Over a hundred turned out at Dens Park last night for a question and answer session with Chief Executive Scot Gardiner, manager Barry Smith and the club board. This was the second of the three such meetings promised at the start of the season.
The evening started with manager Barry taking questions from the floor before he excused himself to take in a lower league match.
He spoke about the youth set up and his plans to rebuild the scouting set up within the club, plans which are already underway.
Barry was also asked about likely additions to the squad in the near future; he indicated we are always looking and gave details of the problems the club have faced trying to bring in players over the past few weeks.
The fact Barry only had to answer a handful of questions spoke volumes for the trust and respect he had from the crowd in front of him and the manager took a moment to thank the fans for their continued support.
After Barry departed, Chief Executive Scot Gardiner took the mic to introduce himself to the crowd and to give an overview of his work since he arrived at the club only four weeks ago.
Describing his time so far at the club as "extremely challenging, but extremely rewarding" he went on to say his job is to "regenerate and stabilize the club". Scot made it very clear that youth is seen as the way forward for the club and spoke of placing the club at the forefront of youth and education in the city.
He followed this up with news of a deal already signed with Dundee University before revealing the club would be releasing a press release regarding a six figure sum of investment which the club had secured (see yesterday's article below).
It was also made clear the club are still speaking to other investors and Scot also spoke of a trip to London where he will seek further investment opportunities. It was also confirmed that the Capital Dark Blues had agreed to buy a further £2000 worth of shares, taking their holding up to 750,000 shares, and contact from other clubs and individuals who had expressed an interest in buying shares is welcome.
The night was then opened up to questions from the floor and all the board members along with Scot answered questions on a wide range of issues.
A potential glamour friendly to mark the 50th Anniversary of the League win was spoken about, along with news of the club applying for a licence which would allow them to put on concerts at Dens. A question regarding the progress of a possible replacement clock in the stadium was met by the news that an electric scoreboard should be in place before the next home game.
Some fans took t
he opportunity to put ideas to the Board and all seemed to be taken on board. On certain issues, such as following up on the Uni stall at the Freshers Fair and the Junior Dees, it was admitted that some things have maybe slipped through the cracks. The Board however gave assurances that these would be looked into. It was also noted that a Student Supporters' Club is already up and running.
The evening's events ended with each board member taking the mic and individually speaking fondly of the work that Scot has done in his short time at the Club but also passing thanks on the fans for the support over the past 18 months or so since the Club entered Administration.
Society Chairman Scott Glenday thanked the fans for the response last night in terms of attendance, input and appreciation. "There was a great turnout and it was an evening that was kept interesting and orderly throughout. The fans seem to appreciate the work the staff, players, coaches, directors, volunteers and CEO carry out on their behalf.
"I’m sure they know everyone at the Club appreciates their continued support in terms of backing the team and the financial commitments they make. The latest news of investment from both an individual and a Supporters' Club should give us all a lift and a bit of encouragement but we must all realise there is plenty still to do and more investment will be required if we want to continue the progress we are making.
"Time has proved that the more we stick together the better we do, we’ve a foundation to build on and I’m sure we are going to get there."