DerekWatson

All resolved thankfully. There has been ongoing conversations with reps from The Well Society, Block E and Brian Caldwell over the last few weeks. Glad to report that there was a meeting at Fir Park this evening that got everyone in the room on the same page resulting in a positive resolution. Here's hoping we can all start pulling together in the same direction and create a positive atmosphere for all at Fir Park.

It's not standard. If you are issued with a football banning order through the court system you are banned from every stadium in the UK and you may have to hand your passport in to the local police station if your team or national team are playing overseas. See here: https://www.mygov.scot/football-banning-orders

I can’t speak for everyone on the board, it’s important to note that since the recent election concluded last week we’ve only met with the full board once since, but I’ll give my personal opinion. i understand Brian’s reasoning for the under 14s rule and I think he’s trying to do the right thing to protect the club and bring us in line with the way he operated down South. That said, I don’t think it’s necessary and I think consultation before implementing may have helped the situation. Like others have highlighted, these youngsters are the future of the football club. When I was in first year we got cheap season tickets through the school and I went on my own with my pals. I lived a 10 minute walk from the stadium so my family knew the area well and trusted I’d be safe. 20 years down the line I’m still friends with the people I met from that experience and we still all go together, some now bring their kids. It’s created bonds that will last a lifetime. I believe that if we create barriers for participation we risk losing that. I’m not of the opinion that a one size fits all approach is the best way forward in football; it’s obviously more of a risk for kids to be travelling across cities to go to a game at Ibrox, Hampden, Celtic Park etc. when there’s 50,000 people in attendance than it would be to walk 5 minutes from your house in an area that you frequent every day and walk into Fir Park with just 5,000 people, and in our case when you probably know or at least recognise a lot of those people. I’ve made my point on the boycott on here previously, I don’t think the club, the SPFL or the Police should be implementing bans for people who have had charges dropped or who have not been found guilty unless they have substantial evidence to hand. I think it sums the whole thing that the bans only apply to home games; if said individuals pose such a risk why is that the case? I do feel the club are in a difficult position with the potential sanctions and the SPFL need to revisit this. I hope the club and those involved can come to some agreement before the cup game. It’s not beneficial for anybody. I think Brian explained the top tier decision and I get it. I actually think fans make a better noise up there because the sound bounces off the roof and then moves out, but I also think it’s a better advert for the game if we’ve got fans behind the goals in the lower tier rather than empty seats. I don’t think it’s the most pressing issue at the club at the moment and don’t feel too strongly either way on it. I’ll end this by saying that in all organisations there will be times when directors, shareholders, members etc. disagree on things and that’s healthy. I’d be more concerned if everyone involved had the same opinion. Since Brian came in the level of engagement and communication between the 2 boards has improvement ten fold and long may that continue. We’re moving at pace to get the Exec Board back to the numbers it should have with those coming on board possessing the skills we all believe are required to drive the club forward. Throughout the season decisions will be made that people disagree with and others think are great, but for me the most important aspect is how you communicate that. We need to consult with season ticket holders and society members before making decisions that are not going to be popular or that will have an impact on their match day experience; changing the layout of the John Hunter stand and changing the age of entry for kids are the perfect example for me of where consultation could have made the process a lot smoother.

Firstly, before I get on to the whole Block E scenario as promised, I need to join the SOD hype. Buzzing for him yesterday and he looked fair delighted with himself too. Long may it continue. Steve Clarke in the stands too… get him back in that national team! Others have touched on it, not all in Block E are angels and at times they may push the boundaries and do things that others don’t enjoy - the most obvious being the use of pyrotechnics, but from the outset it’s probably worth highlighting that none of the bans they are protesting about are related to pyrotechnics. @thisGRAEME mentioned further up this thread that 3 fans were in court last week, had their case binned due to having zero evidence against them, and were subsequently told they were still banned by the club because Police records still show the case is ongoing. Where the frustration lies for those in Block E is that the club, like all clubs in Scotland I imagine, have a data sharing agreement with Police Scotland where that when the Police contact the club to say someone has been charged with a football related offence then the club need to issue a ban to said supporter. On the face of it that sounds reasonable you’d think, but again where the frustration lies is, like those 3 in court last week with no evidence against them, it means that if the Police arrest or charge the wrong people then they are banned for months at a time, have many sleepless nights, legal fees, angry family members or partners and feel they have been hung out to dry by a club they more than contribute to,. all for it just to be kicked out and they’ve missed a full season of football that they’ve paid for. No apology, just get on with it, that’s life… give us your money again next week please. In recent weeks the club have issued 7 of these stadium bans to people who deny any wrongdoing, many of them haven’t even received a letter from the Police or the Procurator Fiscal to say they have been charged but the Police have said to the club they need to be banned. If the club don’t comply with this they may face a sanction from the SPFL. There are others who are awaiting court dates who the Police have not contacted the club to ban, so there is no consistent approach, again a big frustration for those involved. The club find themselves in a difficult position here, if they don’t ban them they could face a sanction but are they could be banning fans who have done absolutely nothing wrong because Police Scotland have said they need to. In my personal opinion, I don’t believe that the Police or the SPFL should be forcing the club to ban fans unless they have been convicted or unless the club have hard evidence that an individual has committed a crime. There is 1 individual I know personally who has recently received a letter from the club but has not received anything to say he’s been charged. He’s not committed any crimes and knows he has nothing to worry about, but is absolutely gutted that he can’t go to FirPark. Knowing how these harassment tactics have been carried out over a number of years towards football fans, I strongly believe that this individual has been singled out because he is a visual and prominent member of that section and they want to collectively damage said group. It’s probably worth adding that this is more the tip of the iceberg for those involved rather than a knee-jerk reaction. It comes after they’ve had many frustrations with the club recently, one notable frustration is the 14 year old rule. It’s had a fairly negative impact on that section with the youngsters often wanting to frequent there and add to the match-day experience. The guys in Block E who are now a lot older than that remember when that was them and they know this is the future generations who if we don’t welcome with open arms could be lost to the Old Firm or elsewhere. It’s probably also worth noting that the Bois and some of Block E spent most of this week painting a tifo for yesterdays game that went on hold, that members of Block E recently painted the beer garden for the club, that they’ve put murals all around the Cooper concourse celebrating previous teams and success free of charge and that they consistently organise charity events, food and toy drives and much more to try and benefit their local community. These guys literally dedicate their full weeks to MFC and feel they are getting little support in return. Myself and others involved with the Society have been speaking to Brian Caldwell over the past few days to try and help both sides come to a resolution, I’m not really sure if that’s going to happen any time soon, but we’ll keep trying. It’s in the best interests of everyone to find a workable way forward. edit - something I should have added is that the letters received from the club only ban individuals from Fir Park. They are able to travel to away games. Make it make sense….

Not ideal in this weather but I’ve been doing a bit of work through the Society with a cracking organisation called Pedal To The Pitch to get more fans walking, wheeling and cycling to matches. Society members may have noticed in the newsletter, thanks to funding from Paths For All, Pedal to the Pitch will be delivering a series of events that encourage fans to get active on their way to Fir Park. Whether you are an everyday cyclist, seasoned hiker, or a petrolhead, we want to get all supporters involved to make matchdays cleaner, greener and more enjoyable for you and the local community. They are going to be outside the Cooper Stand today from half 1 onwards, please pop by and have a chat if you can, even if you aren’t a keen cyclist, they are good guys and hopefully something we can build on. I’ll go into more detail about the Block E boycott in more detail when I’ve got a bit more time, but just a reminder that the lads from their group are continuing with their Foodbank collection today. If you are in a position to do so, please consider giving what you can to help others in the community.

Firstly, big thank you to all the Society members who used their votes to re-elect me, it's very much appreciated and I'll make sure I do all I can to enhance the cause of fan-ownership. As I said before the election, the most important thing for me is making sure there’s a place for everyone who put their name forward. There was a lot of talent in there and we need to utilise that. @Vietnam91, cheers for the heads up. Very strange. As you said, seems like an agenda.

Thanks to all who joined the AGM last night either in person or online. It’s really positive to see more people than ever engaging and long may it continue. In line with our 90 day plan, later this month we will hold a number of face-to-face and online discussion sessions with members as we continue to review and refine the plan - ‘Our Club Our Future’ The sessions will take place at the following times at the following locations. There’s a form for signing up in the newsletter which was distributed on Friday. Thursday 22nd August - 7pm - Fir Park Saturday 24th August - 12 noon - Virtual Tuesday 27th August - 7pm - Fir Park Sunday 1st September - 8pm - Virtual If anyone has any questions about the AGM, these sessions or any other Society business I’m more than happy to answer for the next 7 days then it may be the responsibility of others to pick that up after the election concludes

Candidates were given a deadline of noon on Sunday to submit their videos for it going live on Monday. That said, it was quite a tight turnaround and people may have personal reasons or so for not getting it in on time. I believe that at least one of those missing has now submitted a video and the others have been asked again they wish to contribute. I think, don't quote me on this, the updated "hustings reel" should be online in the next day or two. Understandably given I'm up for re-election, I've not had anything to do with that side of things.

Thanks for the kind words, Steely. Probably worth reminding everyone that you can select up to 4 candidates. That’s still not an easy task with the excellent level of candidates standing. I’m really impressed and regardless of the outcome I believe we’ll be in safe hands going forward. That said, I believe that some continuity would be beneficial and I feel that I’ve got unfinished business in regards to our strategy delivery and on some of the other initiatives that we’ve started moving with Brian Caldwell and Dawn at MFC Trust. If re-elected, I will continue to make progress on delivering on our strategy and I will ensure that supporters are at the forefront of decision making.

I don’t believe David is any relation, but John Boyle’s daughter is one of the candidates.

Thanks very much, really appreciate it. There will be a full list of candidates with personal statements and each candidate has been given the opportunity to submit a 3 minute video to detail why they are standing and what they will bring to the table.

A reminder for Well Society members that Board Election voting opens at noon on Monday 5th August. Good luck to anyone who is standing for election. I’m looking forward to seeing the full list of candidates. It’s my time to seek re-election so I’ve popped a wee thread on Twitter to detail some of the work I’ve carried out and the reasons why I’m standing again, but ultimately I need to fulfil my commitment to delivering the vision set out in our plan. Alongside Jay, Phil, Sean, Amber and Markus I’ve spent a lot of time and effort trying to get us to a better position. I feel we’re very much on the right track but I want to see that work through to completion. With the right people in place on the Society board and on the Exec board I’m confident we can deliver positive outcomes at Fir Park. As always, DM’s are open if anyone has any questions at all. Happy to answer.

Yesterday wasn't great to watch at times, same goes for the League Cup games but I'm not overly worried just yet. As others have pointed out, new players are still settling, the captain is on the bench, some of our big names still to come back and despite all that we’ve picked up a point and kept a clean sheet. Not too bad considering. The booing for me is somewhat over the top in my opinion given the reasons listed above. I just don't understand the negativity and you need to wonder what the new boys are thinking. If they are booing a 0-0 draw on the first game of the season I'm dreading to think what it will be like if things are really bad. I had a few people get in touch to ask if I'd heard this interview. Thankfully I've not. I'm sure the exact figures will be revealed at the AGM - it's taken some time to get through the backlog of new memberships signing up - but there has been a small number of cancellations but a much larger number of new members joining or people increasing their subscriptions. The constant references to the Well Bois felt a bit strange. Considering 1,201 people voted to reject the proposal, it's quite clear it was not just the Well Bois who disapproved. It really should be a positive time to be a 'Well fan and a member of the Society and I just wish we could all start pulling in the same direction. Unfortunately there still seems to be a minority who can't put the whole Barmack saga behind them and seem intent on using every opportunity to attack the Society.

Given the above posts re board structures, it's probably as good a time as any to remind Society members that our Annual General Meeting which will take place on Monday 12 August 2024. All members should have received an email on Friday 19 July which contains information on how to register. I'd encourage everyone who can to get along, especially if you have strong opinions on how we move forward. I hope I'm not speaking out of tongue but given you mentioned the Exec Board comment which was made in a video posted through the official club channels that referenced that "the Society board would rather we invest X in our media team", I thought it may be appropriate to reply to that. Firstly, the time and effort that Scott and Ally (and now Euan) do to deliver consistent media output shouldn't be sniffed at. I think we've got a great team there who are working long hours and do very very well - Ally is incredible at what he does and has produced excellent content for MFC over a number of years now. That said, I was previously vocal about the need to recruit a replacement Head of Comms following the departure of both AB and GR so I didn't necessarily appreciate that public comment which felt like a slight dig. That said, my opinion hasn't changed and again, that's not a dig at the current crop. In my opinion the Head of Comms is one of the most important roles at a football club, away from the playing squad and CEO. Our media team, in my opinion, needs more people. Our social output, again in my opinion, is one of the biggest opportunities we have to grow commercial income. Without sounding like a previous potential investor, with an effectively implemented social media marketing strategy we could drive growth both locally and globally, but more importantly we could develop deeper relationship with our fans and local partners. There's huge potential there and it wouldn't be fair to put more work on an already stretched team. I feel previously we had a very good content plan that resonated with our target audience and aligned with the club's values and brand. We've still got that to an extent but it could be better with someone a more strategic and targeted focus. For me it's not that the content we're putting out that I think could be improved, but how we better monetise that output or how we attach more commercial opportunities to it; player sponsors showcased each time said player scores, match sponsor logos on the starting 11 graphics, etc. etc.

Was fairly sure I already had an account on here but after several failed attempts I thought it was sensible just to set up a new one. To echo others, great work from @thisGRAEME hosting last night. I thought that Stuart and Brian handled it quite well last night with some difficult questions. It was great to see so many Society members sign up and come along. Something we 100% need going forward is increased engagement so this was a real positive for me. One thing that's not been mentioned that I think deserves a nod. The work the Heritage Project are doing is excellent and I look forward to seeing more on that front. Really enjoyed chatting to them last night and digging into old stories from well before my time.