Club Statement

[bs3]

I may have missed something but the clubs statement regarding sacking of Cotts was very short and I got the impression that the one word of thanks was through gritted teeth.

Have the Chairman made a statement thanking SC or have the owner said anything ?

Coterill turned this club around gave us one of the best season in 40 years , saved us from relegation to the 4th and yet there is no recognition of this from the club.

If its true that he was sacked by phone then that is classless. 

Steve Cotterill desevred better , he has been treated very poorly by the club,

[bs3]

Also in the club statement it said that the ambition of this club is premiership football. What a joke. Rises expections again but with no idea on how to achieve this.

Lansdown and co are deluded

[joe jordans teeth]

2 minutes ago, bs3 said:

Also in the club statement it said that the ambition of this club is premiership football. What a joke. Rises expections again but with no idea on how to achieve this.

Lansdown and co are deluded

To be fair what other statement would they make,"we need a manager who can keep us in this division without spending any money ",wouldn't go down very well

[Up The City!]

I think it was SC who had no idea how to achieve it rather than the board tbh. However much I like Cotts as a person and really appreciate last season he just doesn't cut it at this level unfortunately.

I'm not sad, I'm not happy, I'm just hopeful we can get someone in who can take us to the next level which for me is to become an established Championship club which can compete and sign players such as ZC.

[BCFC Jordan]

That sentence from Keith Dawe about Premier League football was an utter joke.

 

The fact the statement included the recent run of form as well, as if it were a report from the BBC or Post, was also unfair. Maybe that recent run of form (this whole season) is because you left him with that squad - Dawe and co?

[Esmond Million's Bung]

24 minutes ago, BCFC Jordan said:

That sentence from Keith Dawe about Premier League football was an utter joke.

 

The fact the statement included the recent run of form as well, as if it were a report from the BBC or Post, was also unfair. Maybe that recent run of form (this whole season) is because you left him with that squad - Dawe and co?

indeed especially when our expectations are that probably Appleton or Tisdale will get the job.

 

[Manon]

I took the premiership comment as being aimed outwardly - a message to potential signings/manager - rather than inwardly towards the fans.

[RedM]

6 minutes ago, Manon said:

I took the premiership comment as being aimed outwardly - a message to potential signings/manager - rather than inwardly towards the fans.

I guess we shall soon see by who they appoint.

The option to use what we have/buy cheap/ fill the team with loans and yo yo between League One and the Championship, probably introducing more basic style to grind out results.

Or a 'name' with real contacts and credibility, a manager who players will be clambering to play for. A manager who will have money to invest and will do so. A manager who will raise our profile and kick on to the Premiership dream by planning for the future, using our academy etc.

By including the wording I think it can only be the latter, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Vincent Vega]

13 minutes ago, Manon said:

I took the premiership comment as being aimed outwardly - a message to potential signings/manager - rather than inwardly towards the fans.

I took it as the ramblings of a deluded idiot...

[Manon]

Apologies if this has already been covered (I've missed a sackful of posts on this), but the other part which stood out for me was 'in conjunction with the rest of the organization', which imo appeared to be partially discrediting SC of last years successes.

[gamon]

What will you see from who gets the job?

Judge a man before he starts?

Cotterill was judged by many when he first got appointed but he achieved [1] survival when many had given up hope... Followed by [2] winning a cup final at Wembley then [3] the league by a country miles.

I'd wait an see before slagging off the next appointment whoever he might be.

[joe jordans teeth]

2 hours ago, bs3 said:

I may have missed something but the clubs statement regarding sacking of Cotts was very short and I got the impression that the one word of thanks was through gritted teeth.

Have the Chairman made a statement thanking SC or have the owner said anything ?

Coterill turned this club around gave us one of the best season in 40 years , saved us from relegation to the 4th and yet there is no recognition of this from the club.

If its true that he was sacked by phone then that is classless. 

Steve Cotterill desevred better , he has been treated very poorly by the club,

Are we turning into a Chelsea without the success bit

[Cider_boy]

8 minutes ago, gamon said:

What will you see from who gets the job?

Judge a man before he starts?

Cotterill was judged by many when he first got appointed but he achieved [1] survival when many had given up hope... Followed by [2] winning a cup final at Wembley then [3] the league by a country miles.

I'd wait an see before slagging off the next appointment whoever he might be.

I don't think it's about judging the new man, but what the boards ambitions are. Is SL willing to pay for a manager with previous success at this level, or hope a cheaper option comes good.

[gamon]

Steve Coppell or Steve Cotterill you mean?

[WolfOfWestStreet]

2 hours ago, Manon said:

Apologies if this has already been covered (I've missed a sackful of posts on this), but the other part which stood out for me was 'in conjunction with the rest of the organization', which imo appeared to be partially discrediting SC of last years successes.

Totally agree and the thing that jumped out at me most as well.

a pathetic attempt to try and deflect SCs successes back onto the  'organisation' who from an outsider looking in, have done **** all.

would it have killed Keith Dawe to show an ounce of humility, say how hard a decision it was blah blah, could have lied if he had to.

Well **** you Keith, Cotts will go down in folklore whilst I'm still trying to work out what the actual **** it is you do, apart from coming across as a massive bell end.

[Tom Fleuriot]

12 minutes ago, WolfOfWestStreet said:

Totally agree and the thing that jumped out at me most as well.

a pathetic attempt to try and deflect SCs successes back onto the  'organisation' who from an outsider looking in, have done **** all.

would it have killed Keith Dawe to show an ounce of humility, say how hard a decision it was blah blah, could have lied if he had to.

Well **** you Keith, Cotts will go down in folklore whilst I'm still trying to work out what the actual **** it is you do, apart from coming across as a massive bell end.

I assumed they are of the view that the signings of summer 2014 were mainly players identified and desired by the organisation rather than by Cotterill, who maybe was more focused on Prem and Champ experience? And maybe felt that our players were clearly too good for the division. While recognising that they still needed a manager who could knit those players together. 

Of course, if that were true, and the board were professional, they wouldn't be bickering about it - although they might want to refer to it because it might annoy them that one guy was getting the credit when they'd scouted, selected and secured most of the players. So the outsider looking in might argue that they had done duck all. 

I have no idea. Just speculating. But would be consistent with how the picture looks to me. 

[Robin1988]

Let's go through it line by line. It's a ******* disgrace.

Bristol City FC has announced that manager Steve Cotterill has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.

Can't argue with that. Probably the first and last justified line of the whole thing.

The club has failed to win in seven matches and sits in the bottom three of the Sky Bet Championship. 

That's the whole reason to undo 2 years of good work? Beyond insinuating that's why he's gone rather than a BS excuse.

Club chairman Keith Dawe said: “I brought Steve Cotterill into Bristol City just over two years ago as I believed he could keep us in League One that year and build from there.

He did.

“Steve did keep us in the division and went on, in conjunction with the rest of the organisation, to deliver a League One championship and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. That season will live in the memory for a long time. 

This one is particularly sickening. We were 23rd after 19 games with 15 points. We stayed up by 11 points and finished in the top half, hardly 'keeping us in the division'. What the **** did the rest of the organisation do to secure a record points tally? Beyond Lansdown's investment, it was all SC and the players.

“Sadly, since the highs of last March and May things have not gone our way on the pitch and Steve has now left the club.” 

That's it. That's the public reason for him going. 17 words. Sickening.

Assistant manager John Pemberton and Under-21 manager Wade Elliott will take charge of the team in the interim period. 

A joint managerial team. That'll end well.

The club will now be looking to recruit a new head coach. 

Oh fantastic. So we're back to looking for a head coach again. What was that JL said about employing a manager after Cotterill got the job?

Dawe added: “I thank Steve Cotterill for all his efforts over the last two seasons. Sadly we haven’t managed to push on from last season and the time has come for us to all move forward.

Difficult to push on when you put your trust in strengthening your workforce with this club's board.

“The club’s aspiration is to ultimately become a Premier League club and this decision has been made to achieve our overall strategy for growth and player development.”

Even more difficult, if not impossible, to become a Premier League club when you put your trust in strengthening your workforce with this club's board.

 

Whoever wrote that statement, and I don't for one second believe Dawe did any more than glance his eye over it once written, is full of shit.

[Up The City!]

35 minutes ago, Robin1988 said:

Let's go through it line by line. It's a ******* disgrace.

Bristol City FC has announced that manager Steve Cotterill has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.

Can't argue with that. Probably the first and last justified line of the whole thing.

The club has failed to win in seven matches and sits in the bottom three of the Sky Bet Championship. 

That's the whole reason to undo 2 years of good work? Beyond insinuating that's why he's gone rather than a BS excuse.

 

Uhhh maybe that is the genuine reason? Any manager in the country will be under pressure with similar results and likely to face dismissal.

 The counter arguement would be Cotts himself has undone two years of good work.

[Robin1988]

8 minutes ago, Just Red said:

Uhhh maybe that is the genuine reason? Any manager in the country will be under pressure with similar results and likely to face dismissal.

 The counter arguement would be Cotts himself has undone two years of good work.

It's not the real reason I promise you. A lot of people were behind SC. He hadn't lost the dressing room, or much of the terraces. Our board are incredibly patient results wise. McInnes was given enough time to lose both, and so was SO'D. The sheer coldness of the statement is testament itself.

[Up The City!]

2 minutes ago, Robin1988 said:

It's not the real reason I promise you. A lot of people were behind SC. He hadn't lost the dressing room, or much of the terraces. Our board are incredibly patient results wise. McInnes was given enough time to lose both, and so was SO'D.

It's the poor results and the fact he didn't have a bloody plan in the transfer window.

I started to doubt Cotts ability in December. Really our board should have replaced him in the summer as it was very debatable if he could hack it in this league. I think the fan base is split about his sacking. He may not have lost the players but he was rapidly losing the crowd and once that happens it's almost impossible to win them back. The controversial scene in the last match was pretty Mich it tbh.

What every fan of ours agrees on is the timing is completely wrong.

The fact is SC Had the team playing for him and he was giving his absolute all but his all is simply not good enough in this league. If he would have presented a realistic list of targets pre Jan 1st and managed to secure a few then he would most likely still be in a job now.

Because of his limited success in the market the board may have felt it was too much of a gamble to give him funds on Jan 31st to spend on panic buys.

[WolfOfWestStreet]

52 minutes ago, Tom Fleuriot said:

I assumed they are of the view that the signings of summer 2014 were mainly players identified and desired by the organisation rather than by Cotterill, who maybe was more focused on Prem and Champ experience? And maybe felt that our players were clearly too good for the division. While recognising that they still needed a manager who could knit those players together. 

Of course, if that were true, and the board were professional, they wouldn't be bickering about it - although they might want to refer to it because it might annoy them that one guy was getting the credit when they'd scouted, selected and secured most of the players. So the outsider looking in might argue that they had done duck all. 

I have no idea. Just speculating. But would be consistent with how the picture looks to me. 

Completely understand that mate and you are probably right.

difference is it's not the whole organisation that's gone it's one man, so focusing on his achievement would be more appropriate.

reminds me in a strange way of a scene from the office when David Brent tells his staff they have been made redundant but goes on to gloat about his own promotion. 

Why has no one from the board acknowledging their own failures to 'push on'? 

To me it stinks.

[Robin1988]

6 minutes ago, Just Red said:

It's the poor results and the fact he didn't have a bloody plan in the transfer window.

I started to doubt Cotts ability in December. Really our board should have replaced him in the summer as it was very debatable if he could hack it in this league. I think the fan base is split about his sacking. He may not have lost the players but he was rapidly losing the crowd and once that happens it's almost impossible to win them back. The controversial scene in the last match was pretty Mich it tbh.

What every fan of ours agrees on is the timing is completely wrong.

The fact is SC Had the team playing for him and he was giving his absolute all but his all is simply not good enough in this league. If he would have presented a realistic list of targets pre Jan 1st and managed to secure a few then he would most likely still be in a job now.

Because of his limited success in the market the board may have felt it was too much of a gamble to give him funds on Jan 31st to spend on panic buys.

If you knew what went on behind the scenes you would afford him a great deal more sympathy. He did have a plan. He was let down by those above him. He didn't bring up the lack of support as a mask for poor league results, he mentioned it in public as early as July 30. It wasn't just financial, although that played a part, it was the general ineptitude which I and others thought had been eradicated after our brilliant summer of business in 2014.

The fan base was definitely split, but there was no general resignation he had to go, as there was with McInnes certainly, and I'd say SO'D (although the timing was stupid then too).

He and the team were definitely giving their all, yeah, and it wasn't enough. But with the set-up we have it wasn't going to be. We don't have a squad, we have a first 11 and a couple of others, and that's it.

What limited success in the market are you talking about? Don't come out with Gray and Gayle. Why do you think they were being chased in mid-to-late August? Because they were bottom of the list of targets, because they were priced so ridiculously and unlikely to move. By the time we got to that stage, it was trying to shut the stable door once the horse had bolted. And unsurprisingly, we couldn't even manage that.

To piece together a squad, SC had to make do with the best of the rest. An overweight and unfit Simon Cox, an inadequate League 1 midfielder in Callum Robinson, a long term out-of-form Liam Moore, and so on.

[Up The City!]

54 minutes ago, Robin1988 said:

If you knew what went on behind the scenes you would afford him a great deal more sympathy. He did have a plan. He was let down by those above him. He didn't bring up the lack of support as a mask for poor league results, he mentioned it in public as early as July 30. It wasn't just financial, although that played a part, it was the general ineptitude which I and others thought had been eradicated after our brilliant summer of business in 2014.

The fan base was definitely split, but there was no general resignation he had to go, as there was with McInnes certainly, and I'd say SO'D (although the timing was stupid then too).

He and the team were definitely giving their all, yeah, and it wasn't enough. But with the set-up we have it wasn't going to be. We don't have a squad, we have a first 11 and a couple of others, and that's it.

What limited success in the market are you talking about? Don't come out with Gray and Gayle. Why do you think they were being chased in mid-to-late August? Because they were bottom of the list of targets, because they were priced so ridiculously and unlikely to move. By the time we got to that stage, it was trying to shut the stable door once the horse had bolted. And unsurprisingly, we couldn't even manage that.

To piece together a squad, SC had to make do with the best of the rest. An overweight and unfit Simon Cox, an inadequate League 1 midfielder in Callum Robinson, a long term out-of-form Liam Moore, and so on.

Hi Cotts. Thanks for the memories. Enjoy spending your pay off xx

[Robin1988]

3 minutes ago, Just Red said:

Hi Cotts. Thanks for the memories. Enjoy spending your pay off xx

******* hell. You might not agree but that's your best shot at a debate. Nice one.

[Mr Popodopolous]

6 hours ago, Just Red said:

I think it was SC who had no idea how to achieve it rather than the board tbh. However much I like Cotts as a person and really appreciate last season he just doesn't cut it at this level unfortunately.

I'm not sad, I'm not happy, I'm just hopeful we can get someone in who can take us to the next level which for me is to become an established Championship club which can compete and sign players such as ZC.

Jury still out I think...our performances frequently were decent, lack of results. Our squad was too small- in the past it was too big now it has swung back badly, the poor recruitment in summer, a number of players with the excellent side last year no longer here...Results have not been good but the squad is too small and too inexperienced- not saying the players are poor but collectively it lacks sufficent experience, is not battle hardened yet and needs 22-23 players, not forgetting the array of loanees....with better other aspects things could be very different this year. So with all that in mind, to say he's not up to it, I dunno.

[Sniper]

2 hours ago, Robin1988 said:

Let's go through it line by line. It's a ******* disgrace.

Bristol City FC has announced that manager Steve Cotterill has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.

Can't argue with that. Probably the first and last justified line of the whole thing.

The club has failed to win in seven matches and sits in the bottom three of the Sky Bet Championship. 

That's the whole reason to undo 2 years of good work? Beyond insinuating that's why he's gone rather than a BS excuse.

Club chairman Keith Dawe said: “I brought Steve Cotterill into Bristol City just over two years ago as I believed he could keep us in League One that year and build from there.

He did.

“Steve did keep us in the division and went on, in conjunction with the rest of the organisation, to deliver a League One championship and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. That season will live in the memory for a long time. 

This one is particularly sickening. We were 23rd after 19 games with 15 points. We stayed up by 11 points and finished in the top half, hardly 'keeping us in the division'. What the **** did the rest of the organisation do to secure a record points tally? Beyond Lansdown's investment, it was all SC and the players.

“Sadly, since the highs of last March and May things have not gone our way on the pitch and Steve has now left the club.” 

That's it. That's the public reason for him going. 17 words. Sickening.

Assistant manager John Pemberton and Under-21 manager Wade Elliott will take charge of the team in the interim period. 

A joint managerial team. That'll end well.

The club will now be looking to recruit a new head coach. 

Oh fantastic. So we're back to looking for a head coach again. What was that JL said about employing a manager after Cotterill got the job?

Dawe added: “I thank Steve Cotterill for all his efforts over the last two seasons. Sadly we haven’t managed to push on from last season and the time has come for us to all move forward.

Difficult to push on when you put your trust in strengthening your workforce with this club's board.

“The club’s aspiration is to ultimately become a Premier League club and this decision has been made to achieve our overall strategy for growth and player development.”

Even more difficult, if not impossible, to become a Premier League club when you put your trust in strengthening your workforce with this club's board.

 

Whoever wrote that statement, and I don't for one second believe Dawe did any more than glance his eye over it once written, is full of shit.

FFS get off the ******* brandy will you. We're nigh on back in L1 with **** all players and you think we're on  the way to the promised land.

The whole board and it's puppet master are on the Hippy Crack.

Bristol City to get to the Premiership banished to ROOM 101.

 

[Up The City!]

42 minutes ago, Robin1988 said:

******* hell. You might not agree but that's your best shot at a debate. Nice one.

I decided not to debate because it's very clear you know the ins and out of BCFC and your head is stuck up Cotts ass. You came accross as his organ grinder.

The small squad etc is ultimately SC responsibility. He was unable to build a squad capable of competing in the Championship. Now he's paid the price for that.

[Robin1988]

7 minutes ago, Just Red said:

I decided not to debate because it's very clear you know the ins and out of BCFC and your head is stuck up Cotts ass. You came accross as his organ grinder.

The small squad etc is ultimately SC responsibility. He was unable to build a squad capable of competing in the Championship. Now he's paid the price for that.

If you care to look through my posts you'll see I've never shied away from criticising Cotterill. He has been let down and is being flogged for failures largely carried out by faceless suits who don't have to carry the can for their incompetence. There's so much evidence for it in the public eye.

[Up The City!]

7 minutes ago, Robin1988 said:

If you care to look through my posts you'll see I've never shied away from criticising Cotterill. He has been let down and is being flogged for failures largely carried out by faceless suits who don't have to carry the can for their incompetence. There's so much evidence for it in the public eye.

But is there evidence of it? Beyond what the condemned one has said? 

I have met SL many times over the years. Not 'friends' with him but if our paths cross we always have a little chat. He is a genuine decent guy who has always backed his managers and when he does speak he speaks honestly and openly. Even in his last interview he stated the money is there and Cotts was yet to provide him a list of targets for this window. I wouldmuch rather put my trust in SL rrather than SC. Cotts would lose a game of pool and still find someone other than himself to blame.

But I suppose it's easier to blame the board rather than the one who won us a league title and a cup.

[Robin1988]

13 minutes ago, Just Red said:

But is there evidence of it? Beyond what the condemned one has said? 

I haven't spoken to SC since his departure, but I know for a fact targets were missed in the summer which had been identified by SC and KB and left in the hands of the board. Long before Gray and Gayle. In hindsight, Cotterill's P45 was signed on September 1. He was wanted out regardless of results by some quarters, but most importantly IMO not the playing staff.

SL is a good man, but he doesn't have much to do with the day-to-day running of the football club any more; even when he did, it was a well-meaning shambles. The only two men who have done well as manager in the past 15 years have both tried to get a stranglehold on proceedings; Gary Johnson and Steve Cotterill. Gary managed it  by bringing most of his extended family to work at Ashton Gate and bypassing Colin Sexstone where possible. With the various layers of bureaucracy and personnel changes since summer 2014, there's no way Cotterill could do the same.

He would well have changed formations or tried something else with the squad to see a change in fortunes, maybe it would have worked, the problems 100% definitely run much deeper though.