Save Our Club

11/03/13: report from the Carnegie Ha

PICTURES FROM THE NIGHT
"I've never felt so low" were the lyrics borrowed from Big Country that Shamanic used to welcome a more than capacity crowd at the Carnegie Hall on Monday night.

PARStv AUDIO RECORDING
Walking down the Halbeath Road was all the assembled wanted, and to join the chant "Come on DA". That was the musical intro before "Into the Valley" heralded the entrance on to the stage of Jim Leishman, accompanied by Steering Group members, Bob Garmory a director of the Purvis Group and Stephen Taylor of Carters Accountants.

Leishman took the audience through the happenings of the seven days since the meeting that set up the Steering Group. He said that he had tried to remove the negativity that had swept through the Club. Claiming that he had no time to spend on that he decided to speak to all the representative groups, manager, players and staff.

On Thursday the group spoke to The Pars Community (TPC) and David Ovens. On Friday morning TPC made a proposal to Gavin Masterton. Today Stephen Taylor, Bob Garmory, Craig McWhirter, Kip McBay met with Karen Masterton and negotiators to try and take this further. Leishman asked is this progress? He felt that it was progress because a week ago no one was talking to anybody. Stephen later added that negotiations had come much closer

Bob Garmony made a plea that attacks on the Masterton family must cease. This would not achieve anything and the applause from the audience indicated support for that sentiment.

Leishman stressed that none of the parties that were in discussion want the Club to be liquidated. Stephen Taylor said that not a lot could be said about the negotiations. With the movements that have taken place today Stephen felt that liquidation was slightly less likely.

He said that we are paying for living outwith our means over the last ten years. It is a precarious position with HMRC breathing down our necks. This means that time is against us.

The Steering Group put a proposal forward on Friday morning but was rejected by two o clock that afternoon. Gavin has now apparently accepted that he needs to substantially reduce his shareholding. The complexity created by Charlestown Holdings makes dealings difficult but Stephen felt that there had been steps towards a supporter owned club.

Stephen said that we have to get ourselves into a viable model but he said that he was much more encouraged than he would have been had he been talking to everyone at nine o'clock this morning.

Has the Steering Group had access to the books?
Stephen said the Steering Group had not, but he had since his firm Carters act for the Purvis Group. He explained that he had advised his clients at that time not to join the board. But Stephen said that his firm had been sucked in to assist.
Projections have been produced but flavoured in optimistic terms such as early purchase of season tickets. Stephen assured that the model can be tweaked for reality.

From the floor John Wilson thanked Jim Leishman for all the work that they were doing and asked questions about the share issue. John sought assurances that the funds raised went to the Club. This was met with a round of applause. Bob Garmory said there was a commitment to a solution that was not short term.

Stephen was asked where Gavin Masterton gets the valuation he is putting on the Club? Bob said that Gavin had a major part to play and the Steering Group are trying to negotiate with him.

Asked if there was a set target for the sum to be raised? Where do fans donate? Bob said we need to pay £135000 to HMRC, £35000 to players and staff, £95000 for wages on last day of this month. There will be income from two home games in March but there are other bills to pay.

Stephen said the VAT and tax payment record with HMRC was not good and that makes dealing with them all the more difficult. He said that there was support from Scottish Government's team set up for these kind of situations.

We need to complement funds raised by investments from others. Leishman said that a meeting tomorrow could give a better indication of what might need to be raised. When it is known then everybody would be invited to start giving to a Dunfermline Athletic Survival Scheme. The Pars Supporters Trust assured that they were ready to take up this task.

Leishman said it needed a combination of fans funds and funds from the business community. Stephen added that if a deal was done, there were business people ready to come in and pick up the bills.

One fan, who would be better not named, asked about the share issue. He asked when he had to go home and tell his wife that she was not going on holiday! Bob reiterated that it was important that going forward the fans should own 50% of the Club. This is the goal but the position is not near to that at the moment.

Bob Garmory

Why is liquidation not the route was asked. Stephen said this was not a route that anyone wanted to go down. Local trade creditors would be the biggest losers. Bob said that the stark reality has been pointed out to Gavin.

What was the timescale? Weeks rather than months replied Leishman. Proposals and counterproposals need to be worked through. Meetings will continue tomorrow.

Roy Barry revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson was prepared to send Manchester United north to help save the Pars.

Jim Leishman told the audience that money put in buckets tonight would go to pay the Under 20s underpayment.

At this Saturday's fixture against Raith Rovers, the Rovers have agreed to pay all revenue raised from in excess of 2000 attendees, to DAFC. The away stand holds 3250 so this could be worth £20,000.

Cowdenbeath have intimated that on a Saturday fixture when Dunfermline are playing away if 200 Dunfermline fans turn out at Central Park they will put that towards the sums due to them.

Questions were raised about the credibility of statements that were put up on the club's official website. This article, things said by Jim Jefferies, interviews with Jim Leishman and all those written about the football side of things are reported as factually as possible by Douglas Scott.

The lifelong Pars fan, co author in 1984 of Black and White Magic and co founder of dafc.net has contributed the bulk of the football content for the official website since its inception in 2000. He has never at any time during that period been directed to report anything that is not what he believed to be the facts. Commercial content and official press statements are generated from within the Club and not by him.

The total money raised in the collection buckets this evening was £4309 and this was handed over to a member of the Steering Group after the event.