Biggest mess?

[Sortmeout]

With the clear split in the league (at the moment) between the top and bottom 5 which club do you think is in the worst amount of trouble at the moment, not just in terms of relegation but also just with the way their clubs are being run.

I think Dunfermline have turned a bit of a corner and I think they will finish in the top half when all is said and done. QOTS, even though discontent, for some reason don’t seem to be as worried as the three clubs that are having the biggest troubles this season who are Ayr, Morton and Hamilton (based on their respective fans opinions on here).

All 3 of these clubs seem to have alienated a large chunk of their fanbase this season through poor performances on the park and poor decisions off it.

I think Hamilton are in the deepest mess due to their ownership situation. I don’t think Ayr or Morton fans would swap their club situation for Hamilton - whereas Hamilton fans would probably take anyone else’s situation instead of their own currently.

 

[Cardle is Magic]

Who are we finishing in the top half ahead of exactly? I think most Pars fans would be quite content if we ended up 6th given our horrendous start.

To me, I think Accies are without a doubt in the worst state. A disaster on and off the pitch, embarrassing cup exit etc. Like us I thought they’d be competing in Top 4 but they’re a mess.

[Broken Algorithms]

It's really not even a question. With Dunfermline, they have the clout to be able to get rid of a manager and didn't leave it stupidly late. For all of the faults of Morton and Ayr's ridiculous decision to run with a failed manager in Hopkin, Accies are light years ahead in the omnishambles stakes.

All the parallels are there with us circa '04: the same guy involved with the club, the assurances about the stadium, the embarrassing off the field antics like bank scams and a playing side which have been stripped back and look out of their depth. I joked with the Only Accies podcast that they better hope Claude Anelka doesn't have a spare couple of hundred thousand free but it wouldn't surprise me if that crops up next.


Hamilton have had the cheek to have a plastic pitch, punch above their weight and avoid relegation a few times. A quick look on social media and you can easily find folk from teams across the top flight celebrating their plight. With Reclaim the Rovers, our fans put in an absurd amount of graft to get our club back in our hands. Administration wasn't an option then and isn't one now as the club and stadium have been separated. I really hope folk start taking the situation a bit more seriously as I wouldn't want to see a situation where they go under.

[Ye Olde Hamiltonian]

There is only one club in a serious mess and it is us.Morton,Ayr and QOS don't appear to be as hapless as us and at least have people running their clubs who have the best interests of their clubs at heart-even if they are making a ham-fisted effort at doing so.

Our club has had seven years(since Alex Neil left) with dreadful results and football only briefly interrupted by the odd rabbit out of the hat which has now disappeared.

The morale  was actually better when we had those lengthy homeless years.We had a cause to fight for and a sense we would succeed.Now, our fanbase have had the stuffing knocked out of them as they watch a Brechin scenario unfolding before our eyes.

I know folk who missed a handful of games the last 30-50 years who have stopped attending and we have lost up to 70% of regular attenders.In addition,a once thriving young team in Section A-who created a decent atmosphere- have watched the club ban some of them, take their drums,banners and flags away while allowing away fans to do what they want and have the aforementioned paraphernalia.

Then, you look at a team of wee boys who physically are not up to it and who are now totally devoid of confidence with not enough experience to help them out.

The results this week are indicative of a side lacking the fight and guts to stop this continuing freefall.

 

I have watched my team for 45 years but now we are in a bigger fight than results.McGowan wants the ground as flats and is doing everything he can to break the Accies support and he is winning.

There was an adhoc,spur of the moment protest on Saturday when we got back from Auchinleck.Police dogs,seven vans and a plethora of officers to stop fans demanding answers.The players and Manager were dropped off away from the club.

There are many fans who have  given up but now is the time I feel they should  do the opposite.This struggling team of young boys needs the fans more than ever and the Ownership issue should be separate until the team recovers.

#Supporttheteamnottheregime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[grumswall]

There is only one club in a serious mess and it is us.Morton,Ayr and QOS don't appear to be as hapless as us and at least have people running their clubs who have the best interests of their clubs at heart-even if they are making a ham-fisted effort at doing so.
Our club has had seven years(since Alex Neil left) with dreadful results and football only briefly interrupted by the odd rabbit out of the hat which has now disappeared.
The morale  was actually better when we had those lengthy homeless years.We had a cause to fight for and a sense we would succeed.Now, our fanbase have had the stuffing knocked out of them as they watch a Brechin scenario unfolding before our eyes.
I know folk who missed a handful of games the last 30-50 years who have stopped attending and we have lost up to 70% of regular attenders.In addition,a once thriving young team in Section A-who created a decent atmosphere- have watched the club ban some of them, take their drums,banners and flags away while allowing away fans to do what they want and have the aforementioned paraphernalia.
Then, you look at a team of wee boys who physically are not up to it and who are now totally devoid of confidence with not enough experience to help them out.
The results this week are indicative of a side lacking the fight and guts to stop this continuing freefall.
 
I have watched my team for 45 years but now we are in a bigger fight than results.McGowan wants the ground as flats and is doing everything he can to break the Accies support and he is winning.
There was an adhoc,spur of the moment protest on Saturday when we got back from Auchinleck.Police dogs,seven vans and a plethora of officers to stop fans demanding answers.The players and Manager were dropped off away from the club.
There are many fans who have  given up but now is the time I feel they should  do the opposite.This struggling team of young boys needs the fans more than ever and the Ownership issue should be separate until the team recovers.
#Supporttheteamnottheregime.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How did McGowan end up involved at accies? A scumbag of a "man" with previous for doing exactly what he's doing. It's quite baffling.

[TxRover]

Take away the three points and three or four goals scored from the Raith debacle, and the Accies are comfortably league leading in fewest goals scored and most goals conceded...plus sitting two clear on the bottom. That first match may have papered over some of the fraying seams that have since given way, and the Accies look in the real favorites for the trapdoor to join Falkirk...without the fan base support that Falkirk have still retained through their tribulations.

[R.R.FC]

3 hours ago, TxRover said:

Take away the three points and three or four goals scored from the Raith debacle, and the Accies are comfortably league leading in fewest goals scored and most goals conceded...plus sitting two clear on the bottom. That first match may have papered over some of the fraying seams that have since given way, and the Accies look in the real favorites for the trapdoor to join Falkirk...without the fan base support that Falkirk have still retained through their tribulations.

I know it felt like a defeat but that opening game was a draw 

[Ro Sham Bo]

8 hours ago, Cardle is Magic said:

Who are we finishing in the top half ahead of exactly? I think most Pars fans would be quite content if we ended up 6th given our horrendous start.

To me, I think Accies are without a doubt in the worst state. A disaster on and off the pitch, embarrassing cup exit etc. Like us I thought they’d be competing in Top 4 but they’re a mess.

Yeah the Pars would need to put together a run worthy of champions and hope that at least one of the teams in the top half falls away badly to make the top 5 now.

You'll be well clear of the bottom 4 but not sure it will be possible to catch any of the top 5 based on what we've seen so far.

[vikingTON]

8 hours ago, Broken Algorithms said:

 For all of the faults of Morton and Ayr's ridiculous decision to run with a failed manager in Hopkin, Accies are light years ahead in the omnishambles stakes.

Hopkin left Morton twelve months ago and has got nothing to do with our current issues. We had the opportunity to ditch all of his haddies in the summer and yet our new brain of Britain manager handed out new deals all round. 

As much as having a dung manager remains a significant issue, it is the heavy village social club vibes that Morton's fan ownership leaders are giving off that are the most serious long-term cause for concern. This season was always going to involve a difficult transition under new ownership, but the Morton board/MCT have made things worse at nearly every turn through a series of tone-deaf responses and by failing to set out any vision for how the club will be developed off the park to justify ongoing fan investment. 

On the plus side, we are now debt-free and fan power also torpedoed the Rae family's grasping effort to take the ground on their way out of the door, so we are in a much better overall position than this time last year when there were rumours swirling around about insolvency. Whether that progress will be maintained under the current leadership is questionable though and whatever honeymoon period they might have had under other circumstances is over. 

Edited December 1, 2021 by vikingTON

[vikingTON]

9 hours ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said:

There are many fans who have  given up but now is the time I feel they should  do the opposite.This struggling team of young boys needs the fans more than ever and the Ownership issue should be separate until the team recovers.

#Supporttheteamnottheregime.

That's just not a realistic stance though. If the ownership situation is as you suggest then the fanbase can only be rallied to a negative version of support i.e. driving that owner out of the club ASAP. You are simply not going to separate that from first team affairs - a fanbase that backs the team on the park will find its owner taking that as a vote of confidence in themselves. You are also assuming that the team will recover btw. 

A toxic atmosphere may well have an impact on the current team on the park, but if the long-term survival of the club is at stake then that is hardly a serious concern. Fan apathy is the real threat to a football club, not fan protest. You cannot happy-clap a failed regime out of the door. 

[Broken Algorithms]

Hopkin left Morton twelve months ago and has got nothing to do with our current issues. We had the opportunity to ditch all of his haddies in the summer and yet our new brain of Britain manager handed out new deals all round. 
As much as having a dung manager remains a significant issue, it is the heavy village social club vibes that Morton's fan ownership leaders are giving off that are the most serious long-term cause for concern. This season was always going to involve a difficult transition under new ownership, but the Morton board/MCT have made things worse at nearly every turn through a series of tone-deaf responses and by failing to set out any vision for how the club will be developed off the park to justify ongoing fan investment. 

I was more referring to Ayr's choice of letting Hopkin bringing in half the players who failed at Morton. As you say, for Morton it's more transitional. Other than the Pars, Morton are probably in the best position out of the bottom 5.

[Scary Bear]

9 hours ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said:

There is only one club in a serious mess and it is us.Morton,Ayr and QOS don't appear to be as hapless as us and at least have people running their clubs who have the best interests of their clubs at heart-even if they are making a ham-fisted effort at doing so.

Our club has had seven years(since Alex Neil left) with dreadful results and football only briefly interrupted by the odd rabbit out of the hat which has now disappeared.

The morale  was actually better when we had those lengthy homeless years.We had a cause to fight for and a sense we would succeed.Now, our fanbase have had the stuffing knocked out of them as they watch a Brechin scenario unfolding before our eyes.

I know folk who missed a handful of games the last 30-50 years who have stopped attending and we have lost up to 70% of regular attenders.In addition,a once thriving young team in Section A-who created a decent atmosphere- have watched the club ban some of them, take their drums,banners and flags away while allowing away fans to do what they want and have the aforementioned paraphernalia.

Then, you look at a team of wee boys who physically are not up to it and who are now totally devoid of confidence with not enough experience to help them out.

The results this week are indicative of a side lacking the fight and guts to stop this continuing freefall.

 

I have watched my team for 45 years but now we are in a bigger fight than results.McGowan wants the ground as flats and is doing everything he can to break the Accies support and he is winning.

There was an adhoc,spur of the moment protest on Saturday when we got back from Auchinleck.Police dogs,seven vans and a plethora of officers to stop fans demanding answers.The players and Manager were dropped off away from the club.

There are many fans who have  given up but now is the time I feel they should  do the opposite.This struggling team of young boys needs the fans more than ever and the Ownership issue should be separate until the team recovers.

#Supporttheteamnottheregime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is McGowan threatening Accies fans with flats? He did that at the Rovers too. The man is a frustrated housing developer.

[Dunning1874]

Morton and Ayr are both shambles on the park with managers who should never have gotten near a Championship club after their performance in previous jobs. Meanwhile Queen of the South just seem to have a neverending feeling of circling the drain with relegation inevitably coming eventually. You can say that applies to every smaller full time club in the Championship, but it just feels like they've gone longer than the others without having any kind of positivity to cling to.

There's also discontent off the park, in Ayr's case seemingly pretty much centred around poor communication. With Morton the poor communication is feeding into much larger worries that now we're fan owned, some of the fan representatives on the board have bitten off more than they can chew with the responsibility this brings.

For just one example, see not bringing any football expertise on board before taking the massive and not at all reckless footballing decision to give a two year deal to Gus MacPherson. In some cases they appear to want the influence of a seat on the board without any of the transparency or accountability which is essential to keep fans onside, when fans' money is the reason MCT owns the club in the first place.

Some of the above could have serious consequences, with a strong possibility that relegation this season could see these clubs languishing in League One for years and possibly going on an Airdrie or Clyde trajectory, but I don't think any are comparable to Hamilton. Aside from whether Taylor is even worse than the other managers or if they're more of a shambles on the park or not, McGowan getting control of the club suggests they're heading for a complete disaster. No matter what goes wrong at the other clubs, none of them are at any serious risk of being turfed out of their ground for property developments.

The other clubs could be heading for some difficult years and find themselves below the second tier for a long time with relegation; Hamilton could be looking at homelessness, administration and a rapid slide down the leagues. While others are facing a perennial seaside league existence, only one has a genuine existential threat.

[diegomarahenry]

For probably the last 10 years, we have had a continuity, Guys like Forrest, Crawford, Devlin, Moffat and Docherty stuck around and developed with the club through tough times at the club, we had guys who were there developed and then left like Shankland, Smith, Rose and Harvey and we had jobbers that did well for us. 

The summer of 2019 was pivotal for us, Players we knew we couldn't hold on to left and McCall started to complain about budget cuts, putting pressure on the chairman, it all looked like we had reached the peak of the chairmans ambition or financial limit. 

From summer 2020 we have almost lost all continuity, Moffat is still there but he's getting on, Murdoch has been a one man midfield and Reading is the only player we have that could be an asset for us. 

We have almost turned a full 180 and gone from a team of mostly developed youth and players with a bright career ahead of them to a team of disposable jobbers.

The new owner looks like he is prioritising off field development over on field to make the club more sustainable long term. The downside of this has been bad recruitment and terrible results. The lack of communication from the club has created a bit of anger towards him and a resentment towards the off field development. The owner seems to be not listening to or registering criticism and there is a gulf being created between the club and the support.  

We currently have over 20 first team players, of which I couldn't really care if any left, In recent years, most of the players who have left have gone up the way. Currently I doubt if any of our squad would move to another full time club, some could go straight to junior. 

Sustainability long term would not count as being in a mess, but we have an owner who is 2/2 on bad managerial appointments, he may be tied to Duffy and the staff because of the cost to have a clear out. 

We have a manager who doesn't seem interested and his post match interviews are full of clichés and never address the problem.

We have a playing squad with very little ability, very little interest and zero redeeming qualities. 

There are probably clubs in a bigger mess right now with a clear pathway out but we have the potential to become the next Falkirk, relegated and have an owner/board who keeps making mistakes.

 

 

[Ranaldo Bairn]

Tough times for a lot of clubs, most of which are scunnering but non-life threatening. Genuine best wishes to Accies as I am horrified to read of yet another owner of that ilk getting his hands into a club.

Fucking MINTER for us to be used as the yardstick for how badly a club can screw up over a sustained period of time though. Some achievement by the FFC boardroom.

[theoriginalhedge]

9 hours ago, Ye Olde Hamiltonian said:

There is only one club in a serious mess and it is us.Morton,Ayr and QOS don't appear to be as hapless as us and at least have people running their clubs who have the best interests of their clubs at heart-even if they are making a ham-fisted effort at doing so.

Our club has had seven years(since Alex Neil left) with dreadful results and football only briefly interrupted by the odd rabbit out of the hat which has now disappeared.

The morale  was actually better when we had those lengthy homeless years.We had a cause to fight for and a sense we would succeed.Now, our fanbase have had the stuffing knocked out of them as they watch a Brechin scenario unfolding before our eyes.

I know folk who missed a handful of games the last 30-50 years who have stopped attending and we have lost up to 70% of regular attenders.In addition,a once thriving young team in Section A-who created a decent atmosphere- have watched the club ban some of them, take their drums,banners and flags away while allowing away fans to do what they want and have the aforementioned paraphernalia.

Then, you look at a team of wee boys who physically are not up to it and who are now totally devoid of confidence with not enough experience to help them out.

The results this week are indicative of a side lacking the fight and guts to stop this continuing freefall.

 

I have watched my team for 45 years but now we are in a bigger fight than results.McGowan wants the ground as flats and is doing everything he can to break the Accies support and he is winning.

There was an adhoc,spur of the moment protest on Saturday when we got back from Auchinleck.Police dogs,seven vans and a plethora of officers to stop fans demanding answers.The players and Manager were dropped off away from the club.

There are many fans who have  given up but now is the time I feel they should  do the opposite.This struggling team of young boys needs the fans more than ever and the Ownership issue should be separate until the team recovers.

#Supporttheteamnottheregime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds even more bleak than our situation was . 

It's never easy when you've got a them and us scenario, especially when you're battling against a regime with a completely different agenda as seems to be your case. 

We were perhaps fortunate that our regime actually had the club at heart but not the resources which resulted in a culmination of risk taking decisions which never worked out. Each decision impacted on the next and the cycle of decline multiplied big time.  

We seem to be on a much firmer footing now with a completely new approach and structure at the club but sadly it took dropping out of the league for the reality of our situation to sink in.  There was always the "It'll never happen to us "  attitude no matter how many times the supporters highlighted otherwise. 

If your community is strong enough and they really want the club to survive and thrive then you shouldn't have a problem. The worry comes when the community turns its back and gives up on it too. 

 

27 minutes ago, virginton said:

Hopkin left Morton twelve months ago and has got nothing to do with our current issues. We had the opportunity to ditch all of his haddies in the summer and yet our new brain of Britain manager handed out new deals all round. 

As much as having a dung manager remains a significant issue, it is the heavy village social club vibes that Morton's fan ownership leaders are giving off that are the most serious long-term cause for concern. This season was always going to involve a difficult transition under new ownership, but the Morton board/MCT have made things worse at nearly every turn through a series of tone-deaf responses and by failing to set out any vision for how the club will be developed off the park to justify ongoing fan investment. 

On the plus side, we are now debt-free and fan power also torpedoed the Rae family's grasping effort to take the ground on their way out of the door, so we are in a much better overall position than this time last year when there were rumours swirling around about insolvency. Whether that progress will be maintained under the current leadership is questionable though and whatever honeymoon period they might have had under other circumstances is over. 

Maybe time to realise the big club mentality is a thing of the past ? 

[oneteaminglasgow]

Aye, it’s Hamilton - both on and off the pitch. I think they have a better squad (on paper) that a few of the other sides around them, but they seem absolutely gutless. Both times we’ve played them they seemed to lack any sort of fight, which as anyone could tell you isn’t a good thing in a relegation battle. The one saving grace they had was the prospect of David Templeton coming back from injury, as he would have certainly won points himself which may have dragged them to safety, but obviously that’s out now. The McGowan situation is obviously deeply concerning, more so that the current squad is, and I genuinely hope you get him out the club ASAP.

Ayr would be next on my list to worry about, and I really wouldn’t be surprised to see both those sides in League One next year. They look fucking dreadful.  Dunfermline have improved enough that they should be a comfortable sixth, Queens have looked decent against us so maybe I’m missing something but they should be fine, and Morton, for all their faults, should have players who can scrap and shitfest their way to eighth. 

[Cardle is Magic]

Tells you all you need to know about the shite at the bottom of the league that everyone just assumes we’ll be fine after winning two games.

[Cardle is Magic]

1 hour ago, virginton said:

A toxic atmosphere may well have an impact on the current team on the park, but if the long-term survival of the club is at stake then that is hardly a serious concern. Fan apathy is the real threat to a football club, not fan protest. You cannot happy-clap a failed regime out of the door. 

Absolutely spot on.

[theoriginalhedge]

30 minutes ago, Cardle is Magic said:

Tells you all you need to know about the shite at the bottom of the league that everyone just assumes we’ll be fine after winning two games.

Complacency and living off past success is a very easy trap to fall into.