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Apathy. Maybe that says more about me. The only time I felt rivalry was to the fore was when competing with another team for promotion. Dunfermline in the 80's, Alloa, to a lesser extent.

Genuine question: if you didn't have hatred towards Gretna, what were your respective feelings towards them?
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Mathieson went to Gretna before they were a league team. He was there already when Mileson rocked up. He wasnt a money recruit. He is also a top guy, still travelling in from Kirkcudbright as a volunteer coach for us all these years later. 
That's good to know. Glad he is still involved with the club.
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4 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

Genuine question: if you didn't have hatred towards Gretna, what were your respective feelings towards them?

I was season ticket holder in my late teens into early twenties during the time when we were pushing to get up into the now championship. I moved away and kind of drifted away from football for a decent spell.  I really bypassed the Gretna disaster without hating them or maybe I should say caring about it. After I moved back and started going to the odd game again I started getting back into it, Gretna were dead by then.  Of course I do know that people who were there through it all mostly have a dislike to Gretna team back then, I don't think I ever have been to a game and had an urge or passion to hate anyone we play against (I also wasn't here for the Sevco years either)  As was said earlier I do remember when we used to play Stranraer there was a bit of a feeling of rivalry but it was never a massive hatred  maybe because we normally beat them. 

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2 hours ago, Spring Onion said:

I was season ticket holder in my late teens into early twenties during the time when we were pushing to get up into the now championship. I moved away and kind of drifted away from football for a decent spell.  I really bypassed the Gretna disaster without hating them or maybe I should say caring about it. After I moved back and started going to the odd game again I started getting back into it, Gretna were dead by then.  Of course I do know that people who were there through it all mostly have a dislike to Gretna team back then, I don't think I ever have been to a game and had an urge or passion to hate anyone we play against (I also wasn't here for the Sevco years either)  As was said earlier I do remember when we used to play Stranraer there was a bit of a feeling of rivalry but it was never a massive hatred  maybe because we normally beat them. 

 

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3 hours ago, Spring Onion said:

I was season ticket holder in my late teens into early twenties during the time when we were pushing to get up into the now championship. I moved away and kind of drifted away from football for a decent spell.  I really bypassed the Gretna disaster without hating them or maybe I should say caring about it. After I moved back and started going to the odd game again I started getting back into it, Gretna were dead by then.  Of course I do know that people who were there through it all mostly have a dislike to Gretna team back then, I don't think I ever have been to a game and had an urge or passion to hate anyone we play against (I also wasn't here for the Sevco years either)  As was said earlier I do remember when we used to play Stranraer there was a bit of a feeling of rivalry but it was never a massive hatred  maybe because we normally beat them. 

It wasn't  so much the rivalry that caused the hatred it was the fact that Gretna were using what seemed completely unsustainable money in a way which was designed to take fans from Dumfries and the Scottish press were lapping up the "fairytale".  At the time it really did seem like an exestential crisis for Queens and did serve as a bit if a wakeup call which seems to have resulted in some great community involvement from the club.

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I definitely hated Gretna, but I'm not convinced I hated them any more because I was a Queens fan and they were 20 miles down the road than I would have done if I was a Ross County fan from Dingwall.  I know they were a genuine threat to Queens with their attempts to eat into our fanbase amongst other things, but I think my reasons for hating them were more general and would be shared by any sensible football-minded person in this country.

Firstly Mileson himself was just a horrible sleazy individual that I doubt even his own family could warm to.  Yet the media couldn't help but fawn over him and portrayed him as this zany renegade because he had a ponytail, smoked cigarettes and drank Lucozade.  He was a twat.

The whole "fairy-tale" nonsense really wound me up, there was nothing romantic about their bankrolled rise through the ranks and then highly predictable demise, if anything it was the exact opposite of a fairy-tale.  No happy ending, just a list of creditors.

As discussed, in the end they probably did more good than bad as far as Queens were concerned, but they made a complete mockery of Scottish football as a whole for a spell.  It was a highly embarrassing chapter which I was glad to see come to an end.

f**k Gretna.

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Pumping Gretna 3-0 at Raydale at watching their “fans” slope off early in our last game is definitely one of my highlights  watching Queens.


I was going to raise this.

We had some crushing derby defeats to Gretna, some of the most horrible games I’ve ever seen as a Queens fan in front of huge crowds. The fact that we were at least able to do the same to them once on that last ever meeting meant a lot. I was there and I still remember it.

You can still watch the goals on YouTube and you Can hear how much it means to the fans!
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33 minutes ago, BIGdavieT said:

 


I was going to raise this.

We had some crushing derby defeats to Gretna, some of the most horrible games I’ve ever seen as a Queens fan in front of huge crowds. The fact that we were at least able to do the same to them once on that last ever meeting meant a lot. I was there and I still remember it.

You can still watch the goals on YouTube and you Can hear how much it means to the fans!

 

 

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55 minutes ago, palmy_cammy said:

I definitely hated Gretna, but I'm not convinced I hated them any more because I was a Queens fan and they were 20 miles down the road than I would have done if I was a Ross County fan from Dingwall.  I know they were a genuine threat to Queens with their attempts to eat into our fanbase amongst other things, but I think my reasons for hating them were more general and would be shared by any sensible football-minded person in this country.

Firstly Mileson himself was just a horrible sleazy individual that I doubt even his own family could warm to.  Yet the media couldn't help but fawn over him and portrayed him as this zany renegade because he had a ponytail, smoked cigarettes and drank Lucozade.  He was a twat.

The whole "fairy-tale" nonsense really wound me up, there was nothing romantic about their bankrolled rise through the ranks and then highly predictable demise, if anything it was the exact opposite of a fairy-tale.  No happy ending, just a list of creditors.

As discussed, in the end they probably did more good than bad as far as Queens were concerned, but they made a complete mockery of Scottish football as a whole for a spell.  It was a highly embarrassing chapter which I was glad to see come to an end.

f**k Gretna.

An excellent post.

My objections to Gretna were more fundamental than local.  It was, however, the perfect storm in the sense of a rivalry.  They did seem to pose a direct threat at the time due to the proximity.

They also seemed to embody something I can't properly define.  There were people from Dumfries who gravitated towards them - I remember Georgetown folk being particularly - and probably unfairly - traduced for this.  The type of person who supports Queens, just has a natural contempt for such sorts, attracted to something so brazen and flimsy. 

In terms of other rivalries, geography dictates that nothing feels that fierce.  Even if closer to other clubs though, I really can't imagine properly loathing any rival.  

I do genuinely despise the OF, but otherwise, it's easy to recognise that other people are doing the right thing by supporting their local clubs.  

A closer rivalry would be good, but I don't have any real negative feelings at all towards Ayr, Stranraer or Annan.  I don't think that would change much if they were closer in terms of distance and/or level.

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24 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said:

An excellent post.

My objections to Gretna were more fundamental than local.  It was, however, the perfect storm in the sense of a rivalry.  They did seem to pose a direct threat at the time due to the proximity.

They also seemed to embody something I can't properly define.  There were people from Dumfries who gravitated towards them - I remember Georgetown folk being particularly - and probably unfairly - traduced for this.  The type of person who supports Queens, just has a natural contempt for such sorts, attracted to something so brazen and flimsy. 

In terms of other rivalries, geography dictates that nothing feels that fierce.  Even if closer to other clubs though, I really can't imagine properly loathing any rival.  

I do genuinely despise the OF, but otherwise, it's easy to recognise that other people are doing the right thing by supporting their local clubs.  

A closer rivalry would be good, but I don't have any real negative feelings at all towards Ayr, Stranraer or Annan.  I don't think that would change much if they were closer in terms of distance and/or level.

Yeah, pretty much this. There is a thread somewhere about the old Gretna I remember posting extensively on. I did detest Mileson's Gretna. They were a double whammy. Adopting a spend, spend, spend approach on a level nobody has done since. For all the talk of Queens Park now throwing money about, Kelty too, etc, Gretna was a different level. They were a village team with a 3000 capacity ground luring current decent Premier League players to sign like Tosh, Macfarlane, Chris Innes, Alan Main, etc. That in itself bad enough but they continued to peddle the line that they werent paying big money and players were just flocking to work with Rowan! And the central based media lapped up the 'Living The Dream' fairytale pish without even questioning it. Preferring to focus on 'Dr Goals' latest stint in an Aston Martin than look at the very obvious fact it was all built on sand. 

Gretna's business model was to invade Dfs schools, provide free coaching and give away literally hundreds of free tickets to parents and kids. Bankrolling Greystone Rovers too. All designed to replace and steal QoS fanbase as it was the only way they could grow. And local morons lapped it up, castigating Queens for not having the same vision whilst oblivious to Gretna running up hundreds of thousands in losses. It was fine, the chain smoking, lucozade swilling, eccentric would always be there to fund it. 

I disliked Gretna for what they did on the pitch, I hated them for what they did in the background and the way the media fawned over them till it was already too late and then acted like it was a surprise.

The fact that it was personal was a massive part of it though. If Kelty did the same to Dunfermline I would probably be analytical about it and dislike it but I doubt I'd hate them. It wouldnt mean enough to me. I detested Mileson's Gretna and all they stood for. Some of the people involved at the time are now friends and contacts. They are good people but they were swept up in an utter house of sand at the time. 

I consider Stranraer derby rivals, anyone who says they never offer any genuine threat to us clearly isnt old enough to remember the McAnespie era. But I dont hate them, away from our games I wish them no ill. Gretna were different and although it would have been satisfying to see them implode from the sidelines anyway, being able to gub them once on their own pitch before they did was extra satisfying. 

Edited by Skyline Drifter
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24 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Yeah, pretty much this. There is a thread somewhere about the old Gretna I remember posting extensively on. I did detest Mileson's Gretna. They were a double whammy. Adopting a spend, spend, spend approach on a level nobody has done since. For all the talk of Queens Park now throwing money about, Kelty too, etc, Gretna was a different level. They were a village team with a 3000 capacity ground luring current decent Premier League players to sign like Tosh, Macfarlane, Chris Innes, Alan Main, etc. That in itself bad enough but they continued to peddle the line that they werent paying big money and players were just flocking to work with Rowan! And the central based media lapped up the 'Living The Dream' fairytale pish without even questioning it. Preferring to focus on 'Dr Goals' latest stint in an Aston Martin than look at the very obvious fact it was all built on sand. 

Gretna's business model was to invade Dfs schools, provide free coaching and give away literally hundreds of free tickets to parents and kids. Bankrolling Greystone Rovers too. All designed to replace and steal QoS fanbase as it was the only way they could grow. And local morons lapped it up, castigating Queens for not having the same vision whilst oblivious to Gretna running up hundreds of thousands in losses. It was fine, the chain smoking, lucozade swilling, eccentric would always be there to fund it. 

I disliked Gretna for what they did on the pitch, I hated them for what they did in the background and the way the media fawned over them till it was already too late and then acted like it was a surprise.

The fact that it was personal was a massive part of it though. If Kelty did the same to Dunfermline I would probably be analytical about it and dislike it but I doubt I'd hate them. It wouldnt mean enough to me. I detested Mileson's Gretna and all they stood for. Some of the people involved at the time are now friends and contacts. They are good people but they were swept up in an utter house of sand at the time. 

I consider Stranraer derby rivals, anyone who says they never offer any genuine threat to us clearly isnt old enough to remember the McAnespie era. But I dont hate them, away from our games I wish them no ill. Gretna were different and although it would have been satisfying to see them implode from the sidelines anyway, being able to gub them once on their own pitch before they did was extra satisfying. 

Yes, the coverage was largely nauseating.  It really annoyed me when Mileson and Alexander claimed they weren't simply purchasing success, yet weren't challenged on it in the media.  They claimed they didn't splash much on transfer fees.  Even that wasn't true, but it certainly wasn't the point either, given the wages on offer.  

The Gretna wedding link made it all too easy for the gormless and lazy to forge a link with romance.  In reality though, what was happening, even before it went wrong, was about as romantic as gonorrhea.  

They were the ultimate destructive fly-by-night outfit.  And they were nearby.  It was extremely fleeting, but we'll never again have a rivalry like that. 

You're right about Stranraer by the way.  I lived there for a few years in the mid to late 90s.  Twice, they won the league we were in. 

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13 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said:

And I've not once hired Armstrong to meet my haulage needs.

Well neither have I but its not the kind of service either of us is likely to need. I also dont hold them to the same standards. They are a local company and were sponsoring them before Mileson came along. I wasnt joking, I genuinely havent been in a Subway since they sponsored Gretna. 

Actually I have. Once. In Glasgow when at a client that had a Subway 100 yards away and nothing else for miles. It was Subway or no lunch! Same client had a sandwich van parked along the road from it when I went back in subsequent years. I went there rather than the Subway.

Edited by Skyline Drifter
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