Almost 40 Years Ago

[animallittle3]

I remember coming home from work , I think I was in to my second or third week in the summer of 1978 .

My old man said " Allan Clarke "

" yeh he plays for Leeds "

" not now he doesn't , he's our new player - manager "

He then passed me the Barnsley Star .

I couldn't believe it , ex England strikers playing for big clubs didn't join BFC , oh yes they do now .

Fast forward almost 40 years , billionaire investors don't buy clubs like BFC , oh yes they do now .

Similar comparisons here , in 1978 we were at the crossroads , stuck in the 4th tier and seemingly unable to kick on .

It could be argued we are in a similar position today struggling to get a foothold in a difficult league and the fans wondering where we are heading going forward .

Allan Clarke could have spectacularly failed , he hadn't managed before , it was a gamble that paid off and took the club to the second tier eventually plus a cheeky season in the PL , it all started in June 1978 .

Hopefully the takeover is another milestone moment in the club's history when stuck at the footballing crossroads .

We could be heading for some exciting times but as in 1978 it could spectacularly fail .

Whatever happens at least we've given it a go and what will be , will be .

If it proves only to be half as successful as the Allan Clarke venture then we will have done ok in my opinion .

Let journey begin , who dares Rodney .....who dares !!!

[Ponte_Steve24]

I think it will work out just fine. I'm not as worried about relegation now. I'm not expecting vast sums to be spent but I'm expecting reinforcements for Hecky and some backing for him in january.

[animallittle3]

I think it will work out just fine. I'm not as worried about relegation now. I'm not expecting vast sums to be spent but I'm expecting reinforcements for Hecky and some backing for him in january.

We've still got top weight on steve , I'd expect Hecky to make a strong case for getting some experienced heads in to the squad , whether he gets his way is open to question , could be a pivotal meeting this one and may have an effect on his future too .

[SBRed48]

The short term dunt worry me either Ponte. Mister Lee has money in the club's bank account to spend in January. It's three/ four years down the line when the money he has borrowed from the money markets to invest in the club needs to be repaid and we are left with vast debts we can't pay. If his notion of gerrin into the Premiership to pay off the debts dunt come off I fear for the future of the club.

Merry Christmas by the way. Dun't let Laura drag thi rarnd Meadowhall on Setdi--it'll be a nightmare.

[animallittle3]

There's speculation on how the Nice connection will work , feeder club etc etc .

I think what's worth noting is that the EPL blows the French top league out of the window when it comes to exposure and high finance .

I'm wondering whether we will be the recipient of young French / African talent for knock down prices and the French CEO is and always was part of this consortium .

Maybe there's more to his move here than we know , it did seem a funny one at the time .

[Ponte_Steve24]

Happy Christmas SBRed We're coming back to Ponte on saturday and spending xmas with my parents. There'll be no shopping trips I can assure you of that Going out for an Indian saturday night instead

[DOOALI]

Come on Ponte an Indian keep the faith have a Chinese

[pass_and_move]

I remember coming home from work , I think I was in to my second or third week in the summer of 1978 .

My old man said " Allan Clarke "

" yeh he plays for Leeds "

" not now he doesn't , he's our new player - manager "

He then passed me the Barnsley Star .

I couldn't believe it , ex England strikers playing for big clubs didn't join BFC , oh yes they do now .

Fast forward almost 40 years , billionaire investors don't buy clubs like BFC , oh yes they do now .

Similar comparisons here , in 1978 we were at the crossroads , stuck in the 4th tier and seemingly unable to kick on .

It could be argued we are in a similar position today struggling to get a foothold in a difficult league and the fans wondering where we are heading going forward .

Allan Clarke could have spectacularly failed , he hadn't managed before , it was a gamble that paid off and took the club to the second tier eventually plus a cheeky season in the PL , it all started in June 1978 .

Hopefully the takeover is another milestone moment in the club's history when stuck at the footballing crossroads .

We could be heading for some exciting times but as in 1978 it could spectacularly fail .

Whatever happens at least we've given it a go and what will be , will be .

If it proves only to be half as successful as the Allan Clarke venture then we will have done ok in my opinion .

Let journey begin , who dares Rodney .....who dares !!!

Do you deem this takeover as a gamble mate? They seem a pretty shrewd bunch does this consortium.

[animallittle3]

Do you deem this takeover as a gamble mate? They seem a pretty shrewd bunch does this consortium.

Yes pass because football isn't like normal business , there isn't a blueprint that ensures success .

Success to fans is on the field , success to the consortium is showing a return on investment .

Somewhere down the line the two have to meet and compliment each other .

How many actual clubs our size have success on the field and show a return to investors .

A return for these people is judged in millions of pounds not a few grand .

Only one place you can make that kind of return and that's the PL and to get there isn't likely to come cheap and that's taking a view we could even attract major talent to the club .

I'm still struggling with the concept that championship football sits fine with them and a a few bob back in their bank account , why would you even bother in the first place ?

That's where I see the gamble mate .

[animallittle3]

One of the things Paul Conway said at today's press conference did raise my eyebrows .

He said " having looked at the returns on the sale of players versus outlay we were very impressed "

He used the words " too good to be true and that's what highlighted the club and brought it to our attention "

Now then Paul , don't get carried away thinking we've got some magic potion that we make all our new recruits drink which turns them into multi million pound players .

We haven't , we've had a good bat at the ball in recent times but we've not cornered the market mate I can tell you .

Football doesn't work like that and it will never be an exact science .