Peter Millar

I’ve just told you what I will take into account when voting.

I dont think either figure will touch the sides.

I didn’t say Erik’s 300k would touch the sides I’ve only said I liked some of his ideas and I do. Hopefully I will like the Well Society ideas better and there will be a good deliverable plan there that will provide sustainable growth. To be honest I’m a bit surprised I’ve posted myself. I never really get that bothered with the politics of football.

It still doesn’t touch the sides in providing sustainable growth I had hoped this was a discussion rather than argument.

I’m not sure the length of my membership with SOL has to do with anything but it’s the club I love and I think I have as much to offer the debate as anyone else. I’m not too bothered about new strips, and I’ve been watching players, directors, owners, managers, comms plans etc come and go for years. The one consistent has been the fans. The things I have been consistently consistent on since you’ve mentioned it are - I don’t think American based ownership has worked in Scotland, as courageous and hardworking as they are I don’t think the current Well Society board have the skills to direct the Executive Board towards meaningful growth. I like Erik’s big thinking, however I hope the Well Society can produce a proposal that I can vote for and prove me wrong. I earnestly hope for that. i don’t think anything anyone can say will change my mind on American based ownership. Erik would need to do that if he wins the vote, and I do as I have said hope the Well Society prove me wrong but only their proposal will do that.

But it’s not just TLC. Fir Park needs redeveloped like other clubs have done with their ground. The view in some parts of the East Stand is crap, the leg room in the O’Donnell is miserable to say the least. The kiosks offer a miserly selection of food. I could go on. I don’t know the situation with Paul Sloane and Bailey Rice but they are definitely exceptions. Most parents now are really discerning about where their child is going, the training regime, support for homework, what is the medical support like, exit strategies such as are there partnerships with other clubs in case their kid doesn’t make it and has to drop down the pyramid. Have you included labour costs and equipment hire for the roof of the new stand. 100K seems a little light. A 250k in a 5/6 million turnover is better than nothing but it’s not really touching the sides. The club needs proper investment to sustain growth. Hopefully the Well Society proposal will reflect this.

I can see that but the club needs growth badly. The stadium is falling down, the training facilities are rudimentary at best when compared with other clubs, etc. I don’t think we can do that without extending outside our core business and I hope the Well Society proposal reflects this. The club have been successful recently in developing players but for years we produced an odd player or nothing. If you look at the trend throughout Scottish football (yes people do research this) it tends to point at clubs having a period when they are producing good talent and then it drops off. You can look at clubs like Hibs, Dundee United, Aberdeen as examples of this so it’s difficult for any club to include that in medium or long term financial planning. Hibs have been waiting 5 years for McGinn to move so they can cash in but it’s never happened. I’m not sure the religious element has much impact when it comes to parents choosing an academy for their son or daughter any more they tend to look at how their son or daughter will be valued within the academy and progression through to the first team. If you have followed the journey Queen’s Park are on just now you’ll see their academy is beginning to provide a holistic approach to the child’s development and not just as a player to reflect this. They’ re also investing heavily in training and other facilities that will provide their academy players with a superb environment to develop in. We need to at least replicate this but we can’t without growth. Yip. The financial rewards are increasing but so are the costs. You can speak to the financial director at any club in the Premiership and they’ll tell you the same. Utilities have gone up, wages gave gone up, etc. That will eat into much of the increase in prize money, and restrict growth.

I understand what you are saying but basically it’s down to the Well Society members to make a decision. Vote for the EB proposal or vote for the Well Society proposal. How we got to this point isn’t very palatable but it’s where we are. My thoughts are Society members need to focus on considering both proposals for what they are worth, and making a decision for what’s ahead of us rather than looking back. Whoever wins will bring in a new board and the current incumbents will be gone.

It probably hasn’t affected us because we haven’t had a focus on it, and therefore not resourced it but there are other clubs in Scotland outwith the Old Firm at the moment very seriously looking at tapping into the opportunities this expanding global market is offering including esports. At least one is considering partnering with a university to explore this further. The selling price of a player is dependant on a number of factors and has changed significantly since the 90’s with the increasing significance of agents, incentive clauses in managers contracts, clauses in player contracts, players forcing the issue themselves, and the inevitable hole in the budget that needs filled. Did we not sell Turnbull for £3.75 million? I don’t think anyone has mentioned branded academies abroad but in many ways they are a commercial outlet for the club. However, there are clubs in Sweden for example that have over 5000 kids playing within their regional academies and community setup that feeds straight through their player and coach pathways for boys and girls. They work in partnership with other organisations, schools, and grassroots clubs to reduce the cost to the club. Again there are other clubs in `Scotland beginning to put this structure together although they are finding it challenging due to the politics in the Scottish game and lack of pitches. This is one of the reasons why engaging with local communities and the Community Trust is so vitally important. I’m not sure how many followers Erik has but maybe he knows someone who does have 21 mil followers. Maybe he doesn’t. Yes. I am aware of the deal with Provan and how it’s structured. If it’s not working for the club I would expect the new Executive Board to review this, renegotiate and improve it, or dump Provan if it can’t be sorted. I think that’s what Hibs did. I might be wrong and will apologise if they didn’t but I think they did. Given the cost to Provan of running the shop etc I don’t think his profits will be that great. The point is if the club don’t have to always be with Provan.

Thanks for the welcome it’s much appreciated. Rightly or wrongly I’ve tended not to focus on the ills of the current Executive Board. Whichever way the vote goes there will be a new board in place either put there by Erik or the Well Society. The current Executive Board will be gone soon and I feel we need to move on from it. Others might not - but that’s how I feel. in terms of Erik’s proposal. My major concern is there is no indication of how he will support the local community (last time I looked) even though someone raised it with him on X, and as I mentioned earlier American based investors in Scottish clubs don’t have a great record in terms of continued sporting success within a financial structure that suits their club or community. The thing about the proposal I like is he’s thinking big. Football is a developing global economy and clubs can really leverage their revenue streams with partnerships across a number of industries. We don’t play in La Liga, and we’re not Barcelona but even at our level, and in our league there are global opportunities. Artificial intelligence is already bringing benefits to clubs who are starting to use it and better fan engagement systems can widen our reach across the world. Again, we’re not `Tottenham but I’m sure I read somewhere that 71% of Spurs fans never attend games but they buy merch. I’ve done that myself for my two daughters who adopted Spurs as their second team. I think he just thinks bigger . Football is changing and moving forward the most successful teams will be those who embrace this huge global market at a level that is appropriate to them but it needs people who can understand and realise these opportunities. I think Erik could do that for Motherwell. My preference is the Well Society remains in control but I’ll be looking for an imaginative proposal from them that takes into account these wider opportunities - and provides support to local communities.

I think I am in the same place as you. A look across the league shows that Americans/American based owners have generally not been too successful. Even when they are very passionate about the club and community such as the Gordon family at Hibs. As a result I’m not that keen on the EB investment proposal although I do think it has good elements in it. in terms of the Well Society Board I’m not sure how, as owners, their current skills and experiences translate across to directing the Executive Board of a football club. I’m not questioning their passion or commitment just that I have concerns. This is why, to me, the Well Society proposal is crucial. If I feel it is deliverable I will vote no to the EB proposal. If I feel it’s not deliverable I’ll vote yes to the EB proposal.