Why did it take you so long Mr Lansdown ?

[CodeRed]

2 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Could well be true but I rarely read newspapers these days. I might read the Post over a coffee in the local cafe but that about it.

Essentially you're say that Coppell was being disingenuous about why he left City.

Yes that's right..........it's not his style to have conflict, he simply walked

[GrahamC]

11 minutes ago, Robbored said:

 

Essentially you're saying that Coppell was being disingenuous about why he left City.

I know, who'd have thought it, eh?

[Son of Fred]

3 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

We are finally seeing the results of having decent managers in place at the club , after all these years as owner of BCFC what took Mr Lansdown so long to bring the club up to scratch ? 

 

Very interesting topic,Major... Seems to me SL has been on a learning curve.. it's only now that the curve seems to have set a steady upwards course.the Penny seems to have dropped.i don't think were as pro across the board as we need to be-clearly,hopefully we will get there..seems there has been a hell of a lot of trial and error management..

 

[Portland Bill]

1 hour ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

I agree, with one small caveat. Having the right football man in charge is important. It worked for Reading with Hammond and seems to be working well for us with MA but I'm not sure whether Les Ferdinand is proving to be as successful at QPR?

Isn't Hammond at WBA now!

Perhaps you actually have to be at the 'right' club at the right time!

[exAtyeoMax]

18 minutes ago, spudski said:

That's not quiet true Robbo...SC quit football because he was disillusioned with what he had been promised at BCFC.

Remember...SL went chasing him and he really wasn't that keen on coming here.

SL wanted to emulate what SC had done at Reading.

SC said something along the lines, that he would only come here if he was allowed to do it his way, and be left to run the club how he likes...which worked at Reading.

He was made promises about how things would be and what he would be allowed to bring in.

What he found in reality was different. He chose to leave because he couldn't work with what was the reality at the club and not what he was told.

I've heard that from the man himself...and funnily from KM as well, all through golf, and a former Professional at long Ashton Golf Club who they are good friends with.

As has been noted...SC has returned to football in various forms and still working in the game abroad.

He and SoD have both been vilified on this forum for many things that were out of their control and not their fault.

However both could have done better in other aspects as well.

 

Coppell wouldn't have liked a Mark Ashton interfering, similar to Cotts…

[Lanterne Rouge]

1 minute ago, exAtyeoMax said:

Coppell wouldn't have liked a Mark Ashton interfering, similar to Cotts…

I think the main difference is that LJ realises he can`t do it all and appreciates the `non-playing` stuff being done by others who are better at it. Cotts was different gravy altogether IMO.

[spudski]

5 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

Coppell wouldn't have liked a Mark Ashton interfering, similar to Cotts…

Difference being SC was told one thing, but was delivered another. If SC had agreed to work with MA then it wouldn't have been a problem.

 

[JamesBCFC]

1 hour ago, spudski said:

We need to keep improving in all departments imo...we've only just implemented many things, like more analysts. Quality and numbers, and experience in all departments.

It's all going in the right direction...as you noted re the other coach needed.

Our scouting and coaching at all levels needs expanding and improving on.

But...in saying that...we are going in the right direction...but playing catch up to other teams who are already more established.

How we let Villa, Cardiff and Southampton put a foot hold over our local area is beyond me.

I will say we have a gem in Brian Tinnion. He works his nuts off for this club.

LJ has been heralded as an innovative and forward thinking coach. And already in his time we have started doing new things (drones recording training), so do you think with his ideas we will move in the right direction at a quicker rate?

Is there a possibility (theoretically) a club could go from badly run, to on a par with other too quickly, such is the size of the overhaul?

[Charliesboots]

2 hours ago, Robbored said:

That's not true.

Coppell quit because he'd simply had enough of football. His heart just wasn't in it any longer and because of that he didn't want to con the club by just picking up his salary when just going through the motions.

He deserves respect for that decision imv.

With libel lawyers waiting in the wings...I would say your opinion on this is 'a considerate view'

[Red Exile]

1 hour ago, Bristol Rob said:

Not really answering my question is it.

To be honest Rob I think your question is pretty well impossible to answer without a detailed knowledge of who might be available or interested at a particular point in time. I doubt any lay person would have that knowledge or be able to name names. 

But I don't think that should stop supporters asking why it is that the club has seemed so amateurish at times in the recent past. A handful of posters on here have well informed opinions on, for example, how to run a scouting system, or a training set up for young players. Some of us have run things in the entertainment world. A number of us have been fortunate to get to know folk at other clubs and have asked questions as to why City aren't run more as they are. I was very impressed with the Chairman at Burnley when I met him a few years back, and the support his larger and more independent Board of Directors gave him.

Personally I believe that SL has had a pretty smooth ride from supporters, in large part because they believe that his heart is in the right place. I certainly believe that. But I'm not sure that he's always had the best advice available to him...or perhaps he's not sought it. It's great to think that he's now surrounding himself with people at the top of their game. And to see his refreshing openness in today's interview on Player...where he looks very relaxed.

 

[spudski]

12 minutes ago, JamesBCFC said:

LJ has been heralded as an innovative and forward thinking coach. And already in his time we have started doing new things (drones recording training), so do you think with his ideas we will move in the right direction at a quicker rate?

Is there a possibility (theoretically) a club could go from badly run, to on a par with other too quickly, such is the size of the overhaul?

I think LJ and his team are the right team and 'fit' to work within the remit set down by the club...it's been a long time coming.

I think patience is needed...we will make more mistakes like every other team, but we are doing far better than I imagined so quickly.

I knew we would do well under LJ and his team, but I didn't think it would come so quickly. Not in results, although they have been good...but in how we are being run.

[Charliesboots]

36 minutes ago, spudski said:

I think LJ and his team are the right team and 'fit' to work within the remit set down by the club...it's been a long time coming.

I think patience is needed...we will make more mistakes like every other team, but we are doing far better than I imagined so quickly.

I knew we would do well under LJ and his team, but I didn't think it would come so quickly. Not in results, although they have been good...but in how we are being run.

I agree Spud, I just hope that enough time and patience is afforded to him when not if we start to have a bad spell.

A perfect appointment for the new structure of the club...we all have to be realistic however. 

[Lanterne Rouge]

2 minutes ago, Charliesboots said:

I agree Spud, I just hope that enough time and patience is afforded to him when not if we start to have a bad spell.

A perfect appointment for the new structure of the club...we all have to be realistic however. 

I think most of us will be mate. Not all by any means - a bloke sits near me who I`ve always thought was level headed started saying SL should get out of the club after he heard JK was likely to be off last Saturday (shouted down by many others thankfully) - I think most fans have had so much crap fed to them over the last few years that they can recognise when things are improving.

There`ll always be a few idiots who can`t see past the end of their noses, the ones that boo their own players and such, but it`s up to the rest of us to straighten them out if necessary.

[cityexile]

21 minutes ago, Red Right Hand said:

I think most of us will be mate. Not all by any means - a bloke sits near me who I`ve always thought was level headed started saying SL should get out of the club...

To which SL answered "nah, now you just get out of my stand"

[Lanterne Rouge]

3 minutes ago, cityexile said:

To which SL answered "nah, now you just get out of my stand"

It was one of those moments where you wished Sir Steve had happened to be passing at the time!

[Son of Fred]

9 minutes ago, cityexile said:

To which SL answered "nah, now you just get out of my stand"

Its not his-ask the Major........

[joeyb]

8 hours ago, CodeRed said:

All you're doing is repeating the stories published in the media at the time, yes Coppell said he was fed up with football and yes he met Millen and told him the same.....but the truth is a long way from that

1. Before Coppell joined Reading fans told us he was hypersensitive  to interference on the football side, he respected Madjeski who never interfered, he only reported through Nicky Hammond  - a football man he respected.

2. Coppell spoke at a Football Forum in Berkshire quite some time after leaving BS3 and he admitted he only said he was fed up as he wanted to leave BCFC without any fuss or media spotlight

3. Coppell was interviewed in one of the national papers about a year ago and basically gave a come and get me story to any chairman in the championship saying he could get any team promoted given reasonable funding as long as he was left to work his way with no interference

So what happened at Cityt?

He was frustrated with the board not getting his targets, specifically he wanted Ingermarrsen and Kitson, 2 players he worked with at Reading. SL vetoed the signings saying they were too old at around the age 30 mark, and too expensive.  A week later SL proposed the signing of David James who was both older and more expensive than his own targets and he felt he couldn't work with what he saw as interference in football matters.  Yes SC publically welcomed DJ but he's not the type to publically cause a fuss - he simply decided BCFC wasn't for him and spun the "fed up with football" line to extricate himself with too much fuss.

You do know that Bristol City is still his most recent managerial position? (I'm ignoring the India PL thing with Kerala).

The other two jobs since were both director of football.

This implies to me that he was fed up with football from a managerial perspective. He did return, but as DoF which is much more backseat and a more advisory role.

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, billywedlock said:

Agree on Academy, even if it is so complex to know if it really is worth it. In the sense, the system does not help smaller clubs. If we have a 16 year old Tammy for example, he would have stolen by now by a top Prem side. Look at Herbie Kane. We just cannot keep exceptional talent long enough to get to an age where a fee (more so with daft money today) could justify the system. We might get a few thousand. It is farcical and just makes the top clubs a closed shop not only on money but on talent. Then there is the loan system, and the clubs like Chelsea tying down 30 plus non first team players and loaning them all over the place. So we, like others, take a Tammy for a season. Dilemma for us is that. Better loaning Prem talent and helping their development and ourselves for a season , or persevering with a system that means Prem quality players will have been stolen, and we are allowed by the system to only develop Championship level players. The other approach can be to focus on the under 23 area and pick up ex Prem Academy product. Even then, how do you give men;s football experience to youth players. I read that only 4 % of Prem players had not played first team mens football by 21. The current Prem approach will lead more and more to a feeder club system, and then you will return to non relegation football. Prem club squad sizes need restricting to start with, so that player stockpiling has no value, at least then, players will filter down, and when those players perform, there will be an exchange and flow of money from top to bottom. It means the top clubs do not control the player market, but are forced house their high income to purchase assets. We need a better redistribution of money. Finally, the payment for failure model of the Prem is destroying the market, how can a failed team be paid 20M , which then places them in an unfair advantage over competing teams. Player contracts need to reflect failure as they reward success, and payments should cease when relegated. The system would then auto regulate. Relegation release clauses for players. The Leicester story still gives the game magic, and was probably created by the other top clubs having too many over paid people forgetting the basics of team sport, Leicester caught them sleeping on their money. If the Prem carries on as it is, with no regard for the fabric of football sport in this country, you will end up with a Spanish situation where people get excited by a Real Madrid scoring 6 goals every week against a side who have 10% of the budget, Boring , predictable, and WFF for football. The FA cup has lost it's magic, the league  cupa side attraction for reserve teams, and JPT dead as a duck. We are moving to a generation where "your team" is one of 6 clubs. Not for me, not for many, but sadly, it appeals to a younger and new global audience who want to see the best players perform week in week out. So, back to Academy and your football, the only way we can retain some semblance of football magic, is to stop top teams signing randomly every child that looks like a talent and limit the numbers of players they can register at youth football to force them to distribute some cash at a later stage. 

Great start to Saturday morning and there's no City match .

I'm depressed.

[downendcity]

2 hours ago, billywedlock said:

Agree on Academy, even if it is so complex to know if it really is worth it. In the sense, the system does not help smaller clubs. If we have a 16 year old Tammy for example, he would have stolen by now by a top Prem side. Look at Herbie Kane. We just cannot keep exceptional talent long enough to get to an age where a fee (more so with daft money today) could justify the system. We might get a few thousand. It is farcical and just makes the top clubs a closed shop not only on money but on talent. Then there is the loan system, and the clubs like Chelsea tying down 30 plus non first team players and loaning them all over the place. So we, like others, take a Tammy for a season. Dilemma for us is that. Better loaning Prem talent and helping their development and ourselves for a season , or persevering with a system that means Prem quality players will have been stolen, and we are allowed by the system to only develop Championship level players. The other approach can be to focus on the under 23 area and pick up ex Prem Academy product. Even then, how do you give men;s football experience to youth players. I read that only 4 % of Prem players had not played first team mens football by 21. The current Prem approach will lead more and more to a feeder club system, and then you will return to non relegation football. Prem club squad sizes need restricting to start with, so that player stockpiling has no value, at least then, players will filter down, and when those players perform, there will be an exchange and flow of money from top to bottom. It means the top clubs do not control the player market, but are forced house their high income to purchase assets. We need a better redistribution of money. Finally, the payment for failure model of the Prem is destroying the market, how can a failed team be paid 20M , which then places them in an unfair advantage over competing teams. Player contracts need to reflect failure as they reward success, and payments should cease when relegated. The system would then auto regulate. Relegation release clauses for players. The Leicester story still gives the game magic, and was probably created by the other top clubs having too many over paid people forgetting the basics of team sport, Leicester caught them sleeping on their money. If the Prem carries on as it is, with no regard for the fabric of football sport in this country, you will end up with a Spanish situation where people get excited by a Real Madrid scoring 6 goals every week against a side who have 10% of the budget, Boring , predictable, and WFF for football. The FA cup has lost it's magic, the league  cupa side attraction for reserve teams, and JPT dead as a duck. We are moving to a generation where "your team" is one of 6 clubs. Not for me, not for many, but sadly, it appeals to a younger and new global audience who want to see the best players perform week in week out. So, back to Academy and your football, the only way we can retain some semblance of football magic, is to stop top teams signing randomly every child that looks like a talent and limit the numbers of players they can register at youth football to force them to distribute some cash at a later stage. 

Well said Billy.

Sad but true.

[Alwaystomorrow]

For the first time in many years it feels like we have structure to the club. Mark Ashton has been a sensational appt. I would say he is now the hub of the club and if he moved on I would be more disappointed than the moving on of any player or LJ for that matter.

we also have the backing of SL. Let's not take him for granted. Such a down to earth guy who really loves the club. We could be owned by faceless Chinese!

i think we will be looking back on years to come as this being a glorious period in the clubs history but let's be realistic about our standing in the league. We can't compete yet with the big boys but if we continue to make more good decisions than bad we will eventually get there.

Mr Lansdown, as a supporter for about 55 years, and always will be, I thank you so much for your support and long may it continue. You deserve to see your team being competitive in the premiership one day!

[BS4 on Tour...]

17 hours ago, Andy082005 said:

For me, appointing Ashton has been huge

i highlighted years ago on here we needed a 'football man' to oversee the running of the football club

I can remember when Reading had their success, and their owner Madjeski had appointed Nicky Hammond to pretty much run the football side of things

"I'm a business man...what do I know about running. Football club?" He said in an interview

We finally have that football man in place. 

I agree to an extent, but Nicky Hammond was Reading's goalkeeper, he made his debut for the gas and played less than 100 games in total for several clubs before he took over the running of Reading's youth academy for three years before being appointed their Director of Football. So he hardly had a long and relevant track record of success in running a football club.

Whereas in MA we have a guy who has been Chief Executive Officer at both Watford FC and Oxford Utd FC, he's been a director at West Brom for 14 years and he was also the chairman of two other companies. A much better CV I think and we are lucky to have his skills and experience driving us forward.

[JM91]

18 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

We are finally seeing the results of having decent managers in place at the club , after all these years as owner of BCFC what took Mr Lansdown so long to bring the club up to scratch ? 

 

In a nutshell, he stopped appointing who the fans wanted because, by and large, the fans are clueless.

[chinapig]

12 minutes ago, JM91 said:

In a nutshell, he stopped appointing who the fans wanted because, by and large, the fans are clueless.

True to an extent at least. Fans can be too obsessed with 'big names'. All part of the fixation with celebrity for it's own sake I reckon. Though Steve was himself guilty of the same with David James for instance.

[Son of Fred]

11 minutes ago, JM91 said:

In a nutshell, he stopped appointing who the fans wanted because, by and large, the fans are clueless.

I don't think SL was so soft to be doing what the fans wanted for a moment..be sure,any direction he moved in was where HE wanted to go...

[exAtyeoMax]

6 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

Well, I am involved in a sport that also has these type of issues, where money corrupts, and self interest dominates, and ultimately it kills the sport, for the benefit of a few. What is needed is much harder governance by the FA , as the Premier league is only interested in the Prem league. You cannot change distribution of money easy, as it would be turkeys voting for Christmas, the only thing you can do, is change how many and who can be registered by a club. (you will still have a revolt) At the moment they cannot eliminate relegation as it would come under competition law scrutiny. It all went wrong when the FA collapsed on the creation of the Premier league. If they had been on the case, they should have had the sky deal done directly with themselves, instead they had their head in the sand. They lost the crown jewels. Those teams were able to it, as it is easy to stage a football match, the FA (FIFA too) were impotent at stopping the participants taking control, they needed to work in unison. Ultimately , I guess, they could even create their own governing body in the way they created their own league (Premier)

If we carry on as we are, we will see a continued erosion of multi club, multi league football competition, Talk of a european super league, as we know has been discussed many times. On some levels, that might be better. But to add your depression, the trend will continue over the next years, it is not a question of if, but when, feeder clubs will be the norm, and there will be a Prem 2 and Feeder club league. The only people that can change that, are the fans, but globally , the Prem is getting bigger, and they really have no interest in the 30,000 City fans. Despite their leader being one. 

You cannot cheat in football on the field, but you sure as hell can off it. 

Funny, I was thinking about this at 4 o'clock this morning. Like you said, there will be a kind of Super League and it will be plastic and shiny but ultimately dull. Possibly a reflection of the 'virtual world' that many people are plugged into these days. I would hope that human nature/spirit would shine though the situation, the need for real-life spectacle, competition and passion of something 'real', because after all the clubs/leagues need the fans. I don't how this would manifest in the future but I would hope that the smaller clubs would survive because they haven't lost their way. The major problem is SKY money for those stuck in the middle.

I know that I would not be interested in Bristol City if they became a feeder club for a prem side. I don't understand how it would work in the league, anyway… 

Too much to contemplate at 4 am, but worrying all the same. The suits can't win…

[chinapig]

16 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

Well, I am involved in a sport that also has these type of issues, where money corrupts, and self interest dominates, and ultimately it kills the sport, for the benefit of a few. What is needed is much harder governance by the FA , as the Premier league is only interested in the Prem league. You cannot change distribution of money easy, as it would be turkeys voting for Christmas, the only thing you can do, is change how many and who can be registered by a club. (you will still have a revolt) At the moment they cannot eliminate relegation as it would come under competition law scrutiny. It all went wrong when the FA collapsed on the creation of the Premier league. If they had been on the case, they should have had the sky deal done directly with themselves, instead they had their head in the sand. They lost the crown jewels. Those teams were able to it, as it is easy to stage a football match, the FA (FIFA too) were impotent at stopping the participants taking control, they needed to work in unison. Ultimately , I guess, they could even create their own governing body in the way they created their own league (Premier)

If we carry on as we are, we will see a continued erosion of multi club, multi league football competition, Talk of a european super league, as we know has been discussed many times. On some levels, that might be better. But to add your depression, the trend will continue over the next years, it is not a question of if, but when, feeder clubs will be the norm, and there will be a Prem 2 and Feeder club league. The only people that can change that, are the fans, but globally , the Prem is getting bigger, and they really have no interest in the 30,000 City fans. Despite their leader being one. 

You cannot cheat in football on the field, but you sure as hell can off it. 

The FA ceded authority to the PL and there is no way back short of legislation. As in other areas, no Government is going to legislate against the interests of the rich and powerful though.

Who would Scudamore rather have in the PL, Newcastle or Bristol City? A rhetorical question of course.

Let's face it parachute payments have got us close to a PL2 already and the right of PL clubs to take young players from EFL clubs for a pittance is a step towards a feeder system.

[Ian M]

Whenever talk turns to the impending European Super League someone comes along and posts "good riddance, can't wait for Man U etc to eff off". I however, am a romantic and still harbour dreams that one day my team, Bristol City, can defy all odds and become Champions of England. For me, that achievement would be devalued if the 6 largest clubs in England did not take part in England's national league.

[exAtyeoMax]

5 minutes ago, Ian M said:

Whenever talk turns to the impending European Super League someone comes along and posts "good riddance, can't wait for Man U etc to eff off". I however, am a romantic and still harbour dreams that one day my team, Bristol City, can defy all odds and become Champions of England. For me, that achievement would be devalued if the 6 largest clubs in England did not take part in England's national league.

Yes, know what you are saying…

People are so quick to de-value success…

"Andy Murray isn't really a great Wimbledon Champion because he didn't defeat Djokovic in the final"  No babber, Djokovic was knocked out in an earlier round, that's how it works…

[Aizoon]

17 hours ago, Show Me The Money! said:

What I don't understand is why you're not a billionaire Spudski!

How do you know he isn't?

[Ian M]

32 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

Yes, know what you are saying…

People are so quick to de-value success…

"Andy Murray isn't really a great Wimbledon Champion because he didn't defeat Djokovic in the final"  No babber, Djokovic was knocked out in an earlier round, that's how it works…

Not quite the same as Djocko did compete in the tournament though.

And I prefer to describe Murray as a multiple Wimbledon Champion