Lansdown's Out - Sack The Board

[Peter O Hanraha-hanrahan]

People praise Lansdown but as i mentioned elsewhere what are these 'great' things he's done, ..

Cover our massive losses every year?

[The Gasbuster]

So he's appointed poor managers and now poor people onto the board who decide on managers and you feel the man doing this appointing is not to blame?

Interesting concept.

You say alot of,clubs have foreign owners, that is mainly big clubs with history, fallen giants that's not us and we are unlikely to ever be on anyone's radar for billion pound buy outs.

I'd rather be skint struggling with people working 110% for the club, than some of the dross currently employed by the club on and off the field.

Not always. Bournemouth are not a big club, yet are now owned by some Russian. All is going well at the moment, but I suspect it will end in tears. That club has been through it's fair share of turmoil as well.

[ranidaze]

Bowie, has it really got that bad you have no one else to blame so you point the finger at lansdown? Get a grip!! As previously mentioned people weren't complaining when Johnson got us one game away for the premier league. What a lot of people also forget is lansdown is the majority shareholder and not the chairman. Keith Dawe deals with the day to day running. And technically is KD's decision whether DMC stays or goes!

And as your administration statement, to be honest I only need to say one word about that, ridiculous!!

[The Gasbuster]

So he's appointed poor managers and now poor people onto the board who decide on managers and you feel the man doing this appointing is not to blame?

Interesting concept.

You say alot of,clubs have foreign owners, that is mainly big clubs with history, fallen giants that's not us and we are unlikely to ever be on anyone's radar for billion pound buy outs.

I'd rather be skint & struggling with people working 110% for the club in league 1 or 2 than some of the dross currently employed by the club on and off the field

I would not like to be a Pompey fan right now. To my knowledge they have still not agreed upon a fans' take over and are still in administration. When they come out, they will lose another 10 points, and be certs for relegation. Further struggles are likely ahead for them. It is still possible that liquidation may follow if they cannot agree a way forward with the guy who owns Fratton and other assets.

All this while they have to suffer L1,L2 and probably non league football.Not for me, thanks.

[Jesus]

I'd don't know about "everyone" else but my view at the time was why an unproven manager? The likes of Dave Jones among others were available, proven managers at this level and there was a number of postings wanting them, until it was confirmed the club were stuck between Robins/McInnes at which point people choose between the 2.

Recall at the time of appointment twentyman was flooded with calls asking "who's the bloke from Scotland" and cheap option....

People praise Lansdown but as i mentioned elsewhere what are these 'great' things he's done, appointing GJ turned out great and Gary got us up on a budget, but apart from that Lansdown's just thrown wreckless amounts of money at the club in loans, building up £40m of debt.

What else.......

I was one of the people who wanted Dave Jones, but again, he's hardly set the world alight in the Championship with them has he? You would still be writing "SL out" if we were in the same situation but with Dave Jones in charge.

You say we've got a debt of £40m? Its not a "debt" as such as SL has always said he would bank roll it. So in fact we as a club owe SL £0. How many more times does he have to say this? And you say he's thrown "wreckless amounts of money at the club?" IT'S HIS MONEY!!!! You'd rather him throw 0% and nothing, then lets see where we go.

The only issue we have with money is the FFP ruling. That's it. The rest is money that SL has GIVEN us. We don't pay it back. Of course however the long term plan of his is to make us stable, hence the stadium, which by the way he is also paying for out of his own pocket. Can you name another person in the world who would build us a stadium for FREE so we can be self funding? I think not

What else...........

[SecretSam]

The OP makes some valid points, and makes his points well. I agree with some of them - putting Junior in charge may not have been the best decision, and we need more visibility and leadership from the Board and Exec.

The pitiful performances on the pitch are, to me, symptoms of a set of players who were a) not that good in the first place and b) have lost all confidence, including that of the fans. I'm assuming that in his time with St Johnstone, Del never had to face such a situation - any achievement was a good one, given the low expectations.

We're in need of leadership and decisiveness, simple as. Not sure where that's coming from.

[Timbo7]

Great post Tim, seems as though some people have very, very short memorys.

If everyone prefers we can sell our sole to the highest bidder, some eastern european company or maybe chinese buisnessman, FFS without Steve Lansdown and more importantly his funding of the club where would we be?

We are a mediocre lower end championship club with gates of 12k we canot compete with the likes of Leicester, wolves etc spending big time and consistantly getting 20k gates.

So who do we turn to? yep youve guessed it SL, if he read some of the comments on here then my god, i hope hes thick skinned or ignores some of the silly comments people are making -get a grip people.

Mirroring what Badger has said SL loves this club as we all do and he is here for a while yet, the new stadium is dependant on his funding.

im guessing Steve Lansdown will be here for a few more years yet and i am also claiming that Del Boy will be as well, if we go down which is more than likely at this moment in time then i beleive the club has resided to the fact and Mr Mciness will be in charge, clearing out the deadwood and dross and starting a total rebuild from leauge 1 (just a hunch i have)

This subject has been debated on here ad nauseam - but to summarise:

1. no one denies that SL has willingly funded the rising debt over the last few seasons
2. no one believes we can currently fund a Championship team without overspending (to some extent) the available income
3. SL is entirely (if not solely) culpable for the annual overspend spiraling out of control from £2//year to £14M/year
4. none of us have witnessed any improvement in the product on offer as a consequence of the wage bill trebling

It is true that that dissenting voices were ignored (or hidden under the tide of praise for the Minted One) until the continuing failures on the park became unbearable BUT there were dissenting voices. Romantic and unrealistic as it may sound, there are many of us who yearn for the club we could call our own when supporters felt part of the show and the team was more than just a rich man's expensive hobby.

In football as in life - every man has his price - offered the choice would you prefer to watch Wigan (a rich man's hobby) play in the Premier League OR Bury or Wimbledon playing within their means at a lower level???

On the misguided belief that SL's millions could take Bristol City to the Promised Land most were content to overlook the supporters' disenfranchisement and the growing dependence on one man - BUT now facing the very real prospect of returning to League 1 without any hope of any corresponding reduction in SL's control some are beginning to wonder whether we were right to sell our souls.

I have not yet got to the point where I yearn for the pain of 1982 - but I can readily understand that some have - 1982-86 was a truly great time to be a Bristol City supporter.

[redcityman]

1982 a great time to be a city supporter! Preferring administration to having the state were in now! Knowing we were within minute of closing the doors FOREVER, never want to go through that again, anyone who thinks administration is an acceptable alternative to what we have now knows absolutely nothing about events around BS3 in 1982.

[City1970]

To be totally honest. I'm sick to death of the way this club is going down the pan.

40m+ in debt

Back to Back £10m+ losses

Manager who is simply incompetent in my eyes and hasn't been allowed to rebuild entire coaching staff with little improvement

Board who continue to back this man

Owner who has allowed his son to effectively run the club, despite little football or business experience much like a real life Football Manafer

Chairman who is simply mute

A new stadium plan which has been mismanaged from the start with no end in sight

Possibly the most unprofessional squad of players we've ever had

Which has resulted in a significant amount of our fan bases to be totally disillusioned with the team and club

The blame must fall on the head of the owner. Steve Lansdown

There is no doubt that he means well however...He's the reason we are in a mess on and off the field.

Personally, I'd rather see the club go into administration, rebuild and be in league 2 with the gas at Ashton Gate, than have to put up with yet another terrible management choice from Lansdown and Son. He's the reason the club is in a mess massive debts, losses getting worse each season.

He means well, but its got to the point that the club is dying off the field, with managerial appointment killing it on the pitch. Bad decision after bad decision.

My view. Steve. THANK YOU for your efforts but feel free to cease funding the club and enjoy your retirement in Guernsey.

I'd rather the Adminstrators come in and clear out the garbage from the club, fail to pay players wages in time, clear out the faceless board, I'd rather see us rebuild with the youth team in league 2 ala 1982 than trust anyone in the Channel Islands or on this board make another major decision for this club.

Rebuild from the bottom, get people into the club who care and get players with some fight on the pitch.

I'm sure i'll get a battering for this, but this is MY view.

McINNES & LANSDOWN'S OUT

You must agree SL has been the best chairman/majority shareholder since Harry Dolman.

When SL came onto the board he had millions of dosh behind him, now he has hundreds of millions of dosh behind him. So, to me he has good business credentials. This has led him to step down as chairman and relocate to Guernsey, probably for tax reasons which has been detrimental to BCFC due to the new regime at the healm.

However, I will say SL would not run Hargreaves Lansdown the same way he runs BCFC.

Administation is not a good place to be remembering 1982.

We were a nats whisker away from the premier league not long ago under SL stewardship, I expect you went to Wembley with a belief come 5pm we could be a premiership club.

I agree the club need to bring the debt down and make better use of the academy.

So, get behind the board and hopefully a new manager shortly and things may improve.

[Timbo7]

1982 a great time to be a city supporter! Preferring administration to having the state were in now! Knowing we were within minute of closing the doors FOREVER, never want to go through that again, anyone who thinks administration is an acceptable alternative to what we have now knows absolutely nothing about events around BS3 in 1982.

I suspect you may be intentionally missing my point so I won't waste my time explaining it further - I am however happy to clarify that I did not mean to include the first two or three months of 1982 in the period I said it was great to be a supporter. Thereafter the resurrection to wining at Wembley was exactly what supporting a football club should be.

[The Gasbuster]

So he's appointed poor managers and now poor people onto the board who decide on managers and you feel the man doing this appointing is not to blame?

Interesting concept.

You say alot of,clubs have foreign owners, that is mainly big clubs with history, fallen giants that's not us and we are unlikely to ever be on anyone's radar for billion pound buy outs.

I'd rather be skint & struggling with people working 110% for the club in league 1 or 2 than some of the dross currently employed by the club on and off the field

To blame, in part, most certainly yes.

However, your thread title was not about apportioning blame, it began with "Lansdowns Out", another matter imo.

[Timbo7]

You must agree SL has been the best chairman/majority shareholder since Harry Dolman.

When SL came onto the board he had millions of dosh behind him, now he has hundreds of millions of dosh behind him. So, to me he has good business credentials. This has led him to step down as chairman and relocate to Guernsey, probably for tax reasons which has been detrimental to BCFC due to the new regime at the healm.

However, I will say SL would not run Hargreaves Lansdown the same way he runs BCFC.

Administation is not a good place to be remembering 1982.

We were a nats whisker away from the premier league not long ago under SL stewardship, I expect you went to Wembley with a belief come 5pm we could be a premiership club.

I agree the club need to bring the debt down and make better use of the academy.

So, get behind the board and hopefully a new manager shortly and things may improve.

I have to say that I don't often spend much time grading the performance of chairmen or majority shareholders as football (to me at least) is really about the supporters and the team on the park. That being the case those who choose to take control of football clubs are on a hiding to nothing - if they spend their own money then many will want them to spend more (e.g. Everton) - even if they oversee a successful club they are condemned for seeking a return on their massive investment (Manchester United) OR they are condemned for not taking supporters feelings into account. For this I am inclined to sympathise but it is not as if they have any reason to suspect it will be otherwise.

The Minted One is (I believe) the wealthiest chairman or part-owner we have ever had and has, without doubt, committed more of his fortune (in absolute rather than relative terms) to the survival / wellbeing of Bristol City

He has achieved a single promotion (as numerous other chairmen have done) and seen us progress to the brink of a second (which some others have done) but we do now seem about to return to where we were when he first assumed control but with far greater financial problems than last time.

Do I appreciate his efforts and generosity? of course - but is he the best we have ever had? - certainly not - I'm not old enough of knowledgeable enough to comment on 1897-1914 era or on Harry Dolman but in my time Des Williams' record stands without peer.

I really hope that even in the 21st century there is more in this life to admire than the size of someone's fortune

[Bowie]

I suspect you may be intentionally missing my point so I won't waste my time explaining it further - I am however happy to clarify that I did not mean to include the first two or three months of 1982 in the period I said it was great to be a supporter. Thereafter the resurrection to wining at Wembley was exactly what supporting a football club should be.

Indeed this is my point, they were the proudest days of my time as a fan and light years away from where football is today.

Modern day Administration & the events of 82 - aren't the same in many ways and you just need to look at the clubs who have rebuilt and prosper.

As for SL compared to past chairmen, he doesn't come close to club greats such as Harry Dolman & Des Willaims who left the clubs last legacies, at current rate Steve legacy is looking like leaving us years down the line in the same position he found us but with a massive debt, if his son takes full control....god help us.

[WellRedPhil]

How can SL be at fault for this? As you've said, SL hasn't got any football experience, so he has to trust the manager on his judgement of players. SL has never failed to back the manager!! SL has provided the cash ALWAYS. SL cannot be blamed for any of this mess. Maybe he has made a bad choice in this appointment, but, it was a manager that we all wanted in too. We were all singing his praises for bringing in "an young up and coming manager" and threads were started left right and centre when West Brom were looking for a replacement for Roy Hodgson stating "hands off McInnes". Oh how everyone has now changed their tune. Let's face it, WE, not just Lansdown, were all wrong. But most of the ego maniacs on here can't admit they to were wrong and are now looking for the nearest scape goat they can find. Steve Landsdown.

A more suitable question badger, would be how can he not? I do not doubt that Steve Lansdwown has the best intentions of the Club at heart but he is of course hugely responsible for our current predicament. How could he not be? He has overseen the losses, growing each year and has until this season (when his hand has been forced by FFP) done nothing to attempt to stop them. He has appointed 5 managers, of which only 1 has been a success. These were his decisions and therefore he is at fault. You speak of never failing to back the manager but that is not always a good sign. Towards the end of Johnson's tenure when he wasting a fortune on shit loan after shit loan should there not have been a point where Steve stepped in? When we were signing 40 year old goalkeepers on 5 figure sums per week should there not have been some financial management? To wipe Steve of any blame at all is absurd.

Many wanting McInnes and him turning out to be shite doesn't mean Steve was right to appoint him? Besides that's not the point, bad appointments happen, that is hardly the main fault of many in this thread. Continuous bad appointments coupled with the heaviest losses in our history whilst on the pitch each year we seem to somehow get worse and worse is the problem. This Club has got progressively worse each year since the playoff final both on and off the pitch and to absolve Landsdown of any blame at all is simply ridiculous.

[Tomo]

Too much manager/club bashing on here - I fcuking hate the rovers but the endless despair on here only reminds me of how fickle we are as City fans. Either you believe in Lansdown & the club or not - there aren't any Sheik's or Oiigarchs waiting to buy BCFC (and it's massive debt). It must be awful to be a Pompey Fan, I for one do not want that to happen to our club. Keep Lansdown, forget administration because there ain't no 'Ashton Gate 8' in the current squad!

Del's the manager, he picks the team, they run about & try to play football - all the club asks is that you support them, they don't force you!

Get a grip people

Harsh response - we all support BCFC and I wouldnt say we are fickle by any means. Since the play off against Hull we have supported the club through it's decline (p.s I am no glory boy either and have been supporting the club for 36 years). Season ticket sales in the championship have been the best for many a year and even this year it was impressive considering we were up against another relegation battle last season(although season ticket sales in general are very very poor for the size of our city compared to other clubs).

We pay our way mate and are entitled to have any opinion good or bad - that's life, that's business, that's sport and ultimately that's Bristol City - Yes OUR CLUB, which we all love and want to succeed,

That doesnt mean we are Fickle, we just want a club that listens to its supporters (like every business around the globe),

Do you think Tesco would continue to deliver bad products and service and expect it's customers to stay quiet.

Real world, not fickle !

Tomo

[pongo88]

For the club to go into administration and start again as suggested Steve Lansdown would have to forgo his approx £44m invested in the club. He may not be perfect but he's a successful businessman. The chances of him putting the club into administration and losing his money are about the same as me winning the lottery - i.e. 14,000,000 to 1

[bucksred]

Hi Bucks, the worrying thing for me is that they are "his appointees" board, manager and players, all of which would of had to been run by him first.

OK DM aint going well atm but there was a selection process that got him here in the first place the same one that will get the next manager.

Confidence is shot on the pitch and on the terraces, but I think the only choice is to dig in and go with what we have, the alternatives would cost mega bucks and going by our record would be likely to be repeated again in a year or so anyway.

Cant disagree with most of that, but its incresingly clear Del cant/wont/is able to turn things around. This along with relegation a big annual loss, and the few stars we have will bail out ASAP, leaving the same donkey players who have left us in this mess, and that does not exactly inspire thoughs of a quick return. Since GJ's criminal failure to strengthen the team, exacerbated by Coppell, Millen and currently Del, this has sadly looked awfully inevitable...and I dont even think if we'd had my initial choice Dave Jones here it would have had the slightest effect. I did think Del would do a decent job as well, but this has now gone beyond the joke, and it looks like many more years in the wilderness of L1 sadly

[Cider Robin]

Steve Lansdown will either have to write off the debt or will the lead the club into administration. BC will not in the next 10 years be profitable enough to pay back £40m + continued loseses in the next 2-3 years.

He writes it off or he walks away leaving us with no ground and in administration.

I hope and pray he writes the debt off but you don't become rich by being nice.

[phantom]

Cover our massive losses every year?

Do you think that they are interest free loans ?

Was it not mentioned that he gets 2% intersest on the money loaned to the club?

Essentially with all the money tied up financially it would be suicide to walk away from the club, unless there was somebody willing to come in, clear the debts and then invest in the club.

History does prove, that there have been a long succesion of poor appointments in the Managerial chair, and more recently the board additions seem a backward move in the footballing side of things.

It was certainly a shrewd move setting up two companies in BCFC and Ashton Gate Ltd, the ground assumedly makes money with all the events etc tied in?, and is protected if the worst case scenario ever happened and the club went belly up!