We've set up a Dee4Life minileague again for a bit of fun. Simply register and/or log in to the predictor website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/predictor/

Then, to join the Dee4Life minileague:

Minileague name: Dee4Life
Password: denspark

Good luck!

Charles Barnett of accountancy firm PKF is reported as saying "The excesses of the last decade are now well and truly behind us. The era of the rich benefactor writing a blank cheque for football clubs in Scotland has come to an end."

Read the full Daily Record article here.

The Dee4Life board will meet this Saturday to review the end of the Trust's financial year, continue discussions regarding work with other fans' groups, and bring all board members up to speed after the close season. The board has a new look following streamlining agreed at April's meeting and the subsequent resignation of chairman Scott Glenday.

Minutes of previous meetings are, as always, available here.

A number of discussions have been taking place on message boards and forums regarding fans' groups, players, the Club Board and Trust etc over the last few weeks - Dee4Life would like to remind you that if you have any questions that you'd like answered, Stuart Murphy is YOUR Fans' Rep.   With the best will in the world, neither Stuart nor any other Trust Board member can spend hours trawling through the forums and web sites looking for questions - the easiest way to put your question to the Trust or the Board of Directors is to use the Contact Us link and fill in the form.  Your questions will go directly to Stuart who will take it from there, and if he can get you an answer, he will.

In the last few days a report appeared in the Herald newspaper, in which it cited a number of concerns over SPL clubs who are "far too reliant on well-meaning owners".  The report questions the business model used by some clubs, stating that HMRC have found this model to be "untenable" in its annual study of football finances.

A partner in Accountancy firm PKF is quoted "The impact of this on clubs will be severe if action is not taken soon to control expenditure more effectively.  The risk in this approach is that if the owner decides they are no longer interested in football, then there will be a lot of player contracts with some time to run which will be extremely difficult for any club to honour without the largesse of a rich owner."

The full report can be seen here.

Earlier this week, Stirling Albion Supporters' Trust signed a deal to take ownership of Stirling Albion FC, making them the first senior club in Scotland to be controlled by their fans.

In recent weeks, Dee4Life have begun examining along with other fans' groups the feasibility of taking Dundee FC into community ownership. While the club are of course exploring other avenues as well, Bob Brannan has made it clear that community ownership is his preferred option.

There's a long way to go in terms of investigation and planning, but news of the success of the Buy Stirling Albion campaign, along with similar plans being looked at by St Mirren supporters, should make it clear that the idea of fan ownership is not a dream but a reality.

Dee4Life wish to announce that Scott Glenday has decided to stand down as Chairman of the Trust Board.  We are sure that we speak on behalf of all Dundee FC fans in passing on our huge thanks to Scott for all the hard work, time, effort and undoubted commitment that he has given to Dee4Life and indeed Dundee FC during his time as Chairman and previously as a Director.

I’d like to dispel any belief that the Club is imminently about to be taken over by any of the fans groups. Having said that I think it’s fair to say community ownership is being looked at and I don’t think keeping our options open is a bad thing given a majority shareholding has been made available and advertised in a national newspaper. The community ownership model is not being discussed out of ideology or opportunism - it is being explored because the newspaper advert has been placed with no guarantees that it will provide an answer to our problems.

The Chairman appears to be desperate to stand down, Calum is committed to another year and I think it would be wrong not to use what time we do have to consider alternative options and contingencies for neither of them being here. I think there is a growing belief that it is time that our Club lives within its means. Sensible investment that helps us achieve that would be most welcome as would any help to take the stadium back into Club ownership. What we’d probably all want to avoid would be another false dawn, we’ve experienced far too many of those over the years.

A meeting between the Club Board and a joint D4L/DSA delegation to discuss further and explore options has been agreed and will hopefully take place in the next couple of weeks.  

Scott

Dee4Life received a cheque for £174.96 this week, our latest quarterly commission from Easyfundraising – and all thanks to you, our members, for using the portal whenever you shop online – whether it’s groceries or DVDs to holidays or insurance policies.

In fact, Easyfundraising’s extensive selection of insurers offer some of the biggest donations to Dee4Life, with up to £42.50 available when you take out a new policy.  And with lots of online discounts on offer, it's great news all round - you can raise valuable funds for Dee4Life AND reduce your premium!

There are even free funds available without you having to spend a penny - £5 if you take out a free 14-day trial with LoveFilm, £4.50 for registering with ebay, £9 for a free trial subscription to Which magazine, or £1.50 and a free day pass at LA Fitness are just some examples...that could be £20 per person who signs up for these free offers!

Fans' Rep Stuart Murphy spoke to last night's Evening Telegraph, discussing matters such as the possibility of community ownership of Dundee FC at some point in the future, and his desire to see all supporters' groups come together to make it a realistic target.  These matters had been discussed with DSA Clubs at their EGM on Sunday, and whilst more detail is required before anything concrete is proposed, Stuart remains positive about those discussions.

“Right now, it would even be stretching things a bit to say a proposal has been put forward, but, what I have done is sought the views of individual clubs on this matter to see if there is support in principle,” he told the Evening Telegraph.

“I addressed the DSA at the weekend, I’ve sent out the letter and, so far, generally speaking, there has been a positive response.

“I’d add there have been some reservations expressed and people want more detail.

“I understand that, but there is a long way to go and I think, before we get down to the finer detail, we have to find out if there is a desire for this.”

The full article can be found here.

Stuart Murphy addressed the DSA EGM on Sunday and outlined the proposals contained in a letter addressed to all DSA member clubs, which you can read here. Full minutes will be available from the DSA in due course.

The Dundee Supporters' Association are holding an EGM in the Andy Penman Lounge at 1pm on Sunday 20th June.  Amongst the topics for discussion will be a letter from Fans' Rep Stuart Murphy outlining proposals for the future structure and fundraising of DFC Fans' Groups.  All DSA clubs should now have a copy of Stuart's letter and Dee4Life would urge all Supporters Clubs to be represented at the meeting.

Brothers Neil and Scott Roberts of Newport DB's ran a First Division Managers' competition for the 5th time last season which was won by Ryan Law of Dundee, sneaking it by 4 points from Scott's wife Jenny. Ryan's prize was signed and framed Barcelona and Man Utd pendants from the Champions' League final.  Ryan also won the half-way prize for the team leading at Christmas which was a U/12 half season ticket for Dens. Jenny's prize was a signed and framed picture of Ian Ure.

The competition raised a cracking £245 for Dee4life, bringing the total raised to well over £1,000 over the last 5 seasons.  Neil and Scott would like to thank all the entrants in helping make a success of the competition over the years.  Unfortunately Ryan will be the last winner of the competition as Neil's work commitments don't allow him the time to organise the technical side of things.

However, the Roberts brothers hope to run the Dee4Life duck race again this year in conjunction with the Dundee Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Last season it raised over £200 for the trust while the M.S. Society profited by £400.  Neil and Scott are looking to raise a similar amount for both bodies this year.  More details to follow soon.

The Dee4Life board met with the Dundee FC board on Monday and the DSA committee on Wednesday, and we are making good progress in terms of formulating a plan to answer Bob Brannan's call for fundraising.

Two very constructive meetings, a further internal conference call on Thursday, and Stuart's online Q&A on Tuesday (see below) mean it's been a busy week, which will be rounded off with attendance at a Former Players' Association meeting at Dens and the Supporters Direct UK conference in London this weekend.

A proposal of how all Dundee fans can work together and best respond to the challenges set by the Club Chairman will be circulated to DSA member clubs for consideration at their EGM next Sunday, and it is hoped that a formal announcement can be made thereafter.

We would like to thank all fans who have taken the time to post on forums, write in, phone up or stop us in the pub or street to let us know their views. Please keep the feedback coming.

We're all moving forward together.

Stuart had his typing skills put to the test tonight as he managed a full 90 minutes action on the Dundee-Mad messageboard answering a range of questions from fans, revealing some interesting details and putting some rumours firmly to bed.

You can read the Q&A here