Sweet Pete

All the best today, chaps.

I see Craig Gordon is back to full fitness after 2 years out and looking for a new club.

Cheers.

What article is that?

I see Aaron Barry signed for Derry City last month. Shame that, I'd have liked to see him back at the Rock.

That's not really how it works, certainly not for ageing pros who're going part-time because they're on the downslope of their career and young lads who've been released by full-time clubs.

I would hope to see the following:- Keep Turner (already signed) Kirkpatrick (already signed) Graham Megginson Nish Fleming Gilhaney Agnew McGinn Linton Prunty McLaughlin Coleman - kept on but loaned out for more experience Lumsden - kept on but loaned out to the Juniors for game time McKerracher - kept on but loaned out for more experience Punt Phinn McDougall Smith Hugh Murray Ronald Unsure about Grindlay Ewings Both have performed well for us at times and both have had howlers for us at times. If it's possible to replace them both with better quality then obviously I'd be happy to improve the squad in that way, but if we aren't going to get noticeably better 'keepers in their stead then I'd hang onto them. I'd also hope to try and get Kane and Miller back next season from St Johnstone and Celtic respectively, if possible. That means we'd need cover / competition for left and right back, centre half, centre mid, both wings and centre forward, but we'd be keeping the core neucleus of a good squad together.

Sex with Smurph's genitals is always fantastic. And one of these days, someone else will discover that too.

Ayr United and Killie both played in the old top flight as part-time sides.

A decent article, F.

"if you build it, they will come" is a line from a Kevin Costner movie, not a viable business development strategy.

If there are floating fans out there waiting to be claimed then there is no guarantee of keeping them. Building a new stadium based on the idea of "claiming" fans of other teams or previously unclaimed football fans is totally mental. A completely unsustainable business model.

I'd love it if Bankies had a ground like ours.

Correct. We are fine where we are, we do not need to emulate Darlington.

We already market the club as much as we can for a club and town our size. Your assumption is based on the idea that we aren't doing enough to attract floating soccer fans to the ground, when that simply isn't the case and frankly the idea of a silent body of untapped football supporters just waiting to be courted is ridiculous.

It was in this thread, yes, but the point is that we don't need them anyway. Realistically we're not going to be in the same league as Rangers and Hearts for very long and, as I said earlier in the thread, that is no reason to go extending the stadium.

Apparently (according to someone on here) the club have enquired about planning for temporary expansion and been rebuffed by the council. Not that it matters anyway, because we are not a sleeping giant and we do not require a bigger stadium than that which we currently have.

No, we absolutely cannot, nor ever will be able to, sustain full-time football. Fucking drivel. The people who come along to "big" cup games are not only lapsed Sons fans, but also their wives, husbands, friends, colleagues, well-wishers and assorted people from the town, as displayed by our game last week against Aberdeen when bus 4 had a load of Old Firm supporters on, who just happened to be from Dumbarton. Forget what occasional cup games generate in terms of crowds, only league averages matter, and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous. You can't build a stadium based on something as ethereal and hard to define as cup crowds.

How much are they paying you?

You're correct, of course, the Trust's nominated Board member is not always privy, nor necessarily always able to steer things in the fans' preferred destination. But people are asking simply because the Trust has Boardroom level representation, so it's natural that they would look that way for answers.

But we don't need a "BETTER" stadium! That's the bleedin' point.

It's nothing to do with trauma, it's purely an issue of necessity. You presumably moved house several times because you were required to do so for whatever reason. You would not move house simply because it was occasionally windy around your current one. The fact of the matter is that whether we get promoted or not we do not need a larger stadium. There is no minimum limit on seating in the top flight anymore so the stadium we have is perfectly adequate and encourages us to continue living within our means long term, rather than emulating Darlington or the like in the hope that "if we build it, they will come". So what if we can't put up temporary stands to get more away fans in? The chances are we won't get promoted and would be unlikely to stay up for long if we did and promotion carries increased revenue with it anyway by way of TV and prize money. None of that is worth gambling the club's future on. Everyone thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but it's only when you take the plunge and gamble that you find out whether it truly is or not, and if it isn't then you've done all that for no feasible gain. The move from Boghead was different, that was essential, this is frivolous.

I wasn't referring to the Board in general, simply the Brabco associated developers and perhaps should have been clearer about that. However, whilst I agree that the club are sitting in rude health on the park, that should not be allowed to hide the fact that the ultimate goal of these people seems to be to sell the club's land for no better reason than personal financial gain.

You're not talking about a lamp or a car though, the "thing" which is being sold is a football stadium, home of that most ethereal and hard to define thing, a football club. A few games getting called off because of a frozen strip is no reason to move, nor is "this ground is sometimes windy". Quite simply, none of the points you put forward in favour of moving are at all severe enough to merit such a substantial upheaval and the wider reaching implications of future uncertainty. Don't just blindly accept things, question them.

And that is the crux of my opposition to it. Moving an entire football club just so that the owners can make a profit is not an acceptable proposition.