Your Club's Ambitions

[SA45]

2 hours ago, WattersIsGod said:

Short term ambition is to stay in this league without need of the playoffs. Medium term I'd say is to stabilise in this division and be a comfortably mid table league one team.

Longer term ambition has to be becoming the best part time side.

I don't see the path to us being a viable full time side sadly.

I'd love the support to grow a bit, at least enough to be filling most of the stand and one of the terraces but this season has shown we aren't there yet.

Be good to see the academy producing some first teamers

Where we are now is where I think we should be. Lower mid table in league 1.

We've got a good set up stadium and pitch wise. Finally I feel we have a squad and manager good enough to go with it.

 

Agree with all  this. 7th or 8th this season and 4th or 5th next and avoid 5-0 humiliations. Also, I'd like to see if the club can work more with the "Ultras" in encouraging them to attend (without the flares and aggro). I saw last night they now have 1945 Crew stickers on their seats and the big flag is left in the stadium. I like the drum/s and feel we need as much atmosphere as we can get. Any kid coming to Forthbank instead of O/F should be encouraged.

Also, stop playing "Murder on the dancefloor". I think the DJ only has 10 records/cds.

 

 

[Monkey Tennis]

5 hours ago, BFTD said:

 I thought it might be interesting to check in with folk and see how they feel about their club's current place in the SPFL, where they think their natural place is, whether that's likely to change in the future, that kind of thing. 

As seen by the responses of other Queens fans in here, we really are not in a good place right now, and it's almost impossible to find grounds for optimism.

FWIW, I think I'd see our 'natural' station as pretty much that we've occupied for most of the last 20 years - bobbing around somewhere in the 2nd tier.  We spent plenty of years before that in the sort of place we are now, or even a worse one, but that involved lots of punching well below our weight.  

I'm not going to argue that by rights we should be pressing for a spot in the top flight, but the reality is that mid-table in the Championship gives you a crack at it, so it's not too outrageous an aspiration.  

I do think Queens is probably the biggest club not to have featured in the top flight in my lifetime, and I'd love to see that change one day.  Right now though, survival in the 3rd tier can't be taken for granted, so my real ambition for us is simply that we have a good season at some point.  We've not had even an acceptable one for ages.

[2426255]

5 hours ago, BFTD said:

Inspired by this temper tantrum - I thought it might be interesting to check in with folk and see how they feel about their club's current place in the SPFL, where they think their natural place is, whether that's likely to change in the future, that kind of thing. 

I think Alloa's done well to become one of the top part-time clubs, and the club generally makes very good decisions, especially regarding appointments. There seems to be thought going into the long-term picture. The next step for us would probably be to build the club's regular support so that it could maintain a full-time squad, but that would be way off in the future, if it were ever to happen. No doubt the club has an eye on more ground improvements too, as there's been a lot of work on that in the past twenty years. We're doing well overall - League One is probably our level, and maintaining a place in the Championship would be quite an achievement.

I don't have a club side, but it's a great thread idea and so I wanted to do this for the Scotland National team.

The team is in a good place and has been for a few years now since we came out of the other side of COVID. The best thing about following Scotland has been that not only have we made significant progress from where we were, but we as fans have a clear idea of where we are going over the next wee while and I'm not talking about Germany.

Our ambition is to establish ourselves amongst the top tier, pot-1 nations over the next couple of years. I think that would be an overachievement. My expectations for Scotland at best are pot-2 and at worst pot-3 or pot-4 as we've seen not too long ago. Over the next year or two I expect to see our team attempt to become more of a footballing team. The messaging from the Stevie Clarke has been very clear in that respect.

For that reason I'm looking forward to the Nations League as much as Euro-2024 to see if we can really develop our team to compete at that level playing football and not just a backs to the wall job. Whatever the outcome, I think it'll be a fantastic year to be a Scotland fan - we'll have set-backs undoubtedly, but it's all about the journey. I was only a boy when we were at Euro-96 and France-98, so it's been a long time coming. 

Quote

Fantastic matches, great opponents, a big challenge. Being Scottish we like a challenge. This year’s going to be a challenge, so last year was a great year – it’s time to close the door on 2023 and look forward to hopefully very exciting and successful 2024.

Steve Clarke

  https://youtu.be/cj4k1eBu9vk

[Hauftimedraw]

5 hours ago, the philosopher said:

Short term ambition - to stay up this year whether through 8th.spot or winning playoffs.

Longer term ambition of consolidating in League 1 with a target of making playoffs for promotion.

Natural order - probably a yo yo team between League 1 and 2, hopefully no lower.

Other aims of improving ground facilities for the away end and improving matchday experience.

 

 

 

To add to this list...

A decent cup run (The Scottish preferably) every couple of years. 

A reserve team playing on a regular basis 

A return to proper blank and gold striped shirts 

I also remember the former chairman being quoted in the local paper that they would like to have "adult entertainment " in the clubhouse... 

[Alex Nesovic's Barmy Army]

I was pleased to see a tidy up take place at Palmerston, which saw some of the seats cleaned.

I can't really think of anything else I'd like to see happen at the club.

Edited February 28 by Alex Nesovic's Barmy Army

[BFTD]

2 hours ago, SA45 said:

Agree with all  this. 7th or 8th this season and 4th or 5th next and avoid 5-0 humiliations. Also, I'd like to see if the club can work more with the "Ultras" in encouraging them to attend (without the flares and aggro). I saw last night they now have 1945 Crew stickers on their seats and the big flag is left in the stadium. I like the drum/s and feel we need as much atmosphere as we can get. Any kid coming to Forthbank instead of O/F should be encouraged.

Also, stop playing "Murder on the dancefloor". I think the DJ only has 10 records/cds.

I was wondering what @wasps1 was up to these days.

Have you heard a lot of Coldplay recently, by any chance?

[leomessi1984]

For us at Kelty I feel we're probably now where we want to be. Competitive in L1 and playing decent football.

After McKenzie left we're punching financially on a level playing field with some of those around us. No doubt we could go up & down or get a sniff at the playoffs at some point.

[Scorge]

Leapfrog the maroon muck either by going up or watching them sink plz

[NavyBlueArmy1876]

A 4th stand + world domination plz 

[SA45]

1 hour ago, BFTD said:

I was wondering what @wasps1 was up to these days.

Have you heard a lot of Coldplay recently, by any chance?

Not sure about Coldplay. Born Slippy and Right Here, Right Now are favourites so maybe he just has a late 90s dance CD.

[Ye Olde Hamiltonian]

5 hours ago, MallanandFlanagan said:

Some soap in the toilets at Palmerston 

I was in the Main Stand for the recent game against my team and everyone was tut-tutting in the toilet  at the lack of soap…there wasn’t any.

As for Accies, obviously the aim would be to get back to the top flight since we have had 2 spells there in the last 16 years.

However, that is more difficult now I feel with bigger clubs getting their act together, plus the fact we lost over 50% of our fanbase during the Canning years and many of these people still haven’t returned.

Whatever League we are in, we need to reconnect with locals and try to get more kids and lapsed fans into the fold.

We also need to keep the Youth system going as there is nothing the Accies support like more than seeing kids come through the system and either become first team regulars or move up the ladder.

That is one of my biggest bugbears with John Rankin as he was a highly rated Youth Coach at Hearts and has completely abandoned the Youth at Accies refusing to give many of them a deserved chance.

Edited February 28 by Ye Olde Hamiltonian

[Hugh Hillshaveyes]

13 minutes ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said:

I was in the Main Stand for the recent game against my team and everyone was tut-tutting in the toilet  at the lack of soap…there wasn’t any.

As for Accies, obviously the aim would be to get back to the top flight since we have had 2 spells there in the last 16 years.

However, that is more difficult now I feel with bigger clubs getting their act together, plus the fact we lost over 50% of our fanbase during the Canning years and many of these people still haven’t returned.

Whatever League we are in, we need to reconnect with locals and try to get more kids and lapsed fans into the fold.

We also need to keep the Youth system going as there is nothing the Accies support like more than seeing kids come through the system and either become first team regulars or move up the ladder.

That is one of my biggest bugbears with John Rankin as he was a highly rated Youth Coach at Hearts and has completely abandoned the Youth at Accies refusing to give many of them a deserved chance.

If this "truth" you keep peddling about losing 50 percent of your fan base (an excuse for having attendances of 700 & odd) is true then that is even more bewildering as you would have been in the premier league at the time....it's horseshit isn't it...you just don't have 800 fans 

[Ye Olde Hamiltonian]

Just now, Hugh Hillshaveyes said:

If this "truth" you keep peddling about losing 50 percent of your fan base (an excuse for having attendances of 700 & odd) is true then that is even more bewildering as you would have been in the premier league at the time....it's horseshit isn't it...you just don't have 800 fans 

Well bellend, we sold nearly 1,000 Season Tickets and that was with folk moaning about the prices and with no option to split the payments.

If you read my posts on here, you will see why the Accies home support can vary wildly and it is all to do with the contentious relationship between The Club and Fans.

We have had decades of Owners castigating supporters and that leads to the aforementioned along with long losing runs.

Crowd versus Cove just after New Year was 1400+, so by the reckoning here, there were 750 Cove fans in the away end.

 

[BB_Bino]

Actually really like this thread and some interesting points raised. What the actual club line is, I don't know. Our current board came in and along with the Supporters Trust, wanted to review all avenues before disclosing any plans. To my knowledge, they've never came out to say what the actual ambition of the club is. However, here are my own personal thoughts on what that should look like.

Short Term on the pitch, has to be to stay in the league and work towards establishing ourselves as a League 1 side. I know we have yo-yo'd a bit over the past 20 years but as a Part Time club with the support and facilities we have, I think a top end League 1 side is probably our "natural place" in the Scottish game, and it's something I'm comfortable with. Darren Young has done a fantastic job in getting us "back to where we belong" and is now building on that and we look to be in a good place to achieve the aim this season, and I believe Darren is the man who will continue to move us forward. Medium  term, I think there's no reason why we can't yo-yo between the top 4 of League 1 and the bottom 2 or 3 in the Championship depending on what other teams are around at that time. I think we're probably 3-5 years away from achieving this but if you're talking of ambition then why not?? If we can grow the club off the field (next part of my post) then I see no reason why we can't have a playing budget which makes this possible. Long term (10+ years), former Director Colin Rowley spoke about Full Time football returning to Forthbank, it's something we would all love to see I'm sure, however our income would have to change dramatically for this to happen. Should it be an aim of ours, I think it should be, however is it something I see happening, probably not but if someone with a business mind can come in and make a success of it, and good recruitment and management on the pitch continues (with Darren and after he leaves) then who knows, we live in hope. If we remain Part Time though, the aim should be to have the facilities to punch above your weight in the way that Arbroath have done recently with 3 or 4 year stints in the Championship before the inevitable relegation falls. The Championship is the glass ceiling for Part Time clubs, especially in a country that has 22 spaces up for grabs and 25 Full Time teams, but we're a City club, so there's no reason why we can't be the best Part Time outfit in the country.

Off the field, I want to see us grow as a community club, but ultimately I want to see more bums on seats. We can do all those wonderful things through the Foundation and help community projects like Start Up Stirling and Ukrainian Refugees, I want to see us at the forefront of all that, but at the same time we should be looking at growing the support and the footprint that we have around the Forth Valley area. This takes time, however a 1 team City club run right, why can we not aim to have the same level of home support as  St.johnstone, Hamilton or maybe even a Dunfermline, Falkirk, Morton or Ayr do within the next 10 years?? It will take lots of work to do that, but getting in about the youth now and improving alot of what we already do....tapping into the Junior Academy, the 1945 crew, school projects more, is the key to achieveing this. I didn't like the trouble that the 1945 crew brought with them, however I do like the fact that these were young lads engaging with the club and that's a must for me. I also want to see the business grow, I know we don't own Forthbank or the area that surrounds it but we can still make money off it and still make money as a club through it. 

A better youth Development programme as well, the club should be an avenue for local players to get into the pro-game if they are good enough, that's not been the case. The lack of youngsters who have established themselves as First Team players shows that. Who have we had over the last 10 years......Ross McGeachie, Kyle Banner, Lee Hamilton and Cammy Binnie are the only ones that really spring to mind. Others have had spells and have faded away, but when you look at the amount of youngsters that are in the Junior Academy, plus those that play for Milton, Riverside, Cowie and even further afield in Alloa, Larbert, Denny etc etc, is it over ambitious to expect at least 1 youth player coming through every couple of seasons....I don't think it is, especially when you consider how many pro players from the area come through elsewhere. I know the Junior Academy have a link with Rangers, but these things should work both ways. Again, in the long term, I see no reason why we can't achieve this, youngsters will find their natural position, but they need to be nourished. 

[Vegetableman]

15 hours ago, SA45 said:

Agree with all  this. 7th or 8th this season and 4th or 5th next and avoid 5-0 humiliations. Also, I'd like to see if the club can work more with the "Ultras" in encouraging them to attend (without the flares and aggro). I saw last night they now have 1945 Crew stickers on their seats and the big flag is left in the stadium. I like the drum/s and feel we need as much atmosphere as we can get. Any kid coming to Forthbank instead of O/F should be encouraged.

Also, stop playing "Murder on the dancefloor". I think the DJ only has 10 records/cds.

 

 

Does he have Ghost town by the specials ?

[SouthStander1876]

Got to be consolidation of a championship place first and foremost, however long term I think we should be looking at Killie, St. mirren etc for the place we should be aiming to be.

[BFTD]

4 hours ago, Vegetableman said:

Does he have Ghost town by the specials ?

^^^ big team found

[Fae_the_'briggs]

16 hours ago, Hugh Hillshaveyes said:

If this "truth" you keep peddling about losing 50 percent of your fan base (an excuse for having attendances of 700 & odd) is true then that is even more bewildering as you would have been in the premier league at the time....it's horseshit isn't it...you just don't have 800 fans 

This is decent idea for a thread hopefully not going to be spoiled by  crowdwanking. Don't know why Falkirk fans are so obsessed with Hamiltons  crowd numbers.

[Vegetableman]

5 hours ago, BFTD said:

^^^ big team found

I have no idea what you mean , Alloa are my "big team" .

[Blame Me]

Really a misnomer as it is "Your ambitions for your club" since these aren't always aligned but I'll let that slide ... 

On the field, I would like to see Falkirk back competing at the top end of the Championship and beyond.

Off the field I'd like us to be innovative around match day experience/engagement and green issues as cynically I think they're revenue generators. The social media/comms "revolution" has come-and-gone. I'd now like to see clubs like Falkirk be in the vanguard of what a new Scottish match day experience could be for future generations.

Quite lofty goals!

Edited February 29 by Blame Me