The Big Queen's Park FC Thread

[Spider Rico]

Ultimately we’ve left it far too late to build a fit for purpose squad and all that is likely left available at this stage will be “more of the same”. In his own words, “the Director of Football signs the players” so we know where the blame lies on that one.

The scenario that was suggested by some of things improving significantly as the players become more familiar with the system/methods feels unlikely at this stage as, amongst other things, it would require the sustained buy-in of the players for many months . The evidence of the last few weeks suggests it’s already gone. Terrible vibes.

[Bring Your Own Socks]

7 hours ago, pmonigatti said:

Anyone know what happened to the old german flag captain’s armband?

Not been following QP for long but interested to understand why its no longer used.

I know for sure it was discarded in favour of the shirt suppliers armband. Another decision by our Commercial team to change as much as possible from Old QP. Now we can add to the list that after 120 years of playing at Hampden we have the traditional away end dugout, which probably means the away dressing room too. 

[Dunning1874]

1 hour ago, Spider1975 said:

Reckon Mr Campbell has a point.  The loanees we had last year, with the exception of Mal Boateng were, quite frankly, a waste of time.  Oakley showed some promise initially but seemed thereafter to be constantly injured/ill/blighted with niggles, so I was encouraged initially this year that QP had reduced their reliance to just Barry Hepburn and latterly Ben McPherson.  Given Veldman's strange team selections & omissions, I'm hoping that the reason Beuker & Dumpster are so conspicuous by their absence, (the silence is deafening), is that they are trawling the academies south of the border for some cover.

The September loan window is domestic only, you can't bring anyone in on loan from outside Scotland until January.

[Spider1975]

9 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said:

The September loan window is domestic only, you can't bring anyone in on loan from outside Scotland until January.

Yeah bud, appreciate that and admittedly, I wasn't overly concise.  

Given our DoF's obsession with data analytics I'd have thought that anyone we had identified would have been brought in before now.  Given his previous statement of not bringing in anyone for the sake of it, (paraphrasing) I doubt very much that he'd bring anyone else in from north of the border without losing significant face.  FWIW I reckon the squad we have will be the squad until January.  

Beuker is going nowhere & Dumpster seemingly can do no wrong.  Veldman will either have to change tack, get pragmatic and win back the squad, or hope to hell he's got significant top cover to weather the storm.

Or it's all part of the grand plan to make Lesser Hampden relevant; ie, get demoted back to L1 almost ensuring that 'stadium' is fit for purpose.

[Spider1975]

24 minutes ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

I know for sure it was discarded in favour of the shirt suppliers armband. Another decision by our Commercial team to change as much as possible from Old QP. Now we can add to the list that after 120 years of playing at Hampden we have the traditional away end dugout, which probably means the away dressing room too. 

Yup, another distinctive little tradition gone by the wayside.  I seem to remember some click-bait, sensationalist media coverage at one point too regarding a lazy translation of the term Spieglefuhrer.  It was always a nice touch giving the armband away to kids at the end of the match.

[an86]

For the sake of argument, what happens here if this does tank even more spectacularly in the coming weeks? This is where the problem of having a committee that isn’t really running the show comes in. 
 

In the event of Veldman going, Beuker and Dempster would likely have to follow because it would be an admission that “the project” requires, at very least, a change of direction. That’s a big wad of severance cash to be doling out. 
 

I think we all really know the answer, but does someone in the committee go to Haughey and point out the obvious, or do they sit tight and wait for him to arrive at Lesser like the Grim Reaper with a set of P45s and a suitcase full of dosh? It’s then likely that he would try and exert even greater control because he’s the one who holds all the cards. 

It might sound over dramatic, and I’m not one for sacking managers after two minutes, but the rules have changed. We’re a professional football club and these people are being paid handsomely. A defeat at United would be five on the spin, with a tricky looking October coming up. Morton would all of a sudden become critical in terms of “the project.”
 

How many losses in a row would you give it before it becomes untenable? It’d be naive and yet another dereliction of duty if these conversations weren’t being had informally. Whilst we all hope it doesn’t have to happen, it’s not at all unrealistic that these become real questions three or four weeks down the line.

Think the only time I’ve heard our support turn like Friday night was Gardner’s last game when Berwick done us 4-0 at Airdrie. It needs to change and fast. First team results dictate everything else, no matter how many grand plans there are. 

[Bring Your Own Socks]

5 minutes ago, an86 said:

For the sake of argument, what happens here if this does tank even more spectacularly in the coming weeks? This is where the problem of having a committee that isn’t really running the show comes in. 
 

In the event of Veldman going, Beuker and Dempster would likely have to follow because it would be an admission that “the project” requires, at very least, a change of direction. That’s a big wad of severance cash to be doling out. 
 

I think we all really know the answer, but does someone in the committee go to Haughey and point out the obvious, or do they sit tight and wait for him to arrive at Lesser like the Grim Reaper with a set of P45s and a suitcase full of dosh? It’s then likely that he would try and exert even greater control because he’s the one who holds all the cards. 

It might sound over dramatic, and I’m not one for sacking managers after two minutes, but the rules have changed. We’re a professional football club and these people are being paid handsomely. A defeat at United would be five on the spin, with a tricky looking October coming up. Morton would all of a sudden become critical in terms of “the project.”
 

How many losses in a row would you give it before it becomes untenable? It’d be naive and yet another dereliction of duty if these conversations weren’t being had informally. Whilst we all hope it doesn’t have to happen, it’s not at all unrealistic that these become real questions three or four weeks down the line.

Think the only time I’ve heard our support turn like Friday night was Gardner’s last game when Berwick done us 4-0 at Airdrie. It needs to change and fast. First team results dictate everything else, no matter how many grand plans there are. 

I agree with all of that. But there’s another layer a bit further away that would be even more catastrophic. What if it all collapses and Haughey finds a new toy to play with? Or is it just the stadia he’s really after?

Anyone heard anymore about Pollok FC using Lesser?

[Spider Rico]

6 minutes ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

I agree with all of that. But there’s another layer a bit further away that would be even more catastrophic. What if it all collapses and Haughey finds a new toy to play with? Or is it just the stadia he’s really after?

Anyone heard anymore about Pollok FC using Lesser?

Celtic are going to be playing their UEFA youth league games at lesser 

https://www.celticfc.com/help-and-faqs/contact-us/uefa-youth-league-celticfc-match-accreditation-at-lesser-hampden/

[an86]

14 minutes ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

I agree with all of that. But there’s another layer a bit further away that would be even more catastrophic. What if it all collapses and Haughey finds a new toy to play with? Or is it just the stadia he’s really after?

Anyone heard anymore about Pollok FC using Lesser?

We’ve been assured that it’s a watertight deal, but we’ve been assured of a lot of things that haven’t necessarily ended up having a strong relationship with reality. Very easy to spin yarns behind confidentiality clauses or, indeed, non-existent contracts. 

[Bring Your Own Socks]

11 minutes ago, Spider Rico said:

Celtic are going to be playing their UEFA youth league games at lesser 

https://www.celticfc.com/help-and-faqs/contact-us/uefa-youth-league-celticfc-match-accreditation-at-lesser-hampden/

Thanks. Those are just a few midweek afternoon games though and on the same days as the first teams meet at Celtic Park in the Champions League so aside of rental unlikely to have any revenue. The Pollok deal was to have cash every other Saturday at the gates, pie stand and the hospitality before and after. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Bring Your Own Socks

[an86]

1 minute ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

The Pollok deal was to have cash every other Saturday at the gates, pie stand and the hospitality before and after. 

Haven’t heard anything on this. Assume this would be on the basis of Pollok doing up Newlandsfield? Hard to see where they’d be getting the cash in the current climate. Some sort of seating installed in the enclosure is probably the solution to any long term licensing issues. 

[Cyclops van Gogh 1867]

I had been feeling a bit more optimistic again after the Bala game but Friday night was an absolute shocker. That felt like the football equivalent of boxing's  'leading with your chin'. 

If that uber-high defensive line is meant to be part of the 'secret sauce', the only way that could possibly work is if we can be so phenomenal at going forward and clinical in front of goal that we will always out-score the opposition, regardless of how many we concede. That would admittedly be great to watch but seems unlikely at this point.

I believe when RV first arrived he said something along the lines of ' let's get the first round of league fixtures out of the way and we'll see where we are ' . I understand that he hasn't had the benefit of watching the best of our performances from the last few seasons and maybe wants to mix things up a bit to help him decide about the squad's strengths and weaknesses. That round of 'free hits' (if that's what he was asking for) will soon be over.

Personally, I still think we have a strong squad and the guys on the fringes of the first team Bannon, McLeish, Reid could well provide some of the answers. I also reckon Louis Longridge has been excellent covering at RB so far. 

Saturday's game is going to be a tough test but surely we must be learning some lessons on this roller coaster of a season?

[annan4eva]

4 minutes ago, an86 said:

Haven’t heard anything on this. Assume this would be on the basis of Pollok doing up Newlandsfield? Hard to see where they’d be getting the cash in the current climate. Some sort of seating installed in the enclosure is probably the solution to any long term licensing issues. 

You’re questioning where another club is getting cash from ? How fuckin rich.

[an86]

4 minutes ago, annan4eva said:

You’re questioning where another club is getting cash from ? How fuckin rich.

What on earth are you havering about? It’s a basic reality that we’re in the midst of an economic shitshow. Pollok are a well run club, but it’s tough for anyone to be funding any infrastructure projects at the moment. If you want to argue against that, I’d be interested to hear your angle. 
 

Everybody knows where our money is coming from, so I don’t really understand why you’re pissing your pantaloons here. 

[Ben Reilly]

4 hours ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

Thanks. Those are just a few midweek afternoon games though and on the same days as the first teams meet at Celtic Park in the Champions League so aside of rental unlikely to have any revenue. The Pollok deal was to have cash every other Saturday at the gates, pie stand and the hospitality before and after. 

From what i'd been told, our own women's team were told they would be playing their home games at Lesser this season, however, apparently there is a limit on how often our pitch can be used (presumably to keep it in the best condition) and the women have now been told that the they can't use it so that the SFA get it for Scotland training etc. as part of the deal for us playing at Hampden.

Allowing Celtic to play there seems a bit of a slap in the face to the women's team.

I'm pretty sure that if the women played at Lesser, and the entry fee was priced correctly,  they would get a relatively decent turnout (certainly more than at their current home at New Tinto Park). The social club could be opened pre and post games and surley a profit could be made.

[Ben Reilly]

6 hours ago, Spider1975 said:

Yup, another distinctive little tradition gone by the wayside.  I seem to remember some click-bait, sensationalist media coverage at one point too regarding a lazy translation of the term Spieglefuhrer.  It was always a nice touch giving the armband away to kids at the end of the match.

My hunch is that with the higher profile of the club now, the powers that be were keen to avoid any further media attention regarding the armband, regardless of how poorly researched it may be.

I also believe the giving out of the armband was something Michael Doyle came up with on his own, rather than it being suggested by the club. I dont remember it ever happening before or since our season in League 1, in which he was captain.

[Ben Reilly]

6 hours ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

I know for sure it was discarded in favour of the shirt suppliers armband. Another decision by our Commercial team to change as much as possible from Old QP. Now we can add to the list that after 120 years of playing at Hampden we have the traditional away end dugout, which probably means the away dressing room too. 

I noticed we were using the away dugout on Friday night too. I dont think it happened against Dunfermline, but could be wrong.

Was it a one off? A missunderstanding and the Ayr guys just got there first? Or is this a permanent change?

Perhaps questions like this, and about the armband, use of Lesser etc will be answered at the Q&A on Thursday? In between questions about our dangerously high defensive line and why players are being played out of position.

I'm not holding my breath for definitive answers to any of them though.

[Bring Your Own Socks]

20 minutes ago, Ben Reilly said:

I noticed we were using the away dugout on Friday night too. I dont think it happened against Dunfermline, but could be wrong.

Was it a one off? A missunderstanding and the Ayr guys just got there first? Or is this a permanent change?

Perhaps questions like this, and about the armband, use of Lesser etc will be answered at the Q&A on Thursday? In between questions about our dangerously high defensive line and why players are being played out of position.

I'm not holding my breath for definitive answers to any of them though.

Definitely not in the Dunfermline game. 

I’d actually blanked the Q&A after the EGM fiasco and I note checking back they still haven’t confirmed who will be there from the club.

[an86]

40 minutes ago, Ben Reilly said:

From what i'd been told, our own women's team were told they would be playing their home games at Lesser this season, however, apparently there is a limit on how often our pitch can be used (presumably to keep it in the best condition) and the women have now been told that the they can't use it so that the SFA get it for Scotland training etc. as part of the deal for us playing at Hampden.

Allowing Celtic to play there seems a bit of a slap in the face to the women's team.

I'm pretty sure that if the women played at Lesser, and the entry fee was priced correctly,  they would get a relatively decent turnout (certainly more than at their current home at New Tinto Park). The social club could be opened pre and post games and surley a profit could be made.

Women’s team is an afterthought. which isn’t good enough. We’re telling young boys that their ceiling at Queen’s Park is a full-time profession. We’re telling girls that their ceiling is amateur football, under the umbrella of the community foundation, at a junior stadium outside of our actual community. 
 

Now, there’s obviously some distance between where the men’s game and women’s game are at present, but significant inroads have been made in recent years in the Scottish women’s game. We don’t look to have made much effort to capitalise on that. The players and staff certainly look to be making progress, but the undoubtedly deserve more from the club. At a bare minimum, they should be playing within the heart of the community.
 

If Lesser Hampden isn’t going to be a hub for our football club, what exactly is it for? It looks very much like we’ve built a training ground for the people who put us in a headlock to purchase our stadium, a stadium which we’re now back paying rent as tenants for, whilst our own teams can’t use the one we built. Now, I’m no business person but that doesn’t scream “sound corporate governance” to me. 

[qpfc]

44 minutes ago, Ben Reilly said:

I noticed we were using the away dugout on Friday night too. I dont think it happened against Dunfermline, but could be wrong.

The way the management team view football, the logic is probably looking at an iPad, concluding that there’s a 52.5% increased chance of winning the match by standing in the away dugout