BrizzleRed

31 minutes ago, headhunter said:

That, for me, is the key legacy of Nigel's time here. He has overseen a reset in every aspect of football operations which in previous years would have seen us drop down to League 1 and have to build back better [that phrase seems familiar!!]

Totally with you on all of that.  

NP provided the massive kick up the arse this club has needed for so long and built a great backroom team and culture.  All this whilst managing to preserve our Championship status.  He’s also kicked out the deadwood and wasters and assembled a team who battle for each other and wear the shirt with pride

Instead of being grateful and taken the guidance on bosrd, the incompetents running the club have fought back and kicked his feet out from under him.

I wouldn’t put it past the numbskulls to undo everything and take us back to where we were before he arrived.

You just couldn’t make it up!!!

4 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

You’re clearly not looking in the right places.  If you seriously think that 97% of fans are angry about Pearson going then I suspect you’re way off the mark.  Most fans have seen it all before.  Managers come and go.  It’s part of football.  Pearson had a good run, and has done some very good work, but at the end of the day, we’re in the same position we were in four seasons ago and have just lost a manager with one of the worst win percentages in the clubs history.  I’ve talked to Pearson and I liked him, but it’s hardly a huge surprise that he’s gone.  Time to move on.

…. and being in the same position, rather than League 1 is a pretty impressive feat, considering the restrictions NP’s had to work under, wouldn’t you think?

No two ways about it, this sacking is stinking the place out.  Imho, no supporter who cares about the integrity of this club will find it acceptible, or justified.

4 minutes ago, grifty said:

There isn’t?

I’m not sure how that relates to what I said?

It was your mention of being the other side of the coin and being an opposite blinkered view.

You can only tolerate so many crap decisions from SL and I’d suggest this latest one has pushed a number of remaining SL supporters over the edge.

Wanting him gone now doesn’t suggest blinkered to me and rather, an assessment of over 20 years of his ownership record and what he offers us going forward and his inability to learn from his mistakes.

31 minutes ago, grifty said:

To be fair Dave it’s just the other side of the coin to those who want SL out for any new owner which is just as a blinkered view!

While we’re being fair, lets look at it this way.  

If you’ve got a shit, underperforming manager or head coach, it’s perfectly reasonable to reach a point when you want them out.  What’s the difference when it’s a shit, underperforming owner?

24 minutes ago, TheReds said:

This reminds me of a place where I used to work. Owner was overall pretty clueless but the business was making decent money (it really could and should have been a hell of a lot more). The owner then wants to make more profit, so all the management come up with ideas, R&D, more streamlined production planning, nope they don't like any of it. Next bright idea, get some consultants in for some ideas.... They go through all the processes and staff, want to change the way the business is currently working. Owner doesn't like the consultants now, they say too much and basically criticise how the business currently runs. So after spending tens of thousands for some new, bright ideas the owner is back to square one where the only way forward is "I know more than them and we will do it my my way".

The attitude just reminds me so much of Lansdown and this club.

Yep, sounds about right there TR and as we all know, SL is never wrong ….. in his own head anyway!

3 hours ago, cidercity1987 said:

Wonder what his target is? Fans gon a be straight on his back for two defeats in a row based on Lansdowns expectations

Hopefully our fans will have fair more sense than to take any notice of anything crayon boy says, as he’s clearly totally deluded.

9 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Spot on.

They were desperate after the shambles of Holden so held their nose & appointed a leader.

They didn’t like him though & once he started telling our idiot chairman where it was going wrong they didn’t like the message so set him up to fail.

They are the constant behind our underachievement, it is all on them now.

Absolutely!!!

I appreciate the concerns of the dwindling ‘careful what you wish for brigade’.  That said, after this latest debacle, it amazes me how anyone can still think that what we have now is preferable to a change of ownership.

It feels to me like the Landowns are slowly strangling the life out of this club.

14 minutes ago, red panda said:

Thanks for starting a slightly more nuanced discussion.  I like NP and really wanted him to succeed.  And yes there have been financial constraints and injuries.  But I just can't shake off the feeling that progress was pretty slow and there were too many times when the team seemed like less than the sum of its parts.  Was 14th last season really a good outcome given the players we had?  So I'm sad to see him go, but perhaps something needed to change for us to kick on??

It was very slow under Alan Dicks and look where that ended up!

Nobody would be allowed that amount of time these days, but we were definitely making slow progress under NP.  The very least he deserved was to have time to get his sqaud back to fitness and then see what he could do with it.

Shocking decision, whichever way you look at it and imho, the ‘change we need’ is right at fhe top!

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.

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.

16 minutes 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

 

 

And there in the bold lies the problem in your statement!

Nobody is claiming NP didn’t have any faults.  The point is, when you have a choice between a vastly experienced manager who transforms the amateurish culture of the club, or an egotistical, dictatorial, meddeling, massively flawed and constantly underperforming owner, I think most would choose to keep the former over the latter.

Imho, the sooner the Lansdowns are gone the better for this club, as their incompetance is taking us nowhere.

As for making the right appointment could help this group kick on, can you really see these clowns managing to make the right choice??

I really didn’t think Lansdown could be this clueless.

What a despicable way to treat the man who has pulled this club back from the jaws of FFP, whilst still keeping us in the Championship.

Just in case you come onto this thread, a heartfelt thank you Nige for shaking up this total shambles of a club.  We’ve suffered years of bullshit and waffle from people running this club and it’s been so refreshing to have someone with your honest, straight talking style, who tells it as it is.

Us supporters will always be grateful to you for your efforts and giving us a group of whole-hearted players who played for the shirt, rather than just the pay packet.  It’s a very long time since I’ve been so proud of our players for giving everything on the pitch and that’s down to you.

That pride definitely doesn’t extend to our pathetic board and clueless owner though, who clearly don’t have the football intelligence to recognise a top manager when they have one.  Instead of giving you the backing you’ve earned and deserved, they clearly froze you out and they should be totally embarassed and ashamed.  I’ve never been so gutted at the unjustified sacking of a manager and I’m sure there are many more fans feeling the same.

Best of luck for the future and hopefully the next club gives you the respect you deserve.  The fans appreciate your worth though and you can be assured of the warmest of welcomes from the people who really matter at BCFC, if you ever return to the Gate in any capacity.

2 hours ago, Bazooka Joe said:

Slimy bstards get rid of Pearson, before injured players return and he gets the team back to winning ways.

They think they're so clever.

 

They probably wanted to get it done quickly, in case we beat Wednedsay next Saturday.  This now confirms they’ve had their slimy finger on the trigger for a while, just waiting for a chance to pull it.

A feeling of Cott’s about this sacking, but far worse this time imho

We need to brace ourselves for a return to the yes man now I reckon, though in the mood I’m in, I couldn’t give a shit who the clowns appoint.

Piss off Lansdown and take your dopey son with you.  Made some really shit calls in the past, but this one tops them all by a mile.

You had the right man at the club Lansdown, but you’ve ****** it right up.

This just confirms he’s ******* clueless about football

13 hours ago, robinforlife2 said:

How many more times, THEY didn't want to stay!

I’m sure they didn’t and given the lack of ambition being shown from the owner of our club, who can blame them?

Until this club show some genuine ambition to reach a higher level, we will never convince any future starlet to stick with us a bit longer and enjoy the ride to the promised land.

I don’t believe SL has any intention for us to getting to the Prem.  To be fair, he’s now probably achieved his ultimate goal of our Academy creating a steady flow of young players to sell on ….. getting closer to his sustainable club if you like.

I think it’s now patently clear that the ultimate aims of SL and the fans are totally different things.  As he’s the one who calls the shots, I know which one I’d bet on to get what they want!

We’re only making plans for Nigel

we only want what’s best for him

that contract should be on the table

Lansdown, you can’t be that f’kin dim

1 hour ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

 

A case in point local to me is the reopening of the Okehampton to Exeter passenger service a couple of years ago - the passengers using it are (I think) 200%+ of what was forecast and you can`t get a seat at peak times. With the traffic into Exeter from the A30 and the eye-watering cost of parking in the city (I paid £2.80 for an hour around a mile from the centre last week) it`s a no-brainer if you live in Okey and work in Exeter and don`t need a car while you`re there. They are now reopening the Tavistock to Plymouth line too as a result of this one`s success.

Build it and they will come.

Sounds another perfect example of build it and they will come LR.

A real shame they don’t adopt that in Bristol too.  They’ve obviously chosen a modified carrot and the stick principle here in Bristol,  where they’ve taken away the carrot (if it was ever actually there) and resorted to whacking us with an ever bigger stick!

12 minutes ago, winsaw said:

Totally agree about these very expensive business cases being little more than people guessing, 

Here in a perfect example of how wrong these business cases can be,

The new worcestershire parkway station as just celebrated 544270 passinger's using it in the last 12 months  marking it a huge success,

But it nearly didn't get built as the business cases study predicted much lower numbers using it, in fact they thought it would take 15 years of people using it to build up to 383000 passinger's a year ,

The current usage is 40% higher after only being open 3 years,

It really dose make me think they always put out lower numbers in these reports, and I wonder if a Ashton gate station would be build if it would get much higher usage rate than the very low number forcast in the last business cases, 

Spot on.

If authorities are serious about getting people out of their cars, commuters need to have viable alternatives available.  You could be forgiven for thinking there are decision makers who are desperately looking for reasons why not to reopen the line.  With all these delays, the costs just keep racking up.

You only have to look at the Severn Beach line to see the benefits of local trains.  It had the axe hanging over it for years, but now it’s a really well used and valuable service and the Portishead line surely has far more potential for growth than Severn Beach.

Rather than impossible dreams about undergrounds, why don’t they just get on with something thst’s realatively easily achieved.  Christ, most of the track is already there and just needs upgrading ffs

1 minute ago, TV Tom said:

All Burnham is doing is trying to get the best for the people he represents which is the complete opposite to what our Mayor does

Can’t argue with that mate.  I’m sure the Mancs love Burnham, while marvellous Marve is an object of ridicule in Bristol.

I still can’t work out what it is with Bristol. A beautiful city with so much potential, but with an unerring ability to **** up every opportunity to improve itself.  

Bristol voted for a Mayor to overcome the continuously ‘hung’ council, which could never make important decisions.  They then get lumbered with two useless twonks in ‘red trousers’ and ‘marvellous Marve’.  Talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!

2 hours ago, TV Tom said:

There are parts of Essex & Kent that are truly awful and Cornwall up till recently was the poorest region in the whole of Northern Europe, it's probably even worst now that they don't receive economic aid from the EU since Brexit 

I wouldn’t necessarily blame brexit tbh.  London seems like a sponge that sucks up the vast majority of the money in the south and things generally seem to only get built if they directly benefit London.

The cynic in me suggests HS2 was only created to draw more people into London from the north, rather than benefit the north directly.  Maybe London is now happy to settle for Brum being in the commuter belt!

2 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

I was in Manchester this time last year and there were 3 free buses that ran from within a few metres of our hotel next to the AO Arena. Two went around town along slightly different routes, the third went all the way out to Salford Quays. 

You do have to wonder why Manchester can do this when other cities can't.

Completely agree PSE and it goes beyond all this so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’ money being thrown at them in recent years.  

I remember going to Manchester years ago and finding easy, cheap parking behind Manchester Piccadilly train station.  I then went through the station and couldn’t believe it when I saw all these free buses lined up in front of the station, with routes that fanned out over the whole city!

It really boils my p**s when you hear Burnham and his ilk banging on about they want equality with ‘them down south’, when what they really want is the same us London!

In Bristol, we’re back in the dark ages compared with Manchester and many other northern cities, let alone London!!!

14 hours ago, Bas's perfect hattrick said:

There's literally billions to spunk on buying land for HS2 and then changing their minds and flogging it off again, but they can't find a few million for a hugely popular local line....

I’d love to drag that whinger Andy Burnham down from Manchester and show him what we’ve got to deal with.  

According to many oop north, we’ve all got it made down south, just because we’re at the same end of the country as London!!!

56 minutes ago, Topper 123 said:

But how many clubs aren’t owned either by consortiums or big foreign owners and various groups ?

I really don’t know tbh.  

As you raise that point, I’ll say this.  How many of those other owners you’ve mentioned have treated their club like a personal toy and then lost interest when they found newer ones and as good as stuck their old toy (the club) in a cupboard and forgotten about it??

2 hours ago, ashton_fan said:

I remember what it was like before he took over, stuck in the 3rd division, 10k gates, hardly any young players coming through, stadium falling apart and no decent training facilities. This is the first time we've been established at this level since the 70's, gates have doubled and we have brilliant facilities. Some people have short memories.

Valid points, but don't forget back then, the club owned Ashton Gate and didn't have the huge debts that we have now.  It also felt like OUR club back then, but it really doesn't feel like that to me now.