Thechicogibsonexperience

Chill pill, well and truly swallowed. [emoji23] My point on Duffy and squad retention was based on conversations happening in the weeks leading up to the end of the season. Not after he was gone. I guess you didn’t rate many or none of last years squad which is fair enough as we were largely rank rotten but there are merits in keeping some squad members and building on them with solid recruits. DFC seem to go with a complete overhaul most seasons. Maybe a budget has been agreed. I honestly don’t know but I just found it strange there’s been no commercial advertisement heading into the new campaign. Such things like ST sale projections I would have thought help set the playing budget. Plus I still think we are on the look out for a new kit and stadium sponsor? Suppose we can only judge if and when a solid managerial appointment is made and see what calibre of player is signed on the back of this.

Totally get that’s the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in currently but many questions remain unanswered. So let’s discuss. I can’t get to sleep thinking how much of a shambles we are potentially heading into. Has the playing budget been finalised for next season? If not, why not? Surely we are not any different from any other club? To help formulate our seasons budget I’ve not seen any news about Season ticket for next season. Yes there’s a huge unknown with Covid still lurking but then again we are no different from any other club regarding this. Budget could be been set with season 2019/20 numbers or getting an indication by doing a pledge thing like this time last year. The only unknown would have been which league we would be playing in. So there could be two scenarios and two budgets forecast. And now Duffy has walked but he could have identified previously on the players he wanted to retain for next season. Did that conversation ever happen with the board? Okay our season has been poor but some degree of squad retention would be vitally important going into a new campaign (e.g. our back 4 were pretty solid) Offers could have been made based on the two scenarios we would have found ourselves in next season (e.g lge 1 offer £175 p/w lge 2 offer £150 p/w). And I’d have hoped we’d have maybe got a little cash injected from our new owners considering their pledges when they first came in (no laughing at the back please!) Maybe the above has happened but the early signs seem to be we are majorly playing catch up and it’ll be another close season of building from scratch. I find it appalling we’ve left ourselves heading into a blind alley with no clue as which direction to go and it all in hinges on a decent candidate for manager stepping forward in jig time to save us......., please correct me if I’m wrong, paranoid or overreacting..........I’ll happily take a chill pill and see how this all unfolds.......

It’s on the club’s LinkedIn account. https://www.linkedin.com/company/dumbarton-fc

Some effort this.....[emoji122][emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]

Aye well done Stan. Great idea. Hopefully a few more business will see the benefit and do something similar. In fact, if you know any direct them to Alan Findlay at afindlay@dumbartonfc.com Hopefully some positive signing news to tomorrow......

Feed that back to the club and post the reply on here. Honestly you’ll get a constructive reply.

It’s definitely achievable. It’s something that can invigorate the support plus attract youngsters to the Rock The stage is set with the club allocating a section to such fans. With a bit of coordination it can work well. I went to Bayern vs Dortmund last month in the Dortmund end. The colour the fans brought was amazing. They were getting pumped 5-0 at HT. But backed the team until the full time whistle. It was only then they vented their frustration and anger, which was merited. Down the Rock if a player takes two touches to control a pass it’s met with distain and vitriol.

Exactly. The club are trying to change and listen to what the fans want. If you’ve got something to gripe about sound them out directly. You’ll get an honest and constructive answer. Great news on the ‘Noisy Section’ idea. Hope the folk embrace that idea. Home games can be sterile at times any thoughts to better the atmosphere should be welcomed not ridiculed. Looking forward to Saturday’s game now. And well done DFC to drop the prices. Bold move but fans need to turn up to make this decision justifiable [emoji106] Mon eh Sons!

Ah not read the ‘written assurances’ yet but it all seems good in principle. Though it would be nice if it was a stand alone pledge and not a seemingly sweetener to seek fans approval for the stadium move.

Is that wishful thinking? [emoji848]

Anybody know what this is about? It’s on the latest thread on the Lennox Herald FB page regarding the Stadium move. It’s interesting reading local residents comments on articles regarding the club and how they are perceived in the community. Bad experiences whether they have fabricated or have some substance seem all too familiar. I get avid supporters of DFC are in the minority in this area and for numerous reasons but why so much disdain? Maybe this should be the focus of any charm offensive. I know the trust is chipping away at the negative culture within the inner sanctum of the club. Tough gig, though sense this should be a matter of urgency. Maybe one day things will change.....

What is a DFC problem is the fortnightly 'musical chairs' routine of the casual fan trying to find a seat prematch. Better guidance from stewards (don't laugh!) and clear unreserved seating sections would help.

Agreed. It's a tough gig trying to attract revenue and public interest but the same could be said to every other provincial club in this country. There's no one quick fix to get the casual fan through the door. But do we just shrug the shoulders and accept it? I hope not. Personally I see the club overachieving on the park but underachieving of it and believe there's a lot of scope for improvement. More community focus and communication would be a start (not just from the Trust but the Club itself). But it's a hard road on limited resources and apparent drive from the internals of the club.

Dion Dublin

Add head of youth Tony Gervaise to that list if reports in one of today's Red tops are true....

Bring Back Pellie!!

Main thing for you guys is keeping him fit. Great player on his day and an integral member of out 08/09 championship winning season. Not sure how he'll adapt to the rough and tumble of junior football (I mean that with the greatest respect). All the best to him.

So I wonder if Brabco proposed the following... "Let us move to the Renton Rd and have a little profit in our back pockets and we'll move control of the club to the supporters (i.e the Sonstrust)." Would folk accept that as a compromise?

Yip. If you live in the Bellsmyre/Garshake/North-East Dumbarton as the crow flies it's not that much of a distance to walk. But if those folk do fancy a walk and a couple of pints in the lavish new Supporters bar it's a hell of a round trip (unless you want to run the gauntlet along the side of the A82). Any of that been factored into the proposals?

I wonder if the lack of detail of funding/figures is merely to mask the amount (or %) the owners are going to receive from this proposal?

......market research. lol

Pretty much a non event tonight from a Sons perspective. Not many first picks on show with the only plus being the young lads getting a run out. Roll on the real stuff (I'm not counting last Saturday!)

Fair play. On the OS Mr Findlay has given valid reasons for the price hike across the board. However I think there was further scope to think outside the box to attract the wayward Son/Casual fan. Not sure the full spectra of prices will help that. But credit to DFC for keeping the kids prices low. That is an important gesture, though the carrot needs to be there for the 25-50something age group (arguably the most profitable). The hardcore like myself will always will always buy STs. We might have a grumple about the price increases, but will always sign on. It is our club after all. I think the walk up prices have been weighted purely to cash in on the cash cows of Rangers and Hearts. Disappointed that they've upped the price price of the other games. No disrepect to them, but £18 to watch Cowden/Alloa wont attract the casual punter through the door. Perhaps a Category C level could have been inplace to try stimulate bigger attendances for the less profile games. The Category C could have been set at season 13/14 prices for Alloa, Cowdenbeath possibly midweek games (outwith cat A teams). Or possibly a scheme like: buy advanced ticket for the Cowdenbeath/Alloa game you get a voucher for first option of a Rangers/Hearts ticket. Not saying these ideas are perfect but mentioned earlier it's about thinking outside the box to stimulate interest. I understand the new price structures. But for me, I think the club could have been more adventurous profiting on the already capitivated audience, Cat A teams. Anyway, that's my last point on the matter. I'm more looking forward to discussing football issues and the exciting season ahead. Mon eh Sons!

I'm in this camp also. Like mentioned in previous posts there should be balance here as there is multiple factors to consider. I hope we can attract an increase in ST numbers as well as profit from any increase in price. Hopefully some signing news soon so we can start talking about the fitba! It's going to be a long preseason!

agreed. A sad reality of west of Scotland life. DFC as a club have to keep trying to increase their share.