As we have now gone over a year since the debt free Dundee FC was announced to a delighted gathering at Dundee Social Club we think it's time to have a look at the progress made since and ask what condition is the club in and where are we going now?
Well it's been well documented that the Marrs are out and there is a new board. We'll concentrate on the current board rather than the old one so lets see where we're at.
Lets look at the debt figure first.
By all accounts we came out of administration after the "voluntary" agreements with around £7million to £8million of debt.
Today we seem to be around £7million to £8million in debt. Albeit that the restructure has taken a long time to sort out the current accepted figures are around £3million of a mortgage on Dens Park with a working overdraft of around £660,000. The remaining £4million which we all believed was gone has now resurfaced in some sort of suspense account which we are told will have no bearing on the football club now or in the future. Why then does it exist?
What about stadium ownership? Well a year ago we were in danger of losing the stadium if the debt repayments weren't met……
Not much change there then.
The board of directors have changed considerably though. Gone are the old guard and in are the new. The only surviving director is George Knight, Dee4Life chairman.
The current board is made up of Bob Brannan (no financial investment), Dave McKinnon (part time paid employee and no financial investment), Iain Brodie (no financial investment) and George Knight (Dee4Life Chairman and fans rep).
How will this board move forward in the future? Will it be as one voice? We're not sure.
Bob Brannan has a lot on his plate at his day job and does not seem to be near the retirement situation that would free him up to be involved at Dens on a day to day basis.
Dave McKinnon may at any time receive a better job offer elsewhere.
Iain Brodie seems to be the most likely long term board member.
George Knight is fans rep and can only remain on the board so long as the fans say so. We think!!
What happens to all these intermingled companies if any or all the board members move on to pastures new? Regardless of how well or otherwise the board works there is a distinct lack of personal investment to keep those guys tied in for the long term. In fact if anyone has the money all can be removed at a stroke.
What about Dee4Life?
Well the fans group was originally set up to help the club at a time of dire need. After fantastic work by all involved we're not sure what direction the largest supporters trust in Scotland is going. The lack of communication to the membership would suggest that internally there may be confusion over direction. In addition we ask how many of the 4000 plus members would pay a fiver to remain a member today? Or even a pound?
Dee4Life still have over £150,000 sitting in the bank that was meant to be essential to get through last season. Obviously it wasn't that essential!! The 26% share ownership still hasn't gone through and it now seems that it won't be completed until after August. What bets on completion this year?
There are a lot of questions that need answered with regard to our future and in our opinion there is a small select band of four that have the answers. One of those four has a duty to the people who put him there in the first place.
By no stretch of the imagination is £7million debt free and we have to say that Dundee Mad is not very comfortable with this revelation.
This week there was an attempt to woo the local business community. We hope there might be some investment comes from meetings such as that but if I were a Dundee businessman I'd question my own wisdom of paying £80,000 for an assosciate directorship when none of the actual board paid anything near that for their positions.
There is still a lot of work to be done but it's imperative that one clique isn't replaced by another. Transparency and honesty is what the fans want to see and frankly is what they deserve. Anything less will be criminal.
Dundee Mad would be delighted to hear an alternative viewpoint and if anyone out there wants to write a more positive article we will put it on this site.
Feel free to contact us at dundeemad_admin@hotmail.com
Let's keep our future in focus and demand a better Dundee FC for the future.