What's the script?

[dennyc]

5 hours ago, David said:

The issue for me is that your first paragraph makes perfect sense, yet the second goes on to support the idea that we continue doing the same thing that we've always done.

If we constantly say "well, aye, we do need to get a proper handle on recruitment and implement a more technical approach, but the priority right now is getting bodies in the door to improve our current situation" we'll never get out of the bit, so to speak.

I know it likely got lost in the vast amount of text I tend to post, but I already detailed how it wouldn't really require vast amounts of money to make the changes we need to recruitment. Well, the changes I think we need anyway.

Oh, I'm not suggesting we continue to do the same thing. Far from it. Recruitment and structure wise,  I think it is quite clear I am disappointed with how we have performed and it needs to change for the better. But to my reading some on here are getting hung up on history and not addressing the present. We've signed Josh Morris, Theo Bair etc and that was poor. But that is done we need to let that go, learn, adjust our approach and sort the present. On and off the pitch.

My concern is that because of the previous direction, we are not in a good position to address the current deficiencies on the pitch. My question to Steelboy was to ask him how we are to fund the player recruitment everybody agrees is required. It is a valid question.  I am not convinced funds are available for what we require......hopefully I am wrong in that.....and I have heard nothing from the Club this season that suggests otherwise. The only practical solution I can come up with is to sell Kelly and Miller, if that is even possible looking to injury and form. Dickie's panic press release was pretty vague, waffle in fact.

You have come up with several innovative, workable proposals which I wish the Club would get in touch with you to discuss. And it may be that those suggestions could be implemented at minimal cost. Certainly worth exploring as soon as possible.

But as for player recruitment, how do we fund actual player purchases in January whilst we are burdened with existing contracts and little income? It is ok saying bring in a striker, a midfielder, wingers but how to we do that....urgently? Other changes hopefully will be implemented, but our form and league position makes on field performance the priority. On and off field go hand in hand I agree but we desperately need to rescue our season in the here and now..

And keep on typing those essays. I enjoy reading a lot of the sense you bring to the table. You clearly care about our Club and looking for solutions.

[StirlingDosser]

Our board aren't amateurs. Derek Weir has significant professional experience, more than probably most on this board. He is doing the Chief Exec role to fill in, nothing less. Mcmahon likewise. However he in my opinion has not held certain personnel to account in the manner required of a chairman in recent times.

Douglas Dickie, in fact the continous presence of a member of the Dickie family for the last 20+ years when I think of it, has me scratching me head. Why is this chap always there and what is his role? Genuinely open to being educated on the matter but why, after so many years, do this particular family still hold significant influence over the club. Is their shareholding that substantial? 

[steelboy]

23 minutes ago, dennyc said:

 

But as for player recruitment, how do we fund actual player purchases in January whilst we are burdened with existing contracts and little income?

We've reported having millions in the bank so bringing in two or three should be possible. 

[David]

1 hour ago, dennyc said:

Oh, I'm not suggesting we continue to do the same thing. Far from it. Recruitment and structure wise,  I think it is quite clear I am disappointed with how we have performed and it needs to change for the better. But to my reading some on here are getting hung up on history and not addressing the present. We've signed Josh Morris, Theo Bair etc and that was poor. But that is done we need to let that go, learn, adjust our approach and sort the present. On and off the pitch.

My concern is that because of the previous direction, we are not in a good position to address the current deficiencies on the pitch.

This is my greatest worry at the moment. I fully expect us to head into January in a bit of a panic and proceed to throw a lot of shite against the wall in the hope that some of it sticks.

If some does, and we stay up, then the same system will remain in place for the foreseeable future I'd imagine. 

I fear that we will only look to really change the way we do things when this current system fails and we finally go down, at which point it may very well be too late.

1 hour ago, dennyc said:

You have come up with several innovative, workable proposals which I wish the Club would get in touch with you to discuss. And it may be that those suggestions could be implemented at minimal cost. Certainly worth exploring as soon as possible.

Oh, they could be implemented at minimal cost for sure. The costs involved would be very small in comparison to the money we need to keep spending every January to try to rectify the issues we create for ourselves in the summer.

Ideally, any business we do in January would be to cover for injuries or if a really good deal comes across the manager's desk. We don't want to be in the position of trying to fix our season every January.

I'm certainly not from a footballing background, but I work extensively with analytics and datasets, and many of the strategies employed can be implemented across various industries. 

I don't expect to hear anything though. I just hope the club have the people in-house to look into the improvements that are needed.

1 hour ago, dennyc said:

But as for player recruitment, how do we fund actual player purchases in January whilst we are burdened with existing contracts and little income? It is ok saying bring in a striker, a midfielder, wingers but how to we do that....urgently?

Much the same as other winter windows I'd imagine. We'll look for some bargain-basement loan deals with clubs who are maybe willing to share some of the expenditure just to get a player out the door for experience or to get him away from his parent club. 

On the plus side, we do have Pape Souaré likely leaving in January when his six-month contract is up. If we could somehow send Oli Shaw back despite his loan deal running to the end of the season that would free up a wage.

The big problem for me is that we signed both Conor Wilkinson and Theo Bair to two-year deals.

Bair and Wilkinson will likely be going nowhere any time soon unless a club is daft enough to take them off our hands.

One thing I would say is that we've been down this road before and it has worked for us. But when you roll the dice and don't really seem to have much of a plan you're going to lose eventually.

[dennyc]

2 hours ago, steelboy said:

We've reported having millions in the bank so bringing in two or three should be possible. 

The May 2022 Accounts did say we had around £4m is cash Reserves. That after incurring a £1m loss compared to a £3m profit the season before (Exceptional transfer and performance income perhaps?).  So yes you would hope a good proportion of that kitty is still available. But those 2022 Accounts did suggest we had moved into a loss making position.

Since those Accounts were released a significant amount has been spent on Stadium improvements/repairs, pitch upgrades, employee/manager contract pay offs, player recruitment (last January panic buying!) and ever increasing running costs. Not all of those outgoings would have been forseen and budgeted for.  Allied to reduced income from poorer onfield performance. The financial situation revealed when the May 2023 Accounts are issued may confirm we still have millions in the Bank. I hope we do but I have my doubts.

Then we have these words from the statement issued by the Club when the Board departures were announced.

 

“It has become very clear over the last few years that for the club to operate on a sustainable basis, provide the manager with a competitive player budget, meet the vastly increased cost of our other activities including having a successful Woman’s Team and maintaining a fit for purpose Stadium, Training Ground and Academy facility, that it will require significant investment; funding on a similar scale to that received by many others in the SPFL."

That does not sound like a minimal shortfall to me. Bottom line. If we are not operating on a sustainable basis, then those funds held in reserve will quickly reduce. Let's see what the 2023 Accounts reveal. Also, with no access to Loan funds, it is essential that we maintain some level of funds in reserve to cover unforeseen events. A hopefully never required safety net.

I do hope you are correct though and significant funds are available in January. We certainly need a decent transfer window.

[El Grew]

5 hours ago, steelboy said:

An amatuer what?

So 🎣 🎣. Well here goes.

Amateur: A person who performs a job or task but lacks sufficient experience and/or competence.

[bobbybingo]

38 minutes ago, El Grew said:

So 🎣 🎣. Well here goes.

Amateur: A person who performs a job or task but lacks sufficient experience and/or competence.

Given those twin definitions, it would be interesting to hear who people think the professionals are in Scottish football.

[steelboy]

50 minutes ago, El Grew said:

So 🎣 🎣. Well here goes.

Amateur: A person who performs a job or task but lacks sufficient experience and/or competence.

So who is lacking experience and competence?

[Ya Bezzer!]

4 hours ago, David said:

On the plus side, we do have Pape Souaré likely leaving in January when his six-month contract is up. If we could somehow send Oli Shaw back despite his loan deal running to the end of the season that would free up a wage.

The big problem for me is that we signed both Conor Wilkinson and Theo Bair to two-year deals.

 

Currently we have 7 players that are contracted for season 24-25.

And you've named two of them.

[joewarkfanclub]

Im not gonna sit here and say Connor Wilkinson is great. He clearly isnt. But I think he does have a decent touch and looks like he can finish.

Unfortunately he has no pace or physical attributes to back that up.

My biggest problem with his signing is that our tactics and playing style dont suit the kind of player he is.

If all he had to do was time his run into the box and wait for it to arrive he would probably do alright and score an acceptable number of goals.

But the way we are set up and the inflexibility in our squad to change it means he looks seriously out of place and out of his depth.

Thats very much on the manager and the recruitment team.

[Spit_It_Out]

2 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said:

Im not gonna sit here and say Connor Wilkinson is great. He clearly isnt. But I think he does have a decent touch and looks like he can finish.

Unfortunately he has no pace or physical attributes to back that up.

My biggest problem with his signing is that our tactics and playing style dont suit the kind of player he is.

If all he had to do was time his run into the box and wait for it to arrive he would probably do alright and score an acceptable number of goals.

But the way we are set up and the inflexibility in our squad to change it means he looks seriously out of place and out of his depth.

Thats very much on the manager and the recruitment team.

Exactly this!I said 2 months a ago i am puzzled what sort of football Kettlewell set out to play with these signings i really cant work out what he was thinking signing Bair and Wilkinson,Obika as our frontline as Forwards but we have no wingers to whip the ball into them. cause you are not going to get darting runs out them thats for sure.

After last tranfer window i am  dreading this transfer window if i could give someone a free transfer it be Nick Daws but he is only 50 percernt of the blame cause i am pretty sure Kettlewell would have gave him attributes what he needs in players so only found what he was probably tasked to do.

 

[wellfan]

5 hours ago, Spit_It_Out said:

Exactly this!I said 2 months a ago i am puzzled what sort of football Kettlewell set out to play with these signings i really cant work out what he was thinking signing Bair and Wilkinson,Obika as our frontline as Forwards but we have no wingers to whip the ball into them. cause you are not going to get darting runs out them thats for sure.

After last tranfer window i am  dreading this transfer window if i could give someone a free transfer it be Nick Daws but he is only 50 percernt of the blame cause i am pretty sure Kettlewell would have gave him attributes what he needs in players so only found what he was probably tasked to do.

 

It's evident from their signings and his tactics that neither of them seems to know what they're doing. The dots just don't join up. 

[David]

10 hours ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

Currently we have 7 players that are contracted for season 24-25.

And you've named two of them.

Yeah, but I mentioned them because they were signed this summer under the new regime. You could throw Obika in there as well, but as far as I know his deal is up this summer with an option for another year.

[El Grew]

On 12/20/2023 at 8:27 PM, steelboy said:

So who is lacking experience and competence?

[bobbybingo]

5 hours ago, El Grew said:

We know who you mean. So who in Scottish football would be good examples of what we're looking for?

[weeyin]

Is now a good time to start the "Dempster Returns" rumour?

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/leeann-dempster-explains-queens-park-exit-as-ex-hibs-chief-calls-time-on-tenure-4468579

 

Quote

 

Leeann Dempster believes now is the right time to depart Queen’s Park after she ended her three-year tenure as chief executive of the Spiders.

 

Queen’s Park announced on Saturday morning that the former Hibs and Motherwell CEO has decided to stand down from her role at the club. Dempster arrived at Lesser Hampden in January 2021 and has played an important role steering the club in the early years following the decision turn professional in 2019. The club has achieved two promotions during her time in Glasgow and has revamped its academy structure.