The Big Queen's Park FC Thread

[spiders4ever]

Can't the members force an EGM?

[bridgeofweirdo]

I for one have had just about enough of the the 'us and them' frame of mind which is becoming more and more prevelant within the current political climate, so to see it show itself within what is my partial 'escape' from everyday reality - going to support the Queens and trying to be part of every game - it is, to say the least, highly frustrating not to know what the f**k is going on due to the lack of communication from 'them'?.

Throw us a bone here - how about a heads up on completion of the ground and the reasons behind the long delay? - - Surely we deserve at least that given the hoops(npi)we are being asked to jump through regarding dates,times,travel,expenses etc. etc.

We, like the current lot down south, are swiftly becoming laughed at for the apparent incomopetence shown and I really hope that it does not end up bleeding into the team's performance on the park --- give us a break eh?

[Spiders For Life]

If anyone fancies hearing more rants about the lesser situation you can do so in the latest podcast episode here, unfortunately recorded just before the latest debacle! 

[Bring Your Own Socks]

7 hours ago, bridgeofweirdo said:

I for one have had just about enough of the the 'us and them' frame of mind which is becoming more and more prevelant within the current political climate, so to see it show itself within what is my partial 'escape' from everyday reality - going to support the Queens and trying to be part of every game - it is, to say the least, highly frustrating not to know what the f**k is going on due to the lack of communication from 'them'?.

Throw us a bone here - how about a heads up on completion of the ground and the reasons behind the long delay? - - Surely we deserve at least that given the hoops(npi)we are being asked to jump through regarding dates,times,travel,expenses etc. etc.

Alert! If you are about to read this on a  phone, I’d recommend waiting for a bigger screen….

Your first para probably covers about 95% of Queen’s fans. I can offer my reasoned opinion on the second, based on 36 years of working in the construction industry. Whether it’ll make you feel better, I’m not sure.

I’ll not repeat myself about how or why this contract has been let, other than to confirm it’s been done in-house. Never in my experience has there been a project without a Programme of Works. It’s a critical part of a contract and written into the contract terms. Each individual trade is awarded a Trade Package and within that is the agreed dates, between both parties, of when the works will start and end. There should also be mechanisms in the contract where both parties can alert each other to any possible delays that will affect the finishing date, referred to as an Early Warning Notice. This allows a plan of corrective action to be put in place.

The agreed contracted dates are also the trigger for penalty clauses. If a trade contractor fails to meet their deadlines without good reason, they get punished financially. Usually by having the associated costs deducted from their final account.

At the recent round-table meetings, the club President confirmed there was no programme of works. When asked why, the answer was the contractor refused to work to a programme. In that circumstance, normally, they would be shown the door. As previously mentioned, there is no hoarding with the site information, health & safety information, Considerate Constructor information and most obviously an advertising board with the contractors name. I’ve been told first-hand it’s a company called Calma, based in Rutherglen. What I surmise from all of this is that after the debacle of the first contract, which the Adjudicator found heavily in favour of Bell Building Projects, our lot were struggling (frightened) to appoint another contractor and “someone” has facilitated this company who have taken on the project but entirely on their terms I.e. zero-risk to them. 

So, when the CEO said what she said last February I suspect (having confirmation from the President that they were still believing the original programme would be met) she was referring to the original programme timeline, superimposed into this year’s calendar. And she had no skill or capability, nor chose to ask those who did, of foreseeing that her programme would not be met, or even close, when you have a contractor deciding what to do when it suits them. It’s been clear to me, and others I'm sure, that there is no trade co-ordination, which means no site management of worth, which leads to each task being done in turn, with no forward planning. And most importantly, no incentive for the main and sub contractors to get done on time.

Of course, time is money and I’ve absolutely no doubt this effort is a runaway train in terms of budget by now. The Royal Box was never planned for and it’s the second design team, Arka, involved in that only. As my Mum used to say, a one-eyed man with a white stick could see who’s running, and paying for, that show. More importantly for me, the South stand should have been built in conjunction with the East Stand. The two are physically connected and the same design, materials etc. Critically, the junction of the two is the main entrance to the East stand, something that is mandatory in terms of the SPFL license.. When I saw the drawings introduce a temporary access/egress for Away fans in the East stand, the writing was on the wall. But guess what? Gleeds who were the Project Manager (the money men) on the first project got dropped. And the new team watching the purse are none other than City Building Engineering Services, part of City Holdings. Convenient, eh?

Sorry if the blood has gone out of your legs by now but it’s complicated. Believe it or not, this is the abridged version. None of the people involved in the first contract should have got near this. It’s been taken over and run by Team Haughey (Jim Simmonette was around in the early days). And that’s the reason why our “Directors” and CEO are off the radar.

With regard to the fixture fiasco…when Neilly from Stenhousemuir spilled the beans a while back the penny dropped. It’s basic arithmetic really. For as long as anyone can remember teams are scheduled to play home and away in consecutive weeks. So if a team is ground-sharing, both leagues involved have to be made aware in plenty of time (Dempster said at the meeting last February she had until 1st March to confirm where QP would play their home games) so that fixtures can be co-ordinated to suit the home-away cycle for both teams. Tricky but do-able for the guys who do that stuff.

Introduce a third team into that cycle and you’ve got musical chairs. Three into two can’t go. So without any possible doubt, when the fixtures were put up and season books being printed, our Committee and CEO must have known, must have, that we would be the ones left standing when the music stopped. And so it will remain until we return to Lesser, or the season is finished.

I saw a comment about feeling sorry for the committee. I don’t. They were given a lifeline in the summer of 2021 to get help from people in the club who care about Queen’s Park, and they ignored it. Furthermore, they continue to flout the operating rules of the club, as set out in the Articles of Association, by ignoring firstly the membership and secondly sidelining what are effectively events in the Articles that, as per the change to Professionalism, the members should, by Companies House law, be asked to vote for or against changing. Critical events such as the AGM date, submission dates of audited accounts, re-election of committe members, re-election of office bearers. Whilst the professionalism on the playing side has risen sharply, the shady behaviour of the Committee/Directors has taken the values of honesty & integrity, keystones at QPFC for 150 years, in the opposite direction.

As for the CEO, nothing but a charlatan. She’s not working for QPFC. 

[Bring Your Own Socks]

10 hours ago, spiders4ever said:

Can't the members force an EGM?

Unfortunately, no. 5% of members needed but can only request. It’s up to the Committee to decide.

Last time some of the troops tried but settled for an open meeting, suggested by the President as a better format. Fully understand why they did so, and it was more than we had previously, but an EGM is a formal event requiring minutes, actions etc. The group-hug version made everyone feel fuzzy on the night but nothing ever came of any of the promises. If anyone is thinking of going down this route I would strongly recommend doing it by the book this time.

[Arachnophile]

as barely a week passes without the club announcing a new appointment to the backroom staff, perhaps they should consider appointing one of these...

 

" A supporter liaison officer (SLO, sometimes also supporters liaison officer or supporters' liaison officer) is a person within an association football club (or another sports club) functioning as a bridge between the club itself and supporters of the club. The SLO builds relations with the club management and the fans through two-way communication, informing supporters about decisions made by the club and informing the club about the fan's point of view. The SLO also works with security and police as well as the SLOs of other clubs to ensure that relevant knowledge is spread to all organisations participating in matches and other events of the club."

 

 

 

 

[Anonymous Spider]

CEO: Missing. President: Missing. Stadium: Missing. 

[h_w7864]

36 minutes ago, Anonymous Spider said:

CEO: Missing. President: Missing. Stadium: Missing. 

My backing of the board: Missing

[mcjameos]

3 hours ago, Arachnophile said:

as barely a week passes without the club announcing a new appointment to the backroom staff, perhaps they should consider appointing one of these...

 

" A supporter liaison officer (SLO, sometimes also supporters liaison officer or supporters' liaison officer) is a person within an association football club (or another sports club) functioning as a bridge between the club itself and supporters of the club. The SLO builds relations with the club management and the fans through two-way communication, informing supporters about decisions made by the club and informing the club about the fan's point of view. The SLO also works with security and police as well as the SLOs of other clubs to ensure that relevant knowledge is spread to all organisations participating in matches and other events of the club."

 

 

 

 

 

Methinks that, once the novelty had worn off, fan complaints would go into the same black hole as currently and the same level of information would be given out.  Apologies if anyone thinks I'm just being negative.

 

 

[Skeletar Spider]

2 hours ago, Anonymous Spider said:

CEO: Missing. President: Missing. Stadium: Missing. 

Real ultras make their own banners.

[Anonymous Spider]

9 minutes ago, Skeletar Spider said:

Real ultras make their own banners.

[TxRover]

On 30/10/2022 at 19:05, Clown Job said:

Pretty sure stadium requirements for the Premiership are the same as the Championship 

Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong 

On the whole, Championship and Premiership are as one with regard to standards, that is they are supposed to be licensed at the Silver level or above. With regard to seats, Gold standard is 6,000 covered seats; Silver is 1,000, with 500 in one place; Bronze is 500; Entry is 100.

However, from a 2021 SPFL rules update…which I cannot see why it’s listed this way:

“• Registration of a Club’s and Candidate Club’s Home Ground with the SPFL in accordance with Rule H13;
• a Club and Candidate Club when participating in the SPFL must either own its Registered Ground, whether by itself or through a holding or subsidiary company, or have such rights of occupation or tenure in its Registered Ground as may be approved by the SPFL Board;
• Clubs’ and Candidate Club’s Registered Grounds for a Season must, by not later than 31 March immediately preceding the relevant Season:
(i) for Clubs in the Premiership and Championship comply with the stadia criteria at the Scottish FA Bronze Standard; and
(ii) for Clubs in Leagues 1 and 2 and the Candidate Club, comply with the stadia criteria at the Scottish FA Entry Level Standard; or, in both cases,
(iii) have granted to the Club a relevant approval, waiver or period(s) of grace;
• Premiership and Championship Clubs must have in place adequate pitch protection as required by Rule H10. Note this Rule also applies to League 1 and League 2 Clubs but is not a SPFL Membership Criteria for those Clubs;”

 

 

[QP's in my DNA]

5 hours ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

As for the CEO, nothing but a charlatan. She’s not working for QPFC. 

 

Well said and explained BYOS.

 

And as for the Charlatan and her Royal Box, the Tories will be looking for a new Prime MInister in a week or two, she has all the qualifications.

[Northsea80]

So is the thinking that the pitch markings and the seats hurriedly being put in this week is an optics thing? Photo opportunities if the CEO is indeed on tv giving an update this week.

Also with regards to fans being kept in the dark, do you think the attitude of some might be that it’ll be worth it long term to upset a few hundred fans over the course of this season (stadium/ochilview/ticket prices) if the long term goal is capturing a few thousand locals to come along every other week as things progress? Maybe for those in charge it’s not that big of a deal as the core support is smaller than a Hibs or Motherwell where Dempster had previously been in charge.

[spiders4ever]

27 minutes ago, Northsea80 said:

So is the thinking that the pitch markings and the seats hurriedly being put in this week is an optics thing? Photo opportunities if the CEO is indeed on tv giving an update this week.

Also with regards to fans being kept in the dark, do you think the attitude of some might be that it’ll be worth it long term to upset a few hundred fans over the course of this season (stadium/ochilview/ticket prices) if the long term goal is capturing a few thousand locals to come along every other week as things progress? Maybe for those in charge it’s not that big of a deal as the core support is smaller than a Hibs or Motherwell where Dempster had previously been in charge.

So crap customer service now with a promise of better in the ever more distant future. A disregard for your customers can't be changed without getting rid of those currently in charge.

 

[Anonymous Spider]

The treatment this week has been a disgrace. A huge story about Hampden that looks like it's been briefed to the Sunday Post and then nothing from the club to confirm or deny.. and then 2 lines on the website about a major change to the Caley game.. and still radio silence. It's contemptible.. This can't go on. 

[Bring Your Own Socks]

1 hour ago, Northsea80 said:

So is the thinking that the pitch markings and the seats hurriedly being put in this week is an optics thing? Photo opportunities if the CEO is indeed on tv giving an update this week.

Also with regards to fans being kept in the dark, do you think the attitude of some might be that it’ll be worth it long term to upset a few hundred fans over the course of this season (stadium/ochilview/ticket prices) if the long term goal is capturing a few thousand locals to come along every other week as things progress? Maybe for those in charge it’s not that big of a deal as the core support is smaller than a Hibs or Motherwell where Dempster had previously been in charge.

There’s substance in all of that but that’s not the point. The point is we are being lied to continuously. Dempster shows contempt for the fans, and the reason is in line with your second para. The committee should be better. You only get on the committee when you’re a member. And you only get to be a member when you’re a seasoned fan. Not all ex-players are fans. Contempt from a stranger is one thing. Betrayal from fellow fans another.

[TxRover]

16 minutes ago, Bring Your Own Socks said:

There’s substance in all of that but that’s not the point. The point is we are being lied to continuously. Dempster shows contempt for the fans, and the reason is in line with your second para. The committee should be better. You only get on the committee when you’re a member. And you only get to be a member when you’re a seasoned fan. Not all ex-players are fans. Contempt from a stranger is one thing. Betrayal from fellow fans another.

“I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member”

― Groucho Marx

[Grumpy Soo-sider]

Had a wander round Lesser this morning to take some photos. Had a chat with one of the guys there (an Auchinleck supporter - from Cumnock?). He was saying that the east is nearly done and their contract is to the end of the month. They’ve only been there three or four weeks so far but thinks end of the month is realistic for the east stand. He knows of no plans for the south but did say they were only contracted to complete the east. He heard a rumour a temp stand is to be put up at the south but didn’t know any more and it could be just a rumour. The seats seem to be all but ready. The Royal Box looks a bit behind on this timescale. 

Here’s some photos 
 

 

[h_w7864]

24 minutes ago, GM1867 said:

Had a wander round Lesser this morning to take some photos. Had a chat with one of the guys there (an Auchinleck supporter - from Cumnock?). He was saying that the east is nearly done and their contract is to the end of the month. They’ve only been there three or four weeks so far but thinks end of the month is realistic for the east stand. He knows of no plans for the south but did say they were only contracted to complete the east. He heard a rumour a temp stand is to be put up at the south but didn’t know any more and it could be just a rumour. The seats seem to be all but ready. The Royal Box looks a bit behind on this timescale. 

Here’s some photos 
 

 

Nice pictures there mate. At least a Queen’s fan is getting info about Lesser and Can see the East Stand being ready by the end of the month. As for the rest of the stadium…