eliphas

I'm not sure they are, are they? We asked for investment, we've got a handful of people interested. We've had some chat. Now we've got two 'serious' bids and both have indicated they'd be looking to adjust share set up. Unless you red line it from the off and say, no thanks boys, we just want your money, then you need to see what they want and then present that to the WS for discussion and ultimately a vote. That's what I took from the summaries the last couple of days. Also, I'd be pretty annoyed if they had done the opposite and assumed they can't sell the WS shares. As a member I'm happy for that to be explored.

@capt_oats or others who were three. I saw a note about as far as we know no pressure contracts signed. Was there any chat on us resigning anyone from the squad yet? Contracts out there being killed over etc? I'm assuming not given we are still technically in relegation territory but just wondered.

All this talk of The Sidemen, who I didnt know about as a group before this week then heard them mentioned on a podcast and then here, has reminded me of The Walkmen. Who I hadnt thought about since about 2003. Whit a band.

Brilliant post Jay - but this is the bit I was delighted to read. Everything you've posted on behalf of Derek reads really well but keeping up pace on both fronts (WS strategy build as well seeking/speaking to investors) until we have credible WS solution that can fund the club ongoing and properly, is hugely important to me (As one of the original WS members who has now lapsed)

I think the point has maybe been lost somewhere. No one on here would welcome folks like that in I'm pretty sure it's fine to say. I'm sure it would not even get passed a first round of consideration. However, some folk on here and elsewhere just immediately turn their nose up at online/social media made investors. Not you I should add but a few have straight away. We should consider everything. Anyway, I've made my mind up it's the Reddit guy and Serena. So let's go.

Good stuff.

100%. I think in general, for me, I'm completely comfortable with us speaking to everyone and anyone. However 'silly' it may seem. If we write people off without even speaking to them at least once then we are absolutely not doing what we should be doing as a club. Picking some to speak to further as a type of round 2, and then doing due diligence on the ones we want to use, then going 'exclusive' for further conversations is just good business. Letting it be known that there isn't only one show in town is also good business. Should add, also absolutely 100% keen to see the WS strategy. My preference would be WS coming up with a strategy that sees us compete in the top flight and not need outside investment. But I'm struggling to see how that is possible with our fan base more and more. Personally, I don't particularly want to see us slip down and become a Morton, Thistle, Falkirk etc like someone said a few pages ago. I fear that will happen

I like Amy Irons. I'll give it a go.

I've been doing a bit of googling on the couple of bidders being discussed. Some sleuthing with a few big jumps because I was quiet at work today.... The Ozzie bid. The CEO mentioned would definitely would be saying the right things if they pitched up here. Here is an excerpt from his press release when announced at Brisbane...remove Queensland for Lanarkshire and that is what we preach: We believe in developing and nurturing young & local talent, so that they can grow as people and as footballers.” “Our focus will be to reconnect the club with the football community throughout Queensland and establish a clear elite pathway from club and school football to the professional game,” Patafta said. Patafta, an ex-professional footballer played at Portuguese giants Benfica, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, the Australian U17 and U20’s national teams and was among four promising youngsters invited to train with the Socceroos leading up to the World Cup in Germany. “Our vision is to not only engage but to support local clubs by working together to grow participation, supporting more boys and girls to play the game.” Brisbane owners are The Bakrie Group. Indonesian based but own Brisbane through a company called PT. Pelita Jaya Cronus. Which looks like it's an investment arm for Bakrie essentially. They've got links across the world. A golf team in LA was mentioned. This one definitely raised an eyebrow. As a golfer myself, you don't really hear about 'golf teams'. But, there was one recently just launched in LA, for a thing Tiger Woods is launching. Los Angeles Golf Club founded by Alexis Ohanian (founder of Reddit) and his wife Serena Williams. They were also founding investors in an LA womens fitba team. The streaming magnate bid. Couldn't really dig up anything but was thinking...does Jim McMahon think Reddit is a streaming compay and actually that bid is the LA golf clubs one. Anyway - entertained myself for a half an hour.

I'm the same here. For it to happen 4 times is not a coincidence. I don't think there is anything going here, tbh, that is cloak and dagger persay. But I do think information wasn't passed on for whatever reason at the time about the deals and then it's.... not thought about again because it's not the way McMahon and Weir work. McMahon and Weir, and the rest of the board, very much strike me from the old school way of communication in business (i.e. they don't need to know that so we won't tell them, keep it simple and there is less to pick apart type of comms) Now, I'm on record a number of times on here basically saying we don't need a grand Head of Comms position, or a big comms strategy, for a club our size, and I do stand behind that. But that was probably coming from a place that the few folk in charge or involved in the comms weren't missing simple stuff like this....

It was an incredibly funny gag. Correct. I'd like all that stuff you mention.

Aye they nicked it from us. The absolute scoundrels.

For me that's the thing in a nutshell. Everyone will have different views but for me I don't think with our fan base, as a fan owned club, we can run a football club in the top flight long term. Personally I'd prefer to be in the top flight and not a yo yo club, or worse, a club on the championship for years on end. So if an investor wants say a 51% stake for talking sake, and they aren't pure baddies then I'm into it. I'm sure the structure can be set up so it's simply not just an evil tyrant calling the shots and that there is still serious and proper fan representation at the core of it all.

I mean nothing will have happened this season to trigger and extension of a year....surely.....so if true it must have been keeping us up the end of last season.

That's mental if that's the case. It defintley was 2024 reported.

Must have made a pass at Craigan I'm guessing.

Even by Kettlewell's standards, clearing the decks and making people f**k off less than a month into their tenure is impressive. The axe swings

The harsh words of @thisGRAEME ringing in the ears of the wee man. I'll show him (Irish accent).

Jake Taylor scored last night too I noticed. A night of former Well favourites scoring.

The people sitting on the board over the last 10 years or so, and Alan Burrows as CEO, early on more so in his case, were really quite bad for giving out nuggets of strategic type information and then not following up on them/letting them fade away when nothing happened. I'm sure it always came from a good place of wanting to let fans know we were doing things but more often than not it ended up with no real updates until someone asked on Twitter and Alan had to answer them.

I reckon the fact we've missed out on a load of signings and the fact we've just partnered with a company who gives insight into fitba financials and salaries is no coincidence

I don't think he is the answer persay but I defintley think he's useful to have around. He's only 22 as well It's all a moot point because Kettlewell is 100% launching him in the summer anyway.

Like @Busta Nutwith Kelly, @thisGRAEME really has it on record that he doesn't fancy Tierney. Fair enough - everyone has their views which is fine. I think Tierney can definitely offer us something, and said the same last time this came up. He's a great option attacking behind the striker which is one of our main plays. But, Kettlewell seems to favour players who can do a couple of jobs...even if they aren't particularly good at either e.g. Paton can play that attacking role fine but has no real end product, and 'do a job' a bit further back but isn't brilliant at it. Tierney is probably a better attacking option but couldn't really fill in anywhere else and isn't particularly 'robust'. See also - Stuart McKinstry

Talked about this on the night actually. Devine was out muscled and out jumped by Duk for the third. If that was SOD marking him, or Butcher, we'd have rightly been going off our nuts at them. Kelly doesn't do much wrong really for me either there. He's been behind mince at times recently but for me that's searching for something that's not really there.

Aye there was no direct inference to anyone - to be honest I didn't know it was you that said it first or if it looked like I replied to you.