cremola foam
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Posts posted by cremola foam
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Where are the Norwegian players?
Does Faz's signings suggest he has a bigger budget than Duffy?
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1 hour ago, PWL said:
That isn't white smoke!
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Mr Matthew Atkinson, one of the two Directors of Cognitive Capital ltd is an architect and sole director of a company called More Homes DFC.
Writing on the wall for the Rock, I think.
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Is Duffy really all that bothered? He is at the end of his managerial career and is maybe more interested in his media appearances. Time for him to go but who do we get instead? Anyone coming in has to work with the flotsam and jetsam Duffy has gathered, no easy task.
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13 hours ago, BallochSonsFan said:
Never.
There's no story in lower league football from a national tabloid viewpoint. Local press? There should be if the local papers didnt have such an ambivalent view of the club. I know that individual journalists do a cracking job (Fraser's stuff is always a good read and so was Andy Galloway before him). I'd expect the story to only pique the big papers' interests if it became the likely obituary for the football club.
The Brabco issue is complicated. They're not putting money into the club and never were going to. This was always a land deal with the added complications of a football club attached. It was never about them investing in Dumbarton specifically or football in general. There are some serious issues within Brabco itself, or were when I was meeting with them. Brabco isnt really a thing beyond being an investment group. You have Stainton, Wilson, some City of London spivs and a couple of others. They are not a united group - Stainton has one view, Wilson another, the spivs a different view again and getting them all to agree is very difficult. Over the course of their tenure as owners, it's really been Stainton and Wilson who have been the public face of Brabco, occasionally to disastrous effect. They've been clear that they'll oppose any form of fundraising that dilutes their shareholding or puts pressure on them to invest further in the club. That really does limit what the club and the fans can do to raise money.
Brabco want out, but there doesnt seem to be a consensus on their exit price. Stainton has previously suggested that he'd stay to the bitter end to get what he thinks should be the return on investment. How much Brabco have spent and how much they expect to make back is a murky pool indeed. The club itself isnt work much. The current ground doesnt have a significant land value given the remedial work needed to allow house building and the likely objections to a significant development by Historic Scotland. The club itself isnt worth much. Its unclear how much Brabco spent to acquire the controlling interest but there hasnt been much invested in the club since the initial purchase. They've probably spent more money chasing their Youngs Farm project. There may well be a development at Youngs Farm in the future, but it remains to be seen exactly how far in the future that'll be and whether or not it'll include a football ground. Right now that doesnt look likely. The pandemic will do nothing to encourage a significant housebuilding development on the edge of Dumbarton at a time when unemployment is likely to be higher for a sustained period. The alternative would be to sell to somebody looking to invest in a football club. There was an interested party but it was probably as murky as the Youngs Farm development and seemed to rely on using Dumbarton as a fattening ranch to develop European kids to sell on to other teams. Brexit would make that kind of arrangement very difficult at our level - getting work permits for European players wouldn't be an easy proposition and selling them on would carry a similar problem.
I think our big hope is that Brabco reach a crisis point internally. That they decide to cut their losses and sell. That causes a further problem in that they would sell to anybody who came along with the money and the new buyer may be worse than Brabco. To give them a shred of credit, they've never actually aggressively pursued a course of action that would be intentionally harmful to the club, even if their original plan was bunkum (I remember the conversation I had with an exasperated Gilbert well), their 2nd plan was just as bad and even the later incarnation of the Youngs Farm move seemed to carry significant risks. The important thing is to ensure that the trust is in a position to be a player when we eventually reach the end game. I think it was heading in the right direction and that it has a significant part to play in things somewhere along the line. Right now all the club board can really do is firefight and look for small wins. Things were heading in the right direction in those regards too until we lost Alan Findlay from the board and the work he was trying to start ran into a few difficulties, not least of which has been the almost year long shutdown of public events. The combination of the club and trust boards have a huge job ahead of them but we've got some talented people involved who will give it absolutely everything to try and find enough of those achievable wins that they start to make a difference.
When Covid is over then assuming there's a club to return to (and I believe that there will be, although what state it'll be in is anybody's guess) we've got some very big challenges ahead. I'm confident that we can work towards improving things in the short term whilst keeping the longer term issue of club ownership firmly in focus.
Thanks for that, very clear. Daft questionfrom me. Ballpark figure Brabco might accept, are we talking millions, hundreds of thousands or what?
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22 hours ago, Sergeant Wilson said:
Do you live in a cave?
Er, no.
Just far away.
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1 hour ago, Howlin' Wilf said:
Sharp intake of breath at Queen's Park appointing Leanne Dempster as Chief Exec.
Yep, what is that about? Money from where?
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Don't want to rain on the parade and an away draw and then a home win are fine but
We have managed 5 goals in 8 games! We need to find a way to the net.
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Shocked at the state of this. With temperatures in the high 20C and kangaroos searching for sustenance at the parched waterhole it beats me why this match was called off for a waterlogged pitch.
We are talking about Dumbarton, Western Australia, right? Maybe certain Clyde fans could just stay down under. Do us all a favour.
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5 hours ago, Howlin' Wilf said:
Fifty years ago today, a Charlie Gallagher penalty and a Kenny Wilson header cancelled out two early Bobby Lennox goals to force the League Cup semi-final replay into extra time, against the European Cup Final runners up.
I was there.Was at that game too. Celtic were a real force in Europe then and they were lucky to scrape past us.
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11 minutes ago, Scott Leitch said:
Duffy really stooped to a new low managing the sons. Sheer lack of options for poor old Jim. Sons should be eradicated from pro leagues for that pathetic excuse of a new 'stadium'. At least Boghead had character about it.
Thank you Scott. Are you getting out much?
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Many thanks for your efforts here, TheFarPost
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In so far as he has told the Old Firm to take a walk he has been excellent.
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18 hours ago, Sons FC said:
Fantastic piece on the Young Sons on the BBC website - makes you proud (unless you are an old foggie or don't like drums).
Exactly. Went to the Raith game, magic last minute goal, and they went bonkers. Banged their drum throughout and sang their songs. The way it should be.
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My worry is that Duffy cannot lose. He says he accepts full responsibility but can we really sack him? It is his squad, season is underway and who one earth would take on this lot for the kind of money we can offer. Conversely if he gets a better offer he will surely walk.
His casual approach to pre season signings suggests to me his heart is just not in it. We are in a serious bind.
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Do we now have the youngest average age squad in the division? Beginning to look like it.
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Opinions are obviously divided on the Young Farm proposal. A 9-10 vote is close. Our current home cannot continue. We are boxed in, capacity is limited, investment is compromised and atmosphere could be better. It is just not good enough for a club with Championship ambitions.
I am touched by some people's faith in the Council. My paranoia, on the other hand, is wholly justified ;).
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Brabco are right. There is no reason whatsoever to sign over any club assett , big or small, without gain for the club.If plans for this pathway were made and published without prior consultation of the club then that is on the Council.
I think I have been rational to this point, now I am going to be true to my paranoid, conspiracy theory geeky self.
There are people on the council who could not give a damn about the club. They see us as a diddy club and their affections lie in Glasgow, and I do not mean with Thistle or Queens Park. They may even by hostile to the idea of a successful local community club which broadens its support base, offers cheaper football and is free of a lot of ugly stuff to be found elsewhere. Hence the narrow defeat of the planning application. Happy to be shot down on this by people who know more about that than me, but that is my suspicion.
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Is it seriously contended that a new owner of Rangers could run it at a profit?
The current outfit and Murray before them, manifestly failed to do anything of the sort. To do that know must entail a huge downward adjustment to expenditure , including the wage bill.
Moreover given their credit rating, they make Greece look solvent, this enterprise looks to me as if it will have to be self financing.
So if they survive, something I rather doubt given the debt overhang and HMRC's preference for the taxpayer, they are going to be a much reduced outfit, no euro cash mind, for a number of seasons.
Now you might argue that this Yank will invest and bear a loss( no pun intended, well actually , it is).But Murray couldn't or wouldn't so why is it glibly assumed our transatlantic cousin will?
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Sons' sorrow
in Scottish League 2 General Chatter
Posted
No photos I am afraid but saw them play him play as a boy.
Sorry for your loss and thanks for stirring happy memories.