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Johnstone Burgh statement


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7 hours ago, Plantar fasciitis said:

I never really took much interest in Darvel but I do think this project is on a different level 

Kyle Lafferty is the biggest signing in the juniors/this level that I’ve seen.

He was playing against Celtic at Hampden in the LC semi final just 6 months ago.

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On 19/07/2023 at 01:49, DoingThe42 said:

Comparisons with Darvel and Gretna seem a bit off, since Johnstone has around four times the population of those two places, no?

Surely a town of 15,000 can reasonably be expected to support an SPFL team in the long run.

Places like Darvel and Gretna would always be unlikely to be able to support a team at a good level long-term without the ongoing involvement of a wealthy backer, but if things are done right, I don't see why Johnstone can't aim to have a team at a much higher level than it does now. It'll need investment to get it going, but it doesn't seem a mad idea to me.

What is the population size of Coatbridge and how are they getting on in sustaining a club in the SPFL? Try consulting the map again and try to work out what connects 'Johnstone' with other examples of failure (East Kilbride/Coatbridge), with a fraction of the catchment area. 

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On 19/07/2023 at 01:49, DoingThe42 said:

Comparisons with Darvel and Gretna seem a bit off, since Johnstone has around four times the population of those two places, no?

Surely a town of 15,000 can reasonably be expected to support an SPFL team in the long run.

Places like Darvel and Gretna would always be unlikely to be able to support a team at a good level long-term without the ongoing involvement of a wealthy backer, but if things are done right, I don't see why Johnstone can't aim to have a team at a much higher level than it does now. It'll need investment to get it going, but it doesn't seem a mad idea to me.

The note of caution for me would be the complete failure of a club like East Kilbride to catch the imagination of its local population. Maybe Johnstone Burgh will be better at that, I don't know. But nothing EK has done has seemed to make any impact whatsoever in the town. Maybe getting into the SPFL would do that, but they've certainly failed to build more than a friends-and-family fanbase so far. Although, clearly, a completely new club is a different beast, and perhaps investment in an existing team like EK Thistle with a bit of community recognition (and town centre location) might have been more successful.

 

Agree with this. Johnstone and it's surrounds are a large catchment area and clearly have the population to support a league 1/league 2 club. Montrose has a population of 11,000, Annan has a population of 8,000, Stenhousemuir 9,000 etc etc. If these places can have sustainable football league clubs, why not Johnstone with 15,000 people? This is not village football like Darvel and Gretna.

Unlike East Kilbride, the club has previously had decent backing from the town when they were doing well, I remember going to a junior cup final at Firhill in 2000 to see them lose to Whitburn on penalties and there must have been 2-3000 Burgh fans there. The club has a decent history too, they famously (in the town at least) won the Junior Cup twice in the 60's and were one of the top Junior sides around for a couple of decades around that point and regularly got relatively big crowds. Frank McAvennie came through the Johnstone Burgh ranks before getting his big move to Renfrewshire rivals St Mirren!

I stay about 10 minutes walk from their ground and I have been following them and going to their home games on and off for over 20 years - normally wait till they open the gates and let the spongers in for free after half an hour right enough, hopefully that practice continues now the ex-internationalists are in town 😀 In that time they've always been one of the poorer - on and off the park - Junior teams and haven't achieved anything of note to get any excitement going in the town, naturally crowds have dwindled. Last season there was a bit of a buzz about the place and they did okay and crowds were up, if they win the league this season - which they surely will - I expect them to get crowds of 500+ in there regularly. From there who knows. 

Worst case scenario this all flops and it goes back to the status quo, which would be fine I suppose.  On the flip side it's not unreasonable to think that they could be a competitive team in League 1 by 2033, and probably be beating St Mirren in the League Cup Group stages, which seems to be an annual event for clubs at that level. 

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6 hours ago, Lex said:

 

Agree with this. Johnstone and it's surrounds are a large catchment area and clearly have the population to support a league 1/league 2 club. Montrose has a population of 11,000, Annan has a population of 8,000, Stenhousemuir 9,000 etc etc. If these places can have sustainable football league clubs, why not Johnstone with 15,000 people? This is not village football like Darvel and Gretna.

Unlike East Kilbride, the club has previously had decent backing from the town when they were doing well, I remember going to a junior cup final at Firhill in 2000 to see them lose to Whitburn on penalties and there must have been 2-3000 Burgh fans there. The club has a decent history too, they famously (in the town at least) won the Junior Cup twice in the 60's and were one of the top Junior sides around for a couple of decades around that point and regularly got relatively big crowds. Frank McAvennie came through the Johnstone Burgh ranks before getting his big move to Renfrewshire rivals St Mirren!

I stay about 10 minutes walk from their ground and I have been following them and going to their home games on and off for over 20 years - normally wait till they open the gates and let the spongers in for free after half an hour right enough, hopefully that practice continues now the ex-internationalists are in town 😀 In that time they've always been one of the poorer - on and off the park - Junior teams and haven't achieved anything of note to get any excitement going in the town, naturally crowds have dwindled. Last season there was a bit of a buzz about the place and they did okay and crowds were up, if they win the league this season - which they surely will - I expect them to get crowds of 500+ in there regularly. From there who knows. 

Worst case scenario this all flops and it goes back to the status quo, which would be fine I suppose.  On the flip side it's not unreasonable to think that they could be a competitive team in League 1 by 2033, and probably be beating St Mirren in the League Cup Group stages, which seems to be an annual event for clubs at that level. 

None of that is happening.

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On 20/07/2023 at 13:04, Plantar fasciitis said:

Not impressed with them last night Jim? 
anyone have the Burgh line up? 

Johnstone Burgh – McGowan, Boland, Crooks, Wharton, Menzies, Esplin, McCann, Dorrans, Brophy, McKenzie, Simeon

Subs – Brown, Paton, McDonald, Gillespie, Brady, Fletcher, Scott

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5 hours ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

None of that is happening.

TBF there is three scenarios there. They win the league next year and regularly get 500+, it all flops and they return to the status quo, or they are playing competive  League 1 football within 10 years - as such luminaries as Cove Rangers and Kelty Hearts have recently managed.

Surely at least one of those will happen?

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5 hours ago, Shanner said:

The population of a town tells you precisely nada about the support a team based there will have. JB also come from one of the worst areas in the known universe for picking up fans. 

This is wrong.

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On 22/07/2023 at 21:21, Shanner said:

i hadn't thought of it like that.

good point well made.

 

I’d love to put different, but i can’t. As someone who grew up and lives in the area you are referring to, I simply can’t put it any other way than: You’ve got it wrong.

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On 22/07/2023 at 21:03, Lex said:

TBF there is three scenarios there. They win the league next year and regularly get 500+, it all flops and they return to the status quo, or they are playing competive  League 1 football within 10 years - as such luminaries as Cove Rangers and Kelty Hearts have recently managed.

Surely at least one of those will happen?

There's a fourth option where the club builds up unsustainable debts under its 'investors' and folds, never to return. 

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