nebristolred

200k plus addons apparently.

Yeah anyone not aware of Mr Watkins before now just needs to look at his Twitter account to gauge the kind of guy he is. In fairness a load of sag fans take the p*ss out of him as well. Not the brightest guy out there.

They have zero profitability because they have nothing comparable to that which generates income for most Football League clubs. It used to be almost entirely attendance money (and to a lesser extent sponsorship) which made up the income, but since the 90's that has changed entirely, and that's why thanks to our investment we are finally turning the corner from a financial perspective. They simply don't have the facilities to generate that income. They don't have a decent number of boxes, VIP facilities, conference facilities, etc to make money every day of the week. Speaking from a completely unbiased perspective (or at least trying to), they are an attractive proposition for a very wealthy investor who doesn't mind taking a gamble. While there's no doubt they have a smaller fanbase than us, they do have potential for a much larger fanbase than some ex-Prem teams - given the size of Bristol I'd imagine they could eclipse the likes of Wigan, Bolton, etc. Their problem is that they really need so much investment before they can start turning a profit. Given their location near both town and Aztec West, they are actually in a prime position to attract the high-end sort of off-the-pitch revenue. Problem is, to take advantage of that, they need a new stadium, new training ground, enhanced youth, scouting and data programmes, etc. You're talking maybe £60m of investment needed, at which point you'd imagine their fanbase would grow, off-the-field revenue would absolutely soar and they'd start moving in the right direction. Basically, very high potential, but starting from a long, long way back. As it stands, I can't see anyone willing to take that gamble. And I can't say I'm complaining.

Just spent the last 45 mins scouring the Internet to read all of the compliments about us. Had a gander on sagchat and pains me to say it but they're being very fair to us. I think in some ways it's a victory for real football fans v prem plastics. Give it a day anyways....

Harsh on Mags. He’s had Traore and Downing up against him. Don’t get much better in the Championship

Just misjudged the guys jumping in front of him. Feel sorry for him

I'm certainly intrigued by all of this discussion revolving around potential administration for Rovers, but isn't it all hearsay? People speak about this £10m loan taken against the Mem as if it's common knowledge, but could it not just be an overblown rumour?

Kingswood born here as well and grew up Mangotsfield-way. Certainly City fans dotted about all over the place.

About 12,000. Though max home capacity can't have been much more than 13,500.

Big fan of this, needs to stick.

I get your point and it still stands, but as it goes Rotherham's 12,000 seater stadium is extremely smart. Unlike the 12,000 capacity 'stadium' in Bristol

For once, I don't blame that lot for taking a crap away following. Some things are more important than rivalry, and the greed and slow destruction of the local game by the powers that be is one of those things. Fair play to them for taking a crap away following like every other club is. Doesn't excuse the other 50 odd games of the season mind...

Yeah I must admit I've refrained from banter against DC. I won't go into details but he made an extremely nice gesture for a Rovers-supporting mate of mine who died a while back, really put in the effort. Obviously haven't mentioned it here much as it's not a popular opinion but I can't help but respect him. That's the only part of that club I have a positive outlook on mind!

Traffic access, fair enough. But keeping the ground open during work, they won't have to do this as they planned to move the pitch, while we did, which if anything would drive costs of their down relative to ours! And nearby houses, tight space, exactly the same situation as ours, again if anything it would be lesser on them because moving the site would allow marginally more room. Not to mention ours was done very, very well (one of the best new builds around), while their will inevitably be done on the cheap. I'm sorry, but estimates of 90 odd mil to redevelop their ground are a nonsense. Heck, Watford's new stand (which admittedly is absolute ****) cost £1.6m.

Based on what? First sentence is nonsense mate. The Dolman was a genuine achievement of engineering, and the West Stand is a large two-tier stand. This is versus a uniform single tier stadium for the sags. What challenges (technically speaking, not politically) would the Mem face that ours hasn't? Aside from moving the pitch. Yes it's in a very tight area but so were the South and Dolman Stands.

2 new stands, one of which was 2-tier and holds more than their entire ground. And a third which involved revamping the entire Dolman, extending the roof and very complex work around replacing a pillar. Rotherhams was a new build and cost £20m for 12,500 capacity. Seeing as Rovers want a similar design (single tier all around, very simple), I'd estimate only a small increase on that cost. The cost of moving out for a period, etc is another question altogether mind

Nope. We've had two new stands, one of which is far more complex than anything at the new ground of theirs (UWE or Mem plans). Add on to that the redevelopment of the Dolman which was extremely complex, particularly in removing the pillar and extending the roof. Demolishing the Mem and building it to UWE spec would be cheaper than our rebuild. I'd estimate it at £25m seeing as they already have the land.

Strange. So either Rovers are pressuring for a better deal (very risky and unlikely this late in the day). Or they physically can't afford it, regardless of how good the deal is

I know we all like to laugh but that's nonsense mate. They own the land, and the rebuild wouldn't be as complex as ours was. The Millenium Stadium cost £120m, albeit a few years back now. This is more comparable to Rotherham's ground, which cost £20m.

Quarter of a page is a meltdown?

Except that it's all coming from different people at the same time. Either a group of them at the pub having a laugh. Or genuine issues.

Not one to usually bother with their forum but I saw a few whispers on Twitter about very bad news coming out about Rovers over the next few days. Had a look on their forum and someone else posting the same. No idea what they're referring to but it almost seems bigger than the stadium.

How shit is this ref?!

Taylor playing really well, QPR defenders can't pick him up properly because of his movement. QPR goal was perfectly legitimate imo but we've had our fair share of bad luck this season anyway. QPR seem to be able to do nothing at the moment except lump it unsuccessfully towards Matt Smith.

Yes, because it's that simple It's so much easier to look back in retrospect.