posted Jun 3, 2008

No supporter of a small club is going to turn down a rich benefactor - and for Gretna they had three titles/promotions and a brief taste of success. What should have been obvious was that the town of Gretna is far too small to support an SPL club, and that home groundsharing with a round trip of 130 miles is only going to make that worse. But a pity that Gretna, without their benefactor, couldn't get enough interest to go back to Div 3. Like Scarborough last year, another club goes out of business and it's the supporters who suffer the most.

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posted Jun 3, 2008

It would be interesting to hear what the Gretna fans do, could we see AFC Gretna similar to what happened at Wimbledon

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posted Jun 3, 2008

I have no real sympathy for Gretna, they bought the dream by buying SPL players for the 3rd division and beyond

They lived outwith their means, and so I do not feel sorry for them except, the real fans they have had ever since the unibond days

apart from that good ridence.

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posted Jun 3, 2008

The only people I have sympathy with out of this demise is the REAL supporters of Gretna FC who have followed them since the pre SFL era. As for who they should support, simple Queen of the South is just along the road, the team who should have more support but for glory hunters.

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posted Jun 3, 2008

I will always be a die-hard Gretna fan. they had done so well from being so far down in leagues to come all the way to the SPL. It's almost the same if Havant & Waterlooville would get to the Premiership. I think they should be proud of what they accomplished and i am devastated that they are going. But to be honest, I had a feeling it was all going to go wrong right when they couldn't play at our ground. All the expenses they would have to pay, and when we had players and staff being dropped or leaving, I knew it was going downhill. I just hope another club will be the same as them BUT survive.

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posted Jun 3, 2008

I have been a Gretna fan since moving to Annan in 2003. I am not the longest serving fan, nor the most devoted, but I am not one of the glory hunters. I went to almost every home match, and some away games, and I went to Hampden with my kids to see them play Hearts. I am gutted that they have gone out of business, and never stopped supporting them. I still have my Gretna FC clothing and other merchandise, and you'll not see any of my stuff on ebay, but the one thing I do want to know is this - Where is Brooks Mileson and why is he keeping quiet on this? No public statements, not even an apology or an explanation. Doesn't the club he dreamed of deserve better than that, and has he just stopped caring? I still care, and I'll always have Gretna FC in my heart.

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posted Jun 4, 2008

Rowan Alexander must be laughing right now. Had that whole debacle not happened, I think there is a chance that Gretna might have stayed up this year and, in doing so, saved their status in Scottish football. I agree, the fact that Brooks Mileson owned the club and effectively "signed the wages" has had a massive effect too, so the whole structure of the club has to be looked at. I mean, no offense, but a director of football at a club that size? Give me a break! If Brooks wants to own another club, he should go and buy a copy of Football Manager and take it from there.

Hearts fans, beware....your club could be next! I hope not because they are a massive club with so much history, unlike Gretna. But Romanov could just walk away at any moment and leave them high and dry. Romanov wasn't a supporter of the club, unlike Mileson at Gretna. I fear the worst if Hearts have a poor season.

What now for Gretna? Well I would have said that Mr Mileson should now publically state what went on at that club. he's ran it into the ground at his own expense and should now pay the price. HE should be the one bailing the club out, letting them return to non-league football, and leaving the club alone.

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posted Jun 5, 2008

Fraser, your comment was:

"The only people I have sympathy with out of this demise is the REAL supporters of Gretna FC who have followed them since the pre SFL era. As for who they should support, simple Queen of the South is just along the road, the team who should have more support but for glory hunters."

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It's funny, Fraser, I've been a Gretna fan since 1981 and used to go and watch Queens once a year and always cheered them on and looked out for their result.

I don't live in Gretna anymore, but when we got into the league, Queens fans were generally supportive.

As we started progressing through the leagues, though (starting with the run to the Cup Final), I woud go home and read cut-outs from the local paper that my Dad kept and Queens fans would be vitriolic with their abuse and hatred of Gretna.

When we went out of business on Tuesday, a childhood friend of mine from Annan (7 miles away from Gretna and a town who benefitted from the community work of Mileson and Gretna FC in recent years) sent me a text cheering.

This is what I've never understood. Would we rather have another central belt team in the league rather than one in the area we live(d) in? Would we rather see a Highland League team from a place we couldn't point to on a map?

That's no criticism of Central Belt or Highland League teams. It just baffles me when that is the opinion of people from the Borders or Dumfries and Galloway.

I will not be supporting Queens.

If Annan get into the league (which I doubt), I'll follow them, as I went to school there and a lot of Annan people came and supported us.

Otherwise I'll just watch the game and enjoy it for what it is, following no team other than Scotland. Perhaps that will be more fun anyway.

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posted Jun 9, 2008

the team replacing them is Spartans for those who don't already know

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posted Jun 11, 2008

Just what we needed. Another Edinburgh team. And I don't think

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