The Big Queen's Park FC Thread

[CountryBumpkin]

20 minutes ago, Velvet Donkey said:

Fair enough. If there really really is such a sense of unfairness over maybe two league games and a few Lorne Sausage cup fixtures, then just make it the full season.

I don't think its unfairness, but its just bizarre that its good enough up to a point and then its not. Of course the club need to generate an income and be competitive in the league, they can't do that at Lesser now, or perhaps ever.

[mcjameos]

Jeez, anyone who looks at Lesser can clearly see its not 'ready'. We're only playing at Lesser whilst the Hampden pitch is being renovated. We are then, I expect, moving to Hampden as Lesser and the area immediately around it becomes a building site (along the lines of byos earlier post) to allow it to be completed properly. After this I fully expect us to return to Lesser. Where is the problem in that? 

The length of time it has taken to get here is a completely separate issue. 

[Skyline Drifter]

1 hour ago, Have some faith in Magic said:

5 or 6 league fixtures to be played before 12th Sep. Surely not going to play them all away from home? 

Well half of them will be away from home anyway. It's probably not a big reach to switch another. Couple of home games. Want to bet they make sure it's Inverness and Arbroath and not Partick Thistle and Dundee United?

Anyway, given it looks like we'll be there in the Viaplay Cup, what is the expected capacity of Lesser Hampden for that stage? Going to be all ticket?

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

3 hours ago, Zanetti said:

Hampden it is next season then! 

Great to be back on the Southside although the circumstances are not brilliant. It is, however, a step in the right direction.

Happy days!

Edited June 8, 2023 by Grumpy Soo-sider
spelling

[EaglesandSpiders]

36 minutes ago, mcjameos said:

Mmm. Lucky guess or inside knowledge? 

Out of those two options: lucky guess, of course. There's no such thing as inside knowledge as far as QP is concerned because there is no knowledge inside. 

[Salvo Montalbano]

1 hour ago, Velvet Donkey said:

We can't get away from the fact that the stadium build has been a shambles.  That's an entirely separate matter though. The attempt to label the arrangements for next season as unfair to other clubs in the league is nonsense.  For as long as I can remember clubs have made commercial deals to ensure they have a suitable ground to play at, whether that is ground-sharing, renting council facilities, temporary stands or whatever. What you are suggesting is that because we have made such a mess of things, we shouldn't be allowed to make such an arrangement. Clyde have had their ground problems for a number of years, but I don't see a problem with them renting Hamilton and ensuring a ground that is big enough for whatever opposition they have. The rules are clear.

I'm pretty happy with the plans. Worst case was another season away from the southside and losing the chance to grow the fanbase.  Having said that I grew quite fond of Ochilview. 

Couple of things:

1. Clubs now can no longer move one off games to larger venue grounds.

2. Previously when Hampden was unavailable due to the running track being added then removed for the Commonwealth Games, you had to play half a season each at Airdrie to keep the balance of games "fair". Same happened with Inverness sharing at Pittodrie IIRC. Having only a few games there then moving makes no sense.

3. The other clubs who have shared (e.g. Clyde) have been there full time.

4. If Lesser can be used until September, it should be used all season IMO. If it isn't suitable after September for whatever reason then it shouldn't be used at all.

5. If you move back into "Big" Hampden Full time and paying rent then fine, but mixing and matching makes a mockery of things tbh. 

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

2 hours ago, HIT THE CHANNEL said:

To be honest this is full bullshit.

 

If Lesser is OK for games before September, it should be used all season. It sets a shite precedent that 'renting' big stadiums is OK if you want to increase a crowd. If QP get through the league cup and draw one of the Bigot Brothers at home they will get a massive pay day which is fully unfair (50k crowd at £20 a ticket is 1 million pounds)

Next time the Rovers draw one of the Bigots at home in the cup, shall we just 'rent' Hampden (or better yet, Celtic park) for the day and cash in 50/60k ticket sales? 

Does this mean if QP ever get to the premier league they have the option of doing this every big game they want? 

 

I like watching the Rovers play at Hampden, and living in Battlefield, I am glad that QP will be playing in Mount Florida. I was also gutted that I might miss out on getting a ticket for Lesser due to capacity, too. So getting to the games next year is something I am grateful for.

But QP are no longer an amateur, 4th tier side. They are ambitious, with big money backers and trying to get promoted to the premier league. To me they should not be treated in 'cuddly' fashion and I would hope Championship/League 1 and (any team that can be relegated from the top flight - so 10/12) should be against this. And making sure it doesn't become a habit.

 

Hampden is the registered home ground for Queen's Park next season but, because of other issues, will not be available for use until September - the stop gap is Lesser for the first few games until Hampden is ready. I'm sure the SFA are making a tidy sum out of this but it's better than touring the country to play every match away from home as we've been doing for the last few years.

It's a reasonable solution - we're not the first club to use another ground for home matches and this is our fourth in as many seasons.

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

1 hour ago, Spider Rico said:

This assumes of course that QP get to retain a meaningful proportion of any ticket sales as part of the deal.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the SFA leaned quite hard on this in the negotiations.

 

I would think that the SFA get a percentage of ticket sales to cover that eventuality.

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

1 hour ago, Kev said:

Have you seriously just compared homeless Clyde playing at half a stadium to you guys getting Hampden when Lesser is ready and supposedly fine?! FFS get a grip

People have been saying for ages that Lesser is anything but 'fine'. Home fans, away fans, neutrals, etc have all been saying it's unsuitable. This solution helps away fans as well as Queens.

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

15 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

 

5. If you move back into "Big" Hampden Full time and paying rent then fine, but mixing and matching makes a mockery of things tbh. 

The plan is to move back to Hampden for the season but it is not available until mid September - hence the use of 'unsuitable' Lesser on a temporary basis.

[HibeeJibee]

It used to be that you had to play everybody once before you could move; a few years ago Alloa had to before they could adjust their pitch! If say Edinburgh City were gunning for promotion can they move to ER in spring?

 

1 hour ago, ScottishLoon said:

Hope they have a better understanding of how to look after the pitch after how it was a few months ago without even having a team play there consistently.

That's what surprises: with all 6 cup SFs & Finals, womens internationals and SFs + Finals, it'll now be used more intensively than any time since 1990s rebuild.

[Zanetti]

33 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Anyway, given it looks like we'll be there in the Viaplay Cup, what is the expected capacity of Lesser Hampden for that stage? Going to be all ticket?

900 odd in total, so I'll be amazed if it's not all ticket with a relatively small away allocation.

[par-adise]

13 minutes ago, Grumpy Soo-sider said:

People have been saying for ages that Lesser is anything but 'fine'. Home fans, away fans, neutrals, etc have all been saying it's unsuitable. This solution helps away fans as well as Queens.

So by a quirk of history you play in the national stadium which is far too big for you. You sell said stadium for millions and use that proceeds to bank roll a rise through the leagues and to develop a stadium that looks like it will never be suitable for your new ambitions (if you are ever promoted to the premiership you will 100% play at hampden and rake it in from Of games), so you move back into the big stadium and lease the newly developed kiddies stadium out as a training pitch. Can you not see why some people find this a bit ludicrous?

[DA Baracus]

Why has the Lesser renovation been such a shambles? Why is it taking so long? Why are Queen's Park being absolutely rinsed and having the absolute pish ripped out of them?

[Diamonds are Forever]

9 minutes ago, Grumpy Soo-sider said:

The plan is to move back to Hampden for the season but it is not available until mid September - hence the use of 'unsuitable' Lesser on a temporary basis.

 

Well then they shouldn't have picked to go back to a stadium that wasn't available for the whole season. That's not really an excuse, it's poor planning.

 

25 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

2. Previously when Hampden was unavailable due to the running track being added then removed for the Commonwealth Games, you had to play half a season each at Airdrie to keep the balance of games "fair". Same happened with Inverness sharing at Pittodrie IIRC. Having only a few games there then moving makes no sense.

4. If Lesser can be used until September, it should be used all season IMO. If it isn't suitable after September for whatever reason then it shouldn't be used at all.

 

These are my issues with it. In reality is it really going to make a huge difference? Not really. But to me a league season should involve all teams playing the same fixtures at the same locations.

Especially this way round. If Lesser Hampden had been a few weeks overdue being completed and they wanted to play at Hampden until it was ready in September I'd have more sympathy. But to play somewhere that is obviously suitable enough to host a game, and then move it somewhere else a few weeks later doesn't seem right.

[Spider Rico]

6 minutes ago, par-adise said:

So by a quirk of history you play in the national stadium which is far too big for you. You sell said stadium for millions and use that proceeds to bank roll a rise through the leagues and to develop a stadium that looks like it will never be suitable for your new ambitions (if you are ever promoted to the premiership you will 100% play at hampden and rake it in from Of games), so you move back into the big stadium and lease the newly developed kiddies stadium out as a training pitch. Can you not see why some people find this a bit ludicrous?

Most QP fans I know  see the whole situation as ludicrous

[par-adise]

2 minutes ago, Spider Rico said:

Most QP fans I know  see the whole situation as ludicrous

The lack of joined up, strategic thinking is baffling to me. The investment you were making in football terms meant you were always going to reach the championship (you've maybe come further, faster than was anticipated but it was inevitable and presumably the aim), and from there you would naturally be looking at a further promotion. And now you've effectively outgrown Lesser without ever having played there.

Even if you put the construction issues to one side it is either a complete failure in terms of future planning from the board, or there was always an understanding that you could use Hampden if needed. Hence the cake and eat it analogy. 

[Black_and_White_Stripes]

I've just checked Wikipedia, and it states that Queen's Park played their home games at Hampden between 1903–2021. So for 118 years this has been their home ground. They cannot play there from the start of the season, because the pitch is being re-done, as others have pointed out. The whole claim that it is unfair and will encourage other clubs to do the same is risible. 

[EaglesandSpiders]

The thing with Lesser is the pitch & infrastructure (changing rooms etc.) are perfectly ready for two teams to play a 90 min game of football, but I wouldn't be surprised if there would be serious limitations on crowd size during the home games we'll play at Lesser due to it not being up to regulation. In fact, no fans may be allowed at all. I think the options are: a) no fans b) small size home crowd only c) small size home crowd & even smaller size away crowd. I think it's going to be no fans. I hope I'm wrong. 

Then there's the issue of season tickets. Since Hampden Park will be our home ground for the season, season ticket sales and seat allocations will have to be based on this decision. It's still a mess which is what QP is all about haha

Edited June 8, 2023 by EaglesandSpiders

[Bring Your Own Socks]

23 minutes ago, par-adise said:

So by a quirk of history you play in the national stadium which is far too big for you.

No, we played at Hampden Park, owned by Queen’s Park Football Club and operated by a third party entity. The SFA were simply tenants. 

Yes, it is ludicrous. And the mistrust between fans will continue as long as these questionable decisions are made. I sincerely hope it is just a stepping stone while Lesser is completed. But at this time, with the info we have and the continuing lack of transparency, it’s still unclear where the end game is. QP fans must remain vigilant.