Does Sl Know Anything About 'football'

[Sniper]

SL as we all know is a great chairman and with out him we'd be DOG FOOD!

The thing that concerns me is 'taking his business head off' does he really know any about football?

Yes he's a big football FAN, and lucky for us a CITY FAN, but does he know what it's all about?

He's a very clever bloke and fair play to him, he's made millions from a back bedroom idea with his mate.

TIN HAT ON TIME

His dream regarding BRISTOL CITY has 3 partS IMHO and he's made the first one by becoming the Chairman.

2ND PART = A NEW STADIUM

3RD PART = PROMOTION TO THE Premier League

Part 2 is still up in the air as we know, but I find it hard to think of this lovely New Ground if we get it, with no bugger in it?

I went to Wigan away when they had their new stadium, and including us AWAY FANS I think there was about 5 or 6 thousand there, so it sounded and looked like a pile of shite.

SL keeps on harping about how the Club needs to stand on it's on two feet and run it's self. This is a very valid point, but how many clubs actually achieve it?

I'm lucky enough (NOT!) to work with a Forest Fan and he can't belive the difference between his chairman and SL.

He says to me your Chairman is bloody loaded, but apart from keeping your club afloat, like ours does, he's a bit scottish with getting his wallet out for players?

I say yep, and your chairman keeps your club afloat, but also knows YOU NEED QUALITY PLAYERS ON THE PITCH to get the people

on the seats and isn't afraid to spend the money? (Where are Forest in the table? Where are we?) LOOK AT THE CROWDS.

If a NEW LAPDANCE CLUB is full of ugly birds then you might go once for the crack (no pun intended) but not again.

If a NEW GROUND is built but there is NOTHING ON THE PITCH to get people through the turnstiles how are we going to

manage to stand on our own two feet with no cash coming in? WE WON'T BE ABLE TO DO!

Get the LAPDANCE CLUB full of Gorgeous QUALITY birds FIRST, then the punters will come, and will help the club stand on its own two feet.

Get some QUALITY PLAYERS on the pitch FIRST, then the punters will come, and will help the club stand on its own two feet.

I Really wish SL knew as much about football as he obviously knows about his very successful business!

For all of you who I know will already disagree, and start moaning about the MONEY side of things, and why should SL spend anymore MONEY, he keeps the club afloat MOAN MOAN ******g MOAN. We won't be held to ransom MOAN MOAN MOAN. Lets watch Forest, QPR, SWANSEA ETC buy those players, and then MOAN again when they are at the TOP, and we are fighting to stay up.

DO YOU GO TO WATCH CITY LOSE? I DON'T. I GO TO WATCH THEM WIN.

WINNING GETS BUMS ON SEATS TO NEW PEOPLE WE WANT TO ATTRACT (Forget entertainment and LOSING, they WON'T COME BACK)

LOSING DOES NOT GET BUMS ON SEATS - FULL ******G STOP - WHEN DO WE EVER SELL OUT?

600 Million? He can't take it with him? (No I don't mean spend it all, or even a quarter of it and yes his kids will be fine)

BUT HE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

WE CAN'T!

SL CAN!

Stop trying to get something for nothing. Pay the asking fee, and pay the wages or we'll end up with the usual CROCK OF CRAP L1 STANDARD PLAYERS.

WE WILL NEVER GO BUST WITH SL IN CHARGE, SO STOP WORRYING ABOUT SPENDING MONEY.

EVER BEEN OUT WITH A FRIGID BIRD, YOU CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH FRUSTRATION.

GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE SAND - WE ARE IN BIG SHITE. FORGET THE MASSIVE SO CALLED 6 POINTS from safety, it's not enough with the fixtures to come.

RELEGATION WILL COST US SO MUCH MONEY THAT SL WILL JUST JACK IT ALL IN AND WALK.

If so then a very sad day for BCFC and a very worrying time.

BUT I WILL SAY, SORRY TO SEE YOU GO STEVE, BUT YOU GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE AND THE NEW GROUND ETC and forget ONE THING!

QUALITY PLAYERS ON THE PITCH (TO GET BUMS ON SEATS!) and you didn't really know that much about 'FOOTBALL'

[WhistleHappy]

SL as we all know is a great chairman and with out him we'd be DOG FOOD!

Get some QUALITY PLAYERS on the pitch FIRST, then the punters will come, and will help the club stand on its own two feet.

OK ... Pal, I think youre saying we need to buy players with some Pedigree or we wont Winalot - cant argue with that Chum, but its easier said than done.

Dont worry too much though, SL's been around the block a few times I'm sure he wont make a dogs dinner of it or lead us up the garden path he wont let the club go to the dogs.

We might even eventually win promotion & then we'll all have Boneos & can all Bounce around together in our new stadium.

( we gotta get rid of some of the rubbish first though cos Millie cant teach old dogs new tricks, we must send 'em packing with their tails between their legs cos at the moment too many tails are wagging our dog! Lansdown & Millie both know all too well that we're pants & we've been barking up the wrong tree for too long)

phew!! ... think I need a bowl of water after that!

[Monkeh]

do we buy quilty and go up with a shit ground which would have to lock out most non season ticket holders while paying these players 30 to 40 k a week to try and stay in the prem?

or do you build the foundation for the club for the next 100 years and slowly but surely get up the championship to the prem,

Chicken and egg,

As much as I love ashton gate it is not fit for purpuse anymore theres no parking no boxes shit access no room for improvement apart from knocking stands down and re-building them (would cost 3 times the amount of a new ground btw)

Lansdown is going about it the right why we need the club to start making money we don't the moment the new ground will help us more then pissing money up against the wall trying to get to the prem

[spudski]

In all honesty, does anyone think SL will continue to build a new 30000 seater stadium if we go down?

[BCFC_Dan]

In all honesty, does anyone think SL will continue to build a new 30000 seater stadium if we go down?

Possibly. Given the delays from the TVG application and other issues the stadium is already a little behind schedule but a long way down the road. It might be put on hold if we went down then re-started if we made a quick return, otherwise who knows?

[Laner]

Unfortunately after all you have wrtten history does not support your theory.

Take the 2007/08 season. Our first year back in the 2nd tier of English football, we were fighting for promotion to the Premier League and narrowly missed out in the Final. Forest were playing well in the league below us and eventually did win promotion.

Both teams playing attractive football and winning.... so what were the crowds? Even in the league below, playing teams like the Gas, Cheltenham and Swindon Forest's home gates were better than ours. From a city/area with a smaller population than ours.

City have always had the potential to draw a large support but, unless it's trips to Wembley and The Millenium, this potential is never realised. In our case, I'm sorry to say it (or suggest it) but playing attractive football and winning will not draw that many more 'bums' on seats'.

Oh and to response to your Lapdance example.... fill it with beauties and I guarantee the prices will rise. Would that be a good think if you've then priced-out the average punter? Look at the top Prem teams and see how much it costs to watch them week-in week-out?

[B-Rizzle]

If a NEW LAPDANCE CLUB is full of ugly birds then you might go once for the crack (no pun intended) but not again.

Get the LAPDANCE CLUB full of Gorgeous QUALITY birds FIRST, then the punters will come, and will help the club stand on its own two feet.

Careful, you might get sacked for saying that.

[Chivs]

I'm surprised that Richard Keys has gone from Sky Sports presenter to ranting forum poster in the space of one day. Nice to know he hasn't changed his views on "birds" though.

[Randy Marsh]

I think it's down to the two managers in question really. Davies would go on and on and on for all the money he needs, hence why he always spends a lot. I just can't imagine Millen doing that.

[Barrs Court Red]

Does "The Sniper" know anything about football?

[red panda]

SL as we all know is a great chairman and with out him we'd be DOG FOOD!

The thing that concerns me is 'taking his business head off' does he really know any about football?

Yes he's a big football FAN, and lucky for us a CITY FAN, but does he know what it's all about?

He's a very clever bloke and fair play to him, he's made millions from a back bedroom idea with his mate.

TIN HAT ON TIME

His dream regarding BRISTOL CITY has 3 partS IMHO and he's made the first one by becoming the Chairman.

2ND PART = A NEW STADIUM

3RD PART = PROMOTION TO THE Premier League

Part 2 is still up in the air as we know, but I find it hard to think of this lovely New Ground if we get it, with no bugger in it?

I went to Wigan away when they had their new stadium, and including us AWAY FANS I think there was about 5 or 6 thousand there, so it sounded and looked like a pile of shite.

SL keeps on harping about how the Club needs to stand on it's on two feet and run it's self. This is a very valid point, but how many clubs actually achieve it?

I'm lucky enough (NOT!) to work with a Forest Fan and he can't belive the difference between his chairman and SL.

He says to me your Chairman is bloody loaded, but apart from keeping your club afloat, like ours does, he's a bit scottish with getting his wallet out for players?

I say yep, and your chairman keeps your club afloat, but also knows YOU NEED QUALITY PLAYERS ON THE PITCH to get the people

on the seats and isn't afraid to spend the money? (Where are Forest in the table? Where are we?) LOOK AT THE CROWDS.

If a NEW LAPDANCE CLUB is full of ugly birds then you might go once for the crack (no pun intended) but not again.

If a NEW GROUND is built but there is NOTHING ON THE PITCH to get people through the turnstiles how are we going to

manage to stand on our own two feet with no cash coming in? WE WON'T BE ABLE TO DO!

Get the LAPDANCE CLUB full of Gorgeous QUALITY birds FIRST, then the punters will come, and will help the club stand on its own two feet.

Get some QUALITY PLAYERS on the pitch FIRST, then the punters will come, and will help the club stand on its own two feet.

I Really wish SL knew as much about football as he obviously knows about his very successful business!

For all of you who I know will already disagree, and start moaning about the MONEY side of things, and why should SL spend anymore MONEY, he keeps the club afloat MOAN MOAN ******g MOAN. We won't be held to ransom MOAN MOAN MOAN. Lets watch Forest, QPR, SWANSEA ETC buy those players, and then MOAN again when they are at the TOP, and we are fighting to stay up.

DO YOU GO TO WATCH CITY LOSE? I DON'T. I GO TO WATCH THEM WIN.

WINNING GETS BUMS ON SEATS TO NEW PEOPLE WE WANT TO ATTRACT (Forget entertainment and LOSING, they WON'T COME BACK)

LOSING DOES NOT GET BUMS ON SEATS - FULL ******G STOP - WHEN DO WE EVER SELL OUT?

600 Million? He can't take it with him? (No I don't mean spend it all, or even a quarter of it and yes his kids will be fine)

BUT HE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

WE CAN'T!

SL CAN!

Stop trying to get something for nothing. Pay the asking fee, and pay the wages or we'll end up with the usual CROCK OF CRAP L1 STANDARD PLAYERS.

WE WILL NEVER GO BUST WITH SL IN CHARGE, SO STOP WORRYING ABOUT SPENDING MONEY.

EVER BEEN OUT WITH A FRIGID BIRD, YOU CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH FRUSTRATION.

GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE SAND - WE ARE IN BIG SHITE. FORGET THE MASSIVE SO CALLED 6 POINTS from safety, it's not enough with the fixtures to come.

RELEGATION WILL COST US SO MUCH MONEY THAT SL WILL JUST JACK IT ALL IN AND WALK.

If so then a very sad day for BCFC and a very worrying time.

BUT I WILL SAY, SORRY TO SEE YOU GO STEVE, BUT YOU GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE AND THE NEW GROUND ETC and forget ONE THING!

QUALITY PLAYERS ON THE PITCH (TO GET BUMS ON SEATS!) and you didn't really know that much about 'FOOTBALL'

I read posts like this and despair. One of these days, SL might decide that he's had enough of ungrateful ignorant fans, and walk away. I hope you'll be happy then.

It's not SL's job to choose players. In theory, signing a Premier League right back was a good move. Surely that will give us a "quality" player. But we all know what happened.

We've also signed Adomah, Stead, Pitman, Cisse this season, plus Caulker and Rose on loan. I think it reflects well on us that Pitman decided to join us rather than Blackpool.

Oh, and we also signed a new goalkeeper didn't we? Is this a good example of SL being "scottish"?

It's easy to compare us with teams (eg Forest) that just happen to be doing well at this particular point in time. But you could equally well compare us with Boro.

[B-Rizzle]

I read posts like this and despair. One of these days, SL might decide that he's had enough of ungrateful ignorant fans, and walk away. I hope you'll be happy then.

It's not SL's job to choose players. In theory, signing a Premier League right back was a good move. Surely that will give us a "quality" player. But we all know what happened.

We've also signed Adomah, Stead, Pitman, Cisse this season, plus Caulker and Rose on loan. I think it reflects well on us that Pitman decided to join us rather than Blackpool.

Oh, and we also signed a new goalkeeper didn't we? Is this a good example of SL being "scottish"?

It's easy to compare us with teams (eg Forest) that just happen to be doing well at this particular point in time. But you could equally well compare us with Boro.

yeah, totally agree with this.

[Mr Mosquito]

TIN HAT ON TIME

His dream regarding BRISTOL CITY has 3 partS IMHO and he's made the first one by becoming the Chairman.

2ND PART = A NEW STADIUM

3RD PART = PROMOTION TO THE Premier League

Personally, I'm not in the same league as Steve Lansdown financially - I'm about 20 divisions down from him. However, if I were BCFC Chairman my priority would be to get this club established in the top flight. Nothing else would really matter to me whether it were academy, new stadium or whatever. Too much of this club's energy has been disapated into the new stadium project and the academy as far as I'm concerned. The priority should always be the highest league position possible and doing well in cup competitions - we're failing abysmally on both counts as per usual. Bristol is a big city and this should be a big club.

[spudski]

The biggest problem i see, is the club and fans are in limbo.

Imho, the outcome of this season will dictate what future decisions are going to made on squad, manager, coaching staff and future Stadium plans. It's a horrible place to be right now. Maybe this is why the Club and SL are keeping schtumm right now?

SL has gambled...it feels like we have a hand of 17 in Pontoon and the Clubs below us are all holding an Ace and we are just waiting to see what they turn over, to see the outcome.

I have a gut feeling that this season is going to boil down to other clubs below us losing, for us to stay up. I don't think we have the quality to play out of this situation...plus injuries.

[downendcity]

I don't know how much Sl knows about football, but judging by the amount of twaddle posted on here, my guess is that he knows a damn sight more than many fans do, and certainly more than many fans give him credit for.

He certainly knows exactly how costly it is when you have to put your money where your mouth is!.

[Fiale]

What a ridiculous thread. SL is a football fan and knows as much about football as anyone else posting on these boards, he's also as Chairmen and seeing dressing room, manager meetings, academy, board room, media, and FA publicly and behind the scenes for years, knows more about football and it's workings now than anyone posting here will ever, could ever hope to achieve.

[A Horse With No Name]

OK ... Pal, I think youre saying we need to buy players with some Pedigree or we wont Winalot - cant argue with that Chum, but its easier said than done.

Dont worry too much though, SL's been around the block a few times I'm sure he wont make a dogs dinner of it or lead us up the garden path he wont let the club go to the dogs.

We might even eventually win promotion & then we'll all have Boneos & can all Bounce around together in our new stadium.

( we gotta get rid of some of the rubbish first though cos Millie cant teach old dogs new tricks, we must send 'em packing with their tails between their legs cos at the moment too many tails are wagging our dog! Lansdown & Millie both know all too well that we're pants & we've been barking up the wrong tree for too long)

phew!! ... think I need a bowl of water after that!

Well I reckon , this season we will stay up by a WHISKER, and then build a new ground that will make the ROVERs jealous. Then if we get to MEAT a big team in the cup, and BOWL them over, we could be a truly great FURBALL team.

[CiderHider]

Haha, SL has forgotten more about football than most of us will ever know, what a stupid gashead thread

[Sniper]

[Monkeh]

well sniper your free to bankroll the club for 20 million if thats how you feel,

if you can't do that I'd suggest you shut out and leave our chairman alone who has put more money into this club then all our fans and previous chairman put together

[cityboy]

I don't get it. When has SL ever not given us the transfer money the manager of the time has asked for?

SL isn't the manager and doesn't choose the players we sign; but he does pay for them and so it's hardly his fault if they turn out not to be god enough. After all, Blackpool pulled out of deals for both Stead and Pitman because they weren't willing to meet their wage demands. Remind me who ended up signing and paying for them again..

[CiderHider]

Yes I do know a lot about Football Mr Army

No I'm not a gas-head Mr Cider-Hider

I've been watching CITY for nearly 35 years (Home & Away) and have never been so fed up, frustrated and worried.

Worried that we are going back to that hell hole of L1, that a few on here think isn't going to happen, even before today's drastic news about Stead.

Do you not get it HOW MUCH MONEY we will lose if we get RELEGATED?

A dam sight more than spending some money NOW! Albeit a bit more than we'd like.

New Stadium if we are in L1?

Will SL stay?

You reckon SL knows a lot about football? How much of his money has been wasted on players over the years that have not been up to it? I'm fed up of trying to get something for nothing (there are not that many Albert's out there, and would our great scouts find them? Very doubtful!)

Forget buying 2 average players that both turn out crap! Buy 1 GOOD ONE and pay him what the other 2 would have got i.e. Maynard. Forget crap like Cisse and Clarkson.

Have you seen the table? Of course you have. What happens if the bottom 3 teams pick up form, or get in some decent players before the deadline?

These will not be luxury signings; these will be signings to save our Bacon that maybe the DOG might want to eat.

Apologies then, but seriously. the vast majority of football fans would give their left kidney to have and Chairman like SL.

I'm sure there are still things he's learning about the game, i bet Bobby Robson was still learning till his last day.

SL will always be involved in BCFC, maybe not as chairman forever, but he will never leave us in the shit, ever. I trust him and he's never showed us any reason not too.

All the decision he's made have been well thought out, pragmatic and with the clubs best interest at heart, he's as passionate as the rest of us, more so in fact considering he keeps dumping ££££ into it with no hope of ever seeing a return.

There arew absolutly no gaurentees in football, its constantly up and down, If you demand sucess week in week out from your club i suggest you look towards Barcelona or ManU, but even they can't magic up sucess year in year out, and they have the very best players in the world.

Dont expect success, hope for it only and just try to enjoy the game for what it is. Know your place as a supporter and what that means too.

[red panda]

I've been watching CITY for nearly 35 years (Home & Away) and have never been so fed up, frustrated and worried.

So you were less fed up, frustrated and worried:

- when we very nearly folded completely in 1982

- when we were relegated in three consecutive years

- when we were at the very bottom of the football league

- when we were getting thrashed by Crewe and Northampton (the clubs that traditionally finished bottom of the league at that time)

- when Gus Cesar was a City player

- when Jimmy Lumsden sold Super Bob

- when Russell Osman didn't play Jacki

- when Scott Davisdon seemed to be running the club in an increasingly eccentric way

- when T*ny P**is was manager

- when we bottled the playoff in Cardiff (and Lita wasn't even on the bench)

- when it seemed we were destined never to leave League One?

Things aren't great at the moment, but there are stil seven clubs below us, we seem to have stability both on and off the pitch, Nicky Maynard should be back soon, and the G*s seem to be in greater danger of relegation than we are.

[Martyn Hocking]

I'm surprised that Richard Keys has gone from Sky Sports presenter to ranting forum poster in the space of one day. Nice to know he hasn't changed his views on "birds" though.

[Mr Popodopolous]

I'll ask once again. How is his record at appointing managhers? In most areas he is top class, and deserves all the credit but so far it is one good appointment from 3- with the jury still very much out on the current incumbent. No I am not a Rovers fan before anyone gets any silly ideas, let's see:

Tinnion- Fail

Johnson- Success

Coppell- Fail, I guess.

Millen- Too many variables so jury still out.

We could debate this single but quite important issue on its merits. Or we could just throw around puerile terms like 'Gashead', 'Put up or shut up' and so forth.

PS, I forgot when posting it but I have now recalled- my tin hat is on!

[cityhead]

So you were less fed up, frustrated and worried:

- when we very nearly folded completely in 1982

- when we were relegated in three consecutive years

- when we were at the very bottom of the football league

- when we were getting thrashed by Crewe and Northampton (the clubs that traditionally finished bottom of the league at that time)

- when Gus Cesar was a City player

- when Jimmy Lumsden sold Super Bob

- when Russell Osman didn't play Jacki

- when Scott Davisdon seemed to be running the club in an increasingly eccentric way

- when T*ny P**is was manager

- when we bottled the playoff in Cardiff (and Lita wasn't even on the bench)

- when it seemed we were destined never to leave League One?

Things aren't great at the moment, but there are stil seven clubs below us, we seem to have stability both on and off the pitch, Nicky Maynard should be back soon, and the G*s seem to be in greater danger of relegation than we are.

Great reallity check.

Sniper keeps refering to WE when he mentions spending money - how much has he provided for wages, signing on fees and transfers over his 35 years. I'm sure SL would be happy to take a sizeable donation form Sniper to eaase the burden.

As for knowing about football - if Sniper knows that much surely he would be managing Man U or own a large financial services company.

Why do people like sniper bite the hand that feeds them!

[bristolcitysweden]

The only thing that matters is what the eleven men on the pitch knows about football.

[Monkeh]

we're doomed then

[Sniper]

I don't get it. When has SL ever not given us the transfer money the manager of the time has asked for?

SL isn't the manager and doesn't choose the players we sign; but he does pay for them and so it's hardly his fault if they turn out not to be god enough. After all, Blackpool pulled out of deals for both Stead and Pitman because they weren't willing to meet their wage demands. Remind me who ended up signing and paying for them again..

Sorry Cityboy but I'm just not buying this.

SL must have a fee limit and I suggest a wage limit that he feels he won't go over. There must have been times when a certain player has been discussed and SL has said - Sorry but it's out of the question.

Saying that though I do wonder with the Maynard fee he did go against his policy? Who knows?

Maynard cost 2.25 Million, but since then how high have we gone £800,000 for Clarkson? the same for Pitman.

Well £800,000 down the pan with Clarkson. Another £500,000 with Cisse. It's buy's like these that drive me up the wall and this is where SL's money gets wasted. Maybe I should have said SL doesn't know much about football PLAYERS.

I can't believe that players around the £1.5 mark are always being missed or not wanted by our Managers. I'm not saying go out and buy 10, but 2 or 3 would be nice IN HINDSIGHT of all the money we have wasted on lesser fees. Now we have a big squad with not a lot of quailty in it. I'd have taken 4 good players to buy instead of 8 crap ones anyday. Now we are stuck with them and no one wants them.

Like others have said we are very lucky to have SL which I totally agree with, but all this wasted money mounts up, and it's this waste that will start to hurt on top of all the other money he finds to plug the gap each year.

All I want is to have some sucess in the transfer market for a change like a few more Maynards and Alberts instead of any more money wasted on dross.

[BCFC_Dan]

I'll ask once again. How is his record at appointing managhers? In most areas he is top class, and deserves all the credit but so far it is one good appointment from 3- with the jury still very much out on the current incumbent. No I am not a Rovers fan before anyone gets any silly ideas, let's see:

Tinnion- Fail

Johnson- Success

Coppell- Fail, I guess.

Millen- Too many variables so jury still out.

We could debate this single but quite important issue on its merits. Or we could just throw around puerile terms like 'Gashead', 'Put up or shut up' and so forth.

PS, I forgot when posting it but I have now recalled- my tin hat is on!

I don't think that's too bad all things considered.

I'm not going to stand here and argue that Tinnion was a success but there are two things to consider:

1. Most people wanted him to succeed, even if they had doubts. He'd done a lot for the club as a player and deserved a chance.

2. As long as he was at the club he was going to get the job sooner or later. There were a lot of rumours about how manipulative he was behind the scenes and unless he left I think he, and other senior players might have made things tough for Wilson's successor, whoever he was.

Coppell, again there were doubts about him from the start but most people thought it was quite a coup getting him. I think the backlash of knowing there was the chance of getting him, then turning him down, would have been much worse than what we're seeing now. If Millen had got the job when people knew we could have had Coppell he'd pretty much have to win the league in his first season to keep them quiet.

Millen himself is unproven yet, and if nothing else his record in the transfer market so far has been good (if a little lacking this month, but that's OK in my book if the players aren't there)

You can spin these things either way but I think Tinnion and Coppell are understandable failures, even if they remain failures.