Sons' sorrow

[O'Kelly Isley III]

25 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

The pitch situation really does feel like it’s well on the way to ruining the season. I really feel for Farrell and the players.

Well we hope not but it's a very fair point.  And it raises further concerns.  Whether we go up or not this season the job of team building probably just got harder over the last week; players aren't daft and they will have taken note of our pitch issues, and we don't have the luxury of offering wages to help them overlook that.

But that's not all.  Whoever made the decision on Rangers 'B' sharing a park that is vulnerable to winter weather really needs to consider whether the rental received justifies what is currently going on, or not as it happens.  Rangers 'B' will not be happy either with the situation and that would be understandable - maybe ending the arrangement at the end of this season would be in the best interest of both parties.

[Dumbarton Rock]

26 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

Well we hope not but it's a very fair point.  And it raises further concerns.  Whether we go up or not this season the job of team building probably just got harder over the last week; players aren't daft and they will have taken note of our pitch issues, and we don't have the luxury of offering wages to help them overlook that.

But that's not all.  Whoever made the decision on Rangers 'B' sharing a park that is vulnerable to winter weather really needs to consider whether the rental received justifies what is currently going on, or not as it happens.  Rangers 'B' will not be happy either with the situation and that would be understandable - maybe ending the arrangement at the end of this season would be in the best interest of both parties.

Ground sharing was one of the reasons I walked away. I had worked myself through covid on half wages, when it got to August and the season looked like commencing at the start of October I asked them to start up Ally again so we could get everything ready.

As I was doing it myself I was only concentrating on the pitch and there was plenty of other stuff that had been neglected round the stadium. I was then told we were looking at ground sharing with BSC Glasgow( just left Alloa) or Celtic reserves plus I wasn't getting Ally back. I was meant to do double the work with half the staff, apparently they would have provided someone if i needed help, total joke you can't work like that.

They were already getting my services for peanuts so unfortunately I took the decision to wrap it.  I do have some sympathy with the boy that's doing it as I know what he's working with but I did give him my number and said any problems or you need a hand just call me. He never did. This isn't just a new owner situation.

Just a last wee insight to my life under that chairman I asked at the start of January for 12 bags of fertilizer(£120) I waited a month to get a decision, I sent him a picture of a green pitch from the start of the month and one a month later that was brown. I said that's what happens if you don't get me what I need. His reply was 'oh I see what you mean now'

A few on here know all this as I've private messaged them in the past. I hope you don't mind me getting that off my chest as I hurts me more than you guys to see that pitch like that. Hope it gets rectified sooner rather than later.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

1 hour ago, Dumbarton Rock said:

Ground sharing was one of the reasons I walked away. I had worked myself through covid on half wages, when it got to August and the season looked like commencing at the start of October I asked them to start up Ally again so we could get everything ready.

As I was doing it myself I was only concentrating on the pitch and there was plenty of other stuff that had been neglected round the stadium. I was then told we were looking at ground sharing with BSC Glasgow( just left Alloa) or Celtic reserves plus I wasn't getting Ally back. I was meant to do double the work with half the staff, apparently they would have provided someone if i needed help, total joke you can't work like that.

They were already getting my services for peanuts so unfortunately I took the decision to wrap it.  I do have some sympathy with the boy that's doing it as I know what he's working with but I did give him my number and said any problems or you need a hand just call me. He never did. This isn't just a new owner situation.

Just a last wee insight to my life under that chairman I asked at the start of January for 12 bags of fertilizer(£120) I waited a month to get a decision, I sent him a picture of a green pitch from the start of the month and one a month later that was brown. I said that's what happens if you don't get me what I need. His reply was 'oh I see what you mean now'

A few on here know all this as I've private messaged them in the past. I hope you don't mind me getting that off my chest as I hurts me more than you guys to see that pitch like that. Hope it gets rectified sooner rather than later.

Thanks for that very comprehensive reply, and whilst there is much detail in there that most of us weren't aware of the general tone should not come as a shock to anyone who follows Dumbarton.  And I can assure you that your pain is shared by quite a number of Sons fans, and certainly not just where the pitch is concerned

 

[The Moonster]

Cost always seems to be the reason we don't do ground work and hope for the best then when the bad weather comes, games get put off, we lose hospitality and ticket sales and we end up spending the money on the ground work anyway. It's just infuriating and tbh I'd much rather a Meet the Board session on Saturday than a Meet the Manager one. 

[Jan Vojáček]

Ehm. 'Cognitive Capital' no longer has any directors, and had its first gazette issued for the accounts being overdue on February 7.

[The Moonster]

So...we have nobody that owns us?

[O'Kelly Isley III]

28 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Ehm. 'Cognitive Capital' no longer has any directors, and had its first gazette issued for the accounts being overdue on February 7.

No officers, a notice on unfiled accounts, a notice on no confirmation statement and a pending strike-off notice.  How this affects Dumbarton FC is the $64K question but if nothing else it alerts supporters to what is going on in the undergrowth of the club ownership.

It certainly seems that Mr Kristofferson has sailed his longboat up the Leven for the last time.

[Clarko_son]

This is now the time for someone at the club to explain what this all means and what any next steps could be. 

My first thought was "good" as I would suspect his motives are not based around the progression of a Scottish lower league football team. I think his departure now cements that. But I have no idea what kind of situation we're actually in. Are there debts that the club owe? Are the club basically just owned by noone? Has someone else assumed control? Etc 

[Sweet Pete]

There's something rotten in Denmark. Or wherever Henning Kristoffersen is from.

[BallochSonsFan]

If Cognitive were to be struck off then any assets that the company owned become the property of the crown. How that works when the company's only assets are the majority shareholding in Dumbarton is anybody's guess. Would it potentially see Cognitive struck off, the shareholding in Dumbarton become crown property that shareholding in Dumbarton FC then being sold?

Clearly we're not there yet. There are processes to follow and it's entirely possible that Cognitive appoints new directors and makes representation to the registrar to avoid being struck off. But it's also an indication of the chaotic nature of our ownership and of the people involved.

We need to be very careful with this. Clarity from our owner and from the club board would be very helpful.

[The Moonster]

23 minutes ago, Clarko_son said:

This is now the time for someone at the club to explain what this all means and what any next steps could be. 

My first thought was "good" as I would suspect his motives are not based around the progression of a Scottish lower league football team. I think his departure now cements that. But I have no idea what kind of situation we're actually in. Are there debts that the club owe? Are the club basically just owned by noone? Has someone else assumed control? Etc 

It certainly puts Andy Hosie in a spot of bother - there is now no puppet there to carry out whatever plan he had and he can't direct the company himself, so he either needs to find another puppet or get rid of the club I would imagine. I think the bigger issue was to do with the land though, we'd secured a loan against it and Henning was on record as saying if we defaulted on it he'd pay the koney himself, which obviously isn't going to happen now.

1 minute ago, Sweet Pete said:

There's something rotten in Denmark. Or wherever Henning Kristoffersen is from.

Norway but close enough.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Does that mean we wont be signing any of those foreign superstars we were promised? 

[Clarko_son]

1 minute ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Does that mean we wont be signing any of those foreign superstars we were promised? 

I'm sure we'll be a full-time championship team in no time though!

[Sweet Pete]

58 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

It certainly puts Andy Hosie in a spot of bother - there is now no puppet there to carry out whatever plan he had and he can't direct the company himself, so he either needs to find another puppet or get rid of the club I would imagine. I think the bigger issue was to do with the land though, we'd secured a loan against it and Henning was on record as saying if we defaulted on it he'd pay the koney himself, which obviously isn't going to happen now.

Norway but close enough.

I was doing a Hamlet quote.

[The Moonster]

18 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

I was doing a Hamlet quote.

Far too sophisticated for me, I'm afraid. 

[lorenzo71]

Doubtlessly the club will have a counter argument to what Dumbarton Rock has said.But bottom line look at the pitch he left ( like a bowling green) to the shit show we have now.The groundsman obviously takes a lot of the blame but he is working alone and the club have not prioritised the pitch despite the importance it has in a footballing sense ( not to mention financial as mentioned above with games off hospitality revenue lost etc).

What they have prioritised is giving SF et al a new and I assume improved contract( albeit from next season) for a season that is very far from over.So there is cash, probably and likely , for that, but not the pitch.As Moonster mentioned above it is self-defeating to abandon the pitch the way they have .Maybe I'm wrong about the new contract but one thing SF is excellent at is talking the talk and lets be honest everyones in it for themselves and what they can get out of the game.

[pleslie99]

The rain has been pretty constant for last couple days and isn’t scheduled to stop until after Saturday. I’d be amazed if the Rangers B game makes it tonight and also if ours makes it Saturday. We got into bed with Rangers B, they moaned about the pitch last year, why is it not part of the deal that they come down and help maintain it? Apparently they send ground staff down on the morning of the game? What help is that going to be? 1 guy, who’s part time, and clearly doesn’t really care, the pitch is only going to go 1 way!

[Sons FC]

16 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Ehm. 'Cognitive Capital' no longer has any directors, and had its first gazette issued for the accounts being overdue on February 7.

If there are no directors we are in breach of the Companies Act. Any shareholder can call a general meeting to appoint new directors.

I wonder if my B shares count?

[The Moonster]

20 minutes ago, pleslie99 said:

The rain has been pretty constant for last couple days and isn’t scheduled to stop until after Saturday. I’d be amazed if the Rangers B game makes it tonight and also if ours makes it Saturday. We got into bed with Rangers B, they moaned about the pitch last year, why is it not part of the deal that they come down and help maintain it? Apparently they send ground staff down on the morning of the game? What help is that going to be? 1 guy, who’s part time, and clearly doesn’t really care, the pitch is only going to go 1 way!

I've said this before but the help they give us is rent - we are supposed to set the rent at a reasonable enough fee to cover any excess maintenance. I find this moaning that they aren't sending groundsmen down to fix it a bit of a brass neck.

Edited March 16, 2023 by The Moonster

[Silverton End]

14 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I've said this before but the help they give us is rent - we are supposed to set the rent at a reasonable enough fee to cover any excess maintenance. I find this moaning that they aren't sending groundsmen down to fix it a bit of a brass neck.

Spot on.

The negligence of our pitch is all on the DFC board.