The Big Queen's Park FC Thread

[Dave]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Soo-sider said:

Any chance that the talents of our podcast team could get El Presidente or some other member of the reclusive committee on to SpidersTalk for a chat? (Don't send the briefing notes in advance though, or the BBC will pull the broadcast).

During the summer we did contact the president directly to do this and he declined our offer. 

Someone raised a question like this last month, and I said that it was something we were working on. That continues to be the case, although we've been advised at this time that players/staff will not be made available to us. Hopefully this changes in the future. 

[HoustonSpider99]

52 minutes ago, Dave said:

During the summer we did contact the president directly to do this and he declined our offer. 

Someone raised a question like this last month, and I said that it was something we were working on. That continues to be the case, although we've been advised at this time that players/staff will not be made available to us. Hopefully this changes in the future. 

Don’t get me wrong, I very much doubt you’d have club personnel, player, coach or committee on the podcast and absolutely slate them, or rip them to shreds. 
 

Suggests however the committee and club aren’t interested in any way they might be held accountable however. 

[Spiders For Life]

5 hours ago, HoustonSpider99 said:

Don’t get me wrong, I very much doubt you’d have club personnel, player, coach or committee on the podcast and absolutely slate them, or rip them to shreds. 
 

Suggests however the committee and club aren’t interested in any way they might be held accountable however. 

Worth noting a newer member of the committee has put in some real effort to try help us get people on, so from our experience I do think there is some trying to promote change.

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

8 hours ago, Dave said:

During the summer we did contact the president directly to do this and he declined our offer. 

Someone raised a question like this last month, and I said that it was something we were working on. That continues to be the case, although we've been advised at this time that players/staff will not be made available to us. Hopefully this changes in the future. 

Ah, fan engagement! Perhaps an SLO will be sent out to answer supporters queries. We can live in hope.

[Dave]

8 hours ago, HoustonSpider99 said:

Don’t get me wrong, I very much doubt you’d have club personnel, player, coach or committee on the podcast and absolutely slate them, or rip them to shreds. 
 

Suggests however the committee and club aren’t interested in any way they might be held accountable however. 

It really wouldn't be our intention to do that though. Depending who we'd speak to, there might be some awkward questions, but we aren't going to go out our way to make it uncomfortable for anyone. Take a look at the ICT podcast and the folk they've spoke to from their shambles in the last year, they've done a very good job interviewing those at the heart of the problem, still being respectful while also having an opinion. We'd just like the chance to do something similar for QP.

[Spider1975]

10 hours ago, Dave said:

During the summer we did contact the president directly to do this and he declined our offer. 

Someone raised a question like this last month, and I said that it was something we were working on. That continues to be the case, although we've been advised at this time that players/staff will not be made available to us. Hopefully this changes in the future.

Wow.  Another Ace played by the club.  If in doubt, double down.  

[Bring Your Own Socks]

1 hour ago, Dave said:

It really wouldn't be our intention to do that though. Depending who we'd speak to, there might be some awkward questions, but we aren't going to go out our way to make it uncomfortable for anyone. Take a look at the ICT podcast and the folk they've spoke to from their shambles in the last year, they've done a very good job interviewing those at the heart of the problem, still being respectful while also having an opinion. We'd just like the chance to do something similar for QP.

I wouldn’t have thought for a second that the podcast team would do anything different. It’s a great opportunity to showcase the best of what is important to the fans. And I’ve little doubt there would be a fair few players, or background staff, who would like to use the time to bridge with fans and do their own PR a favour at the same time. All part of the deal.

Sadly, it just says again that the head shed have made such a litany of serious, and in some cases repetitive, cock-ups over the last five years that there only behaviour now is to simply hide in the cupboard and say nothing.

[Spider1975]

14 minutes ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

I wouldn’t have thought for a second that the podcast team would do anything different. It’s a great opportunity to showcase the best of what is important to the fans. And I’ve little doubt there would be a fair few players, or background staff, who would like to use the time to bridge with fans and do their own PR a favour at the same time. All part of the deal.

Sadly, it just says again that the head shed have made such a litany of serious, and in some cases repetitive, cock-ups over the last five years that there only behaviour now is to simply hide in the cupboard and say nothing.

I'm sure even Gerald Ratner's laughing at them

[williebraveheart]

12 hours ago, Dave said:

During the summer we did contact the president directly to do this and he declined our offer. 

Someone raised a question like this last month, and I said that it was something we were working on. That continues to be the case, although we've been advised at this time that players/staff will not be made available to us. Hopefully this changes in the future. 

Nothing changes.

[Spider1975]

On 07/10/2024 at 15:44, Bring Your Own Socks said:

And Duncan, the enigma. He’s actually played over 20 first team games for Aberdeen so it looks like he’s going backwards at the moment. To be fair to CD though, most on here, me included, wrote off Tizzard and Davidson stuck with him and he’s doing much better as a straightforward centre-half. I guess he sees something in Duncan at training that’s not apparent on matchday.

CD also apparently saw something in Stuart McKinstry too; something that nobody else within a 5 mile radius of Hampden saw...but there you go.  

Not to immediately contradict myself, but we as fans, (absolutely include myself in this) are sometimes rather too quick in writing young guys off, purely on the basis they don't seem to be effective immediately after they join a club, we assume that as 'professional' footballers they really should be hitting those high standards from the get-go.  Different environment, structures, team-mates, staff and coaching methods will all take time to get used to and develop into.  

Case in point, as you mentioned, are the guys we got in last year.  Of the five Beuker brought in, (Tizzard, Spong, Turner, Paton and Hepburn), immediately we were excited by Hepburn and Paton due to their pedigree.  

Roll on 3 months and it appeared Hepburn was light-weight, Tizzard was a bomb-scare, Turner wasn't doing much to get excited about and it was only Paton and Spong that seemed worthy of a starting place.  

A year and a bit down the line, Paton has been sold on at profit, Tizzard is developing nicely now that he's not being overloaded and degraded by an inexperienced manager & Turner is picking up MOTM awards with regularity.  I'm sure had the personal side worked out Spong would have become even better too.

As I write all of that, it's gotten me thinking; when is it too soon to say that actually, Beujker's recruitment, (with the exception of his choice of manager) wasn't that bad after all?

[CathcartSkins]

Having raw talent is one factor, the other variable factor on development is attitude, that has to come from within.

Coupled with the other big unknown factor (and there is not too much any employer can do, other than be supportive) is your home-life. 

I am sure we have all worked alongside talented individuals only to see them never reach their potential because of something they have had to deal with at home. 

So I am prepared to cut Mr Beujker some slack. 

[EaglesandSpiders]

16 minutes ago, Spider1975 said:

As I write all of that, it's gotten me thinking; when is it too soon to say that actually, Beujker's recruitment, (with the exception of his choice of manager) wasn't that bad after all

I don't think Beuker's player recruitment was bad at all. It just wasn't sufficient. As for his head coach recruitment, well... you know what I think

[Spider1975]

On 08/10/2024 at 23:04, Dave said:

During the summer we did contact the president directly to do this and he declined our offer. 

Someone raised a question like this last month, and I said that it was something we were working on. That continues to be the case, although we've been advised at this time that players/staff will not be made available to us. Hopefully this changes in the future.

Yeah, I raised it and you can tell that I've got a bit of time on my hands and have been out walking the dog, that the club's stance on this has gotten me quite vexed.  This isn't meant to be a rant, but I hope, as others have said that elements from the club hierarchy do read PnB and will therefore read and internally digest this.

The podcast is continually excellent and some of the best episodes have been the ones where we've heard from club employees, be they Ellie Kane, Charlie Fox or Marjin Beuker.  The fact that Simon Murray reached out after his departure should alerted those at the club to the reach of the podcast gents, but alas it seems not.

Any future longevity and sustainability will need to come not from wining and dining sponsors, but from increasing the fan base, as when that happens and we find ourselves sitting as one in amongst 6,000 rather than 600 the sponsors will want to find us rather than the other way around. 

We build that fan base by being central to and engaging with, the wider community, (Hampden, Lesser or Cathkin won't make any difference to this) and we've done some really good work on this again, for example, with the tickets for schools programme.  If we disconnect the football club however, the manager and players, from that community we'll undo all of this in a heartbeat.  If we're too precious/immature to divest from effective engagement from genuine fans because of some percieved potential embarrassment or mild criticism then we're going backwards rapidly to that anachronism that professionalism was supposed to be taking us away from.  The free hand given to G4S in treating every QP home game like an 7pm Old Firm Scottish Cup Final is manifestation of this.

Calum Davidson recently put his boots back on to play in a charity match for his former High School who suffered the loss of a pupil recently and I know how much he and his family feel part of their local community, so I highly doubt this diktat has come from him.  Similarly, I know the extra mile the players and former manager Owen Coyle went in their engagement with my son a few years back when he contacted the club so I can't imagine that it's the players wish to be separated from the support either. I am dumbfounded to understand exactly who this omertà benefits?

Don't though, those in power, take my word for it; feel free to head down to the gym and ask Charlie Fox about engagement - he could teach you a thing or two.

[CathkinParkLoyal]

2 hours ago, Spider1975 said:

CD also apparently saw something in Stuart McKinstry too; something that nobody else within a 5 mile radius of Hampden saw...but there you go.  

Not to immediately contradict myself, but we as fans, (absolutely include myself in this) are sometimes rather too quick in writing young guys off, purely on the basis they don't seem to be effective immediately after they join a club, we assume that as 'professional' footballers they really should be hitting those high standards from the get-go.  Different environment, structures, team-mates, staff and coaching methods will all take time to get used to and develop into.  

Case in point, as you mentioned, are the guys we got in last year.  Of the five Beuker brought in, (Tizzard, Spong, Turner, Paton and Hepburn), immediately we were excited by Hepburn and Paton due to their pedigree.  

Roll on 3 months and it appeared Hepburn was light-weight, Tizzard was a bomb-scare, Turner wasn't doing much to get excited about and it was only Paton and Spong that seemed worthy of a starting place.  

A year and a bit down the line, Paton has been sold on at profit, Tizzard is developing nicely now that he's not being overloaded and degraded by an inexperienced manager & Turner is picking up MOTM awards with regularity.  I'm sure had the personal side worked out Spong would have become even better too.

As I write all of that, it's gotten me thinking; when is it too soon to say that actually, Beujker's recruitment, (with the exception of his choice of manager) wasn't that bad after all?

I'm surprised to see this tbh, I didn't realise many people believed that about the players, even with the choice of manager, they fit the profile of the type of team we where trying to be at the time. The real mistake was not adapting earlier either the personal or system when it became clear the original plan wasn't going to work.

[GloriousHoops]

Another new forward signing, with a decent pedigree, but again pretty much no first team experience, at 22.....

https://queensparkfc.co.uk/max-thompson-signs-for-the-spiders/

[Dave]

#9 on his tracksuit top and a declaration of "I'm here to score goals" in his first interview.

Big fan of the confidence, but putting a wee bit of pressure on himself before even kicking a baw. Lets hope he lives up to it. 

[qpfc]

Good to see he’s confident of producing the goods in front of goal, you need that as a striker. Hope for his own sake regarding his confidence, it’s just a case of finding a team to showcase his ability rather than underestimating the level he’s playing at 

Excited to see him play, looks like he’s been given the number 9

[HoustonSpider99]

We’ve been crying out for another striker, someone to push Rudden, and keep McLeish improving. 
 

Hopefully we’re able to see a bit of Drozd and Thompson tomorrow evening. 

[williebraveheart]

If these two new signings hit any type of spot we will be a very hard team to beat. Looking forward to it.

[Bring Your Own Socks]

3 hours ago, Spider1975 said:

CD also apparently saw something in Stuart McKinstry too; something that nobody else within a 5 mile radius of Hampden saw...but there you go.  

Not to immediately contradict myself, but we as fans, (absolutely include myself in this) are sometimes rather too quick in writing young guys off, purely on the basis they don't seem to be effective immediately after they join a club, we assume that as 'professional' footballers they really should be hitting those high standards from the get-go.  Different environment, structures, team-mates, staff and coaching methods will all take time to get used to and develop into.  

Case in point, as you mentioned, are the guys we got in last year.  Of the five Beuker brought in, (Tizzard, Spong, Turner, Paton and Hepburn), immediately we were excited by Hepburn and Paton due to their pedigree.  

Roll on 3 months and it appeared Hepburn was light-weight, Tizzard was a bomb-scare, Turner wasn't doing much to get excited about and it was only Paton and Spong that seemed worthy of a starting place.  

A year and a bit down the line, Paton has been sold on at profit, Tizzard is developing nicely now that he's not being overloaded and degraded by an inexperienced manager & Turner is picking up MOTM awards with regularity.  I'm sure had the personal side worked out Spong would have become even better too.

As I write all of that, it's gotten me thinking; when is it too soon to say that actually, Beujker's recruitment, (with the exception of his choice of manager) wasn't that bad after all?

When coaches speak highly, too highly, of a player it can sometimes be for the audience of buyers out there who watch videos rather than go to games. Ryan Duncan is also currently being praised for not much more than putting his slippers on the correct feet. Not sure why because we can’t sell him.

On your last para, Turner and Tizzard have both grown immensely under Davidson’s structure (let’s not forget the two seasoned pros he has with all of them on the training ground each day) and we’ll never know how much of that was down to before or after Beuker. Even Paton grew a fair bit in the second half of the season. For both Turner and Tizzard, my view is they are both being allowed to play in a way that suits them as opposed to fitting into a coaches system. It seems very likely that Beuker had Veldman in line all along (remember the meeting at No. 10 when he said he was always looking for the next coach) and in that case, these two were a mismatch for Veldman. Either way, they were all brought in by Beuker, including Veldman, so he got it wrong somewhere. 

Davidson has his system too, of course, but seems to be patient enough to curl the corners a bit to help players find their sweet spot.