Sons' sorrow

[super-son]

I did try and warn them but it fell on deaf ears, Morton are training on theirs 5 days a week. Good luck to that groundsman as well.

Are we currently training on the pitch instead of renting pitches elsewhere as a money saving method?

[O'Kelly Isley III]

But it's NOT a moving of the goalposts. Nor was any crystal ball needed. I guarantee you clubs were told when they voted to return in October that they should plan for no crowds this side of Xmas and anything earlier should be considered a bonus. They voted to come back on that basis. Whether or not it's fair that people can go to pubs but not football grounds is an entirely separate debate. Fact is clubs voted to come back having been told to expect not only that they'd have no income to Xmas but also that they'd have to test players twice a week. The latter part isn't currently the case so they are actually better off than they were warned to be. Wailing that they now can't afford it doesn't really wash then. If that's the case they also couldn't afford it when they voted to do it too.
If as you say clubs were planning on "limited attendances" then hell mend them. It did look for a period that we might get some and perhaps some were daft enough to move their budgets thinking it would be the case, but this was entirely foreseeable.
EDITED to add - 400 masked and distanced fans won't help either unless that's above your season ticket numbers. If that's all your are allowed then that just adds costs to steward them and get them in without any extra income. It's walk up income you need to be allowed or you might as well have none.

Thanks for clearing up some of my misconceptions which I'm sure will have been shared by a number of supporters. The situation you describe does however pose one very obvious question - why did so many turkeys vote for Xmas ? I' m guessing we're into the whole broadcasting/sponsorship obligations with that one.

[lorenzo71]

1 hour ago, Skyline Drifter said:

But it's NOT a moving of the goalposts. Nor was any crystal ball needed. I guarantee you clubs were told when they voted to return in October that they should plan for no crowds this side of Xmas and anything earlier should be considered a bonus. They voted to come back on that basis. Whether or not it's fair that people can go to pubs but not football grounds is an entirely separate debate. Fact is clubs voted to come back having been told to expect not only that they'd have no income to Xmas but also that they'd have to test players twice a week. The latter part isn't currently the case so they are actually better off than they were warned to be. Wailing that they now can't afford it doesn't really wash then. If that's the case they also couldn't afford it when they voted to do it too.

If as you say clubs were planning on "limited attendances" then hell mend them. It did look for a period that we might get some and perhaps some were daft enough to move their budgets thinking it would be the case, but this was entirely foreseeable.

EDITED to add - 400 masked and distanced fans won't help either unless that's above your season ticket numbers. If that's all your are allowed then that just adds costs to steward them and get them in without any extra income. It's walk up income you need to be allowed or you might as well have none.

400 would be above our ST this year which currently stands at 250( that figure may be on the high side but thats how many reserved at a tenner).At that number there would be no away fans therefore less stewarding would be needed but there may be greater demands to ensure mask wearing/distancing when in the ground.I think its doable and will financially be worthwhile however it is well below our average gate which is possibly at 600?? 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

1 hour ago, super-son said:

2 hours ago, Dumbarton Rock said:

I did try and warn them but it fell on deaf ears, Morton are training on theirs 5 days a week. Good luck to that groundsman as well.

Are we currently training on the pitch instead of renting pitches elsewhere as a money saving method?

I think a lot of facilities are closed at the minute. I know the Vale normally train at the high school and are having to train at the Milburn at the minute because they aren’t allowed to book the school pitches. I can only assume our normal training facility (Benburb I think?) can’t host us  but I may well be wrong. 

[David W]

1 hour ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

2 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

But it's NOT a moving of the goalposts. Nor was any crystal ball needed. I guarantee you clubs were told when they voted to return in October that they should plan for no crowds this side of Xmas and anything earlier should be considered a bonus. They voted to come back on that basis. Whether or not it's fair that people can go to pubs but not football grounds is an entirely separate debate. Fact is clubs voted to come back having been told to expect not only that they'd have no income to Xmas but also that they'd have to test players twice a week. The latter part isn't currently the case so they are actually better off than they were warned to be. Wailing that they now can't afford it doesn't really wash then. If that's the case they also couldn't afford it when they voted to do it too.
If as you say clubs were planning on "limited attendances" then hell mend them. It did look for a period that we might get some and perhaps some were daft enough to move their budgets thinking it would be the case, but this was entirely foreseeable.
EDITED to add - 400 masked and distanced fans won't help either unless that's above your season ticket numbers. If that's all your are allowed then that just adds costs to steward them and get them in without any extra income. It's walk up income you need to be allowed or you might as well have none.

Thanks for clearing up some of my misconceptions which I'm sure will have been shared by a number of supporters. The situation you describe does however pose one very obvious question - why did so many turkeys vote for Xmas ? I' m guessing we're into the whole broadcasting/sponsorship obligations with that one.

Possibly a fear at losing a place in the league if they opt out?

[Dumbarton Rock]

Are we currently training on the pitch instead of renting pitches elsewhere as a money saving method?

Yeh they are training twice a week on it. More to do with Covid restrictions than money saving. I've been told Morton training on their park 5 days a week is more for money saving though.

[the snudge]

Surely the council should be helping out the Vale and Dumbarton and opening up the pitches for our clubs? 

Anyway, I've bought a season ticket for the first time in ten years. Whether I make the games (if fans can get in) or not I had to do something. Hopefully others can follow suit

[peternapper]

23 minutes ago, Dumbarton Rock said:

4 hours ago, super-son said:

Are we currently training on the pitch instead of renting pitches elsewhere as a money saving method?

Yeh they are training twice a week on it. More to do with Covid restrictions than money saving. I've been told Morton training on their park 5 days a week is more for money saving though.

Would imagine all clubs would be in the same boat but even basic things like showers have been out of bounds, after playing a friendly the other week at home in Peterhead the players were not allowed to shower after the game, far from ideal with quite a few of our players based in the central belt. With these extremes its difficult knowing what clubs will have to do to get anyone in through the gates.

[Dumbarton Rock]

Yeh all showers and dressing rooms are out of bounds, they come dressed for the game and straight home after it. If it's still like this when the weather turns bad it will be torture driving home in a cold wet kit.

Would imagine all clubs would be in the same boat but even basic things like showers have been out of bounds, after playing a friendly the other week at home in Peterhead the players were not allowed to shower after the game, far from ideal with quite a few of our players based in the central belt. With these extremes its difficult knowing what clubs will have to do to get anyone in through the gates.

[Dumbarton Rock]

And wait to you find out what else is lined up for the pitch, reason 3 for me leaving.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

54 minutes ago, the snudge said:

Surely the council should be helping out the Vale and Dumbarton and opening up the pitches for our clubs? 

The problem the Vale have is that there are no floodlights at Milburn. They are having to train in the dark which is obviously far from ideal. God knows how it’s going to work when it starts getting dark at 4pm. 

You’d think they would be able to make some sort of exception for our local junior and semi professional football clubs but clearly not. 

[pleslie99]

23 minutes ago, Dumbarton Rock said:

And wait to you find out what else is lined up for the pitch, reason 3 for me leaving.

Oh dear. I cant help but think the pitch could be a real cause for concern if we do actually get games on it this season. It looks awful, albeit on a dodgy camera stream, and the weather has been pretty decent. Wait until the height of winter and we attempt to train and play on it. Its likely to resemble a pitch from the 80s, more mud than grass. 

Obviously you have insider info about what is being planned, I can only assume it will be used for some other sort of training, internationals or whatever.

The fact we are not using Benburb as normal is no surprise. There is a distinct lack of availability for all synthetic pitches around Glasgow and surrounding areas for teams at all levels of the game. Whether its covid/money or whatever. There's no guarantee it would be available anyway. 

[super-son]

And wait to you find out what else is lined up for the pitch, reason 3 for me leaving.

I'm guessing this will be us allowing another team to train on it.

I really hope that it isn't a full on ground share being put in place though.

Maybe we are doing a Cowden and Doing some stock car racing at the stadium.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

And wait to you find out what else is lined up for the pitch, reason 3 for me leaving.

Springsteen, supported by The Executives ?

[George Parr]

If messing up the pitch is a cost of generating funds to help the club avoid extinction then I can’t say I particularly care what % of grass is still visible come the middle of November. 

[Sons FC]

22 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Our attempts to rebuild Cowdenbeath's team from last season are just missing big Mango.

On the Pixellot front, just to settle everyone a wee bit. The camera was only connected on Friday afternoon and we ran the test on Saturday totally remotely. Everything was set up from home and Pixellot haven't fully calibrated the camera yet afaik. 

I watched the whole game on it and, to be honest, it went far better than I was expecting. Yes there were times where the camera got distracted, yes there were times where it was slow, but for the most part it was decent. There were issues with the contrast, and fixing them I'm hoping will lead to some of the ball following issues being fixed too.

Our goal wasn't captured well on it, but BSC's was - so I've attached it below. Woeful defending mind you, but Agyeman was excellent throughout the whole game. There's a full report in tomorrow's Lennox too

 

I think this looks great - much better than I expected and I like what looks like a higher viewpoint than the traditional Sons TV angle.

I suspect people will fall into two camps - fans and customers. Customers will complain at the least little fault but fans will understand. 

Personally, as a fan, I would tolerate a fair amount of faults to be able to see the Sons play each week, as I live in the South of England.

I also watch the local club Crawley on iFollow some weeks and this system came in for considerable criticism when it first started but it is stable and reliable now and comes in at £10 per match. I would pay more than that to watch Dumbarton though. If Sons FC Jr and I attend a game down here, it would cost me over £50 for travel, tickets and refreshments . Watching at home cost us £5 each - less than the cost of a couple of beers each. I am certainly willing to pay more than that to the club each week.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

25 minutes ago, Sons FC said:

I think this looks great - much better than I expected and I like what looks like a higher viewpoint than the traditional Sons TV angle.

I suspect people will fall into two camps - fans and customers. Customers will complain at the least little fault but fans will understand. 

Personally, as a fan, I would tolerate a fair amount of faults to be able to see the Sons play each week, as I live in the South of England.

I also watch the local club Crawley on iFollow some weeks and this system came in for considerable criticism when it first started but it is stable and reliable now and comes in at £10 per match. I would pay more than that to watch Dumbarton though. If Sons FC Jr and I attend a game down here, it would cost me over £50 for travel, tickets and refreshments . Watching at home cost us £5 each - less than the cost of a couple of beers each. I am certainly willing to pay more than that to the club each week.

I think as a fan, if you think there is something that can be improved then it’s worthwhile highlighting it. Constructive feedback rather than complaints will allow the team to feedback to pixellot and get issues ironed out. It will never be Sky Sports quality in terms of production value but I reckon over time we will have something that’s actually really good. 

[C'mon_the_Sons]

Another signing to be announced at 11am. Probably loan signing from Hearts.

[The Moonster]

1 hour ago, C'mon_the_Sons said:

Another signing to be announced at 11am. Probably loan signing from Hearts.

Hamilton confirmed on loan from Hearts.

[The Moonster]

Current squad:

Goalkeepers
Kevin Dabrowski (on loan from Hibs)

Defenders
Morgyn Neill
Ryan McGeever
Rico Quitongo
Sam Wardrop
Chris Hamilton (on loan from Hearts)

Midfielders
Stefan McCluskey
Ross Forbes
Ruaridh Langan
Stuart Carswell (C)
Nat Wedderburn

Forwards
Denny Johnstone
Robert Jones
PJ Crossan

 

14 bodies there. Obviously we need a sub keeper but I think with Hamilton coming in the defence is pretty much sorted. We are yet to replace Joe McKee and I'm getting a bit worried about our creative options - Forbes is the only one in that squad you can see creating anything. Denny seems to be in decent form through preseason but he could be one wrong turn away from his career being over, so I'd like us to add another option up front. If we're playing with two wide midfielders too we're looking particularly short there, Forbes and McCluskey the likely starters there, Crossan at a push but I'm convinced he'll be used up front this season.

7 days to the first competitive fixture, 18 days to our first league fixture. We're in a decent position with that squad but ultimately we haven't replaced Joe McKee or Isaac Layne yet, which puts the shitters right up me. With 7 days to go before squad registration for the cup, are we going to end up with Ryan Tierney types just filling jerseys again?

EDIT  - Just to add, I'm reading the transfer window closes on Monday. We have work to do this week!

Edited September 29, 2020 by The Moonster