The Queen of the South thread

[Northfield 53]

Will Dapo be available for Saturday all the Rangers players involved are now back .

[DavidWatt26]

33 minutes ago, Northfield 53 said:

Will Dapo be available for Saturday all the Rangers players involved are now back .

@stevie72 Any word?  

[19QOS19]

If Queens have decided to keep Dapo then he starts in place of Joseph for me.

[SUPERSOUTH]

5 hours ago, Northfield 53 said:

Will Dapo be available for Saturday all the Rangers players involved are now back .

Yes he will be available for Sat. 

[Seeker]

6 hours ago, Northfield 53 said:

Will Dapo be available for Saturday all the Rangers players involved are now back .

Where the party going to be this weekend?

 

[Seeker]

Probably Dunfermline 

[DavidWatt26]

“Two seasons ago, the club had a squad able to make a promotion challenge with Stephen Dobbie, Lyndon Dykes, Josh Todd and so on, but the Manager at that time, Gary Naysmith, did not wish to extend his contract early in 2019, and a subsequent downturn in form saw the majority of the squad leave the club at the end of the season.”

It’s not like the board to pass the buck...

[stevie72]

3 hours ago, DavidWatt26 said:

“Two seasons ago, the club had a squad able to make a promotion challenge with Stephen Dobbie, Lyndon Dykes, Josh Todd and so on, but the Manager at that time, Gary Naysmith, did not wish to extend his contract early in 2019, and a subsequent downturn in form saw the majority of the squad leave the club at the end of the season.”

It’s not like the board to pass the buck...

The club said they were interested in extending contracts of younger players. Hope this is the case. They are gaining experience this year. 

[stevie72]

On 24/02/2021 at 17:31, Northfield 53 said:

Will Dapo be available for Saturday all the Rangers players involved are now back .

Yes

[stevie72]

On 24/02/2021 at 18:05, DavidWatt26 said:

@stevie72 Any word?  

Yes he will be available

[Rjc-1988]

Must admit I didn’t see Dapo back any time soon - think most supporters would have written him off for some time. Given our injury list his availability gives us some welcome options in the “pace” department. Joseph has done well in last two games and will be a contender to start.

[SUPERSOUTH]

Dapo will be available until the spfl or sfa charge him for Covid breach same as rest of the Rangers players involved as was seen by Patterson scouting in europe last night, transfer window closes for Championship clubs this month wonder if Queens will bring anybody else in, I would doubt it as the bookings that have been got by defenders are zeroed after playing 17 games. 

[Skyline Drifter]

9 minutes ago, SUPERSOUTH said:

Dapo will be available until the spfl or sfa charge him for Covid breach same as rest of the Rangers players involved as was seen by Patterson scouting in europe last night, transfer window closes for Championship clubs this month wonder if Queens will bring anybody else in, I would doubt it as the bookings that have been got by defenders are zeroed after playing 17 games. 

The SPFL have no authority to charge any player with anything. They are a League, they aren't responsible for player discipline. Only the SFA are but you're right. Unless and until he's charged with something he's available. He's done his isolation the same as the others involved.

Bookings are not "zeroed" at all but the 1st suspension point disappears after 18 games (not 17). None of our players are particularly near it anyway. Wullie has 4 bookings, as does Aidan Fitzpatrick. They are the most and they'd need 12 for a suspension now.

[SUPERSOUTH]

45 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

The SPFL have no authority to charge any player with anything. They are a League, they aren't responsible for player discipline. Only the SFA are but you're right. Unless and until he's charged with something he's available. He's done his isolation the same as the others involved.

Bookings are not "zeroed" at all but the 1st suspension point disappears after 18 games (not 17). None of our players are particularly near it anyway. Wullie has 4 bookings, as does Aidan Fitzpatrick. They are the most and they'd need 12 for a suspension now.

Thanks had hoped you would clarify things.

[Slipmat]

I thought it was a done deal that our billiard-table-like pitch was getting replaced this summer but the AGM statement suggests it may be there next season too.  I don't think this particular pitch does anyone any favours, particularly us given that we failed to win on it for nearly a full calendar year, and I would rather see it ripped up asap.  The best thing about it for me has been the seethe it has provoked in the Robbie Neilsons and Danny Lennons of this world...

[19QOS19]

Do the shareholders get a breakdown of exactly how much the club makes from renting out the pitch? I assume it generates a fair amount of money for them to stick with it.

[Skyline Drifter]

46 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

Do the shareholders get a breakdown of exactly how much the club makes from renting out the pitch? I assume it generates a fair amount of money for them to stick with it.

I'm not sure why you would assume it generates a fair amount of money. Other than Heston Rovers as tenants, it's barely rented. Far bigger advantage in normal (non Covid) conditions is the relative certainty games are on and the fact that our reserves and youths can play / train on it with much reduced pitch hire costs elsewhere. It also provided us with a Covid secure training base for almost three months at the start of the season before Hamilton re-opened without the knock on effect of turning our pitch into a quagmire like Morton's is as a result.

What would be the alternative to "sticking with it" as a matter of interest?

 

[Northfield 53]

1 minute ago, Skyline Drifter said:

I'm not sure why you would assume it generates a fair amount of money. Other than Heston Rovers as tenants, it's barely rented. Far bigger advantage in normal (non Covid) conditions is the relative certainty games are on and the fact that our reserves and youths can play / train on it with much reduced pitch hire costs elsewhere. It also provided us with a Covid secure training base for almost three months at the start of the season before Hamilton re-opened without the knock on effect of turning our pitch into a quagmire like Morton's is as a result.

What would be the alternative to "sticking with it" as a matter of interest?

 

Surely you would want a good grass pitch like we had before  upgrade King George with a new 3 G pitch have Heston reserves and young boys train on it .

Okay we don't have as many games off with a 3 G pitch but is that a good enough reason to keep it give me any grass pitch rather than 3 G 

[19QOS19]

I'm not sure why you would assume it generates a fair amount of money. Other than Heston Rovers as tenants, it's barely rented. Far bigger advantage in normal (non Covid) conditions is the relative certainty games are on and the fact that our reserves and youths can play / train on it with much reduced pitch hire costs elsewhere. It also provided us with a Covid secure training base for almost three months at the start of the season before Hamilton re-opened without the knock on effect of turning our pitch into a quagmire like Morton's is as a result.
What would be the alternative to "sticking with it" as a matter of interest?
 

If those are the only benefits then I'd much rather we went back to grass and had a decent surface tbh. 'Games being on certainty' really doesn't cut it for me given we rarely had games postponed when it was grass. If they have the King George facility now surely all the examples you give could be covered there?

The alternative would obviously be getting back to a good grass surface (probably one of the best in the country when we had it) and tearing up the awful one we have just now. That we don't generate decent income from it has genuinely shocked me tbh.

[Skyline Drifter]

21 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

If those are the only benefits then I'd much rather we went back to grass and had a decent surface tbh. 'Games being on certainty' really doesn't cut it for me given we rarely had games postponed when it was grass. If they have the King George facility now surely all the examples you give could be covered there?

The alternative would obviously be getting back to a good grass surface (probably one of the best in the country when we had it) and tearing up the awful one we have just now. That we don't generate decent income from it has genuinely shocked me tbh.

It would cost far more to put it back to grass than simply renew the playing carpet. Probably twice as much or more. I wouldn't put it back in a month of sundays honestly. I'm unsure where this "one of the best pitches in the country" myth comes from either. Maybe before the turn of the century. It was distinctly ropy for years before we switched away from the grass and regularly criticised. I doubt many clubs make an awful lot of external income out of 3G pitches. Clubs like Stenny certainly did when they first got it but there were half a dozen of them in Scotland back then. There's about half a dozen in Dumfries alone now. Anyway, there isn't an awful lot of opportunity for 3rd party hire when a professional football club with a South of Scotland League tenant are occupying it. By the time three age groups of youths, girls teams and midweek fixtures for both clubs are dealt with. The Arena , indoors, is a far better facility for external hires. Away from semi pro / organised league football, most guys like me want to play indoors, 7 a side or less, out of any serious bad weather and with a wall to bounce errant shots off, not have to climb up 20 rows of a stand to pick up a ball somebody fired 40 feet over the bar!

The existing 3G is showing its age now. It went down in 2014 and is reaching end of life. I expect we'll get another year out of it, maybe two at a push, but I'd replace it with a new carpet for sure.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Skyline Drifter