’ve made the difference....at least for a play-off position. Holden or Johnson this season would’ve felt the squeeze, by next season it would be even worse. The legacy of a man’s appointment in Jan 2016 (Ashton) is that 5 and a bit years later is club going downhill in all but results, which look like they’re finally catch up.

I love these debates. It wasn’t me re Tammy....but I think Tammy listed the expectation levels of every player, he was a serious talent and nobody wanted to let him down. Cotts brought Kelly through to some extent in Portugal. But tenuous. Cotts brought Pack through at Portsmouth before suggesting Cheltenham. Funny little back-history things like that amuse me. But I’m a bit weird like that. ??? Big career defining decision. Fair play to him actually.

Agree totally. Even as much as I loved the spell too, I’m not bound by rose tinted specs either. I enjoyed short spells under LJ too. My biggest beefs with LJ were 1) playing philosophy consistency and 2) the recruitment double act with Ashton which is likely to put us back to where we were in 2012 when SOD replaced McInnes....which coincided with Ashton’s previous stint at Bristol City as part of his tactical Management Ltd consultancy. If you’re who I think you are, then our mutual friend, told me some interesting stuff about that period which I wasn’t aware of. Basically that Ashton got rid of the Recruitment person who McInnes trusted, and after a promising start as City boss, it all went pear shaped. That recruitment person is back with McInnes at Aberdeen. I very much suspect McIness (as a young manager) was duped (as has SL) by the dodgy Brummie.

Worth going back and looking at some of the accounts in the early 2000s....see what the wage bills were then.

Seeing that SOD got rid of so many high earners in the summer of 13/14....why was his wage bill so large then? Your statement doesn’t hold any water. I’m grateful for the ball SOD started rolling, just that he didn’t do it on a shoestring. What about the loans of: McLaughlin, Shorey, Richards (nominal wages), Gillett, O’Connor? Where does Baldock’s £2m fit in? Does that not count? As for Johnson (btw I include Ashton heavily in this debate), please name this swathe of younger terms developed and sold for massive profits? Then list all of the young ones that didn’t either develop or get sold for massive sums. I’ve got a list of all 68 transfers since summer of 2016 if you like. Your statement about biggest budget is just factually incorrect. Your arguments are weak, inconsistent. It’s laughable really.

Not blind love, but lots of factual statements.

It’s all in detail in my post above Shelts, backed up from the clubs annual accounts.

Exactly. @JBFC II - worth going back over the accounts, and look what Cotts achieved through “quality, not quantity” strategy. He had a very similar budget to SOD. He also signed players with longevity / improvement, that his successor benefitted from. In fairness Cotts benefitted from SOD (Fielding, Pack, Flint, Williams) too. Cotts spending power was peanuts compared to Johnson. I don’t include the 14/15 season in my xls, but for info. Wages (inc NI, Pensions) £9.7m (SOD £9.6m) Amortisation £1.5m (SOD £1.1m) Other £5.5m (SOD £2.9m) Transfer Profit £1.4m (SOD £1.1m) So, “To be fair, nobody in our history had had the spending power Cotts had with us” is factually incorrect. Basically Cotts recruited efficiently. Free transfers: Little, Elliott, Ayling (£200k compo), Wilbraham Swaps: Smith for L.Kelly (plus £500k to Oldham) Bought: Agard (£800k), Freeman (£250k) Sold: Baldock (£2m) Look at the numbers I’ve posted above! As for Agard v Baldock. Don’t you think that was canny, to get your target in ahead of selling the player going out. Baldock was rumoured to be leaving most of the summer. Nor do you buy the League One title. Sheffield Utd on a bigger budget than us didn’t romp the league. Swindon Town didn’t publish detailed accounts Preston / MKD had about 80% of Cotts budget Yeah, we were a big fish....but we executed perfectly. Plus JPT revenues, FA Cup 4th round, revenues, whilst on reduced capacity, impacting revenues. Cotts actually increased revenues by 55% over previous season, because he filled the ground every week. I think it would almost be applicable to end this with “FACT”, but I won’t.

That was as I understood it too. Think some fans were telling the fan to not be a knob.

I very much suspect the unofficial arrival of Ashton in Dec 2015 (officially appointed in January), to prepare his sacking might’ve caused the flip / row. Especially when SOD and Burt, then Cotts and Burt had chucked all Ashton’s 2012 Recruitment stuff in the bin. Cotts knew he was a gonner. One day I’m gonna stalk him at Millennium Square and ask him!!! ??? Pretty sly from SL to sack Cotts by text (allegedly). Pretty sly from SL to sack Cotts the evening he’d done his afternoon pre-match presser. Pretty sly from SL to appoint Ashton (officially) two days later. There is still a 2012 Ashton recommendation in the Recruitment Analysis team, and a mate of Jon Lansdowns too, who I understand has had a variety of jobs until they found one they could hide him in.

Ageist! ??? I’m 50.....yeah, actually you’re right!

Well summed up @Alessandro Its kinda why I do it as well.

Looking forward to having you online.

The Bobby Gould one was my favourite....just a lovely listen. You and @Shtanleyhave a nice way in your interviews.

Brilliant weren’t they? Also worth FBC too: Bobby Gould Geoff Twentyman Steve Scott

I think they’re all good, appeal to different posters in different ways. Think as a fan base we are lucky to have a wide variety to listen to.

Yes, I think Lez was credible on FBC when he appeared in the earlier episodes. People can be very different behind a keyboard.

The ignore option is very useful.

Am I right in thinking all league games are on FA player?