Edin speaks

Be fair Rod. The owner is the Flamingo land pension scheme so the beneficiaries of the assets in it are everyone who works for Flamingo land and it's directors, not just Gordon Gibb.

He totally saved us from liquidation with that move and the rent I believe is £375,000 which isn't actually a lot for a large sports stadiums. There are many medium sized shops in city centres that (pre covid) command that kind of rental.

As a beneficiary of the FLPS, Gordon Gibb will not be one of the trustees, so what he did is to pave the way for a deal, not actually make the deal. I maintain that had he not done that, and had it just been left to Junior, there would only be a phoenix club in some lower league. Gibb doesn't deserve any of the critisism that some throw at him.

 

I'd add Rob Molenaar to that.

 

That's if our present owner wants to play poker which I very much doubt.
Even with the stadium lease running out in 7 years as you say I cannot see Gibb - pension fund lowering the rent, why would they Bradford City football club arent going anywhere.

 

I don't even know if there is a similar model anywhere in the league, but would you accept a CEO with vision and the full backing of a hands off owner?

 

At the time I believe there were different offers with regards the rent, as we were a Championship club and a fix rent was no problem, our problem came as we slide down the leagues with a fixed rent regardless of which division we were in.
Gibb also offered a rent payable on the division we were playing in which in hindsight would not have been as lucrative as the present deal, I can only assume Julian thought we would be a Championshio club so the higher rent for the Championship was not a problem.

 

Investment in a lower league club is a fallacy. There is no money to be made outside the premiership and that is becoming more and more a closed shop.
in the words of a championship chairmen who’s name escapes me said the other month that most owners in that league would like to get out but can’t get buyers.
We can improve with good management good recruitment of managers and players which could lead to the championship but just to survive there takes money. So it’s not an investor we want it’s a benefactor

 

Of course I noticed our position. But that position was of our making, spanning right back to the purchase of the club by R&R.

Not just yourself Mr P but how do we know it was fantastic compared to previous windows? In the 18/19 January transfer window, we retained Payne, LOB and Ball. We brought in Paudie, Butterfield, Woods, Clarke and Anderson... At the time, some were viewed as good signings/loans.... So how is this such a fantastic window, compared to that window? Hindsight excluded, of course.

We was always gonna be safe with that set of players IMO, not with Macca from relegation.

 

Gibb effectively has us by the balls when it comes to renegotiating the lease. He knows full well we bring little to the table in brokering a deal. And please don't tell me we can just walk away, there is nowhere else to walk to. A new lease will be negotiated pretty much under Gibbs terms, its upto City to work out how to use the stadium to its potential.

 

Bang on. The club will remain at Valley Parade, there is neither the money nor the will for a new stadium in Bradford.

 

Right I will concede that and time will tell but on first glance the majority of the players look the part and I think most fans were happy with the business done

 

Fair play and I agree with the sentiment of your latter part, to which I am generally in agreement. But as I said before, these new recruitments have to step up.

 

Before we start celebrating 8 good games in 30
or more league and cup games, even though Grimsby seem to be doing their best to help us out by booking a relegation spot, we’re still only 8 points off the drop. Let’s see what happens over the next few weeks, we weren’t great at Exeter and, admittedly in very poor conditions looked lacking in composure against Scunthorpe before it was abandoned. There are two games a week, possibly more later on if there are more Covid cancellations. This season ain’t over yet.

It’s an amazing turnaround, with the right coaching, additions and some luck next season could be a good one. I said before, add 8 or 10 points to the total McCall got, and with the last nine games it would be a very different season.

 

Yes, but I'd also expect there to be a control system to govern how the CEO/club operates. No one individual should be allowed to run amok, unchecked.

 

We've had a long while to plan for this and strengthen our hand. I'm guessing we haven't. A new stadium IS an option, at least in theory, albeit I don't think anyone at the club (or council) has the vision or ambition to do anything in that sense. A more recent curveball is COVID - its had huge impact on the economy, and right now we don't know for certain how long restrictions on fan attendance will last. Staying at or leaving VP is a hugely emotive issue, for us more than most clubs given our history. But we need to face into it at somepoint. The lease renewal is apparently for 25 years. At current rates, that's a cost of ~12m. But where's the guarantee that this club will survive for 25 years? We could have - and still find ourselves going down from this league. One bad season and this club dies, and the lease goes with it. Against a backdrop of uncertainly, would a pension fund seriously consider a purchase deal in the region of £6m? I think they would. That cash, upfront, could be invested in means that might be considered a safer long term bet.

I come back to my earlier point - unless we find an owner who's ambitious and strategic in their thinking and with the financial means to fund something revolutionary, we're not really going anywhere.

 

I like the idea of signing Lionel Blair. Nice one Jagger

 

Who owns Odsal these days? And yes I’m serious, talk to them even discuss a potential buy or rent option and make plans to renovate it in time for 2028. Then take all this to Gibbs pension fund and bring them to the negotiating table over either a sale or cheaper rent. Two can play hard ball as @Faithful Bantam said bluff is important in business it’s time Bradford City acted more business minded instead of sentimental.

 

I have a copy of the plans, uploaded here its a PDF. Would have been a great addition if finished.

 

Its owned by the RFL and no, never, ever. Fill it in and build on it. I never ever want to see us up there. Its not right on any level whatsoever

 

Lazy journalism. Its owner is either the gibb family pension or the flamingo land pension, given the latter is probably just a stakeholder jobby, then I concede its probably the former.

However as a beneficiary of the pension fund, gibb won't be a trustee or its unlikely he will, so he personally doesn't own vp or personally have a say in what happens to it.

Either way, if it weren't for Gordon gibb, then junior rhodes' legacy would be as the man who destroyed bradford city. Hes been trying his best to live up to it ever since.