This season would have definitely been different with DB in control because it is extremely doubtful he would have allowed some of the signings KK has made to go ahead, at least not on the salaries that are being paid. That in turn may have led KK te resign but, hey, that's all guess work. What is quite clear is that the one thing that this board has not brought is stability. There actions in allowing KK free rein on the purse strings to do what he likes has completely destabilised the club financially and we are in almost as big a mess as Leeds. Hence, our disastrous season, our pathetically low position and the fact that there is no money to spend on transfers this summer and rumours rife that, despite promising that no major changes are required, KK may have to sell his prize assets. Namely, Anelka, SWP and Joey. This club does need stability but that comes with a board that knows how to run a business successfully, profitably, within budget and build slowly with proper organic growth instead of gambling and splashing the cash. The odds are stacked against you when you gamble. They are heavily in your favour with a proper vision and business plan for success. For the first scenario, look at Leeds which is roughly where we are now. For the second, look at Charlton (one of a very few clubs who made a profit in their last financial year). The Leeds board has been replaced. Charlton's fans are more than happy with the current board. What do you think City's board should do?

Bernstien bought stability to the club and I certainly don't think the amounts of players on a final payday would have been purchased if he was still at the club . . . . our loss . . . . again

Thinking back now to when Bernstein first asked for a return bid, he did it at the right time for the fans to want a change. Now we are secured in the premiership i think we should move forward and not look back and think what would of happened, or what if. It was his decision to leave despite our efforts to make him stay.

There were only a few games left when David Bernstein offered his services, how could he have done anything different?.
The only thing would have been to embarrass John Wardle.
Sure Bernstein did well for CITY, but he made the choice to leave, if things did not go his way in the future he could leave CITY again, we need a Chairman that stays for stability.
For the club to move forward we must stick with the present Chairman.

bernstein questions paying B#6 million on fowl-up. KK spits out dummy. bernstein leaves. KK happy. City B#50 million in debt. Loose cannon in charge. If thats stablity...

Andrew from Brentford. Your words of wisdom are quite possibly the most articulate, well thought out, precise and truthful posting on this site. Charlton are a fine example to cite when considering how a business should structure its growth pattern. Leeds, quite simply, are not. Which do we most resemble?

The important thing is to get a board made up of fans with a bit of loot. I'd see Eddie Large on there and Howard Davies and the Gallaghers, and Rick Wakeman. Bernard Manning too. Don't forget he ran a good business at the Embassy Club, so he could be chairman.

two criticisms levelled at Wardle regime which are unfair:

(i) 50 million debt result of Bernstein leaving: since B'n left only Nobbie Fowler has been bought at anything other than a modest fee. Otherwise we've followed his policy of bringing in people on big wages for short term (Schmeichel; Foe; Benarbia). So B'n more to blame for debt than Wardle.

(ii) "last pay day" boys part of post-Bernstein regime. What about Bishop, Jobson, Weah, Kanschelskis, Benarbia, Pearce, Schmeichel then? If you want class players you pay high wages. If you can't afford a fee and/or the real top wages you have to get the old ones.
This is called living to your means.
So Wardle is actually living with the consequences of the Bernstein regime rather than having created the situation subsequently; and in fact I remember Bernstein's intrview saying how he was hocking the club in the hope of bringing it on. So thats how I see it. At least Wardle has kept us up twice, which is more than predecessor did! So lots stop whinging. Time for that when Caramelwafer signs up.

City were at their most financially stable under Berstein. Not sure if we'll ever really know why he and KK fell out. On a downside, just read that City have released Arason for being "too good to be a number 2". Surely the whole idea is that you have two really good keepers? Then injuries don't leave you requiring a 18 yr old with no experience in the game.........

bob forde, westpoint. Stipulating criteria for a directorship of the club on the basis of being a "fan with a bit of loot" could be almost as irresponsible as say appointing Peter Risdale chairman of Leeds; a "fan with a bit of loot" However, appointing fans with money and a proven track record in business and business development may be a more astute than appointing a comedian who has done well in his own field. However, it could be said, who would notice one more comedian in the boardroom at Eastlands.

Didn't Bernstein leave because he felt he no longer enjoyed the support of the board? Wasn't this because the other board members were scared stiff of Keegan, the 'messiah' walking out and so backed him instead of the chairman?

Do City fans think this was wise? Certainly I don't. Allowing the tail to wag the dog is asking for trouble, and that's exactly where this episode has left us.

This makes me really question, not the motives, but the cold blooded decision making of this board. Every business needs stops and checks to balance reckless excess.

It appears that under Wardle we are more likely to go down the downward spiral of bankruptcy and relegation instead of going forward. Bernstein brought stability, there is something wrong within the club at the moment and it needs sorting out so we can be succesful in the future.

For the current board to let DB back would be like turkeys voting for christmas. We've gone from a stable club looking towards the future in a new stadium to just short of financial meltdown in relegation and a move back to the bad old days of Mr Swales. DB treated the club as a business rather than using the Peter Ridsdale model we are on now (although Leeds did buy some decent players rather than the old has-beens I spent my season ticket money on)

Is anybody out there like me...a shareholder in Man City Plc and becoming worried about our beloved club? Perhaps we should start a shareholders group to share views and if we hold enough shares and have a consensus of opinion perhaps make those opinions known to the board? Send your e-mails to mrbuckles@hotmail.com entitled MC Fans Group and I'll see how many are interested!

It's a sad sad day when the manager becomes bigger than the club itself. That is what has happened and DB saw this and left. Keegan has therefore been given carte blanche to do what he pleases, resulting in a financial meltdown. And what have we got to show for it? - We pay our money to the club for season tickets, merchandise etc and we deserve to receive full value for it! Like Leeds, the board have taken advantage of the supporters unwavering loyalty and they have been wasteful. I am angered by the whole situation and I ceratinly don't like where MY money has gone. I'm sick and tired of paying the wages of slack, lazy excuses for players like Fowler, Macca, Sibierski etc and if this was any other business I would have taken my money elsewhere. It's about time somebody started to listen to what the fans - or should I say customers - want. Bring back David Bernstein - he knew how to run a business, and he is the man I want in control of my money.

Where did this daddy's boy come from? The golf course? Nice of him to take time off from spending daddy's millions & break his silence with this nonsense.

If the club was well run then tomorrow would see the presentation of DVB to the fans as a new signing for the current season before the game. Tied into this would be the chance to say goodbye to Macmanaman, Fowler and probably a couple of other of the short term Bosman signings from last summer, as well as some of the more injury prone players we have been carrying for a year or two. As far as Arason going because he is 'too good to be no.2', this shows the mentality of the current regime. All this whinging about 'an elite top four, and then the rest', we have the third highest crowd attendance in the premier league, we don't expect miracles after the last twenty years of dross we have had to watch on the pitch, but we should certainly be in the top twelve in the league. Unless certain people aren't doing their job's properly. It's about time the board came clean about how much some players are being paid, because if Macmanaman is on the rumoured 60 grand a week, and he's only fit for half a season, then somebody needs to get a grip on the finances and stop wasting cash like this.

stop your whining! we have stayed up! KK is the right man for the job, only he could have taken the club forward in the way it has. Back the board and Kev, its the players who have to shoulder the blame regardless of what keggy says. None of you were moaning about nico and DVB! so some of the buys have been poor, maybe they will rectify the situation ext year? This fright we have had might actually be good for us, our upward curce was lulling us all into a false sense of security caused by over acheivment. With settled players and thorough end of season investigation, the club can move forward. I like DB but taking him back is moving in the wrong direction.

Just flicked onto official website. Interesting quotes from KK on transfers the gist of which are 1. We are looking at Bosmans and you do not find too many good twenty somethings. So we look at experienced players who other clubs will not commit to for 2/3 years. 2. Most of the players brought in last year have done ok but we'll be looking for a better season from them next time. What that roughly translates to as far as i can see is that we can look forward to more old mercenaries who can't get a decent payday anywhere else, probably for good reason. Also, if KK thinks that his signings last year have done ok then he has been watching a different set of players to me all season. David James is an excellent signing, jury still out on Bosvelt. Sibierski has shown some decent form in patches (we did get him a year younger than KK originally wanted tho!)but jury still out. Reyna, Tarnat, Macca, Fowler, Sinclair, Seaman have all been unqualified disasters, in my opinion you understand. Tiatto and Wiekens are being released and both could have added something to our team last time around but, of course, KK didn't sign them. By next season we need to have acquired two decent full backs who actually have an inclination to get in the way of the odd cross or two. DVB if at all possible or a dominant centre half of some sort at least. A creative midfielder who can get hold of the ball and pass it on the ground. We need to get more pace and purpose into our game instead of this half paced amble forward ending with the predictable hoof in the air.

Just read on official website quote from Keegan, "If I am honest if you are looking for players available on Bosman transfers then you are not going to find too many twenty-one-year old good players available. So you go for experienced players for whom other clubs are not willing to commit to for two or three years". Doesn't the fact that no other club is going to commit to the player indicate that he probably isn't upto the job?
Steve, Colne, the players that you mentioned that were short-term buys for big money (Foe excepted, he wasn't a short-term buy, that was just tragic) are the players that helped us get to the Prem (except scum reject kanchelskis). The players we have now are the ones that helped us finish 4th bottom (probably). Here lies the difference, when we signed Ali B he was easily good enough for the 1st, Macca hadn't played Prem football for 4 years prior to his move altho he could probably make it in the 1st Div. Keegan (& Wardle) need to have learnt from this and the 2 buys/signings they make in the next week must be better investments than last summer. Still, I remain a Keegan fan. The Blue Moon will rise again...

The most stable period this club has ever experienced was under the Chairmanship of David Bernstien, not only that, he reduced the Club's debt by a substantial amount by brokering deals mainly because of the respect the City (financial) had in him.
John Wardle is a dyed in the wool City fan, he also puts his money where his mouth is, however, that does not make him a meaningful Chairman, indeed Mr. Wardle was probably the most reluctant Chairman to be offered the Chair in the Club's history.
If Mr. Bernstien being in the Chair meant the departure of KK there must have been some basic differences between them.
Perhaps D.B. could see that the club's money was being squandered on mediocre players, and that we were going back to the bad old fincial days, KK is well known for acting like a kid in a toffee shop when he has money to spend.
Bring back D.B. as ASAP, and let them settle their differences.

Ted Regan