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MarciaBlaine

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Posts posted by MarciaBlaine

  1. The Jags Foundation

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    I've sent this email to TJF via [email protected] and if anyone wants to copy parts of it to do the same, please do:

     

    Dear Graeme,

     
    I note the latest development around the share transfer's approval by the SFA and while it is very disappointing to hear the news it's not unexpected.
     
    Throughout the current TJF board's tenure you have each come across as fair and honest people who are dedicated to the good of our football club. I can't imagine the amount of sheer effort and frustration you must have gone through in all this.
     
    Sadly, that same fairness, honesty and dedication has not been paid back in kind by Three Black Cats, The Club Board or the trustees of the so-called PTFC "Trust".
     
    In fact, despite your best efforts, perhaps even because of your decency, I feel you've been outflanked by people acting in an entirely unfair, dishonest and self-interested manner. I say this not to criticise you but to commiserate on how badly you have been treated simply for doing the right things.
     
    I'll get to the point: I believe that unless there are consequences, real consequences, the Foundation will continue to be side-lined by the board and "Trust". I would like the Foundation to lead those efforts.
     
    I know that Jags fans, me included, don't want the club to suffer. I also know that together, we have enormous strength IF we choose to use it. So I am asking you to consider what those consequences should be, and to consult with your members on them. 
     
    For example, the upcoming cup game against Kelty Hearts is an opportunity for fans to make a one-off donation to TJF instead of buying a ticket, with the donations to be held as a bargaining chip and released to the club if the Trust commit to majority elected trustees this summer.
     
    This sort of imaginative thinking, and hardball tactics, are - and I say this with sadness - what we must resort to if we are to fix the club we love.
     
    For transparency, I will share this email (but not any responses) in the hope that fellow fans share my views. If they don't, I'll of course respect their difference of opinion and support TJF in its efforts to achieve true fan ownership.
     
    Yours etc,

  3. Manager's Position

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted · Edited by MarciaBlaine
    Typo

    2 hours ago, Lenziejag said:

    I thought the whole thing about the share transfer was that there was no real change at all ? I think the slump is more to do with the missing players and the lack of quality in the squad. 

    The scenarios I have in my head are:

    a. where a proud and haughty chairman starts saying things like “that’s now not up to me/I can’t make a new decision on that/that’s for the ‘owners’ to give instruction on”, while the famous five of the PTFC Trust collectively wet their knickers or bury their heads in the sand (as evidenced by their recent absence from… everything!). I can easily see JLow taking that sort of line and how it might lead to paralysis at the club.

    b. Or the opposite: the so-called Trust are actually trying to make decisions according to the letter of the law (i.e. they’re technically in control) and the board/chair are actively resisting it. Again, I can see Ms Low doing exactly that.

    c. Or even this: the chair is trying to involve the Trust in decision making and they’re simply too inexperienced/overwhelmed to do it. Again leading to stagnation and a lack of decision-making, even bad blood amongst individuals or groups. Probably giving JLow too much credit with this example though…

    Our current mess of an ownership structure is set up for exactly these types of civil war, which (and it’s just my view) will trickle down to disharmony throughout the club including on the pitch. For example, say  McCall saw all the problems we now see in defence and wanted to sign a cover defender, and for one of the above reasons it couldn’t happen. 

    (And that is of course why the ownership transfer should never have happened.)

    I’m not saying any of the above is necessarily the case. I’m saying the timing of the slump and the ownership mess suggest it to me.

  4. Manager's Position

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    I haven’t voted for a couple of reasons:

    - I haven’t been to games (seems I’ve timed my boycott pretty well!) so don’t have a good understanding of what’s happening on the pitch

    - I honestly don’t know what the answer is, and in some ways I don’t know what the root problem is

    IMac and his assistants simply can’t have become less capable in the space of 2 weeks. The injuries might have exposed the management’s failings but by the same token when the injuries clear up would we be coasting again?

    I also really don’t think the timing of this slump is accidental. We have a new ‘ownership’ and I have to wonder what’s going on behind the scenes that’s affecting how non-playing staff go about their work, which in turn affects how players train, are set up and ultimately play. I know others don’t see the link as being that direct, but if there’s a paralysis in decision making or some other kind of stooshie it would certainly affect me as an employee even if it didn’t care that much about the business I work in going belly-up.

    Although I’m generally a McCall fan I couldn’t defend recent results if they’d occurred in isolation. I’m simply not convinced they’re occurring in isolation. I think something’s badly rotten at our club and what we’re seeing is the effect, not the cause of that malady. And therefore binning the manager MIGHT not cure it.

  11. The Jags Foundation

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, eljaggo said:

    Low will be well known to the Mail's editors from her days as PR chief to Michael Forsyth (aka the prince of darkness to civil servants in the Scottish Office).  She will have been given an easy passage in publishing her diatribe, and the chances of the Mail publishing a response - either an article or a letter - is vanishingly remote.   Not sure who her target audience was, but suspect that she chose easy access rather than effective communication.  Maybe TJF could go to the press complaints ombudsman (if that is the right name).  If successful, a published apology would be printed (3 lines, 1 column  page13).

    Best hope for retribution is via a serious paper, perhaps an approach to the Herald, Scotsman or Guardian (who often seem short of Scottish material) - might prove fruitful.

    Perhaps the apology could be entitled “hurrah for the red and yellow shirts”?

    As Stewart Lee once said, “They’re very keen on balance at the Daily Mail. It’s been a watchword for them going back to the 1930s”

  13. The Jags Foundation

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Dick Dastardly said:

    What was the gist of the discussion ?

    I think for most of us who know the ins and outs of the story it was a recap, but the Jags Foundation guys came across well and importantly it was refreshing to have a relative outsider (Spiers) giving an unbiased view on the ridiculousness of it all. He was very clear that the whole transfer stinks.

    If I had a criticism it would be that Spiers could perhaps have sketched out the full timeline a bit better to make the narrative easier to follow for newcomers. Hard to do though, when it’s such a murky tale.

    And of course having representation from PTFC Trust or the club board would have been ideal but they didn’t respond. He wants to get their view too and I’ll certainly be tuning in to that if he manages to track them down, though I don’t hold out a lot of hope.

  17. The Jags Foundation

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

    I think that is blatantly obvious. That isn't the point of asking the question. The point being an evasive answer (or if unanswered) will indicate the level of disregard they hold for individual supporters (customers). 

    I think that because that question invites evasive answers, it’s not the right one.

    ”When will we get fan ownership?” seems more pertinent to me. Maybe less likely to be answered, mind.

  19. The Jags Foundation

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Garscube Road End 2 said:

    The more this trust speak, the more you know they are Jacqui Low's little minions.

    The tone is strikingly reminiscent of things the club have put out - snide, defensive, evasive and selective with the truth. I'd be amazed if that was a coincidence.

    • Like 2

  20. The Jags Foundation

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Woodstock Jag said:

    UPDATE:

    TJF have examined the PTFC Trust proposal document, and have taken into consideration the comments from the PTFC Trust trustees in their interview with James Cairney and the Club Board Q&A posted yesterday.

    Simply put, we're not impressed. We are left with more questions than answers about this deal, how it was arrived at, and what it will mean for fans.

    It's a bad deal, it's not in the interests of the fans, and it should not proceed.

    Read more here: https://thejagsfoundation.co.uk/further-thoughts-on-the-ptfc-trust-proposal/

    Detailed document here: https://thejagsfoundation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/TJF-review-of-the-PTFC-Trust-Proposal.pdf

    Having a summary and a longer detailed version is an excellent idea. Much more accessible for some who could struggle with a longer read for any number of reasons - eyesight, literacy, time and others.

    On that note, has the Trust considered using anything like Biteable for short videos? It’s free, very easy to learn/use and makes content really accessible for people. Social media engagement increases by something like six times when images and video are used.

  23. Options for action against the board

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Lambies Lost Doo said:

    unfortunately these 2 are employees.

    it's the current board especially Jaqui Low who hold all the power.

    I get what you’re saying but the owner and chair’s actions are acting to the detriment of the club. Telling them lets them know how the club is being adversely affected, and I’ve no doubt that information is then shared around employees, board and owner.

  24. Options for action against the board

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    Something to add:

    I think it’s just as important to contact the club (or trust or whomever) when they get something right through all this.

    For example, I contacted the club when the decision to ban TJF was reversed to say I was really pleased they’d done this. (Of course it was a terrible decision to start with but nonetheless, it was the right thing to do.)

    Engagement doesn’t always have to equal grumbling.

    • Like 3

  25. Tonight's game v ICT

    in Main Jags forum

    Posted

    30 minutes ago, Yellow & Redneck said:

    Does anyone know if the Aiken Suite is open for drinks before the match, and if so, if they take card payments? 

    It’s definitely open because the PTFC trust are hoping to chat with fans in there from 6pm

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