Sons' sorrow

[Jan Vojáček]

On a completely different note, I notice that Stenhousemuir have arranged a pre-season friendly with Indian 2nd Division side Real Kashmir. We've not got anything arranged yet, but I'd love something totally bizarre like that.

[D'Jaffo]

On a completely different note, I notice that Stenhousemuir have arranged a pre-season friendly with Indian 2nd Division side Real Kashmir. We've not got anything arranged yet, but I'd love something totally bizarre like that.

Real Kashmir

Sounds like something you'd see on a tag on the end of a woolly jumper.

[Howlin' Wilf]

http://www.dumbartonreporter.co.uk/sport/15302954.Goalkeeper_Alan_Martin_and_manager_Stevie_Aitken_at_odds_over_shot_stopper_s_future/

[albundy]

http://www.dumbartonreporter.co.uk/sport/15302954.Goalkeeper_Alan_Martin_and_manager_Stevie_Aitken_at_odds_over_shot_stopper_s_future/

Already been posted, I think we can assume Aldo won't be with us next season.

[lionel wickson]

I see that the local Kirkcaldy paper is saying that Raith are still interviewing candidates this week and likely into next week as well. I also thought that I heard Aitken saying that he's heading off on holiday shortly. Surely his future has to be resolved one way or another pretty sharpish? If the local journalist has it correct, we might be looking at another week at an absolute minimum. If that's the case, we'll probably know who we're drawn to face in the Betfred Cup group before we have a manager or a single player signed up! The draw for that is a week on Friday.

[Sons Fan]

6 hours ago, lionel wickson said:

I see that the local Kirkcaldy paper is saying that Raith are still interviewing candidates this week and likely into next week as well. I also thought that I heard Aitken saying that he's heading off on holiday shortly. Surely his future has to be resolved one way or another pretty sharpish? If the local journalist has it correct, we might be looking at another week at an absolute minimum. If that's the case, we'll probably know who we're drawn to face in the Betfred Cup group before we have a manager or a single player signed up! The draw for that is a week on Friday.

Half way through the season I was all for Aitken going due to results. Then the second half he won me round but this isn't starting to look good and annoying me a little.

If his contract was "all but signed" well sign it already and get on with it.

The Aldo one has baffled me for months. Here's a great keeper who seems to love the club wanting to stay and we seem to have screwed him over. I don't understand why at xmas we couldn't have sat down and said we would love you to stay, if we stay up we can offer you X if we are relegated then we would be able to offer Y. Then when it came to the end of the season it's all sorted.

Same with all the other players why we don't have the option of another year built in to each contract baffels me. So we don't have this constant renegotiating ever year.

Wouldnt surprise me if season ticket renewals are slow. Who's gonna buy a ticket with no staff.

 

[DumbartonTheSons]

If it transpires that Raith are continuing to interview next week (if that's the one Stevie's holding out for) and he goes on holiday shortly after that, surely, SURELY, our board are competent enough to have given or shortly give him an ultimatum or deadline?

If it's not sorted by the time Aitken goes on holiday then I'll admit, slight concern may start to set in.

It can't go on indefinitely and I'd like to think even our board are savvy enough to realise that and to have contingencies in place to ensure we can move forward on our terms, not waiting and waiting for Aitken, which could, theoretically still rumble on for weeks.

[lorenzo71]

1 minute ago, DumbartonTheSons said:

If it transpires that Raith are continuing to interview next week (if that's the one Stevie's holding out for) and he goes on holiday shortly after that, surely, SURELY, our board are competent enough to have given or shortly give him an ultimatum or deadline?

If it's not sorted by the time Aitken goes on holiday then I'll admit, slight concern may start to set in.

It can't go on indefinitely and I'd like to think even our board are savvy enough to realise that and to have contingencies in place to ensure we can move forward on our terms, not waiting and waiting for Aitken, which could, theoretically still rumble on for weeks.

It would also put into question his desire to be at the club.'If nothing better comes along i will stay here' kinda attitude.Im guessing this was a stressful season for SA and that another helping of cut budgets and working miracles with a part time squad may well have taken its toll.

[DumbartonTheSons]

It would also put into question his desire to be at the club.'If nothing better comes along i will stay here' kinda attitude.Im guessing this was a stressful season for SA and that another helping of cut budgets and working miracles with a part time squad may well have taken its toll.

I think that's the case for most of our players from last season to be honest. And the season before. And next season.

We are a stepping stone for players and managers alike. And at the moment a very good stepping stone. We're an attractive proposition for a part-time player, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we think most aren't, even quietly, hoping something better comes along during the summer.

I imagine he will be considering the potential risks for the coming season with a reported reduced budget, and whether he wants to take that 'risk' if you can call it that. And I don't have a problem with that. What I would have a problem with, if it was allowed to happen, would be if this was allowed to rumble on for a week or two longer, as then, we may be in danger of missing the boat on some players.

What I do have a problem with currently, is why is our budget reduced again for next season, if it's true as reported? We're going for our sixth season in this league, we've had good gates over the last couple of years in the league with Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United and of course the massive, colossal Falkirk supports as well. So when we're going into a league that, on paper, we'd have to fancy our chances of surviving again in with Brechin in it (no disrespect intended) why is our budget reduced again? I can understand why it isn't increased, because our glorious leaders put the sum of sweet FA into the coffers, but why aren't we at least able to offer the same contracts as the season just passed?

[Skyline Drifter]

14 minutes ago, DumbartonTheSons said:

What I do have a problem with currently, is why is our budget reduced again for next season, if it's true as reported? We're going for our sixth season in this league, we've had good gates over the last couple of years in the league with Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United and of course the massive, colossal Falkirk supports as well. So when we're going into a league that, on paper, we'd have to fancy our chances of surviving again in with Brechin in it (no disrespect intended) why is our budget reduced again? I can understand why it isn't increased, because our glorious leaders put the sum of sweet FA into the coffers, but why aren't we at least able to offer the same contracts as the season just passed?

Haven't you just answered your own question? I know the size of Dumbarton's ground makes the relative advantage of those visiting supports less relevant but the fact is EVERY team at this level will be now having to deal with reduced income from away support compared to the last three seasons. Inverness, Livingston, Brechin and potentially Hamilton is going to see a big drop on the clubs they've replaced.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Skyline Drifter

[btb]

5 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Haven't you just answered your own question? I know the size of Dumbarton's ground makes the relative advantage of those visiting supports less relevant but the fact is EVERY team at this level will be now having to deal with reduced income from away support compared to the last three seasons. Inverness, Livingston, Alloa and potentially Hamilton is going to see a big drop on the clubs they've replaced.

[Skyline Drifter]

1 minute ago, btb said:

Ooops. Slip of the senile mind. Edited.

[DumbartonTheSons]

Haven't you just answered your own question? I know the size of Dumbarton's ground makes the relative advantage of those visiting supports less relevant but the fact is EVERY team at this level will be now having to deal with reduced income from away support compared to the last three seasons. Inverness, Livingston, Alloa and potentially Hamilton is going to see a big drop on the clubs they've replaced.

That's a very fair point I suppose.

Yeah I think it's fair to expect the gates to drop from Rangers and Hibs to Inverness and Hamilton, but that true, as you suggest, how big a bearing would that have on our budget? (I don't expect you to provide an answer here SD, I appreciate my question is more rhetorical than requiring an answer of you[emoji6]).

Would an away following from Inverness and Hamilton as opposed to Rangers and Hibs expect to enforce us to run with a reduced playing wage budget for this season? I won't profess to have a smidgen of business acumen so I wouldn't know, but if it did, it would amply demonstrate the thin lines worked to as a smaller club in this division.

[Skyline Drifter]

Just now, DumbartonTheSons said:

 

That's a very fair point I suppose.

Yeah I think it's fair to expect the gates to drop from Rangers and Hibs to Inverness and Hamilton, but that true, as you suggest, how big a bearing would that have on our budget? (I don't expect you to provide an answer here SD, I appreciate my question is more rhetorical than requiring an answer of you).

Would an away following from Inverness and Hamilton as opposed to Rangers and Hibs expect to enforce us to run with a reduced playing wage budget for this season? I won't profess to have a smidgen of business acumen so I wouldn't know, but if it did, it would amply demonstrate the thin lines worked to as a smaller club in this division.

I think your away capacity is about 1,000 isn't it? Ignoring for now the number of Rangers fans who bought tickets for the home end on top of that, I presume you probably sold out your away end to Hibs twice last year, and probably 4 times to Hibs and Rangers the year before. Not sure what your visiting support from United was? They brought a large support to us the first time and very few the 2nd time albeit it was the week after the Challenge Cup Final and a midweek home game and they hadn't won in weeks in the League.

I presume Hibs probably made you circa £35k net of VAT (less increased stewarding / policing but that's possible marginal). United maybe something similar if it was busy, maybe half that if they sold 500 tickets. On top of that I would presume Ayr and Raith would bring a lot more than Livingston and Brechin. Inverness will bring less than 100 I'd imagine. And you have increased travel costs to go to Inverness twice (possibly overnight stays) and Brechin twice. It's not difficult to see a scenario where you are worse off by £75k or more on last season. Over £100k on the season before when Rangers were around and even more than that the season before that when you had Hearts too. And that's at Dumbarton where away support is severely limited. Everyone else will be seeing drops bigger than that.

You can't realistically take £100k off your budget (and with the best will in the world I don't suppose Dumbarton can realistically expect to finish any further up the table as a result of those clubs not being there so the League prize money isn't going to be better) and not replace it with anything else and still pay the same wages.

[DumbartonTheSons]

I think your away capacity is about 1,000 isn't it? Ignoring for now the number of Rangers fans who bought tickets for the home end on top of that, I presume you probably sold out your away end to Hibs twice last year, and probably 4 times to Hibs and Rangers the year before. Not sure what your visiting support from United was? They brought a large support to us the first time and very few the 2nd time albeit it was the week after the Challenge Cup Final and a midweek home game and they hadn't won in weeks in the League.
I presume Hibs probably made you circa £35k net of VAT (less increased stewarding / policing but that's possible marginal). United maybe something similar if it was busy, maybe half that if they sold 500 tickets. On top of that I would presume Ayr and Raith would bring a lot more than Livingston and Brechin. Inverness will bring less than 100 I'd imagine. And you have increased travel costs to go to Inverness twice (possibly overnight stays) and Brechin twice. It's not difficult to see a scenario where you are worse off by £75k or more on last season. Over £100k on the season before when Rangers were around and even more than that the season before that when you had Hearts too. And that's at Dumbarton where away support is severely limited. Everyone else will be seeing drops bigger than that.
You can't realistically take £100k off your budget (and with the best will in the world I don't suppose Dumbarton can realistically expect to finish any further up the table as a result of those clubs not being there so the League prize money isn't going to be better) and not replace it with anything else and still pay the same wages.

Thanks for taking the time to do that.

That would be a fair enough reason for our budget to be reduced in that case. It's however frustrating that in a season (on paper, before a ball is kicked) that looks to be a potentially slightly easier proposition to stay up, we're starting off with a hand behind our back because of a reduced budget. But hey ho, playing budgets don't matter a bit when you don't even have a manager to sign said players at the moment![emoji848]

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Anyone visited that fish wummin recently?

[O'Kelly Isley III]

I honestly think we need another consultation on the new stadium to take everyone’s mind off things.

 

[sons'r'us]

I suppose when some good news does come we'll be all the more grateful for it.

[cameron2000]

Aitken signs new 2 year deal

[cameron2000]

http://www.dumbartonfootballclub.com/news/?mode=view&id=3004