All things Dundee FC

[Deefiant]

Dundee fans back to living in fantasy land with someone subsidising their losses. Again. No surprise.

Bit late to the party? Story already been widely discredited and a clarification and apology presented by Jim spence.

[Bigmouth Strikes Again]

Bit late to the party? Story already been widely discredited and a clarification and apology presented by Jim spence.

I wouldn't pay any attention to him, he writes pish for DC Thomsons.

[govansaint]

Enjoy. The Diddy league lol govan. St saint Mi

Enjoy. The Diddy league lol govan. St saint Mirren lol

its only 12 30 and you ve been on the sherry already dee man . tut tut

[SweeperDee]

Apparently the board are content with the current lease agreement, and they've told the various fan groups to focus their efforts somewhere else. Guess we aren't getting the stadium back any time soon.

[rainbowrising]

Yes it is; I think most Archibald Leitch stands are.

didnt Everton demolish one of their Leitch stands years back? If we could at least do something to revamp the roof support taking away the view-blocking pillars? no idea if that is a massive engineering job or not? I sit in the Soth Enclosure but really it is bloody awful and needs completely upgraded. Has to go.

[rambling syd rumpo]

The club have issued a strongly worded statement about the coverage of the accounts. The Courier were told their reporting was bollocks and they didn't correct it, even though anyone with a cursory knowledge of finance and accounting would have known they were wrong. They've really made themselves look incompetent and pig-headed.

[Bigmouth Strikes Again]

The club have issued a strongly worded statement about the coverage of the accounts. The Courier were told their reporting was bollocks and they didn't correct it, even though anyone with a cursory knowledge of finance and accounting would have known they were wrong. They've really made themselves look incompetent and pig-headed.

Just ban them from Dens, and the ginger idiot as well.

[The Master]

The club have issued a strongly worded statement about the coverage of the accounts.

Oooft...haud that, BBC and DCT.

To be fair to Jim Spence, he did swiftly correct his article. I suspect the anger towards the BBC is directed at that perennial Dundee-hater Stuart Cosgrove for his comments on Off The Ball on Saturday evening.

But The Courier are a disgrace.

[rambling syd rumpo]

Oooft...haud that, BBC and DCT.

To be fair to Jim Spence, he did swiftly correct his article. I suspect the anger towards the BBC is directed at that perennial Dundee-hater Stuart Cosgrove for his comments on Off The Ball on Saturday evening.

But The Courier are a disgrace.

The Courier have still got a story on their website that they know is false, three days after they were asked to correct it.

[The Master]

The Courier have still got a story on their website that they know is false, three days after they were asked to correct it.

Presumably the next step is a solicitor's letter?

I also hope that a formal complaint has been lodged with the BBC about Stuart Cosgrove's comments.

[rambling syd rumpo]

Just ban them from Dens, and the ginger idiot as well.

Jim did take it on the chin and correct his story, though he didn't word it very well. It looks confusing to the uninitiated.

The Courier are another matter. To be fair to the guys who actually cover the Dundee games, it wasn't them.

[Fife Saint]

Bit late to the party? Story already been widely discredited and a clarification and apology presented by Jim spence.

The bit about living in fantasyland and being subsidised by others is completely true, it's there in black and white.

[Gibby82]

Presumably the next step is a solicitor's letter?

I also hope that a formal complaint has been lodged with the BBC about Stuart Cosgrove's comments.

What did he say?

[Ludo*1]

Gibby82, on 02 Mar 2015 - 18:31, said:

What did he say?

Basically despite being corrected by Jim Spence (Via Bill Colvin getting in touch with the show) he still proceeded to go on about our 'debt' and claimed we were 'at it again' because we signed Loy on a PCA but in typical Cosgrove sensationalist fashion.

[Gibby82]

Basically despite being corrected by Jim Spence (Via Bill Colvin getting in touch with the show) he still proceeded to go on about our 'debt' and claimed we were 'at it again' because we signed Loy on a PCA but in typical Cosgrove sensationalist fashion.

Poor show from Cosgrove, besmirching the good name of the club like that.

[RandomGuy.]

Basically despite being corrected by Jim Spence (Via Bill Colvin getting in touch with the show) he still proceeded to go on about our 'debt' and claimed we were 'at it again' because we signed Loy on a PCA but in typical Cosgrove sensationalist fashion.

So youve not got debt?

[The Master]

So youve not got debt?

Correct.

[Ludo*1]

So youve not got debt?

Have you read the accounts or the statement? These both give you the answer.

You are correct though.

[rainbowrising]

It seems Scottish football has declared the word debt the equivalent of being declared a witch.

Most of us have debt in a mortgage, credit cards etc but pay your way and it's not a problem. Debt can be good debt or bad debt. Sevco found out the hard way when lloyds bank look at the books and declared enough was enough. Dundee are not in that position.

[Ludo*1]

I know not everyone uses the Dundee forums, be it Mad, or the vastly superior TheDarkBlues. So thought it'd be worth posting for everyone on P&B Colin Reid's fan Q&A with the board:

First Team
It is the considered opinion of the Board that the Club is ahead of target in terms of League position and team set-up. We have had 24 players released from contract in various forms (natural end, loan end, cancellation of contract) and have brought in 20 (contract and loan) since the end of last season. Those of perceived value to the Club are being tied up on longer contracts to protect the Clubs position and to ensure highest and best value is received in the event that they move on. The Club continues to build and foster working relationships both at home and abroad to provide the Club with the best opportunities in terms of players in and out.

Under 20
The Club has employed and under 20 Manager with good connections in the game and he is tasked with bringing in and managing potential first team players. He has already secured players with first team potential from Wolves and QPR and he will continue to be supported in his efforts to bolster the under 20’s with good young players as part of the development line of the Club.

Academy
The Club has made 2 major changes in this area in recent months. The programme now has a stern focus on serious development of players, and real progress is being made in this regard. Resources are being allocated and focussed upon producing future first team players. The Club is currently operating the Academy at 4* status level and are making giant strides towards SFA accreditation despite some obstacles which have been put in our way.

Community
We have recently appointed a replacement Head of Community following the departure of the previous post holder. The new guy is very well qualified as he comes from a background of working with the City Council and SFA community football projects. He also has close ties to girls’ football which is a remaining target group for the Club having been overlooked for too long. Only a few of our Community programmes were disrupted during the transition to a new Head of Community. These were sympathetically managed and all are back up and running now.

Training Facilities
The Club has renewed its relationship with the Michelin Club and have been working on this on a continuous basis to facilitate the provision of good quality surfaces for team training and practice matches. This has been done at the same time as a critical review of the facility provision at the University of Dundee playing fields at Riverside. The two facilities are now providing good training surfaces and there are plans to improve these further over the summer. The Club is also actively exploring options and possibilities with regard to the development of its own training facilities and this work is continuing in earnest.

Stadium Buy Back
With regard to the stadium buyback, the Board has taken the decision that our fan groups’ efforts are better focused on supporting fan-focused projects that affect the team, fans, and game day experience of the Club.
This was noted in a letter to the DFCSS that was to be publicised to the fans at the DFCSS AGM. The DFC BOD is currently content with the lease agreement and will deal with the lease as such and may revisit it in the future. The BoD also asked that if the DFCSS were intent to pursue the stadium buy-back option, a fully-costed business plan will need to be constructed and submitted to the Board by 31 January 2015 for consideration. This unfortunately has not happened.

Finance
The accounts for the year to May 2014 have just been signed off by the auditors and the Board and will be published on the Club’s Official Website along with a suitable narrative to underpin this information.

Club Shop
The Club has extended its current contract with Provan Sports for another 3 years. Together we are exploring expansion of the available product during peak sales times and work is proceeding at pace to allow an early 2015 -16 kit launch.

Ticket Office
The Club is further enhancing the ticket office system software to facilitate much easier purchase of season ticket online. In the past this could not be done without reference to the ticket office first for a reference number. This practice should be eradicate by the software upgrade and should allow customers to purchase or renew a season ticket online much easier.
Gate prices and season ticket prices are currently being reviewed by the Board and it is hoped that a very rare early launch of these packages will be possible this year.

With 3 category A home matches remaining prior to the split, the Club is exploring some creative opportunities to offer discounts to a very loyal home supporter for some or all of these fixtures.
Stadium and infrastructure.

A lot of money has been spent on the Stadium over the last 18 months though much of it will no doubt be unseen. Major investment in the Stadium and infrastructure was a priority for the new Board when they arrived and much has been done in a very short time to secure the Club’s ability to continue to plat top flight professional football at Dens Park

Works and investment undertaken include:

- Major dressing room and wet area refurbishments including major heating plant upgrades.
- Installation of a new pitch irrigation system to ensure that Dens Park retains its reputation of having one of the best and enduring surfaces in the country.
- A major Stadium pitch refurbishment last summer to ensure quality and durability for this season in the Premiership.
- Under 20’s matches played away from Dens Park to reduce the usage and wear and tear on the Stadium pitch.
Purchase of new tractors, grass cutting machines, aerating equipment etc to cater for the increased work load resulting from the maintenance commitments acquired as part of the new arrangements entered into with the University and Michelin.
- Increase in Ground staff to facilitate the additional work loads.
- A 4 phase refurbishment of the steel works in the roof of the Main Stand was started last summer and Phase 2 will be activated this close season.
- Upgrades to lighting and investment in LED technology is ongoing within the offices and lounges of the Main Stand.
- New Ladies toilets provided at the South Enclosure.
- New Laundry equipment in the form of Commercial gas dryers and washing machine.

This is a short summary of some of the more significant works/investment. There remains much to do and the Board is currently reviewing and prioritising budgets for the close season to include further investment.

Commercial
The Club is grateful for the ongoing support and encouragement received from it loyal commercial customers in terms of Stadium advertising, Hospitality, Sponsorship and Commercial Partnerships. Clearly, work needs to continue in this regard and the Commercial Department are as we speak developing their packages and sales strategy for hopefully a second season in the Premiership. This should involve early contact with our existing customers with regard to their own particular requirements for next season and a strategy for securing new and returning customers will be implemented.

Speroni Testimonial
The Club is delighted to be providing the opposition for this much anticipated event. It has been clearly evident that large numbers of dark blues will be travelling to London in May and we look forward to providing ticketing details etc. in the very near future.