What does relegation mean to you ....

No city are using this for the time ben g.

 

I don't either, but that doesn't mean that they can't be brought to the table for an idea that extends beyond helping the clubs. What about a sports complex that the community could benefit from? One that that could help generate trade for restaurants and shops? The footfall and revenue that would be derived from sports clubs playing at higher levels etc.

 

Dearer season tickets are just one element - we have to increase revenue in order to be able to sustain higher running costs. But the money needed to catalyse a long term vision would have to be private, commerical and government funding. I'm not talking about a 'gimme', I'm talking about genuine investment. Bradford is a well populated city with a large interest in both Rugby and Football. There’s money to be made. I’ve mentioned the idea of a Sports Village type approach - how exciting would that be? It’s not the only solution though. Rupp is a rich man - what about him investing in a new training facility? It could reap long term reward. To also add value to the club if and when he chooses to sell, or he could retain the facility and rent it back to the club at a future time. It’s a way of growing the club. He could do similar with the ground - but it back, reinvest the rent we pay into coaching or scouting and reap a longer term reward. Down the line he could rent the ground back to us should he so choose.

There are ideas and some may not be viable - but unless we’re bold, we won’t go anywhere. More and more clubs are showing ambition and the gap to the championship is only going to grow.

 

Albeit under different circumstances under ML and JR and a possible ground share was mouted with Bulls. The main problem was Odsal, but I seem to remember a lot of unhappy people about sharing anything the Bulls because of the history and them getting into bed with the council.

For what it's worth a centre of excellence that involves City, Bulls, college and the university etc is a top idea but as you and Bronco both says that is going to take private investment. I think the best example to give, which again shows the incredible amount of money needed would be Steve Lansdown at Bristol City who has formed ''Bristol Sports''. They have four different professional teams under their banner - Football (Men & Women), Basketball and Rugby.

It's interesting reading @Fordy117, @Ricc etc clamour for a new training ground, again, I compare to Bristol City who despite having a billionaire train at a hospitals sport ground. He took over in 2002 although they now have plans in motion for their own training facilities he clearly didn't see it as a concern, so I'd ask to the people whinging about training ground. Why should we be concerned?

 

I don’t know how big an issue the training ground actually is. I’ve used the facilities at Woodhoise Grove and they’re good - I’d expect that the lack of preferential access and the impact to training schedules is the issue. The bigger issue is that it’s just one symptom of how broken we are as a club. The ground isn’t in the best state. The pitch is better than last year but still not good enough. The match day experience for fans is nothing special. Our recruitment is shot. Our coaching poor. Our scouting seems abject. Revenue is declining. We seem to have not of the ingredients needed for long term success.

 

Reality hit home more last weekend seeing the likes of Accrington, Rochdale and Wycombe securing their place in league 1 next season, and the Accrington manager crowing that they have done what much bigger clubs havent managed..i.e Us!!

 

Apart from this all is good then

 

Don’t worry football is cyclical we will be back and the natural order will be restored

 

As a club we are and have been broken in two
Money or lack of it is just one part of the problem
We need staff from top to bottom of people who will live and breathe Bradford City
An entrepreneur to invest in the club staff who are willing to go the extra mile rescue and progress the club (James Mason being a prime example) I really don't know if such people exist nowadays
Mr Rupp has had his fingers well and truly burnt with his choice of business partner and who could blame him if he is being cautious in throwing more money at us it's time to wipe the slate clean and start again, for more reasons than anyone can count we are now a L2 club and simply can not afford to fall any lower we are no longer a " Big Club" we have a big ground for our league but that's not ours we have virtually no players to call our own who have the fight on the pitch We are as low as we can get Like starting a new business we need a man at the top who is chomping at the bit to kick start the club again and staff with ideas prepared to get the show back on the road and start the revolution
Posters on here who say " what else can be done" are wrong plenty can be done with the right personnel

 

First of all we need someone with a vision of what they want to achieve and how they want to get it to that point. Our fans stock response is always how we ware going to pay for it. If Andy Pilley had that attitude he would never have taken a club like Fleetwood to be playing a level above us and with a training facility that is championship level. See, that vision didn't need 15,000 season ticket holders or 100 years in the football league. He got that club to where it is because that was his vision, one which he backed with a viable business plan and a long term strategy. He hasn't let supposed limitations hinder him. Now we can quote examples such Stuart Day at Bury, Ken Anderson at Bolton, Duchatalet at Charlton, or we can look at success stories such as Burnley, Burton or Fleetwood. Depends what limitations there are in your vision.

The idea you speak of and one which i had alluded to is realistically workable depending on getting the right influential people and agencies involved. There is risk involved, in business there always is. But somewhere down the line this club needs to work toward a target, if you don't you're just existing.

 

Its this sort of attitude that means Bradford City will never go anywhere and its an attitude that just breeds contempt. "Just happy to be there".

 

Bournemouth have gone from dropping out of the league 10 years ago and have been in the premiership now for the last five years and guess what they don’t own a training ground. We have excellent training facilities and certainly at this time we don’t need our own trading ground

 

What is the right order and how will it be restored tho Park ?? Genuine Question
During both our time following the club at best "apart from the GR era" we have been an average L3 club
Any ideas ???

 

They're bankrolled by a billionaire you tit. We don't and never will, we need a different strategy to fund a successful club.

 

So what is so sadly wrong then
And how is the situation to be rectified (How did Bournemouth do it)
You will have a captive audience of at least 46 club chairman at VP awaiting to hear your rescue plan

 

We have wanted an entrepreneur with big money ever since I started supporting the club sixty years ago football isn’t an investment it is a money drainer unless we are lucky enough to find a fan with millions to put in or a rich Arab to whom money is no object we are going to be run on business lines.

 

Football is a business and nearly all clubs are run as a business
The more successful a business man the more successful the club will be
That bits quite simple
It's finding the right person with the strong will and belief (GR springs to mind) to do it but without his madness
It's too easy to say football goes in cycles and we will be back without the faintest idea how we will get there We need a chairman with a vision on hand to kick us back into shape

 

as football prosperity is obviously lead by what happens on the field it’s about getting the right manager and then giving him the best backing we can without overstretching into financial trouble.Bournemouth have been very fortunate to have a great manager who apart from a couple of years has been there for the ten years so stability is important as is a slice of luck

 

As you say a Sports Village would be great but for some reason our council have never really got involved with Bradford City, a massive opportunity missed during our rise to the Premier, @Rogered Tart mentioned it a couple of weeks ago but it would need a figure head possibly with previous experience to pull all the different aspects together.
I would love Stefan to be that man and maybe be in a position to bring in German investment, he's a rich man without doubt but if their original intentions were not to purchase the ground short term I'm not sure he'd want to go forward with new training facilities without both, from a personal point of view I'd prefer the stadium to be purchased first.
Your correct in a few years even the Championship will only be achievable to clubs with an owner with financial muscle, and we though we had that man, I can't see Stefan doing anything but keep us ticking over until an outside interested party might see our club in a different light.

 

Not cyclical then