The Clyde FC 2018-19 Thread

[Officer Barbrady]

48 minutes ago, haufdaft said:

Even with my Nat 3 English qualification, I can only understand 18%.

It does worry me that these statements and proposals being so verbose may hide some important detail or controversy. (perhaps deliberately?)


 

Who knows, indeed if he is concocting a devious plan, oor Norrie is definitely at pains to make sure it's well hidden. Maybe you'll find a clue in the capital letters? 

 

In the real world, i'd take a lot of the content as being things he may have noticed that have just perhaps not been explored or flirted with previously, not to the degree of the AGM with throwing buzzwords around to stir debate but seeing genuine potential surrounding the club's location and how this manifests with our current position.

 

Things haven't just improved both on and off the pitch by coincidence, a lot of work from all at the club has gone in to turning us around in the table, matchday experience enjoyment and even being able to wear items socially and leisurely from an excellent merchandise range, to name just three.

 

In under a year, sorting these matters out successfully, i'd say Norrie's more than earned the right to cast his eye further and look at what else we could be missing out on from infrastructure, local engagement and promotional activities prespectives which may have been considered beyond us previously or worse still, not considered as matters of interest for the club at all. 

 

We're in very good hands, in my opinion. 

[Clyde85]

I'm too hungover to understand it 

[haufdaft]

Who knows, indeed if he is concocting a devious plan, oor Norrie is definitely at pains to make sure it's well hidden. Maybe you'll find a clue in the capital letters? 
 
In the real world, i'd take a lot of the content as being things he may have noticed that have just perhaps not been explored or flirted with previously, not to the degree of the AGM with throwing buzzwords around to stir debate but seeing genuine potential surrounding the club's location and how this manifests with our current position.
 
Things haven't just improved both on and off the pitch by coincidence, a lot of work from all at the club has gone in to turning us around in the table, matchday experience enjoyment and even being able to wear items socially and leisurely from an excellent merchandise range, to name just three.
 
In under a year, sorting these matters out successfully, i'd say Norrie's more than earned the right to cast his eye further and look at what else we could be missing out on from infrastructure, local engagement and promotional activities prespectives which may have been considered beyond us previously or worse still, not considered as matters of interest for the club at all. 
 
We're in very good hands, in my opinion. 

All that may be true but at a loss of £60000 last year if I recall correctly. Hopefully the costs of these investments bear fruit next year and from now on.

I just wish Norrie would call a spade a spade without all the flowery nonsense.

I worry that although you can't bullshit a Bullshitter, I who don't bullshit may be easily bullshitted.

Or is that just bullshit?

[Officer Barbrady]

12 minutes ago, haufdaft said:

All that may be true but at a loss of £60000 last year if I recall correctly. Hopefully the costs of these investments bear fruit next year and from now on.

I just wish Norrie would call a spade a spade without all the flowery nonsense.

I worry that although you can't bullshit a Bullshitter, I who don't bullshit may be easily bullshitted.

Or is that just bullshit?

I wouldn't worry HD, not a lot escapes your disapproving gaze when you get in the groove. And that's a good thing. 

 

Other than giving an opinion at the end of my post, which is entirely subjective, nothing 'may' be true about the three fields i outlined as improved (i can name some more if you like). They absolutely are. 

 

It's interesting you take up the deficit in what effectively is Year One for Norrie, with an easily detected undertone of disapproval. Given that several outlets exist for increasing revenue, which didn't serve anything previously like the level they do now, if at all, from open lounge facilities to mutually-beneficial HT draws, for starters. I'm sure projections will have been made on how these will aid in servicing this current shortfall, but again, that's subjective. I'm sure some will not be sure.

 

What's certainly significant here is that none of this was even on the radar as potential fundraising alternatives during the last considerable loss, which resulted in the Generations top that was worn  by (mostly) a bunch of complete fucking chancers driving us out of the League. What a self-fulfilling prophecy that was. Do you think, if more fans backed that initiative, we might have covered that loss (i was led to believe 49% of it was cleared by sales), and then won the league? 

 

We never had it so good, back then!

[Xervish]

Why use 5 words when 500 will do? 

Behind Norrie's overly flowery prose I read a concern about cash flow while more money is being pumped into non-essential endeavors. Is our "best lounge in Scotland" raising more money than our old match day hospitality offering? 

Why are we settling for being tenants in a stadium we could be evicted from at any point? For years our objective was to get a stable home of our own and we seem to have abandoned those plans. Where is our long term future? 

Don't forget haufdaft that along with that £60,000 loss is a massive bank loan. 

How much money are we going to piss away so that Norrie can preen and strut about telling us how great he is? Our on pitch performance is not in any way groundbreaking, and everything else just feels very cosmetic. 

[haufdaft]

I share many of your concerns.

We hear about initiatives, investments and objectives but rarely do we hear of the results of these investments or the objectives other than in vague terms. It will probably take at least a year to find out. Eg. Has the Arria lounge increased profits that can be invested in the team. How are the intermediate figures? Surely if it was a great financial success he would be shouting it from the rooftops. In his statement he chooses to focus on the quality of the service. No mention of return

There's a lot of words in his statement but not many outcomes mentioned.

Norrie stated at the AGM that all this is geared to Clyde maximising our potential as a football club.

Do we really play the "best football in the lower divisions"? I'm sorry Norrie but that is hyperbolic "bullshit"

Do we really need a full time manager? Would the cost/benefit be worth it?

The same goes for full time football/operational /marketing] staff. Will the benefits outweigh the costs?

Norrie stated that issues should be thrown open to discussion like club crest, changing the club structure to a PLC etc but I feel these conversations should be led by the board members. Don't just throw out sweeping general proposals and then sit back.

Finally, I thought it was interesting that the "areas of priority" in his statement don't even mention promotion. Was that not a priority at the start of the season?

I hope my worries are without foundation. Norrie does seem to have the clubs interests at heart but he needs to keep his statements and comments grounded and simple.

Perhaps I'm just a Clyde fan, emotionally abused by previous incumbents, scared to trust anyone again.

We'll find out over the next few years.

[salute]

f**k Cumbernauld!

[Clyde01]

f**k Cumbernauld!

Hope you didn’t miss your Mensa meeting to make that comment.

[Officer Barbrady]

1 hour ago, haufdaft said:

I share many of your concerns.

We hear about initiatives, investments and objectives but rarely do we hear of the results of these investments or the objectives other than in vague terms. It will probably take at least a year to find out. Eg. Has the Arria lounge increased profits that can be invested in the team. How are the intermediate figures? Surely if it was a great financial success he would be shouting it from the rooftops. In his statement he chooses to focus on the quality of the service. No mention of return

There's a lot of words in his statement but not many outcomes mentioned.

Norrie stated at the AGM that all this is geared to Clyde maximising our potential as a football club.

Do we really play the "best football in the lower divisions"? I'm sorry Norrie but that is hyperbolic "bullshit"

Do we really need a full time manager? Would the cost/benefit be worth it?

The same goes for full time football/operational /marketing] staff. Will the benefits outweigh the costs?

Norrie stated that issues should be thrown open to discussion like club crest, changing the club structure to a PLC etc but I feel these conversations should be led by the board members. Don't just throw out sweeping general proposals and then sit back.

Finally, I thought it was interesting that the "areas of priority" in his statement don't even mention promotion. Was that not a priority at the start of the season?

I hope my worries are without foundation. Norrie does seem to have the clubs interests at heart but he needs to keep his statements and comments grounded and simple.

Perhaps I'm just a Clyde fan, emotionally abused by previous incumbents, scared to trust anyone again.

We'll find out over the next few years.
 

Can i ask, how quickly results are to be expected, let alone demanded? The function suite is less than a year old. Yes, it is being promoted as an avenue of assisting club finance, but on gates of 600, and projecting the likely percentage of this who'd use such a facility regularly, the answer would probably right now, be a no - i think ee can safely say it probably isn't funding Danny Lennon's warchest.

 

And if it was a roaring success even already, which businessman would be "shouting about it from the rooftops"? Do you think he's run this, to be surprised by the results? Or is it really the case, after all, that the club just cannot succeed at anything while at Broadwood, and that is simply that? Old news, that one Haufdaft. 

 

The majority of other outlined prospective ventures are , given our position, clearly aspirational. Full time managers, staff and players costs money, of course. Promotion clearly is an implied ingredient in providing the necessary grounds for the club to evolve in this manner. 

 

Playing the battered wife, "emotionally abused by previous incumbents", is really quite sad HD. None of these points were ever raised towards any "previous incumbents", whether you trusted them or not. The club was one goal from the Lowland due to that administration. You have evidence every Saturday of a performing team, an increase in marketing and social initiatives, a clear business development plan albeit requiring small steps due in no little part to the fact that 21st century football itself is a hard sell, and the man outlining it is held in mistrust and his intellect shot to smithereens. You'd never have pulled this trick six years ago over East fucking Kilbride, i can see that clearly. 

Edited January 1, 2019 by Officer Barbrady

[salute]

19 minutes ago, Clyde01 said:

 

Hope you didn’t miss your Mensa meeting to make that comment.

 

Why say in 500 words what you can say in two.

[haufdaft]

OB, I'm surprised that you seem to be a staunch believer based on not much hard evidence.

 

You say, "the function suite is less than a year old. Yes, it is being promoted as an avenue of assisting club finance, but on gates of 600, and projecting the likely percentage of this who'd use such a facility regularly, the answer would probably right now, be a no" but you don't ask if it's worth the gamble to our finances. Is that not a reasonable question?

 

I also think that if it was a roaring success, Norrie would be shouting it from the rooftops. I would if I was him.

 

You say that the areas of priority are clearly aspirational but that promotion is only implied ingredient. It's not implied at all. Why is it not a stated priority?

 

I think I may be coming across as antagonistic towards the board. I'm not. I only have a belief that we should look for hard evidence of the improvements we're told are happening. As I said in a previous post, it's probably too soon to judge. That's why I wish Norrie would tone it down and keep it simple. He may be setting himself up for a fall.

 

Certainly there seems to be a greater confidence about the fans and there is a feeling that the club as a whole are more dynamic. I hope this confidence is not built on sand.

 

 

I hope everything Norrie and the board do is a great success. The club's future may depend on it.

 

 

 

 

[SLClyde]

Out of interest, I’ve never heard about the massive bank loan before. When was this taken out and any idea how much it was? 

[HughieMc]

And do we know ( Haufdaft) how much of the Club’s finances has been gambled on the creation of the Arria Lounge? 

 

[Officer Barbrady]

39 minutes ago, haufdaft said:

OB, I'm surprised that you seem to be a staunch believer based on not much hard evidence.

 

You say, "the function suite is less than a year old. Yes, it is being promoted as an avenue of assisting club finance, but on gates of 600, and projecting the likely percentage of this who'd use such a facility regularly, the answer would probably right now, be a no" but you don't ask if it's worth the gamble to our finances. Is that not a reasonable question?

 

I also think that if it was a roaring success, Norrie would be shouting it from the rooftops. I would if I was him.

 

You say that the areas of priority are clearly aspirational but that promotion is only implied ingredient. It's not implied at all. Why is it not a stated priority?

 

I think I may be coming across as antagonistic towards the board. I'm not. I only have a belief that we should look for hard evidence of the improvements we're told are happening. As I said in a previous post, it's probably too soon to judge. That's why I wish Norrie would tone it down and keep it simple. He may be setting himself up for a fall.

 

Certainly there seems to be a greater confidence about the fans and there is a feeling that the club as a whole are more dynamic. I hope this confidence is not built on sand.

 

 

I hope everything Norrie and the board do is a great success. The club's future may depend on it.

 

 

 

 

To quote an oft-used phrase regarding people expressing views on the politics of the club, i ultimately see the benefits on the pitch, first and foremost that we are a top-three and no longer a bottom-three side. Given that Norrie has spent a chunk of his 18 months getting to grips with a completely new environment, i'm open to a lot of the ideas that are in sync with how things have taken shape so far.

 

The fact that a great many of these fly directly in the face of what ALL Clyde supporters were told, over a number of years, has absolutely no bearing on this. 

 

This comes at a time after the club endured the most horrific period in its history, and in supposedly attempting to rectify the reasons for this, matters surrounding the ground, relations with various organisations and numerous events were staunchly reported  from one perspective only. It appears that this perspective is still very much ringing in the ears of a number of supporters, despite clearly improved amenities and matchday functionability at the stadium - the very stadium that was going to kill us.  

 

I don't think you're showing antagonism to the Board, Haufdaft, i think it's to one man only. 

Edited January 1, 2019 by Officer Barbrady

[haufdaft]

i ultimately see the benefits on the pitch, first and foremost that we are a top-three and no longer a bottom-three side.

Are the benefits really there to see on the pitch? Third place, well below the top two? Out of any league challenge by the half way point? Knocked out the Scottish cup by Cowdenbeath. Would you have taken that pre-season?

I don't think you're showing antagonism to the Board, Haufdaft, i think it's to one man only. 

If I appear to be showing antagonism to Norrie then I apologise. It's not my intention. As I said, I just want hard evidence, not verbage.

These initiatives are not without risk. We shouldn't forget that. Should we just follow blindly?

Norrie may have my emotional support. He doesn't have my logical support...yet!

[Officer Barbrady]

10 hours ago, haufdaft said:

 

 

Are the benefits really there to see on the pitch? Third place, well below the top two? Out of any league challenge by the half way point? Knocked out the Scottish cup by Cowdenbeath. Would you have taken that pre-season?



If I appear to be showing antagonism to Norrie then I apologise. It's not my intention. As I said, I just want hard evidence, not verbage.

These initiatives are not without risk. We shouldn't forget that. Should we just follow blindly?

Norrie may have my emotional support. He doesn't have my logical support...yet!
 

 

Everything in life worthwhile is not without risk. 

 

No one is following any club doctrine blindly, Haufdaft. At least, not any longer, thankfully. Norrie's engagement, with groups (the Glasgow Branch being one) and on an individual basis, is open to discussion if one is capable of it. If you personally found your "trust" broken by "previous incumbents", i'd have to ask how this exactly was the case? Did you question the previous administration on anything relevant? Did you receive answers which were later found to be impractical or without substance? I find it hard to believe that simply a football team's results can leave a grown man's trust in tatters - there must have been something else, surely, to evoke this devastating effect on a human being. 

 

Or did you just leave these matters to those in the know to sort them out? 

 

If so, you're hardly providing a consistent backdrop with what i concede is an entirely relevant and reasonable set of curiosities around our current Chairman's communication, it just really is just a terrific shame that this magnifying glass was not in use when the club faced down seven years of absolute chaos and destruction, without question or recourse on how to drive the club away from it's allegedly impending doom. 

 

Without the trolling, and public discrediting of criticism in past instances, this very argument would be on shaky ground under "previous incumbents", as anybody who offered a dissident opinion was readily denounced as uneducated and carrying an agenda by our apparently trustworthy Commissariat. This type of rigid, unquestioning  adherence to the narrative is something only found in cults, not in reasonable and logical discourse. 

 

By all means, if you believe in what you say for the good of the club's welfare and prospects, share it, even canvas opinion of others if it's such a concern. But that doesn't change the glaring fact none of this was deemed necessary by you in particular, and the wider support at large, under the "previous incumbents" despite a far worse position on all fronts, and those who did received the equivalent of public stoning to death for voicing THEIR concerns. 

 

We never had it so good, back then!

Edited January 2, 2019 by Officer Barbrady

[Clyde01]

I don’t think you can count us out of a league challenge yet. We are 8 points off the top and 11 ahead of 4th place. We still have to play the top 2 sides again home and away. We are under pressure and playing catch up but still hanging in there.

[HughieMc]

Not sure we’re out of the league yet either- Peterhead had a poor finish last season and although they do look very strong- Edinburgh as proved away to Berwick and at home to us- are not infallible-

Foundations  are being laid for the Club to progress- can’t be done overnight after such a long period of austerity. 

Whether the NY message was overly verbose or not- there is much to take confidence from and the criticism of our chairman “ preening” is a grossly unjust observation.

 

[strichener]

1 hour ago, HughieMc said:

Not sure we’re out of the league yet either- Peterhead had a poor finish last season and although they do look very strong- Edinburgh as proved away to Berwick and at home to us- are not infallible-

Foundations  are being laid for the Club to progress- can’t be done overnight after such a long period of austerity. 

Whether the NY message was overly verbose or not- there is much to take confidence from and the criticism of our chairman “ preening” is a grossly unjust observation.

 

We won our last 6 games in the league and finished with 9 wins in our last 11 games.  One result costs us the league and that was defeat at Montrose 3-2 when we had twice been in front.  I would happily take a repeat of our performance at the end of last season (ignoring the play-offs!!!)

[SouthLanarkshireWhite]

14 hours ago, SLClyde said:

Out of interest, I’ve never heard about the massive bank loan before. When was this taken out and any idea how much it was? 

I am mildly surprised any bank would see us as a good bet for repaying a loan given the history of the past 15 years. Assuming they did I am mildly concerned that failure to get promoted will leave us in debt again.