palmy_cammy

I don't think you'll find anyone that disagrees with that. He did say Chisholm was one of the reasons though not that he was entirely to blame. I don't think anyone will ever understand the baffling decision to back Chisholm to the hilt for a promotion push that was never going to happen, and wouldn't be possible even if it did. Not with out incurring even further debt through groundsharing etc.

I'm not hugely suprised. I mentioned previously about the assumption that part time is automatically cheaper being inaccurate. So much hinges on the managerial appointment though.

This won't happen. Although it wasn't on the same level as Brannigan, McCall didn't leave Queens on the greatest of terms with the Chairman.

Davie Irons can f**k off. Hopeless manager, horrible man. Is he not joining the police anyway?

Nothing retrospective on my part I made it fairly clear throught his previous tenure that I wasn't a fan and nothing has changed. He was inept with bags of money to spend yet Rae thought the sun shone out his backside. If the board feel he is the man for the job when we have no money to spend then it shows you how clueless they actually are. Although my dislike for Chisholm would play a part my reason for not returning would more be down to his appointment being a symbol that the club is run by idiots who will likely end up killing the club.

No-one is coming out of this situation looking particularly great, I think it's time for KB to stop talking and the Board to start. Rumours of Chisholm returning over on Mad world have me greatly concerned, if it is true I will be finding a new Saturday afternoon activity.

Pfft things really are turning to shit when you can't even trust Skyline Drifter to get things right. Sorry Morton fans, the angelic McKenna starts next season with just a FOUR match ban. Apologies.

With the massive squad and budget Chisholm had at his disposal 4th was underachieving, the Board openly thought Chis was going to lead us to the promised land and threw money at him recklessly to allow him to do so.

In McKenna you may have found the younger fitter version of Neil Macfarlane which is what he originally was for us. Last season though he was an infuriating ned and a complete liability with his knack of picking up bookings on a game by game basis. Mostly completely unnecessary as well. When available he will do you a turn and can fill in at CB or RB when required. Starts the season with a FIVE match ban though which will be the first of many.

We got into this position the same way every other football team with money problems does. Financial mismanagement by an inept Board.

He equalled our highest finish in the league since promotion despite working with the smallest squad during that time. He got our highest ever points total since promotion and got us to the ALBA cup final. As seasons go at Queen of the South that is pretty damn successful.

Those types of comment have pre-dated Brannigan by quite a considerable time though. Like I said most are unrealistic and probably expected Queens to have a compliant stadium and be in the SPL within a couple of years. It's a vicious circle really. Us as regulars at Palmy with more knowledge than your man on the street appreciate that with the income we have sustaining ourselves in the First Division is an achievement, and a fourth place equates to a good season. It's not exactly going to entice punters away from the pub and Jeff Stelling doing his hardest to make Kidderminster against Burton Albion sound like the most exciting game in the world though. You're going to struggle to convince me KB's comments have had much, if any impact. What I will agree with though is that most of what he said was pretty obvious (certainly to me) so didn't really need to be said anyway, and certainly not on an almost weekly basis. Also bearing the circumstances in mind, not enough on its own to justify not renewing his contract, especially when the footballing side of things has been so successful.

You're first part is why I simply can't understand why Queens haven't at least made an offer to every member of this years first team. Even a derisory offer is better than keeping them in the dark. Maybe at his age Lilley will accept a cut to stay at a club he knows inside out and is club captain? Maybe McMenamin enjoys playing for his hometown club rather than the upheaval of moving once again after only joining us in January. His form would suggest he is enjoying himself... Your second part I just don't think is realistic. Take someone like Bob Harris (perhaps not the best example as he shouldn't struggle to get a new club) who as far as I'm aware has been a full-time footballer since being a youth player at Rangers. Since then he has been full-time with us, and Clyde. I doubt he has a trade or many qualifications to fall back on. If we were to make him an offer he can choose to hold out for a move elsewhere on equal or increased wages, or accept our offer and remain. I don't see dropping to part-time being a viable option for many existing full-time players.

Indeed, the legal paperwork may say differently, but the reality is that there is a big difference between a full-time and a part-time player, the main one being that a part-time player has a non-footballing income to fall back on. The PT vs FT discussion appears to be another subject I disagree with the majority on though. There seems to be an assumption amongst most people that us going PT is an inevitability, and an instant way to reduce outgoings on wages. The reality is that the only real outcome to being part-time is that you reduce the number of potential players you can attract, and these players spend less time together with the coaching staff. I can say with fairly great certainty, and I think SD has alluded to it in the past, that we paid higher PT wages in the First Division than several of our FT rivals (I think Clyde were used as an example at the time, but there will definitely have been others).

Am I alone in thinking that KB's comments are pretty irrelevant to the drop in attendances? Subtle as a sledgehammer they may be but everything he has said is the truth, and a truth that most people in Dumfries know already. Him and Rae are as bad as each-other for repeating the same sound-bite. Rae with his "we need more fans" and Brannigan with his "the squad is too small". I got sick of hearing both, but just like Rae's plea for support fell on deaf ears, I don't particularly think Brannigan's wining about squad size had any negative impact. The fickle Dumfries public will turn out for a "big game" be that a top of the league encounter against Caley Thistle, or a Cup tie against Hibs/Dundee/Rangers etc. They won't turn out week in/week out, and never have, long before Brannigan was boss and Rae was Chairman. The comments I hear from people (friends and workmates) cite value for money as the primary factor (with the quality of football on show the reasons for not finding it value for money), and "lack of ambition", usually followed by comments like "Queens don't want to go up", "...can't afford to go up", "happy being mid-table in the First Division". Now for all these comments are unrealistic, or just downright untrue, they don't mention the comments made by the manager as a reason for not going to games. For all that I consider myself a "diehard supporter" (I don't really because I detest that term), the only game I attended after the ALBA Final was the Dundee game. This was mainly due to the players throwing the towel in, and me not being in a position to pay the money required to watch the players go through the motions. Of course the fact our season was over was partly to blame for the players' attitude, but so too was the situation they all find themselves in because of the shambles caused by the Board. So to conclude based on my evidence alone - Fans lost due to comments by Brannigan - zero, Fans (temporarily) lost due to actions of the board - one.

Have the doom and gloomers been keeping track of all the topics that have popped up on here this week discussing the huge amounts of players being released by our divisional rivals? Might put things in perspective for some people. Season ending = no games and no income = no funds or need to pay wages = no or few players signed. We aren't alone! I'm not trying to say everything is rosy, but our season certainly isn't doomed before it has even began. There is going to be an unprecedented amount of players available for next season, the crucial factor as always will be identifying the right ones and getting the most out of whatever figure the board pluck from the air as "the budget". This of course means that making the right managerial appointment will be absolutely vital. There is a clear and obvious solution that instantly wipes out this crucial decision, but it won't be taken and I sadly believe it will be made based on personal, rather than footballing reasons. Not an ideal way to run a football club. Considering the bad feeling that already exists towards the board, and the financial implications of relegation, the wrong appointment could spell absolute disaster for the club, on and off the park.

It is a very well worded statement, and one I feel did need to be released. The late timing of it though just confirms what we know about the board, that they are reactive and not proactive.

I started doing likewise for this Summers WC although it consisted of a collection of screen dumps from various betting sites being saved to notepad, I'm hoping to have a more organised and readable system in place for the new season. Do you have any idea if there are template spreadsheets available anywhere? I've tried to knock my own together but I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to go about filling it in, or if I've included the right information, or missed anything out.

That was a ridiculous pot to take on.

Shame it wasn't Janae you met.

Kris Boyd Tom Burke (from the film Donkey Punch)

Adding a dash of Morgans Spiced Rum to a glass of Coke can provide the vanilla affect. Not advisable when driving however.

All very well except Lucas was introduced to the show as a photographer.

Dundee.