Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Handsome_Devil]

4 minutes ago, welldaft said:

It is a thankless task. Whether you think they have done a good job or not. They have put a lot of effort, energy, time and no doubt money into the club. 

This 100%. The same folk giving them crap are probably the ones who complain loudest when we can't find top people run everything brilliantly on a voluntarily or cut-price basis.

[Handsome_Devil]

2 minutes ago, Quatermass said:

Although, I fully expect a Well Society member to tell him he is sacked at the Main Stand front door on the 30th. Worth a shot to be fair.

Maybe a raffle to get the honours of bulleting him is the new fund-raising initiative?

[Quatermass]

2 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

Maybe a raffle to get the honours of bulleting him is the new fund-raising initiative?

Brilliant. You’re the new CEO. Congrats.

[capt_oats]

Obvs already being discussed but here's the blurb.

Board re-structure and a new fund-raising initiative to be announced in the New Year.

Quote

The club has been informed that Chairman Jim McMahon will formally announce his intention to stand down from the role at the next AGM, currently scheduled for mid-February 2024.

He will leave the position by end of the season at latest, once a successor has been appointed and certain live projects have been completed. Jim has been a Director of the club since March 2001 and became Chairman in 2016, when the Well Society became the Club’s majority shareholder.

Jim initiated the discussions with John Boyle about how to move to fan ownership and led the work involved in framing the legal and financial structure of the Society. He was also the first 1886 member.

The club has now re-started the process to recruit a permanent CEO. Derek Weir, who took on the CEO job, on an interim basis, in April 2023, has advised that he wishes to exit the role by the end of March at the latest. Since 2010, Derek has held a number of positions, including Vice Chairman and Director of the club, the first Chairman of the Community Trust in 2011 and a Board member of the Well Society when it was founded in 2011.

He also represented the club on the SPL Board. He then agreed to become CEO when the Club’s initial attempt at recruiting a suitable, permanent replacement for Alan Burrows was unsuccessful. After he leaves the CEO role, Derek will step back from having any involvement with the running of the club.

These changes will form part of a wider Board re-structure currently being worked on. A resolution will be presented to the AGM seeking approval to increase the number of permitted Directors, with a view to increasing the size of the Board and broadening the range of experience.

“I have been a Motherwell supporter since my dad took me to my first game aged four,” Chairman Jim McMahon said.

“It has been a privilege to be the Chairman of the club I love and which has meant so much to me and my family. My key aim has always been to try to improve the long-term financial robustness of the club.

“It has become very clear over the last few years that for the club to operate on a sustainable basis, provide the manager with a competitive player budget, meet the vastly increased cost of our other activities including having a successful Woman’s Team and maintaining a fit for purpose Stadium, Training Ground and Academy facility, that it will require significant investment; funding on a similar scale to that received by many others in the SPFL.

“We have undertaken a large amount of work and held numerous discussions to explore how we could best achieve this. The final stages of a fund-raising initiative are almost complete and will be ready to be shared early in the New Year.

“It is therefore the right time for a new Executive team to work with the recently expanded Well Society Board, to take this on and put in place a long term operational and funding plan for the club.”

“Having grown up a few hundred yards from the ground and been a dedicated supporter since the mid-70s, I was grateful to John Boyle when he asked me to join the Board nearly 14 years ago,” Derek Weir added.

“Whilst working for an organisation you care passionately about can be extremely difficult, with many highs and lows, both on and off the park, I feel honoured to have had the opportunity.

“Having discussed at length with Jim, I agree the time is now right for others to take a fresh look at how the club is run and manage it through the next phase of its long history. I wish all those involved every success for the future.”

Jim and Derek will work with the remaining club Directors and Well Society Board to ensure a smooth transition to the individuals appointed to these roles. Both will be here to support and help in any way they can during that process.

The club would like to thank Jim and Derek for their dedicated service over many years and wishes them both well for the future.

Link

Edited December 18, 2023 by capt_oats

[superwell87]

21 minutes ago, Quatermass said:

Although, I fully expect a Well Society member to tell him he is sacked at the Main Stand front door on the 30th. Worth a shot to be fair.

 

[Allroy for Prez]

My initial impression is this isn’t good and the timing is terrible. 

[eliphas]

Both have been great servants to be fair, and both have put their hand in their pockets and loaned the club money pre Well Society. So absolutely fair fucks. 

A refresh in board structure, key positions and a new funding strategy all sounds positive to me.

[Quatermass]

I mean we were all wondering whether sacking the manager on the 30th and getting a new gaffer in during the transfer window with enough time for him to pad out the squad with half decent loanees to save us from the trap door was workable. Seems like absolute child’s play now.

So now it’s Chairman, CEO, sack gaffer, appoint gaffer and sign players all in 5 weeks. Or alternatively just the first two and start 2023/24 in the Championship with a fresh slate. 
 

Again, I’m just a wee bit perplexed why this Weir/McMahon stuff couldn’t have been dealt with in November. The financial stuff spoken of? Must be. Surely though there has to be some consideration given to the shit show of results and an effort to remedy that as soon as possible. Confirming that the manager is going nowhere any time soon when you are 0 in 14 is maybe not the news we were all expecting.

['WellDel]

Aye, some of the comments on Twitter etc are no more than you'd expect from certain cvnts in our support. All the 'good riddance' type shite is as predictable as it is embarrassing for the morons writing it.

It's been obvious the club has been pretty rudderless for a while now, but these guys have undertaken most of their duties on a voluntary or low pay basis while holding down paying positions elsewhere. Things may be rough at the moment, but they at least deserve a level of gratitude for their efforts and the positive stuff they have done for the club previously. 

Could be well off the mark, but with both of them intending to leave within a few months time I'm thinking that they are maybe a bit further down the line of sourcing their successors than we are privy to, or have just thought with the lack of comms and general feeling of malaise around the place. I know Burrows' departure became a farce, but surely we're not leaving ourselves open to a similar shambles this time? Change is 100% needed, let's just hope that, as their final act for the club, they get it right.

 

 

[rowsdower]

Maybe the timing was meant to be the AGM, but info got out, so we had to make it public now.

[Wellwatcher]

I am trying to be optimistic that this is part of a considered strategy which started with the expansion of the Well Society board and now a refresh of the MFC board making overall governance more transparent. Hopefully the funding initiative will mean new money coming in with new ideas as there is insufficient Well Society members contributions to make a meaningful difference to the club financially. 

[capt_oats]

Some of the comments on that Twitter post btw. Legitimate fucking morons man.

McMahon became chairman in 2016 so that's:

• transition to fan ownership
• 2 cup finals
• 3 top 6 finishes
• 1x  club record transfer fee received
• 2x club record profits & turnover 17/18 & 20/21
• navigated a fucking pandemic and shutdown of the fitba'

Some laugh at matey here having a dig at Weir as having "achieved very little". He's basically been fucking helping out since Burrows left.

[MurrayWell]

They've given up their time and given it their best efforts over the years, so fair play to them both. Some of the comments on social media are a bit bizarre as anyone looking on would have thought we were at "civil war" headline stage. 

I do think the club is in need of new ideas and a new strategic direction though, so hopefully this paves the way for that. 

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Reading between the lines we're getting shot of all the sensible, boring, numbercrunchers who would try and put the breaks on a KVV return

Edited December 18, 2023 by YassinMoutaouakil

[johnnydun]

I agree with many of you on here. For the past good while, Motherwell have been a very stable well run club imo. Not easy in the volatile financial unknown that can be Scottish football.

I would worry more about what happens next.

[camer0n_mcd]

 

46 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

Obvs already being discussed but here's the blurb.

Board re-structure and a new fund-raising initiative to be announced in the New Year.

Would I be wrong in reading that as there will be outside investment coming in soon ?

[Richie]

Via a chance meeting a few months back I was made aware that Fir Park possibly being sold and a move to Ravenscraig afoot.

Obv can't confirm and may have just been one of a range of contingency planning options on table etc, but we'll see what pans out.

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Richie

[wellboy1991]

26 minutes ago, camer0n_mcd said:

 

Would I be wrong in reading that as there will be outside investment coming in soon ?

That’s how I am reading it. 

I am sure McMahon was a blocker to some substantial funding coming into the club from a well off fan. Maybe we are taking the money now which means he’s not happy and wants out the door.  That’s just conjecture mind you but sure I had heard that previously.

[ropy]

Is this where the rollercoaster really starts?

[welldaft]

The Saudis must be pissed off now that they invested in Newcastle. 

Reading between the lines we need more money than we can generate each season just to tread water. We have seen this season what happens when you reduce the budget fairly substantially. 

The million $ question is why anyone who is not a fan would want to throw money at Motherwell FC. That said the boy at Dundee United has done just that. Look where it has got him / them. 

It does seem that this was the plan all along and it probably has come out sooner due to pressure from fans and media etc. 

All that said McMahon has been on the board for over 20 years. He must be in his 70’s or thereabouts. His time has probably come to a natural end. I can imagine he wants to enjoy his life a little more without the pressure of being MFC Chairman.