Howlin' Wilf

It was me who asked the question about the exit strategy. I get the feeling that the answer came in the heat of the moment.

There is a lot to think about on the back of last night. The claims that the club could clear 300k from 'non football income' is a bold one indeed. Gross profits are fairly high in the hospitality industry, however it is very labour intensive. As a rough calculation, I'd reckon the turnover required to generate a net profit of 300k would be in the region of 1.5 million or even more. From what I gather, that figure (1.5m) is akin to around twelve times what the gross figure is for hospitality currently at CID. By Ian Wilson's own admission, it's approaching double DFC's entire turnover at present, which he pitched at 900k. Office space is notoriously difficult to let in the Dumbarton area and doesn't achieve particularly high rental. I'm not sure what the rental projections would be on 3g/4g pitches. If there is a plus, then it is with the proposed training facilities. However, the main concern has to be the viability of the plans and ability of Brabco to deliver them. If it were as presented in the artists' impressions and what was said last night, then hunky dory. However as a veteran of many planning presentations and artists' impressions in Dumbarton over the years, I've yet to see one come to full fruition. When Gilbert Lawrie was involved I had faith that he would act in the club's best interests. He was obviously compromised by Brabco paying his wages but his track record at DFC as a director and indeed saviour was a good one. Whatever doubts were cast on his plans presented in 2014, I thought that they were worthy of consideration, given Gilbert's expertise in both football administration and property development, the latter in which, he had fairly stellar qualifications and experience There is no such presence in Brabco's midst now. Ian Wilson puts me in mind of a Neil Rankine who has been to finishing school. The same insane messages but with a wee bit more finesse. There is a crumb of comfort mind you. There was a sizeable element of Sons support that didn't think Rankine would deliver the stadium at the Rock............

I hear that the value of the land at the Rock is a fraction of what we were once led to believe. Once clearing the site and decontaminating the land is taken into consideration, then the value of the land for building would, if my info is correct, make it not viable. This is indeed good news as my worry was always what happens if Dalmoak doesn't? The cut and run option some feared is no longer there.

I can think of one who might be interested.

I read recently that Donald Trump's speeches were examined for truthfulness and accuracy. The figure was around 4%. Just saying.

I thought over the 90 minutes we deserved the three points. In general our defence coped with anything that Mirren had. Stroke of luck with Barr's handball but it's probably quite refreshing to benefit from a refereeing blunder.

I see Marc McLean reports in the Record about a £40m investment in the north west of the town. Boost for Dumbarton as Chivas announces £40m Kilmalid expansion Scottish Daily Record - 4 h ago Chivas Brothers has announced it will invest £40million in its Kilmalid bottling plant in a huge expansion of the Dumbarton site. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/huge-boost-dumbarton-chivas-announces-9181081

It's not obvious to some here SD. Sorry, yes we've had a balance sheet but no profit and loss. For the uninitiated that is details of the club's income and expenditure.

The Scottish Sports Council have a security but not over the entire value of the stadium, only to the extent of what they are owed. Shareholders don't get a more detailed version. I've been a shareholder for thirty years and have not seen a DFC balance sheet, or profit and loss account for about twenty of those. Without these, any accounts are virtually meaningless.

Here's some reading for you..... Click here and here

I think you'll find that the stadium and land are still club assets. As a Ltd company the club's accounts are available from various sources, although there hasn't been an AGM for several years. Of course the company Brabco owns the majority shareholding in DFC. Therefore there is no need to magically transfer them. Brabco owns the club and therefore the assets.

I'd be interested to find out what the chances are of planning consent for housing being granted at the Dalmoak site. I'd be very interested to know if Brabco have a contingency plan in place should consent not be granted and what that plan is.

Surely rocks would be more effective?

I don't think they would do that. They might sell the majority shareholding to someone who would though.......

Sonsteam of 08, it's time you admitted that you're really a 39 year old with a fresh complexion .

From memory the Thistle game had about 5-6,000 there. Ian Wallace with the winner.

Your memory is playing tricks Nowhereman. in 1976 our average was still a multiple of 1000 perhaps 2-3 times that. In1976 we ran, if I remember correctly, 17 buses from Dumbarton for the cup semi as well as many going by train or car. Three buses ran from Helensburgh. The quarter final against Killie at Boghead attracted around 8,000 - with around 5,000 supporting the home team. The real dwindle in numbers started around 1979.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm pretty scunnered with this division. The 5 year stay has been good in parts and it has been a bit of an adventure. In the medium term though, it would be nice to support a winning team rather than be involved in an ongoing heroic struggle. Maybe we should be looking at the management team and squad we have and whilst still trying our best to stay in the Championship, have one eye on next season. We will be relegated sooner or later and when we are it should be with the thought that we do an Alloa rather than a Cowden. Aitken has a good track record at League One level. It might therefore be a bit hasty to sack him. My question earlier about who would replace him is very relevant. The Cowden fans latterly detested Jimmy Nichol but on his leaving they ended up with Colin Nish. Where are they now? Alloa did well to attract Jack Ross. Their gamble of sacking Danny Lennon only started paying off this season once Jack Ross had been given a vote of confidence to continue after relegation. He's left them in decent fettle for an attempt at the League One title. I have a feeling that Aitken, despite current events, is more of a Ross than a Nish. My fear is that sacking Aitken might mollify the support in the short term. However, if it were just to replace him with AN Other then I wonder whether the seemingly inevitable outcome of this season would be avoided......

Just click on their avatar/id at the left of one of their posts.

The game was gift wrapped for Ayr. You can't give away two silly goals and a penalty against the only other part-time team in the league and hope to get anything. The substitutions were indeed baffling. Whilst Ryan Stevenson is decent at corners and set pieces, he is woefully slow. McCallum looked pretty lively when he came on. Surely he's worth a start as the man playing just off the striker? And why not bring Fleming in for Thomson to freshen things up? Has Aitken got blind spots like the other wee ginger manager in the news this week? I don't want to add to the calls for Steve Aitken to go but I'm sure he'll know just how precarious his position has become. Who would we replace him with though?

When you think of the rise in most peoples living standards, i.e. stratospheric compared to both 50 and 100 years ago, you'd expect today's High St and Town Centre to be unrecognisably better. The thing is that civic pride and spending on the common realm has travelled downwards in inverse proportion to peoples' private income. Planning policy has given no regard to protecting town centres and in Dumbarton's case a series of thicko councillors and council officers from the mid 60s onwards have thrown vast sums of public money at various regeneration projects which have served only to considerably hasten and embellish the decline. Notwithstanding the rise in online shopping, growth of edge of town and out of town centres an the general decline of town centres, Dumbarton Town Centre is a testament to the hopeless diddies who presided over it - particularly in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. It is a disgrace.

Here's another one for you OK3 - Just for fun!

I'm very impressed with the latest regeneration plans for the High Street though.....

There's one thing that every artists' impression of Dumbarton, in the last 30 years. has in common. They remain just that.