Paradox

Bit of a 'roll of the dice' if what Partick said in their statement is true. If they lose (and presumably have to pay costs), they will have spent the whole six-figure sum raised by their fans, and will have nothing left in terms of a player budget. If they win, presumably they get some some sort of compensation, but then what happens to the Rovers? Do Thistle get reinstated to the Championship, or is it purely for financial reasons that they are taking legal action?

To be honest, I've lost any interest in the senior game in Scotland now. It's just one disastrous decision after another. An absolute shambles. Dominated by the big two, and self interest, none of the clubs will vote for anything that will be for the long term benefit of the game, as they can't afford it financially short term. Partick's position is lose-lose. Horrendous position to be in. I'm amazed that no clubs have folded yet tbh.

Don't like champagne

It's a shame, but even if CV19 had never been a factor, I reckon the majority of the players announced would have been released anyway. Few clubs will be in a position to be signing players in these current uncertain times.

As has been mentioned by @Vinnie, there is a Donate button on the site. Alternatively, you can click on this link to pay via PayPal. Anything that you care to add to the coffers will be greatly appreciated, and will go directly to the monthly costs for maintaining the forum. FWIW, we have spoken as an Admin Team on several occasions about moving to a free forum platform, but we didn't want to lose the historical posts from this platform - if there are any IT experts amongst us who could help, I think we are open to discussions on how we could migrate to another platform without the associated running costs. If we were to use another free/cheaper platform, perhaps it would allow us to make some improvements to the forum overall?

Basket case of a club.

Think it will be a really tough league this year. I expect Ayr to be challenging as well, based on their early season form. I think we have a stronger squad than the ones that we had at the start and end of last season.

Happy to help out where I can too.

Is it worthwhile the Supporters Council having its own presence on Facebook? You could invite people directly to meetings, etc. Perhaps a periodic newsletter as well?

I agree with this 100% @Stanza - I do think it's perhaps testament to how well our Club is run now that many of our number think that we are OK, and are able to take the foot off the gas in terms of the additional support (e.g. over and above attending games) that is required to make the Club sustainable longer-term. Our BoD deserve huge credit for where the Club is now, compared to just a few years ago. The fans have played their part too, by turning out in numbers, buying season tickets, and paying into the Lifeline. Despite that fact that we are still regarded as a 'big' club, the reality is that in some respects we are no different to many of the better run junior clubs, in so much that we are almost entirely reliant on volunteers/goodwill to help out with many key operational aspects. Not everybody wants to be involved in committees and so on, so perhaps there are other ways that we need to get people involved, but it's the same old problem - to get these things organised, you need volunteers to set them up!

This is in no way a criticism of you @scottyboy, but i think what you are referring to may be indicative of the mindset of a large section of the fanbase. Whilst season ticket sales are good and other revenue streams allow the Club to function, the reality is that is it down to a very small hardcore of volunteers that the operational needs of the club are being met. Almost all of the non-playing aspects of the Club rely heavily on volunteers, but this tends to the same faces most of the time. In some respects, the volunteering is almost as important as the financial contributions made by so many. Even things like match day buddying, offering to help in the shop, helping with stewarding at doors to Legends/Charlie Ds, stadium maintenance and helping out at the turnstiles go some way to easing the burden of extra costs.

The Supporters Council is a vital part of the governance structure of our Club. It is also something that we, as fans, are fortunate to have. I have been to a few of these meetings, although not as many as I'd have liked, but they are vital to the ongoing growth of our Club imo. I'll pin the post to see if folks can offer any other ideas on how to improve the format.

Perhaps add a fundraising element to it. Or make it a more socially-focused event?

I think there is complacency amongst some fans that the hard work has been done and the club is now secure. Personally, i think for a club of our size there are too many groups, who while they all raise funds for the Club, have their own very different agendas. As such, the very ethos of Pars United is being diluted. We have the Lifeline, Business Club, PST, Marvs Shop, and the various supporters clubs. I think the Disabled Access group is quite different, but the point remains. Perhaps these groups need to collaborate more to make them more sustainable longer term. Personally i think the SC is a fantastic forum - unfortunately i can't get to many meetings. Maybe live broadcasts such as Periscope might help with interaction?