laukat Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Might just be me but it seems right now that the more we make statements the more confusing it gets. The joint statement suggests that budgets haven't been set for 2025-26 yet but we've appointed or are recruiting some key positions that would only really start to be paid from season 25-26 budget so how does that work? We now want a volunteer financial director to help with the budget process so who's job was setting budgets up until now and what has been the actual delay? Can't be a post we don't have and didn't have last year? We're wanting to strengthen media and comms experience which presumably means another employee or another volunteer but if we're doing that then why keep the current Head of Communications? We're selling Jagzone memberships as a major benefit of the jags for generations season ticket but haven't actually posted any new contents in Jagzone since the 6thJune. surely the Head of comms needs to make sure there is content there to justify the price? Leaving aside what's in the statements we also don't appear to be any closer on a strip launch. Its our 150th year and so far there doesn't appear to be any real plans to mark that. What is the GM doing if not issues like this? How can we be in this mess if the board is actually functioning? Surely the board are asking the GM and Head of comms why their area's are not on track? I'll leave aside the football department because with Barraclough's injury and lack of a budget its pretty clear why we haven't made much progress there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 In this video looking for fan input the Chairman states he will be leading on finance so issues around the budget sit with him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUGPVhxzn2U Also, as part of his update on the website on the 29th January the General Manager said this "Operations is a broad and vital area within a football club, encompassing not only the matchday experience but also the many administrative and logistical activities that keep the business and team running smoothly. Recently, this area has faced significant upheaval, with the excellent and long-serving Liz Gilmour retiring and Erin Boyle, our most versatile office worker, embarking on a new life in Australia. Losing these key team members has stretched our already small back-office operation, particularly as we’re currently operating with a part-time bookkeeper (one day a week) and relying heavily on the expertise and time of our chairman Richard Beastall to manage day-to-day financial activities. This is not a sustainable way to work, but we’ve taken the time to carefully assess the organisation’s needs before recruiting additional support. The time has now come to address this, and I’m pleased to confirm that the club will soon begin recruiting an Office Manager and a Finance Manager. These roles will replace the lost resource and provide the capacity needed to professionalise and improve our operations. I’m continually impressed by the skills and dedication of our senior management team but, to maximise their impact, they need robust administrative support and timely access to key financial information to aid decision-making. With these new additions, we’ll be able to reach that level, freeing up our team to deliver success across the organisation. Recruiting an Office Manager will also play a crucial role in improving the service we provide to supporters, sponsors and the wider community. While there have been improvements in this area over the past six months, there is still room to grow. By establishing a central point of contact, we aim to reduce the need for follow-ups, callbacks, and message-passing. Our goal is for 90% of all queries, bookings, and complaints to be resolved during the first communication. A dedicated Office Manager will act as a central hub, helping us to deliver a smoother and more satisfying experience for everyone engaging with the club. As part of this effort to enhance service, our media team has launched a project to increase transparency around the people working behind the scenes at Firhill. Our staff directory is being refreshed, with photos added, and we hope this will become a valuable resource for supporters looking to direct their enquiries more effectively." I would assume that we were not able to recruit a Finance Manager then and certainly there is nothing on the club's website that indicates we have an Office Manager. Peronalities and politics don't interest me, all I want to see is a well run football club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordanhill Jag Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 3 hours ago, Big Col said: It’s quite breathtaking really. Why doesn’t the club have a current financial director? Who’s been looking after the money? Is it the accountant who said he couldn’t identify a single pound that could be cut from club expenditure? That was Mr Callison who stated that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevenone Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Any volunteers? Paint brushes at the ready. https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/please-help-make-the-wyre-stadium-at-firhill-ready-for-season-2025-26/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Why can't we have a normal club? Oh well, so much for a quiet preseason. Shame all the action is taking place off the park... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanieD Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Perhaps the Board and their Associates will supply the whitewash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 20 minutes ago, jagfox said: Why can't we have a normal club? Oh well, so much for a quiet preseason. Shame all the action is taking place off the park... Do you really want a “normal” club ? How dull would that be ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a f kincaid Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 14 hours ago, elevenone said: was hoping the no doubt soon to be created ceo of floodlight bulbs maintenance could cover the left flank as well 😋 Well, whoever is appointed "CEO (floodlight bulbs) reporting directly to some bright spark" has their work cut out. As any night TV coverage will show, our floodlights are poor compared with other clubs in the division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erty13 Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 I hope the chair of the Jags Foundation tokes some learnings from the events over the last few days. The club board are under some real pressure with the accident to the sporting director and were doing the right thing for his family by restricting information.. They probably thought we have a meeting with the Jags Foundation in a few days where we can explain the added challenges of the loss of a key person to the club whilst they are recovering. They would not have expected the Jags Foundation to issue a public statement to increase the pressure on them before the board meeting. This is not how you work together for the benefit of Partick Thistle, it is even worse when the Jags Foundation still had a member on the board of Partick Thistle. The Jags Foundation need to agree how they communicate to work with the Board, rather than in a way that creates division and opposition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 8 minutes ago, erty13 said: I hope the chair of the Jags Foundation tokes some learnings from the events over the last few days. The club board are under some real pressure with the accident to the sporting director and were doing the right thing for his family by restricting information.. They probably thought we have a meeting with the Jags Foundation in a few days where we can explain the added challenges of the loss of a key person to the club whilst they are recovering. They would not have expected the Jags Foundation to issue a public statement to increase the pressure on them before the board meeting. This is not how you work together for the benefit of Partick Thistle, it is even worse when the Jags Foundation still had a member on the board of Partick Thistle. The Jags Foundation need to agree how they communicate to work with the Board, rather than in a way that creates division and opposition. If there was trust between the board of PTFC and the Trustees of the club, I see no reason why the information about Ian Barraclough couldn’t be shared between the relevant Chairs. The information was going to come out at some point, I am really not sure why you think keeping it in the dark for a week is the best thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenski Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 3 hours ago, erty13 said: I hope the chair of the Jags Foundation tokes some learnings from the events over the last few days. The club board are under some real pressure with the accident to the sporting director and were doing the right thing for his family by restricting information.. They probably thought we have a meeting with the Jags Foundation in a few days where we can explain the added challenges of the loss of a key person to the club whilst they are recovering. They would not have expected the Jags Foundation to issue a public statement to increase the pressure on them before the board meeting. This is not how you work together for the benefit of Partick Thistle, it is even worse when the Jags Foundation still had a member on the board of Partick Thistle. The Jags Foundation need to agree how they communicate to work with the Board, rather than in a way that creates division and opposition. I think fans need to reflect on this too. There is a voracious and seemingly endless appetite for updates - full disclosure on everything. If there is even the slightest delay in info flowing out of the club, someone on social media makes assumptions and another baseless rumour takes hold. Yes, there is considerable scope to improve approach to communications, but sometimes things need to be kept private, and we all need to (re)learn to accept this. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laukat Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 Not sure I follow the thinking that says 'it was ok for the club to be in a mess the problem was telling people' Barraclough's injury is completely unforeseen, a private matter and equally would have demanded the attention of the board and the staff since it occurred about a week ago. However not setting budgets, poor comms, no strips, lack of plans for 150th year etc are all issues that have pre-dated last week and equally are not related to the football department. We have also had issues in the football department that occurred pre-Barraclough's injury such as why was our head coach recruitment so protracted? What is happening with Brian Graham? We have a long path to correct the situation but the first step is admitting there are problems. I can't believe that any of the current board weren't sighted on these issues or supporters opinions prior to TJF but it appears as though they only sprung into life when TJF went public which gives the impression that they were living in their own wee world. So personally, I fully agree with TJF's actions, a strong fans body needs to be able to hold the club board to account and raise fans concerns as it appears the only way in which standards will improve. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordanhill Jag Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 12 hours ago, erty13 said: I hope the chair of the Jags Foundation tokes some learnings from the events over the last few days. The club board are under some real pressure with the accident to the sporting director and were doing the right thing for his family by restricting information.. They probably thought we have a meeting with the Jags Foundation in a few days where we can explain the added challenges of the loss of a key person to the club whilst they are recovering. They would not have expected the Jags Foundation to issue a public statement to increase the pressure on them before the board meeting. This is not how you work together for the benefit of Partick Thistle, it is even worse when the Jags Foundation still had a member on the board of Partick Thistle. The Jags Foundation need to agree how they communicate to work with the Board, rather than in a way that creates division and opposition. Its highly unlikely that there were not ongoing discussions between the Board & tjf over a period of time and up to now the Board have been cut a Great deal of slack by tjf & its well known that I viewed the relationship as far too cosy - between the majority shareholder & the Board tjf have therefore a duty to express the concerns of there members & wider fan base in public- if they are not getting the responses in private - otherwise they will be accused of not taking action The response from the Club bearing in mind multiple issues was - shall we say surprising - this is the first time since Fan Ownership tjf have rebuked the Club in public - they ( on behalf of the Fans ) own the Club - the Directors are voted in by tjf - they are not there beyond running the Club for the Shareholder & when the Shareholder raises issues - you listen It should have never have gotten to this - the issues raised had nothing to do with the Sporting Directors Accident & a lot to do on the direction of travel of the Club - so the two are not related ( the SD accident should not be used to deflect away from the issues raised by tjf ) As for tjf Board Member - he was stepping down next week - his resignation was insignificant to the large picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 On 5/18/2025 at 8:43 PM, Woodstock Jag said: Hopefully this thread will be treated as intended: a bulletin board with TJF updates, rather than a place for tedious discussion of usual talking points (those can go in another thread!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlsarmy Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 On 6/10/2025 at 7:02 PM, jagfox said: Why can't we have a normal club? Oh well, so much for a quiet preseason. Shame all the action is taking place off the park... Our Club is getting beyond ridiculous now with the application process for a Volunteer Finance Director to run our Club. Professional people like accountants don’t work for nothing and certainly wouldn’t want to be accountable for the viability of a business with no remuneration Where would the accountability be if this all went wrong.. Job adverts like this don’t show up the Club in a good light . What a mess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow & Redneck Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 The bit that worries me is that our esteemed Chairman, Dick Beastall, was apparently a Financial Director and a CFO. On paper, shouldn't we already have expertise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 Next: volunteer players? "Gear (donated) will be available." ? Anybody remember George Cumming, an amateur who played for us in the 60s? He was a decent enough player! Went on to attain some refereeing-admin position in the game (FIFA). .... And of course, TTA has the info: http://www.thethistlearchive.net/george-cumming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 Folk seem to be getting confused between executive and non-executive directors. It is the latter the board is recruiting and therefore the advert stated "volunteer" as in "not getting paid". Maybe the advert was dumbed down a bit and should have assumed that applicants would know what the role entailed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laukat Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 Allegedly there is a jagsclub newsletter doing the rounds that says the following: "Currently Happening - Season Tickets on Sale Commercial Manager announced Next Week - Final Update on Budget for Summer Squad/Coaching Update Players Return for Pre-Season Fixtures Announced Kingsley Turns 10 Years Old Week Beginning 23/6/25 - Hospitality goes on Sale Kit Release Greaves Kit Release/Media Pre-Season " Seems like the sort of update you would give to people that pay money for Jagzone? Leaving that aside it would suggest finalising the budget has slipped back another week. Either we have really complicated budget or something else is going on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodstock Jag Posted June 12 Author Report Share Posted June 12 On the budget, we’ve set in the diaries a meeting for Monday for the Finance Working Group, reps from the Club Board, and the trustees to discuss it. Earliest that diaries work while allowing for proper feedback on the initial questions/feedback. Nothing sinister, everyone seized of the need to get this done promptly now that we have a draft and notes and the opportunity to discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 2 hours ago, Woodstock Jag said: On the budget, we’ve set in the diaries a meeting for Monday for the Finance Working Group, reps from the Club Board, and the trustees to discuss it. Earliest that diaries work while allowing for proper feedback on the initial questions/feedback. Nothing sinister, everyone seized of the need to get this done promptly now that we have a draft and notes and the opportunity to discuss. I hope that the following are remembered in this meeting (all from TJF). "Setting, and delivering, balanced budget is the standard against which the Club Board will, necessarily, be judged from this year onwards." "Under amendments to be made to the Club-Trust Agreement, the Club Board will be expected to use its best endeavours to keep the current ratio above 1.2 at all times. Given its present position, this means in practice that the Club Board has to plan for, and deliver, balanced budgets from season 2025-26 onwards." "It is up to the Club Board and its senior leadership team to prepare and deliver credible balanced budgets from season 2025-26 onwards. We have to start living within our means, and to be open and honest with fans about what that means in practice. As co-trustees, we have made that expectation clear to the Club Board. It is only by getting back to break-even, through better revenue raising and robust cost control, that majority fan ownership at our Club can be properly protected." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 10 hours ago, Fawlty Towers said: I hope that the following are remembered in this meeting (all from TJF). "Setting, and delivering, balanced budget is the standard against which the Club Board will, necessarily, be judged from this year onwards." "Under amendments to be made to the Club-Trust Agreement, the Club Board will be expected to use its best endeavours to keep the current ratio above 1.2 at all times. Given its present position, this means in practice that the Club Board has to plan for, and deliver, balanced budgets from season 2025-26 onwards." "It is up to the Club Board and its senior leadership team to prepare and deliver credible balanced budgets from season 2025-26 onwards. We have to start living within our means, and to be open and honest with fans about what that means in practice. As co-trustees, we have made that expectation clear to the Club Board. It is only by getting back to break-even, through better revenue raising and robust cost control, that majority fan ownership at our Club can be properly protected." Delivering a balanced budget and living within our means are two entirely different things. We could budget for 4th place(eg) with a break even position, finish 5th and all other things matching budget expectations, we would make a loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 On a more TJF based issue, remember that the deadline for voting in the current election is 10pm on Sunday. https://thejagsfoundation.co.uk/tjf-elections-2025/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted June 15 Report Share Posted June 15 Sad to see @Norgethistle has chosen to step down from the TJF Board. He has put a lot of time and effort into the role. I don't know the reasons specifically and that's his business but cites the TJF response to recent communications from the club. The club find itself at a very difficult stage of the fan ownership model. We have a club board which is made up of fans. Fan owned but not fan ran was the manta I thought we would use? The lack of experience in the board has led to a rack of heads of department. Too early to say but as we hear nothing apart from glib communications on social media from the club it is difficult to actually know what the heck is going on. TJF have seemed to take a very measured approach to their response to the board. Personally, I don't know if that is the right course to take as we need action and all of these constituent parts pulling together. Still so many questions but a lack of answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted June 15 Report Share Posted June 15 Sorry to see Stuart step down and wish him all the best, hopefully he will still manage to get to Firhill during the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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