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Notable just about every player ran straight up the tunnel at FT bar one or two, also quite telling Gillespie took his time to leave the field after being one of only 3 or 4 to acknowledge the support. Maybe I'm reading too much into but a larger clear out than expected may be on the cards?

Agreed

Our season in a nutshell today. Played pretty well, created the better chances (without a draw actually being unfair though) but didn't have the cutting edge to get us over the line. Difficult to judge too much given the lowered stakes involved but I thought the defence did well throughout. With Ayr and Dunfermline playing each other the lowest we can now finish is 6th, but any sort of last minute, heartbreaking goal to consign Inverness and their assorted pellets (Gardiner; Ferguson) to the play-offs and relegation would be a lovely send-off. In the big picture we've had a decent season - excellent in cup competitions, both financially and in performance terms. Given the losses to the first team last summer I'm not surprised we had to just consolidate our position in the end - I'd have expected that before a ball was kicked. But with both Airdrie and Partick sitting on entirely achievable points totals, the lost opportunity can't be overlooked either. Losing fully half of our home league games is ultimately what has cost us - each of those lost was effectively a six-point swing to another team in the division.

Don't know if there's anything in this, but she was standing on the stairs of the exit at the top end of the Sinclair St end at the end of the game. She was visibly upset and being comforted by a female fan. Just wondering if she'd been given thr proverbial "red card"

Finally some payback for that snake.

Gillespie MOTM for me today

Well done Kirk.

Surprisingly feisty for an end-of-season dead rubber

Broadfoot left one on Rudden there. Had to be held back afterwards. Seems raging.

Attendance looks around about 1500, which is probably what you would reasonably expect for a relatively meaningless end-of-season game. Cutting the admission to a tenner may have added a few hundred, so might have been worth a try. EDIT to add: Turns out it was over 2000 which is pretty decent.

Palpable enthusiasm for this one. I think the club have missed a trick by insisting on the usual £21 entry. It's a dead rubber in any serious competitive sense and the final home game of the season: the ST money is already accounted for. Why not set prices at a tenner for adults - free for under 16s - to try to entice folk to get out the house and watch a game of football? And instead of just announcing the change online and using the Tele's unreliable coverage of local events to spread the news, just fire out 6,000 vouchers and hand them out in schools, through New Scots services too. Who knows - they might just enjoy their experience and want to come back again. For the cost of a couple of hundred walk-ups and extra marketing expenses, I really don't understand why the club doesn't make some effort to turn an otherwise low-key send-off to the campaign into an opportunity.

Livingston - surprise - are once again in a protracted legal dispute about the ownership and pretty much every aspect of their business 'model'. Never mind spending prize money - they'll be lucky to avoid administration if an unfavourable court verdict combines with their imminent relegation.

Even if they do, the reality is that their current revenue is going to be significantly higher than our own. I'm really not sure what people expect the club to do about that this summer, other than shouting 'ambishun' because they set a target of being a 'top 16' club - which about 24 clubs would set as at least their minimum aspiration too. We're in a relatively good position as most key players are tied up over the summer - we need to replace any who do go and upgrade on the options who simply didn't deliver often enough.

Are Partick not fan owned now? Hopefully they now need to live within their means like we do.

Not sure we can complain about other clubs running at a loss given during the DDFR years we regularly posted annual losses of £300k.

This absolutely rips my knitting. Weren't both these clubs claiming just over a season ago they were at death's door and were struggling to even pay wages? Are they both getting bank rolled again or something?

Fully understand that and I trust the club will do everything in their power to keep them with what is available, but if we're going to be losing key players every year, especially to teams in the same division, then it becomes difficult to see how we achieve what is set out in the strategy. Replacing him with a striker who has 6 goals and a red card for scrapping his own teammate mid-game in that Arbroath team is a grim summers work, but this is just me being pessimistic about the worst case scenario from this point. Hopefully we've got enough behind us to hold onto the big man and there's a long summer to find a solution if not.

Jordan Davis https://x.com/sgorio/status/1783499998518300869?t=c3VBzYqUOylEocxi9guxrQ&s=08

Thing is, even with an increased budget through the profits of the last two years being reinvested back into the playing squad, we're still ultimately living within our means on average crowds of 2000 while Partick are overspending by £500K per season on average crowds of 3500 and Falkirk are overspending by £400K per season on average crowds of 4500. We can use some of the budget to put an increased offer on the table for Oakley and Strapp in the hope of keeping them here, but if clubs like that come and blow us out the water for a player then that's not anyone's fault, we can't spend money we don't have.

It'll be an interesting summer, the club is in the best place it's been in a long time, turned a profit for the second year running and Dougie's been promised an increased budget. If the club are serious about this 3 year strategy to consolidate the club in Scotland's top 16, not losing our key players to other Championship clubs is a fundamental part of that. We really can't wobble at the first hurdle and give ourselves even more ground to make up on Partick etc over the summer.

Well no - if they're getting offered a new contract with their current club that is in line with current inflation, then they quite clearly can afford not to take a different offer. Unless they're sloping off to the nearest food bank after training at the moment which isn't really happening (for established senior players anyway - wouldn't be at all surprised about young/fringe players tbh). While wages rightly play a major factor in a professional footballer's choice of club at any level, for any sensible footballer it will be weighed alongside other issues such as: - sporting potential: to play at the highest level/biggest stage; to challenge for a meaningful trophy or two. (More relevant to some than others of course) - logistics of travel and/or relocation - working relationships: especially with the manager Let's take George Oakley as an example. While George absolutely does not owe GMFC a debt of loyalty to sign a new contract, he would have to be absolutely stupid to sign for more money elsewhere, if said contract required working with confirmed, Grade A fud Billy Dodds again. Just like any other employee, a job offer is not actually the best choice if your new boss is known to be bad news. I can see us struggling to compete on 2 of those 4 criteria anyway, thanks to our insipid end to the league campaign. But any player who disregards all other factors simply to chase a higher wage at EK or Johnstone Burgh is quite simply a shameless mercenary. And it's no surprise that those clubs habitually underperform expectations, after their bloated 'marquee signings' rock up without a shred of genuine professionalism in tow.

You might be right and I hope you are, but I thought Ayr had people pumping in cash, is it just for doing up the ground? Livi will have way more prize money than us to spend even for being bottom. Inverness (if they stay up) seem to habitually spend money whether they have it or not. Airdrie and Hamilton (if they come up) I guess will be about the same. Agree with Madton on Ross County though, they'll outbid us all if they drop.

Dougie's often talked about the spirit in the team - and irrespective of the pre-interview result, he's consistently defended and praised our boys through thick and thin. I know that it's been another "if only ....." disappointing season - but we have a manager who's literally been there, done that, and worn the shirt. Below (to me) is a prime example of the degree of togetherness only a respected ex-player can instil into his bargain-basement squad. All I care to remember over the last six months is the way I felt when the ref blew his whistle at the end of the Motherwell game. For me - that was special enough to cancel everything else out. Onwards and upwards - Mon eh Ton.

Yeah was about to say the same thing. I think we will have a competitive budget to compete next season. On course to make ~250k profit so I'm sure Dougie will be getting a chunk of that and Dalrada seem really bought in, Brian Bonar seemed very impressed when he was over for the cup game so hopefully he pumps similar amounts in next season, if not more. Be interesting to see what happens with Queens Park. Will Haughey continue to bankroll them to the same level? Not convinced. Inverness appear fucked and hopefully get relegated. No doubt Partick, Falkirk, Raith and Dunfermline will have bigger budgets but the league should be a cracker next year. Just hope Ross County don't come down and buy the league again.