Best players leaving

All that is possible. But that doesn't address why there is no word on the search for a new manager. Or anything else from the CEO or board of directors. At all.

I'm not having a go at you mate. I just think things are going to get a lot, lot worse. If you've no respect for your customers, what does it matter what happens to the business that they're customers of?

We've signed a lot of players on four year contracts. We're looking, at best, strong relegation candidates. We're alienating the fan base. It's 'what if' at the moment, but it's a very plausible what if...
What if we are relegated? What if those players we've signed aren't tempting suitors? We're tied to those four year contracts, in a lower league, with much reduced TV money and an alienated fan base. Have you read or heard anything from the owners that would suggest they'd put a single penny of their own money into the club if outgoings are exceeding income? I don't really want to just wait for that scenario to play out. I'm far less concerned about current results than I am the end game of this business venture.

 

Very good post. Can't disagree with analysis, or sentiment.

We are only the longest run without a win since 1959. I'm not old enough to remember that one. Many of our previous owners have had worse dissent for less, particularly John Dennis from memory. In reality protests in themselves achieve little & support for the players & coach need to be separated from paying customers feeling let down by the management policy & style. I feel some honesty & communication would go a long way to helping the fans feel that they are as important as Mr Conway has previously stated they are.

 

Tbf I wasn’t trying to justify it just giving benefit of doubt for now .
I personally don’t see what certain chants achieved but don’t condemn or condone them at this present time .
As far as I personally am concerned it’s a wait and see what happens in January
I’m of the opinion that what had happened so far is a mistake but if not attempted to be rectified or is repeated then I’ll reassess.
What others do is up to them they pay same money as me and we all have club at heart choose how we see the situation .
As I said I’m not happy so far with the actions and would like some information even if it’s something along the lines of why they can’t make a statement on events at least it’s something .
I personally don’t think we’ll get into a Venckys or Oyston scenario but I am watchful and as I say January is a big month especially for my opinion.

 

Yes - I quite see that the aim is self-sufficiency. That is why I said that it is a deliberate policy that leads to the team being regularly weakened. Although there are those who think the develop and sell policy is some attempt to profit from the club. I'm not sure I do. I think the question is whether people think that the one step forward and one step back policy is tolerable. If they do achieve their aim of stability in that timeframe then you will likely be in or near your 70's! (not wishing to be rude). I've lost patience with it, to be quite honest. I feel like I've better things to do.

 

Nearer to mid 70s.

What is the alternative to self sufficiency? Where do you find the money if the owners say no? Frankly, with the exception of the early part of Patrick Cryne's ownership, this is as it has been for my 54 years. Posters are making out that this ownership is different, but it isn't, it is the ownership in the rest of the Championship that is different. If our owners say that they are not prepared to throw their money away, like other Championship owners have done, exactly who is wrong in your opinion. Is it our owner because they are not so daft, or is it other owners because they are.

 

I think you make a good argument for self sufficiency. There is an issue regarding communication, which for many fans seems to be as relevant as our current run / league position. To keep the fans on board they need to feel there is a real plan, not just a spreadsheet.

 

I am knocking on a bit now, and the memory is not what it was, but I can never remember a blow by blow account of the acquisition of a new manager being relayed to fans.

The 21 word statement on the dismissal of Daniel Stendel was clearly wrong, but I honestly cannot recall anything different about their actions subsequently, as compared to normal. The fans are always kept in the dark, and that is especially the case if any comment the owners make is liable to be throw straight back at them, with interest.

 

But those same people ( including you by your own admission) Are in danger of putting off any potential buyers if there are any out there. Patrick would only hand over the club to custodians that kept the ship afloat and not go down the road of putting the club in jeopardy. The club were for sale the day after he bought it. No one rushing to take over. By all means chant your displeasure,. I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the vile stuff. Most chanting is done by young uns joining in with their mates. With no idea of what goes on with the running of the club.[/QUOTE]

I'm actually not (yet) at the point where I want the owners to sell tbh. But I do want them to adjust the application of the strategy and given their silence I have no way of knowing whether they are hearing the dissent and if so accepting it.

A couple of genuine questions:
1. Short of not going (which I've seriously thought about but decided against at present as I still want to support the team) is there another, better way of expressing dissatisfaction?
2. Re your comment about the vile stuff, is it the word b'stds that you object to?

 

I'm not convinced that fans would. There may be contractual reasons why they don't want to comment further regarding DS's departure. I can't see an honest statement about their intentions being worse than the silence that is continuing.

 

I don't think either is wrong - it's purely a question of choice. The Championship offers a much higher standard of football than League One. I welcomed the new owners' indications that they wished to achieve stability in it. Their actions have not matched their stated aims. It may be a longer term plan, but what will change to make the equation different? I do think that fans like to see good football, but also want to have the sense that a good team is being built that they can watch develop and succeed. But presently there is no sense that anything solid is being built that will not be cashed in at the first opportunity. It appears that the man who questioned that policy has been summarily offloaded. The easiest way to achieve financial stability is to not bother with a football club at all. Then no-one will lose any money.

 

I actually enjoy watching young players improve. It is obviously hard when they are sold, but it has never been any different. If I had wanted something different, I would not have picked Barnsley as my team.

They did say that they wanted to improve the club, and there is no doubt that establishing the club in the Championship would be part of that plan. However, when you have a long term plan, there will be ups and downs before you reach your goal. We have begun building a very young side. Hopefully, we will be able to keep that side together when (sorry "if") we are relegated. That is because the players are paid less than their older colleagues would be (SCMP). If we keep the majority of the team together, there is a good chance that we will be promoted next season. It is the wholesale changes in playing staffs that is so disruptive to organisation, and returning loanees/selling older players that you can no long afford are both very disruptive. If we keep most of those players together for our return to the Championship, then they will have been together for 3 years, and many of them will still have 2 years left on their contracts. They will have an exceedingly strong bond that will hopefully carry us to Championship safety.

I can hear you laughing as you read my words preparing to type the word idealist at some point of your reply, but if we have a first team squad of 24 and we aim for staggered 4 year contracts for all of them, then we are potentially only losing a maximum of 3 players at each transfer window, and recruiting 3 players is more easy to cope with than the 12 that we had to recruit in the last window. In order to get to that position, you need a plan, and it really must be a long term one, because as we have seen, short term plans cost £millions, and our owners are not prepared to spend like that.

I just had a look on the Companies House web site, and Friday's opponent had filed their accounts to May 2019 before they were legally required to do so. Even though they made a profit of almost £13m last year, most of it from player trading, their debt to their owner increased by another £12m to an eye watering £77m. That is on top of called up share capital of £58m. That suggests that in order to compete with Bristol City, we would have to spend similar sums of money. I am not sure that I want my football club to do that. We have to find a different way to compete.

 

I don't think I'd say idealistic. I would say optimistic. I personally have no faith whatsoever that even players with 2+ years on their contracts will not be allowed to leave if the right offer comes along. If I'm right on that then that would undermine even any gradual building and strengthening. I still think that it was not unreasonable to think that such reputedly wealthy owners might have had an eye to some sort of realistic investment in strengthening the squad. Clearly nothing has changed, and my view is that if the owners are not prepared to invest money in the club, then neither am I.

 

Its not even about people wanting them to plough money into the team it’s about keeping hold of our best players, we’ve just been promoted for god sake, it’s not like we’re selling players to the Premier League anymore (and if we were like Stones and Holgate) nobody would begrudge them that move but we’re selling them to relegation rivals. Ridiculous. We didn’t sell all our best players in the summer last time we came up (we waited until Jan when we were safe) and the team that Richie brought up we kept that together too and built on it