Never thought I would say this..

[PFree]

I’ve been reading with interest the comments about SL, as I am guessing like most fans, that I am full of admiration around the foundations he has set for our club - financially covering us during some really tough times, the stadium, training ground etc., all provided at great expense to him.

That said yesterday was a good example where our lack of quality in depth shone through. I feel for NP as he has to sell the family jewels and replace those players by shopping at Aldi, nothing wrong with that as there are some bargains to be had, but IF NP had a greater wage budget, we would, and could, be pushing towards the top six - Nige has built a decent squad, has removed the dead wood and has installed a decent work ethic and set of standards.

Not sure about the subs yesterday, but ultimately, and as an example, the players that came on weren’t of the same quality as those that left the field. Take Sykes and Yeboah, promising young lad, but nowhere near ready for this level yet, looks busy, but no end product.

What concerns me more though is if, and when, Nige walks away. We are left with an owner who refuses to invest anymore, and how will that attract an ambitious replacement? What is sad is that this club offers a massive opportunity if it can step up to the Premier League, no competition in a massive geographical area, and where with a decent team, you could undoubtedly fill a much bigger stadium week after week.

Sadly, whilst I appreciated everything SL has done for our club, I just hope his recent actions are to boost the balance sheet in order to make the club more attractive to any buyer.

Finally, I really hope Nige stays on, under his management and the local knowledge and experience of Tins, we are mostly certainly doing as well as can be expected..

[Sir Geoff]

Enjoy it while it lasts. Once SL allows Pearson to leave then enhances his nest egg through the sales of Conway, Bell and Pring we will be rubbing shoulders in the same league as the knuckle draggers. 

[Bristol Rob]

If, by crown jewels you mean Scott... Well, if we hadn't sold him, he would still be injured and wouldn't have been playing.

Semenyo I think we have covered adequately elsewhere within the squad (not a like for like, but sufficient).

Wage bill...

If we ballpark a player at 12.5k a week, 10k to the player, the rest in NI, pension contributions, health insurance etc, how much more money do you think we would have to add to the wage bill to make a significant difference, how many more players would you like to see and would that be based on free signings, or would you increase the transfer budget as well?

[Shauntaylor85]

In my view City will never get to the PL under current ownership. Just need to accept it. 

[Lorenzos Only Goal]

We were top six until the defensive slip ups. We will see where we are after the Rotherham game that will be the first block of 10.  Baring any disasters we should be top 10, then with Conway on his way back and a few others we should look a much more robust side.  

I still think Naismith is best in a holding midfield role, he creates more and provides and effective shield for then defence.  So let's see how things pan out as players come back.  

Don't panic.

[robinforlife2]

I personally have a bad feeling that Sam Bell could be sacrificed in January / Summer to make way for another 2/3 League One / Two squad players and to enhance the nest egg. 

[Loosey Boy]

9 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

I personally have a bad feeling that Sam Bell could be sacrificed in January / Summer to make way for another 2/3 League One / Two squad players and to enhance the nest egg. 

On current forum, I’d say it’s more likely to be Knight that becomes our next big money departure.

Just now, Loosey Boy said:

On current form, I’d say it’s more likely to be Knight that becomes our next big money departure.

 

[robinforlife2]

1 minute ago, Loosey Boy said:

On current forum, I’d say it’s more likely to be Knight that becomes our next big money departure.

 

This is true, but Bell is a natural finisher and young and would easily be on 10+ by Xmas, he will be catching attention of clubs looking for a young natural finisher and could be poachable for 5-10m in January. 

[bexhill reds]

Where has all this nest egg bollocks come from all of a sudden? I get that the Lansdown’s are marmite, but do we want owners like the Venkys, the current Sheff Wed one, or be run like Reading. There is never in a million years that Lansdown will recoup the money he’s put in, so hardly a nest egg.

Football will always be a selling game, we produce a star player and they will always want to a) test their skills at a higher level, and b) maximise their earnings in what is comparatively a short career.  IF a player wants out then invariably they will get sold on, NP has always been clear that he only wants players in the squad that want to be here. Surely it makes good sense to maximise the income from the sale of a player who clearly is destined for a much higher level than we are currently capable of achieving? That’s not creating a nest egg that’s just sensible practice.

Arguably unless you are a top 6 Prem team you are a selling team, likewise teams perennially below us with player with potential are our targets.

I don’t think the current custodians of the club have got everything right, but I’d rather an ownership with local affinity rather some US debt leveraged affair fronted by a once famous quarterback…

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, bexhill reds said:

Where has all this nest egg bollocks come from all of a sudden? I get that the Lansdown’s are marmite, but do we want owners like the Venkys, the current Sheff Wed one, or be run like Reading. There is never in a million years that Lansdown will recoup the money he’s put in, so hardly a nest egg. How much is given to BCFC? How much is loaned? and how much is invested? How much return will he get when at some stage he sales up? do you know does anyone; for sure his adjurnment to a tax haven has eased the burden on his out goings

Football will always be a selling game, we produce a star player and they will always want to a) test their skills at a higher level, and b) maximise their earnings in what is comparatively a short career.  IF a player wants out then invariably they will get sold on, NP has always been clear that he only wants players in the squad that want to be here. Surely it makes good sense to maximise the income from the sale of a player who clearly is destined for a much higher level than we are currently capable of achieving? That’s not creating a nest egg that’s just sensible practice. only if used to enhance the squad, and players could well be more likely to stay if they saw some promise/ambition/desire from those that matter, I see no advancement just stagnation.

Arguably unless you are a top 6 Prem team you are a selling team, likewise teams perennially below us with player with potential are our targets.

I don’t think the current custodians of the club have got everything right, but I’d rather an ownership with local affinity rather some US debt leveraged affair fronted by a once famous quarterback…we are now renting a shared ground with others and we have no say on its inhabitants now or in the future or the running of the said ground or ticketing/shirts/outlet prices so what are we getting now that we werent getting before SL took over again?

 

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, bexhill reds said:

Where has all this nest egg bollocks come from all of a sudden?

Directly from the mouth of a certain Steve Lansdown, alongside a comment about “if we can sell a player for £25m every year…”.

Personally I don’t think he quite meant it as he worded it, but as usual when SL opens his mouth these days it’s usually to tell the fan base it’s either his money, they don’t have a say, and he knows best!

Therefore he’s pissed off the fan base again.

And that’s without other crappy comments recently too.

Thats where it’s all come from.

[Eddie Hitler]

After we were sufficiently fortunate to see the destroyer of clubs depart to the River Orwell it was accepted by almost everyone on here, and Nigel Pearson on his appointment, that we had three lean years coming up in which to desperately try to avoid falling foul of FFP by slashing the wage bill and selling our most marketable assets.

I don't see that that has changed, other than to note that we are now into year three, the financial year end is 31 May, and after this last "holding" year we will be able to see what the Lansdown family does in the summer.

Will it be a new contract for NP and money to spend, with the aim of a good crack at promotion, or will be a hunkering down in the mid-table of the Championship, hoping for a season when the stars align and we go up?

It is very much a case of watch what they do in summer 2024 rather than listening to what they say between now and then.

[Sir Geoff]

4 hours ago, bexhill reds said:

Where has all this nest egg bollocks come from all of a sudden? I get that the Lansdown’s are marmite, but do we want owners like the Venkys, the current Sheff Wed one, or be run like Reading. There is never in a million years that Lansdown will recoup the money he’s put in, so hardly a nest egg.

Football will always be a selling game, we produce a star player and they will always want to a) test their skills at a higher level, and b) maximise their earnings in what is comparatively a short career.  IF a player wants out then invariably they will get sold on, NP has always been clear that he only wants players in the squad that want to be here. Surely it makes good sense to maximise the income from the sale of a player who clearly is destined for a much higher level than we are currently capable of achieving? That’s not creating a nest egg that’s just sensible practice.

Arguably unless you are a top 6 Prem team you are a selling team, likewise teams perennially below us with player with potential are our targets.

I don’t think the current custodians of the club have got everything right, but I’d rather an ownership with local affinity rather some US debt leveraged affair fronted by a once famous quarterback…

The horse's mouth. "If we can sell a player for £25 m every year and build a nest egg."

Please explain how the Venky's are bad owners. They have poured money into Blackburn year on year.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Venkys are a strange one.

On one hand the cash goes in, otoh they inherited a superbly run club in late 2010, when some investment building on what was already there was what was needed but instead they sacked Big Sam, appointed Kean, went for or were linked with players such as Ronaldinho, Beckham etc.

An increase yet a sensible one at that point instead of a crazy turnaround in mindset could have pushed them on a bit.

[The Fat Controller]

I think it's very easy to spend other people's money. 

[GrahamC]

13 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Venkys are a strange one.

On one hand the cash goes in, otoh they inherited a superbly run club in late 2010, when some investment building on what was already there was what was needed but instead they sacked Big Sam, appointed Kean, went for or were linked with players such as Ronaldinho, Beckham etc.

An increase yet a sensible one at that point instead of a crazy turnaround in mindset could have pushed them on a bit.

Realistically though Blackburn are a pretty small club at this level, bottom third gates & with a great history behind them.

People ridicule them presumably because they are Indian & involved in the chicken business but they have done nothing less than SL has.

I’m really bored now of the “we are so lucky SL is our owner, we could have Vincent Tan or the Venky’s”, I can’t see the difference & in the case of the bloke who doesn’t appear to know how to wear a pair of trousers, he’s got Cardiff into the Prem (twice).

[cidercity1987]

I think yesterday showed extremely well what Lansdown has done to us.

Pearson has built a great squad based on the budget and has created a good team but we have no one with the quality to score Stokes first goal especially.

Stoke were the opposite, a terrible 'team' but with some quality in the right areas. 

[bexhill reds]

8 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

The horse's mouth. "If we can sell a player for £25 m every year and build a nest egg."

Please explain how the Venky's are bad owners. They have poured money into Blackburn year on year.

Tax issues for the parent company with the Indian Government. They have invested heavily in the club granted but not hugely popular with the fan base. I mentioned them simply as it was an item on football podcast I listened to.

[Mr Popodopolous]

24 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Realistically though Blackburn are a pretty small club at this level, bottom third gates & with a great history behind them.

People ridicule them presumably because they are Indian & involved in the chicken business but they have done nothing less than SL has.

I’m really bored now of the “we are so lucky SL is our owner, we could have Vincent Tan or the Venky’s”, I can’t see the difference & in the case of the bloke who doesn’t appear to know how to wear a pair of trousers, he’s got Cardiff into the Prem (twice).

That's pretty fair.

Oh at this level yeah but a lot of the damage was done when they took over a club in a solid position. Takeover, mess up, damage done especially when Parachute Payments drop off.

Subsequently I don't disagree but Blackburn between Walker and Venkys were very well run. Granted with how football has evolved since 2010 maybe they would have fallen off the pace anyway.

I suppose Tan spent a fair amount and went for it early but pre FFP that helped, Parachute Payments also helped thereafter.

This could be SL's biggest error yet tightening the taps as we are recovering and with NP potentially building something.

Venkys, an interesting read. Seemed they messed up quite a good legacy.

https://archive.ph/2022.06.13-094536/https://theathletic.com/2178979/2020/11/18/they-promised-the-world-they-delivered-chaos-ten-years-of-venkys/

Edited October 1, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[headhunter]

5 hours ago, bexhill reds said:

Where has all this nest egg bollocks come from all of a sudden? I get that the Lansdown’s are marmite, but do we want owners like the Venkys, the current Sheff Wed one, or be run like Reading. There is never in a million years that Lansdown will recoup the money he’s put in, so hardly a nest egg.

 

No we don't, but to counter that what about the "owners" of Luton, Brentford & Brighton. There is a risk aversion, allied to the wasteful of the MA/LJ period which suggests we'll only make it to the Prem if we're lucky.

We put the view on FBC Pod Episode today that this be grateful for what we have and where we are is perhaps the view held by the majority of the fanbase.

Listen here from about 30 mins in once we'd covered the game:

https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/stoke-city-h-the-verdict-we-were-mugged-or-just-paying-the-price-for-sloppy-defending/

[bexhill reds]

5 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

This could be SL's biggest error yet tightening the taps as we are recovering and with NP potentially building something.

Good point, I would never say that SL has run the club flawlessly, but we have had stability especially in an emotional industry where there is pretty much zero ROI. He’s been guilty of backing the wrong horses when it comes to managers and player investment, and maybe his interest is starting to dwindle given he’s touched upon succession in previous interviews.
 

Appreciate that some posters have indicated that they are bored of the comparison between owners but would you rather be in Reading’s position or ours

18 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I’m really bored now of the “we are so lucky SL is our owner, we could have Vincent Tan or the Venky’s”, I can’t see the difference & in the case of the bloke who doesn’t appear to know how to wear a pair of trousers, he’s got Cardiff into the Prem (twice).

 

[GrahamC]

8 minutes ago, bexhill reds said:

Good point, I would never say that SL has run the club flawlessly, but we have had stability especially in an emotional industry where there is pretty much zero ROI. He’s been guilty of backing the wrong horses when it comes to managers and player investment, and maybe his interest is starting to dwindle given he’s touched upon succession in previous interviews.
 

Appreciate that some posters have indicated that they are bored of the comparison between owners but would you rather be in Reading’s position or ours

 

Why does it have to be Reading?

As @headhunter says, what about Brighton, Brentford or Luton? Or Watford? Fulham? Hull?

I’m personally really not all that bothered about getting to the Prem but presumably most supporters are, so picking the latest club in strife and saying that it could be us if we didn’t have a risk averse owner with a poor track record of managerial appointments is becoming such a massive cliche.

[bexhill reds]

Just now, GrahamC said:

Why does it have to be Reading?

As @headhunter says, what about Brighton, Brentford or Luton? Or Watford? Fulham? Hull

Reading are a good comparison to us in the size of club, fan base, and history (prior to their prem dabble) and are currently in the mire. I would argue that Brighton and Brentford support my view on ownership stability albeit they’ve had the success in picking the right people on the football side and backed them (I did say that SL has backed the wrong horses), Watford and Hull have been car crash clubs of late in either multiple management changes or mad owners - remember the suggestion of changing Hull’s name?
 

Given that we celebrate the Ashton Gate 8 in saving the club from bankruptcy, it seems odd to suggest that the comparison to clubs in financial strife is cliched.

 

[REDOXO]

Yes the nest egg comment came across to some like it’s he his building his own nest egg. A bloke with a couple of billion really doesn’t need to build it for himself. 

[redkev]

1 hour ago, sinenomine said:

I think it's very easy to spend other people's money. 

My wife springs to mind on that one 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, headhunter said:

No we don't, but to counter that what about the "owners" of Luton, Brentford & Brighton. There is a risk aversion, allied to the wasteful of the MA/LJ period which suggests we'll only make it to the Prem if we're lucky.

We put the view on FBC Pod Episode today that this be grateful for what we have and where we are is perhaps the view held by the majority of the fanbase.

Listen here from about 30 mins in once we'd covered the game:

https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/stoke-city-h-the-verdict-we-were-mugged-or-just-paying-the-price-for-sloppy-defending/

@NcnsBcfc that “guy at left back” for Stoke was Junior Tchamadeu - just 19.

If you head to the transfer forum, you’ll see I am a big admirer.  Came from Colchester in the summer.

[Davefevs]

Pens - What does it matter if he’s waiting for it?  He’s allowed to slow down, he was still under control of the ball.  It’s a pen, he’s caught Sykes heels.  Bad defending, run to the left side of Sykes.

VAR gives it 100%.

The Pring one, I couldn’t see from the LS, but the video is a blatant elbow / arm into his head.  Penalty too.  VAR gives it.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Stoke fans are their usual one eyed selves on Twitter saying great tackle, man's game etc in respect of penalties but I suppose they would....ignorant, liking parasite football and lack class like their manager.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[Cityboy1954]

4 hours ago, headhunter said:

No we don't, but to counter that what about the "owners" of Luton, Brentford & Brighton. There is a risk aversion, allied to the wasteful of the MA/LJ period which suggests we'll only make it to the Prem if we're lucky.

We put the view on FBC Pod Episode today that this be grateful for what we have and where we are is perhaps the view held by the majority of the fanbase.

Listen here from about 30 mins in once we'd covered the game:

https://foreverbristolcity.podbean.com/e/stoke-city-h-the-verdict-we-were-mugged-or-just-paying-the-price-for-sloppy-defending/

Ask Mark what hes got against Tanner he condems him each week.

[glastored]

9 hours ago, bexhill reds said:

Where has all this nest egg bollocks come from all of a sudden? I get that the Lansdown’s are marmite, but do we want owners like the Venkys, the current Sheff Wed one, or be run like Reading. There is never in a million years that Lansdown will recoup the money he’s put in, so hardly a nest egg.

Football will always be a selling game, we produce a star player and they will always want to a) test their skills at a higher level, and b) maximise their earnings in what is comparatively a short career.  IF a player wants out then invariably they will get sold on, NP has always been clear that he only wants players in the squad that want to be here. Surely it makes good sense to maximise the income from the sale of a player who clearly is destined for a much higher level than we are currently capable of achieving? That’s not creating a nest egg that’s just sensible practice.

Arguably unless you are a top 6 Prem team you are a selling team, likewise teams perennially below us with player with potential are our targets.

I don’t think the current custodians of the club have got everything right, but I’d rather an ownership with local affinity rather some US debt leveraged affair fronted by a once famous quarterback…

Well said. Spot on…