Update from the club tonight

[Piracy]

Myself and Digs (plus other fans) were invited along by SLO Drew Main to the club tonight, to receive a presentation from the German investors DAFC Fussball GmbH, consisting of Thomas Meggle, Damir Keretic and Nick Teller.

I've taken some notes, which I'll post below, and Digs will do the same. Obviously there will likely be some duplication, but,between us we should cover the fundamentals of what was discussed.

[Digs]

Tonight myself and @Piracy, along with other supporters groups attended a Supporters Group meeting in the Boardroom. I didn't put a thread up before like I usually do as this was a slightly different format than usual with very limited opportunity to ask questions (we got a couple in) as they wanted to present something to us and get feedback on a presentation called Living True Sportsmanship, more on that later...

In attendance from the club were James McPake, David Cook, Nick Teller, Thomas Meggle and Damir Keretic. Firstly DC gave a couple of quick updates, one on transfers. They have a few irons in the fire, and gave the usual message of working very hard still to get guys in. David Wotherspoon is training with the club, but wasn't when McPake was asked about it. They hope to have another deal concluded tomorrow in time for Saturday. I assume this to be Wotherspoon, as both David Cook and the Manager both said the Fletcher rumour was just that, and it was news to them, and both seemed genuinely surprised, so I believe them.

The Manager and Thomas Meggle reiterated the strategy that it's not just about bringing guys in, or them being so much better than what we have. It's about the right fit, have to be good people as well as good players. They don't necessarily have to be head and shoulders above the players we have. All same old, same old as before. 

However, Meggle did elaborate on the strategy of squad size. They took a calculated risk of running the squad a little lighter than other teams for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they acknowledge it was absolutely a risk in case we got injuries, which we are now seeing. DC made a good point that three of them have just been bad luck as they were contact injuries. Nothing to do with the training pitches, or fitness. Just knocks that you get in contact sports. The reason behind taking that risk though is they absolutely want to leave room for the young guys. The believe in the ones we have and want to create an environment where other players can see they will get their chance but it is a fine balance between doing that and having the right squad. Having said that the manager reiterated he is happy with where we are just now and comfortable with the group he has, even if he acknowledges the injuries have caused a bit of an issue.

That doesn't mean he doesn't want players in, they have been working for months, but the quality they are after have been snapped up. Our top three targets we'd identified at the end of the season in April, were signed by Oremier League teams. We've narrowly missed out on a few more, but he stressed the fact we managed to get in Otoo, Fisher and KRH was just as important and they want to be a team where players from other clubs see they can come here on loan, and are desperate to come back. The manager cited Harry Sharp who signed today as an example with him being on the phone out the manager for the last six months due to Sam Fisher raving about how good the club is, which is exactly what they want to see.

They reiterated that their strategy for progress remains the same in that they aren't going to talk publicly like some other teams *cough* Falkirk*cough about we'll do this and we'll do that. We have short term targets and long term targets. We have an initial target always winning the next game, then reaching the target of 40 points this season which should see us comfortable, then once that is achieved, attack the next objective, which will be determined by when and how that happens but for now "just win the next ****ing game".

Season Tickets sales they are delighted about. As of today it sits at 3418, last year at the same time it was 2500. They can see a real difference from us the supporters in that we are really buying into what they are trying to do. In regards to kit sales, they have sold 2.5 as many kits as they did last year and they recognised that everyone's expectation of matchday experience may not be the same and so they are trying to engage as many different experiences for as many people as they can. 

They again gave credit to the NW and said that is nothing to do with them, it's all the fans, which they love. They have sold it out and made it what it is.

Damir Keretic said that he showed footage of our away crowds at Falkirk to friends in Germany who couldn't believe it was an away game and thought "it was so cool". 

Thomas Meggle said it was clear there was disconnect with the fans after relegation and after covid, and they wanted to fix it. So they decided to go with the ethos for the squad shape and size as mentioned above but getting young local guys in the team was key to this, like Matty Todd, Chris Hamilton, Paul Allen Lewis McCann, guys who came through the youth teams and who live in the area. It irritated him that when he asked about the squad he was told about the 'Glasgow car' the 'Dundee car' etc. They wanted more guys visible in the town who wanted to be here, not guys who only came here because they were getting an extra £50 a week. 

He said they want 2-3 more quality players in but with the players they are after, a lot of premier teams aren't making their decisions yet and it's affecting their decisions, but this will pass and we will be able to get the deals done that we want soon, as well as the offers we have out just now.

In regards to Rosyth, planning permission has now been granted but they are now in the process of coming up with a revised costing as prices have changed wildly since this started. Once that's done, it will be a phased development.

Now, the purpose of the meeting...

The wanted to present their Vision for the Football Club, ie why they wanted to get involved in the first place. 

The presentation was lengthy and I wouldn't be able to do it justice if I tired to summarise every slide and I don't want to muddy the message so I'll try and briefly explain it as best I can, and more will follow from the club. This isn't something that will happen tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year. It's an ongoing process to build on our identity to create something bigger for the club, and community. 

It's often been said that they specifically chose us for our community values and inclusivity. This stemmed from the 2018 World Cup and they were discussing the amount of play acting, rolling around and frankly cheating that was going on to try and win games and how it was generally seeping into football and they thought, what if we could find a club who thinks the same way as us, all about community, inclusivity, belonging and try and bring that to life within a club to make them known not only for what they do on the field in regards to fairness, respect, and playing the game in the right manner whilst developing that spirit generally within the community too?...

So after speaking to multiple European clubs, having them sign an NDA so they wouldn't go off and use the ideas themselves, they came across Dunfermline and opened discussions and here they are...

Essentially, they have core values of Fairness, Accountability, Determination. They showed a montage of clips from the Bundesliga, and other sporting events where players were examples of great sportsmanship. They want our club to live and breath by these values. It's not about being soft, it's not about bending over, they essentially want us to be hard but fair by showing the right attitude to each other, the rest of the staff, opposition, not getting involved in violence, claiming for things that clearly weren't ours, surrounding the referee etc. 

It was generally agreed in the room that these are already showing benefit with the togetherness in the squad, but it hasn't made us soft, but the opposite, it's made us more resilient to challenges. 

They cited a couple of examples who have created a public identity for themselves in Forest Green Rovers for their sustainability model, and what that has done for their turnover, St Pauli are another obvious one, (although it was pointed out that they absolutely do NOT want to emulate St Pauli's political stance, that's not what it's about)and there was another club in Denmark I think(?) who are from a town with 6000 people who run joint educational programmes at home and in Africa and are now selling players for £25m. 

This is obviously a very long term project and is an ethos, a belief, an identity, and won't happen overnight and I have simplified this hugely as there is much more to this, involving all the stakeholders involved with the club, players, staff, volunteers, fans, the local community because as I said, I don't want to do it a dis-service. More is going to follow from the club.

If anyone has any questions, I'll try and answer them, but I would urge everyone not to form an opinion based on what I've said solely as I have simplified it quite a bit. Tonight was about getting feedback on the presentation and they will tweak it based on that and release it soon.

 

[Tartan Army Par]

Thanks for the update.

It's a commendable transfer policy but are we a big enough pull to be picky on personality and compete with Premier clubs?

I think where we are at the moment  means being more realistic with our squad building ambitions. In terms of youth I think Andy Tod looks like the only player that could play first team football.

[kelty_par]

Good to hear another one hopefully through the door for tomorrow, although I’m assuming it’ll be Wotherspoon 

[DA-go Par Adonis]

Midtjylland is probably the Danish club. Recent champions and their youth system is known as the 'the factory' or something similar.

Behaviour on the pitch sounds likes Clough's Nottingham Forest.

Achieving both goals is a big ask.

[Piracy]

Club Attendees: James McPake, David Cook, Drew Main, Thomas Meggle, Damir Keretic and Nick Teller. Also another gentlemen who was from a media company, unfortunately I didn't capture his name.

I'll bullet point the main parts that I captured rather than paragraphs.

Chatter points listed below

• Close to signing a couple of players, and still hopeful we'll get our men, maybe tomorrow
• McPake confirmed David Wotherspoon has been training with the Pars
• Both McPake and David Cook looked confused when asked about Steven Fletcher (news to them)
• Confirmed both the signing of Goalkeeper Harry Sharp, also Mehmet's injury
• Confirmed 3 injured players all have ankle injuries
• Looking to strengthen in the appropriate areas, midfield and up front
• Reiterated the club will not be reckless in signing players. TBF this is a consistent message from the club
• Players have to fit the group we have and it's important we maintain the togetherness
• Club are comfortable with the current wage structure
• Reminded us we've signed Otoo, Fisher, Todd, Hosler, all on 3 year deals (demonstrating commitment)
• There have been a large amount of players looking to come to the Pars on loan deals. Word is out there we're a good club to be part of
• Confirmation season ticket sales are at 3,418
• Kits sales have doubled from this time last year
• Club are creating a family zone with the Norrie McCathie stand
• Damir Keretic spoke about how he showed German friends a video of the Pars support at Falkirk away. They were somewhat surprised/impressed at the passion on show
• Reserve games will be 2pm every Tuesday. Not played on the pitch at EEP due to protecting the pitch
• The Academy at Rosyth has had the planning application now accepted. Having to now recalculate associated costs due to price increases in building materials etc
• The Academy: the club is taking a phased approach to it's development. Still very much in their plans

Presentation

• The purpose was to give the invited fans ('stakeholders') a presentation on the Boards vision regarding our values and identity as a club 
• Then ask the fans attending, to give feedback post presentation 

I'll try and summarise the main points of the vision and supply a some sort of high level overview so I'm not misinterpreting the content

• Create a sustainable club who are known both locally, globally for living and breathing true sportsmanship
• Club values include determination, accountability, fairness and community
• Implement and practice these values both on and off the pitch

The Manager and players received this presentation a while back and they've been busy implementing it into their daily routine. Obviously so it becomes an inherent part of their working day culture.

The club want to roll this out (in the right manner) to the fans, but it's still up for debate how they'd make that happen. 

As a footnote: the more I listen to these gentlemen, the more I'm convinced by their commitment to the Pars. They don't flannel, they are specific and succinct about how they arrived here, and why they're here. All positive stuff.

 

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[Eastendtales]

Too tired to say much more other than thanks for the notes lads, appreciate the feedback you've passed on here. 

[Piracy]

Just now, Eastendtales said:

Too tired to say much more other than thanks for the notes lads, appreciate the feedback you've passed on here. 

Nae bother. Can you post a link onto Pie & Bovril bud?

[Eastendtales]

3 minutes ago, Piracy said:

Nae bother. Can you post a link onto Pie & Bovril bud?

Done. 

[Piracy]

1 minute ago, Eastendtales said:

Done. 

Thanks

[Eddie's Pars]

Thank you both for the updates. It is heartening to read that there is a long term plan, with ethos being in the heart of the community 

[the saline hill puma]

Cheers for the update @Piracy and @Digs

[Al k]

Thats a great update from the club. Emulating the likes of FGR being sustainable would be a great move for the club. 

Thank you both. 

[parsforlife]

1 hour ago, Digs said:

I would urge everyone not to form an opinion based on what I've said solely as I have simplified it quite a bit. 

 

Taking this into massive consideration there’s a lot of good things said ,  but generally it has made my uneasy feeling about the boards/the investment groups mindset worse.  It just seems like there’s too much talk over identity or philosophy even when they acknowledge it’s to the detriment of what should be the full focus of the club which is winning games and making the club successful on the pitch.    Being a club with a reputation for being good is so much more important than being known for showing good sportsmanship as an example.

Thanks for the summary.

[Yankee_Dollar]

Good summary guys.

A lot of expectations from various posters. I know it might sound frustrating re signing new players, however since the end of the season we now have 3 important players out through injury, we can't afford to start off on the wrong foot either. Other than that, I've got plenty of faith with our German friends on board, anyone who's seen how the Germans and Dutch bring on their young players you'll understand where they're coming from.