A more rational thread

[lenred]

9 minutes ago, Jeez said:

Maybe differing perspectives having slept on it.

To be fair I’ve never seen anything like it on here. 

What different perspectives though?  
 

Do you honestly think people would be so shallow as to sleep in it and then go ‘oh well, never mind he maybe deserved it’?  You may get a couple but not many I’d imagine……

We will of course have to crack on (and I’m not one of those who will let Lansdown ruin or stop my support of OUR club but respect those who feel that way) but he’s got to pull a f‘ing huge rabbit out of the hat to go anywhere near to even appeasing what he has done with Pearson, and we know he just isn’t capable enough or interested enough to do that. 
  

[Jeez]

1 minute ago, lenred said:

What different perspectives though?  
 

Do you honestly think people would be so shallow as to sleep in it and then go ‘oh well, never mind he maybe deserved it’?  You may get a couple but not many I’d imagine……

We will of course have to crack on (and I’m not one of those who will let Lansdown ruin or stop my support of OUR club but respect those who feel that way) but he’s got to pull a f‘ing huge rabbit out of the hat to go anywhere near to even appeasing what he has done with Pearson, and we know he just isn’t capable enough or interested enough to do that. 
  

Fair enough Len - agreed! They better have a well worked plan to pull trigger mid season like they did.

[exAtyeoMax]

36 minutes ago, Jeez said:

Obviously - but many are reacting like we’ve sacked Pep for being 2nd in the prem.

no they're not!

They're reacting to an absurd decision by the board of sacking a manager who was trying their best with a depleted squad etc.

We're definitely not coming across as entitled! That's nonsense 

[kmpowell]

I’ve slept on it… and to be honest, now the disbelief has gone, I feel more angry than I did yesterday. 

I like to think I can be balanced and see all sides, but the more I mull it over I come back to the same conclusion. This decision was personal, it has no merit, warrant or validation.

[RedReg]

Still as angry as I was yesterday. 

[Crackers Corner]

4 minutes ago, Jeez said:

Maybe differing perspectives having slept on it.

To be fair I’ve never seen anything like it on here. 

I would be interested to know what nige has done wrong.

In the last 3 years his team and Gould reversed the financial issues and he turned us from a team who would go on horrific streaks of loses and so many last minute loses where we were weak mentally and unable to see out a match with several players on over inflated salary and egos who were dead wood he needed to sort. 

How many of the youth players would be on loan rather than breaking through into the first team as we have seen under Nige, and signing extensions whereas before they would have gone on frees.

Despite limited funds he managed to slowly evolve us unto a competitive championship team. We have been hit with horrific bad luck with injuries and seeing star players leave with no money coming back Where the money was not reinvested into the playing staff. Even with these obstacles  I still believed that we were about to turn a corner in November with injury returns.

On the other hand we have club ownership who to be fair have transformed the ground and training facilities and invested lots of money, but time and time again make the wrong decisions on the playing side often interfering with the team (buying david james/questioning Andy king etc) switching us to an amateur kit supplier, logo redesign dean holden etc. The reasons the fans are upset is that we know that they just want a yes man installed and the first decent chance of progression has been taken away from us by a bonkers non footballing decision. 

It's almost feels like JL is treating us like a plaything and where SL has always been patient with managers, JL seems to be too reactionary without having a clear idea of how to reach his aims.

Who on earth can the board replace him with that will do a better job then he has done?

[The Bard]

1 minute ago, Crackers Corner said:

I would be interested to know what nige has done wrong.

In the last 3 years his team and Gould reversed the financial issues and he turned us from a team who would go on horrific streaks of loses and so many last minute loses where we were weak mentally and unable to see out a match with several players on over inflated salary and egos who were dead wood he needed to sort. 

How many of the youth players would be on loan rather than breaking through into the first team as we have seen under Nige, and signing extensions whereas before they would have gone on frees.

Despite limited funds he managed to slowly evolve us unto a competitive championship team. We have been hit with horrific bad luck with injuries and seeing star players leave with no money coming back Where the money was not reinvested into the playing staff. Even with these obstacles  I still believed that we were about to turn a corner in November with injury returns.

On the other hand we have club ownership who to be fair have transformed the ground and training facilities and invested lots of money, but time and time again make the wrong decisions on the playing side often interfering with the team (buying david james/questioning Andy king etc) switching us to an amateur kit supplier, logo redesign dean holden etc. The reasons the fans are upset is that we know that they just want a yes man installed and the first decent chance of progression has been taken away from us by a bonkers non footballing decision. 

It's almost feels like JL is treating us like a plaything and where SL has always been patient with managers, JL seems to be too reactionary without having a clear idea of how to reach his aims.

Who on earth can the board replace him with that will do a better job then he has done?

People I know who worked with JL at Hargreaves Lansdown painted a really bad picture of him. No agenda on their part, just that he was petulant,  entitled and capable of having meltdowns if he didn't get his way.  

[mozo]

The only thing I would say in a post-Nige world is I'm interested to see what the new manager does to get our front line working better in open play. It really hasn't clicked yet, and I know injuries are part of that problem, but I'm not totally convinced that the 4-3-3 we were playing was getting the best out of the current line up. I don't like Cornick in the wide forward role, and I wonder if Mehmeti will get more minutes. Will we be able to play two up top? Or at least one up top with a supporting number 10 much closer?

[Numero Uno]

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

A lot of the posts over the last 24 hours have got overblown. Hopefully we’ve slept on it & now have a bit more perspective.

NP brought a lot of positives but let’s not kid ourselves, he can be difficult, we’ve collectively scratched our heads about subs & tactics and if he can’t manage the owners than he isn’t dynamic enough for this particular club’s needs.

What we don’t know is how NP is received throughout the rest of the club & if he’s as hard to work with as his reputation suggests.

I’m incredibly grateful for what he’s done in clearing out the overpaid disinterested players & instilling the positive work ethic, team spirit. 

It was a brutal sacking given the availability. But football managers are well paid & they know the score. His contract will be honoured until end of the season, we all knew he wasn’t getting a new one, so this is probably makes sense to get the new guy started now before the Jan window opens. Especially if they had already started the process & found the right candidate.

There’s certainly more to it than we know & my gut is with the right appointment, squad depth & availability this group can kick on

 

 

I've slept on it, calmed down, thought it all through in a more rational manner and my conclusion is that the board and ownership of Bristol City are all *****.

[ChippenhamRed]

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

A lot of the posts over the last 24 hours have got overblown. Hopefully we’ve slept on it & now have a bit more perspective.

NP brought a lot of positives but let’s not kid ourselves, he can be difficult, we’ve collectively scratched our heads about subs & tactics and if he can’t manage the owners than he isn’t dynamic enough for this particular club’s needs.

What we don’t know is how NP is received throughout the rest of the club & if he’s as hard to work with as his reputation suggests.

I’m incredibly grateful for what he’s done in clearing out the overpaid disinterested players & instilling the positive work ethic, team spirit. 

It was a brutal sacking given the availability. But football managers are well paid & they know the score. His contract will be honoured until end of the season, we all knew he wasn’t getting a new one, so this is probably makes sense to get the new guy started now before the Jan window opens. Especially if they had already started the process & found the right candidate.

There’s certainly more to it than we know & my gut is with the right appointment, squad depth & availability this group can kick on

 

 

Struggling to get on board with all of this.

If “managing the board” is such an obstacle, then maybe the fault lies with the structure of the club and the board themselves.

As for not getting a new contract - “he wasn’t getting one anyway” misses the point. He was building something, and he should have been given a new contract to continue the job. It’s symptomatic of our terrible decision makers at the top of the club that he wasn’t going to get a new contract.

This club never achieves anything. Ever. Countless smaller clubs have achieved more. If we couldn’t make it work with a proven manager with multiple Championship promotions on his CV, we’ll never succeed. Sick of this embarrassment of a club.

[FNQ]

2 minutes ago, Crackers Corner said:

..Who on earth can the board replace him with that will do a better job than he has done?

Exactly this… the board think the current squad should be good enough for promotion so let’s see who the have in mind to come in now and better lead / inspire the players.. as a minimum it ought to be someone has who has at least been a proven number 2 at an established PL club or someone who has already earned credibility by taking a team up to the prem. We know it won’t be though, it’ll be the best for the less they can get..

[ChippenhamRed]

11 minutes ago, The Bard said:

People I know who worked with JL at Hargreaves Lansdown painted a really bad picture of him. No agenda on their part, just that he was petulant,  entitled and capable of having meltdowns if he didn't get his way.  

I mean that figures doesn’t it. He has no leadership qualities whatsoever. He is a terrible public speaker. He doesn’t inspire at all. He has no natural authority or presence. He is there for one reason and one reason only. If it wasn’t for Daddy, he’d be working at Carphone Warehouse.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Rational is an interesting title.

I'd say the rational stance here is that of the vast majority- anger and dismay, confusion at the failure to renew months back, let alone sacking of a popular manager who had us moving in the right direction despite having his hands tied.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

8 minutes ago, The Bard said:

People I know who worked with JL at Hargreaves Lansdown painted a really bad picture of him. No agenda on their part, just that he was petulant,  entitled and capable of having meltdowns if he didn't get his way.  

Well- someone somewhere made part of that up. He was in a lowly position trying to learn his trade and certainly was not in a position to have histrionics.

The truth of the matter was that he just wasn't particularly good at his job and a pale and disappointing shadow of his father's ability and intelligence.

[Fjmcity]

40 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

After 20 plus years I think we know quite a lot about the way Steve Lansdown works. And can make an educated guess that what comes next is unlikely to be part of a coherent strategy that builds solid foundations for a push up the league. Let's not have 'hounded out' - if he sells up now he will go with a modicum of dignity - thus far the crowd has never turned on him or the boy.

But to who? Any success I can point to in the last 10 years of takeovers comes with a huge ethical headache, one I don’t fancy squaring with myself. There’s no wealthy Bristolians wondering forward ready to invest.

and where were we 20 years before lansdown?

im not an apologist, just very careful what I might wish for. What we all know is that this melts away with a team playing well, we are no where near the levels of Man U where it is rotten to the core and beyond repair. Get the appointment right and everyone forgets, that is on the lansdowns to get right and I really hope they do

 

[BrizzleRed]

22 minutes ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

So did they make the wrong choice in appointing Nigel? 

I'm not sure what the right choice of Manager is. If a Manager doesn't get us promoted then presumably it's always the wrong choice?

@Jeez I agree with much you say . I think NP is rightfully credited with changing work ethic etc and I have no doubt in my mind that he also got the players playing for the shirt and despite some poor results they never stopped fighting.

The amount of people who are now crediting Nige as having been responsible for clearing up the financial mess overlooks the fact that Richard Gould was behind this and Nige would often publicly state that he was not part of contractual matters and questions regarding this should be asked of others.

I believe they made the right choice of manager in NP, but for the wrong reasons.  

Rather than appointing him for the long-tern benefit of the club, they viewed it as short-term to drag us out of the FFP hole they’d dug for us.  

I liken it to someone hating medicine, but knowing they needed to take it to get better, so just hold their nose and swallow.  We have now cleared the FFP issue and the Lansdowns couldn’t wait to dump someone they clearly didn’t want at the club, but tolerated to get the job done.

For me, the Lansdown’s latest actions have removed any hope I had that they had the Club’s best interests at heart and I’m done with them.

Totally agree with you re Richard Gould and he was massive in the FFP issue and a huge loss when he went.  NP was still the person who managed to protect our Championship status through all the player cuts and upheaval though.

[red colin]

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

A lot of the posts over the last 24 hours have got overblown. Hopefully we’ve slept on it & now have a bit more perspective.

NP brought a lot of positives but let’s not kid ourselves, he can be difficult, we’ve collectively scratched our heads about subs & tactics and if he can’t manage the owners than he isn’t dynamic enough for this particular club’s needs.

What we don’t know is how NP is received throughout the rest of the club & if he’s as hard to work with as his reputation suggests.

I’m incredibly grateful for what he’s done in clearing out the overpaid disinterested players & instilling the positive work ethic, team spirit. 

It was a brutal sacking given the availability. But football managers are well paid & they know the score. His contract will be honoured until end of the season, we all knew he wasn’t getting a new one, so this is probably makes sense to get the new guy started now before the Jan window opens. Especially if they had already started the process & found the right candidate.

There’s certainly more to it than we know & my gut is with the right appointment, squad depth & availability this group can kick on

 

 

My thoughts too

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

A lot of the posts over the last 24 hours have got overblown. Hopefully we’ve slept on it & now have a bit more perspective.

NP brought a lot of positives but let’s not kid ourselves, he can be difficult, we’ve collectively scratched our heads about subs & tactics and if he can’t manage the owners than he isn’t dynamic enough for this particular club’s needs.

What we don’t know is how NP is received throughout the rest of the club & if he’s as hard to work with as his reputation suggests.

I’m incredibly grateful for what he’s done in clearing out the overpaid disinterested players & instilling the positive work ethic, team spirit. 

It was a brutal sacking given the availability. But football managers are well paid & they know the score. His contract will be honoured until end of the season, we all knew he wasn’t getting a new one, so this is probably makes sense to get the new guy started now before the Jan window opens. Especially if they had already started the process & found the right candidate.

There’s certainly more to it than we know & my gut is with the right appointment, squad depth & availability this group can kick on

 

 

Having slept on it and reading Nigels farewell, I'm even angrier. 

I can't ever remember feeling this angry and upset with the club. 

We do do some daft shit at times but this tops it all. 

Nigel was very much liked and respected by the playing squad and staff.

[Spike]

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

A lot of the posts over the last 24 hours have got overblown. Hopefully we’ve slept on it & now have a bit more perspective.

NP brought a lot of positives but let’s not kid ourselves, he can be difficult, we’ve collectively scratched our heads about subs & tactics and if he can’t manage the owners than he isn’t dynamic enough for this particular club’s needs.

What we don’t know is how NP is received throughout the rest of the club & if he’s as hard to work with as his reputation suggests.

I’m incredibly grateful for what he’s done in clearing out the overpaid disinterested players & instilling the positive work ethic, team spirit. 

It was a brutal sacking given the availability. But football managers are well paid & they know the score. His contract will be honoured until end of the season, we all knew he wasn’t getting a new one, so this is probably makes sense to get the new guy started now before the Jan window opens. Especially if they had already started the process & found the right candidate.

There’s certainly more to it than we know & my gut is with the right appointment, squad depth & availability this group can kick on

 

 

Let's be honest, you're the guy who gets hit by a bus, Mrs cheats on him, kids go off with mum, cat goes and loves with another family, house catches fire and burns to the ground and then says "well at least I have my 1991 Ford Escort" aren't you? 

Pearson was the first man since I started supporting this club that was out spoken, honest and turned a terrible position into one of hope. The only other manager who stood up to the men at the top was Cotterell, who did amazing here and I think also lost his job due to the board wanting rid. Essentially in my 35 years of supporting this club they are the two main managers who have done well and been out spoken, only for the board to hate that about them so they've ham stringed them both to get rid. 

We could look forward and be positive but the truth of the matter is the only way we'll progress is by a manager coming in, being tactically strong, good at managing in all areas and being able to do it on a shoestring budget, all whilst making sure they kiss the boards ass and stay quiet when they're having to take the bring caused by that same board. If you genuinely believe there is a manager out there who can do all that then I am insanely jealous of your optimism because to me, that's a level of optimism I'll never obtain, especially as a City supporter. 

Nigel isn't the issue, sacking him fixes nothing, the issue are the people running this club and that is exactly why we have amazing facilities, a great stadium etc but still haven't managed to compete in this league without punching massively above our weight. The club is definitely being held back, but it's by those who seem unsackable, so they'll just keep sacking people when things don't go their way and we'll have to keep accepting it or we walk away from a club we love. 

[INCRED]

56 minutes ago, Zuni said:

I have met NP a few times and he is nothing like the press conference prickly character he portrays. He is chatty, pleasant and interesting. 

He is however very "old school" in his methods and this has been useful in sorting out the mess he inherited but not necessarily the way for the club going forward (in their opinion).

Sadly it may have been he was only ever really brought in as a "fire fighter" short/medium term appointment and the plan was always to replace him around this time.

 

I sincerely hope this is the case and was always the strategy but it will only become apparent when a new head coach is brought in and what the club do in the January window

hopefully we can get our unfit players back on the pitch and start gaining some consistent performances 

When you look at the recent results, we have not performed poorly and losing by the odd goal against the top two sides is no disgrace bearing in mind the injuries and using under 21 players 

I just hope the board choose wisely regards a new coach as it needs to be someone the supporters are happy with and can help us kick on to the next level but I won’t hold my breath 

[Jeez]

5 minutes ago, Spike said:

Let's be honest, you're the guy who gets hit by a bus, Mrs cheats on him, kids go off with mum, cat goes and loves with another family, house catches fire and burns to the ground and then says "well at least I have my 1991 Ford Escort" aren't you? 

Pearson was the first man since I started supporting this club that was out spoken, honest and turned a terrible position into one of hope. The only other manager who stood up to the men at the top was Cotterell, who did amazing here and I think also lost his job due to the board wanting rid. Essentially in my 35 years of supporting this club they are the two main managers who have done well and been out spoken, only for the board to hate that about them so they've ham stringed them both to get rid. 

We could look forward and be positive but the truth of the matter is the only way we'll progress is by a manager coming in, being tactically strong, good at managing in all areas and being able to do it on a shoestring budget, all whilst making sure they kiss the boards ass and stay quiet when they're having to take the bring caused by that same board. If you genuinely believe there is a manager out there who can do all that then I am insanely jealous of your optimism because to me, that's a level of optimism I'll never obtain, especially as a City supporter. 

Nigel isn't the issue, sacking him fixes nothing, the issue are the people running this club and that is exactly why we have amazing facilities, a great stadium etc but still haven't managed to compete in this league without punching massively above our weight. The club is definitely being held back, but it's by those who seem unsackable, so they'll just keep sacking people when things don't go their way and we'll have to keep accepting it or we walk away from a club we love. 

It’s a great car - don’t knock it!

[Jose]

What a strange thread. Rational? Really? We’ve just sacked a manager who has done everything that’s asked of him. He inherited an absolute mess left by Steve’s love child and has us in a better position as a club to go forward. 
 

You then have his clueless son come out and say their aim is promotion after selling our best players and not re-investing. They are taking the fan base for absolutely idiots and we are being irrational? 
 

**** me. 

[Numero Uno]

10 minutes ago, BrizzleRed said:

I believe they made the right choice of manager in NP, but for the wrong reasons.  

Rather than appointing him for the long-tern benefit of the club, they viewed it as short-term to drag us out of the FFP hole they’d dug for us.  

I liken it to someone hating medicine, but knowing they needed to take it to get better, so just hold their nose and swallow.  We have now cleared the FFP issue and the Lansdowns couldn’t wait to dump someone they clearly didn’t want at the club, but tolerated to get the job done.

Nailed it lad. Absolutely spot on in every respect.

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

2 minutes ago, BrizzleRed said:

I liken it to someone hating medicine, but knowing they needed to take it to get better, so just hold their nose and swallow.  We have now cleared the FFP issue and the Lansdowns couldn’t wait to dump someone they clearly didn’t want at the club, but tolerated to get the job done.

Actually this ia a very good analogy. I think they would obviously have continued if we were flying in the top 6 but anything else was always going to end how it has.

I don't think there was ever any real likelyhood of a new contract short of promotion . However, the timing is abysmal, imo, and he should have been allowed to see the season out.  

From an entirely speculative view point, I suspect that the relationship was already broken and the health issue also played its part on both sides. I genuinely hope Nige gets the treatment to sort these issues out and anyone who read a recent interview ( think it was a national newspaper 2-3 months back) will know that Nige puts his family and his health above all and quite rightly so. 

[Bris Red]

34 minutes ago, kmpowell said:

I’ve slept on it… and to be honest, now the disbelief has gone, I feel more angry than I did yesterday. 

I like to think I can be balanced and see all sides, but the more I mull it over I come back to the same conclusion. This decision was personal, it has no merit, warrant or validation.

Totality agree. I have woken up actually more angry today than anything. The statement from the boy saying our aim is promotion? Its the taking us fans for complete and utter idiots that is infuriating.

 

[pillred]

2 hours ago, Jeez said:

A lot of the posts over the last 24 hours have got overblown. Hopefully we’ve slept on it & now have a bit more perspective.

NP brought a lot of positives but let’s not kid ourselves, he can be difficult, we’ve collectively scratched our heads about subs & tactics and if he can’t manage the owners than he isn’t dynamic enough for this particular club’s needs.

What we don’t know is how NP is received throughout the rest of the club & if he’s as hard to work with as his reputation suggests.

I’m incredibly grateful for what he’s done in clearing out the overpaid disinterested players & instilling the positive work ethic, team spirit. 

It was a brutal sacking given the availability. But football managers are well paid & they know the score. His contract will be honoured until end of the season, we all knew he wasn’t getting a new one, so this is probably makes sense to get the new guy started now before the Jan window opens. Especially if they had already started the process & found the right candidate.

There’s certainly more to it than we know & my gut is with the right appointment, squad depth & availability this group can kick on

 

 

I think his health/mobility issues could also have played a not insignificant role in his dismissal as well, yes there have been a lot of injuries but even the most loyal NP supporter has to admit there have been times when even with most of our players fit we have had some disappointing runs of results, I mean we went nearly a calendar year without winning at home. I think his tenure will always have that what if about it, what with us selling our best players and all the injuries, it will be interesting to see where he ends up next, or he may even decide to call it a day.

Edited October 30, 2023 by pillred

[Numero Uno]

14 minutes ago, Fjmcity said:

But to who? Any success I can point to in the last 10 years of takeovers comes with a huge ethical headache, one I don’t fancy squaring with myself. There’s no wealthy Bristolians wondering forward ready to invest.

and where were we 20 years before lansdown?

im not an apologist, just very careful what I might wish for. What we all know is that this melts away with a team playing well, we are no where near the levels of Man U where it is rotten to the core and beyond repair. Get the appointment right and everyone forgets, that is on the lansdowns to get right and I really hope they do

 

Personally I wish we didn't have a crap decision maker, who has obviously lost interest in football, owning the club. It's an argument that is getting weaker by the day because as things stand the Bristolian ownership are unable to sell the structure they have created and are on a path of slowly running the club down to a point where we WILL be in the lower leagues in a season or two playing The Few if the investment is not found.

[Red Exile]

13 minutes ago, Fjmcity said:

But to who? Any success I can point to in the last 10 years of takeovers comes with a huge ethical headache, one I don’t fancy squaring with myself. There’s no wealthy Bristolians wondering forward ready to invest.

and where were we 20 years before lansdown?

im not an apologist, just very careful what I might wish for. What we all know is that this melts away with a team playing well, we are no where near the levels of Man U where it is rotten to the core and beyond repair. Get the appointment right and everyone forgets, that is on the lansdowns to get right and I really hope they do

 

20 years on even the most loyal of Lansdown loyalists must recognise that at some point SL will sell up. We don’t have to know who the buyer will be to hope that they might have a bit more ambition. The club I know best other than us is Hull. My in-laws club. Always a bit of a roller coaster there but boy has it been an entertaining ride for them since that day in May 15 years ago. Spells in the Prem, relegation and promotion and the cup final. They’re on their third owner and going again. And that’s in Hull - not Bristol. And us? -  struggling to compete once again. It’s a tedious rinse and repeat. Time for a change. 

[BrizzleRed]

4 minutes ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

I think they would obviously have continued if we were flying in the top 6 but anything else was always going to end how it has.

The cynic in me says this is why they got shot now.  Even with our massively depleted squad, we’ve got a couple of winnable games coming up, which could significantly improve our league position.  

I reckon they saw their best chance as now and when you compare some of the horror runs they tolerated under LJ, their reaction to NP is totally shocking and disgusting, particularly as he has not had anything like his full squad so far this season.

As you say, hopefully he can now concentrate on getting back to full health again.

[Fjmcity]

7 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

20 years on even the most loyal of Lansdown loyalists must recognise that at some point SL will sell up. We don’t have to know who the buyer will be to hope that they might have a bit more ambition. The club I know best other than us is Hull. My in-laws club. Always a bit of a roller coaster there but boy has it been an entertaining ride for them since that day in May 15 years ago. Spells in the Prem, relegation and promotion and the cup final. They’re on their third owner and going again. And that’s in Hull - not Bristol. And us? -  struggling to compete once again. It’s a tedious rinse and repeat. Time for a change. 

But in that time hull have had owners who have tried desperately to change the name of the club and now owned by some faceless investment fund. Is it a molecule of success at any cost?

real investment is coming from hedge funds, despot regimes and the Americans - I don’t want this at my club