Pearson and Tanner Pre Hull.

[mozo]

4 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

No, you didn't dream it.

Just that SL wasn't in on the plan.

I was wondering if maybe the plan for the scenario of selling Alex Scott was actually to make up a story about a wage limit to let the fans down gently...

[petehinton]

18 minutes ago, Malago said:

The problem is he’s only interested in selling a minority stake and wants to maintain control.  Not an appetising prospect if you’re some wealthy big shot.

 

He said on RB last time he was on, that he’d be up for selling minority, majority, outside investment, or a full sale….he sounded like he had absolutely no idea what he actually wanted and why he wanted it, and came across quite embarrassingly desperate tbh 

Edited August 23, 2023 by petehinton

[Superjack]

3 minutes ago, petehinton said:

He said on RB last time he was on, that he’d be up for selling minority, majority, outside investment, or a full sale….he sounded like he had absolutely no idea what he actually wanted and why he wanted it, and came across quite embarrassingly desperate tbh 

And there is his epitaph.

[Mr Popodopolous]

8 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

I do feel a bit for NP.

He’s faced with injuries to key players, the heartbreak of losing your best player a week into the new season, then having no money to appropriately replace the quality that’s moved on.

All the good feeling around the place seems to have vanished. It’s as if SL doesn’t want Nige to succeed!

I certainly feel for NP and agree with  a lot of your post but unsure about the whole SL hoping he doesn't succeed bit.

[Superjack]

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

I certainly feel for NP and agree with  a lot of your post but unsure about the whole SL hoping he doesn't succeed bit.

Maybe not hoping he doesn't succeed. 

More like waiting impatiently for him to fail.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Superjack said:

Maybe not hoping he doesn't succeed. 

More like waiting impatiently for him to fail.

Maybe, maybe. Managing out but that would be oh so a) unfair and b) Short sighted as the next guy unless we go up won't be an upgrade on NP.

[eardun]

We’re doomed, doomed - until we win on Friday! Cheer up everyone! 

[Superjack]

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

Maybe, maybe. Managing out but that would be oh so a) unfair and b) Short sighted as the next guy unless we go up won't be an upgrade on NP.

Exactly.

[Tim Monaghan]

4 hours ago, Red Army 75 said:

I’m watching the press conference for the Hull game. Could be me but Pearson seems mighty pissed off 

In was thinking the same thing. He doesn't sound pleased does he. A few shots at Lansdown IMO. 

[Guest]

So lets get this right, we sell a young England player for 25million then loan in a young England player for just a wage really and maybe 1-2m after a year, BUT how exactly does that make us worse off and at our limit re signing anyone else..... ...like a goalscorer ?

How does selling your best player result in nada, apart from being worse off that is, oh I know its Bristol Ambitionless City on song.

Edited August 23, 2023 by wtf

[bcfc01]

I hope we win on Friday...

[Lew-T]

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

I certainly feel for NP and agree with  a lot of your post but unsure about the whole SL hoping he doesn't succeed bit.

Slight exaggeration maybe but @Superjack gets it

It looks as though SL doesn’t want to push the boat out too much as he knows Nige isn’t the man for him long term.

That’s how it feels anyway.

[BUTOR]

4 minutes ago, Superjack said:

Maybe not hoping he doesn't succeed. 

More like waiting impatiently for him to fail.

Has he not already had at least two very good opportunities to deem NP as ‘failed’? 

1. The half season before he was appointed permanently, where we showed no real signs of improvement.

2. The poor and inconsistent run last season which culminated in a fiercely toxic atmosphere, Pearson out chants and 95% of social media completely turning on the manager. If he is impatiently waiting for Nige’s head and doesn’t really like NP why on earth didn’t he fire him after that?

[BCFC31]

This absolutely stinks of either two things 

1) lansdown is trying to make the club as attractive as possible for any potential buyer or he knows he will be selling the club soon so no more spending hand over first.

2) The club have absolutely 0 intentions of renewal NP contract and want to save funding for a new manager at the end of the season and will just hope we tread water this coming season. 

[Harry]

I’ve seen a fair few comments saying that perhaps SL isn’t providing Nige with any more funds and is keeping them for the next manager. 
 

I think this theory can be disproven in one sense, but could be totally logical in another. 
 

Allow me to explain. 
 

Nige has worked very closely with every area of the club to produce an ‘identity’. I know, there’s that word again, but please bear with me

Work has gone in between the recruitment  team, analysts, scouts, Tinnion, Nige and his staff and the CEO into creating a playing philosophy. This is the so-called high intensity pressing game, a philosophy that is actually very very detailed (I’ve seen it) which defines what we want to see not just in terms of simple stylistics but detailed enough to define the desired number of seconds to win the ball back. 
 

A tonne of work has gone in over 3 years to not only define that detailed philosophy, but also to ensure recruitment is aligned to it. This means that by and large pretty much most of the signings we target must in some way fit this philosophy. 
 

So - bearing this in mind, any new players incoming won’t just be players that “Nige wants” it will be players that have been watched for a lengthy period of time to decipher whether they can fit the philosophy. 
 

This is where the theory of “Steve is saving the money for a new manager” is a flawed theory. Simply because, if this is our ongoing philosophy then any new manager would also need to fit in with this, and the recruitment targets would be the same players we’ve been monitoring for long periods. So it makes no sense that we wouldn’t sign someone just because Nige is still here, because the philosophy would dictate that the same player would still be a target under a new boss. 
 

So, that’s the bit where the theory of SL keeping hold of the cash falls down. 
 

Now for the bit where it actually could make perfect sense. 
Steve Lansdown, over multiple decades now, has regularly lurched from one model to the next at the drop of a hat.

After the last 3 years of working on the latest philosophy, he’s just as likely to completely change it altogether under a new manager. So, all that behind the scenes work of attempting to align everything could very likely just be thrown up in the air again by a new managerial appointment and Steve is re-convinced that the new man is the next messiah and has the kahuna’s to get us to the promised land. 

So yes, there is every chance that SL is storing up the cash for a new manager next season, but only on the assumption that he’s prepared to discard his latest blueprint for success. 
 

Watch this space…….. 

[sh1t_ref_again]

23 minutes ago, petehinton said:

He said on RB last time he was on, that he’d be up for selling minority, majority, outside investment, or a full sale….he sounded like he had absolutely no idea what he actually wanted and why he wanted it, and came across quite embarrassingly desperate tbh 

You could twist it that way, or someone could say he is flexible about how the new investment could come in, 

[BUTOR]

6 minutes ago, Harry said:

Now for the bit where it actually could make perfect sense. 
Steve Lansdown, over multiple decades now, has regularly lurched from one model to the next at the drop of a hat.

After the last 3 years of working on the latest philosophy, he’s just as likely to completely change it altogether under a new manager. So, all that behind the scenes work of attempting to align everything could very likely just be thrown up in the air again by a new managerial appointment and Steve is re-convinced that the new man is the next messiah and has the kahuna’s to get us to the promised land. 

So yes, there is every chance that SL is storing up the cash for a new manager next season, but only on the assumption that he’s prepared to discard his latest blueprint for success. 
 

Watch this space…….. 

The only theory I buy when it comes to this because there is undoubtedly form there.

[Lew-T]

7 minutes ago, BUTOR said:

If he is impatiently waiting for Nige’s head and doesn’t really like NP why on earth didn’t he fire him after that?

Probably because SL knew no decent  management team would take our mess on at the time. Nige knew the score and has steadily built us to be competitive, whilst allowing the youth to flourish.

We do need to progress further now though. Whether that’s with Nige, I doubt it.

[Tim Monaghan]

3 hours ago, bearded_red said:

I was quite optimistic for this season. Notice the past tense.

It's truly astonishing how swiftly our optimism gets drained season after season. It's a repetitive cycle—constantly the second-best, never the champion. I'm finding it genuinely disheartening to witness teams like Luton, Burnley, Bournemouth, and Brighton surge ahead while we lag behind.

For the first time in my experience as a City supporter, I'm convinced that a change is imperative. It's not just about having ample resources like SL; genuine passion and unwavering ambition are what truly matter. If those elements are lost, then perhaps it's time to consider relinquishing ownership and granting the club, and us supporters, a renewed sense of hope.

This sense of disillusionment I'm feeling now is reminiscent of the lowest point during SOD's era. I suspect that SL won't entertain the notion of selling the club until the arena development and other projects are completed.

 

[ChippenhamRed]

OK so just catching up with this thread. If it’s true that we aren’t going to spend any more money - well I’m pretty disgusted to be honest.

What if Scott hadn’t blossomed into the magificent talent he did last season? What if he’d broken his leg in three places last year? The club couldn’t have budgeted its survival on getting £25,000,000 for him until very recently. This is a huge cash injection that as supporters we should reasonably be able to expect to see reinvested into the squad, at least to some extent.

And yet now with that cash in the bank, there’s no intent to spend any money? If you can’t spend money after such a massive fee hitting the bank account, with the squad currently average at best, with some obvious weaknesses and the team very unlikely to challenge for the play offs as it is….well when can we EVER spend it?

Man I hate the fact I was born into supporting this club. It’s given me so little. All it ever does is disappoint.

[Davefevs]

11 minutes ago, Harry said:

I’ve seen a fair few comments saying that perhaps SL isn’t providing Nige with any more funds and is keeping them for the next manager. 
 

I think this theory can be disproven in one sense, but could be totally logical in another. 
 

Allow me to explain. 
 

Nige has worked very closely with every area of the club to produce an ‘identity’. I know, there’s that word again, but please bear with me

Work has gone in between the recruitment  team, analysts, scouts, Tinnion, Nige and his staff and the CEO into creating a playing philosophy. This is the so-called high intensity pressing game, a philosophy that is actually very very detailed (I’ve seen it) which defines what we want to see not just in terms of simple stylistics but detailed enough to define the desired number of seconds to win the ball back. 
 

A tonne of work has gone in over 3 years to not only define that detailed philosophy, but also to ensure recruitment is aligned to it. This means that by and large pretty much most of the signings we target must in some way fit this philosophy. 
 

So - bearing this in mind, any new players incoming won’t just be players that “Nige wants” it will be players that have been watched for a lengthy period of time to decipher whether they can fit the philosophy. 
 

This is where the theory of “Steve is saving the money for a new manager” is a flawed theory. Simply because, if this is our ongoing philosophy then any new manager would also need to fit in with this, and the recruitment targets would be the same players we’ve been monitoring for long periods. So it makes no sense that we wouldn’t sign someone just because Nige is still here, because the philosophy would dictate that the same player would still be a target under a new boss. 
 

So, that’s the bit where the theory of SL keeping hold of the cash falls down. 
 

Now for the bit where it actually could make perfect sense. 
Steve Lansdown, over multiple decades now, has regularly lurched from one model to the next at the drop of a hat.

After the last 3 years of working on the latest philosophy, he’s just as likely to completely change it altogether under a new manager. So, all that behind the scenes work of attempting to align everything could very likely just be thrown up in the air again by a new managerial appointment and Steve is re-convinced that the new man is the next messiah and has the kahuna’s to get us to the promised land. 

So yes, there is every chance that SL is storing up the cash for a new manager next season, but only on the assumption that he’s prepared to discard his latest blueprint for success. 
 

Watch this space…….. 

did you use to write the clues for 3-2-1?

I do tend to agree with your logic though.

[Lew-T]

4 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Probably because SL knew no decent  management team would take our mess on at the time. Nige knew the score and has steadily built us to be competitive, whilst allowing the youth to flourish.

We do need to progress further now though. Whether that’s with Nige, I doubt it.

I want Nige to stay and be successful btw

[ChippenhamRed]

4 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

This is fair, I've always thought an optimum squad size is about 25. 24, 25.

O'Leary, Bajic, Wiles-Richards

Tanner, McCrorie, Vyner, Dickie, Atkinson, Pring, Roberts

Naismith, James, Williams, King, Knight, Gardner-Hickman

Sykes, Cornick, Bell, Mehmeti, Benarous

Conyway, Wells, Weimann

Okay maybe then. If we add Murphy as well.

The optimum squad size is the one that is good enough to get promoted. This ain’t it.

I don’t care about the numbers. I care about the quality. We’ve just had a massive cash injection of £25,000,000 on top of £10,000,000 earlier this year. If we can’t spend some money now to add proper quality to the squad that will enable us to compete, when can we?

If we need to shift a few out as well then so be it. I’m sick to death of us being average.

[Dr Balls]

The theory may be that other clubs, knowing that we have £20+ million in the bank from the Scott sale will look to overinflate the price they want for any sales to us. Therefore either we get our purchases sorted early in the window before Scott is sold or hold on as long as possible for any potential targets requiring a fee, so that we can drive a harder bargain with the club selling, knowing that we are willing to walk away if we don’t get the fee down to something reasonable. And the same may apply somewhat for the wages with the player. And it’s not like big clubs haven’t ballsed this up in the past:

https://www.channel4.com/news/torres-and-carroll-star-in-last-day-transfer-scramble

[bcfc01]

Well, NP is certainly letting the support base know where the problem lies...

Without actually pointing a finger...

[al3xrh0des]

I do wonder and I feel Nige should have been asked this. If our wage bill is now 'capped' and at its max, does this mean we will have to sell more to reduce wages before we can buy again. Will we still have this problem come January?

[JoeAman08]

6 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

The optimum squad size is the one that is good enough to get promoted. This ain’t it.

I don’t care about the numbers. I care about the quality. We’ve just had a massive cash injection of £25,000,000 on top of £10,000,000 earlier this year. If we can’t spend some money now to add proper quality to the squad that will enable us to compete, when can we?

If we need to shift a few out as well then so be it. I’m sick to death of us being average.

Thing is Scott sale provides FFP headroom to add to the squad. The wage bill will naturally lower with James, Weimann, Vyner, King and Williams all due to come off the books next summer. Sure maybe one or two of that group stay. If you can’t shift them so be it. However, you can plan the squad in advance. Not advocating pushing FFP to the limit again but we seem to have gone completely the other way(cheers luton). 

 

6 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

The theory may be that other clubs, knowing that we have £20+ million in the bank from the Scott sale will look to overinflate the price they want for any sales to us. Therefore either we get our purchases sorted early in the window before Scott is sold or hold on as long as possible for any potential targets requiring a fee, so that we can drive a harder bargain with the club selling, knowing that we are willing to walk away if we don’t get the fee down to something reasonable. And the same may apply somewhat for the wages with the player. And it’s not like big clubs haven’t ballsed this up in the past:

https://www.channel4.com/news/torres-and-carroll-star-in-last-day-transfer-scramble

Thing is, probably some truth to it. However, accounts get posted every year. Everyone knows pretty much what everyone’s FFP wiggle room is. There are some here that do it in their spare time. It is pretty easy to find. Everyone knows SL won’t have a cash flow issue regardless of the sale. So I am not totally sure we can be held to ransom more than most clubs of similar size. 

[cityexile]

36 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Slight exaggeration maybe but @Superjack gets it

It looks as though SL doesn’t want to push the boat out too much as he knows Nige isn’t the man for him long term.

That’s how it feels anyway.

We are all speculating a bit, and maybe that is the case. There is also I think a non zero chance that SL does not want to push the boat out any more….full stop. For any manager.

[Lew-T]

Just now, cityexile said:

We are all speculating a bit, and maybe that is the case. There is also I think a non zero chance that SL does not want to push the boat out any more….full stop. For any manager.

Maybe so. Hence why he’s looking to sale!

[spudski]

38 minutes ago, Harry said:

I’ve seen a fair few comments saying that perhaps SL isn’t providing Nige with any more funds and is keeping them for the next manager. 
 

I think this theory can be disproven in one sense, but could be totally logical in another. 
 

Allow me to explain. 
 

Nige has worked very closely with every area of the club to produce an ‘identity’. I know, there’s that word again, but please bear with me

Work has gone in between the recruitment  team, analysts, scouts, Tinnion, Nige and his staff and the CEO into creating a playing philosophy. This is the so-called high intensity pressing game, a philosophy that is actually very very detailed (I’ve seen it) which defines what we want to see not just in terms of simple stylistics but detailed enough to define the desired number of seconds to win the ball back. 
 

A tonne of work has gone in over 3 years to not only define that detailed philosophy, but also to ensure recruitment is aligned to it. This means that by and large pretty much most of the signings we target must in some way fit this philosophy. 
 

So - bearing this in mind, any new players incoming won’t just be players that “Nige wants” it will be players that have been watched for a lengthy period of time to decipher whether they can fit the philosophy. 
 

This is where the theory of “Steve is saving the money for a new manager” is a flawed theory. Simply because, if this is our ongoing philosophy then any new manager would also need to fit in with this, and the recruitment targets would be the same players we’ve been monitoring for long periods. So it makes no sense that we wouldn’t sign someone just because Nige is still here, because the philosophy would dictate that the same player would still be a target under a new boss. 
 

So, that’s the bit where the theory of SL keeping hold of the cash falls down. 
 

Now for the bit where it actually could make perfect sense. 
Steve Lansdown, over multiple decades now, has regularly lurched from one model to the next at the drop of a hat.

After the last 3 years of working on the latest philosophy, he’s just as likely to completely change it altogether under a new manager. So, all that behind the scenes work of attempting to align everything could very likely just be thrown up in the air again by a new managerial appointment and Steve is re-convinced that the new man is the next messiah and has the kahuna’s to get us to the promised land. 

So yes, there is every chance that SL is storing up the cash for a new manager next season, but only on the assumption that he’s prepared to discard his latest blueprint for success. 
 

Watch this space…….. 

There maybe a third thought Harry....which you may have not considered.

Perhaps SL is happy with the philosophy, and identity, and the way we recruit. Perhaps he thinks the players we have recruited are fine...but thinks NP isn't getting the best out of them.

Perhaps he's holding back and seeing how well we do in the first half of the season. Whether he considers NP is getting the results with what both consider a better squad and view that we should do better than last season. 

If underachieving he's let go and replaced and new manager gets funds. 

Or NP is doing well and more money is released in January for a final push. 

My gut feeling...with injuries so far, and expected return dates, we'll be another mid table side. 

We need another striker and midfielder now imo.