A degree of uncertainty lies ahead for Dunfermline Athletic.
Thursday’s news that German investors DAFC Fussball GmbH were seeking to sell their 30% shareholding rocked the club, blindsiding supporters and directors alike.
While not the majority shareholders, the group has been the club’s principle financial backers for four years.
As questions circle regarding what comes next, Courier Sport looks back on a tumultuous, dramatic few seasons at East End Park.
The deal is done
DAFC Fussball GmbH’s investment in Dunfermline was revealed in July 2020. A 30% stake was purchased, with an understanding that it could be increased to 75.1% at a later date.
Then-chairman Ross McArthur was pivotal to attracting the consortium to East End Park, and he stated: “I was pinching myself when I first met the guys, thinking: “Why do they want to invest in Dunfermline?””
Hailing from Hamburg and including former St Pauli player and director Thomas Meggle among its number, replicating the unique bond the German club has with its community and fans was the blueprint.
“I can’t understand why some people run a football club without using the opinions of fans; without integrating the supporters,” said Meggle. “St Pauli is a big community club and I saw more advantages to working together with fans.
“Dunfermline is already a community club, but we want to involve all the people, so together it can lead to more power for the club — and more success if we make the right decisions.”
A laudable aim and, as we will find, there were successes. The consortium will leave a legacy.
However, that desire to build a bond with the people of west Fife seemed to be hamstrung by a lack of communication and clarity.
It must be stated that the challenges of the Covid pandemic – limiting travel opportunities – did not aid their nascent plans to strike up that rapport on the ground.
The first appointment: Peter Grant
Regardless of the money injected and blueprints drawn up, the decision-makers at football clubs are always judged on the big calls.
The manager is the most consequential of the lot.
DAFC Fussball GmbH’s maiden appointment – and it was down to them, with Meggle the man won over during conversations with the primary candidate – was Peter Grant.
It was little short of a disaster. On numerous levels.
During a miserable 156 DAYS as Pars manager, he oversaw ZERO Championship wins. By the time he left the club, the Fifers were the only SPFL team without a league victory – and had been for several weeks.
It was a period that drove a wedge between the fans and the board; in particular, the investors who picked Grant and stuck with him.
Whether that was ever truly repaired is up for debate.
A board statement released in the aftermath of Dunfermline’s 1-0 defeat at Queen of the South – after which he lasted another four games – noted: “We can accept everyone is frustrated and disappointed.
“But there can be no excuse for that type of behaviour.
“In addition, the original members of the DAFC Board are made up of supporters themselves who have acted on a voluntary basis for the last eight years. In recent weeks the level of abuse directed to them has also become totally unacceptable.”
Grant was dismissed following a 4-2 defeat at Arbroath, after which a minority of fans held back at Gayfield to hurl abuse at the Dunfermline team bus.
The resignation of Ross McArthur
In the aftermath of Grant’s exit, McArthur – a crucial driving force in saving Dunfermline from liquidation in 2013 and tireless servant of the club during his time on the board – announced he would quit at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
It is impossible to overstate the impact this decision had on future relations with DAFC Fussball GmbH, given their closeness with – and respect for – McArthur.
Despite this, the group injected a six-figure sum into the club in the form of a Convertible Loan Note (CLN) in January 2022, while opting NOT to increase their shareholding.
The interest free loan can be converted into new shares at any point until 2027, potentially allowing them to take an 80% controlling stake in the club.
It was confirmed that David Cook would join the club as chief executive in February 2022.
The former chief commercial officer of Nottingham Forest also went on to take up the chairmanship and has been charged with working with boss James McPake and sporting director Meggle.
John Hughes leaves and the Pars rise again
Grant’s successor, John Hughes, ensured that Dunfermline avoided automatic relegation, but the upturn was far from laudable.
Following a ninth-place finish, the Pars were condemned to the drop with a playoff defeat against Queen’s Park and “Yogi” would leave the role, allowing former Dundee manager McPake to pick up the pieces.
And he did that superbly.
Giving prominence to young talent such as Matty Todd, Lewis McCann, Sam Fisher and Chris Mochrie – as well as further developing the ultimately lucrative talent of Josh Edwards – Dunfermline roared to the League One title by a 14-point margin.
Along the way, Deniz Mehmet set a new club record for clean sheets.
After a, at times, farcical descent to relegation, McPake restored some pride in 2022/23 and, in the following season, consolidated in the Championship.
A new home for Dunfermline Athletic
Following a swathe of challenges caused by the Covid pandemic and soaring cost of material and labour, Dunfermline’s new training base in Rosyth opened for business in April 2024.
Housing the first-team, academy and community endeavours, the unit will provide a long-lasting home for the Pars’ operations; one that would have been impossible without the support of DAFC Fussball GmbH.
Meggle noted at the time: “We are delighted to be able to start to use the astroturf pitch here at Rosyth.
“It’s a landmark moment and the culmination of more than two years of planning. We know there is still lots to do on the site as we look to fully realise the potential of the training ground.
“But having an outstanding all weather playing surface lets us get all DAFC teams on site at one venue for the first time in a generation.”
Growing frustration and “no sour grapes”
Despite gradual progress after the club’s relegation in 2022, it was easy to sense dissatisfaction with the level of support being afforded to McPake, particularly as their Championship rivals tooled up for a balanced second tier.
McPake, captain Kyle Benedictus and fans all made it clear that the group needed strengthened.
As it was, Dunfermline had a modest group going into the Premier Sports Group stage and began their league season with only Mehmet as a recognised senior goalkeeper.
And the anger reached its most audible following a 2-0 home defeat against fierce rivals Falkirk in their last fixture.
In their statement, DAFC Fussball GmbH claimed there were “no sour grapes”.
However, it is hard to ignore the tacit implication that supporters’ impatience ultimately forced their hands, including: “The knee-jerk reaction to call for more spending is not a model we stand for.”
That was a characterisation the local directors are understood to have felt was unfair.
But now a parting of the ways is inevitable, and it begs the question: what next?
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