Fan Forum - 21st November

I'll be unable to make that forum but good to see the Trust looking to communicate with the fans as it's something the club, in general, is poor at.

Another update from LFL on twitter tonight:

@liviforlife: Confirmation tonight that Gordon Dallas @wltvod will be hosting our fans forum on 21st November @ 7pm. We're delighted to have WLTV support.

This is the guy who has been doing some interviews with McGlynn. I think he will be an excellent host for the evening.

Looking forward to this forum.

This Rankine fellow who appears to be running the show now was in cahoots with Massone at one point, was he not?

Okay - just a few thoughts off the top of my head from tonight (whilst trying to keep personal thoughts to a minimum):

Well organised (prompt start - PA system worked throughout). Prize draws - good. Disappointing turnout - bad.

Gordon Dallas GD (from WLTV, was compere for the evening) introduced the top table - some old guy, a guy from supporters direct (Scotland), Neil Rankine NR , Gordon MacDougall GMcD, Robert Wilson & Rose Conway. Ged Nixon and Dave Stoker were not in attendance.

GD advised that the meeting was to be held in two parts - 1st half about current situation at the club and how we got to where we are today - 2nd half about the future and where we want the club to be.

Pretty much all the questions (not that many really) were directed towards NR. NR advised the fans that Ged Nixon was suing the club for £311,000 and that if he was successful the club would go into administration. He advised that all members of the Livi 5 consortium had an original agreement that no monies lent to the club were repayable on demand - he was questioned as to whether this was in writing and he believed that initially it wasn't written down - this was something that the top lawyer the club have employed was looking into. GD was asked about the shares the LFL Trust hold in the club. NR advised that he believed that the awarding of 800,000 shares (to take the total holding to 2M shares by the LFL Trust) in return for £20,000 was an illegal act and the elder gentleman at the top table (identified as a lawyer of some sorts, I think) confirmed his belief that as no official meeting had taken place when these shares were awarded and that the transaction had not been recorded at Companies House. The table was advised that the LFL Trust held a letter/certificate signed by Ged Nixon and Gordon MacDougall for these shares but the top table didn't accept the legality of the certificate/letter due to no available proof of an official meeting having taken place.

NR was asked about the poor communications from the club to the fans - all the bad news recently has been via the press. NR advised that the club had been having internet problame recently and that when Ged Nixon and Dave Stoker had resigned/walked outthe door that only a guy he didn't know in Aberdeen or Inverness was updating the website and only with info provided by Charles Burnett. He did mention Jay (Kirby) from the Trust was going to be updating the site from now on (in addition or exclusively, I can't quite remember).

NR was asked what action he had taken to try to negotiate a settlement with Ged Nixon before going to the press with the story of the lawsuit. He advised that he hadn't gone to the press - they had come to him. He pointed out that Ged had offered Ged £100,000 as a one off payment with a further £100,000 in a years time subject to the balance of payments at the end of this season (which would have, according to NR accountants, resulted in a debit amount). Ged refused this offer. The offer to Ged was amended to a one off £125,000 but again this was refused and the lawsuit for the full £311,000 is the result of that. A top lawyer has been engaged to fight the clubs position and NR won't be holidaying overseas this winter to keep on top of 'sidewhow'.

GMcD spoke about how he was uncomfortable to be speaking at the meeting as he felt that things that may come up in court at a later point were best discussed in private. He spoke of exciting plans the club has for the future and that they would be touched upon in part two.

GD tried to get a show of hands about Ged Nixon but NR Rankine stopped that saying that was out of order - the floor seemed to agree.

After a 10 minute coffee break the supporters direct guy spoke at length about, amongst other things, his discussions with NR, what he's done to help Stirling Albion and his plans to try to get an office at Hampden.

(NR mentioned several times throughout the meeting that he has people who he meets for dinner - people who sit at his dinner table - he clearly gives values their opinion but I couldn't work out what part he was trying to say they actually played in relation to the club, if any.)

NR told the meeting that he's going to offer half season tickets for £120 but if the support would allow it he'll do it for £100. He doesn't want to alienate fans who've paid, in his opinion, over the odds this season for a full season ticket so that's why he wants to gauge opinion before deciding the definitive price.

NR advised that he would like (adult) season tickets to be priced at £200 next season and pointed out that the club had actually raised season ticket prices this season whilst at the same time lowering the walk up gate price - decisions made by one man, Ged Nixon.

GMcD spoke about plans for the club to lay down a new synthetic playing surface on the main pitch and also on the area where the field turf is just now (with a bubble roof over it) so that the club could utilise them all year round (hire them out etc).

NR advised that members of the board had been each given specific areas to look after - GMcD would continue to oversee the youth side of things - RW would be liaison between the manager and the board whilst NR would remain in the country to keep a handle on the Ged Nixon court case.

I had to duck out at this point so unfortunately didn't hear any further plans for the future - possibly someone else could fill in where I left off (and correct/fill in any mistakes or ommisions).

And all with no notepad either.

This topic was only really covered in as much as Robert Wilson has presently taken on the role of liaising between the board and John McGlynn. Specifically, Evans and Burke were not discussed at all.

In addition to the above (I'll edit it in), Gordon MacDougall will continue to oversee the Youth side of things at the club (very excited about the possibility of the new, enclosed, synthetic field turf area) and Neil Rankine will remain at hoome to keep a handle on the Ged Nixon court case.

What did he say had happened to the further twenty large that Livi fans handed over then?

It was very, very obvious that Gordon McDougall did not want to be at that meeting last night. It's a major worry that the club chairman looked visibly shaken at various points when Rankine was speaking. If that's the state our Chairman gets in when sitting alongside Rankine on a panel, I fear for our future with NR at the helm.

There was a strange episode where NR was questioned in regard to claims he made about the Trust shares not being above board. He claimed Livi 5 hadn't been involved in any meetings regarding that. It was then put to him that two members of Livi 5 had signed the document to say that a meeting had taken place to agree to the shares being awarded/gifted to the Trust. NR and some old boy on the panel then repeatedly said 'I don't know anyone who attended that meeting' despite the fact that the document was signed by Gordon McDougall who was sitting right next to him?! I can't for the life of me understand why NR didn't just turn and ask GMcD about the meeting. When McD got a chanc eto speak himself, all he said was that he couldn't really remember last week, yet alone a meeting that took place 2 and a half years ago.

If NR mentioned the fact he goes on holiday for the Winter once, he mentioned it a number of times aswell as his 'the people at my dining table' remark.

Personally, I think NR has too much to lose to let the club go under. I fully expect him to either agree some sort of package or see out the court case, attempt to make as much money from ST's for the next two seasons when there's a big spotlight on the Championship, sell off the likes of Scougall, Donaldson and mcNulty until he's got his money back then he'll be offski.

I'm not 100% sure why Robert Wilson was there either. I can only assume he's one of Rankine's yes men.

I would like to ask what are the trust planning on doing about all of this?

They handed over money to the club in return for shares, the shares have been declared false and not worth the paper they are written on, there was a lot of hard earned supporters money given to the club that apparently has not gone through the books.......

Now is the time we should be mobilising a task force to be ready for any potential admin threat....

We cant put our heads in the sand we must unite as livingston fc supporters and take action now

I am not really sure what to make of last night tbh.

I am not sure I trust NR - I didn't the time he joined a fans forum when Massone was around. I am not a lover of Mr Nixon either.

Was he not the LFL spokesman in 2010 - was he not invited last night?

I think in a few months we could be talking about a football team that used to be called Livingston FC - Not motivated to keep going.

Every time that Rankine opens his gob.

Who is this man David Brash and what did Neil Rankine think would happen to the club financially after he and this Robert Wilson who I must admit I've never heard of withdrew their financial support for the club? Doesn't sound like a very clever guy to me. The clubs again on it's knees and he shut his wallett two years ago. Its not rocket science to see that we'd be i trouble. How was this piece of info kept quiet until now anyway? Don't know what to think!