Fans Forum - Sat 9th July

Link.

So, the new board to be announced this week. Interesting.

Hoping for quite a heated and passioned debate and not some sterile PR stunt set up by whatever nugget is running our club.

Anyone going?

Depends on whether I have my ST by then as apparently its open to ST holders only; and according to an email I got you can book your place on Facebook....don't know if that is the only way to do it but as I'm not on Facebook I may be excluded even if I do have my ST by then!

And I'm not convinced these things actually achieve anything; we get told what we want to hear & go away happy in the "knowledge" that everything in the garden is rosey... until it isn't & we all start moaning on these boards again.

I'd definitely go if it wasn't for the fact that I will be oot of the country on that date. Hoping someone does some notes.

Thought more was due to be revealed on Friday regarding Board etc before the Fans Forum!

The announcement actually said "more of which will follow later this week" - technically they are late but as long as it is communicated before the forum (still almost 2 weeks until that) then it doesn't really matter does it?

True just looking for any on Club before going on holiday. Will miss forum unfortunately.

Going to need ID if you want to attend this, is it a fans forum or a fucking nightclub?

It's bad enough having something like this only available to ST holders, but saying you're only getting in if you provide ID is a bit of a joke.

The club are missing a trick here as they could invite non-ST holders and try to convince them to either renew or pay for one after an absence period.

Might sound silly, but I think they're only inviting ST holders to stop any members of the Scottish press attending and to only who the hear thoughts of fans who'll take any news as a positive for the club.

Like so many others I wasn't allowed to attend today's Fans Forum because I don't have a season ticket and I am therefore not a real fan.
did anyone here get along to this and what uplifting stories (that will fail to materialise) were discussed?

I couldn't go due to a prior engagement... I am wondering if anyone asked about Martindale?

One thing I noticed is the mention of pre season lasting another 4 weeks, I'm assuming the League Cup games are all just being treated as friendlies.

First question was about Martindale, which went down like a fart in a lift with the panel. Talk of how hard he works, etc etc, mentioned that he played Junior football which was defended with a comparison to Ian Cathro. Pretty desperate one, that.

Apart from that, thought it was fairly positive despite all the shite that's went on. Hopkin actually sounds like a fairly honest and decent guy, I thought beforehand he was a coach rather than a manager and the way he was talking reinforced that view. Who knows, maybe a season horsing this league will be the making of him and I hope it is - seemed like he genuinely cares what happens here, too.

Seems like Darren Cole's dicked around and got back late from his holidays and missed the first week of pre-season training. Got the impression the club are looking to move the waster on pronto. Fairly certain that Hopkin said players were saying they were injured, wouldn't be surprised if Cole was one of them. A bit of good news it seems, at least.

The structure of the club was also mentioned, with the playing squad being the primary focus. Seems a skeleton workforce behind the scenes to maximise the playing budget is order of the day. Ford did also mention that the plan to form a company to run the stadium similar to Broadwood was still on the agenda and would bring more staff with it.

Community ticket scheme was mentioned and how that would be implemented etc. Reckon there is a lot to do and I can appreciate that most of the jobs behind the scenes are voluntary and on a part-time basis, but the way they were speaking today a lot of the rubbish from before is out the way allowing them to press on with matters at hand.

Still skeptical over Martindale's true involvement in the club but Ford, Ward, Ewing and Hopkin came across well and seemed like they were putting the club first. I'll wait and see though before being totally convinced we're going in the right direction.

The forum started with Gordon Ford giving an overview of what position the club are in off the pitch: they believe all the legacy issues with regards to court cases and tribunals are nearing an end but did admit that because there was no governance structure in place under the last ownership, anything could come round the corner with no warning beforehand.

There is now an "operations commitee" of about 6/7 members including Hopkin and Ford who get together every Monday evening to discuss all matters relating to the club but admitted that most of these weekly meetings consist of being sure that the club are meeting the SPFL's and SFA's regulations as well as ensuring that there are no more legacy issues to be dealt with that they weren't aware of beforehand. They admitted that this has impacted them trying to come up with solutions to try and increase the word about the Club in order to attract fans and increase revenues, sponsorship and eventually attendances at the home games.

The first question that came from a supporter was about Martindale, who asked what his footballing background was and how he's quickly came from nowhere to end up being the assistant manager: Hopkin took this and said that he's here to get his coaching badges and does play a key part in the team but was aware of his 'history'. The fan who asked had to repeat his question regarding Martindale's football credentials a couple of times until Hopkin eventually just said "he's came from the Juniors". From my perspective, Hopkin did look uncomfortable with this question and even admitted, after it was asked, that he knew this would be the first question to be asked by supporters. Another supporter asked later on that there was a gap now on the admin side of things, particularly with communicating with supporter's queries, since Martindale had been doing a number of admin-based roles before taking up a coaching position.

One question was asked to Hopkin about any further developments with getting more players in. He said he was on the lookout for a striker and a left-sided centre-back. He did say Kudus Oyenuga had played "OK" which to me sounds like he doesn't want him, but did briefly mention about getting into contact with English clubs about signing a striker on loan.

With regards to Darren Cole, another supporter asked what the situation was which Hopkin and Ford appeared to look anxious answering about. They admitted they couldn't go into detail because they were negotiating with his agent but the impression I got was that they want rid of him quickly with the stumbling block being that he still has another 12 months left on his contract. Hopkin also shared that Cole's not training with the first team, only by himself. The comments by Hopkin and Ford suggested that Cole's attitude was the main reason behind the wanting to let him go.

There was the usual spiel you get with these things with Ford and Hopkin both saying they desperately want the club back in the Championship. Hopkin kept mentioning that he felt he was the right man for the job and how there is the need to coach and improve young players who can either be sold at a profit or stick with the team for the next 2-5 years (this is despite Hopkin only signing a one-year deal) and that he wasn't looking for players who would only be here for 6-12 months and then be released without having contributed much. He also kept referring back to his time at Morton when he coached their U-20s and how 8 players made their debut during his time there and are still playing with the club with some of them making over 100 appearances.

One of the final questions came from a supporter who asked what position the club would be in should we fail to get promoted at the first attempt. Ford completely avoided this question and quickly said that another fans forum would be held in the winter to review this. Basically, waffling his way out of it.

There were other questions regarding hospitality, the situation with the 3G pitch and stadium management company, Keaghan Jacobs, Scott Pittman and ticket prices.

I to attended today and was expecting the old their just gonna tell you what they want you to hear routine,but was pleasantly surprised by the response from the chair and the body of the hall.it was plain to see the enthusiasim from Hopkin and a genuine desire for the wellbeing of the club.Yes Martindale was mentioned as expected and Hoppy looked a bit uneasy talking about it but i felt he put a decent case for the said man although you could sense the jury is still out on him.Other subjects as mentioned by Afro above i thought were dealt with in a reasonable manner imoAll in all i reckon it was a worthwile excersise today and the fact that they reitterated the point a few times about the previous incumbants and custodians of our club made an arse of running the club and in fact Mr Ford even used the old piss up in a brewery addage made me feel we just might have the right guys at the helm both on and off the park to take us forward.Time will tell of course but i came away from the meeting feeling a sense of opptimism but at the same time caution after what i heard today.Well done to all who turned up,think we tried as best as we could to represent those who through no fault of their own couldnt attend.Hopefully the next forum will be open to all Livi supporters.Make it happen Livi!!!

Thanks for those posts; could someone elaborate on the questions regarding Keaghan and Scotty P?

Don't know how it came round but Keaghan was mentioned, and that he is back over here from South Africa looking for a club. He's been training here but is currently on trial down South. You'd be assuming he's going to get something but if not the door would be open if a deal could be done.

Someone asked why Scotty P hadn't played Tuesday or last Saturday - Hopkin says he's out injured.

I posted on here a while ago that Keaghan was looking for a club over here, a QoS fan said he was signing for them and asked about him on P&B. Not read any confirmation on that though.

If Kyle is still at QoS then that could be a draw for him as well

LiviCub wrote:One question was asked to Hopkin about any further developments with getting more players in. He said he was on the lookout for a striker and a left-sided centre-back. He did say Kudus Oyenuga had played "OK" which to me sounds like he doesn't want him, but did briefly mention about getting into contact with English clubs about signing a striker on loan.

Previous loans of winger/strikers from English teams haven't worked out exactly wonderful e.g. Moses Duckrell or Ibra Sekajja although neither were really given a shot in my view.

Weren't they permanent (despite only lasting half a season) rather than loans?

The loans we got last season were pretty decent IMO, especially Stanton and Telfer. Hopefully can get a promising young player from down south who can score goals for fun.

Kakay was an on loan deal, started off looking pretty good at Dumbarton but didn't end the season doing much. Was played out of position and I don't think he was allowed to get up the wing in a few games either, it was frustrating to watch him being told not to go past the half way line.

Generally we've seemed to do better with loans from Scottish sides possibly because there isn't the upheaval and time spent settling in.

Not really sure where to put this, but Airdrie had a Q&A with their fans earlier, and if what was posted on P&B is true then it sounds like we'll have another court case on our hands.

Tom said Livingston have offered £500 for Cadden as compensation payment and that will obviously go to a tribunal, lets hope Livingston don't get there way there. He also said that he had talked to Lithgow recently and that he regrets signing for Livingston already. Tom gave the impression the only player Livingston got that he really wanted to stay was Cadden.

LiviLion wrote:Not really sure where to put this, but Airdrie had a Q&A with their fans earlier, and if what was posted on P&B is true then it sounds like we'll have another court case on our hands.

Tom said Livingston have offered £500 for Cadden as compensation payment and that will obviously go to a tribunal, lets hope Livingston don't get there way there. He also said that he had talked to Lithgow recently and that he regrets signing for Livingston already. Tom gave the impression the only player Livingston got that he really wanted to stay was Cadden.

Presumably they're entitled to a development fee then; he's 19 years old so I suppose its to be expected.

Going to a tribunal to settle disputes over fees is fairly standard and is not a court case; someone correct me but I believe its run by the SFA?[/quote]