Frank Quitely

Nowhereman and Sweet Pete have nailed it; the raison d’etre of the majority shareholder Brabco has always been to relocate the club and profit from the sale of the current site – everyone has always been aware of that. What has become problematic however for some of us is that we run a grave risk of DFC moving to a much inferior location in terms of transport and accessibility with a real possibility that the initially-planned modest facility may remain just that, permanently. Much has been made of the current proposals being an outline plan; maybe but read that first sentence again. Much has also been made of the perceived benefits, financial and otherwise, which may accrue. I’d be happier if those perceived benefits and some degree of research-led certainty about potential commercial neighbours was the driver behind all of this, but it appears that we have a decision leading to a justification instead of the other way round - again we must return to that first sentence. There is also the not inconsiderable matter of Neil Rankine claiming to be owed £200K as an overhang from the purchase of DFC, presumably if that is valid it will have some sort of detrimental impact on finances.

Er, I think we may already be there. But at least we are now away from the diversionary candyfloss of wedding venues and tourist attractions. Elsewhere Wilf mentioned increasing income; now that's an interesting point for it seems to me that even in our present confinement we are not maximising what may be available, because:- We do not employ a Commercial or Marketing Manager. We have a somewhat patchy record in customer relations. We do not seem to 'do' offers, deals or promotions. Following on from 2. and 3. we seem to expect the world to beat a path to DFC. Our support consists of diehards, and we cannot attract casual custom. But you know and I know that this matters hee-haw to those currently proposing the move on the premise of increasing revenue, and yet therein lies a paradox. Because if you don't begin to address the points above and others like them then it will matter f**k all if you relocate to St Tropez or Bondi Beach, if the same attitudes and experiences persist the outcome will be identical. But you may well be mired in debt with half your support evaporated. Just a thought.

I know of two this year at Ingliston involving Dumbarton residents, and I've personally attended one at Lodge on the Loch and one at Ross Priory. Other than the ones at BBS in 2014 I know of none in Dumbarton, including the Abbotsford and Dumbuck hotels. The wedding trade has taken up residence elsewhere. But that's hardly the point. We are being presented with a brick wrapped in fancy wrapping paper, and that wrapping paper has depictions of weddings, hotels, garden centres and retail and tourism developments; it's not the public who are peddling this stuff. Let me repeat; Dumbarton FC has no pressing need to relocate anywhere and although there are limitations to what can and cannot be done at the present site, what is being presented and the opaque funding process surrounding it is for me far, far too much of a risky adventure. Are Morton desperate to move ? Forfar ? Brechin ? QoS ? Raith ? Not that I've noticed, but I have seen that Stirling Albion attract the same 523 souls of a Saturday as they did at Annfield but in the interim the club almost went tits up. Ditto Airdrie. So why are we mad keen ? Well it's Brabco of course, but just because they present an an admittedly well-constructed vision of a future, but almost certainly not DFC's, doesn't mean that everyone should just roll over. Had that been the case, in recent times we'd have had a Sherriff Court on The Common and a new secondary school being constructed on Posties Park. Brabco's desire to turn a coin and the Council's desire to gain Council Tax from (yet more) new housing should not deter us all from applying rigour. We keep hearing about DFC being a 'bad neighbour' - can anyone show an official document which features that phrase ? Has an application for any sort of expansion or alteration at BBS ever actually been submitted and rejected by WDC ? Well, let us all see the evidence and we can accept it. There are lots of issues to be covered and gaps to be filled in before we should literally head towards a brave but unknown new world in a God-forsaken location. Brabco's interests and intentions may well overlap that of the supporters and shareholders but there has to be a thorough prosecution before we are at that stage. Sooner or later we may be be back in the lower divisions - I hope not, but we need to face the possibility - whither DFC and it's situation then ?

Perhaps, and it's interesting that you mention Ingliston Wilf, as I would hazard that the owners of a purpose-built luxury wedding view atop panoramic vistas of the River Clyde will no doubt be cacking themselves at the prospect of a rival establishment adjacent to a council refuse station and looking upwards and onto a 1970's housing scheme, complete with gaudy neon signage of Robert The Bruce. Ditto the Loch Lomond trade.

Dear God, this is getting more bizarre than Frank Folan's abortive idea to convert Overtoun House into a US-style country club in the early 1970's. He had reportedly roped in George Raft to front the enterprise, perhaps forgetting that the famous Hollywood hood was banned from entering the UK.

Don't be so dismissive. Page 136 of 'The Chronicles Of Old Lennox' refers to 'Robert Du Bruis, two equerries and a common prostitute with flaxen hair enjoying some houghmagandie and a steak-bake on the cattle track between Dunbarton (sic) and Renton'.

Good post Jordo, and I think you echo the sentiments of many Sons fans. What has been presented is a Ferrari, but what may be delivered at the outset, and quite possibly thereafter, is a family saloon car. As regards the financial and commercial robustness of the whole exercise, surely both a detailed Business Plan and a Project Risk Assessment have been completed, or are fingers being put in the air ? I'm still convinced that unlocking the capital held by the present site is the primary motivation in all of this, and there remains no compelling reason for the football club to embark on what may be a very risky course indeed.

We're getting ahead of ourselves now, there are many questions needing answered before that. For example, why has there been no consideration of a 'phased development' on the present site, that would save a lot of hassle and expense, no ? But it would also deny Brabco the fruition of their grand plan, and make no mistake the two are linked. We've heard talk of 'bad neighbours, parking problems, lack of training facilities', etc., but we are yet to see any tangible evidence of that. Has a Planning Application in respect of new works at BBC ever been submitted by DFC ? I suspect not, because there is no desire to do it on the grounds of Brabco's interests, but that doesn't stop the impression of there having been a submission and a response from WDC being fed into the atmosphere. Likewise the 'bad neighbour' schtick; I've not met anyone with adverse comment on the present set-up, but when you are embarked on a mission of taking a hatchet to your own floors that becomes irrelevant. Sure there are parking issues but there will be parking issues when WDC decants it's workers from the Count Buildings to the Burgh Hall, and they will be overcome. As it could be at The Rock. As regards training facilities, I thought DFC was linked into the redevolpment of the East End park facility ? We are being presented here with a vision, and that vision only, for partisan ends and I for one would like to see firm evidence that we need to move anywhere, not least an awful location outwith the town.

Where exactly did I mention luxury homes ? I expect that the plans will be for more of the types of homes that are already adjacent to the football ground - overpriced but hardly luxury. Brabco/Denny Homes are acting now because the land on which the BB(bankrupt)S sits has increased in value to make their plans potentially viable. And if you check I think you'll find that Turnberry divested themselves of the old Blackburn site some time ago.

I get the impression Wilf that Brabco and their agents won't be worrying overly much about Articles of Association and Golden Shares, etc., They arrived here with the express intention of relocating DFC in order to generate a return on their investment, and market conditions having put that on hold for a few years they'll be very keen to now make that happen; if that requires steamrollering obstructions I'll bet that's just what they'll do. We should bear this in mind when the prospectus is laid out later this week, and also consider that Brabco's interests don't necessarily coincide with those of DFC.

Unlucky you Wilf.....

Correct - mea culpa.

Why would Tralvelodge wish to relocate from a site of (I'm told) 88% occupancy since new to a much less advantageous location ? Also, the Malt & Myre is a part of the Travelodge 'offering' so that makes it even more unlikely. And another thing - apparently The Gambling Commission has revoked the operating licence number of Bet Butler Limited. Reasons given include:- The Commission is not satisfied as to the competence of the Licensee, The Commission is not satisfied as to the financial circumstances of the Licensee. Does anyone at DFC or Brabco have any direct involvement in Bet Butler ?

Ah, but there is real significance if Labour has indeed lost its hold on the Celtic-supporting bloc, a traditional bedrock of its vote here. And surprising as it may sound, not all Rangers fans are voting No.

For what it's worth I reckon Yes had it by 4 to 1 on displayed affiliations in the Home end at Dumbarton yesterday. The word is that Labour has lost Alexandria, Renton and large chunks of Dumbarton. I even spoke pre-match with two Faslane employees who are voting Yes. The silent 'majority' will still be here, but there are a lot of big bought hooses displaying Yes posters. I'm wondering how closely the bookies are in tune with the situation on the ground.

Is it not about time we revisited the goalkeeping situation at DFC ? That's about three weeks that have passed now.

Looks like no further movement on the player front which I find disappointing. The midfield badly needs shoring up, and it looks like we're stuck with a couple of bench-warmers. Or just warmers.

With nothing on the OS I can only assume that the story about Prunts and Murray having exited is incorrect.

Aye, the club lurkers. And be warned, they report everything back

I don't have any inside track on any of this, but if Rankine's version has any truth then I would expect that it may involve the change of ownership of DFC to Brabco. We've sometimes got to differentiate between DFC the football club and the majority share ownership of the club.

Can anyone tell me what exactly is required ticket-wise for the Rangers game at Ibrox ? I understand you need to have a ticket prior to the game - is this correct and will DFC be selling a quantity to Sons fans ? What's the script here ?

Welcome...Jumbo scored one of the finest goals I've ever seen by a Dumbarton player at Shawfield.

Probably on financing the difference between Alan Adamson and Ian Murray and Ian Chisholm and Paul McGinn to name but two. Increasing the match ticket would only diminish further the number of casual attenders paying at the gate, unfortunately the club in isolation can't bring sanity to the match pricing issue. We've enjoyed a bit of a discount on season tickets in recent years, we need to be honest on that.

No, it simply means that he has not left. The only constant in all of this is that for what seems like ages now Ian Murray has been on the verge of signing a contract extension at Dumbarton - the fact that he has not seems to suggest that there is an issue of some sort. In contractual reality all that a new deal will do is provide some sort of compensation should he move on, but it really does influence team matters. Time is moving on and we need to have a manager in place pretty damn quick, let's hope we have a resolution of some sort soon.

'I hear that Murray was interviewed today for the St Mirren job from a usually impeccable source' Hmmm....you have a strange idea of what constitutes making a claim.