Bruce I am not sure you are the person this plea should be addressed too. However as someone who has some knowledge of the consortium and Sid Colloumbine, I would ask that you redirect this for an answer.
As a life long East Fife fan what is happening at my club? Where is the honestly, transparency, openess all the positive statements Sid was uttering prior to getting on the board?

I watched the match from the mound last night and I have never witnessed such a soulless stadium in my life, it was eerie. East Fife FC is now at a critical if not terminal stage in their existence. Little support, lifeless ground, protests still taking place no communication. Whats changed, even Brown is still there. Basically same shit different T shirt.

Please if you would could you pass this requst for a plan, a strategy, honesty, communication to become a priority. With a final plea ask the consortium you support to stop using the absolutely 'tired'excuse of 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' Judging by the state of my club not many days are left. Or perhaps thats the ultimate plan 'play the fiddle' whilst Rome burns. Either way thank you in anticipation of your co-operation

Martin

After being at the game last night I have been trying to put my feelings into words.I have just read your post and you have done it for me far more eloquently than I could.Thank you.

As I said on an earlier post,I believe the East Fife I support has died and that I have been too busy fighting the killer to notice.

I am saddened by these comments, I think when supporters like Martin and Dave are making these comments the people in charge at the club need to sit up and listen.

Personally I have felt a little more optimistic these last few days, but it could well be that a desire to see everything "okay again" has clouded my judgement, I certainly wouldn't rule that out.

What I would say to both of you is don't judge things to quickly based on the atmosphere at a Monday night friendly in the pishing rain, I think even the best run club in the world would have struggled to keep smiles on faces lastnight.

Saturday ventures into the unknown for everyone, how many people will attend? How many will remain on the mound? What will be the atmosphere and general feeling? How will the team get on? Many questions will be answered after Saturday, it will be up to the supporters (those still left) to use this information to decide what the next step is.

As you know, I have very little time now and will be going down south at the end of the month. Whilst I have every faith in the fans to continue this campaign I am saddened that it has not came to an end, with the result that we are looking for. I hope the fans can stay united but there might be wider variations of opinions on the horizon that will begin to show cracks and chinks in the armour, I hope I am wrong.

It's quite clear now that getting Derrick out might be too little to late, when the damage that he has caused to our club might take years and years to repair. The longer he stays in this position the harder that will be.

Only after he goes can the fans get to work on this, how long will the club make them wait?

Couldn`t even be bothered going on the Mound last night and probably won`t go back now,as I am so disheartened with the whole situation.
Going on holiday on Saturday for 2 weeks and hopefully I`ll come back to good news,but somehow I doubt it.

Good luck to the remaining protesters.

Martin, and others - I hear what you say. It's no great secret that I have reservations about some of what's happening at the moment, but it's their money, not mine, and I acknowkledge that. I can and do make all concerned aware of the feelings of supporters and shareholders (who have a big stake in all this too, don't forget), many of whom are in touch with me on the matter.

I've supported the efforts of Willie Gray and Sid Collumbine to shake up the club and I continue to do at this stage at least.

But as I've previously made clear my support isn't unconditional. The issue, it seems to me, is not giving Derrick Brown some face-saving role, but about whether or not the new Board is serious about keeping him around for any serious length of time. If they are I think they'll have problems on too many fronts to count.

What has happened to the club in the last couple of years is sad almost beyond words. Confidence, trust, self-belief, ambition, interest and excitement have gone out of the window, and that doesn't leave much, does it.

It will take an effort to bring some of that back, but it can be done if the decks are cleared and all are pulling in the same direction. It is hard to overstate the problems that the club had when clearing up the Danskin wreckage, but this was done successfully on and off the field because there was a shared commitment and mutual trust around the club.

I think that WG and SC will be good for the club, and to a large extent we have to let them get on with it. The inner workings of the Board are bound to remain more or less confidential and we have to expect that.

I suspect that everyone will be happy to do so, and just get back to watching and supporting the team, and will do so when the inevitable happens and Derrick Brown leaves the club. This will happen sooner or later and I know which I think would be in the club's interest.

Thanks for your reply Bruce, I am grateful that you will pass on these concerns. I too have faith that WG and SC could be good for the club, I am also aware that some board business remains confidential. However, the biggest creator of conspiracy theories is lack of communication and I sure you would agree that after the initial spurt that has been this boards failing. All I am asking is this lack of consideration for supporters is addressed urgently. i am not looking for management by committee only recognition that supporters need to feel they are
involved. Thank you once again for your reply

To try and put things in perspective, there are 2 possibilities:

1. As Bruce Black suggests Collumbine/Gray will be good for the club. And the words coming from that quarter seem to confirm this.

2. This is a big con and we are falling for it.

Actions as they say speak loudest and the removal of Brown as chairman is a positive action. However as everyone knows the biggest thing splitting the club is the presence of Brown and to consolidate his presence we have his appointment as a paid employee doing something he purported to have done for free in the last 2 years,this is a negative action.

Then to compound this by the explanation given to D Marshall just beggars belief. Everyone says it's early days and these things take time but to my mind we are going in the wrong direction. I wonder if at the next board meeting they can admit their mistake and correct it by issuing a statement that DB feels he is unable to take up this position. Unless of course the contract has already been signed and then did that not take a short time (when it suits).

Of course another thought just struck me, perhaps they want the Brown campaign to continue to divert attention fom other issues.

Conspiracy? What can you expect when you have such unaccountable actions without sensible explanation.

There was talk of an official statement due to come out this week. No sign of that yet. Don't know whether this is good or bad news...

Just keep in mind that getting the Chairman replaced is actually easier than getting someone off the Board, since the Board appoints the Chairman but Directors are appointed by the shareholders at an AGM.

Messrs Gray, Collumbine and Black are no mugs and we have to assume that they are on a path that will lead to DB spending more time on the bowling green (Fife Bowling Assoc beware - again!). They are but we can't expect them to put all their cards on the table so that DB can see them and trump them.

Another point that has been made before elsewhere. The last two years have been taken up with unremitting hostility to the Chairman and the Board. I don't think that the new Chairman and Vice Chairman will want to feel that they are/will be subjected to the same thing. This is a football club and company, not a collective farm, so let's get things back to normal and get off their backs whilst they sort things out. Or they'll walk away (don't think it hasn't been thought about) and then where will we be?

ETHG is spot on. The more noise is made the more worried the new regime will be that they are to be the next victims of the protests.

If it is clear that they have ballsed it up fair enough, but we need to give them a bit of breathing space and keep concentrating our fire on the real menace - you know who - and make life very difficult for him.

Very true Dubya, but if Sid & Willie act inapporiatley, they will be the subject of protests.

At this time, no-one understands why Brown has been kept on. Until this is properly explained, or he is removed, the air of suspicion will grow.

Sid and Willie have said the right things, but it is their actions on which they'll be judged.

It's not often that I disagree with you Dubya.

When you say "if it is clear that they have ballsed it up fair enough" then I think you are missing something. There is no "if" about it. Make no mistake, the balls-up has happened. Not only have the new regime failed to get rid of Brown, they have actually rewarded him with paid employment. I am struggling to think of an arrangement that would have angered fans more than this.

It could as ETG says that it is difficult to get someone off the board without an EGM and all that entails. In fact they have to resign and cannot be removed unless they have done something criminal/illegal. Even then its hard to prove either way. I think this is a compromise where as an employee they can keep an eye on him and also more importantly dismiss him...

In terms of status does being an employee and being on the board make him an executive director...my understanding is that they can be dismissed, non-execs must resign. It could as speculated elsewhere a pay off of sorts.

But this is all speculation too.