Promotion or no debt

I've read all the posts and all of the posters have valid points.

AM and NJ73 having their cocks out a bit but both are talling a bit of sense and Big Gwyn rounds it off.

I've supported City for 27 years since going down with my mates from age 13.
There has always been bust/boom/debt - we have seen highs and lows and dodgy managers and boards but we've still survived.

Trouble now is - we've surpassed just surviving and the DJ era has brought wembley visits and bottled promotion attempts so us as fans old and new can actually see that top flight football is not that far away.
We've gambled on it plus we've possibly arrogantly gambled on a new corporate stadium trying to cater for everyone and pleasing no one.
These things handled well could have set us up, but we've sold off most of the assets associated with the stadium and no one wants to go there a few hours before 'German league style' and stay after cos the beer and food are so expensive and taste shite whilst the club doesnt profit anyway.
Lots of fans have stopped going or ST's miss games as the experience is shite.

So we have debt and need to have income to support it. Success is fundemental now OR - you make the stadium OURS - the fans stadium, a place we call home.
Get some standing in - put in a bluebird club (like behind the canton in NP), allow ticket swaps, swap ends for family/canton and look into free bus service to stadium to try to stop the running from 10 mins before the end.

If i can enjoy my time at CCS, me and thousands like me - will stay whether we stay mid table or go down (we're used to it).
if we take the JB's example, they have manageable debts with their manager as their main asset.
They have a wage structure that is fairly rigid but bending with Prem league and even though, they will struggle on times, they have a decent model to follow. This is down to their Board.

We need a stable Board now and progress every year, with people in there for long term and who understand football and people. Progress can be promotion or wage bill reduction or youth team development -whatever. Just keep us fans in the loop and improve our time at the CCS.
If your ambition is reliant upon fragile break even numbers then any blip can be dangerous.

Like others , you have put forward some reasonable points. But I disagree with some for the reasons I explain.

1)There was no "arrogant gamble" on the new stadium , it was a necessity. Ninian Park was well past its sell by date and hadn`t been fit for purpose for some years. Staying there would have been limiting capacity over the last couple of seasons to less than 15k. Improvements would have been almost as expensive as a new stadium to achieve current health and safety standards and access and egress problems with the site would still have meant a far lower capacity than we currently have.
I used to love Ninian Park , having watched virtually every game we played there from 1962 until it closed , but it and its facilities were totally crap by the time we left.

2) The beer and food in the stadium is too expensive , but perhaps no more so than in the stadia of our competitors - more regular away trippers may be able to confirm if this is right or not.The club was forced to give over the contract to Compass long term due to not having enough money to finish off the stadium build and fit out (had over £4m up front from Compass for a 10 year contract).

3) The swapping of ends argument has now been done to death. It will not happen because the cost savings to the club and the huge cutdown in crowd behaviour problems have been so substantial and successful as a result of the current layout. A fair proportion of those wanting it (I am not saying all , or even a majority) seem to be able to come up with no other reason for a swap than to be able to "intimidate" away fans and spend more time watching them than the match itself.

Your ideas about ticket swaps and transport links are good ones which the club has said for some time it will look into , but nothing done yet.A new Bluebirds Club at or near the ground would be great (I have fond memories of the old one behind the Canton Stand) but I suspect the problem is of where to put it and competition clauses with both Compass and The Sandpiper pub.

The Supporters Trust brought a safe standing roadshow to Cardiff some time ago to show both the positives and drawbacks of such a scheme for if and when the law in the UK is changed to allow it.Fans and local politicians attended the event but the club declined their invitation. More recently , of course , they have shown some interest in this by a trip to Germany.(a bit more attractive than the Ninian Park pub mind ) It can work , but I suspect it will be brought in first in the lower divisions where it could be installed instead of existing terracing rather than in the top divisions where it would involve replacing existing seating areas and making quite major alterations to exits etc. Scotland might also go first as it is easier to change the law up there .

What our club now needs , and looks as if it is going to get at long last , is a period of financial stability and ownership by wealthy people in it for the longer term.

All good valid points and well made. How long are we tied into Compass for? As I feel that could be a very good income stream for the club.

Neither will happen any time soon

I don't think we are that far away from having a team that will get us into the Premier League.

Is this week the time when we finally find out where we may have the potential to achieve both. With Malaysian support might we clear the debt and have a good chance of promotion?