How much money has Steve Lansdown invested in the club?

[Lord Northski]

So this morning the news is that our Aden Flint is off to greener pastures, leaving us to either find a replacement or promote from within. As such, most if not all of us are feeling a little depressed at losing such a player to a bigger club in a smaller town. We also hear that it's Steve Lansdown's idea that we'll sell our best players if it's the right fee, with the money to be reinvested in cheaper, probably younger talent and still try to get promoted. Clearly it's going to be more difficult and it hardly feels like progress when you're seemingly having to run even harder to stay still, let alone improve. 

Which brings me to the point of the title of this piece. Steve Lansdown has always talked about making City sustainable, providing the club with a good enough platform. To be financially viable as a stand alone football club without as much of a need for a financial sugar daddy to keep writing cheques. Allowing him at some stage to take another step back, content in the knowledge that the club won't fold overnight. The trouble is that we've all got too used to Steve bailing us out to the tune of £10-15 million a year and he's done so for years, giving a false perspective on how well we're actually doing. My question was how much money has he spent at City over the years? and I would imagine is well over £100 million probably somewhere closer to something beginning with 2. If that's the case then he's spent £300-£400 on Bristol City for every person in Bristol, just so we can have the chance to watch our local side. So he's absolutely right to make City operate this way. We do need to stop thinking about retaining all our best players and buying even better ones. We do need to get used to there being no gravy train, before it's run out of gravy. Use the legacy that the Lansdown's have built for us i.e the stadium, the academy and the current playing squad to become a self sustaining, credible club that will prosper and hopefully have another go at getting promoted soon. 

Over the years Steve's clearly demonstrated that he's brilliant at playing the long game, both in business and at the City. It's just that the rest of us who aren't so good at it will have to learn how to play it too. So good luck Aden, thanks for everything, and we look forward to you coming back to play against us sometime soon.

 

 

 

[EnderMB]

I largely agree with you, but I don't agree that this absolves Lansdown of any fault over his dealings over the last decade.

The goal has always been to make Bristol City self-sustainable, and although Ashton Vale was a huge part of that it would be good for the fans to push Lansdown on this more, because we have a right to know where the club stands. If Lansdown is continuing to foot the bill of tens of millions each year for us to barely make it in the Championship then there comes a time where we have to ask if it's worth it.

Also, is it even possible to be sustainable in today's Championship? With top transfer fees being around £15m I can't see how any teams outside of the top teams in the world can sustain their spending without someone footing the bill. If this is the case, then Lansdown should have a plan in place for making Bristol City an attractive investment for outsiders.

He's done a lot of good work with Bristol Sport, but I fear that it's less to do with a sporting legacy and more to do with a package deal for an external investor (buy a football team, and get a rugby and a basketball team for free!) to feel they have control over the sporting market. Still, they've transformed the marketing of the club from absolutely hopeless to having a solid website and a fantastic campaign last season from a social media perspective. We were also one of the first teams to break away from the big manufacturers and start creating our own kit.

Regardless, this is a question that needs to be asked, alongside any plans post-Lansdown.

[lenred]

16 minutes ago, Lord Northski said:

So this morning the news is that our Aden Flint is off to greener pastures, leaving us to either find a replacement or promote from within. As such, most if not all of us are feeling a little depressed at losing such a player to a bigger club in a smaller town. We also hear that it's Steve Lansdown's idea that we'll sell our best players if it's the right fee, with the money to be reinvested in cheaper, probably younger talent and still try to get promoted. Clearly it's going to be more difficult and it hardly feels like progress when you're seemingly having to run even harder to stay still, let alone improve. 

Which brings me to the point of the title of this piece. Steve Lansdown has always talked about making City sustainable, providing the club with a good enough platform. To be financially viable as a stand alone football club without as much of a need for a financial sugar daddy to keep writing cheques. Allowing him at some stage to take another step back, content in the knowledge that the club won't fold overnight. The trouble is that we've all got too used to Steve bailing us out to the tune of £10-15 million a year and he's done so for years, giving a false perspective on how well we're actually doing. My question was how much money has he spent at City over the years? and I would imagine is well over £100 million probably somewhere closer to something beginning with 2. If that's the case then he's spent £300-£400 on Bristol City for every person in Bristol, just so we can have the chance to watch our local side. So he's absolutely right to make City operate this way. We do need to stop thinking about retaining all our best players and buying even better ones. We do need to get used to there being no gravy train, before it's run out of gravy. Use the legacy that the Lansdown's have built for us i.e the stadium, the academy and the current playing squad to become a self sustaining, credible club that will prosper and hopefully have another go at getting promoted soon. 

Over the years Steve's clearly demonstrated that he's brilliant at playing the long game, both in business and at the City. It's just that the rest of us who aren't so good at it will have to learn how to play it too. So good luck Aden, thanks for everything, and we look forward to you coming back to play against us sometime soon.

 

 

 

I’m incredibly grateful for the investment into bricks and mortar for the stadium and the training facilities, when they come. And I’m grateful that he seems to keep us on a relatively even keel - certainly in comparison to some other clubs. But I’m not grateful for the vision that he has and the way he has gone about it.  Bristol Sport, the rebranding of the Rugby club, the treatment of certain members of staff, the favouritism of others. The sanitisation. The treatment of certain sections of our fan groups.  The club as a result now feels far far more distant from us as supporters as it’s ever been. Yes you can say ‘tough that’s football’ and I get that in certain areas you have to go with the times. But  BCFC just doesn’t feel like the team it used to be. Its even starting to feel strange to write BCFC as it’s all BS these days! And for all his investment you could argue that other than the bricks and mortar we are no nearer the top flight than before he came. 

So yes, very grateful for some bits.  Not so much for others. And the next few years will be incredibly telling about how he is remembered. Will it be a family legacy to JL, or will new investment come in. Time will only tell.......

[054123]

45 minutes ago, Lord Northski said:

So this morning the news is that our Aden Flint is off to greener pastures, leaving us to either find a replacement or promote from within. As such, most if not all of us are feeling a little depressed at losing such a player to a bigger club in a smaller town. We also hear that it's Steve Lansdown's idea that we'll sell our best players if it's the right fee, with the money to be reinvested in cheaper, probably younger talent and still try to get promoted. Clearly it's going to be more difficult and it hardly feels like progress when you're seemingly having to run even harder to stay still, let alone improve. 

Which brings me to the point of the title of this piece. Steve Lansdown has always talked about making City sustainable, providing the club with a good enough platform. To be financially viable as a stand alone football club without as much of a need for a financial sugar daddy to keep writing cheques. Allowing him at some stage to take another step back, content in the knowledge that the club won't fold overnight. The trouble is that we've all got too used to Steve bailing us out to the tune of £10-15 million a year and he's done so for years, giving a false perspective on how well we're actually doing. My question was how much money has he spent at City over the years? and I would imagine is well over £100 million probably somewhere closer to something beginning with 2. If that's the case then he's spent £300-£400 on Bristol City for every person in Bristol, just so we can have the chance to watch our local side. So he's absolutely right to make City operate this way. We do need to stop thinking about retaining all our best players and buying even better ones. We do need to get used to there being no gravy train, before it's run out of gravy. Use the legacy that the Lansdown's have built for us i.e the stadium, the academy and the current playing squad to become a self sustaining, credible club that will prosper and hopefully have another go at getting promoted soon. 

Over the years Steve's clearly demonstrated that he's brilliant at playing the long game, both in business and at the City. It's just that the rest of us who aren't so good at it will have to learn how to play it too. So good luck Aden, thanks for everything, and we look forward to you coming back to play against us sometime soon.

 

 

 

Crumbs, when you put it like that, it’s an unbelievable amount that he has invested into his business.

Do you think the footballing return on a figure “somewhere closer to 2” has been worth it?

Do you know of any other examples where a billionaire owner invested 200m into a football club and if so what were the footballing outcomes for that club?

Honest questions in peace.

[Cowshed]

58 minutes ago, Lord Northski said:

So this morning the news is that our Aden Flint is off to greener pastures, leaving us to either find a replacement or promote from within. As such, most if not all of us are feeling a little depressed at losing such a player to a bigger club in a smaller town. We also hear that it's Steve Lansdown's idea that we'll sell our best players if it's the right fee, with the money to be reinvested in cheaper, probably younger talent and still try to get promoted. Clearly it's going to be more difficult and it hardly feels like progress when you're seemingly having to run even harder to stay still, let alone improve. 

Which brings me to the point of the title of this piece. Steve Lansdown has always talked about making City sustainable, providing the club with a good enough platform. To be financially viable as a stand alone football club without as much of a need for a financial sugar daddy to keep writing cheques. Allowing him at some stage to take another step back, content in the knowledge that the club won't fold overnight. The trouble is that we've all got too used to Steve bailing us out to the tune of £10-15 million a year and he's done so for years, giving a false perspective on how well we're actually doing. My question was how much money has he spent at City over the years? and I would imagine is well over £100 million probably somewhere closer to something beginning with 2. If that's the case then he's spent £300-£400 on Bristol City for every person in Bristol, just so we can have the chance to watch our local side. So he's absolutely right to make City operate this way. We do need to stop thinking about retaining all our best players and buying even better ones. We do need to get used to there being no gravy train, before it's run out of gravy. Use the legacy that the Lansdown's have built for us i.e the stadium, the academy and the current playing squad to become a self sustaining, credible club that will prosper and hopefully have another go at getting promoted soon. 

Over the years Steve's clearly demonstrated that he's brilliant at playing the long game, both in business and at the City. It's just that the rest of us who aren't so good at it will have to learn how to play it too. So good luck Aden, thanks for everything, and we look forward to you coming back to play against us sometime soon.

 

 

 

Mr Lansdown covering debts and losses and debts via loans and equity is not a sign of the FC doing well. Spending 100 - 140% past income dropping now to 98% is also no false perspective … Its a dreadful financial performance. The club accounts articulate that the FC was not a viable business in the recent past. That is not a brilliant long game when it came to BCFC.

Looking at the last club accounts there is no way championship BCFC are even close to being sustainable even by selling players to Villa. Its unclear minus promotion how loans made by Mr Lansdown to the FC (in affect Mr Lansdown) can be paid back in the projected timescale (its in the accounts) to Mr Lansdown. Sustainable could be defined as losing circa -100% past income, complying with FFP and creating loss and debt that is more manageable for Mr Lansdown (BCFC).

Mr Lansdown has willingly created that scenario. He is BCFC. In return fans will look at Mr Lansdown and want that gravy to continue. He positioned himself quite willingly to become the most important person at BCFC, he is BCFC's sugar Daddy and lifeblood and in that environ fans as they do elsewhere will expect him to finance it. 

The above is a perspective.

Spending on building based assets fifty million plus. Spending on the FC seventy million plus. Those are conservative figures post 2010 because the FC was losing money prior to 2010 in answer to your question..

 

[Lord Northski]

31 minutes ago, 054123 said:

Crumbs, when you put it like that, it’s an unbelievable amount that he has invested into his business.

Do you think the footballing return on a figure “somewhere closer to 2” has been worth it?

Do you know of any other examples where a billionaire owner invested 200m into a football club and if so what were the footballing outcomes for that club?

Honest questions in peace.

I've never really thought that Steve ever looked upon any of his money spent on City as an investment he would ever recoup, but I image he's looked upon it as a passion that he could indulge himself fully in and have some good times along the way. Has it been worth it? I would think there's been more fun times than not, and as most of us are well aware, it's the bad times that make the good times truly rewarding and emotional. I would add that I assume this, I've never met the guy or any of his family. But he's only human and I imagine he gets as excited as the rest of us and rather than spending money on blooming great super yachts and divorces,  His fun comes from trying to get some success with his local footie team. Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a new striker who can bring you happiness etc. 

The old adage that the only way to make a small fortune out of football is to start with a large one seems appropriate here.