rowsdower Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 32 minutes ago, JayMFC said: I used to post on here & Steelmen Online quite a while ago but kind of just fell out of posting on forums in general. Long-term lurker though, always enjoy reading this thread & the 'Well match threads to get some of the patter & debate. Sadly, I couldn't remember my previous login details & the Forgot Password thing didn't seem to want to send me any e-mails about it, so a new account it is... Only really decided to make the leap back onto posting here in response to the recent discussion about the now notorious video. In particular, I think the clincher was eliphas's post below, which I was quite keen to reply to. I know quite a few on here but for those I don't, I'm Jay, been on the Well Society Board since early 2017, I've found the experience to be a hefty combination of that rewarding feeling of putting your free time towards something you think is genuinely worthwhile and absolute frustration. But, overall, I think the Society has moved in the right direction in that time and I'm actually really enthusiastic about the future with the new Board we have in place - there now seems to be an opportunity to make some real, positive change to how we go about a few things, and hopefully people begin to recognise that over the course of 2024. Despite not posting on here for some time, I've always been very candid & open if anyone has any questions, be it at Fir Park, in the pub, on social media etc, and I'm happy to return to posting if that helps to break down this idea that there's a veil of silence that engulfs the Society Board. In relation to the point above, I'd just highlight that Derek's video was from an STV interview, which he'd been approached to do & the Society Board as a whole said "absolutely, please do", because he's very good at doing so. There's a fair difference of opinion on the Society Board on a whole host of issues. Sometimes it's cordial disagreement, other times it can be genuinely passionate exchanges of ideas, probably just as anyone would expect. And often those disagreements extend beyond just our Board & include differences in opinion with the club's Executive Board etc. And it's for the best - I don't think any Society member would want a placid Board that just goes with the flow regardless & is essentially impotent. Despite that, we do try to keep those disagreements in-house as much as possible - I don't think it does any organisation any good to have individuals going rogue for no particular reason. That said, I'm always happy to give my own opinions on things when asked. For example, in terms of the video, my reaction to seeing it was largely the same as everyone else's - I found it cringeworthy. As I think has been clarified elsewhere, it's something that was put together by an external agency & as a Board, we got to see the finished article before it was released. So the immediate response was not much of a surprise to me or some others on the Society Board. That said, I don't think any of us can argue with the fact that the agency's aim was to use a parody video of the Wrexham situation to go viral, and that's succeeded. I may have struggled to get through the full 90 seconds without cringing my face inside out but it's done the job it intended to, so I'm happy to hold my own hands up & say "fair enough" so far. One thing is clear, and has been clear for sometime, communication from the Society is key. I think it's improved over the years from what it once was, and folk might be surprised to know that that's largely what people tell us in the main, but I still don't think it's good enough. However, that's something I think we're in a real position to try & change now, and I hope that members will start to see progress there going forward. Essentially, fan-ownership is, by its very nature, work in progress - it probably always will be - and we'll continue to do our best to make sure the Well Society Board is a genuine reflection of the Motherwell support when it comes to representation. I can only assure people that, in every discussion had (almost on a daily basis) that's very much happening. I could probably spend the next hour just going through all the things I think it's worth addressing but, instead, I'll just try & be a bit more active on here to reduce the "silence" a little more. The only thing I will add is that, in the midst of all this talk about investment & fan-ownership, there will never come a time when any proposal that impacts on fan-ownership or the Well Society in any tangible way will be rolled out without every Well Society member having a vote on it. That's integral to the model. Welcome back! These are good insights. Having a society presence in places like this and SO (love it or hate it, there's a lot of us in there), is definitely a positive step towards removing the vaccum that we normally fill with bullshit. I'm encouraged that there have been moves towards engaging with us exiles more. I know we're a small group, but theres an opportunity to harness some energy that we don't get to burn on live matchdays. Most if us know who you and Derek are, and many of us go way back to when there was just firparkcorner, bit it would be useful to see more comment directly from the Society (even if it's you two actually writing it). The video is case in point, if the society had came out in full support, with the info that Derek had provided, maybe that helps smooth things? Either way, I'm glad to see this progress. Now we just need a podcast again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayMFC Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) 21 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said: Really, it's not hearing @JayMFC's opinions that's the real trick. Many have said this. 9 minutes ago, rowsdower said: Welcome back! These are good insights. Having a society presence in places like this and SO (love it or hate it, there's a lot of us in there), is definitely a positive step towards removing the vaccum that we normally fill with bullshit. I'm encouraged that there have been moves towards engaging with us exiles more. I know we're a small group, but theres an opportunity to harness some energy that we don't get to burn on live matchdays. Most if us know who you and Derek are, and many of us go way back to when there was just firparkcorner, bit it would be useful to see more comment directly from the Society (even if it's you two actually writing it). The video is case in point, if the society had came out in full support, with the info that Derek had provided, maybe that helps smooth things? Either way, I'm glad to see this progress. Now we just need a podcast again. Cheers mate. I absolutely do not disagree that the Well Society should be more vocal as its own entity. That's very much forming the basis of some discussions at the minute so I'm hopeful good things might come from that. However, as with everything, it's a democratic board & those of us who value that kind of communication need to make sure we're taking everyone else with us on that. There's always that balance, but I think everyone recognises the need for the Society to be communicating more, it's just about reaching agreement on what that looks like going forward. As I suggested, the new look Board I think provides a lot of opportunity in that regard. I think there's now more of an appetite to really drive that kind of thing forward so, having been quite despondent in spells previously, I'm feeling quite optimistic about where we can take things going forward. Edited January 12 by JayMFC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
well fan for life Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Not to piss on anyone's chips here but this kind of shows the problem in communication. Surely we shouldn't be reliant on someone making forum posts off their own back for clear comms from the WS. Is this not something that should come out via some official means? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 1 hour ago, capt_oats said: Aye, I saw that reply from Burns about us not being able to afford Watt's wages and my initial thought was "and St Mirren could?". Full disclosure, I'd genuinely forgotten that he was at St Mirren but I'm fairly sure they weren't paying the full 10k p/w or whatever it is he's on. Youre forgotting that sweet, sweet, covid loan money St Mirren definitely didnt use on their first team. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'WellDel Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 4 minutes ago, well fan for life said: Not to piss on anyone's chips here but this kind of shows the problem in communication. Surely we shouldn't be reliant on someone making forum posts off their own back for clear comms from the WS. Is this not something that should come out via some official means? I could be wrong (I usually am), but I think part of the problem here could be the kinda crossover situation between the Society Board and the Executive Board, and differences in what both feel the approach to communications/media output should be. It's been clearly stated lately by some of the top men themselves that comms is far from their speciality, so there is a bit of a lack of knowledge/reluctance on the part of the 'old guard' to get too involved in this whole world wide web nonsense, while the fresher blood sitting on the Society Board, who are far more in touch with the large element of the support who consume and crave such stuff daily, will be frustrated at having any proverbial shackles put on info they would like to get out into the mainstream. It's a positive to welcome @JayMFC back on here, as voices like his and Derek's are the ones that the younger demographic of the fan base connect with, as opposed to what many perceive as the stuffy, shirt and tie brigade of the board proper. Much needs to be done and proper lines of regular communication established definitely, but these guys using their own platforms to get info out there is a good start and kudos to them for sticking their heads above the parapet. As we all know, many 'Well Fan 'reply guys' types will never be happy and being a voice/link to the club to me can often be a thankless task!! Fingers crossed some of the discussions and things Jay speaks of above that are currently ongoing can have positive results and things can improve going forward. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliphas Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, JayMFC said: I used to post on here & Steelmen Online quite a while ago but kind of just fell out of posting on forums in general. Long-term lurker though, always enjoy reading this thread & the 'Well match threads to get some of the patter & debate. Sadly, I couldn't remember my previous login details & the Forgot Password thing didn't seem to want to send me any e-mails about it, so a new account it is... Only really decided to make the leap back onto posting here in response to the recent discussion about the now notorious video. In particular, I think the clincher was eliphas's post below, which I was quite keen to reply to. I know quite a few on here but for those I don't, I'm Jay, been on the Well Society Board since early 2017, I've found the experience to be a hefty combination of that rewarding feeling of putting your free time towards something you think is genuinely worthwhile and absolute frustration. But, overall, I think the Society has moved in the right direction in that time and I'm actually really enthusiastic about the future with the new Board we have in place - there now seems to be an opportunity to make some real, positive change to how we go about a few things, and hopefully people begin to recognise that over the course of 2024. Despite not posting on here for some time, I've always been very candid & open if anyone has any questions, be it at Fir Park, in the pub, on social media etc, and I'm happy to return to posting if that helps to break down this idea that there's a veil of silence that engulfs the Society Board. In relation to the point above, I'd just highlight that Derek's video was from an STV interview, which he'd been approached to do & the Society Board as a whole said "absolutely, please do", because he's very good at doing so. There's a fair difference of opinion on the Society Board on a whole host of issues. Sometimes it's cordial disagreement, other times it can be genuinely passionate exchanges of ideas, probably just as anyone would expect. And often those disagreements extend beyond just our Board & include differences in opinion with the club's Executive Board etc. And it's for the best - I don't think any Society member would want a placid Board that just goes with the flow regardless & is essentially impotent. Despite that, we do try to keep those disagreements in-house as much as possible - I don't think it does any organisation any good to have individuals going rogue for no particular reason. That said, I'm always happy to give my own opinions on things when asked. For example, in terms of the video, my reaction to seeing it was largely the same as everyone else's - I found it cringeworthy. As I think has been clarified elsewhere, it's something that was put together by an external agency & as a Board, we got to see the finished article before it was released. So the immediate response was not much of a surprise to me or some others on the Society Board. That said, I don't think any of us can argue with the fact that the agency's aim was to use a parody video of the Wrexham situation to go viral, and that's succeeded. I may have struggled to get through the full 90 seconds without cringing my face inside out but it's done the job it intended to, so I'm happy to hold my own hands up & say "fair enough" so far. One thing is clear, and has been clear for sometime, communication from the Society is key. I think it's improved over the years from what it once was, and folk might be surprised to know that that's largely what people tell us in the main, but I still don't think it's good enough. However, that's something I think we're in a real position to try & change now, and I hope that members will start to see progress there going forward. Essentially, fan-ownership is, by its very nature, work in progress - it probably always will be - and we'll continue to do our best to make sure the Well Society Board is a genuine reflection of the Motherwell support when it comes to representation. I can only assure people that, in every discussion had (almost on a daily basis) that's very much happening. I could probably spend the next hour just going through all the things I think it's worth addressing but, instead, I'll just try & be a bit more active on here to reduce the "silence" a little more. The only thing I will add is that, in the midst of all this talk about investment & fan-ownership, there will never come a time when any proposal that impacts on fan-ownership or the Well Society in any tangible way will be rolled out without every Well Society member having a vote on it. That's integral to the model. Jay, great post. Know your posts from SO days, although I stopped posting there years ago also. Good to see your views. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molotov Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 44 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said: Youre forgotting that sweet, sweet, covid loan money St Mirren definitely didnt use on their first team. Thats quite an accusation and factually incorrect. Tony Watt was signed on 31/1/2023 which was after the previous loss for financial year end 31/5/22. No one but the player, his representatives and both clubs know what wages he was on. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliphas Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 48 minutes ago, well fan for life said: Not to piss on anyone's chips here but this kind of shows the problem in communication. Surely we shouldn't be reliant on someone making forum posts off their own back for clear comms from the WS. Is this not something that should come out via some official means? Agreed. But a bit of a hybrid of the two would be a welcome step for me certainly. Engaging with fans via multiple methods, visible and not so visible, would be good I think. Including online message boards like this that do have a lot of informative posters and obviously smart a coherent minds. Obviously just ignore the St Mirren fans like. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YassinMoutaouakil Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Plenty of Bair in those training pics the clubs posted. Thank f**k. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'WellDel Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 5 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said: Plenty of Bair in those training pics the clubs posted. Thank f**k. Is it just Bair faced whoring of the great man though, to attract bids incase this sudden spike in greatness is a flash in the pan ? Makes you think... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowsdower Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Just thinking out loud, we lack the backing of a religion to really put us over the edge and differentiate us from the gruesome twosome. We also need a good steady flow of money, and nothing beats being right at the top of a pyramid scheme when it comes to raking in the cash. We already have Will Smith on board... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ill Ray Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 With all the transfer hypotheticals have I lost the plot for thinking I’d rather have Bair than Watt? Penney is a no brainer for me if we can sign him, potentially one we could move on too as he’s only 25 you’d take that mould over loaning Furlong again. Although I reckon I maybe preferred Furlong as he had a better attitude and skill wise they’re close. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 4 minutes ago, rowsdower said: Just thinking out loud, we lack the backing of a religion to really put us over the edge and differentiate us from the gruesome twosome. We also need a good steady flow of money, and nothing beats being right at the top of a pyramid scheme when it comes to raking in the cash. We already have Will Smith on board... I think we should send "The Video" to the Dalai Lama and see if he would be interested in pushing Bhuddism thru our Community Links. I mean, we already play in the correct colours, right? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowsdower Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I was thinking along the lines of Tom Cruise and Will Smith, but looking at the list of celebrity Buddhists, I'm changing my mind. Tiger Woods, Jeff Bridges, Steven Seagal, Jet Li. That's a killer consortium right there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camer0n_mcd Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Mr McMahon on the video “It was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek take on some of the trends that are happening in football just now and an attempt to encourage folk into the shop. “We had more Well Society members sign up in the first couple of hours of the video than the last two or three months. And we have already had about 10 declarations of interest – can we find out more about the ability to invest? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) As ever in life you can’t win, I suspect regular comms from the WS will soon turn into ‘Oh no, here’s another statement from the board’. I am not sure what it is I want to hear from them, I would be interested in the financials, how many subscribers, income per month, what loans/donations have we made. Edited January 12 by ropy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 1 hour ago, Molotov said: Thats quite an accusation and factually incorrect. Tony Watt was signed on 31/1/2023 which was after the previous loss for financial year end 31/5/22. No one but the player, his representatives and both clubs know what wages he was on. We know what you are. All your achievements (?) over the past few years are tainted im afraid, that "made the top 6 trophy" should be returned. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsome_Devil Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 15 minutes ago, ropy said: As ever in life you can’t win, I suspect regular comms from the WS will soon turn into ‘Oh no, here’s another statement from the board’. I am not sure what it is I want to hear from them, I would be interested in the financials, how many subscribers, income per month, what loans/donations have we made. That's an excellent point because as poor as the communication has been and as welcome as the commitment to improvement is, there needs to be something to communicate. That probably requires clarification about just what the Society is for, what it's trying to do and where it fits within our new - ie post Alan Burrows will work 372 hours a week and do it, get out his way - structure. Jay was right about fan ownership evolving and while there have been occasional surveys, there has been little concrete seen in that regard for years. I obviously have my own back of a fag packet ideas for how things should be but I suspect there'll be 3,699 or whatever alternative opinions! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowsdower Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Active convos in this thread: The video Society communication Choosing a religion January transfers St J fan arguing with St M fan about cheating with covid money. Missing anything? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurrayWell Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 3 minutes ago, rowsdower said: Active convos in this thread: The video Society communication Choosing a religion January transfers St J fan arguing with St M fan about cheating with covid money. Missing anything? Theo Bair being fuckin' class. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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