Jon talks...

[WessexPest]

Yeah, that “Fans playing football manager” comment really stuck in my craw too.

Most of us recognise, and are realistic about, the financial constraints the club operate under, but we do have some resources and continually poor-mouthing the manager when he asks for transfer funds yet expecting us to challenge with a young side that is obviously lacking in key areas is unreasonable on JL’s part.

Perhaps we DO tend to default to critical whenever he opens his mouth, but it’s hard not to be when not only do you have cause to doubt a lot of the decisions he’s made but that he comes across as a supercilious prat into the bargain.

 

[The Wild Bunch]

2 minutes ago, Alessandro said:

Hats off this thread is OTIB at its best.

The whole Manning episode has absolutely split this place into camps hasn’t it - some forum big hitters very much with “markers in the sand”. Great to read.

Anyway the interview - my two take aways:

1) OTIB has pretty much called all of this ahead of time. Again hats off. 

2) I do now genuinely believe that JL does not believe we will actually achieve promotion. Nothing in what he says makes me believe they are in anything other than a holding pattern, where they look to maintain the value of their asset by keeping us in this division, before they sell up. Anything better would be lottery win stuff. This is backed up by the disappearance of the owner. 

There is zero plan, beyond the obvious and basic - there is zero drive, innovation or passion. It’s all fluff and lip service. 

Sad times. For them and us, in reality. 

So true.  I’m sure he mentioned about new investment taking us to the next level.

 

[Davefevs]

5 minutes ago, WessexPest said:

Yeah, that “Fans playing football manager” comment really stuck in my craw too.

Most of us recognise, and are realistic about, the financial constraints the club operate under, but we do have some resources and continually poor-mouthing the manager when he asks for transfer funds yet expecting us to challenge with a young side that is obviously lacking in key areas is unreasonable on JL’s part.

Perhaps we DO tend to default to critical whenever he opens his mouth, but it’s hard not to be when not only do you have cause to doubt a lot of the decisions he’s made but that he comes across as a supercilious prat into the bargain.

 

Maybe if they communicated the strategy, budgets (not how much) and owner funding better, nobody would be under any illusions.

[Riaz]

On 29/04/2024 at 18:28, ashton_fan said:

We were 15th when NP was sacked

 

On 29/04/2024 at 18:30, Davefevs said:

Correct, And just for clarity 11th when LM appointed.

Yep. They were sneaky with the timing of the sacking. We had two very winnable games coming, so they took their opportunity to sack him. No surprise, we were 11th by the time manning was appointed 

[chinapig]

12 minutes ago, WessexPest said:

Most of us recognise, and are realistic about, the financial constraints the club operate under

And some of us were critical of the massive overspending Steve allowed when Ashton was in charge.

So Jon, who's realistic and who plays Football Manager?

[redsquirrel]

6 minutes ago, chinapig said:

And some of us were critical of the massive overspending Steve allowed when Ashton was in charge.

So Jon, who's realistic and who plays Football Manager?

the stupid ***** really doesnt do himself any favours does he

[Lrrr]

4 hours ago, Galley is our king said:

Yes, funny how there were ZERO additions following the sale of Scott!

A completely unnecessary and self harming decision by JL and led to Phil Alexander leaving the club.

Ask yourself.... 

Why did we not get Twine in the summer?

Where would we now be in the league if we had?

Having instead gone to Hull, how much MORE did it cost to get Burnley to recall him and then loan him to us?

It just stinks!

A hobby chairman who thinks he knows best but actually knows bugger all...

You assume we paid much in the first place to get him in Jan...

[IAmNick]

Guess that stupid football manager comment knocks on the head my hope Will Still would ever manage us then! 

Also I'm just going to stick up for the football manager games - they obviously aren't perfect, they're games, but they do a good job of stimulating football on the whole and are updated every year to pretty well match the rules of the game on AND off the pitch. FFP, work permits, annoying boards, whatever. It's in there.

If you want to learn about football in general and get a pretty decent view on thousands of up and coming players from across England (and the world) you could do a lot worse than give them a go.

Edited April 30 by IAmNick

[Superjack]

4 hours ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

What people forget when they often state that there has been an improvement recently which has seen us equal last season is that improvement has come with Twine in the team. 

We had to make a financial outlay, which wouldn't have been cheap to equal last season. Marvellous. 

It does beg the question, why wasn't this outlay possible in the summer? Why are we looking to do it this summer? Why did we sacrifice our season by refusing to spend it in the summer? 

Or are we not allowed to ask these questions cos we should be happy with how things have panned out? 

We don't need to ask those questions. 

We all know why.

[WessexPest]

I was so incensed by JL’s “fans think this is football manager” jibe that I dug my old Amstrad out of the loft and fined Steve Lynex and Ashley Grimes two weeks’ wages.

[Son of Fred]

8 hours ago, Alessandro said:

Hats off this thread is OTIB at its best.

The whole Manning episode has absolutely split this place into camps hasn’t it - some forum big hitters very much with “markers in the sand”. Great to read.

Anyway the interview - my two take aways:

1) OTIB has pretty much called all of this ahead of time. Again hats off. 

2) I do now genuinely believe that JL does not believe we will actually achieve promotion. Nothing in what he says makes me believe they are in anything other than a holding pattern, where they look to maintain the value of their asset by keeping us in this division, before they sell up. Anything better would be lottery win stuff. This is backed up by the disappearance of the owner. 

There is zero plan, beyond the obvious and basic - there is zero drive, innovation or passion. It’s all fluff and lip service. 

Sad times. For them and us, in reality. 

Great post Alessandro- perfectly summed up.

And OTIB ?? - Simply the best

[Numero Uno]

This continued "Us and Them" with the fans will only end one way.............and we are only one poor season from that position being reached before dumb has even realised.

[Nugget]

2-3 signings away I think is fair, but that’s if we don’t see others going too or we’ll be resetting other areas of the pitch 

[W-S-M Seagull]

29 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

This continued "Us and Them" with the fans will only end one way.............and we are only one poor season from that position being reached before dumb has even realised.

All this collaborative thinking and working together and still they can't figure how to unite us all and how to improve communication. 

[petehinton]

10 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Maybe if they communicated the strategy, budgets (not how much) and owner funding better, nobody would be under any illusions.

They did communicate the strategy Dave….we have a clear identity of playing from first team down to u11s, have the best squad we’ve had at this level, and are expecting to push for promotion…but also 10 points off 6th is probably where we expected to be

[Barrs Court Red]

They playing the same way element across the age groups is something we were crowing about as far back as under LJ. 
 

This is not a fresh approach.  Unless it was binned off and has been re-established. 

[spudski]

10 hours ago, IAmNick said:

Guess that stupid football manager comment knocks on the head my hope Will Still would ever manage us then! 

Also I'm just going to stick up for the football manager games - they obviously aren't perfect, they're games, but they do a good job of stimulating football on the whole and are updated every year to pretty well match the rules of the game on AND off the pitch. FFP, work permits, annoying boards, whatever. It's in there.

If you want to learn about football in general and get a pretty decent view on thousands of up and coming players from across England (and the world) you could do a lot worse than give them a go.

Will Still was the first thing that came into my head with the comment too. 

And let's face it...most football analysts that the Club rely on came about from the likes of such. 

You have Jon's comments that are so flippant and show him in the light of no understanding of the fan base...and then the comments from NP recently that said the fan base were knowledgeable and patient. 

You've only got to read this forum to see there are knowledgeable people on here. 

[beaverface]

I listened to this interview with it playing in the background, but did I hear right when JL said that we're looking for outside investment, with no mention from him of looking to sell?

Could I be putting two and two together and thinking that SL\JL probably don't want to fund the transfers (certainly not as much as they have done) and would be reliant on someone else to come in and foot the bill? But until then we keep spending what we make off of transfer sells?

Edited May 1 by beaverface

[redsquirrel]

what does an investor gain other than losing money? thats a bit like my neighbour asking me to buy him a new car so he can keep his own money.

[Tony Tootle]

9 minutes ago, beaverface said:

I listened to this interview with it playing in the background, but did I hear right when JL said that we're looking for outside investment, with no mentioned from him of looking to sell?

Could I be putting two and two together and thinking that SL\JL probably don't want to fund the transfers (certainly not as much as they have done) and would be reliant on someone else to come in and foot the bill? But until then we keep spending what we make off of transfer sells?

Yes, and this is the most likely outcome IMO. New investor taking a controlling stake while the Lansdowns maintain a smaller holding.

[Numero Uno]

11 minutes ago, redsquirrel said:

what does an investor gain other than losing money? thats a bit like my neighbour asking me to buy him a new car so he can keep his own money.

Yep, when you invest in a football club you do so with eyes wide open. Peter Hargreaves isn’t interested in sport in Bristol so doesn’t invest because from a strictly investment point of view the return is non existent. To make shed loads of money is definitely not a reason people invest in football. Nobody gets tricked into investing!!

[Numero Uno]

19 minutes ago, beaverface said:

I listened to this interview with it playing in the background, but did I hear right when JL said that we're looking for outside investment, with no mention from him of looking to sell?

Could I be putting two and two together and thinking that SL\JL probably don't want to fund the transfers (certainly not as much as they have done) and would be reliant on someone else to come in and foot the bill? But until then we keep spending what we make off of transfer sells?

That’s spot on imo. People expecting Steve to have a further go and splash loads more cash to get us into the Premier League will be disappointed imo. We can be as careful as we like in what we wish for but it is undeniable that fresh investment, in whatever form, will be required. I don’t blame Steve in that respect, he has given it a go and no longer seems willing to splash the cash, his money, his choice. HAS given it a go being the key though.

[Street red]

55 minutes ago, spudski said:

Will Still was the first thing that came into my head with the comment too. 

And let's face it...most football analysts that the Club rely on came about from the likes of such. 

You have Jon's comments that are so flippant and show him in the light of no understanding of the fan base...and then the comments from NP recently that said the fan base were knowledgeable and patient. 

You've only got to read this forum to see there are knowledgeable people on here. 

Jon Lansdown is a good one to talk the way he comes across he knows nothing about the game and quiet frankly he hasn't got a clue how to communicate or respect the fans. We do have knowledgeable people on here and that's what gets me a massive disrespect if I'm honest. Just bored of this ownership and I think it's done its course.

Edited May 1 by Street red

[Harry]

They call it “investment” but the true definition of that word is to put money into something with the purpose of making a profit further down the line. 
 

It’s not an investor they need. Rarely will owners make money from football. 
They are trying to sell the club. But they have made it too complicated. Thats why there is plenty of interest in other championship clubs but Steve hasn’t found his buyer yet. Brum & West Brom have recently changed ownership. Preston I think are closer than us to selling. Ipswich also had new owners during the time where Steve was looking to sell. 
 

He wants too much money for it because he’s got the other entities associated with it. 
Yes, Jon says they can all be decoupled but that brings it’s own complications - if someone wants to buy BCFC but not the Rugby club, what happens to the ground? Are the rugby still allowed to play there, does the sale also involve the stadium, the training ground etc? 
It’s too complex and too expensive for potential new owners, hence why they’ll prefer to go to Birmingham and West Brom etc. 

[Roe]

1 hour ago, Barrs Court Red said:

They playing the same way element across the age groups is something we were crowing about as far back as under LJ. 
 

This is not a fresh approach.  Unless it was binned off and has been re-established. 

It's just nonsense as well though isn't it?

No way are the younger aged groups coached and tactically set up in the same way the first team are and nor should they be. To do so would be completely ludicrous and counter productive at all levels

[DingleRed]

10 minutes ago, Harry said:

They call it “investment” but the true definition of that word is to put money into something with the purpose of making a profit further down the line. 
 

It’s not an investor they need. Rarely will owners make money from football. 
They are trying to sell the club. But they have made it too complicated. Thats why there is plenty of interest in other championship clubs but Steve hasn’t found his buyer yet. Brum & West Brom have recently changed ownership. Preston I think are closer than us to selling. Ipswich also had new owners during the time where Steve was looking to sell. 
 

He wants too much money for it because he’s got the other entities associated with it. 
Yes, Jon says they can all be decoupled but that brings it’s own complications - if someone wants to buy BCFC but not the Rugby club, what happens to the ground? Are the rugby still allowed to play there, does the sale also involve the stadium, the training ground etc? 
It’s too complex and too expensive for potential new owners, hence why they’ll prefer to go to Birmingham and West Brom etc. 

 

Birmingham vision is interesting 

Knighthead Capital co-owner and club chairman Tom Wagner said: “To understand why we are doing this, you have to get a sense as to the whole vision. This isn’t just about a stadium, it’s about a sports’ quarter.

Birmingham City owners make major vow as details of new stadium and £3billion revamp released - Mirror Online

[lenred]

All this talk of Boards and investment reminds me.  I saw Scudamore on Saturday after the game and he was with someone who very very very much looked like the old Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck. Probably something and nothing but struck me as a little weird that BB would want to take in City v Rotherham on a Saturday afternoon even if he is good mates with Scudamore.  

[Red-Robbo]

22 minutes ago, DingleRed said:

 

Birmingham vision is interesting 

Knighthead Capital co-owner and club chairman Tom Wagner said: “To understand why we are doing this, you have to get a sense as to the whole vision. This isn’t just about a stadium, it’s about a sports’ quarter.

Birmingham City owners make major vow as details of new stadium and £3billion revamp released - Mirror Online

 

You have to wonder how much that vision - for a team perennially overshadowed in its home city - will be realised; no Prem rugby side or particularly prominent other sports tenants seem likely.  As for being a short walk to the city centre.... umm, I guess if you fancy a stroll under one of the UK's most hideous roundabouts and through horrible Digbeth, then yes. 

I'm thinking it's more for the housing and potential hotel, that Knighthead are interested. 

[Numero Uno]

47 minutes ago, Harry said:

They call it “investment” but the true definition of that word is to put money into something with the purpose of making a profit further down the line. 
 

It’s not an investor they need. Rarely will owners make money from football. 
They are trying to sell the club. But they have made it too complicated. Thats why there is plenty of interest in other championship clubs but Steve hasn’t found his buyer yet. Brum & West Brom have recently changed ownership. Preston I think are closer than us to selling. Ipswich also had new owners during the time where Steve was looking to sell. 
 

He wants too much money for it because he’s got the other entities associated with it. 
Yes, Jon says they can all be decoupled but that brings it’s own complications - if someone wants to buy BCFC but not the Rugby club, what happens to the ground? Are the rugby still allowed to play there, does the sale also involve the stadium, the training ground etc? 
It’s too complex and too expensive for potential new owners, hence why they’ll prefer to go to Birmingham and West Brom etc. 

Don’t the Rugby club (and us) have a 125 year lease to use AG or did I dream that.

[Harry]

Just now, Numero Uno said:

Don’t the Rugby club (and us) have a 125 year lease to use AG or did I dream that.

That may indeed be true. 
And one of the reasons it’s a complex sale. What if the new owner doesn’t want anything to do with the rugby? 
Jon says they can be decoupled. Well; how do you decouple them if they’re allowed to use the stadium until the year 2129?