Sons' sorrow

[Jan Vojáček]

Today was obviously garbage. But there's boy on Facebook claiming this is the worst Sons team he's seen in 45 years supporting us.

Granted I've not been about anywhere near that long. But this isn't even the worst Sons team I've seen in the last two seasons...

[microdave]

Too many people losing  it today. It was a disastrous performance but we're still top of the league. In March. We're in a great position and you can't fluke that at this point of the season and I'm sure we'll get a reaction from the players. They won't need anyone to tell them they were poor today. Onwards!

[FifeSons]

It’s a shame that we’ll likely take far fewer to Forthbank on the back of that.

[FifeSons]

7 minutes ago, microdave said:

Too many people losing  it today. It was a disastrous performance but we're still top of the league. In March. We're in a great position and you can't fluke that at this point of the season and I'm sure we'll get a reaction from the players. They won't need anyone to tell them they were poor today. Onwards!

Stirling only drawing was the saving grace. The only comfort is that they’re dropping points and not exactly blowing teams away when they do win atm.

[Victor mcdade]

How did the meet the manager session go?

[O'Kelly Isley III]

8 minutes ago, Victor mcdade said:

How did the meet the manager session go?

It was fine but the turnout was on the low side.  However it was an earlier start and the recent cancellations may have left some people wondering if it would still be on.

Faz was very honest and didn't flannel anything.  He also didn't sugar-coat the difficulties of his job in terms of squad budget and the playing surface, but he also emphasised a lot of positives and recognised the supporters input, and not just on match days.

He also told us that it's highly unlikely that Ryan McGeever will be returning as he is due to take up a non-football work post in Dubai, and we wish him well.

[FifeSons]

Least we’re still on top, lads.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by FifeSons

[SANDYSON]

 

[Binos]

Title decider Saturday 

[FifeSons]

7 minutes ago, Binos said:

Title decider Saturday 

Lol it’s clearly not.

[FifeSons]

Some absolutely miserable p***ks on the FB group. Get along to Forthbank and back the team.

Edited March 21, 2023 by FifeSons

[Jan Vojáček]

1 minute ago, FifeSons said:

Some absolutely miserable c***s on the FB group. Get along to Forthbank and back the team.

There are some fans on there who have been choking for this day imo.

[WC Boggs]

1 hour ago, FifeSons said:

Lol it’s clearly not.

Only in his head mate.

[George Parr]

Stating the obvious here but we’re simply not winning enough games. 4 of 9 league matches won this year was never the type of form that was going to keep us in 1st. 

I’d be very pleasantly surprised at this point if we win the title. Simply feels like the momentum is swinging away from us and it will take a mammoth effort to get anything at Forthbank. Are our players up for the fight? 

[MrBeeno]

2 hours ago, Binos said:

Title decider Saturday 

Ha,I dont think so.There is a long way to go with 9 games each still to play.I do feel however that the Binos have a stronger squad than Dumbarton where we have players on the bench who are just as good if not better than the starting 11.Our strength recently has been after substitutions have been made in the second half.

Every team in this league is battling for points,so points will be dropped by both sides on the way to the finishing g line.

 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

10 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

There are some fans on there who have been choking for this day imo.

No surprise to see its the two biggest weapons on earth who are leading the charge. Some serious hardons at the prospect of getting to be really angry and negative and say “I told you so”.

[Boghead ranter]

Yup, there were a few obviously just sitting there on their couches, refreshing their phone screens, just waiting for the 1st Stirling goal to go in so that they could go on FB and unleash the post fury that they had been planning since Saturday.

[Jan Vojáček]

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But I've watched the Binos' goals from last night (and followed their Twitter during the game) and they look like a side in a promotion battle.

Busy stadium, buzzing atmosphere, fans right behind the team on Twitter and players celebrating goals like they've won the league (and I mean that in a good way, not in a 'aw youse think youse have won the league in March' way).

Compare that to us. When we were winning there was no buzz. Just a sense that the winning run will stop. Now we aren't winning there's a strong sense of misery. We had less than 500 home fans at the game on Saturday too.

I've only seen us win a league once, but the atmosphere was nothing like this. Nor was it like this in 2011/12 when we won the playoffs. If I read the posts on FB correctly too we've not even filled a supporters' bus for Forthbank. First v Second. First title fight in over a decade. And we can't get fans to go to the closest away day in the league (or one of them anyway).

If you were shown Tweets and Facebook posts and asked which team in the league they related to, you'd say Bonnyrigg.

We don't play scintillating football. We have a dire pitch. And we have a manager who splits the fanbase. That's before you delve into the mess behind the scenes. I understand all that.

But my God. We've spent near enough the last eight seasons battling relegation. I'm just glad there's absolutely no danger of that this year.

@Francesc Fabregas mentioned it to me the other week after the Stenny game at home. There is an overpowering feeling of misery around the club at the moment, and it's as bad as I can remember it. Despite the fact we're in a title hunt. I stand by what I said last night, there's a section of our support that enjoys defeats so they can moan. Because when we win games and play well, that Facebook group is almost silent.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Jan Vojáček

[O'Kelly Isley III]

2 hours ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

No surprise to see its the two biggest weapons on earth who are leading the charge. Some serious hardons at the prospect of getting to be really angry and negative and say “I told you so”.

I'm not on Facebook so I don't know who these folk are, but provided they're not abusive they are entitled to their opinion.

I've followed Dumbarton for over sixty years and this is one of the strangest seasons I can recall.  The club is chasing a league title yet you would hardly notice from the miserly home attendances and the mood of apathy in the town.  In that regard the Facebook folk are untypical.

OK, we are now in the bottom division and that has an impact but for me an air of decline has gradually settled over The Rock in the last few years to the extent that whilst most supporters still retain hope, belief is maybe nowadays in shorter supply.

In saying that I offer absolutely no criticism of Stevie Farrell, his squad and backroom team, in fact quite the opposite.  I don't think anyone at the start of August expected us to be where we are today, and at the least we can probably expect a tilt at the Play-Offs.  The football hasn't been eye-catching at times but we have certainly played to our strengths.

The club has a Chairman, a Football Director and a Community Director - that is your Boardroom folks.  I can't think of another club presently in Scottish senior football which operates with such a skeleton Board.  They have a massive task, but don't help themselves by a lack of communication with the support.

Money is a major issue and we learned that one-sixth of the club's income is generated by the ground rental from Rangers 'B'.  We struggle to fill hospitality and attract sponsors, and whilst we live in serious economic times that's not the whole story.

I don't have all the answers but anyone looking for them could do worse than start keep tabs on Companies House.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

4 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But I've watched the Binos' goals from last night (and followed their Twitter during the game) and they look like a side in a promotion battle.

Busy stadium, buzzing atmosphere, fans right behind the team on Twitter and players celebrating goals like they've won the league (and I mean that in a good way, not in a 'aw youse think youse have won the league in March' way).

Compare that to us. When we were winning there was no buzz. Just a sense that the winning run will stop. Now we aren't winning there's a strong sense of misery. We had less than 500 home fans at the game on Saturday too.

I've only seen us win a league once, but the atmosphere was nothing like this. Nor was it like this in 2011/12 when we won the playoffs. If I read the posts on FB correctly too we've not even filled a supporters' bus for Forthbank. First v Second. First title fight in over a decade. And we can't get fans to go to the closest away day in the league (or one of them anyway).

If you were shown Tweets and Facebook posts and asked which team in the league they related to, you'd say Bonnyrigg.

We don't play scintillating football. We have a dire pitch. And we have a manager who splits the fanbase. That's before you delve into the mess behind the scenes. I understand all that.

But my God. We've spent near enough the last eight seasons battling relegation. I'm just glad there's absolutely no danger of that this year.

@Francesc Fabregas mentioned it to me the other week after the Stenny game at home. There is an overpowering feeling of misery around the club at the moment, and it's as bad as I can remember it. Despite the fact we're in a title hunt. I stand by what I said last night, there's a section of our support that enjoys defeats so they can moan. Because when we win games and play well, that Facebook group is almost silent.

It's fascinating how our respective posts dropped at almost the exact time Jan.

However, and please don't take this personally, to paraphrase a former US President, it's not the supporters it's the ownership, stupid.  It's influence hangs over the club like a foul stench.