Queens v Dunfermline

[QoS_Blue1919]

Martin has been outstanding last 2 weeks, long may it continue. With the amount of criticism Martin and certain defenders receive, it might come as a surprise that we have the 2nd most clean sheets in the league (, 1 behind Ayr.

Harkins struggled today, Dykes wasn’t fantastic either, but the defence especially were fantastic.

The way GN was speaking after the game, he doesn’t think Dobbie will make it next week, but fingers crossed he’s back for Ayr. Todd has been training 1 day a week for the past couple weeks due to an injury, and Jacobs played 70 mins today with a bad ankle. Harkins only restarted training on Thursday and we got 75 minutes out of him.

The commitment shown by the team to fight through the injuries is tremendous, everyone leaves everything on the pitch each and every week. Plenty to be positive about - a win next week and we are in the play-offs at the halfway mark, that would be some achievement.

[SUPERSOUTH]

2 minutes ago, QoS_Blue1919 said:

Martin has been outstanding last 2 weeks, long may it continue. With the amount of criticism Martin and certain defenders receive, it might come as a surprise that we have the 2nd most clean sheets in the league (, 1 behind Ayr.

Harkins struggled today, Dykes wasn’t fantastic either, but the defence especially were fantastic.

The way GN was speaking after the game, he doesn’t think Dobbie will make it next week, but fingers crossed he’s back for Ayr. Todd has been training 1 day a week for the past couple weeks due to an injury, and Jacobs played 70 mins today with a bad ankle. Harkins only restarted training on Thursday and we got 75 minutes out of him.

The commitment shown by the team to fight through the injuries is tremendous, everyone leaves everything on the pitch each and every week. Plenty to be positive about - a win next week and we are in the play-offs at the halfway mark, that would be some achievement.

Where was match winner last week Stirling?? And we will be another player down next week as Norman goes home. 

[Q0S-RUSH]

2 hours ago, palmy_cammy said:

So did the game go ahead or not?

No.

[QoS_Blue1919]

Where was match winner last week Stirling?? And we will be another player down next week as Norman goes home. 

No idea why he wasn’t brought on. Must’ve injured himself pre-match or at HT. With respect to Connor Murray, Stirling is a better player and should’ve came on instead.

Doyle played CM and done fine, will be playing there next 2 weeks you’d imagine

[Skyline Drifter]

Game wasnt very good. It was never going to be in very difficult conditions. We didnt play well and offered little. Against the wind first half we struggled to clear our half. Second half was a bit more even but Dunfermline offered more against the conditions than we did. Martin made three decent (but not wonderful) saves and a couple of shots went across the face of goal. Not sure Lee had a shot to save although Lyndon missed one narrowly that had him beaten.

Conditions were difficult but not remotely unplayable. Crowd was awful but not surprising in the circumstances. A draw when we didnt play well on a day where everyone drew and keeps us 4th is decent enough in the absence of Dobbie. 

[Skyline Drifter]

3 hours ago, Grant228 said:

If any team deserved to win then it was Dunfermline, Qots were much like they were at EEP except this time we didn't gift a goal. 

 

Grim conditions but I reckon the game was correct to go ahead, call games off for that and it's a dangerous precedent. 

This largely. Other than I think we were a little better at East End than we were today. So were you actually. 

[Rjc-1988]

I think when our home support drops by about 35% from last home game despite us being 4th in league warning bells have to be ringing somewhere. The logical explanation is the horrific weather conditions BUT according to Sportscene Falkirk attracted a crowd of c.4000 for the match against Morton where the weather was broadly the same. In other words their average crowd has not been eroded despite horrible weather and horrible on field performances.

I am honestly not sure how to interpret these comparative stats but our traditionally resilient hard core support is very much on the wane.

[QOSQOS]

That must be our lowest league crowd for a long time? Even the year we got relegated our crowds were steady. Would we have to go back to pre John Connolly? Unless there was a more recent ‘winter’ crowd?

I would check but I’m not sure where to start looking.....

[QosLoyal]

Shite game. We really could do with a win at alloa next week. Shocking performance. Stirling not even coming on was just laughable. Martin and marshall were our best players by a mile.

[Guest Flash]

15 minutes ago, Rjc-1988 said:

I think when our home support drops by about 35% from last home game despite us being 4th in league warning bells have to be ringing somewhere. The logical explanation is the horrific weather conditions BUT according to Sportscene Falkirk attracted a crowd of c.4000 for the match against Morton where the weather was broadly the same. In other words their average crowd has not been eroded despite horrible weather and horrible on field performances.

I am honestly not sure how to interpret these comparative stats but our traditionally resilient hard core support is very much on the wane.

Home crowd was down 42% on last home game - 1,124 at the Thistle game (which itself is terrible and means all the home fans could have been accommodated in the old stand) down to 653. 

Not sure when we last got a home crowd that low for a league game. Might have been in the Second Division in the 1990s.

[Steeplechat]

I think when our home support drops by about 35% from last home game despite us being 4th in league warning bells have to be ringing somewhere. The logical explanation is the horrific weather conditions BUT according to Sportscene Falkirk attracted a crowd of c.4000 for the match against Morton where the weather was broadly the same. In other words their average crowd has not been eroded despite horrible weather and horrible on field performances.

I am honestly not sure how to interpret these comparative stats but our traditionally resilient hard core support is very much on the wane.

The crowd was so low because of the terrible weather. Nothing else

[Distant Doonhamer]

7 minutes ago, Steeplechat said:

The crowd was so low because of the terrible weather. Nothing else

 

 

The weather and associated travel warnings were clearly a huge factor today.  Our crowds are on the wane though.

It`s a significant concern and no doubt due to many factors.

[Skyline Drifter]

1 hour ago, Rjc-1988 said:

I think when our home support drops by about 35% from last home game despite us being 4th in league warning bells have to be ringing somewhere. The logical explanation is the horrific weather conditions BUT according to Sportscene Falkirk attracted a crowd of c.4000 for the match against Morton where the weather was broadly the same. In other words their average crowd has not been eroded despite horrible weather and horrible on field performances.

I am honestly not sure how to interpret these comparative stats but our traditionally resilient hard core support is very much on the wane.

Our support is on the wane for sure. Its a big concern but today is evidence of nothing. Today is all about the weather and the time of year. People these days are more choosy about travelling in bad weather when there is wall to wall tv sport anyway. Especially when the authorities are so wary of throwing up emergency travel warnings so far in advance. You were posting from Thursday that the game had no chance of going ahead too. If you tell people that enough the mindset will be not to go. The week or two before Xmas is always a terrible one for crowds too. Throw in that Dunfermline fans cancelled THREE buses on police advice which probably took well over 100 off the visiting support and you get what we got.

It was perishing cold and miserably wet. I imagine those who didnt go and still missed nothing were the sensible ones but it was never remotely close to being unplayable. 

More generally for me we are suffering now from a combination of factors hitting our home gates. We have always had quite a high average age of support. A lot of the fans who remember when we actually were decent in the 60s and before are dying off now. The age group reaching retiral age now are mostly the Harkness mismanagement 70s and 80s era. There frankly arent that many of them. It was a time when home gates were barely over 500 regularly. We havent really captured enough of a younger age group permanently now to make up for it. Dumfries is an economically depressed area these days. There is little industry, few retailers outside supermarkets and a low disposable income profile. People are far more likely to migrate away from the town now than they used to be. Those who dont have less money. Its a vicious circle and mostly out of the club's control. 

Not saying there arent other factors but its a major issue. Not really something today in itself proves though.

[SueSue]

No matter how you dress it up, 700 home supporters is not good.

No matter the weather or the time of year.

there can be no complaints of such a small playing budget when the revenue generated from such low crowds just doesn’t give the money required.

 

 

[Nithsdale Wanderer]

7 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Today is all about the weather and the time of year. People these days are more choosy about travelling in bad weather when there is wall to wall tv sport anyway. Especially when the authorities are so wary of throwing up emergency travel warnings so far in advance. You were posting from Thursday that the game had no chance of going ahead too. If you tell people that enough the mindset will be not to go. The

The roads going North from Dumfries were a mess and downright dangerous from about 6pm onwards this evening.  I feel sorry for anyone who felt they had to travel in those conditions for any reason and hope they are safe.

You seem to be implying that those warnings were OTT and unnecessary, I would suggest that they were completely valid and sensible.

It's not just about  what happens  up  to 5pm, or maybe it is if you live in Dumfries.

You're the financial man so perhaps you could offer your opinion if it really benefited the Club by going ahead today or would you expect a greater attendance and revenue from a midweek game in more reasonable conditions ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Monkey Tennis]

3 minutes ago, Nithsdale Wanderer said:

You're the financial man so perhaps you could offer your opinion if it really benefited the Club by going ahead today or would you expect a greater attendance and revenue from a midweek game in more reasonable conditions ?

It's likely with hindsight, that playing midweek at a later date might have yielded a slightly better gate.  It's also likely that our chances of winning would be enhanced If that later date saw us fielding a fit Dobbie.

Is that really the point though?   Should the fortunes of the home team be decisive, or should it perhaps be about whether a football match can reasonably be staged on the pitch?

It's maybe as well that neither club or their followers get to decide whether games proceed.

[HoBNob]

2 hours ago, Rjc-1988 said:

I think when our home support drops by about 35% from last home game despite us being 4th in league warning bells have to be ringing somewhere. The logical explanation is the horrific weather conditions BUT according to Sportscene Falkirk attracted a crowd of c.4000 for the match against Morton where the weather was broadly the same. In other words their average crowd has not been eroded despite horrible weather and horrible on field performances.

I am honestly not sure how to interpret these comparative stats but our traditionally resilient hard core support is very much on the wane.

Falkirk count there season tickets regardless of they turn up, like us, so there's never going to be as big a drop. 

46 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

. 

More generally for me we are suffering now from a combination of factors hitting our home gates. We have always had quite a high average age of support. A lot of the fans who remember when we actually were decent in the 60s and before are dying off now. The age group reaching retiral age now are mostly the Harkness mismanagement 70s and 80s era. There frankly arent that many of them. It was a time when home gates were barely over 500 regularly. We havent really captured enough of a younger age group permanently now to make up for it. Dumfries is an economically depressed area these days. There is little industry, few retailers outside supermarkets and a low disposable income profile. People are far more likely to migrate away from the town now than they used to be. Those who dont have less money. Its a vicious circle and mostly out of the club's control. 

Not saying there arent other factors but its a major issue. Not really something today in itself proves though.

Fucking hell that was depressing reading that, I really like Dumfries. 

[Skyline Drifter]

56 minutes ago, Nithsdale Wanderer said:

The roads going North from Dumfries were a mess and downright dangerous from about 6pm onwards this evening.  I feel sorry for anyone who felt they had to travel in those conditions for any reason and hope they are safe.

You seem to be implying that those warnings were OTT and unnecessary, I would suggest that they were completely valid and sensible.

It's not just about  what happens  up  to 5pm, or maybe it is if you live in Dumfries.

You're the financial man so perhaps you could offer your opinion if it really benefited the Club by going ahead today or would you expect a greater attendance and revenue from a midweek game in more reasonable conditions ?

I imagine we would make better revenue from a midweek game than if todays game had been called off on Friday morning. Thats presuming the midweek game, which would very likely have taken place in mid January, wouldnt have had freezing conditions and cold rain too, which clearly cant be guaranteed. However, once we got to today and staffing, food etc had to be paid for anyway, it wouldnt have benefited us more to postpone it this morning and pay for the match twice for a few hundred extra fans. 

As for the travel, I take the point. I hear a section of the M74 is pretty bad. I do think its a difficult call though to be considering cancelling games on the strength of weather forecasts 2 or 3 days earlier. We will inevitably end up sitting idly on days we could easily have played if we go down that route and whilst today was exceptional, that will usually be counter productive financially for clubs and more awkward for part time ones.. Maybe thats a price todays public would rather have. Fair enough, the same forecasts though had us having blizzards from lunchtime in Dumfries and high gusting winds. We got neither. For me they just arent accurate enough to call games off 24 hours or more in advance. I accept though its a personal choice. Its also outwith the control of  the clubs directly to do anything about that. We spoke to the League yesterday. Scottish football does not currently call off games on playable pitches based on weather forecasts before the match day. Same reason we were ridiculously forced to rearrange for midweek in Dundee last season when everyone knew it had next to no chance of being on. 

[queenslad]

44 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

 Fair enough, the same forecasts though had us having blizzards from lunchtime in Dumfries and high gusting winds. We got neither. For me they just arent accurate enough to call games off 24 hours or more in advance. 

Are you saying we didn't have a blizzard or high gusting winds this afternoon?  I am sure we got both. The wind and rain made a mockery  of the match. Player were frozen, reaction times were slower due to the cold, they didn't know where the ball was going next, so lumped it out for throw in or cleared it from back to front going nowhere. Why did Lee Robison look like Michigan man second half as he had so many layers on and players were constantly trying to keep warm. If conditions weren't so bad why weren't any/more ball boys/girls employed. Seats were soaking wet as was ground around the seats. Even getting from town centre - bus stop I was soaked through!!

 

[Distant Doonhamer]

1 hour ago, SueSue said:

No matter how you dress it up, 700 home supporters is not good.

No matter the weather or the time of year.

there can be no complaints of such a small playing budget when the revenue generated from such low crowds just doesn’t give the money required.

Yep and TBF nobody`s claiming it`s anything other than a real issue for our club. There are many reasons for the relatively recent decline in our gates. I`m one of the peri-retirement group SD refers to. I`m 60 and I`ve watched QOS since I was about 9 years old. I`ve never seen us play in the top league in Scotland. Given the clubs that have achieved that over that time it`s no surprise that many of my peer group have never had  much interest in QOS.