Steve Lansdown Q & A

I got to the St Georges Tavern at about 10:30am. We were early, we wanted to know if they did breakfast. They did, it was a wonderful breakfast and for central London amazingly reasonably priced. Stuart Rogers the Chairman of the Bristol City Supporters Trust  was next to arrive and I introduced myself, having already panicked the new landlord into thinking that 2,000 football fans were about to descend on his pub. As it turned out around 100 of us packed into the cellar bar to hear what Steve Lansdown (SL) had to say. The Supporters Trust will produce a full report on the event, but I wanted to summarise a few of the key points as I remember them.

Asked about the new stadium SL said that a rail station off the Temple Meads to Weston-Super-Mare line would be part of his plans. Communication to the new ground would be crucial and he has letters from all the political parties expressing their support for a South Bristol Parkway station as part of a whole series of regeneration projects in South Bristol. Asked about the Arena, a music venue plans for which have recently scrapped SL said he would consider building such a venue within the stadium boundaries, but if, and only if, it brought with it adequate funding to make the new stadium viable. The stadium was his only area of concern, anything on the periphery would be only added to assist in the building of a first class facility for Bristol City Football Club.

Asked about the future SL explained that the work in bringing players in was all in preparation for Premier league football. As with last year any new players brought in would be expected to be capable of competing at the next level. The example he gave was Nick Carle who showed flashes on Saturday that he is a world class player. SL volunteered that he had "made enquiries" about Leroy Lita's availability, but obviously could not say more than that. He also mentiioned that Brooker was expected to return and would make a big difference with City's hold up play. He was less committal about the return of Alex Russell.

Asked about the current management structure SL conceded that if Gary Johnson did leave then the chances are his brother would go with him and maybe one or two others. But he felt that the basis of the club infrastructure would remain the same if and when someone else came to manage the club. He was quick to add that Gary Johnson had no intentions of leaving and that despite speculation otherwise this season no one had approached him or the club asking for his services elsewhere.

On the question of funding SL stated that it was the nature of football that BCFC would always be running at a loss and that himself and other investors would have to cover that loss. It is a mark of the ambition of the club, he said, that he is willing to do that. Last years wage bill of around £2.5 million was now at around £6 million compared to other more affluent clubs at this level who are spending £12-15 million on wages. He said that it was not so much the amount, more the number of noughts on the end of the amount! Premiership wages would no doubt add a couple of noughts, but it would also bring money and recognition into the club and that is where we all want to get to.

There were other questions about the stadium and structure of the club that may be published elsewhere. I hope I have given a starter for ten here. There were a lot of people there taking notes. My memory, which I am relying on for this, isn't what I remember it used to be, from what i can remember. A worthwhile event well run, I'm already looking forward to the next one.

CiderJar attended an event run by the Bristol City Supporters Trust