The meeting then took a short pause, before Fraser took the mic again to discuss the Community Manifesto, launched in the week prior to the open meeting.
“So, what we’ve set out in the manifesto you’ve all received is a vision. It’s not the fine detail of a business plan, that’s not what it’s intended to be. It’s about rebuilding. Make no mistake, we’ve lost a hell of a lot of goodwill in this city, and in the football community. That’s not going to be fixed by picking up where we left off, outspending our rivals, doing what we did before, and hoping that an extra £180k, or an extra £300k, or an extra £1.6 million, is going to get us back to “where we belong.”
"Don’t be fooled: this IS about ambition. It IS about getting back to the SPL, but it’s also about getting back on our feet. We can’t compete head-on with big clubs spending millions, with games on TV from Spain and England, and unless we do something different, unless we have a unique selling proposition, we’ll be doing the same as before, the same failed, unsustainable model that is ultimately doomed to failure.
Recognising the ongoing contribution of Dundee supporters, he continued, “we can’t keep going to the same well. We’ve got, I’m absolutely convinced, the best fans in the world. We’ve dug deep and got ourselves out of administration twice, and we should be really proud of that. But we also need to make sure that doesn’t happen again, that we can’t survive and grow and thrive by doing the same with the same four thousand fans every fortnight. It’s time to be in charge of our own destiny.
“We need to engage with the community, not to be PC, not to get people on a diet (look at our own board!), not to preach…except to preach the story of Dundee FC.
“Close links and a sense of pride and belonging in your own community is what gets people coming to games. The closer the links, the more goodwill is generated that makes things two-way. We’re not just asking for more, but giving more back. We become a vital part of the community, not a club that almost, and in some people’s eyes maybe should have, gone bust.
“We need to get more engaged with kids, with schools, making football more affordable for families. We need to tap into the youth market and the student population we have in Dundee. When we think of who’s coming on Saturday or who’s buying a season ticket, we can’t just think about the same fans, or the fans who used to come but don’t any more. We need to look at the bigger picture, think more long term, and ensure that as many people as possible see this as THEIR club. OUR club.
Perhaps allaying fears of what the meeting would look like, Fraser added “I’m not going to go through a bunch of slides, reading out what you’ve all got in the brochure in front of you. But when we talk about a community football club, we mean a club that does more than take your money every second Saturday. If we want to attract money, we need to give business a return on their investment, we need to give people a reason to come along, and a reason to come back – and new people, not just the same people.
To close the second session, Fraser stated “This is not an overnight fix. We should be in this for the long haul. It’s not a PR exercise. It’s a serious change in direction in an attempt to build a Club we can all feel truly part of. And as I said before, change can be frightening. But it can also, when circumstances dictate, be necessary. It’s time to distance ourselves from the risk of another cycle of boom and bust. Let’s buck the trend and do something different by being in charge of our own destiny.”
Full transcript and photos also on our website. We’ll have part 3, including Stuart Murphy’s transcript and the Q&A in full, online tomorrow.