CodeRed

Just now, Numero Uno said:

I was taking the piss……..

So is Jon Lansdown 

6 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

City 2 shots on target, Coventry only 1. So the half time score is obviously well deserved (haha). The best thing so far is I heard some Coventry fans went to Horfield by mistake 

Easy mistake to make

5 minutes ago, downendcity said:

Can't the vet take care of that for him?

That was mooted.....

48 minutes ago, ashton_fan said:

Isn't Jon making his own fortune with a property business in the Bahamas? Would you give that up to come back here so you can get given stick like his dad has done on OTIB?

He owns a house in Bermuda and spends a lot of time there - the house has a golf course in front and the ocean behind so understandable! - but I don't think he's running any business's there. It's a holiday home essentially,  I've heard (on here) Phil Alexander found it frustrating that JL was over there so much.

1 hour ago, pongo88 said:

City being  a yo yo team between the Championship and the Premier League would be absolutely fantastic compared to the last 50 years. In reality it’s the best City could hope for in the foreseeable future. Look at Burnley, for example. New American owners, investment in players, good manager but after walking away with the Championship last season they are now in the relegation zone. Some teams who are promoted to the Premier League survive but most come back down in a short time 

Yes we all agree being a yo-yo club is better than where we are and will generate big money, but the conversation is about how much SL wants for the club...not what is fans would be happy with.......no one is paying north of £100 Million for a club to yo-yo between the Championship and the PL. At that price they want the potential to be a top 6 PL club (with investment) and compete in Europe and the stadium limits that ambition. Like people are saying SL needs to divide his interests up and his price down.

39 minutes ago, phantom said:

IMO the bigger problem is that the intention was to hand the legacy on to Jon to take forward

He seems to be very distant from the club and can only assume he doesn't have the interest to take on the reigns

Or the leadership skills to put it bluntly. I'm sure he's a decent chap but I'd be worried if he did take it on.

12 hours ago, pongo88 said:

The size of the ground and lack of opportunity to expand is often quoted but is it really a problem? There are quite a few Premier League teams and Championship teams, with recent Premier League experience, that have grounds similar in size to Ashton Gate or smaller - eg

Palace - 27k: Brentford 17k: Burnley 22k: Bournemouth 11k: Luton 10k: Norwich 27k: WBA 27k: Watford 22k: QPR 18k: Swansea 21k

As for expansion it is technically possible, though difficult - ie expand the Atyeo end. The difficulty is, of course, buying the houses though would it be worth it?  SL once said he considered this, during the planning stage of the redevelopment, which would have increased capacity to 35k. He said he thought it wasn’t worth it as there would only be a sell-out against the big teams and the real money comes from TV in the Premier League. Whether he was right or wrong is a matter of opinion.

Obviously Ashton Vale would be a better selling feature but you can sell anything if the price is right. The fact that SL has been trying to find a buyer for some time, without success, indicates that his valuation (£140k?) is adrift from reality 

 

Certainly it's possible to sustain PL football with our current capacity, as you say the TV money is massive, but if someone aspires to take the club to an elite level they would be likely be looking for a club with a catchment and potential to compete at the top of the PL, Europe,etc. That's why clubs with decent capacity grounds decided to build even bigger stadiums- Spurs, Arsenal, Everton, and why WH and Man City moved, Newcastle are planning to extend their stadium again, Wolves are planning to extend again and clubs like Chelsea are considered to be at a disadvantage with their 40k capacity compared to their rivals.

SL does need to be realistic with his asking price, as the club does have its limitations with the stadium which has realistically been developed as far as it can be.

9 minutes ago, richyy66 said:

Mrs Doubtfire

5 minutes ago, glynriley said:

If SL lets Nige leave, I think Jason Euell’s name will be high on the list. 

More likely Andy King

2 hours ago, tin said:

My thought is SL has had more than two decades to get us PL-ready and asides from the stadium and the training ground, we still lack any long-term strategy or culture to help us get there — and that’s still the case now. 

I don’t believe for a minute that SL built his empire on his decisions, and his alone. Hargreaves challenged him and they drove the company on. Why’s he not done similar with the football club? 

I’ve long gone past wanting to hear from him; I don’t want to hear about his false PL ambitions, nor do I want to hear his bumbling contradictions. He is so detached from the fans, and from what it takes to achieve success. The sooner he moves on, the better IMO. 

 

Very true,  Simon Jordan summed up SL in one off the cuff remark when Jim White - trying to wind him up about SL & Jordan not getting along - said " Steve Lansdown's much wealthier than you" 

Jordan "yeah he is very wealthy......but he still can't get his club into the Premier League"

Whatever your view on Jordan he promised when he bought Palace he get into the PL within 5 years and he did it in 4. 

3 minutes ago, Super said:

Has anyone tried turning it off and on?

8 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Wonder if Scott going was the final disillusionment for him.

Compare his end of April interview he was buoyant, talking Scott staying, enjoying his football- playing with Conway and young academy players etc.

Whereas his most recent pronouncement he sounded pretty downbeat, resigned, nest egg and generally unenthused.

Scott was never likely to stay but I wonder if he believed he might.. 

Not sure about that, he was determined to sell him, naming the £25m asking price in every interview, effectively saying 'come and buy him'. He was burned by previous players running down their contracts and his overwhelming priority was not to let £25m worth of asset turn to zero.

29 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

Unlike the fans, I don’t think SL really wants promotion any more. Or certainly not at the cost that it’s likely to involve. Let’s be honest, football’s not really his game and he’s not that worried about achieving success as long as he’s not having to shell out enormous amounts. He’s got the ground and will soon have the rest of the “Sports Quarter”, which will be his legacy. I believe that the bricks, mortar and money still interest him more than football, especially since FFP and parachute payments really skewed promotion towards those who had been relegated from the Premier League. So I expect us to keep selling our best players and getting no closer to promotion for the foreseeable future, unless a new owner comes in.

 

I think he'd like success but he's become disillusioned by the financial side of football, agent demands, the sheer costs of wages, the players that are happy to sign a lucrative contract and then equally happy to run that contract down (Diedhiou eg), the constant one way call on his pocket with - in his eyes - no sense of gratitude or loyalty in exchange for the sums he's shelling out. He alluded to this in an interview when asked what he'd learnt in football and he said " never fall in love with your players, in the end they think only of themselves despite the wages and support given to them".

5 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

FBC? Apologies if I’ve missed something here - but in the places I’ve worked FBC is full blood count - as I said, sorry Dave but what does it mean here?!

Forever Bristol City podcast ?

Of course I'd like to see us in the PL - but competing. I was lucky, and old enough!, to see us win promotion in 1976 and by and large we were competitive. We didn't need to spend much back then and only bought Hunter, Cormack, and Garland during the first season for comparatively very modest fees. Later we signed Joe Royle etc but he was coming to the end of his career.

Today I'm not sure we have the recruitment structure, systems, and experienced DoF - not to mention the owners commitment - to invest wisely and kick on like Brighton Brentford and to some extent Wolves who relied heavily on Jorge Mendes to recruit. It pains me to say it but I think other than the desire to trouser the cash I don't think we have made any credible plans to push on should we - as SL said - get lucky.

Just now, old_eastender said:

this could easily go either way now, can't see it ending 2-2

No it's going only one way!

A few getting excited by his return to the West Country!

20 minutes ago, One Team said:

Me too. I have a soft spot for local non league teams to a point but it’s not anywhere near being a fan like I am with City.

Hearing someone with a thick Bristol accent proclaiming their support for Liverpool/Chelsea/Man Utd is awful. I typically find I know more about ‘their’ clubs than they do!

I feel genuinely sorry for people that don’t go regularly to live football. 

Guy across the road from me is a self proclaimed 'big Man City fan',  he's never been to a live game, he doesn't even watch them on Sky/BT.. ..  but he 'watches all their goals on his phone'.  Really.

10 hours ago, Harry said:

got us to Blackburn and Stoke. Hoping Leicester won’t be a problem. 
£480!! Serious man! 

This one?

4 minutes ago, italian dave said:

They don’t come through clearly in the Dolman. Far from it. 

And if they use the font size that they use for most of words they post on the screens (away team, birthdays etc) then it’s too small to read.

Like others I’m surprised it’s not a safety certificate issue. But I take your point that it evidently isn’t a concern to the powers that issue those certificates.

But even leaving that aside, surely a club in our position should be doing better than, for example, leaving supporters completely in the dark about the opposing team’s line up, because you can’t hear it being announced and can’t read what’s on the screen. 

We should all email the CEO.....oh wait 

21 minutes ago, CrackingCheeseGromit said:

I read somewhere about Welsh people saying they will never fly from Bristol again as the journey over incurs the charge. I mean, come on, honestly ?

That's a good thing though isn't it ? 

3 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Once again, the club is lacking in communication. Do we not employ a PR manager? 

He's been sacked as well!!

7 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Struggling to think why.

Bloke couldn’t have been more pro SL in his media outings if he took tips from North Korea.

 

Agreed, listening to the interview it was hard to imagine his tongue could possibly get any further up SL's ass.

Just now, mightyreds89 said:

Is TGH free to play tomorrow or not able to play against his parent club? 

He can't play.

18 hours ago, BS3 Ark at Ee said:

Talk on Gaschat of their new stand being an imposing structure and looking very impressive! surely no other fan base in the land would be getting so excited by a temporary stand going up?! 

They're excited by any erection,  they're not getting any other ones now their sisters have gone back to school.