Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Randolphtops]

1 hour ago, CoF said:

There's that, but it also puts to bed the discussion on whether we should part ways at the end of this season. I'd also say that most fans are being pretty level headed about the manager - he's liked, people know the limitations he's working in and he's shown he's got it in him to get us playing some good football (yes even this season). Everyone knows the results haven't been good enough but the seethe just isn't there and you can see that in how this extension has been received, a few grumbles but mostly okay with the news.

I should caveat that I haven't been on steelmenonline - no idea how it's going down over there. 

Similar to here, some reasonable rational debate, no angst against SK, just the communication shambles

[santheman]

1 hour ago, CoF said:

There's that, but it also puts to bed the discussion on whether we should part ways at the end of this season. I'd also say that most fans are being pretty level headed about the manager - he's liked, people know the limitations he's working in and he's shown he's got it in him to get us playing some good football (yes even this season). Everyone knows the results haven't been good enough but the seethe just isn't there and you can see that in how this extension has been received, a few grumbles but mostly okay with the news.

I should caveat that I haven't been on steelmenonline - no idea how it's going down over there. 

Surprisingly it seems to have been taken rather well so far.

[Stevie Kirk]

1 hour ago, CoF said:

There's that, but it also puts to bed the discussion on whether we should part ways at the end of this season. I'd also say that most fans are being pretty level headed about the manager - he's liked, people know the limitations he's working in and he's shown he's got it in him to get us playing some good football (yes even this season). Everyone knows the results haven't been good enough but the seethe just isn't there and you can see that in how this extension has been received, a few grumbles but mostly okay with the news.

I should caveat that I haven't been on steelmenonline - no idea how it's going down over there. 

[Busta Nut]

I don't care how much money the Sidemen have. They are a bunch of knobs who insult women, among other things, online for whatever millions of followers they have. 

Maybe that makes me sound old anaw but get them so far to f**k. Even in this hypothetical. 

[JayMFC]

7 minutes ago, eliphas said:

Should add, also absolutely 100% keen to see the WS strategy.

Just on the discussions around a WS strategy, worth highlighting that my Society comrade Derek posted a bit more around the thinking there on Steelmen Online earlier. I'm not sure if he's registered here though, so figured I'd go with the old copy & paste job:

"I just wanted to pick up on the point made about The Society having the opportunity to present it's own plan.

Firstly, as some have pointed out, I think from it's inception the Society has been hugely successful but in my opinion one of our real failings has been to effectively communicate our success. I noticed a very good summary from capt_oats on Pie & Bovril that detailed since 16/17 the fan-ownership model has been profitable; Net - £2,415,205. Our loans to the club (around 900k) have been invaluable and who knows where we'd be without that input.

It's important to note that there's room for significant improvement from the Society and if we want to move forward and succeed we must acknowledge our shortcomings. On that note, I'd argue that we've simply not been good enough at is converting those members who are not paying a monthly subscription to actually stump up (if they are in a position to do so) and we've not inspired those who are currently paying to up their contributions. There's many reasons why people might not be paying a monthly subscription but the change from the original model to the current one example; some have paid their initial fee before it was move to monthly DD's and haven't paid much since. This should be an easy fix, and as Jay has highlighted, I feel with the current re-vamped board in place we are in a much better position to do this sort of thing. 

On said plan, I've been really impressed and inspired by the additions to The Well Society board at the end of last year. The contributions from Amber, Sean and Phil have been excellent and I believe we're moving forward at pace.

From our discussions, and I hope that other members of the Society board who contributed to this don't mind me sharing their vision, it has became clear we must explore in detail the potential of both the 'Well Society and the operations of the club to maximise revenue and to grow. 

Some suggestions put forward from Board members include; 

- Extensive market research of our fan base, cross referencing habits around tickets sales with our membership to identify potential membership growth. In turn allowing the board to develop a strategy for increasing the revenue of TWS, forecasting financial targets therefore dictating our organising strategy for future years. 

- Commission a study of the operational structure of the club similar to what other Scottish Clubs are doing. This will help us identify what additional roles and infrastructure are required and what financial investment would be secured for them over a set time period. A fundraising strategy can then be developed as part of a comprehensive operational strategy that ensures cohesion and shared vision throughout the club that can be collectively evaluated regularly.

- Host a fact finding conference at Fir Park bringing together fan owned clubs across Europe to explore best practice, develop relationships and commercial opportunities.

This alongside the ongoing work and sessions hosted by Phil Speedie should ensure a closer relationship between the Majority Shareholder and the operations of the club and I would hope that it would empower members to be more involved and bring them closer to the club and the vehicle which they are funding. 

By compiling the results from the above projects we can present a fully comprehensive 5-10 year strategy that will sustainably grow the revenue of the club, reduce potential financial risks and ideally ensure remain competitive on the park. The strategy should lay out the require project specific investment and infrastructure requirements and lay out a roadmap to achieve each. 

In my personal opinion, I believe that this work can and should be done whilst continuing to keep our options open to potential investors, providing they are credible and fit with our values.

We've no doubt got a wealth of talent in our ranks that is going untapped. We've got 3,800 not only from Lanarkshire but across the Globe and we simply don't know enough about them and we don't know what each individual can bring to the table. That needs to change, and it needs to change fast, regardless of external investment or not. 

I've been really heartened by progress and I'd like to thank all those that have been involved it in, but there's a long way to go and I'd like as many 'Well fans to be part of that journey as possible. 

Regardless what the future brings, I think discussions like this are so important in highlighting how much the Club means to so many people."

 

[RandomGuy.]

26 minutes ago, Al B said:

The oldest of the Sidemen has just turned 31.

The 7 of them have a combined net worth of close to 100 million and have annual passive income in the 10's of millions.

They have close business ties with Logan Paul and Mr Beast, add them into the mix and you're talking money that most "serious" businessmen (and Taylor Swift ) could only dream of.

I mean it's not any of them obviously and never will be, but to write-off game-changing, business-changing social media entrapraneurs as adult children playing on the internet, makes you sound about 90 years old.

They have a 30yo who wore 69 for a charity match and thought it was the funniest thing anyones ever done.

Im afraid to say that their target audience is under 16, and if youre a fan and over 30 yourself, then you shouldnt have access to the internet or be allowed near schools.

Edited February 22 by RandomGuy.

[wellboy1991]

10 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

I don't care how much money the Sidemen have. They are a bunch of knobs who insult women, among other things, online for whatever millions of followers they have. 

Maybe that makes me sound old anaw but get them so far to f**k. Even in this hypothetical. 

Absolutely this. Would be mortified if they mutants had anything to do with our club. Genuinely would. 
 

We would end up giving trials to all their wee YouTube pals and it would be a mockery. 

[well fan for life]

2 hours ago, AnderooMFC said:

I do get the fear that "made his money in streaming" could be less running a channel/service and more "YouTuber/Twitch" fanny. New investment to come from Jake fucking Paul, kiosks only sell PRIME and every comms ends with "like and subscribe"

The funniest thing that could happen here is Sam North buys the club. 

[KirkySuperSub]

We're gonnae end up being sponsored by "Pornhub" next season, ain't we?

[camer0n_mcd]

Does Goggsy enter the EuroMillions by any chance?

[superwell87]

4 minutes ago, KirkySuperSub said:

We're gonnae end up being sponsored by "Pornhub" next season, ain't we?

Aye, then there will be pumpings (either way) every week

[thisGRAEME]

48 minutes ago, JayMFC said:

Just on the discussions around a WS strategy, worth highlighting that my Society comrade Derek posted a bit more around the thinking there on Steelmen Online earlier. I'm not sure if he's registered here though, so figured I'd go with the old copy & paste job:

"I just wanted to pick up on the point made about The Society having the opportunity to present it's own plan.

Firstly, as some have pointed out, I think from it's inception the Society has been hugely successful but in my opinion one of our real failings has been to effectively communicate our success. I noticed a very good summary from capt_oats on Pie & Bovril that detailed since 16/17 the fan-ownership model has been profitable; Net - £2,415,205. Our loans to the club (around 900k) have been invaluable and who knows where we'd be without that input.

It's important to note that there's room for significant improvement from the Society and if we want to move forward and succeed we must acknowledge our shortcomings. On that note, I'd argue that we've simply not been good enough at is converting those members who are not paying a monthly subscription to actually stump up (if they are in a position to do so) and we've not inspired those who are currently paying to up their contributions. There's many reasons why people might not be paying a monthly subscription but the change from the original model to the current one example; some have paid their initial fee before it was move to monthly DD's and haven't paid much since. This should be an easy fix, and as Jay has highlighted, I feel with the current re-vamped board in place we are in a much better position to do this sort of thing. 

On said plan, I've been really impressed and inspired by the additions to The Well Society board at the end of last year. The contributions from Amber, Sean and Phil have been excellent and I believe we're moving forward at pace.

From our discussions, and I hope that other members of the Society board who contributed to this don't mind me sharing their vision, it has became clear we must explore in detail the potential of both the 'Well Society and the operations of the club to maximise revenue and to grow. 

Some suggestions put forward from Board members include; 

- Extensive market research of our fan base, cross referencing habits around tickets sales with our membership to identify potential membership growth. In turn allowing the board to develop a strategy for increasing the revenue of TWS, forecasting financial targets therefore dictating our organising strategy for future years. 

- Commission a study of the operational structure of the club similar to what other Scottish Clubs are doing. This will help us identify what additional roles and infrastructure are required and what financial investment would be secured for them over a set time period. A fundraising strategy can then be developed as part of a comprehensive operational strategy that ensures cohesion and shared vision throughout the club that can be collectively evaluated regularly.

- Host a fact finding conference at Fir Park bringing together fan owned clubs across Europe to explore best practice, develop relationships and commercial opportunities.

This alongside the ongoing work and sessions hosted by Phil Speedie should ensure a closer relationship between the Majority Shareholder and the operations of the club and I would hope that it would empower members to be more involved and bring them closer to the club and the vehicle which they are funding. 

By compiling the results from the above projects we can present a fully comprehensive 5-10 year strategy that will sustainably grow the revenue of the club, reduce potential financial risks and ideally ensure remain competitive on the park. The strategy should lay out the require project specific investment and infrastructure requirements and lay out a roadmap to achieve each. 

In my personal opinion, I believe that this work can and should be done whilst continuing to keep our options open to potential investors, providing they are credible and fit with our values.

We've no doubt got a wealth of talent in our ranks that is going untapped. We've got 3,800 not only from Lanarkshire but across the Globe and we simply don't know enough about them and we don't know what each individual can bring to the table. That needs to change, and it needs to change fast, regardless of external investment or not. 

I've been really heartened by progress and I'd like to thank all those that have been involved it in, but there's a long way to go and I'd like as many 'Well fans to be part of that journey as possible. 

Regardless what the future brings, I think discussions like this are so important in highlighting how much the Club means to so many people."

 

This is the most sensible thing I've read around our club business since we emptied Jacob Blyth for nothing for doing balloons with Holly Hagan.

['WellDel]

14 minutes ago, KirkySuperSub said:

We're gonnae end up being sponsored by "Pornhub" next season, ain't we?

Massive disappointment for many when they search for MILF and the videos that come up are 'Motherwell In Lightning Form' and is just a showreel of Theo Bair's latest sexy goals in C&A.

*(although I wouldn't find that a challenging w*nk, personally).

[Vietnam91]

3 hours ago, JayMFC said:

It's important to note that there's room for significant improvement from the Society and if we want to move forward and succeed we must acknowledge our shortcomings. On that note, I'd argue that we've simply not been good enough at is converting those members who are not paying a monthly subscription to actually stump up (if they are in a position to do so) and we've not inspired those who are currently paying to up their contributions. There's many reasons why people might not be paying a monthly subscription but the change from the original model to the current one example; some have paid their initial fee before it was move to monthly DD's and haven't paid much since. This should be an easy fix, and as Jay has highlighted, I feel with the current re-vamped board in place we are in a much better position to do this sort of thing. 

This for me is the biggest rub. Adding £10 pm DD to a £400 season ticket takes supporting us into Old Firm territory. I take exception that the specific WS pages on the official website no longer advise what the thresholds are. There is no option other than a recurring payment which is taken in perpetuity. As a fan owned organisation with a social and moral core I think this very questionable. If some wish to pay their £50 month to reach 1886 level by all means but it shouldn't be expected. I also think the phrase "stump up" is poorly worded as it evokes evasion. Motherwell is a COMMERCIAL sporting enterprise. Now yes it has an emotive element that Ten Pin bowling or a golf club may not match but a search to plug doomsday funding gaps should no be to pump those already contributing for more. It is lazy and not as sustainable as other options.

We have 4,000 core attendee's including many juveniles and young adults who are intrinsic to our future survival if converted into full paying adults. Probably another 500 floating supporters who attend when work or proximity allows. We take 8,000 to a semi final at Hampden, and a further 6,000 to 8,000 on top of that to a final (grannies and aunties included). Motherwell and the surrounding towns have seen population growth through building and many newcomers to the geographic catchment. There are non WS member season ticket holders, countless lapsed fans, those who never considered us as an option that should be encourage and incentivised way before we go for the low hanging fruit of those already on the hook.

I look at it like this, if the funds come in to the WS or as extra ticket revenue I don't care, ultimately its the same pot. If the club has it directly then its less they have to ask the WS for in the bad times. If we can increase our home gates and that can be from a multitude of means and include making FP a marked diary fixture for away fans. St Mirren have significantly upped their attendances, 200 alone driven by a schools drive. I can't say how many free tickets are in that mix too which may skew things massively.

To give context, if we were to increase our average attendance next season by 1,000 pro-rata per stand and age group I reckon you are looking at £300,000 in generated revenue. Yes more work required but more sustainable and fairer but increases atmosphere, ancillary sales and importantly a larger pool of engaged fans to get involved with.

 

Edited February 22 by Vietnam91

[Neil86]

Biereth has just scored another lovely goal for Graz.

Will say it again, he was at us by accident.

A top top player.

[Mr. Brightside]

Biereth scoring for Sturm Graz in the Conference League and Max Johnston starting at right back.

[JamesP_81]

47 minutes ago, KirkySuperSub said:

We're gonnae end up being sponsored by "Pornhub" next season, ain't we?

At least that should keep us up.  

[Dosser1886]

51 minutes ago, KirkySuperSub said:

We're gonnae end up being sponsored by "Pornhub" next season, ain't we?

Just think of the click count on the club website.

[eliphas]

12 minutes ago, JamesP_81 said:

At least that should keep us up.  

Good stuff.

[eliphas]

1 hour ago, Busta Nut said:

I don't care how much money the Sidemen have. They are a bunch of knobs who insult women, among other things, online for whatever millions of followers they have. 

Maybe that makes me sound old anaw but get them so far to f**k. Even in this hypothetical. 

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.