By Duncan Wood
January 25 2003

There have been rumours for a few days now but the Evening Post today ran a story about possible bids for Bristol. Apparently, one offer has already been tabled but there are other parties interested.

So, this week has seen the confirmation that Malcolm Pearce is definitely walking away at the end of the current season and now we have the first information about whether he will have a successor.

The answer to that one would appear to be yes. After a nervous few days when many people feared that Malcolm would walk away and that the club would cease to be, it transpires that there are various interested parties.

Today's Bristol Evening Post lists them in greater detail than I'm going to and Deano has provided a link from the messageboard but they break down roughly as follows:

1. A consortium backed by local and national companies as well as wealthy individuals has already tabled a bid and is waiting for feedback from Malcolm. They are keen to keep Malcolm involved and develop a new stadium in North-West Bristol.

2. A rival consortium set up by Nick De Scossa, Malcolm's former chief executive who vanished almost overnight to make way for Jack Rowell. No further info on this one.

3. Mysterious bids involving setting up a club at Newport or Oxford. Rodeny Parade and the Kassam Stadium are the proposed venues.

4. Anyone else?

This does tally with information I heard earlier this week which mentioned a local bid with a new stadium involved and another bid revolving around Oxford.

Option 1 would appear to be the preferred option as it's the only one that mentions remaining in Bristol. We don't know if Nick de Scossa's plan involves staying here.

They also appear to have moved the quickest having tabled a bid already and are keen to keep Malcolm involved in a 'presidential' role.

Ryland James of the Post does get it spot on when he says that things have to be sorted quickly. Players are out of contract at the end of the season. How can Peter Thorburn re-sign and attract new players in the current air of uncertainty?

Here's to a speedy (and Bristol based!) resolution...