AllyMonc

Yeah the 1928 reference is a nonsense now. As you say, unequivocally breaking the link to the social club is one step too far in retaining the (slightly complex) history

I'm sure the board would have no issues signing him but don't for one second think Griffiths would entertain it.

Our track record of that type of signing isn't much to shout about but he seems to be in better physical shape than the likes of Beattie, Riordan and Toshney were.

Have heard from a few people that season ticket sales are hilariously low. Like not even double figures. We've never had a big season ticket holder base but it seems to have collapsed. I know the owner only cares about the corporate pound and this magical marketing scheme built on us being called Edinburgh rather than, er, Edinburgh City but hopefully this makes him at least pause for thought.

Meadowbank opening on the 19th of July - we're due to play Arbroath on the 16th at home. Easter Rd maybe? Hibs aren't playing until the next day. We've also got Cowdenbeath on 'opening night' but not sure how feasible that will be unless we're allowed in early. The lack of the additional stand and no word on whether we're allowed standing isn't exactly filling me with hope and optimism for the move 'home'. In fairness to the club I don't think they are due much of the blame on this part.

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/citizens-supporters-club-brands-fc-edinburghs-lack-of-consultation-over-name-change-disgusting-3738593 Supporters Club Statement in the Evening News. Can't imagine it'll be well received but the club only have themselves to blame.

We seeemed to settle on a back 3 at the end of last season and assume we'll start the same way again. Our captain (Robbie Macintyre) plays LCB and one of our best players (Calum Crane) plays LWB so probably experienced cover I guess.

Having thought about it, and if there had been a fan consultation I'd have been broadly okay with FC Edinburgh City (if we accept the name had to change). Even if there hadn't been a fan consultation I'd have accepted it as it's basically the same. Might just call us that anyway.

On the social club owning the name stuff my general thoughts are: Seems there was a letter in place from the social club saying we could use the name - not a guarantee but a 'comfor letter' (In banking terms, a written assurance often provided by a parent company in respect of its subsidiary's financial obligations to a lender. It is usually used where the parent company is unable or unwilling to give a guarantee but wishes to give some comfort to the lender in respect of the subsidiary's ability to perform its obligations. It is not usually intended to be legally binding but it may give rise to a legally binding obligation depending on the wording. Therefore, care is needed when drafting a comfort letter) Our lawyers have looked at that and said 'that's not worth the paper it's written on, you need to do something about it'. We've asked the social club for a formal guarantee or transfer of the name, they've dingied us. We've then used that as an excuse to kick off the rebrand. I don't think there was any material change in circumstances and no indication the social club was going to pull anything from us. As I think I said earlier - the excuse that we couldn't consult the fans on the name change because we had to act super quickly doesn't wash with me. The board knew the name they wanted and weren't prepared to risk ending up with something else (Edinburgh Jakey's FC for example?) so used the social club entity name stuff as an excuse (albeit one with a degree of truth). Should say I live just down the road from the social club, never go in and this isn't making me any more likely to do so.

Aye sorry I got that, I was trying to clarify that I didn't think it was a good idea!

I didn't say it was a good idea, I said I understood it. Like libertarianism. a) Some people did but the club, well the fans certinaly, always pushed against that - City, The Citizens, Citizens Supporters Club etc. b) Probably more to do with merchandise and a vague notion of brand awareness I'd imagine. There was mention of other initiatives to improve the fan matchday experience but clear there is more focus on hospitality and maybe a belief that FC Edinburgh is a more appealing sponsorship opportunity.

Yeah that's broadly correct. Essentially the move back to Meadowbank has been an absolute farce for years now and from what I can see the relationship between the club and Edinburgh Leisure is barely functioning. We are still due to move back in but won't find out when until Tuesday. When we do move back we won't have our new stand due to a disagreement with the housebuilder. The lack of a new stand is a huge concern and I don't see how Meadowbank is a viable venue without it. In terms of you lot coming to visit the plan seems to be that we arrnage standing round the pitch which takes capacity over 1000. That's very far from a given however. Yeah we found out via a livestream. The lack of consulation on the name is very very poor. Personally I think the club will need to look at other options, what those are is anyone's guess. We're close to Hibs so maybe a groundshare? Not sure what Hibs would gain from that. That's based on nothing other than the thoughts in my head.

Posting my message to a mate after sleeping on it as it's probably as well thought out a summary as I'll manage. "Yeah, FC Edinburgh..... Not really anything positive to say. I do think at some point that the name needed to change, it's owned by the social club and we use it on their good grace. That could be revoked at any time and there is no relationship between the football club and social club to speak of. However I'm not buying why it needed done so quickly, there was no indication the social club were going to revoke it or start charging us for example. The lack of fan consultation is atrocious, rebrands happen and things sometimes need to change but if you want to bring fans with you, you need to engage them early on in the process not leak it to the Evening News. FC Edinburgh appeared on some club marketing back in 2019 so it's not a new thing and has been under consideration for a while. Idea seems to be that we'll be known as 'Edinburgh' like FC Barcelona are known as Barcelona and AC Milan are known as Milan. I understand the idea but it's at best ambitious. I've actually not seen a suggested name that I particularly like but that's what a consultation would have drawn out! An equally big concern for me is Meadowbank, Edinburgh Leisure want the revenue of a football club being a tenant but don't actually want a football club as a tenant. Whether we get in this season or not is still up in the air but can't see how it's a viable medium term home unless we end up back in the Lowland. The new badge looks slightly better on the strip than in isolation but the old badge (which is only a few years old) was really nice and don't see why we couldn't have just adapted that. The name and Meadowbank show what can happen when a club grows quickly on the park without having the structure in place to support it off the park. In my opinion. In better news, getting Innes Murray on a 2 year deal is tremendous business. I was sure he'd be top end of League 1 at a minimum. Such a good player."

Yeah I think this is a good summary. I'll be there next season (already bought my season ticket) but that isn't a particularly ringing endorsement l.

Not sure it'll do any good but I might email her tomorrow and express my displeasure at the whole thing.