Ben Reilly
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Posts posted by Ben Reilly
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4 hours ago, EaglesandSpiders said:
I don't think we can use Lesser as a training facility not because the SFA doesn't allow it but because it's not a training facility. It cannot have the gym, the physio rooms, the catering halls and the offices a team needs for the entirety of the season. The pitch is obviously superior to the one at Lochinch but at the end of the day, it's a stadium (albeit an unfinished one) and teams train at stadiums only when they're preparing for a couple of matches, like the national team does.
I have no inside knowledge other than being at the player Q&A a few weeks back where they mentioned enjoying using the pitch at Lesser, but I assumed they were still training there.
However, I don't think we will have used it much in the last couple of weeks as Scotland were training there.
On the training pictures posted on Facebook, it's true that the last couple of weeks pictures have been from Lochinch on the astro, however playing devils advocate, this could be due to the above, and the fact that our games those weeks (Falkirk and Airdrie) will be played on astro.
If its true that we use it more for training in the run up to games at Hampden then that would make some sense. However, I do believe that there is some sort of limit on how much the pitch can be used which means that the women's team etc can't play there so as not to prevent the SFA using it. Whether that limit is imposed by the folk who installed the pitch, the groundsmen or the SFA, I have no idea.
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9 hours ago, airdrieman said:
Fair play to Airdrie for this. More clubs (including/especially QP) should be doing things like this.
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7 minutes ago, PossilYM said:
Guessing people took tickets (free or paid) and then outside factors kicked in, weather, timing, the team, Hampden itself.
I got to Hampden from Glasgow city centre by bus about 45 minutes before kick off. Only my companion and me got off the bus at Mount Florida. Thought that was odd considering everyone under 22 has access to a free bus pass.
Only way that crowd would have increased was by playing it on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon.
It's possible that weekend games would attract a bigger crowd, but I wonder how many people would choose a women's international over their clubs men's game if there was a clash?
That said, l sense that a high proportion of the folks that make up the attendance at these games do not regularly attend men's club football.
Some may of course attend women's club games, but that is less likley to clash as they would organise international breaks.
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3 hours ago, GordonS said:
I was expecting that because they gave 38,000 people the chance of clicking a few buttons to get free tickets. Scottish rugby made the same mistake with offering free tickets for women's and U20 matches to season pass holders. I took all the free tickets going, went to almost all of the women's games and only 1 or 2 of the U20s. At the women's games, comparing the map on the tickets site to what was around me, between quarter and half of those who took tickets didn't show up, depending on the quality of the opposition and the weather. At the U20s at least 80% didn't turn up. For the remaining Nations League games I'd expect much the same against the Netherlands, and far more to come for the England game.
Giving away tickets for free is a mistake. Discounting to a fiver or something would have been better and I'm sure we'd have got pretty much the same attendance anyway.
Incidentally attendances have gone up since they scrapped free tickets for the women's rugby internationals. IMO free tickets also devalue the event, they send a signal it's not something to take seriously.
And on attendances, the SLO at the game in Sunderland on Friday told me there was about 1,000 in the Scotland section.
I dont necessarily disagree with anything you've said, however I'm still surprised by the low turnout compared to the number of tickets "sold", especially when the attendance has been a good bit higher (relatively) at the most recent previous games.
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I was really surprised how low the attendance was last night.
It was announced as just over 7,000 if I remember correctly.
I got an email from the SSC earlier in the day which mentioned that tickets were still available, so out of curiosity I had taken a look to see that there were only a few odd seats in each of the sections that were open. They had even opened the upper tier of the South stand.
However, there were plenty of empty seats around me, and throughout the stand as far as I could see. Possibly the weather had an impact, but I can't imagine it would have put off that many who had already got tickets (even if many if them got their tickets free).
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33 minutes ago, KirkieRR said:
I think they will - seem to be expecting five figures of a crowd.
Anyone else going? Seems to be a difficult one to call. Scotland played well v Them and lost, Belgium didn't especially v Netherlands and won.
I'll be there with my family. My youngest daughter doesn't like a full Hampden for the men's internationals, but she enjoys the women's games.
It's one of the big advantages of the SSC for me, that you get free tickets for these games, and combined with living locally to Hampden it makes these nights an easy and affordable way to entertain the kids.
Hopeful of a decent performance following Friday, but no idea what to expect from Belgium.
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1 hour ago, lubo_blaha said:
Does anyone know if Hampden parking restrictions apply for women’s games?
There's never been on-street parking restrictions at any of the previous women's games, although the car park isn't available unless you're in hospitality or have pre-arranged disabled parking.
I took my car to Lesser Hampden earlier today on my way I didn't see any of the stickers on the street signs to say that restrictions were in place tonight, so it should be fine.
However, if the attendances keep on increasing, I imagine the local residents will start campaigning for the restrictions to include women's internationals sooner than later.
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1 hour ago, an86 said:
Not saying I’d go to every single game, but I’d definitely go to multiple over the course of a season. If you don’t drive, Tinto Park is also a pain in the arse to get to by public transport from our main catchment area.
And it's even worse (driving or public transport) when Rangers are at home on the same day.
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6 hours ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:
I know for sure it was discarded in favour of the shirt suppliers armband. Another decision by our Commercial team to change as much as possible from Old QP. Now we can add to the list that after 120 years of playing at Hampden we have the traditional away end dugout, which probably means the away dressing room too.
I noticed we were using the away dugout on Friday night too. I dont think it happened against Dunfermline, but could be wrong.
Was it a one off? A missunderstanding and the Ayr guys just got there first? Or is this a permanent change?
Perhaps questions like this, and about the armband, use of Lesser etc will be answered at the Q&A on Thursday? In between questions about our dangerously high defensive line and why players are being played out of position.
I'm not holding my breath for definitive answers to any of them though.
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6 hours ago, Spider1975 said:
Yup, another distinctive little tradition gone by the wayside. I seem to remember some click-bait, sensationalist media coverage at one point too regarding a lazy translation of the term Spieglefuhrer. It was always a nice touch giving the armband away to kids at the end of the match.
My hunch is that with the higher profile of the club now, the powers that be were keen to avoid any further media attention regarding the armband, regardless of how poorly researched it may be.
I also believe the giving out of the armband was something Michael Doyle came up with on his own, rather than it being suggested by the club. I dont remember it ever happening before or since our season in League 1, in which he was captain.
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4 hours ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:
Thanks. Those are just a few midweek afternoon games though and on the same days as the first teams meet at Celtic Park in the Champions League so aside of rental unlikely to have any revenue. The Pollok deal was to have cash every other Saturday at the gates, pie stand and the hospitality before and after.
From what i'd been told, our own women's team were told they would be playing their home games at Lesser this season, however, apparently there is a limit on how often our pitch can be used (presumably to keep it in the best condition) and the women have now been told that the they can't use it so that the SFA get it for Scotland training etc. as part of the deal for us playing at Hampden.
Allowing Celtic to play there seems a bit of a slap in the face to the women's team.
I'm pretty sure that if the women played at Lesser, and the entry fee was priced correctly, they would get a relatively decent turnout (certainly more than at their current home at New Tinto Park). The social club could be opened pre and post games and surley a profit could be made.
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On 22/09/2023 at 21:55, Richey Edwards said:
Even as a very disappointed QP fan, this genuinely made me laugh out loud.
Thanks for brightening up my weekend
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On 18/09/2023 at 15:04, Cyclops van Gogh 1867 said:
Not 100% certain, but I seem to remember at the time, half of the £2.5 million donation was being provided by Sir Tom Hunter.
Yes I think you are correct.
Not sure what was in it for him though.
Anyway, thanks Tom, I suppose.
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2 hours ago, Salvo Montalbano said:
If that is the case then why build the overside Chairman Mao box?
Simple. So that the stadium has suitable facilities to host Uefa/Fifa youth internationals, and SFA events.
1000 seats is plenty for that, and
A) the rental from the SFA is a nice earner
b) it's a good bargaining chip for the use Hampden
c) all of the above.
We won't play many, if any, league games at Lesser until either we fall out with the SFA again (certainly not impossible) and/or we build up enough money to increase the capacity and it's more financialy viable to play at our own stadium.
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3 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:
Aye, a total crowd of less than 1700... couldn't they have all fitted into Lesser the City Stadium?
BBC has attendance as 1,968 (not that that is much better)
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3 hours ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:
Thanks. According to the annual reports for the limited company responsible for Hampden Park there’s an entry for the money they owe to QP which shows £2M payable in annual instalments over 8 years. The rest of that £5m is unexplained. There’s no trace of Haughey or any City Holdings contacts in any of the four SFA limited companies but that would be his style. No liability, just buying influence.
imho, QPFC will never play another league fixture at Lesser Hampden.
My understanding if it is that it was exactly what was described in the article. A donation.
Effectively, he gave us a £2.5m donation to accept a £2.5m offer from the SFA (paid in instalments) for the sale of Hampden.
Why? Apparantly to stop the SFA moving to Murrayfield? (Not that I'm complaining about that)
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On 09/09/2023 at 21:46, GloriousHoops said:
Any rumours on what sections will be open to the home STs?
Comfy or not comfy, that is the question?
Not comfy by the looks of things.
QP tickets on sale are for P2, and away tickets are I6. So I'm expecting that Members and Season Ticket holders will be in P1.
If I remember correctly, this was the setup for the 2 games last December.
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On 08/09/2023 at 20:53, Clangers said:
What I am not allowed to complain at the piss poor experience that QP presents at Hampden? Away fans stuck down in the corner, not sure why you have been allowed back there, surely 2 years to get a set of floodlights up wasn’t a difficult task?
some might think you are deliberately dragging it out to sell away tickets that your new West of Scotland standard ground can accommodate!You're not in the corner (do ovals have corners?), you're in the South Stand with the same view as the QP fans.
And we weren't 'allowed back there', we're renting it back from our previous tenants.
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1 hour ago, CathcartSkins said:
I agree, although it does seem odd to make public an offer that is only for the Members.
Unless. they, for whatever reason, believe this will entice folk to apply to become a Member.
Not at £9 for a cup of tea it won't.
I cant say it's something i'm interested in, but there are obviously some who have been asking for this to return. To then charge them £150 for something that used to be included in their membership is a bit of a slap in the face.
They mention that they need a minimum number to cover cost and make it viable, so why not offer it to everyone rather than just members. Surely the more people that sign up the more the cost is spread and the lower the price would be. And the lower the price, the more people will sign up
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11 hours ago, EaglesandSpiders said:
I'm sorry if this was discussed before but what was the point of having a name sponsor for a ground we won't be using this season? Is it a long term/permanent deal, I wonder?
10 hours ago, Anonymous Spider said:Here's an alternative view - who else would sponsor a ground we're probably only using once this season...
I can only assume that despite our first team not playing there regularly, the stadium sponsors will be expecting to get publicity every time it's used for Scotland training etc.
They may slso be aware of potential other uses for the stadium that have been arranged but not announced yet. (I have no inside knowledge, just making a guess)
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15 hours ago, an86 said:
I’m spotting a bit of an issue with the newly designed bucket hats on sale…
The most ridiculous part of that is that someone has gone to the effort of creating a new template of the badge (and put in the wrong date) rather than just use the template we already have thats been on our kits, training gear and social media for over a year (and the new hats and scarfs they released a few months ago) which is the exact same badge and has the correct date.
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4 minutes ago, Anonymous Spider said:
Very well done to the club here... current members and season ticket holders can get kids season tickets (15 and under) for a tenner.
https://queensparkfc.co.uk/young-spiders-season-tickets-for-only-10/
Fantastic news. My son already has a season ticket (free this year as a renewal) but at that price I will be getting one for my daughter who only comes to occasional games.
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1 hour ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:
It’s only a matter of time before Lesser passes into ownership of the QP Foundation (because there’s a clause in that business’ Articles that allows it). I also noticed in Saturday how dependent we are on Haughey-related businesses for sponsorship behind the goals, no less than four of the eight on show and perhaps some of the others are ‘relationship influenced’. I can’t comment on any other trackside sponsors along the east stand as both fans and the media team only have a view of the West stand which has no sponsors. Seems like our President, CEO and Marketing team have all fallen into the lazy trap of snapping the Laird’s offers to have the wind at their backs. I predicted a long time ago that gifts of money create a dependency and then you are compromised when it suits the money man.
The McAlpine thing is yet another shameful episode. The Club is being spiritually cleansed with the perps hiding in plain sight. Once the Holyrood plan, fronted by the Foundation, becomes reality our club will head down a very dark rabbit hole.
Afraid you've lost me with this one.
Why would the Foundation take control of Lesser when they will be based at Holyrood?
Surley Lesser is the clubs bargaining chip to get the use of Hampden (by giving access to SFA for training etc). As the foundation is a separate entity to the club, how would that work?
Where would the club offices etc be based? Lochinch? Hire a room in big Hampden from the SFA? What if the SFA end our rental agreement at some time in the future, we'd then have no where to play games other than once again renting our old home (Lesser) from the company we gave/sold it to (the Foundation).
This all seems unlikley to me.
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5 hours ago, Cyclops van Gogh 1867 said:
Re the return to Hampden, whilst it's been great being closer to the pitch at times, I'm really looking forward to being able to get a good view of the game as a whole again.
That said, anyone who has ever witnessed a Q.P. home game in Glasgow in recent decades will know that in terms of atmosphere, save the occasional shout, it's mostly been like watching football in a library, alongside a group of monks doing a sponsored silence! Given the direction of travel at our club, in this and future seasons, there will be times when we are going to be vastly outnumbered by away fans. If I have to choose between my old 'saft seat' in the centre stand and being in with a group of like-minded supporters who are ready and willing to make some noise and create a bit of atmosphere, give me the latter every time.
It's for that very reason that I actually hope that we don't get access to the comfy seats, so we're 'forced' into being all together and capable of making a better noise (much as I previously enjoyed the comfort and view from the centre stand)
Agree about the pros and cons of being closer to the pitch. I'm sure you will be able to better appreciate our style of play and movement from higher in the stand. But I also have enjoyed being closer to the pitch as the link between the fans and the players is better.
Fortunately we should have plenty of space to move around and get the best of both worlds if we like.
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The Big Queen's Park FC Thread
in Scottish Championship General Chatter
Posted
While I agree that we're not in a position to move to a full time professional women's team in the foreseeable future (though hopefully that should be a long term goal), there are still plenty of opportunities to raise the profile, success and profitability of the women's team fairly quickly.
To me it seems the easiest way to do this would be to have them play at Lesser, and promote it heavily. I'm sure they could get a decent turnout (relatively) if playing locally, and even with low priced adult tickets and free kids tickets, some income can be brought in via the (overpriced) food kiosk and by opening the bar pre and post game. In turn hopefully a bigger support can spur the team on to greater success.
Ideally all the women's home games would be at Lesser (which apparantly is what the team were told would happen this season) but even one or two 'special' games there, such as a potential top of the table clash with Kilmarnock, would be a start and might encourage a few more folk along to New Tinto.
Obviously the story is that the deal with the SFA is restricting this, but it's possible that there are other reasons for resistance to this behind the scenes that we're not being told about. It seems to me that the club want to play at Hampden for the foreseeable future, and Lesser is their bargaining chip, so they don't want to upset the SFA. However, given that the SFA are now doing a pretty good job of promoting the SWNT almost equal to the men's team, I would like to think that we can get them onside with further promoting the women's game at club level.