The Big Queen's Park FC Thread

[williebraveheart]

13 hours ago, EaglesandSpiders said:

Haven't tried the pie but the price list is criminal. Gonna miss the wee pie hut at Ochilview 

With those prices we don't have to worry about sustainability.

[Zanetti]

19 minutes ago, williebraveheart said:

I agree but why do we need another training ground having developed Lochinch into something special?

It's a great place for the women and youth teams to play, plus Scotland seem to love training there which gives us a nice bargaining chip when the club are negotiating with the SFA.

[HoustonSpider99]

9 minutes ago, williebraveheart said:

With those prices we don't have to worry about sustainability.

I recently attended a Bundesliga game at RB Leipzig. And while I appreciate there’s a different football culture in Germany and Scotland, but what struck me was that the club wanted to maximise the match day experience as being IN the ground. A variety of food options, at reasonable prices (and naturally beer). Fish & Chips, Currywurst, Kebabs, Pies, Wraps, Loaded Fries and Desserts all sold at a price you’d happily pay in a McDonalds- and people used it with the stadium being 80% full an hour before kick-off!

Of course this is all relative and has to be applied to a club of QP’s size, but you don’t need to look further than Ayr United, who’s catering options include Pizza’s, Wraps and Nachos. Even Kilwinning Rangers will sell you a toastie and chilli! A Scotch Pie and Bovril will always be a staple and that’s fine, but maximise revenue- you’ll no do that by charging a leg for what I can get out of Greggs for £1.80.

Edited June 25, 2023 by HoustonSpider99

[an86]

1 hour ago, Dti said:

Leanne has told the herald that it will be a 4500 seater eventually. Why we had to hear this from a newspaper I don’t know

Beyond parody at this point. In principle, I don’t have an issue with dropping stories to the press. Where I do have a problem is when it’s against the backdrop of a mixture of limited communication and contempt for her own supporters. 

[Blink182]

11 hours ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

What they are spending is clearly never sustainable and they don't look like going back to a sustainable model anytime soon. I don't think I've ever seen a more obvious car crash waiting to happen.

Who'd have foreseen that being the case when Leeanne Dempster took over. 

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

Went along to the test event yesterday and the wee stand (the 950 seater, not the 40 seat carbuncle) was actually quite good. Decent entry points but might get a bit overrun on a busy day. The facilities for wheelchair users was, from my untrained perspective, was reasonable, and the view of the action not at all bad. I wouldn’t want to be in the front two rows though. Service at the pie stall was really slow, I mean as slow as ICT, which is a poor standard to set. The choice was no more the basics required and, despite the Michelin Star prices, I got two pies and two soft drinks - £13!!  Although the pie was ok, at these prices I’ll make sure I get a fish supper before I go into the ground next time. 

 

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

3 hours ago, Dti said:

Leanne has told the herald that it will be a 4500 seater eventually. Why we had to hear this from a newspaper I don’t know

She also states, later in the article, that there is a hope of supporters reaching a level of “four, five or six thousand”. So we’ve built a stadium too small for our aspirations. Or perhaps the (always undefined) ‘bigger and better’ quotes of the past meant playing at Hampden itself and, with the arrival of Leann, the old plans for making Lesser our home were ditched?

We live in interesting times. 
 

 

[Spider1975]

13 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

If you don't get promotion through match day income can't be very high. If you got relegated to League 1 then match day income would suffer even further.

Renting Hampden sounds fine but what happens when investment in to Queen's Park dries up? Will it be affordable to rent Hampden?

With the exception of the Dundee and Partick games at the end of last season, I wouldn't say the total crowds at QP home games last year were hugely different from that in L1, so match day income, I guess, is going to be similar.

Thank you for using the word 'investment' though.  This investment is going into the local community (in order to build a greater support base), the youth development programme, (coaching staff.facilities etc), to generate the majority of income in the medium term) and the stadium.  For those that don't follow QP regularly, the manifestation of that investment has been, unfortunately, the stadium, which has been and is, a disaster, or the success over the last few years on the pitch - gained, I must add on a fairly limited playing squad, which had a large number of loanees and players signed from further down the pyramid, who seem to be benefitting from the new coaching set up.

Only time will tell whether the investment makes a return.  Whether it is sustainable or not largely depends upon whether that investment is a loan or a grant.  Either way we are trying something which may/may not work but to coin it financial doping when many other clubs finances are suspect or the balance sheets are significantly less healthy just smacks of, calling a spade a spade, jealousy. 

[Spider1975]

....that all said if we're charging £3.10 for a Bovril then I'm guessing it is a loan at a rate of interest that must be making someone's eyes water!

[Spider1975]

2 hours ago, HoustonSpider99 said:

but what struck me was that the club wanted to maximise the match day experience

I think QP want to too, maybe it just depends which stand you're in?

[Bring Your Own Socks]

Welcome to the Hampden Campus! One of the real and practical improvements I was looking forward to was a fan-friendly service and price list at the pie hut. Unfortunately, as we are now playing at Hampden and occasionally utilising Lesser, looks like we are subject to the same quality, slow service and overpricing that Sodexho offered when we lived there previously. That of course because we were obliged to use the SFA caterers who had the contract for all events with the SFA getting their cut. It would have caused too much conflict if this game had a different price list from the upcoming league fixtures.

Old militant International Brigade me thinks we should stop buying this rubbish. Like the much lauded Germans, stick together as fans. If I want a charred and crispy pie welded into an aluminium ashet I have someone at home who can do the job at a much cheaper price.

Couldn't make it yesterday but glad to see the general arrangement is good and the view better than expected. Though it all seems irrelevant now  Signings so far have lifted the spirits and our league cup fixture order should be helpful for a good start to the league campaign. I see the Motherwell fixture is timed for 5:15 ko on a Saturday. The price of fame, eh

[Bring Your Own Socks]

13 minutes ago, Spider1975 said:

With the exception of the Dundee and Partick games at the end of last season, I wouldn't say the total crowds at QP home games last year were hugely different from that in L1, so match day income, I guess, is going to be similar.

Thank you for using the word 'investment' though.  This investment is going into the local community (in order to build a greater support base), the youth development programme, (coaching staff.facilities etc), to generate the majority of income in the medium term) and the stadium.  For those that don't follow QP regularly, the manifestation of that investment has been, unfortunately, the stadium, which has been and is, a disaster, or the success over the last few years on the pitch - gained, I must add on a fairly limited playing squad, which had a large number of loanees and players signed from further down the pyramid, who seem to be benefitting from the new coaching set up.

Only time will tell whether the investment makes a return.  Whether it is sustainable or not largely depends upon whether that investment is a loan or a grant.  Either way we are trying something which may/may not work but to coin it financial doping when many other clubs finances are suspect or the balance sheets are significantly less healthy just smacks of, calling a spade a spade, jealousy. 

The "investment" is in the way of sponsorship. No legal ties that might mean we have to pay it back some day.

[behindthelens]

 

[Sarto Mutiny]

12 hours ago, Zanetti said:

My point was quite clearly that nobody seems to care about any other club's finances, so the obsession with ours is incredibly boring.

You should spend some time on the Dundee United thread now we are in the same league. It's full of Dundee FC fans who seem to have inside information on our finances. None of them saw either of the administrations at their own club coming, but that's another issue.

Edited June 25, 2023 by Sarto Mutiny

[gav-ffc]

23 hours ago, HoustonSpider99 said:

Really liked the look of that right back- found himself in some nice space with good ball control too. Blake or Blane he was being called by Dom. 

 

22 hours ago, D'Jaffo said:

Blaine Rowe? Ex Coventry right back maybe. 
 

We had him on loan two seasons ago but he got injured almost straightaway. Was at Falkirk on loan last season and seemed to do okay.

Just seen a pic and it’s definitely him.

[an86]

1 minute ago, gav-ffc said:

 

Just seen a pic and it’s definitely him.

Any good?

[gav-ffc]

2 minutes ago, an86 said:

Any good?

Started off really well but then struggled with a hamstring injury a couple days before the semi final. Proper athlete who’s still young but definitely has potential. 

[TheHitman]

2 hours ago, behindthelens said:

 

I am optimistic and excited. Aggressive and taking risks, these terms and his aim, makes me hopeful we’ll address our tendency to get bullied. 

Also, I think tactically this guy will be levels above OC. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by TheHitman

[HoBNob]

15 hours ago, Zanetti said:

My point was quite clearly that nobody seems to care about any other club's finances, so the obsession with ours is incredibly boring.

Well that's clearly bollocks. 

There was a massive thread about Partick a couple of weeks back. 

There's been loads on Falkirk threads about there finances 

Any team that shows they're struggling financially, it then becomes a topic of conversation. In your case you are quite clearly spending miles outwith your means, and have just built a shambolic stadium that's going to see you either spending renting fees for Hampden, or having a reduced capacity. It's all the hallmarks of hoping your owner doesn't get bored, or else you'll be going through what Dundee, Livi, Gretna and Dunfermline have went through in the past. 

At that point, I'm sure you'll find your finances less boring. 

[Arachnophile]

7 minutes ago, HoBNob said:

Well that's clearly bollocks. 

There was a massive thread about Partick a couple of weeks back. 

There's been loads on Falkirk threads about there finances 

Any team that shows they're struggling financially, it then becomes a topic of conversation. In your case you are quite clearly spending miles outwith your means, and have just built a shambolic stadium that's going to see you either spending renting fees for Hampden, or having a reduced capacity. It's all the hallmarks of hoping your owner doesn't get bored, or else you'll be going through what Dundee, Livi, Gretna and Dunfermline have went through in the past. 

At that point, I'm sure you'll find your finances less boring. 

We don't have an owner.