Feelgood Factor Gone Awol

[headhunter]

IMO there appears to be a growing sense of unease about City's transfer activity, or rather lack of it, as the close season comes to an end.

Reading the WDP / EP story on Skuse and the increasing likelihood that City could be getting as much as a £2m windfall should Lita move on suggests that we could have a transfer kitty not far short of £3m.

What have we signed so far - an 18 year old goalkeeper who, in reality, will only be a third choice behind Basso & Wheale and 1 year contracts to a couple of old blokes [Murray & Russell] because they are "...good around the dressing room".

Right here and now our squad contains players whose TOTAL number of appearances at Championship level is probably just over 100 - it's hardly a good foundation is it. When we were promoted in 89/90 and actually managed to stay in the Championship for 5 seasons the team that started the 90/91 season had players whose total appearances at that level were probably over 500 [Aizlewood, May, Shelton, Rennie].

The videos of Sproule suggest a player who may excite but at £250k he's hardly going to break the bank. Signing Naismith could be a risk but would at least be a statement of intent.

It is an admirable statement by the manager to say that the players that got us up must be given a chance but what happens if, say, after 8 games our record is WON 2 DRAWN 1 LOST 5? With the transfer window in operation we would have to effectively work the loan system in order to get us out of trouble, not a satisfactory approach.

Two other things that worry me. When GJ states players must be better than what we already have then I'm worried - Wilson / Betsy better than Brown?? Secondly, GJ says the Chairman has not said "no" to any of the listed targets - this implies they are not expensive purchases and, based on past performance [barry Coor - the best we could manange last Autumn when we had a striker crisis], just how many are on that list.

I'm sorry but for me the feelgood factor of May 7th seems a long way away right now.

Do you feel the same now? Will you feel this way on July 12th when the players go on their "bonding" trip to Latvia minus Skuse but plus the possible addiion of a player [sproule] who is ruled out by suspension for the first month of the season?

[Portishead Red]

Good post mate. Can see where your comming from and agree 80% on the whole transfer side of things. However, as is the general feeling of most on here, i would much rather we were a little careful with the money this time round and buy players that WANT to play for the club, not just journeymen who have nowhere else to go. Look what happened last time we went up an splashed the cash! I'm quietly confident that Mr Johnson will have a few players up his sleeve when he returns from his hols and all will be revealed in the comming weeks. If there is still no sign of activity this time next month, then id start getting concerned.

[Kibs]

IMO there appears to be a growing sense of unease about City's transfer activity, or rather lack of it, as the close season comes to an end.

Reading the WDP / EP story on Skuse and the increasing likelihood that City could be getting as much as a £2m windfall should Lita move on suggests that we could have a transfer kitty not far short of £3m.

What have we signed so far - an 18 year old goalkeeper who, in reality, will only be a third choice behind Basso & Wheale and 1 year contracts to a couple of old blokes [Murray & Russell] because they are "...good around the dressing room".

Right here and now our squad contains players whose TOTAL number of appearances at Championship level is probably just over 100 - it's hardly a good foundation is it. When we were promoted in 89/90 and actually managed to stay in the Championship for 5 seasons the team that started the 90/91 season had players whose total appearances at that level were probably over 500 [Aizlewood, May, Shelton, Rennie].

The videos of Sproule suggest a player who may excite but at £250k he's hardly going to break the bank. Signing Naismith could be a risk but would at least be a statement of intent.

It is an admirable statement by the manager to say that the players that got us up must be given a chance but what happens if, say, after 8 games our record is WON 2 DRAWN 1 LOST 5? With the transfer window in operation we would have to effectively work the loan system in order to get us out of trouble, not a satisfactory approach.

Two other things that worry me. When GJ states players must be better than what we already have then I'm worried - Wilson / Betsy better than Brown?? Secondly, GJ says the Chairman has not said "no" to any of the listed targets - this implies they are not expensive purchases and, based on past performance [barry Coor - the best we could manange last Autumn when we had a striker crisis], just how many are on that list.

I'm sorry but for me the feelgood factor of May 7th seems a long way away right now.

Do you feel the same now? Will you feel this way on July 12th when the players go on their "bonding" trip to Latvia minus Skuse but plus the possible addiion of a player [sproule] who is ruled out by suspension for the first month of the season?

I will feel that way if our only signing is sproule yes. I'm 99% certain that there will be 3/4 other new players going on that trip though. Why cant people just trust in GJ for christ sake! HE got us here when many many others before him failed!! let him do his job, he knows what he's doing. Have a little faith.

[Brianred]

Good post mate. Can see where your comming from and agree 80% on the whole transfer side of things. However, as is the general feeling of most on here, i would much rather we were a little careful with the money this time round and buy players that WANT to play for the club, not just journeymen who have nowhere else to go. Look what happened last time we went up an splashed the cash! I'm quietly confident that Mr Johnson will have a few players up his sleeve when he returns from his hols and all will be revealed in the comming weeks. If there is still no sign of activity this time next month, then id start getting concerned.

It was not that the players were that bad last time around, it was due ONLY down to BAD management. The team in general was good, good but bad tactics week and week out drained all the confidence. GJ says he has it under control, i see no reason to doubt. "YET"!

[Guest Ron]

Sproule is a good signing, but unfortunately he doesn't cost enough.

[Antman]

Look at the round up of activity from clubs in our division. Actually not a lot going on yet.

I think it's a given we'll make one or two signings but they will be low level, relatively low cost players who are not in the public eye.

My concern is that if we ship Skuse out will GJ GENUINELY get all the money to play with?

Too much of our transfer funds over the last few seasons has been quietly 'absorbed' into the general overhead, and the shifting sands that is the state of our finances doesn't fill me with great belief that we will see very much of the Cotts or (possibly) Skuse money being spent.

We've been persuaded to cough up extra money for our tickets to fund our adventures in this division, if we also carry on selling players and not reinvesting 100% of those funds, serious questions need to be asked of the board.

[old_man_terry]

IMO there appears to be a growing sense of unease about City's transfer activity, or rather lack of it, as the close season comes to an end.

Reading the WDP / EP story on Skuse and the increasing likelihood that City could be getting as much as a £2m windfall should Lita move on suggests that we could have a transfer kitty not far short of £3m.

What have we signed so far - an 18 year old goalkeeper who, in reality, will only be a third choice behind Basso & Wheale and 1 year contracts to a couple of old blokes [Murray & Russell] because they are "...good around the dressing room".

Right here and now our squad contains players whose TOTAL number of appearances at Championship level is probably just over 100 - it's hardly a good foundation is it. When we were promoted in 89/90 and actually managed to stay in the Championship for 5 seasons the team that started the 90/91 season had players whose total appearances at that level were probably over 500 [Aizlewood, May, Shelton, Rennie].

The videos of Sproule suggest a player who may excite but at £250k he's hardly going to break the bank. Signing Naismith could be a risk but would at least be a statement of intent.

It is an admirable statement by the manager to say that the players that got us up must be given a chance but what happens if, say, after 8 games our record is WON 2 DRAWN 1 LOST 5? With the transfer window in operation we would have to effectively work the loan system in order to get us out of trouble, not a satisfactory approach.

Two other things that worry me. When GJ states players must be better than what we already have then I'm worried - Wilson / Betsy better than Brown?? Secondly, GJ says the Chairman has not said "no" to any of the listed targets - this implies they are not expensive purchases and, based on past performance [barry Coor - the best we could manange last Autumn when we had a striker crisis], just how many are on that list.

I'm sorry but for me the feelgood factor of May 7th seems a long way away right now.

Do you feel the same now? Will you feel this way on July 12th when the players go on their "bonding" trip to Latvia minus Skuse but plus the possible addiion of a player [sproule] who is ruled out by suspension for the first month of the season?

The feel good factor is still alive and kicking, however their is a negative few who seem to take it in turns with negative postings who basically totally ignore everything that Johnson has said so far in the close season, which is that they have been looking at players but nothing is likely to really start happening until players around the europe come back from their holiday and return to pre-season training.

and finally when has GJ said the chairman said no to any expensive signings???? HE HASN'T!

As Johnson HAS said so far is that everytime he has aproached the chairman with players that he is interested in he has backed.

[Antman]

The feel good factor is still alive and kicking, however their is a negative few who seem to take it in turns with negative postings who basically totally ignore everything that Johnson has said so far in the close season, which is that they have been looking at players but nothing is likely to really start happening until players around the europe come back from their holiday and return to pre-season training.

and finally when has GJ said the chairman said no to any expensive signings???? HE HASN'T!

As Johnson HAS said so far is that everytime he has aproached the chairman with players that he is interested in he has backed.

I agree that GJ has the backing of SL, but the proof to date is that we have spent considerably less than we have received over the last few seasons.

PR is cheap, and SL knows that. (he also knew appointing GJ probably meant no big names and no massive transfers so he's happy to give his public backing) But lets see what this season brings.

As for the wait for signings, As I said just now, a lot of teams haven't made their moves yet, as GJ says 'be patient'

[Andy Horsman]

I agree with Antman on this. Take away the paper talk, gossip, agents pr etc, and relatively few players have actualy moved to Championship clubs as yet. I am still buzzing from winning promotion, and am excited about next season, even the pre-season games cannot come quickly enough.

As for transfer activity, the next two weeks will be very very interesting imo.Then we can see when the dust settles just how much SL has backed GJ....

[Guest Ron]

I agree that GJ has the backing of SL, but the proof to date is that we have spent considerably less than we have received over the last few seasons.

PR is cheap, and SL knows that. (he also knew appointing GJ probably meant no big names and no massive transfers so he's happy to give his public backing) But lets see what this season brings.

As for the wait for signings, As I said just now, a lot of teams haven't made their moves yet, as GJ says 'be patient'

How many teams in League 1 have you seen paying £1 Million+ for players? Now that we have promotion we are seeing a return of that money we received; there were preliminary talks held with Naismith, who would have cost a bomb in comparison to who we've bought recently.

[Geoff65]

I agree that GJ has the backing of SL, but the proof to date is that we have spent considerably less than we have received over the last few seasons.

Where do you think the £1m from Lita and the £2m from Cotterill is?

Is there a seperate bank account for monies that have been received from transfers?

The annual accounts for BCFC show that the directors are forking out money to keep the business afloat

The money has been spent but not on transfer fees.

Has GJ been to SL and said I think this player is worth between £100k and £250k and needs wages of £x per week can I buy him? Answer : Yes (Hater of Bournemouth springs to mind)

Has GJ been to SL and said I think this player is worth between £0.5m and £1.m and £Y per week - can I buy him - Answer : We don't know but the answer is probably Yes.

Has GJ been to SL and said to I think a player is worth between £X and £Y and I think we will have to pay hom £Z per week - can I buy him - Answer : No - this has not been the case ever with GJ and SL.

[BB in Backwell]

IMO there appears to be a growing sense of unease about City's transfer activity, or rather lack of it, as the close season comes to an end.

Reading the WDP / EP story on Skuse and the increasing likelihood that City could be getting as much as a £2m windfall should Lita move on suggests that we could have a transfer kitty not far short of £3m.

What have we signed so far - an 18 year old goalkeeper who, in reality, will only be a third choice behind Basso & Wheale and 1 year contracts to a couple of old blokes [Murray & Russell] because they are "...good around the dressing room".

Right here and now our squad contains players whose TOTAL number of appearances at Championship level is probably just over 100 - it's hardly a good foundation is it. When we were promoted in 89/90 and actually managed to stay in the Championship for 5 seasons the team that started the 90/91 season had players whose total appearances at that level were probably over 500 [Aizlewood, May, Shelton, Rennie].

The videos of Sproule suggest a player who may excite but at £250k he's hardly going to break the bank. Signing Naismith could be a risk but would at least be a statement of intent.

It is an admirable statement by the manager to say that the players that got us up must be given a chance but what happens if, say, after 8 games our record is WON 2 DRAWN 1 LOST 5? With the transfer window in operation we would have to effectively work the loan system in order to get us out of trouble, not a satisfactory approach.

Two other things that worry me. When GJ states players must be better than what we already have then I'm worried - Wilson / Betsy better than Brown?? Secondly, GJ says the Chairman has not said "no" to any of the listed targets - this implies they are not expensive purchases and, based on past performance [barry Coor - the best we could manange last Autumn when we had a striker crisis], just how many are on that list.

I'm sorry but for me the feelgood factor of May 7th seems a long way away right now.

Do you feel the same now? Will you feel this way on July 12th when the players go on their "bonding" trip to Latvia minus Skuse but plus the possible addiion of a player [sproule] who is ruled out by suspension for the first month of the season?

What a Whinge-bag. Still only a few weeks from the end of the season ( by the way it was the 5th May we were promoted - how could you forget that?) If the 'feel-good' factor is gone for you then perhaps there is something else wrong with your life. What a negative POST / PERSON.

[Antman]

How many teams in League 1 have you seen paying £1 Million+ for players? Now that we have promotion we are seeing a return of that money we received; there were preliminary talks held with Naismith, who would have cost a bomb in comparison to who we've bought recently.

proof?

[Antman]

Where do you think the £1m from Lita and the £2m from Cotterill is?

Is there a seperate bank account for monies that have been received from transfers?

The annual accounts for BCFC show that the directors are forking out money to keep the business afloat

The money has been spent but not on transfer fees.

Has GJ been to SL and said I think this player is worth between £100k and £250k and needs wages of £x per week can I buy him? Answer : Yes (Hater of Bournemouth springs to mind)

Has GJ been to SL and said I think this player is worth between £0.5m and £1.m and £Y per week - can I buy him - Answer : We don't know but the answer is probably Yes.

Has GJ been to SL and said to I think a player is worth between £X and £Y and I think we will have to pay hom £Z per week - can I buy him - Answer : No - this has not been the case ever with GJ and SL.

I'd love to truly know where the money is or was. Anyone who deals with company accountancy knows how you make your accounts work to best advantage.

(and no, thats not an implication of illegalities, just plain fact)

Ask the board about the bank details 'cos I don't know.

The directors continue to fork out because they are incapable of running the club effeciently after some 10+ years in charge.

'We don't know' - exactly, we don't know but it hasn't happened to date. GJ hasn't been refused BECAUSE he only buys players at a certain level and cost.

My point is that if we sell Skuse for considerable money then every cent of that money should be used on new players. Doesn't the excuse of cranking up our tickets to cover costs undermine any argument that we still have to sell.

Otherwise are we are saying that a 30% ticket increase, serious ongoing player sales PLUS regular 'investment' from the directors is needed to keep BCFC afloat?

that would smack of gross incompetance surely?

[xerox6060]

I think people have got to realistic about transfers up till July, players, managers, agents, Chairman are on holidays that are bound to clash, its just not practical to get things done quickly, while players are rightly keeping their options open for a while.

I agree a little about the feel good factor but that is linked to season tickets and not lack of transfer activity.

[Geoff65]

'We don't know' - exactly, we don't know but it hasn't happened to date. GJ hasn't been refused BECAUSE he only buys players at a certain level and cost.

Well the transfer window has been open 3 times during GJ's reign

- first time we were in the bottom 6 - we tried to buy hayter who had 6 months left on his contract - who exactly did you want us to spend £500,000 - £1m on ?

- last summer you would like us to spend £0.5m+ on who exactly - I mean he bought players who did the job and

- last january - which strikers could we have bought for £500k+ - Keogh went from Scunny to Wolves ( a league above us and Scunny not going to sell to one of their rivals for the division) - who was available for £0.5m+ that was available and would have come to a team in the playoffs in League One.

and now we are at this transfer window and saying GJ "only buys players at a certain level and cost" - this realistically is the first time he has had the chance to spend at that level and your accusation is that he doesnt do it even when he has had the oppertunity in the past and I'm saying look at the facts - there hasnt been an oppertunity to buy at the £0.5m level before.

Perhaps SL should have said hey I'm making all transfer fees that we have received in the last 3 year as the fund available to GJ - oh look BCFC has £3m+ to spend - what would you think would happen then?

[Port Said Red]

IMO there appears to be a growing sense of unease about City's transfer activity, or rather lack of it, as the close season comes to an end.

Yes there is you and ashtonyate, it's a growing sense of unease alright. It's a bit like The phoney Pharoah saying there is a growing number of people who think there was a conspiracy to kill Diana and his son.

I struggle to understand why the lack of transfer activity, during a period when most football people are on holiday and contracts are yet to end, should be a worry. Come back to us on August 10th if we open the season with the same squad, then we'll worry.

[Antman]

Well the transfer window has been open 3 times during GJ's reign

- first time we were in the bottom 6 - we tried to buy hayter who had 6 months left on his contract - who exactly did you want us to spend £500,000 - £1m on ?

- last summer you would like us to spend £0.5m+ on who exactly - I mean he bought players who did the job and

- last january - which strikers could we have bought for £500k+ - Keogh went from Scunny to Wolves ( a league above us and Scunny not going to sell to one of their rivals for the division) - who was available for £0.5m+ that was available and would have come to a team in the playoffs in League One.

and now we are at this transfer window and saying GJ "only buys players at a certain level and cost" - this realistically is the first time he has had the chance to spend at that level and your accusation is that he doesnt do it even when he has had the oppertunity in the past and I'm saying look at the facts - there hasnt been an oppertunity to buy at the £0.5m level before.

Perhaps SL should have said hey I'm making all transfer fees that we have received in the last 3 year as the fund available to GJ - oh look BCFC has £3m+ to spend - what would you think would happen then?

Look, I have no argument with GJ buying players that perform for reasonable money, you miss the point.

The fact remains that we banked 3Million from Lita and Cotts and have come nowhere near spending that much,yet we are asked to cough up 30% more for our tickets to fund the purchase of new players (Sextone and Lansdown have both said this) were we to sell Skuse and still find ourselves at the end of the financial year making a loss AGAIN then this board should take the rap.

Lets see what the transfer dealings bring, but I have a funny old feeling that we won't be spending more than £ 500K in total.

[Guest ashtonyate]

I'd love to truly know where the money is or was. Anyone who deals with company accountancy knows how you make your accounts work to best advantage.

(and no, thats not an implication of illegalities, just plain fact)

Ask the board about the bank details 'cos I don't know.

The directors continue to fork out because they are incapable of running the club effeciently after some 10+ years in charge.

'We don't know' - exactly, we don't know but it hasn't happened to date. GJ hasn't been refused BECAUSE he only buys players at a certain level and cost.

My point is that if we sell Skuse for considerable money then every cent of that money should be used on new players. Doesn't the excuse of cranking up our tickets to cover costs undermine any argument that we still have to sell.

Otherwise are we are saying that a 30% ticket increase, serious ongoing player sales PLUS regular 'investment' from the directors is needed to keep BCFC afloat?

that would smack of gross incompetance surely?

That when to pay for Lansdowns Tinnion c**k up

[Tunley Legend]

That when to pay for Lansdowns Tinnion c**k up

Of course it is AY - after all, you are the man on the inside who we should all be listening to.

[Tunley Legend]

IMO there appears to be a growing sense of unease about City's transfer activity, or rather lack of it, as the close season comes to an end.

Reading the WDP / EP story on Skuse and the increasing likelihood that City could be getting as much as a £2m windfall should Lita move on suggests that we could have a transfer kitty not far short of £3m.

What have we signed so far - an 18 year old goalkeeper who, in reality, will only be a third choice behind Basso & Wheale and 1 year contracts to a couple of old blokes [Murray & Russell] because they are "...good around the dressing room".

Right here and now our squad contains players whose TOTAL number of appearances at Championship level is probably just over 100 - it's hardly a good foundation is it. When we were promoted in 89/90 and actually managed to stay in the Championship for 5 seasons the team that started the 90/91 season had players whose total appearances at that level were probably over 500 [Aizlewood, May, Shelton, Rennie].

The videos of Sproule suggest a player who may excite but at £250k he's hardly going to break the bank. Signing Naismith could be a risk but would at least be a statement of intent.

It is an admirable statement by the manager to say that the players that got us up must be given a chance but what happens if, say, after 8 games our record is WON 2 DRAWN 1 LOST 5? With the transfer window in operation we would have to effectively work the loan system in order to get us out of trouble, not a satisfactory approach.

Two other things that worry me. When GJ states players must be better than what we already have then I'm worried - Wilson / Betsy better than Brown?? Secondly, GJ says the Chairman has not said "no" to any of the listed targets - this implies they are not expensive purchases and, based on past performance [barry Coor - the best we could manange last Autumn when we had a striker crisis], just how many are on that list.

I'm sorry but for me the feelgood factor of May 7th seems a long way away right now.

Do you feel the same now? Will you feel this way on July 12th when the players go on their "bonding" trip to Latvia minus Skuse but plus the possible addiion of a player [sproule] who is ruled out by suspension for the first month of the season?

Why don't we bump this thread in a month's time and you answer the following question:-

Is the above posting a kneejerk reaction?

I'll tell you what, if it turns out your worries are justified then I will instead admit how wrong I am to actually trust a manager who got us promoted last season where many "better" have failed and a Chairman who, to date, has backed this manager whenever he has requested funds for a new signing.

[BristolCity1992]

Sproule is a good signing, but unfortunately he doesn't cost enough.

Yeah that bit caught me to, I don't care if a player costs 3 million or 100k as long as they can do the job, even better if they are cheap ala McCombe.

I would say don't panic, just because the club are not telling us their every move it does not mean that nothing is going on, there is a while yet and I fully expect 5 signings before the end of the window and I doubt if many of them will be big names.

[reddoh]

sat here in my hotel room in Stockholm, I have caught up with the latest from bcfc had a quiet word with the chefs third cousin from Serbia and was totally shocked when he said bristol hey gj knows what he is doing give him a chance

[Tunley Legend]

Yeah that bit caught me to, I don't care if a player costs 3 million or 100k as long as they can do the job, even better if they are cheap ala McCombe.

I would say don't panic, just because the club are not telling us their every move it does not mean that nothing is going on, there is a while yet and I fully expect 5 signings before the end of the window and I doubt if many of them will be big names.

That's the next part of the Summer moaning that I am looking forward to. As soon as we sign someone who hasn't performed at International level, cue the whingers giving it the "never heard of him, he must be $h1te", "he plays for ****** (insert club), how can he be good enough for the Championship?" before even seeing the lad play or "we should be spending £10 million per player not £1½ million for four players"

[cider head]

I agree we need 2 or 3 new signings to add to the squad to cover if anyone leaves

or add to the current quality of the squad, but i also feel that the lads who worked hard

to get us to the championship should be given a fair chance at playing there.

I remember the last time city made it to that league and the club went out and signed

a hat full of strikers but did not bank on the fact of shaun taylor getting a serious injury,

which city just did not replace him with quality, we leaked goals badly but we did score

a few also, i feel with the current back four we would have stayed up back then.

Now city have a kind of opposite problem as we are very strong at the back

but suffer a bit on the goal scoring side which we could well be fine with a fit brooker

although i agree we need a striker with also a midfielder, i also see that city don't really need

a big name big name journeyman, they can only be good for bringing in the crowds but can

be inefective on the pitch ie: bridges. I kind of see the alan dicks mentality being adopted

right now by johnson as we are looking at scotland for players as they can be good work rate,

attitude right players without the big name tag ie: Jamie McAllister, it reminds me when city signed

the unknowns of sweeney, gow, ritchie, shaw, Gillies who blended in with the current local boys to make

a top team, point is if you try and get a lot of unknowns who are hungry to make a name and they

can prove to be better than the been there and done it's just looking to see out the rest of their

playing days, city proved their hunger against so called better sides of coventry and boro and we

just need to show more of that attitude and we will be fine.

If city are to go for a big name then it needs to be the right player or we will only get

the marcus stewart soap opera all over again.....

[Guest Eamer]

Why the hell did you hit the return key every now and again? Do you not like to see sentences go right to the edge of the forums or something?

[WTFiGO!?!]

Feel good factor gone awol? No, man. Have you not seen next season's fixture list? some cracking days going on, plus the East End. Excited I am, but not to the point of orgasm.

Anyhoo, emancipate yourself from mentle slavery fellow warthog, happiness is found through choice, not wholly circumstance.

In terms of signings, the chap who said GJ wants players who want us got it bang on. No point in rushing these things and going nuts (is there Scott Davidson?), still early doors anyway.

Hold tight and have a cup of tea has got to be the way.. chocolate hobnob too if you're feeling particularly devilish.

[Andy Horsman]

Feel good factor gone awol? No, man. Have you not seen next season's fixture list? some cracking days going on, plus the East End. Excited I am, but not to the point of orgasm.

Anyhoo, emancipate yourself from mentle slavery fellow warthog, happiness is found through choice, not wholly circumstance.

In terms of signings, the chap who said GJ wants players who want us got it bang on. No point in rushing these things and going nuts (is there Scott Davidson?), still early doors anyway.

Hold tight and have a cup of tea has got to be the way.. chocolate hobnob too if you're feeling particularly devilish.

A typical WTFiGO return to form, and correct to in a prosaic kind of way..............