reddogkev Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 There's been a lot of talk and debate about why players won't join us, but when you think about it, we are a relatively small club. Due to recent Ashton Gate restrictions and the fact we've not had over 19500 capacity for as long as I can recall, we've had to suffice with average home attendances of roughly 14/15k. Those outside of BCFC might see us on a par with your Walsalls, Brentfords, Swindons etc, but from our point of view as fans we perceive the club to be much larger in scale. But until the stadium is finished, and we become consistently established in the top half of the Championship, we won't shake off our 'small-time' reputation. Perhaps this is why we struggle with some of the players we covet, we are quite simply, a small club at the present. But once Ashton Gate is finished, provided we can get close to 22000 as an average home following, we can start building the reputation of our club. Apart from GJ almost taking us to the Prem, and of course winning the much-maligned JPT trophy a number of times, we haven't achieved a great deal in the footballing world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristol Rob Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Not sure I understand the point you're making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phileas Fogg Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I'd actually say we're pretty unique in England. There's traditional footballing cities like Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield etc obviously including London and Birmingham. We are a big, affluent city with a uniquely large catchment area due to lack of geographical competition. I can't think of a similar situation in the UK. Sustained success = high attendances. We have all the tools to be a 'big club' (big city, catchment area, money, stadium) but it'll take on-pitch success for us to go from a 'potentially big club' to a 'big club'. We aren't a Shrewsbury, Peterborough, Cambridge, Burton type club who have an obvious ceiling due to city size but haven't had the sustained success to class ourselves anywhere near big footballing cities who have had years of success. Exciting few years ahead if we can improve on the pitch. Otherwise we'll eternally be a 'potential' big club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfOfWestStreet Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 City are a small club and have never won anything of prestige. the sooner some fans start understanding that and managing their expectations accordingly the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 5 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said: Not sure I understand the point you're making. Mainly Rob, just to give a reason why we can't bring in the full scope of players we are after and why we seem to struggle in the Championship whenever we get our shot at it. Not sure if he will read this, but Spudski and others often allude to the fact we're not professional enough, or there is some serious failing at the club - but the reality could well be we're just not as big as we imagine. I was born a Bristol City fan into a BCFC stronghold of a family who grew up ten minutes from Ashton Gate, so just like everyone here, am biased when it comes to considering the club. But we will be bigger and more successful, make no mistake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumRed Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I thought we were a 'sleeping giant'? if so maybe we should lay off the tramadol for a bit and go and get a nice coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiled Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 My first match I went to was a home fixture against Man United during the season we got relegated from the top flight (1979/80). That season we went down with Derby and Bolton. Looking at those teams now, both have had more success than us in the last 35 years. Derby are now a bigger club, Bolton are in serious trouble. What has given us the idea that we are worthy of more than our achievements is having an owner worth over a billion pounds. In reality, without Steve Lansdown, we could be another club like Bristol R*****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall King Blox Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Often referred to as a footballing backwater, sleeping giant, unfulfilled potential, blah blah blah.... This just means.....we are crap......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumRed Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 1 minute ago, Kingswood mask said: Often referred to as a footballing backwater, sleeping giant, unfulfilled potential, blah blah blah.... This just means.....we are crap......... You've just nicked SC's sales pitch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CotswoldRed Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I think too much is made of the history of the club and whether players will come because of a lack of prestige over the years. All players care about is the here and now, which direction the club is heading, what they'll be paid and what it will do for their careers. If it was any different then no decent player would have joined Bournemouth. Afobe didn't look at their FA Cup history before signing, and neither did he care that there are more people in my local on a Friday night than at Dean Court the following afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furious Custard Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 History is useless unless you have a lot of success and recently. Players want money and fame. A fancy new stadium means nothing if we are playing at the bottom end of the championship. Results on the pitch are all that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 5 minutes ago, Xiled said: My first match I went to was a home fixture against Man United during the season we got relegated from the top flight (1979/80). That season we went down with Derby and Bolton. Looking at those teams now, both have had more success than us in the last 35 years. Derby are now a bigger club, Bolton are in serious trouble. What has given us the idea that we are worthy of more than our achievements is having an owner worth over a billion pounds. In reality, without Steve Lansdown, we could be another club like Bristol R*****. I think you're spot on. We've all been convinced by SL's billions and his success as an incredible businessman, that this would transfer to the club and we would grow and accelerate as a result, but this has not been the case. Perhaps we've made the grave mistake as seeing Lansdown's fortune as our own fortune and we've become deluded as result. I do reiterate though, with the ground finished next year, we can start organically growing the club, knowing we will be able to house 27k if required. In the future, if required, this capacity will grow to 35k when we own the land to develop the Atyeo stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CotswoldRed Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 1 minute ago, reddogkev said: I think you're spot on. We've all been convinced by SL's billions and his success as an incredible businessman, that this would transfer to the club and we would grow and accelerate as a result, but this has not been the case. Perhaps we've made the grave mistake as seeing Lansdown's fortune as our own fortune and we've become deluded as result. I do reiterate though, with the ground finished next year, we can start organically growing the club, knowing we will be able to house 27k if required. In the future, if required, this capacity will grow to 35k when we own the land to develop the Atyeo stand. Did I miss something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Just now, CotswoldRed said: Did I miss something? Okay, my bad, perhaps I should have said 'if' we own the land to develop the Atyeo Stand. Whatever the circumstances behind it, I would expect us to be able to develop the Atyeo into a fully integrated, two-tier stand at some stage in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChippenhamRed Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 We didn't look like a small club on Saturday. There is the potential for us to be so much more than we currently are with good management on and off the pitch. There are so few Championship-level (or above) clubs anywhere near us, a combination of new stadium bounce and a sustained period of success at this level and above could really put this club on the map like never before. I really do feel that there is more at stake with this relegation battle than there has ever been previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyInWeston Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 14,000 has been the rough average attendance since 1906, we arent big by any means. but we certianly arent small, just look at weston, their attndance figures are abysmal. roughly only 100/150 fans on average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 3 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said: We didn't look like a small club on Saturday. There is the potential for us to be so much more than we currently are with good management on and off the pitch. There are so few Championship-level (or above) clubs anywhere near us, a combination of new stadium bounce and a sustained period of success at this level and above could really put this club on the map like never before. I really do feel that there is more at stake with this relegation battle than there has ever been previously. Agree exactly, next season could be the start of something incredible at BCFC. It is crucial for us that we stay in the Championship. If we can consistently attract over 20,000 fans for home games, then our perception will begin to change in the eyes of visiting fans, players, coaches etc; and the word will spread that we are no longer a footballing backwater! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Cloud Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I wish we could take 87000 to Wembley like the Gash! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Will keep saying it: Being a small/ a smaller club does not mean you cannot outperform bigger clubs. You only need a little knowledge of football history to see this. Bigger clubs have their problems, many are often poorly run. We spent a few bob in the Championship last time and messed up. The efficacy of your decisions at executive and manager level are more important than how big your crowds are. There is a correlation between wages spend and league position in the Prem now, and the Championship seems to be going the same way, but there are still examples of clubs bucking this trend. I hope that one day, we will be one of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew-T Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 We are a unique club, Foggy said it all. I quite like that tag! You don't see clubs of similar sizes taking 5,300 to West Brom despite the form we have been in. You also don't see clubs of our size or any size for that matter, with a billionaire chairman who is a big fan, and you will never hear a fanbase sing about Cider. I love this club! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 We are "big" enough and have sufficient crowds and resources to be a stable, competent Championship club. The question, as ever, is whether we have the personnel - the know how - to be one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 All the "big" clubs have two characteristics, broadly speaking: A large catchment area and a history of sustained periods of top-flight football We've got the former, we're still waiting for the latter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 2 minutes ago, Jack Dawe said: We are "big" enough and have sufficient crowds and resources to be a stable, competent Championship club. The question, as ever, is whether we have the personnel - the know how - to be one Damn good question there, you would think that even with our recent experience gained since 2007, we should have the know how to survive and flourish. Lansdown must realistically know just as much as any other club owner about running a football club, and I would expect him to have an incredible knowledge of all aspects of our club and how to develop. Same with Cotts and the team, even down to Wade Elliot at U21 level, they all know the Championship inside and out, so the expertise is definitely there. In order to grow, we have to show the calibre of players we need at our club, that we are going places, and they would be unwise not to join the BCFC party! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lack of Action Man Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I think the support at West Brom should be an indicator that we aren't a small club, when the circumstances are right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 1 hour ago, WolfOfWestStreet said: City are a small club and have never won anything of prestige. the sooner some fans start understanding that and managing their expectations accordingly the better. What I would say to that is, Swansea City. It's not about how big or small we are, it's not about what has happened before. It's not about SL's ambition (I don't think) or his generosity. For every reason or excuse given for our failure to be more than good in L1, I can point to a club that has overcome similar obstacles. It is only ever about the ability and the imagination and the ambition and the know-how - the football "nous" - of the owner, the board and all those involved in assembling a team and squad before they get anywhere near kicking a ball around the pitch. The sooner fans start understanding that and managing their expectations accordingly, the better (although they might then give up and not bother, like most people in our large catchment area). Imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray White Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 We're still a small club due to years of mismanagement and it doesn't look like changing anytime soon unfortunately despite the potential there. As for players perceptions I honestly believe the majority think we're a bunch of carrot crunchers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I have posted it elsewhere recently, but on average gates alone, we are 17th out of 24 so far this season. That in a restricted capacity ground with most being sold out games, coupled with a dismal record on the pitch. Not too shabby then. Throw in a generous billionaire backer. A modern stadium. A large catchment area (with enough interest to buy 40k tickets for yet another lower league cup final). A manager "capable of taking a team to the Prem Lge, and keeping it there" according to our chairman. What more do we need? What are we missing? From next season, with the ground done, the BoD will be running out of excuses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhistleHappy Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 If this thread does'nt help the Clough's to make their minds up - NOTHING WILL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 55 minutes ago, Lew-T said: We are a unique club, Foggy said it all. I quite like that tag! You don't see clubs of similar sizes taking 5,300 to West Brom despite the form we have been in. You also don't see clubs of our size or any size for that matter, with a billionaire chairman who is a big fan, and you will never hear a fanbase sing about Cider. I love this club! Yeovil and Plymouth sing about cider.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyInWeston Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 18 minutes ago, Ray White said: We're still a small club due to years of mismanagement and it doesn't look like changing anytime soon unfortunately despite the potential there. As for players perceptions I honestly believe the majority think we're a bunch of carrot crunchers. I'm sorry but we are not Bugs Bunny here, or snowman nose dwellers. I think we are more akin to Wile E. Coyote, as he cant seem to catch what he wants. (Like us cant quite getting proper success!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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