Lansdown gold brings the silver
THIS was tricky for Steve Cotterill. He did not want to do Bristol City down but at the same time felt the truth ought to be laid bare. The eight-second pause was revealing in its length as a delicate topic reared its head.
Where exactly would this club — now on the brink of the Championship — be without their billionaire owner Steve Lansdown?
Cotterill looked down at his feet, searching for the right answer.
‘I don’t quite know,’ he said, head shaking. It isn’t worth thinking about. He is aware that they’d be nowhere near a win away from League One promotion, potentially ending the season as champions and enjoying a spectacularly redeveloped Ashton Gate.
‘There are a lot of big clubs in League One, Two and the Conference with good support. You only have to look at Bristol Rovers and the crowds they get in the Conference,’ Cotterill added after his side’s 1-1 draw at second-placed Preston. The inference was obvious. ‘We’re on the verge of the Championship and th a t’ s only down to Steve and his investment and what he’s doing at the ground.’
Lansdown, who made his fortune from financial services, is a rare breed in English football, unwavering in ploughing his own fortune into the club through love and nothing else. It hasn’t always been rosy. That strategy was downright naive when they chased the Premier League dream and racked up astonishing debts in doing so.
Dean Windass’s memorable winner for Hull City in the 2008 Championship play- off final might have cost Bristol City far more than just missing out on top-flight riches. If Lansdown hadn’t changed his approach they could have folded.
Those mistakes — over-paying for decent but not exceptional players — meant the owner had to write off an eye-watering £35million worth of debt last year. The age of Financial Fair Play dictates they must live within their means.
Lansdown is far more pragmatic with money nowadays, even though Cotterill was allowed to spend £1.65m on four players last summer. They later sold striker Sam Baldock to Brighton for £2m and the squad is among the smallest in all four divisions. Quality, not quantity. I ain’t quite sure we bought the division,’ Cotterill added. ‘We pay all these over a period of time, over a couple of years.
‘We will still potentially need to up our budget from where we are (next season). I wouldn’t mind betting that Preston have got a bigger budget than us. I’m not saying that to put any pressure on anybody, all I’m saying is that their squad’s bigger than ours and I know their players. Probably Sheffield United as well.’
Bristol City, who gained a point on Saturday when Aaron Wilbraham equalised after Jermaine Beckford had put Preston ahead, will become the first Football League club to clinch promotion this year should they beat Bradford at Valley Parade tomorrow night, in turn ending a two-year absence from the Championship.
They stayed in Preston ahead of the trip across the Pennines, utilising Cotterill’s contacts to train at Burnley today.
‘I was at Burnley for nearly four years,’ he added. ‘I should be allowed to train on the pitch that I built! We sold Robbie Blake (to Birmingham City for more than £1m in 2004) and built a new pitch. I will take credit for that.’
What he won’t take credit for is City’s rise back where they belong. That’s reserved for one fanatic with very deep pockets.