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Ridsdale speaks to the LEP about the summer transfer window

HunterLionheart said:
Peter is good at lying.
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Aye, it seems so. In the old Butter Pie podcast I looked at again yesterday (from Jan 2022), the main reason Ridsdale gave then for us not going to Cat 2 was the extra expense of running an U23 team (which he dismissed as usual as "ballet dancing").

So all this chat about "we have everything we need for Cat 2 except the dome" does seem to be a useful smokescreen to the real issue - that there's no money for an U23s, and Peter doesn't believe in having an U23s.
 
Thracia said:
This Preston Councillor disagrees strongly with Ridsdale's recent LEP comments re the fabled indoor dome:

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Following the conversation we had with Craig and Peter last year I was under the impression that it was not just the cost of a dome that was the issue but the ongoing costs of stepping up the academy.

Sure £5 million a year was mentioned.
 
Thracia said:
Aye, it seems so. In the old Butter Pie podcast I looked at again yesterday (from Jan 2022), the main reason Ridsdale gave then for us not going to Cat 2 was the extra expense of running an U23 team (which he dismissed as usual as "ballet dancing").

So all this chat about "we have everything we need for Cat 2 except the dome" does seem to be a useful smokescreen to the real issue - that there's no money for an U23s, and Peter doesn't believe in having an U23s.
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And yet now we have a promising crop of young pros who aren't getting game time with the first team, or the youth team.
 
No Danger said:
I don’t recall him as a failure.
He was popular with the supporters from memory for his overall contribution.
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Work ethic was superb and his play around the box was decent.

However as a striker he was absolutely terrible😂

Not even close to a success for me ND
 
JK said:
Following the conversation we had with Craig and Peter last year I was under the impression that it was not just the cost of a dome that was the issue but the ongoing costs of stepping up the academy.

Sure £5 million a year was mentioned.
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The £5m was the alleged cost for just the dome (since revised downwards by an order of magnitude).

The extra running costs for going Cat 3 to Cat 2 was stated to be £800k a year. This is from the minutes:

"CH stated that the Category 3 Academy that the club currently runs costs the club £1.2million per year to run and that to move to Category 2, the operating costs would increase to around £2million per year. PR added that to achieve Category 2 status you need an indoor football facility which would cost between £4.5million to £5million to build. PR stated that it is unlikely to be regularly used by the academy or first team squad."​
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They didn't make any indication of how much of these running costs would be covered by Prem grants etc., but Craig did ask the fans "where the funds would come from to increase the yearly cost of the Academy and the £5million investment to just get to Category 2. CH explained that the money would have to come from somewhere else within the club's budget."
 
WhiteWomble said:
£500k for a dome?
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According to <checks notes> Peter Ridsdale, yes:

PR: "But, the crazy thing about the academy, is that to get a grade two status we have every other facility other than an indoor facility. We tick every box otherwise and that, depending on what you build, is anywhere between half-a-million to one million pounds. And at the moment we didn't have that spare, versus signing a striker or two or a midfield player."​

 
WhiteWomble said:
£500k for a dome?
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Not sure if you think that’s expensive or cheap but given how much it cost me to build a small extension last year (think subbuteo sized dome and you’re close) I’m more inclined to believe the upper end of any estimates.
 
JG1888 said:
Has he done well or has he just done his job?
He got given the targets, owners stumped up the money and Peter signed them.
The club have a had a good window but don’t think Peter deserves the credit for it really.
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I read this quite a lot. I don’t think it’s a good argument. We all know that some employees in every business do really well… Are they just doing their job and not worthy of a bit of praise?
 
Regardless said:
I read this quite a lot. I don’t think it’s a good argument. We all know that some employees in every business do really well… Are they just doing their job and not worthy of a bit of praise?
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If you've been crap at your job for, say, 10 years, would you expect praise for putting effort in for a couple of months?
 
Regardless said:
I read this quite a lot. I don’t think it’s a good argument. We all know that some employees in every business do really well… Are they just doing their job and not worthy of a bit of praise?
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He's worthy of some praise for this transfer window. Significant fees (for us) for two players, bringing in first team players for a pittance etc. This window is regarded by most as the best in a long time, so the Riddler rightly deserves credit.

I can see why some would be reluctant to say anything positive about him though, he's still some way off righting the wrongs of the last 5 transfer windows or so.
 
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