Quote Originally Posted by BCram View Post
Great to see you post hmac. Think the club still has not worked out how to reconnect with all the volunteers who worked so hard to get the club into a fan based ownership state and then the transition from that to FPS. I wasn't involved then but I'm sure you were. It's really depressing to read a lot of the comments on here. I'm not being critical but it is worrying that there is this "more in sadness than in anger" critical attitude towards the club. I think that the club just does not have anyone who can act as a consigliere for Keyes and Nelms. There still seems to be a gap between them and the fans which must be deliberate for it to be so consistent. It's really odd because I've heard JN speak and he's obviously a good communicator and an organised guy.
I think the distance originally happened for a couple of reasons - firstly that they weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms by what was then seen as fans’ reps. In fact there was open hostility, and I suspect a little nervousness in the Scot Gardiner days as they would have been manipulated into a certain thought process by him.
Secondly it was easy to be friendly and transparent on ‘sunny’ days like getting back to the SPL and staying there, relegating the neighbours etc. Dundee fans aren’t quite so easy to talk to when bottom of the league watching week after week of dross. In that situation they need someone around them to help talk to ‘ordinary’ Dundee fans.
What they actually have is a bunch of people who are not exactly representative of the wider fan base, you see it in the DSA and DFCSS clearly that people have been put off being involved.
The American owners have done all sorts of good things, succeeded early in getting out of the 1st Division (I’m old fashioned), supported managers (despite some dross), funded these moves, I really believe they want a new stadium, aside from the old steps they do spend money on Dens and the playing surface and they still fund annual losses.
They appear to lack a local touch which is sad in a way as JN is a good communicator (albeit I disagree with him sometimes) and Tim Keyes is a really nice guy who wants to help and succeed.
If I were them I’d get hold of a respected football man, someone whose been a Dee, just to help and do the right things. Someone like Jim Duffy, Barry Smith or similar. They could be the fans’ connection, working with supporters bodies to make it better before it’s too late and everyone’s found something else to do on a Saturday.
As an aside a little, how do Kilmac feel on the fact they are a progressive construction company with a stadium named in their favour where the walls are falling over and derelict? Is it perhaps and angle they could help the community restore that area?