Mr Lansdown & Son. LTD.

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

Firstly- congratulations to Steve on the  acquisition of his spanking new Falcon 2000. This little bunny is capable of flying direct for his monthly trips to Botswana and is quicker from Guernsey to Lulsgate than I could drive from BS8 to Kingwood- not that I'd want to drive to Kingwood. A snip at £30,000,000- yes that's thirty million quid give or take.

It sort of puts into a weird perspective how very very very rich our owner is. A three year stadium redevelopment costing £40 million and his new set of wheels costing almost as much! 

I genuinely believe he has done a great deal for BCFC and I certainly hope he continues to support the Club which he clearly is passionate about.

I feel sorry that due to the most insane and bizarre egg chasing rules - his team still are not in the Premiership despite winning the League with monotony. Not a lot you can do if you keep winning the league and then losing the play off.Except win the play off lottery.

Steve has so many commitments outside of BCFC that he stepped down from his day to day role as Chairman and has done his best to appoint a team he can trust to make operational decisions. Like transfers. And something definitely went right when they came up with JK- who none of us had ever heard of. 6 goals in 10 games in a failing team and looking more and more like a player destined for big things- he has no doubt placed himself on the Premiership scouting radar and already must be worth 3 or 4 times what was paid a few weeks ago. Can we keep hold of him? No. But credit should be given to whoever bought him in.

But why did the same team get the rest of our Summer transfer window so very very wrong.So much so that it's looking like we'll have the best stadium in L1 but half full at best. John Pelling clearly stated that the transfer business would be done "very late on". Was this his personal strategy? I think it was and it seriously back fired and resulted in his dismissal. Because you can't sack the MD who's the owner's son. JL is responsible for the running of BCFC and is his Dad's eyes and ears in the Club. An MD with no previous or relevant experience is hardly likely to establish what's going wrong until, err.... it's gone wrong.

Not for one minute do I believe it was either KB or SC who were saying-" let's leave our transfers until the window is shutting"- it's a suit/moneyman decision and just about everyone could see it was a big mistake apart from Pelling and JL. Many of us including me gave them the benefit of doubt due to an extraordinary season and astute transfers last summer.

BUT JUST ONE incoming is just plain stubborn stupidity that will more likely than not ( as things stand) cost far more than the so say inflated wages ever will. JL & JP had one glorious opportunity to fix the roof when the sun was shining and spent so long disputing the cost that they failed to see the storm coming. SC knew this and must be despairing that he was unable to monopolise on the momentum he created. All we needed was 3 or 4 players not a new team. If a house costs X and similar houses cost X then what's the thinking behind only offering  Y??

Yes, the money men can have the satisfaction of not paying those "inflated fees" ( otherwise known as "market rates") and also that JK will be sold for a huge profit to balance the books - I congratulate them on their pyrrhic victory. I think it's still going to be cold comfort to SL as he flies over an empty new stadium at 30,000 feet.

The only solution is to buy the players we clearly need at this level if we want to stay at this level. Trouble is- January may well be too late and any opposing Chairman will be grinning from ear to ear should SL's chequebook come calling.

 Once again we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 

[Frenchay Red]

You may have hit the nail on the head. However I can't imagine that JL would not keep his dad very much in the picture regarding our transfer strategy, such as it was. So if your theory is correct then the owner must also surely be held responsible?

[grifty]

I don't for a minute believe JL makes many decisions day to day. I agree he is just his dads eyes and ears, but will be learning all the time and I do like the passion he shows.

A lot of people keep saying we need to buy the right players and start winning games. I highly doubt SC and SL are slapping themselves on the forehead thinking "it's so obvious, why don't we just start winning games. Why didn't we think of that!"

We arnt going to win every game, we will drop points in the last minute, we may get outplayed at home, but we will also get away wins against the league favourites, dominate games. Every team does exactly the same.

[chinapig]

Passionately, reasonably and eloquently put MRR. It seems increasingly likely to me that the shambles of the summer was mainly an executive management one . The sacking of Pelling (never mind the mealy mouthed 'mutual consent' stuff) points in that direction, as did the extraordinary admission by SL that we were surprised by the level of Championship wages. What greater admission of executive incompetence could you get than those 2 facts? Quite where JL sits in all this remains a mystery to me; apart from his title he seems to be irrelevant. Suffice to say the damage has been done and it's hard to see what can be done about it now, including in January.

[redordead1]

Firstly- congratulations to Steve on the  acquisition of his spanking new Falcon 2000. This little bunny is capable of flying direct for his monthly trips to Botswana and is quicker from Guernsey to Lulsgate than I could drive from BS8 to Kingwood- not that I'd want to drive to Kingwood. A snip at £30,000,000- yes that's thirty million quid give or take.

It sort of puts into a weird perspective how very very very rich our owner is. A three year stadium redevelopment costing £40 million and his new set of wheels costing almost as much! 

I genuinely believe he has done a great deal for BCFC and I certainly hope he continues to support the Club which he clearly is passionate about.

I feel sorry that due to the most insane and bizarre egg chasing rules - his team still are not in the Premiership despite winning the League with monotony. Not a lot you can do if you keep winning the league and then losing the play off.Except win the play off lottery.

Steve has so many commitments outside of BCFC that he stepped down from his day to day role as Chairman and has done his best to appoint a team he can trust to make operational decisions. Like transfers. And something definitely went right when they came up with JK- who none of us had ever heard of. 6 goals in 10 games in a failing team and looking more and more like a player destined for big things- he has no doubt placed himself on the Premiership scouting radar and already must be worth 3 or 4 times what was paid a few weeks ago. Can we keep hold of him? No. But credit should be given to whoever bought him in.

But why did the same team get the rest of our Summer transfer window so very very wrong.So much so that it's looking like we'll have the best stadium in L1 but half full at best. John Pelling clearly stated that the transfer business would be done "very late on". Was this his personal strategy? I think it was and it seriously back fired and resulted in his dismissal. Because you can't sack the MD who's the owner's son. JL is responsible for the running of BCFC and is his Dad's eyes and ears in the Club. An MD with no previous or relevant experience is hardly likely to establish what's going wrong until, err.... it's gone wrong.

Not for one minute do I believe it was either KB or SC who were saying-" let's leave our transfers until the window is shutting"- it's a suit/moneyman decision and just about everyone could see it was a big mistake apart from Pelling and JL. Many of us including me gave them the benefit of doubt due to an extraordinary season and astute transfers last summer.

BUT JUST ONE incoming is just plain stubborn stupidity that will more likely than not ( as things stand) cost far more than the so say inflated wages ever will. JL & JP had one glorious opportunity to fix the roof when the sun was shining and spent so long disputing the cost that they failed to see the storm coming. SC knew this and must be despairing that he was unable to monopolise on the momentum he created. All we needed was 3 or 4 players not a new team. If a house costs X and similar houses cost X then what's the thinking behind only offering  Y??

Yes, the money men can have the satisfaction of not paying those "inflated fees" ( otherwise known as "market rates") and also that JK will be sold for a huge profit to balance the books - I congratulate them on their pyrrhic victory. I think it's still going to be cold comfort to SL as he flies over an empty new stadium at 30,000 feet.

The only solution is to buy the players we clearly need at this level if we want to stay at this level. Trouble is- January may well be too late and any opposing Chairman will be grinning from ear to ear should SL's chequebook come calling.

 Once again we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 

great post and lays bare the evident lack of a talented football administrator at the top of our club 

[The Gasbuster]

Passionately, reasonably and eloquently put MRR. It seems increasingly likely to me that the shambles of the summer was mainly an executive management one . The sacking of Pelling (never mind the mealy mouthed 'mutual consent' stuff) points in that direction, as did the extraordinary admission by SL that we were surprised by the level of Championship wages. What greater admission of executive incompetence could you get than those 2 facts? Quite where JL sits in all this remains a mystery to me; apart from his title he seems to be irrelevant. Suffice to say the damage has been done and it's hard to see what can be done about it now, including in January.

Agreed.

And let's not forget that while SL provides the funds; the Chairman of the board is Keith Dawe. Surely he is somehow accountable for this mess as well ?

[WhistleHappy]

To restore some much needed good matchday humour to the Gate if I was SL I'd line up 'the suits' responsible for the summer's balls-up at half time.

Dress 'em up in ra ra skirts in the centre circle for five minutes of self-flagillation as halftime entertainment and penance for the fans that they disastrously let down so badly following last seasons triumphant promotion. 

[RumRed]

Invest when doing well and we look an attractive proposition, investing in Jan if we carry on like this will end up being a disaster, again.  Always the same :(

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

I don't for a minute believe JL makes many decisions day to day. I agree he is just his dads eyes and ears, but will be learning all the time and I do like the passion he shows.

A lot of people keep saying we need to buy the right players and start winning games. I highly doubt SC and SL are slapping themselves on the forehead thinking "it's so obvious, why don't we just start winning games. Why didn't we think of that!"

We arnt going to win every game, we will drop points in the last minute, we may get outplayed at home, but we will also get away wins against the league favourites, dominate games. Every team does exactly the same.

Agree with much of what you say. My comment would be although 'every team does exactly the same' there's only one club at the bottom of the Division.

As far as JL is concerned -  I don't doubt his passion or that he's a great bloke- it's just that as MD you are responsible to make sure those employed in an everyday operational role are doing their jobs.  I don't think he has enough experience yet to fulfil that role and must have been party and largely responsible for going along with the "wait til the prices drop" strategy.

Passionately, reasonably and eloquently put MRR. It seems increasingly likely to me that the shambles of the summer was mainly an executive management one . The sacking of Pelling (never mind the mealy mouthed 'mutual consent' stuff) points in that direction, as did the extraordinary admission by SL that we were surprised by the level of Championship wages. What greater admission of executive incompetence could you get than those 2 facts? Quite where JL sits in all this remains a mystery to me; apart from his title he seems to be irrelevant. Suffice to say the damage has been done and it's hard to see what can be done about it now, including in January.

If SC can at least keep us within touching distance of mid table (at least) then we have a real chance to attract the players needed. If we are dead men walking then whatever happens in Jan will be too little too late as anyone with an ounce of ambition won't look to join a relegation team.

[EmersonsRed]

JL is a cock. Had the displeasure of meeting him a few times

[Pezo]

I think we would be better off leaving it in Jan and seeing where this lot get us.

If we buy new players and stay up then we don't exactly look an exciting proposition to any player, if we go down then we know we have the players to take on that league and extra players that didn't help us stay up are not really what we need.

[RedM]

I really don't grasp why we didn't know promotion would automatically cost us more. Surely our players got a rise in their wages, just as they were cut on relegation? Championship players are more expensive thn League One, it's obvious. It's like one of us rolling up to Reading or Wolves and expecting ticket prices to be the same as Swindon or Walsall, obviously it will cost more.

ok, they might not have realised how much more. But we have had a manager who has worked at several Championship clubs, and surely we have dealt with enough Agents. We cannot be that financially naive.

[Major Isewater]

Agreed.

And let's not forget that while SL provides the funds; the Chairman of the board is Keith Dawe. Surely he is somehow accountable for this mess as well ?

Who ? never heard of him .

[Major Isewater]

I really don't grasp why we didn't know promotion would automatically cost us more. Surely our players got a rise in their wages, just as they were cut on relegation? Championship players are more expensive thn League One, it's obvious. It's like one of us rolling up to Reading or Wolves and expecting ticket prices to be the same as Swindon or Walsall, obviously it will cost more.

ok, they might not have realised how much more. But we have had a manager who has worked at several Championship clubs, and surely we have dealt with enough Agents. We cannot be that financially naive.

You would like to think so and yet ...

[The Gasbuster]

Who ? never heard of him .

Exactly !

Time he stepped forward and told us what is (and what isn't) happening.

[WayOutWest]

We cannot be that financially naive.

It appears we were. We wanted desperately to be in this league, but try and do it on a league one budget. 

I am all for uunearthing gems, case in point the recruitment of JK was spectacular.  But this cannot be the only way to bring in players.

We tried to do it all on the cheap and we got our fingers burned. As a club as a fan, we all hate the over inflated prices of football. Fans expect to pay championship prices to watch championship football. I would have assumed the club expected to do the same.

The club openly mocked transfer valuations and wage expectations one week. Then the next week tried to recruit those same players. Surprisingly they didn't want to come.

The whole summer was very amateur with the exception of JK.

I expected more. 

 

Stevo 

[BBlockExile]

Marina's RR is so right .... All the hard work of the last season has been lost.

At a corporate level we have made mistakes of a monumental level.

Have Bournemouth made Similar mistakes in their move to the premier league? no.

Are we so far behind the likes of the Cherries / Norwich / Stoke ??? 

How can this be - Even with a wealthy backer we still make simple errors which take years to put right.

The team are quite simply way off the pace in the championship!!

I reluctantly think we need a clean sweep of personnel at the top and bring in the standard of leaders that know the game at the highest level.

We will have to take this season on the chin and accept the mistakes and build a football club that can compete at the highest level.

We had to knock down an old stadium to build for the future - now that demolition and rebuild must happen off the pitch.

 

[cidered abroad]

Did we have a witches curse put on our club when it was born back in 1897 or thereabouts?

One year of abundance shall be followed by TEN years of poverty. Because as surely as night follows day, the one year of plenty is always followed by despair, misery, depression and RELEGATION.

Maybe not this season as seems likely but sooner rather than later. And another few years at places like Chesterfield on a dark February evening.

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

Did we have a witches curse put on our club when it was born back in 1897 or thereabouts?

One year of abundance shall be followed by TEN years of poverty. Because as surely as night follows day, the one year of plenty is always followed by despair, misery, depression and RELEGATION.

Maybe not this season as seems likely but sooner rather than later. And another few years at places like Chesterfield on a dark February evening.

I actually still believe that if SC can get us back up the table and keep us up then we have a very real chance to kick on from there.

Not for one nanosecond do I believe that Steve Lansdown isn't frothing at the mouth about the position we now find ourselves in. He does seem to learn from his mistakes- trouble is he contrives to make new ones.

 

[bcfcnick]

We have a DOF and a manager who know the Championship and should know the wages levels.  We had plenty of time to recruit as well.  Clearly we couldn't compete or didn't want to compete with the over inflated wages that are currently paid.  I am content with that.  What I find staggering is that a Plan B wasn't put into operation - namely recruiting either more foreign players or the cream from the lower leagues.

Not all would have been gems but it really was the right way to go and it goes way beyond an elementary error for Burt, Cotts and others running the Club not to do this.

[Spoons]

JL is a cock. Had the displeasure of meeting him a few times

Really? You sound like a well educated man so what do you base this on?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

['Orns]

I actually still believe that if SC can get us back up the table and keep us up then we have a very real chance to kick on from there.

Not for one nanosecond do I believe that Steve Lansdown isn't frothing at the mouth about the position we now find ourselves in. He does seem to learn from his mistakes- trouble is he contrives to make new ones.

 

I'm not so sure he does, MRR

The new look ground will be his legacy, but the club, as a whole, hasn't improved significantly on the playing side during his reign, has it? Yes, he's spent an awful lot of money, and I'm thankful for that, but he's also spent a lot of time paying off his mistakes. A lot of money. This summer was the time to push on, to speculate, spend a bit of money and really try and build on the amazing season - what have we done? If SL learns from that mistake and gets it right the next time around (ie another relegation, followed by an unbelievable 10 months and another title in the bag) then I don't want to be around to see it. It's like Groundhog Day

I'm thankful to SL for spending a lot of money on our club. I'm thankful for the new ground, which is going to be an amazing venue - but I have been, and will continue to be, critical of his footballing decisions. Nothing about SL, or JL, tell me they know how to run a football club. I guess it isn't easy, and we're not the only club who struggle, but I'm not going to kiss his arse because we're rock bottom of the league after 10 games. Give SC the help he needs and get the club up the league, please

[Major Isewater]

We have a DOF and a manager who know the Championship and should know the wages levels.  We had plenty of time to recruit as well.  Clearly we couldn't compete or didn't want to compete with the over inflated wages that are currently paid.  I am content with that.  What I find staggering is that a Plan B wasn't put into operation - namely recruiting either more foreign players or the cream from the lower leagues.

Not all would have been gems but it really was the right way to go and it goes way beyond an elementary error for Burt, Cotts and others running the Club not to do this.

i agree and i think the players from last season need help .

[Mad Cyril]

To restore some much needed good matchday humour to the Gate if I was SL I'd line up 'the suits' responsible for the summer's balls-up at half time.

Dress 'em up in ra ra skirts in the centre circle for five minutes of self-flagillation as halftime entertainment and penance for the fans that they disastrously let down so badly following last seasons triumphant promotion. 

christ, I'd hate to think what filth you must have on your hard drive...

[Mad Cyril]

Did we have a witches curse put on our club when it was born back in 1897 or thereabouts?

One year of abundance shall be followed by TEN years of poverty. Because as surely as night follows day, the one year of plenty is always followed by despair, misery, depression and RELEGATION.

That witches curse apparently extends to wiping the post-promotion 2008 season from your memory. 

Cursed witches. Evil in blue.

[Antman]

SL at 900 in the Forbes Billionaires list at $2.1 billion

John Henry (Liverpool owner) at 874 at $2.2

can someone tell Steve he can have his jet AND some good players

(and you can't take it with you)

[Frenchay Red]

Pity he didn't decide to let us also have a JET :-)

[Son of Fred]

Firstly- congratulations to Steve on the  acquisition of his spanking new Falcon 2000. This little bunny is capable of flying direct for his monthly trips to Botswana and is quicker from Guernsey to Lulsgate than I could drive from BS8 to Kingwood- not that I'd want to drive to Kingwood. A snip at £30,000,000- yes that's thirty million quid give or take.

It sort of puts into a weird perspective how very very very rich our owner is. A three year stadium redevelopment costing £40 million and his new set of wheels costing almost as much! 

I genuinely believe he has done a great deal for BCFC and I certainly hope he continues to support the Club which he clearly is passionate about.

I feel sorry that due to the most insane and bizarre egg chasing rules - his team still are not in the Premiership despite winning the League with monotony. Not a lot you can do if you keep winning the league and then losing the play off.Except win the play off lottery.

Steve has so many commitments outside of BCFC that he stepped down from his day to day role as Chairman and has done his best to appoint a team he can trust to make operational decisions. Like transfers. And something definitely went right when they came up with JK- who none of us had ever heard of. 6 goals in 10 games in a failing team and looking more and more like a player destined for big things- he has no doubt placed himself on the Premiership scouting radar and already must be worth 3 or 4 times what was paid a few weeks ago. Can we keep hold of him? No. But credit should be given to whoever bought him in.

But why did the same team get the rest of our Summer transfer window so very very wrong.So much so that it's looking like we'll have the best stadium in L1 but half full at best. John Pelling clearly stated that the transfer business would be done "very late on". Was this his personal strategy? I think it was and it seriously back fired and resulted in his dismissal. Because you can't sack the MD who's the owner's son. JL is responsible for the running of BCFC and is his Dad's eyes and ears in the Club. An MD with no previous or relevant experience is hardly likely to establish what's going wrong until, err.... it's gone wrong.

Not for one minute do I believe it was either KB or SC who were saying-" let's leave our transfers until the window is shutting"- it's a suit/moneyman decision and just about everyone could see it was a big mistake apart from Pelling and JL. Many of us including me gave them the benefit of doubt due to an extraordinary season and astute transfers last summer.

BUT JUST ONE incoming is just plain stubborn stupidity that will more likely than not ( as things stand) cost far more than the so say inflated wages ever will. JL & JP had one glorious opportunity to fix the roof when the sun was shining and spent so long disputing the cost that they failed to see the storm coming. SC knew this and must be despairing that he was unable to monopolise on the momentum he created. All we needed was 3 or 4 players not a new team. If a house costs X and similar houses cost X then what's the thinking behind only offering  Y??

Yes, the money men can have the satisfaction of not paying those "inflated fees" ( otherwise known as "market rates") and also that JK will be sold for a huge profit to balance the books - I congratulate them on their pyrrhic victory. I think it's still going to be cold comfort to SL as he flies over an empty new stadium at 30,000 feet.

The only solution is to buy the players we clearly need at this level if we want to stay at this level. Trouble is- January may well be too late and any opposing Chairman will be grinning from ear to ear should SL's chequebook come calling.

 Once again we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 

great post..admire your bravery..get yer crash hat on..you have put it in a nutshell.nativity at the top is costing us...the refusal to face the staggeringly obvious early on in the summer may yet again set us back years.not surprised at the lack of strong leadership...

[AshtonGreat]

Firstly- congratulations to Steve on the  acquisition of his spanking new Falcon 2000. This little bunny is capable of flying direct for his monthly trips to Botswana and is quicker from Guernsey to Lulsgate than I could drive from BS8 to Kingwood- not that I'd want to drive to Kingwood. A snip at £30,000,000- yes that's thirty million quid give or take.

It sort of puts into a weird perspective how very very very rich our owner is. A three year stadium redevelopment costing £40 million and his new set of wheels costing almost as much! 

I genuinely believe he has done a great deal for BCFC and I certainly hope he continues to support the Club which he clearly is passionate about.

I feel sorry that due to the most insane and bizarre egg chasing rules - his team still are not in the Premiership despite winning the League with monotony. Not a lot you can do if you keep winning the league and then losing the play off.Except win the play off lottery.

Steve has so many commitments outside of BCFC that he stepped down from his day to day role as Chairman and has done his best to appoint a team he can trust to make operational decisions. Like transfers. And something definitely went right when they came up with JK- who none of us had ever heard of. 6 goals in 10 games in a failing team and looking more and more like a player destined for big things- he has no doubt placed himself on the Premiership scouting radar and already must be worth 3 or 4 times what was paid a few weeks ago. Can we keep hold of him? No. But credit should be given to whoever bought him in.

But why did the same team get the rest of our Summer transfer window so very very wrong.So much so that it's looking like we'll have the best stadium in L1 but half full at best. John Pelling clearly stated that the transfer business would be done "very late on". Was this his personal strategy? I think it was and it seriously back fired and resulted in his dismissal. Because you can't sack the MD who's the owner's son. JL is responsible for the running of BCFC and is his Dad's eyes and ears in the Club. An MD with no previous or relevant experience is hardly likely to establish what's going wrong until, err.... it's gone wrong.

Not for one minute do I believe it was either KB or SC who were saying-" let's leave our transfers until the window is shutting"- it's a suit/moneyman decision and just about everyone could see it was a big mistake apart from Pelling and JL. Many of us including me gave them the benefit of doubt due to an extraordinary season and astute transfers last summer.

BUT JUST ONE incoming is just plain stubborn stupidity that will more likely than not ( as things stand) cost far more than the so say inflated wages ever will. JL & JP had one glorious opportunity to fix the roof when the sun was shining and spent so long disputing the cost that they failed to see the storm coming. SC knew this and must be despairing that he was unable to monopolise on the momentum he created. All we needed was 3 or 4 players not a new team. If a house costs X and similar houses cost X then what's the thinking behind only offering  Y??

Yes, the money men can have the satisfaction of not paying those "inflated fees" ( otherwise known as "market rates") and also that JK will be sold for a huge profit to balance the books - I congratulate them on their pyrrhic victory. I think it's still going to be cold comfort to SL as he flies over an empty new stadium at 30,000 feet.

The only solution is to buy the players we clearly need at this level if we want to stay at this level. Trouble is- January may well be too late and any opposing Chairman will be grinning from ear to ear should SL's chequebook come calling.

 Once again we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 

[AshtonGreat]

Firstly- congratulations to Steve on the  acquisition of his spanking new Falcon 2000. This little bunny is capable of flying direct for his monthly trips to Botswana and is quicker from Guernsey to Lulsgate than I could drive from BS8 to Kingwood- not that I'd want to drive to Kingwood. A snip at £30,000,000- yes that's thirty million quid give or take.

It sort of puts into a weird perspective how very very very rich our owner is. A three year stadium redevelopment costing £40 million and his new set of wheels costing almost as much! 

I genuinely believe he has done a great deal for BCFC and I certainly hope he continues to support the Club which he clearly is passionate about.

I feel sorry that due to the most insane and bizarre egg chasing rules - his team still are not in the Premiership despite winning the League with monotony. Not a lot you can do if you keep winning the league and then losing the play off.Except win the play off lottery.

Steve has so many commitments outside of BCFC that he stepped down from his day to day role as Chairman and has done his best to appoint a team he can trust to make operational decisions. Like transfers. And something definitely went right when they came up with JK- who none of us had ever heard of. 6 goals in 10 games in a failing team and looking more and more like a player destined for big things- he has no doubt placed himself on the Premiership scouting radar and already must be worth 3 or 4 times what was paid a few weeks ago. Can we keep hold of him? No. But credit should be given to whoever bought him in.

But why did the same team get the rest of our Summer transfer window so very very wrong.So much so that it's looking like we'll have the best stadium in L1 but half full at best. John Pelling clearly stated that the transfer business would be done "very late on". Was this his personal strategy? I think it was and it seriously back fired and resulted in his dismissal. Because you can't sack the MD who's the owner's son. JL is responsible for the running of BCFC and is his Dad's eyes and ears in the Club. An MD with no previous or relevant experience is hardly likely to establish what's going wrong until, err.... it's gone wrong.

Not for one minute do I believe it was either KB or SC who were saying-" let's leave our transfers until the window is shutting"- it's a suit/moneyman decision and just about everyone could see it was a big mistake apart from Pelling and JL. Many of us including me gave them the benefit of doubt due to an extraordinary season and astute transfers last summer.

BUT JUST ONE incoming is just plain stubborn stupidity that will more likely than not ( as things stand) cost far more than the so say inflated wages ever will. JL & JP had one glorious opportunity to fix the roof when the sun was shining and spent so long disputing the cost that they failed to see the storm coming. SC knew this and must be despairing that he was unable to monopolise on the momentum he created. All we needed was 3 or 4 players not a new team. If a house costs X and similar houses cost X then what's the thinking behind only offering  Y??

Yes, the money men can have the satisfaction of not paying those "inflated fees" ( otherwise known as "market rates") and also that JK will be sold for a huge profit to balance the books - I congratulate them on their pyrrhic victory. I think it's still going to be cold comfort to SL as he flies over an empty new stadium at 30,000 feet.

The only solution is to buy the players we clearly need at this level if we want to stay at this level. Trouble is- January may well be too late and any opposing Chairman will be grinning from ear to ear should SL's chequebook come calling.

 Once again we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 

No way is Kodjia worth £8million yet. He's only played ten games!

[BCFC Jordan]

This summer is the first time I've felt letdown by SL and the board. They've made mistakes before but they've always tried. I have no idea what they were thinking this summer, there's no logical explanation behind the vast majority of decisions made.

 

The silence around the club is deafening also. Another one of those Q & A sessions with SL would be appreciated.

[The Gasbuster]

great post..admire your bravery..get yer crash hat on..you have put it in a nutshell. nativity at the top is costing us...the refusal to face the staggeringly obvious early on in the summer may yet again set us back years.not surprised at the lack of strong leadership...

Jeez ! if they are celebrating Christmas in the board room already, we DO have problems !

[cidered abroad]

That witches curse apparently extends to wiping the post-promotion 2008 season from your memory. 

Cursed witches. Evil in blue.

Fair point about 2008. Before 2007 & 2008, the previous good year was 1997-98. Before that 1989-90, 1984, 1976, 1965, 1955. And that was thirty years after the previous.

Sometimes more and sometimes less than ten years in the wilderness.

Cotterill last season broke the mould and got us ppromoted only two years after a relegation.

If we go down this season, how many years before we recover?

[EmersonsRed]

Really? You sound like a well educated man so what do you base this on?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

edit: pm'd instead.

[farmeronecow]

it's been a quite a while since i've come onto this forum to comment but felt i had to just to say this is the best post i've read on here in a very long time, very well written and i totally agree, you've certainly hit the nail on the head..

[RED4LIFE]

Great post MMR.

 

I think the club have learned from the mistakes of the past regarding transfers but instead of signing players who aren't good enough, on over-inflated contracts and wages, we've gone too far the other way and have tried to sign players that are good enough (maybe too good) for peanuts. We seem to lurch from one extreme to another and it's exasperating.

[RedM]

I think we got lucky last season getting a few players who were relatively cheap and slotted in right away, and turned out exactly the players we needed. I think we tried to do the same this year but were met with high prices, so we decided to wait thinking that as the window slammed clubs and players would accept our low offers in desperation. Then we panicked and had to put out huge offers (or offer) just to make it look like we had ambition and were trying hard, the more I think about it the less likely I believe we really had any intention of bringing these marquee signings in.

cotterill has now been left with a good squad, but weaker than he had in League One. We have already suffered suspension and injuries whereas we we luckier in that department last season, and we had cover. This season we haven't been able to name a full bench on more than one occasion and are using players who played in League Two or are injured right now. Yes we are relying on loans, but they are hit and miss. Can't get a run in the team for various reasons.

we haven't built on the momentum, and set ourselves back. We cannot afford be be relegated, and yes it's a long way to go yet. But we haven't got an ace up our sleeve either, it's not like we have good players (barring Korey) out injured that we can bring back.

We cannot afford relegation financially or emotionally, it simply must be avoided at all costs. As a simple fan I cannot personally do anything to make things happen. I cannot bring players or people in to help, so I am looking at those who can and plead with them to do something now whilst you still can.