Bainsfordbairn

No idea about the first, but as the job only takes a short time once you get hold of his last club and four days have passed I imagine it's sorted. I won't be at the stadium before evening.

It never stopped the Virgin. He's made an art form of glorifying defeat, simply because it's all he's ever known and he has no victories to boast about. He probably gets up on a Sunday morning and tells his mum about all the gorgeous girls he was with last night, while failing to mention that he was only in the same pub as them and didn't speak to any. We're in a similar position right now with not a lot to crow about over the last couple of years. Don't worry, the natural order will be restored soon enough.

There would have been a reporter from the local paper at that fan meeting. If were a journalist, I'd be asking my counterpart in Dumfries to inquire at the next press conference if QOS were really paying two grand a week. The fact that no such denial ever came out suggests to me that there was more than a grain of truth in it. Besides which, as ordinary football fans, we don't care if the comments were measured or sober. We just enjoyed the fact that it rattled you lot and your band of journeymen so much.

IMO The EGM won't heal any divisions regardless of what is said. The point of no return was passed some time ago. The last bridges were burned with the departure statement of Craig Campbell.

I spoke to someone at the Walk To Westfield thing on Saturday who described P&B as extremely harsh. I've had similar conversations with multiple folk over the years. A lot of people read the various social media platforms, but as their viewpoint appears to be a minority one they don't always express it. Sometimes fan opinions aren't always as cut and dried as they appear online. You're one of the more balanced posters on here even though you sometimes attract abuse for it. Some folk don't like to hear views which differ from their own. Though having said all that, I think it's safe to say that most fans do now oppose the BOD and MSG.

It's possible Houston did inquire and was quoted the figure. It's also possible that it came to him via the internal football grapevine. With such a regular movement of players between clubs at the same level, and having maybe 20 such folk in the dressing room at the same time, footballers tend to know a great deal about what goes on at other clubs. I think Kerr & Baird had just joined us at that point.

Two thousand pounds a week. It was stated at a fans forum when someone asked, I think, if we'd inquired about signing him.

Yes.

Your salary figure is a bit high but other than that the story is accurate. Ray told it to some visitors last week and named the player. I was in the room at the time, hence how I know. I don't think it would be fair to put the guy's name online. The only Scottish footballer whose wages should ever be given out is Stephen Dobbie, just because of the absolutely rage it caused the QOS fans when Houstie did it.

I think it will be quite noticable in the comming months the usual local companies (who are also patrions) wont be doin there 2/3 match/ball sponcership days a year. That's a fair assumption. If you ask people to boycott a specific product - hospitality, retail, programmes or whatever there's a decent chance of it being effective. If you ask folk to simply stay away from matches I think you're doomed to failure.

There were about 60 in it. Not as busy as a normal league game, but considering the lower attendances at cup matches that's to be expected. There was no hospitality or sponsorship at the equivalent Montrose game last year so a direct comparison supports the "boycott failing" theory.

I was thinking about this last night. I reckon the boycott, as it stands, will fail. I've no idea of the exact fan demographics but I'd guess that most folk will go with one or two mates. If you theorise that people attend in groups of thee then one single group who stay at home are substantially less than a thousandth of our support. Are they going to deprive themselves of something they've done for years and enjoy just to make a point that nobody will notice? I doubt it. Particularly if the team are winning and finally turning in performances folk want to see. You're already seeing quite a number of "no-one' tells me what to do"-type posts on facebook. I think the only way a boycott would be successful is if it were organised by a group who were known and respected. If David and Kenny were to email everyone who signed up to the fans scheme asking them to stay away from a specific game, and get public messages of support from supporters clubs and other fan groups, that would definitely have an impact. I don't know how much but it would be noticeable in the attendance. If they asked folk to stay away for a month, the support for the boycott would start to haemorrhage. And if they asked for any more then I think it would just collapse altogether. There's probably more chance of a "Patrons" boycott being successful, assuming they already sponsor club activities. They're a smaller group so there's more chance of them sticking together and withholding money from sponsorship wouldn't prevent them from attending games. I'm hopeful we never get to that stage but if the MSG ever issue a "we're going nowhere" statement then the leaders of the consortium will have to consider what they can do to ramp up the pressure.

I was going to say Latapy Bairn. He must be the worst lobbyist in the history of the role, as whatever he advocates people take the opposite view. Comical Ali had more credibility.

Not really. One more player brings us up to 18, which is round about the number the squad size was intended to be. Eleven starters, five on the bench and hopefully no more than a couple of injuries at any one time. Whether we go much above that may depend on how cheaply we can get loanees, or even free ones who'll come just for the chance to play regular men's football. The problem is that they could get that experience by staying with their parent club and playing in the reserve league. And if you pay peanuts, you get.....

Ray was not "given" a choice. He was given a budget. How he spends that budget is entirely up to him. Just as it was with Paul Hartley. Having said that, I've heard whispers of rumours of scurrilous gossip, which of course I couldn't possibly claim to be factual. These whispers suggested that someone at a higher level tried to influence how the budget would be spent. That person lost the battle. But is now going around claiming that the current setup was all his idea in the first place, even though he originally tried to argue against it. All just rumours of course. Those are our currency in online fan forums, as no-one can possibly know what's really happening. Maybe apart from yourself. You have a track record of posting accurate insider info. Tell me, how do you think our "last out the door" right back Lewis Kidd played yesterday?

Maybe I'm getting confused, but if we're discussing the last penalty shoot-out then the game that Stirling Albion beat us in wouldn't count. They won 1-0 with a goal on 43 mins. You're right that Vaulks sat the match out, though he returned to the team three days later against Elgin. He scored in a 3-0 win in what would be his last appearance for us. The following Saturday was indeed the Bobby Madden game.

If you disregard the Stirlingshire Cup, given that it was always fought by our reserve / youth team in front of two men and a dog, our last draw in any cup competition was 0-0 at Cowdenbeath on 26/8/14. According to a spreadsheet I keep we won 4-3 on penalties. Scorers were Vaulks, Loy, Shepherd & Sibbald. Rowan and Boulding missed so it must have gone to sudden death. Rory Loy also missed a penalty in normal time. Believe it or not, the Stirling Albion game you're thinking of was in 2010. How time flies.

Yes. I know of people that have spoken to both parties, including folk external to FFC.

I may well be setting myself up for a massive fall and a hundred "told-you-sos" here, but I disagree. The vibe within the club, at least as far as the staff know, has always been consistent. They're selling. They WILL sell. I have no doubt there'll be some within the MSG / BOD whose motives are exactly as described, and it wouldn't be too hard to guess who. They'll need to be dragged out kicking and screaming because they wont want to give up their power. But in the end I just don't see how they can hang on. Even we win every game by five goals and have the league sown up by Christmas the fans WILL NOT forget what's gone before. And the minute the announcement is made that the MSG are staying put, all hell will be let loose. Irrespective of what's happening on the park. Where's the fun in being the big man in the boardroom if you have need a security detail to get you safely inside it?

I was wondering that myself. This time last year we kicked off the season with a home Saturday game that had an attendance of 1730. If you assume similar numbers but with a slight drop due to the boycott I'd guess around 1500.

The intention is to play a front two. There is no chance of a squad of 22/23 players, unless we suddenly get an unexpected windfall or clubs loan us players without expecting us to contribute to their wages. I'll give you an example. This came from the discussion Ray had yesterday with the fans who're going to be walking up Kiliminjaro for Strathcarron, so it should be okay to post it as he's already given it out to supporters. We inquired about a young striker from a Premiership club. Someone who's not ready for their first team, but who's slightly too old for the youth team. We could have him, but we'd have to pay his full wages - £700 a week. For someone who would be a third choice striker for us. Not going to happen.

I never doubted that some people were at it, though I disagreed - and still do - about one of the people you named. As for bids being real, one former one definitely is, as is one current one. I know someone who has an involvement. No idea about the others. Regardless of that, it's a good statement from BTB. Thumbs up from me.

I'm sure you'll ask them how much subsidising they've done at the EGM. I never bought shares; I always preferred to put money into other areas which I thought benefitted the club more. I've regretted that in these last few years as there have been a number of AGMs which would have been interesting to witness. Please make sure you publish full details afterwards for those of us who won't be able to attend.

It's a pity they took so long to agree the budget, never mind delay the investment that the fans bid would have brought in.

The picture was taken yesterday when we still had unsigned players training with the squad. I don't think you can infer anything from it, except that players were still under consideration. To answer Stuperman's question - there are no U19 or reserve players. All were released at the end of last season. CD is the only one remaining and he's just training with us. And before anyone asks, I'm done for the day. Any announcements now are in the hands of the club.