Howlin' Wilf

I wonder if those of us of a certain age would have had the same happy memories of Boghead had it not been for the halcyon years of the 70s? Having already said I prefer the wind tunnel, I'd swap it in a minute for Boghead in a Scottish Cup quarter final with nearly 9,000 there and Jumbo Muir rising majestically to send Killie out of the cup. I'd swap it for circa 11,000 in two successive games at the end of 71-72 with promotion and a pitch invasion at the end of it. However in the realism of now, watching the game in reasonable comfort, with fitba' of a reasonable standard, toilets with a roof and proper drainage, food serveries with decent snacks and good service, decent adjacent parking and a supporters bar for a pre-match pint is functional indeed. I wonder Frank if we're at an age when inspiration is almost as distant a memory as the Bluebell Polka playing over the tannoy and Willie Muir announcing that the local MP had kindly donated the ball for that day's game? Thinking back, what was the first Sunday match planned for Boghead? Who were the scheduled opposition? And which referee postponed the game half an hour before kick off with over 2,000 fans already inside the ground? A bonus if you can tell me who the ref's son was and which team he was playing for that day?

I'm 55 and have supported Sons since 1970. I much prefer the current ground - no contest at all.

I had a fight there the day we won 4-2 in the Premier League in 84/85. Probably the only time in my adult life I've fought anyone. It was a right result because I decked the guy and managed to get away just before the polis came and lifted him. Happy days.

Maybe we should switch the tie. Our ground can accommodate everyone likely to want to attend, properly segregated and in comfort.

About six weeks ago.....

I hear Andy Graham got £25,000 for that interview with the website...

As soon as Murray applied for the St Mirren job, it was better for him and DFC that he moved on. Do you think the Sons captain would be agreeing with you had Muzz stayed? Naw! It's all about.................. Delighted to hear the positivity from the players about the new boss. ................timing!

The only current info I have is here https://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/document/brabco-736/AnnualAccounts/2014-05-31. A £97,653 loss at year end May 31st 2013 was turned into a profit of £72,761 a year later. There hasn't been an AGM for a long time and in any case DFC don't issue a profit and loss account which would give shareholders a better idea of how things are. This page http://www.endole.co.uk/company/SC009005/the-dumbarton-football-club-limited lists current liabilities as over £104,000. However without knowing what this debt is and the nature of it, it's hard to say if it is significant or not.

I've been waiting for a while for the club to sign someone heavier than me. Now if they could just sign a 56 year old my happiness would be complete.

I'm wondering whether Aitken is using some psychology here by declaring his interest in Mark Brown. Managers are usually reluctant to mention these things until it's a done deal. By praising Brown 'He's come from a high level and has an offer on the table' and appearing enthusiastic 'He's talking to us and that's a good sign' Brown might compare that attitude with stony faced dourness that he may or may not encounter elsewhere.

So long as no one has the bright idea of starting a new thread entitled anything like ' A great feeling at the Rock' or something equally daft. I'm with you however, on being a bit more optimistic. When our close season was thrown into uncertainty with Murray's departure, there was a nervous interlude before the appointment of Aitken and Farrell. However, reading that Mark Spalding is expected to team up with our former manager as his assistant, whilst we have appointed a tried and tested team, any misgivings that we can perhaps stay up for the fourth year running have subsided. It's a possibility Pleased to hear that Kirkpatrick has re-signed. I'd like to see Garry Fleming and Scott Taggart added to the list.

I remember Rankine telling me thst he had signed Lynes and had pipped Milwall for his signature. Ok3 had an appropriate nickname for him. 'The Ladyboy of Banknock'......

Being an older type of chap, I can remember the Scottish Presbyterian habit of giving the first born boy the mother's maiden surname as a Christian Name. Hence the number of guys of a certain age with Christian names such as Crawford, Findlay and Farquhar which Billy Connolly had some fun parodying. St Mirren had a manager called Wilson Humphries and I'm sure OK3 will remember a lad at Knoxland who rejoiced in the name Wilson Totten. Not sure if Wilson Pickett's maw was Scottish. I suspect that Brown McMaster and Brown Ferguson will have fallen under this curse and as a result were probably nicknamed Toaly or Turd at school. One of the Scottish Tory leader chaps is called Jackson Carlaw so I suspect he got the name for that reason.

When you think about it, we have had much better luck in recent years from guys who have taken a step up or sideways to us than those who have come down the way switching to part-time. Compare Nish, Mair, Van Zanten and Wilson to any number of the players we've signed from for example, Alloa, Ayr Utd, Cowden etc. The exception being McGinn who was playing out of his skin to go full time again. I'd be quite wary of signing any seasoned Premiership guys who are only coming because they can't get a full-time contract.

Indeed. Either Brabco or a subsequent owner is going to sell that fixed asset. If there is an achievable alternative stadium plan as part of the deal that might be the best hope of DFC continuing in the long term. It is a sobering thought that in considerably more buoyant economic times, Rankine, in the six years he had the club for sale, had plenty offers from developers but only two prepared to factor the club into the equation. Both of them involved relocation. The first one didn't get off the ground. John McFall MP named it 'Pie in the sky from Dubai'. Maybe the one which succeeded should be 'A wizard wheeze from Belize'

I'd be amazed if Garry Fleming was wanted by St Mirren. He's in Turkey on holiday until Sunday so don't expect any quick news.

Sorry to see Aggy go but I can't help thinking that the signing of Miller was with that likelihood in mind.

Points one by one. I meant stewardship as in their care/ownership - nothing more. The person who was doing the day to day running of the club when they took over was the then chairman, Ian McFarlane. It is now Gilbert Lawrie who isn't a board member. The board is almost entirely different than it was under Neil Rankine. Gone are Ian MacFarlane, Stephen Lynch, Donnie McIntyre, Jim Innes, Sid Collumbine, John Benn and others. In have come Allan Jardine, John Kane, Alan Findlay, Les Hope and Ian Wilson. Comedy nights, sponsorship etc. create income not investment. As someone who owned a business in Dumbarton and sponsored the club in many ways over 28 years, I can confirm that neither my accountant, HMRC nor I ever regarded it as an investment. It was sponsorship aka a rather expensive way of advertising. FYI the last owner of DFC that DID seriously contribute to the club's coffers was Sir Hugh Fraser about 30 years ago. Unfortunately when he died it was discovered that for tax reasons he had 'invested' the £40,000 as a loan which his beneficiaries wanted paid back pronto. Fortunately we managed to sell a player around that time for £100k (Steve McCahill) which paid them off.

Well if I'm right they're not far off breaking even over the last couple of years. The stewardship of the current owners has coincided with a league title, a promotion and four seasons in the Championship. That might just be luck and I know there are people convinced that it is. I wouldn't be so sure although it is probably much more down to the Chief Exec and the Directors than the owners (although the Chief Exec is the owners' appointee). I'd reckon running a tight financial ship is the most important thing in running a football club - especially a wee one like Dumbarton. It also depends what you mean by investment. Often people mean 'subsidise' when they say 'invest'. If DFC can remain at this level or high in League 1 whilst balancing the books, that's about as good as it gets. A read at Andy Galloway's account of the dim and not so distant past is a stark reminder of how the club has progressed.

Call me old fashioned - but I kinda prefer success to investment.

Forget the money owed to Rankine. the 'creditiors' is probably the accumulated losses of the club. however I don't know because there hasn't been an AGM for some time. If that is what these figures are then DFC made a loss of £97,653 in 2013 and a profit of £72,761 in 2014. There is no profit and loss sheet for any of the companies including DFC, so the above is pure speculation.

Having looked at it all a bit closer now, the telling thing is the Brabco 736 accounts year end 2014 which you can view here https://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/document/brabco-736/AnnualAccounts/2014-05-31 It states that Brabco 736 owns 75% of the B shares in Dumbarton FC and 100% of the shares in Denny Homes. It doesn't mention Dumbarton Community Stadium Company on the accounts but it apparently owns that 100% These three/four companies are owned by Granada Enterprise a company registered in Belize. No one can be sure of who the debtors and creditors are I was taking a guess at the money owed to Rankine. However one thing is sure, they have fixed assets of £2,263,869 so whoever the creditor is has a certain amount of security. That fixed asset can surely only be the stadium?

'Dumbarton Stadium Company Ltd' has two directors, Callum Hosie and Andy Hosie and its parent company is Brabco 736. Brabco 736 has a creditor of £273,048 - presumably the money owed to Neil Rankine - and a debtor of £298,740 - presumably the person who owes Rankine the money. It has creditors due after one year of more than two and a half million - presumably the money required to buy the stadium land from DFC (who would appear to still own it - having assets of £1,715,498). If Rankine is, as appears, owed his money by a limited company with no personal guarantee or security, I don't think he'll be receiving it any time soon. If it is secured on something, it might be interesting to know what. So 'Dumbarton Stadium Company' has two directors, neither of whom is on the board of DFC. Brabco 736 has three directors, none of whom is on the board of DFC. Denny's Homes has two directors, neither of whom is on the board of DFC. One has to assume that Ian Wilson is the only connection to all these other companies - despite not being on the board of any of them. Quite a convoluted set up if Dumbarton FC are to own any new stadium eh?

And son of our goalkeeping coach. However, I thought I'd read he'd re-signed for Thistle recently?

Maybe nobody else asked the question.