CoF

Sounds good, but it's also assuming he has the skills and character to be a manager. He might be a brilliant assistant manager and made a great club captain, but stepping into the managers post is a different job all together.

If he goes, only one man could soften the blow...

Ach, I know. Maybe I got out of bed on the wrong side today but it just seems like a lot of money and might look a bit daft if only a few hundred folk go for it. I suppose every penny counts just now and if there are people that can afford it and fancy it then why not.

Don't mean to sound pessimistic, but at £22 can't see much uptake for this after season tickets are purchased and folk chucked a few extra quid to the 'fill Fir Park' initiative last month.

Probably a coincidence, but I'm sure it'll be used to run a 'local lads who understand the area' type player branding thingy at some point through the season. It's all smoke and mirrors which I for one will 100% buy into.

I think it was necessary. Part of attracting players is the clubs reputation on how you'll be treated if you sign. From the outside we look like decent employers who will look after you if you've got a long injury, give older players career routes into badges / coaching etc. This all factors into which club players choose to sign for and if he's damaging that reputation by being conservative with the truth then it should be put right. Also, he's the one that chose to put his own contract negotiations into the public domain so I think the club were free to respond. Aye, it's not our usual style, but I wouldn't say it's particularly emotive or unprofessional. Out of the 20-odd paragraphs there's one line "we are disheartened".... the rest is more or less a statement of fact.

Between Gillespie and Gallagher for me, with Polworth a very close third. Went for Gallagher, which feels harsh on Gillespie who has been incredible all season.

What's your evidence of nepotism?

Absolutely awful. Just 23.

It's when I read opinions like this that makes me appreciate that we've got a sensible and even-headed board. Sticking with a manager when things aren't going well is a very brave thing to do, particularly when the fans are starting to turn. Personally - I don't think there have ever been grounds for considering a sacking. It's a nonsense suggestion to me, however I suppose it depends on what you think is considered an achievement at our club. The signings are hit and miss by even our most successful managers -Robinson is no different there, yet he's working on a fraction of a budget to his predecessors. With that in mind, we'll always hit bad runs - I recalled picking up 1 point out of 21 after the league cup final and we all had the fear in the first half of last season. I actually agree with a lot of what you're saying (just 3 months ago we had Bevis up-front at Almondvale - baffling) but we'll always hit these patches - there is a skill in turning these things around and thankfully we've had the right man in charge to do so. The bigger picture is that he consistently hits and exceeds targets set by the board. Our financial security has come in large part due to Robinsons skills as a manager - from keeping us in the league, making cup finals, selling players on and now finishing 3rd. Aside from tactical decisions, a manager sets the tone, he builds players, he generates team character, he cuts people loose when they don't fit in, he decides on what type of person he wants in the dressing room. We've also played some enjoyable football in this time. There's a skill in all of that and his achievements far outweigh any flaws.

Assuming 10 is a cup, what would he need to do to hit 8 or 9?

Return to Real Kashmir BBC documentary on Davie Robertson (Rangers / Aberdeen) managing in the I-League in India. Basically an hour of him swaggering about and swearing a lot but the political / cultural context is quite interesting. Kallum Higginbotham is over there as their star player. Despite playing at a stadium that's a small step-up from some council run places here, he says he's getting paid more than he ever was in the UK.

A few dead exciting updates - Seating on the main stand is ready to be installed. Pain in the arse cutting all the rows of bucket seats - I think they're a bit too big but hopefully it looks alright and doesn't mess the scale up. Roof and windows added to the cooper and started adding a few wee details. Started the seating on the rest of the stands. I've no idea how I'm going to work in the MFC, The Well and Fir Park seating. I've tried a few things but it looks shit. The turf is ready to go... I think. Next steps - I need a break from the stands so going to start building the floodlights out of the 1.5mm acrylic rods that just arrived. I've not really thought this part through, but it should come together.

I know exactly what you mean, thankfully it's all tongue in cheek. I'm just not one to sit on the couch watching TV and with all my usual stuff cancelled, I've got a lot of spare time just now. Cheers Katie! Cheers Joe90!

Haha, never even thought about that but I'll see what I can do.

Haha, well I've got some tiny figures to dot around the place. I'm thinking the Dundee United colours would stand out nicely in the away end.

Yeah, the cooper roof nearly ended me last night. 2 hours trying to get it right and scrapped the lot. Think I've got it right now though. Looking forward to getting all details of the shop, doors and all that to bring it to life.

You mean the steel structure that sticks out? Aye, that's going to be there. Going to have bits of the steel frames in all the stands and use the same 1.5mm acrylic rods to build the floodlights.... hopefully.

Cheers folks!

Right, (so as most my pals and family have pointed out) this is a bit sad but I needed to get a wee project on the go. Decided to build a scale model Fir Park out of cardboard. Got basic measurements from the googlemaps 3d model, but still had to try measure loads up from photos and scale it all down to 1/500. It's been quite cool looking at all the wee details of the stands constructions - who knew the Cooper would be a such pain in the arse to measure and build. I'm also firing in a bit of the surrounding area as the reason the main stand is only 3/4 built is a great quirk in the history of Fir Park. The place has also gone through a lot of changes and facelifts so tried to settle for mid 90's as that's when I went to my first match - think I've overdone the grubbiness on what would be newly built stands though... I'm also working on having the full thing light up including stand interiors and scratch-built floodlights, Not for everyone, but given there's not much else happening thought a few might want to see the progress.

I think folk equated comments about the board as personal criticism as there's definitely a wee contingent who, when things aren't going well on the pitch, jump straight to criticism of the board and, in particular Alan Burrows. It always comes across as an unbalanced take on things and a wee personal dig rather than a well thought out opinion. Your forensic analysis needs to go a bit deeper Dennyc

Couldn't agree more. Thankfully, aside from the few oddballs on here these views are shared by the vast majority of the support.

I get what your saying about being a fan owned club, but info that goes out to the fans also goes into the public domain. We've become pretty skilled at negotiating fees, extensions etc and we're only a few months away from a transfer window. The club might be taking the view that the less other clubs know about our financial position the better.

Aside from the footballing argument, Furloghing where we can would be the right thing to do for the club and the local area. We don't know how long this loss of income will go on so the club's very existence is genuinely at threat here. A loss for us fans obviously, but also a huge loss to the local economy of a bi-weekly event attracting between 4 and 10 thousand people. That's not to mention the community initiatives that would be lost. It's a moral question. Does the local benefit gained from the clubs existence outweigh what we'd take in Government hand-outs? I'd say aye - absolutely, and I'm fairly certain I've not got my claret and amber tinted specs on here.

Should've added "I'll buy once the club furlogh's" to the poll. Didnt see that coming.