Leveller

12 hours ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

Hahahaha! Junior may well have been a lovely bloke and fondly remembered .

Give him the ball and being, at the time, the fastest player in the league over 100 metres- he arrived along the wing at the byline and crossed to..... absolutely no one. 

Sometimes, just maybe you need to have a sense of humour- I mentioned his hold up play not his character. Also maybe take a look at his overall record and the level he was playing at. Personally, I loved the bloke but a good player he was not.

"  Junior Bent... and he probably is" as announced at Trumpton which was the last announcement Keith Valle ever made . 

 

Well the thread is about people who would get a bad reception if they returned, which I’m sure Junior wouldn’t.

As for his record, he was with us from 1990-97, with 183 appearances, much of that time at the level we are at now. Obviously we must have had a lot of deluded managers to keep picking him so often! Imperfect yes, but a valuable player over many years.

14 hours ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

Nicky Hunt and Ian Baird in a testimonial match refereed by Mark Ashton , starring Junior Bent's hold up play- physio by Devon White's neighbourand commentary by Gary Penrice . At Trumpton.

I find it hard to believe that someone has included Junior Bent in this thread. Useful player, lovely bloke, fondly remembered - rather like Albert Adomah for another generation.

2 hours ago, Maesknoll Red said:

Was he American?

Depends on your definition! His dad was a black GI who had to return to the US without him.

12 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

Yeh. Thinking about it, you wouldn’t ever write “alleged murder”. It’s a stigma attached to rape sadly and pretty much only rape. 

Actually I disagree. You may be sure that someone has died, but unsure it was murder, so that murder is alleged but unproven. The same with sex and rape.

In fact you can use “alleged” or “allegation” with most offences, surely? 

I’ve just googled “alleged murder” and came up with lots of press reports.

3 minutes ago, Swede said:

Well, I think we are turning the corner of recovery under Nigel Pearson albeit slower for some on here.

As others have said he feels exactly the same as everyone else as he's a fan also. People who say he doesn't is a little bit disrespectful in my view.

Yep. Imagine what this forum would be like if we ACTUALLY had a bad owner. Like one of the foreign ones who would rock up if SL really decided to sell.

2 minutes ago, Bazooka Joe said:

What's a "penalty?

When's the last time we had one of these?

 

The last time one of our players got into the opposition penalty box?

I had a work colleague who used to go to Ashton Gate with JP when they were both about 10. About 1970 I suppose.

For me, Yeovil away would be easier than a home game.

Bit of a prat - but then he still seems to have outwitted our stewards. 

Odd possession stats, as we’ve been far the better side. Their only threat is down the right wing.

The most intriguing thing there is Bramall Lane’s duel use for cricket and football. I can remember that - it had stands on three sides until 1973 and Yorkshire played matches there up to that point. Then they built a fourth stand on the cricket square and reverted to football only. Apparently (thanks Wikipedia) there was even an England v Australia test there, over a hundred years ago.

31 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I’m totally prepared for cheese puns.

I think it’s already been established that we are now Red Leicester under NP.

 

I knew someone would do this lame joke.

Fantastic of the club to do this, great stuff.

I think the club should do more for those of us who make lame jokes.

 

 

Yes, probably an age perspective.

I view that 60s era through the black and white filter as being an age of Stanley Matthews, Blackpool, Burnley, Bert Troutmann and the heavy leather ball with laces.

I'm not trying to diminish it but rather don't think that it has much connection with modern day football barring families who have supported the same club for generations and pass on the memories.

City's greatest glory days were under Harry Thickett with IIRC losing an FA cup final 1-0 and coming third in the league; though that was all before the Great War.

My clock started with seeing (on the telly) Alan Dicks and the team on the open topped bus celebrating promotion. This was probably also my first awareness that there was more to football than kicking a ball around the back garden and that there was a big team in Bristol.

I would have known about Rovers before City as we used to go to Eastville market and I knew that a team called Rovers played football at the adjoining ground.

Noted. I think we all see things differently based on our age and the eras we have experienced, but that’s not necessarily objective. In historical terms Man Utd and Liverpool are actually quite latecomers as glamour clubs, in my view, compared with say Arsenal or Villa, but have been up there since 1958 with a few dips.

35 minutes ago, Eddie Hitler said:

 

Long term they are a run of the mill big club like Aston Villa.

They struck lucky in the mid 90s by having half a dozen top class youth players come through at the same time as their appointing a decent manager.

This made them pretty much unstoppable for a dozen years.

Then that core of the team started to retire and Ferguson, seeing this and that the whole team now needed a rebuild, sensibly stepped down.

The Glazers want to keep taking money out of the club rather than pushing it on to compete with Man City so the future will be like the present: hoping each season to try to nab sixth or seventh to get into Europe.

All of those plastic fans who started to support Man Utd in the 90s are going to have few highlights in the future.

And the manager's office will have a revolving door installed as nobody can make them a top three team on the Glazers' budget.

That’s a bit of an odd historical perspective, perhaps based on your age? Were you around in the 1960s? Granted they were not a glamour club before Busby in the 1950s, but the Busby Babes era, the Munich air crash, the Best/Charlton/Law combo, the first European Cup win in 1968 meant they were THE glamour club well before Liverpool’s emergence in the 1970s. So the Ferguson era was a re-emergence from a period in the doldrums, and I’m sure they had plenty of glory seeking fans nationwide, well before the Beckham/Giggs/ Scholes etc team came along. There were football and gloryhunters before the Premier League.

14 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Not a hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy fan then Harr?

Perhaps Kalas could slow things down a bit more by donning a dressing gown too, before he picks up the towel?

1 minute ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

Even if its a penalty by the letter of the law the booking is ridiculous. 

Clearly he put his hand up to appeal for something and desperately tried to get it out of the way.

Robbie Savage is far from my favourite pundit (very far) but this warts and all portrayal has shown him in a good light overall. Fair play.

56 minutes ago, The Constant Rabbit said:

Respectfully - Bristol Sport isn't the selling point.

It's the already constructed homes, those with PP approval, and the land awaiting PP approval.

Bears are break even - the Flyers are an irrelevancy - they were the 'excuse' for a 5000 seater , much bigger 'walk around' indoor venue. The money there is for presentations, shows, conventions, concerts etc. It can be used 300 days a year minimum.

The football in the championship isn't an attraction - but to a new owner - think USA and Chinese interest here, the carrot of a team ready made for the prem, with a stadium easy to expand to 35,000 is a part of it too.

The hotels, bars, boxes, shops etc will see income sky rocket - and with prem TV money.

 

I struggle to comprehend (not aimed at you) how people constantly fail to separate the Football from the package as a whole.

 

People aren't buying BCFC - they are buying a package of land, houses, offices, venues, hotels - with a brand new stadium om the middle which can host 3 games a week across 2 codes, hold multiple concerts, functions in 2 venues 300 days a week, and hold business meetings in boxes watching City v Arsenal or Bristol Bears v Bath. Plus Failand, and other holdings that the Lansdown family has.

 

The new owners want to do a deal with company 'x' - so they invite the chairman / ceo, a well known Chelsea fan to Bristol via private jet. 

Limo to the penthouse suite on the top floor of the new hotel overlooking the Suspension Bridge. Dinner in the CBD - working lunch to talk business on Saturday morning - retire to luxury box to watch City v Chelsea.

All the deals can be tied up by the accountants and lawyers who lease suites in the new office tower (pp pending).

A one-stop shop.

Meanwhile - a 5000 concert in the Flyers arena, bars open, take-aways doing business (all in the pending plans) - quick clean up - Bears on Sunday, another concert Sun night.

During the week - there will be literally hundreds of spaces to rent for meetings, presentations, weddings - anything really in the stadium, offices, hotels, and stadium.

 

Thats what is for sale - not Bristol City.

 

And the attraction with City is only in the Prem.

To be sold for max gain for SL - BCFC must be in a solid, realistic position to go up to the Prem. The new owners will happily splash out, as TV money, sponsorship from multinational companies and interest in their own countries vis TV rights etc will be huge - plus quite simply, the exposure for the new owners will be enormous.

The big prem owners didn't buy the clubs for the football. They bought it for the business the exposure gets them, the non-match revenue, and as a place to do business.

And in the Prem - the TV and sponsorship covers most of the cost.

 

I hope that explains things much better.

 

It's not about BCFC - it's the whole package.

 

Buyers are waiting - relegation is not an option.

 

I know for a fact 2 other people know the names of 2 of the interested parties - they can step up if they want.  1 Chinese with a growing international presence in their field, 1 from USA, also known in their field but not one of the big players. Both looking to change that.

 

12 - 24 month time frame. All to be sold - though I believe the current owner wishes to retain a minority stake in the Bears. Source is impeccable, and is in the correct circles to know, been around since Harry and Marina's time - close friends with both and  attended Marinas birthday in July.

 

 

 

 

I didn’t need the package explaining to me thanks. But you missed out the bit about an owner who still has the well-being of the club/city/region at heart. Do you want a Chinese or American owner who is just after the bucks? Because I’m sure a lot of us don’t. Maybe that’s all the Lansdowns  ever wanted too; I don’t know that bit.

Good luck finding a new owner who can afford to buy the clubs/Bristol Sport, can afford the ongoing financing, has the best interests of the city/region at heart, and has the good faith not to treat the whole shooting match as an asset stripping exercise.

2 hours ago, ashton_fan said:

You're right it looked like a good appointment yet apparently the board messed up by taking him on, they seem to be the whipping boys despite people on here agreeing with them at the time. Or is it just people on OTIB can't admit they were wrong and look for someone else to blame?

This is exactly it. Fans are free to be hypocritical and shred people who took decisions they agreed with at the time. Many of the “useless” players that are getting slammed now were hailed as good signings at the the time, and some of the unsuccessful managers likewise. 

5 hours ago, Roger Red Hat said:

Don't bother with Gregor, wait for an announcement from RoydeAlien.

I think you’ll find he said Frank Lampard would like to manage us!

4 hours ago, Redstart said:

Perhaps they're taking Warnock on

His experience in getting relegated from the top flight would clearly be very useful!

If our front six were all like Weimann I don’t think we’d be struggling.

Couldn’t do any worse than the current lot.