Steve Lansdown Pre-match Forum

[Topbuzz]

hello. here I am behind my PC. I sang sack the board today, like I have done for a couple of weeks. I will stop when I see improvements. Bye

Sarcasm

[wackojacko14]

i was behind the curtains so i didnt really hear what he sed, anyone tell me please ????

[WTFiGO!?!]

Probably only me being incompetant but it won't allow me to quote the poster claiming people not speaking up today due to not having a computer monitor to hide behind are sad gits.

My response to that is just because one is not comfortable speaking publically infront of a big crowd does not mean that they should not have their feelings expressed.

I passed a question concerning my main issue onto one of the ST microphoned up people on paper but unfortunately by that time StevieL was rapping things up.

Also, 'fair play' to the student who asked Steve about his season ticket price. He wanted to know whether the price was going back down again (as it had doubled in price to help cover the cost of the stand that is not being built).

Considering my current occupation am obviously biassed but after the joke that was last season the increase of a 1er in price paid for my S/T is another classic example of 'the peoples game' extracting pee from the bladder of Joe Public.

i thought steve was first class and fair play to the bloke. name another chairman in england who would have done the same.

The chap at AFC Wimbledon has no need to hold open forums as he mingles naturally with the people week in week out.

His show today did him no harm but I'm not going to set up the official StevieL Fan Club because of it.

I thought SL came across very well . I like the bloke.

I believe that what he is doing is the way forward and can only be good for City.

He's alright don't get me wrong.

I only got there late today but can anyone tell me was it at any time covered any talk of strategies being put in place to reverse the spiralling debt of the Club caused by mis-management?

MY OVERALL THOUGHTS OF THE DAY THAT WAS 25/2/2006:

Am still fairly reflective/philosophical about being kicked out on the grounds of some rule or another of the Football Act that states no one is to bring alcohol into the stadium. Accidently got a little bit excited after the second goal and out popped my remaining can of Scrumpy, and out popped the ground (quite gracefully I might add) me. Moral of this story: get a coat with decent sealable pockets.

Can only assume the vocal support from Bristol City's customers picked up from that point onwards as it could hardly have got quieter.

Thats it for me though, CITY TILL I DIE and all that but no S/T next season. Shall come out to play for the fun games (hopefully Millwall come down, Swampsea don't go up etc) and am looking forward to the visits of Swindle, Forest and Yeovil, but shall probably put the money preserved into making more away trips. StevieL stated his oppinions on a revival of terracing and clearly sees no standing in the 21st century as a possibility. That chairman Scudimore whatshisface has a lot to answer for as I know I am not the only person the Football industry has turned its back on because of this. They like to see themselves as visionary as well !

Despite us winning, its a sad day for me really.

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...and you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone, for the times they are-a-changing.

('The Times They-Are-a Changing' - the geriatric old fool that is Malone,umm sorry, Sir Bob Dylan)

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[Guest ashtonyate]

The academy costs around £200k (from memory) a year to run, in the past year Golbourne, Lita, Cotterill, Skuse and Anyinsah have come out of there.

£200k/5 = £40k.

That's a 400% profit we made off him then - and don't forget some of the £200k spent last year went to up-and-coming talents, so we made more than 400% profit in reality

The academy was costing over 1 Million a year when it was being set up and its only the last year that the cost has come down to around 250k.

Up till 2year ago it was costing 645k a year the compound intrest over the years would not be coverd by golbourne, and the other academy players sold let alone any profit.

Also we have free education in this county so no one would be stop getting a educated

[no1cityfan_tucks]

The academy was costing over 1 Million a year when it was being set up and its only the last year that the cost has come down to around 250k.

Up till 2year ago it was costing 645k a year the compound intrest over the years would not be coverd by golbourne, and the other academy players sold let alone any profit.

Also we have free education in this county so no one would be stop getting a educated

I'm fed up of your ramblings about the academy. The academy will be stay perminantly mate so get over it. Lansdown stated this yesterday, as you will know if you were there!!! :@ :@ :@

[Dolman Block B]

Personally, I found the information regarding Scott Golbourne to be very interesting. £200K + £50K if Reading are promoted + addtional fees based on performance/appearnace & sell-on.

I thought Steve was open & answered all questions thouroughly.

Who else went & what did they make of it?

To be honest Jay, SL was superb anwering all questions with direct, no hiding and at times "witty" answers.

More importantly, its now proven that he has the club at heart and no one should post on here from now on questioning his rights and wrongs.

Let him just get on with the job, there isnt many out there that could do it as well.

Impressed to say the least.

[Wurzel City]

I thought that there was some merit in this event e.g i would have sold Goldthorne as well!

However he certainly did not in any way to me justify the hike in season ticket prices and his answer to the last question on terracing/the East End was basically if it does not fit in with my vision [one mans] it is not going to happen despite what you the fans think to me was a bit of slap round the face.

I am still scratching my head to see if he actually answered Nick J questions which revealed there is a possibility of 25% of Ashton Gate being sold!

Hardly greeted with great applause at the end either was it?

[Wurzel City]

Thats it for me though, CITY TILL I DIE and all that but no S/T next season. Shall come out to play for the fun games (hopefully Millwall come down, Swampsea don't go up etc) and am looking forward to the visits of Swindle, Forest and Yeovil, but shall probably put the money preserved into making more away trips. StevieL stated his oppinions on a revival of terracing and clearly sees no standing in the 21st century as a possibility. That chairman Scudimore whatshisface has a lot to answer for as I know I am not the only person the Football industry has turned its back on because of this. They like to see themselves as visionary as well !

I think Mr lansdown has a different idea to me of what the word modern means. It is modern to have stadium where people get something entirely different to what they may want and also have to lash out hundreds of pounds each year for the priviledge.This modern thinking left me feeling quite deflated and wondering will my future still include saturdays at the Gate.

Affable chap Mr Lansdown he is but visionary he is not. City fans are going to end with something in ten years time which resembles a hotel with seats.

[no1cityfan_tucks]

I think Mr lansdown has a different idea to me of what the word modern means. It is modern to have stadium where people get something entirely different to what they may want anfd also have to lash out hundreds of pounds each year for the priviledge.This modern thinking left me feeling quite deflated and wondering will my future still include saturdays at the Gate.

Affable chap Mr Lansdown he is but visionary he is not. City fans are going to end with something in ten years time which resembles a hotel with seats.

And you made this point yesterday i take it?????

Thought not!

[Wurzel City]

And you made this point yesterday i take it?????

Thought not!

I think if you listened to the last question asked it made this point. Mr Lansdwon stated quite clearly how he saw Bristol Citys future and if it was not the view of the supporters his view would take precedence.He who pays the piper plays the tune is the ethos here.I hope you have wonga to stick with it Mate because Steve sees those seats getting ever plusher and more expensive which is going to leave some of the deadwood who can't buy into this behind.

[Redtucks]

I think if you listened to the last question asked it made this point. Mr Lansdwon stated quite clearly how he saw Bristol Citys future and if it was not the view of the supporters his view would take precedence.He who pays the piper plays the tune is the ethos here.I hope you have wonga to stick with it Mate because Steve sees those seats getting ever plusher and more expensive which is going to leave some of the deadwood who can't buy into this behind.

So which direction do you feel we should go?

Aim for the top where all seater stadia are a necessity?

Or aim for the conference (or the mammery ground) where you can still stand in the rain?

[Wurzel City]

[Guest Ron]

The academy was costing over 1 Million a year when it was being set up and its only the last year that the cost has come down to around 250k.

Up till 2year ago it was costing 645k a year the compound intrest over the years would not be coverd by golbourne, and the other academy players sold let alone any profit.

Also we have free education in this county so no one would be stop getting a educated

Ok - let's take it back further - in the last 3 years, we've sold from the Academy - Leroy Lita (£1 Million), Tommy Doherty (Around £100k), Danny Coles (£200k), Golbourne (£250k definate), Anyinsah (around £120k from memory), Matty Hill (£100k).

So that's £650k + £250k + £250k = £1,150,000.

Now the amount we have received in transfer fees since then from academy players amounts to £1.77 Million. This doesn't include the players that have come through the ranks and are still here.

And don't forget we did sell players before 3 years ago

[no1cityfan_tucks]

[Wurzel City]

If you havent realised that is what the supporters trust are trying to do! Represent the fans! Maybe you should get involved and then have an input. Never know, you could end up on the board for the ST.

Oh i have realised alright but how meaningful is dialogue going to be with a bloke who wants us to see his bigger picture and we have to buy into this or get left behind.

Nice bloke who is doing what few chairman would dare and all that but impressed by his views i am not.

[Simez]

we've sold from the Academy - Leroy Lita (£1 Million),

How much the academy had to do with Leroy I don't know, we picked him from Chelsea at the premier league exit trials.

[NickJ]

I thought Steve was open & answered all questions thouroughly.

Who else went & what did they make of it?

Jay, here is my reply.

SteveL summed up at the end by apologising that there is a perception that the club aren't close enough to the fans, don't take enough notice of the fans views etc, and promised to do something about it - or something like that.

All sounds nice and togetherly doesn't it?

And here is a selection of some answers and replies:

QUESTION: Will you let the Supporters Trust have sight of the lease? (the new lease whereby Bristol City Football Club Limited pays Ashton Gate Stadium Limited a rent for the privilege of playing at its own home).

STEVEL: No.

QUESTION: If the majority of Bristol City fans said that they supported the concept of standing areas at Ashton Gate, would the club consider it?

STEVEL: No.

QUESTION: If the Premier Club seating scheme in the Wiliams is unsuccessful because insufficient tickets are sold, would the scheme be scrapped and the current season ticket holders be allowed to have their seats back?

STEVEL: No.

Make your own mind up.

NickJ

[Guest]

Jay, here is my reply.

SteveL summed up at the end by apologising that there is a perception that the club aren't close enough to the fans, don't take enough notice of the fans views etc, and promised to do something about it - or something like that.

All sounds nice and togetherly doesn't it?

And here is a selection of some answers and replies:

QUESTION: Will you let the Supporters Trust have sight of the lease? (the new lease whereby Bristol City Football Club Limited pays Ashton Gate Stadium Limited a rent for the privilege of playing at its own home).

STEVEL: No.

QUESTION: If the majority of Bristol City fans said that they supported the concept of standing areas at Ashton Gate, would the club consider it?

STEVEL: No.

QUESTION: If the Premier Club seating scheme in the Wiliams is unsuccessful because insufficient tickets are sold, would the scheme be scrapped and the current season ticket holders be allowed to have their seats back?

STEVEL: No.

Make your own mind up.

NickJ

Correct; its the old like it or lump it attitude;

The only notice those 2 would take would be if it meant a big loss of the old £$£$£$£$£

[Jay]

Jay, here is my reply.

SteveL summed up at the end by apologising that there is a perception that the club aren't close enough to the fans, don't take enough notice of the fans views etc, and promised to do something about it - or something like that.

All sounds nice and togetherly doesn't it?

And here is a selection of some answers and replies:

QUESTION: Will you let the Supporters Trust have sight of the lease? (the new lease whereby Bristol City Football Club Limited pays Ashton Gate Stadium Limited a rent for the privilege of playing at its own home).

STEVEL: No.

QUESTION: If the majority of Bristol City fans said that they supported the concept of standing areas at Ashton Gate, would the club consider it?

STEVEL: No.

QUESTION: If the Premier Club seating scheme in the Wiliams is unsuccessful because insufficient tickets are sold, would the scheme be scrapped and the current season ticket holders be allowed to have their seats back?

STEVEL: No.

Make your own mind up.

NickJ

We should hopefully have the video/audio files on the ST website soon so that you & everyone else can see how he responded.

Whilst you are correct by saying that he did answer 'No' to the questions above, he did elaborate.

[Wurzel City]

We should hopefully have the video/audio files on the ST website soon so that you & everyone else can see how he responded.

Whilst you are correct by saying that he did answer 'No' to the questions above, he did elaborate.

He certainly did elaborate but his position none the less was if 99% of Bristol City fans had views which were the opposite to his would he reconsider his stance and his answer was NO!

[NickJ]

We should hopefully have the video/audio files on the ST website soon so that you & everyone else can see how he responded.

Whilst you are correct by saying that he did answer 'No' to the questions above, he did elaborate.

Jay, I know how he responded and elaborated, I was there.

For example the question regarding the lease. Steve mentioned having Ernst & Young as auditors and Burges Salmon as lawyers, and explained that they are big and expensive firms of professionals, as though that were some sort of vindication. Quite apart from the fact that some of the biggest firms of accountants have been involved in some of the biggest financial balls-ups, any advice provided by accountants and lawyers are irrelevant to what was behind the question.

Regarding standing areas. The answer was basically, thats the way it has gone, there is no turning back, nobody else does it, Richard Scudamore says thats the way it is. Sorry, but there are thousands that disagree.

Regarding the Williams. The question was basically if the new scheme fails, will you scrap it. A "No" answer to that seems pretty bizarre to me.

He certainly did elaborate but his position none the less was if 99% of Bristol City fans had views which were the opposite to his would he reconsider his stance and his answer was NO!

Absolutely correct.

[Guest Ron]

He certainly did elaborate but his position none the less was if 99% of Bristol City fans had views which were the opposite to his would he reconsider his stance and his answer was NO!

Yes I'm sure he's basing these decisions on his personal choices, it's not like he'd seek any guidance on these topics from professionals, I mean we all know he's a Bristol City hating maniac!

[Wurzel City]

Yes I'm sure he's basing these decisions on his personal choices, it's not like he'd seek any guidance on these topics from professionals, I mean we all know he's a Bristol City hating maniac!

Yep his personal choice but what about the other ten thousand choices who pay to get in? Could we not offer guidance & also be proffessionals with a bit of nous?

[Guest Ron]

Yep his personal choice but what about the other ten thousand choices who pay to get in? Could we not offer guidance & also be proffessionals with a bit of nous?

Judging by this forum, no

[NickJ]

Yes I'm sure he's basing these decisions on his personal choices, it's not like he'd seek any guidance on these topics from professionals, I mean we all know he's a Bristol City hating maniac!

Ron, your answer makes no sense.

Wurzel City has made the point that on key issues SteveL is unwilling to take account of the majority view of the supporters. Whether or not he has taken the advice of "profesionals" in having that attitude is irrelevant to the point being made.

[LSN]

I take it you're selectively blind then

give me a reason please

[NickJ]

Judging by this forum, no

Again Ron you are very wrong. There are several experienced, intelligent and highly qualified people on this forum. There are also several inexperienced less intelligent and less qualified. That makes their views no less relevant.

Bristol City is its fans. We are the club.

In my opinion, Steve Lansdown does not recognize that. You can see that in the continual reference to Bristol City as a "business". It is not. It is a community. Football is a zero sum game, quite literally. It can never be a "business". It can be professionally run, yes. But it should not be run as a "business", because that is not what its supporters want.

Since we must accept that we are unlikley to ever win anything other than the Mickey Mouse Cup - though of course we all cling to the dream that one day we will be Premier champions - it is important that this club and every football club is run by its fans for the fans.

I do not see that happening at the moment.

NickJ

[LSN]

Heard you if that was you in with the subbers. Quite an inappropriate outburst.

More or less lone voice though and i'm not surprised.

SL was very convincing today in his Open Forum and despite the fact he has made mistakes left the overwhelming impression thay we are lucky to have him.

Those who went, and listened, will be far slower to condemn in future.

we're all individuals with our own opinions

[WTFiGO!?!]

At the end of the day, when all is dark and the conventional thing to be doing is to be tucked up in bed, all these people want is our money and our compliance to their orders.

They're supposed to be businessmen but are losing out and will go on losing out on thousands, possibly tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds each year due to them not providing the service required from a percentage of their customers.

I believe Man City as well as West Ham (two Clubs I have always considered as 'proper') have created growing pressure to address this on their board of directors and I also believe that the people ruling the roost will one day wake up.

It's the Chairmen of Fifa and the FA etc that need to be consulted as StevieL simply follows their rules.

The results from the complete over reaction (I know this is a whole different can of worms I'm dipping into here) post 15/4/89 due to the authoreties' ****up is still being paid for by the fans to this day. My faith in this being rectivied one day is still alive, all be it by a thread.

Romance is dead Wurzel City my friend.

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...but I wish there was something you would do or say, to try and make me change my mind and stay, but we never did to much talking anyway, but don't think twicw it's alright.

('Don't Think Twice - it's alright' - Bob Dylan)

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[cider army on tour]

Also, 'fair play' to the student who asked Steve about his season ticket price. He wanted to know whether the price was going back down again (as it had doubled in price to help cover the cost of the stand that is not being built).

That was me. The club at the time of announcing a doubling in price of student season tickets and general price rises said it was to maximise revenue with the reduced capacity. Of course I don't for a second expect even a token reduction in season ticket price. Just asked to question as I was interested in what Steve L had to say about it. Of course he fudged it completely.

On another note I find it very dissapointing how dead set against a return of safe standing Steve L is. He wants an atmosphere at the Gate and this is the best way of getting one. It works well in Germany so can here.