"We're a selling club. Always have been, always will be" .....

[Bristol Oil Services]

6 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Thing is though, this was 46 years ago now & we took a single calculated gamble that we would get promoted to the top flight, which worked.

Had we stayed down, we had a chance the season before to go up & blew it at Easter, then we would have sold them both that summer.

I’m not sure a single example from a time that is now a very long time ago when football was entirely different financially really tells us too much.

No, nor do I. But it does tell us we haven’t "always" been a selling club.

[Bristol Oil Services]

6 hours ago, And Its Smith said:

Think you are just being pedantic aren’t you. 

A bit. There's people being worse than this on these things nowadays though, so I hear.

The people on here going "we have always been a selling club!" need to know the history of their/our club a little better, to know about one of the greatest parts of our history. Worth flagging up, I'd say.

[BS4 on Tour...]

8 hours ago, And Its Smith said:

Think you are just being pedantic aren’t you. Are you @BS4 on Tour... in disguise or just trying to steal his job!

There isn’t a vacancy at present - but nice to see @Bristol Oil Services is a fellow pedant, we need to stick together! 

[Rich]

We haven't "always" been a selling club as the OP states. That's because sometimes, we've had sweet FA to sell, or, we haven't needed the money.

Going back a little prior to the example of Merrick and Ritchie. We sold a certain Chris Garland for £100k in 1971 to Chelsea and I believe Bobby Kellard, to balance the books. Most of the proceeds of those sales went to pay for the "new" Dolman stand. Two years later, we sold Peter Spiring to Liverpool, for £50k, says £60k in wiki, good business.

Going back even further, late 1920's, according to my father in law, we sold two players to pay for the cover on the East End, it was known by supporters as the Keating and something stand, can't remember the name, after the two players sold.

So although we've not "always" been a selling club, we've always sold, when we've needed the money.