Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[capt_oats]

4 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

See Biereth just joiner Sturm Graz permanently for £4m.

Genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to see him go for significantly more in his next move.

Absolutely hilarious that we had him last season like.

[StAndrew7]

1 minute ago, capt_oats said:

Genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to see him go for significantly more in his next move.

Absolutely hilarious that we had him last season like.

What the f**k has happened to his head.

['WellDel]

1 minute ago, capt_oats said:

Genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to see him go for significantly more in his next move.

Absolutely hilarious that we had him last season like.

Will be a good pub story for Charlie Dunn in years to come,  telling folk he was the most expensive player he ever maimed.

[camer0n_mcd]

Someone on here summed it up perfectly when they said they were convinced he was sent to us by accident. A player that was very clearly far to good for us from the minute we got him.

[Vietnam91]

So weird seeing players with a mop of hair when you've been so used to them with a bic hairdo.

Mika, Curtis Main, Henrik Ojamaa, Scott Brown

It also appears 1 Bireth = 1 Motherwell Football Club, are Graz paying it up too?

Edited July 4 by Vietnam91

[standupforthemotherwell]

16 minutes ago, Vietnam91 said:

It also appears 1 Bireth = 1 Motherwell Football Club, are Graz paying it up too?

Mika has future add ons so he is actually worth more than the club once he scores a few goals 

[JamesP_81]

29 minutes ago, Vietnam91 said:

So weird seeing players with a mop of hair when you've been so used to them with a bic hairdo.

Mika, Curtis Main, Henrik Ojamaa, Scott Brown

It also appears 1 Bireth = 1 Motherwell Football Club, are Graz paying it up too?

They're paying it up £300k a year but Arsenal have to contribute that each year as well . 

[RandomGuy.]

41 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

Genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to see him go for significantly more in his next move.

Absolutely hilarious that we had him last season like.

Guess the thing with Austria is that it's the perfect place to get swallowed into the "Red Bull" system which seems to bring big money.

[AnderooMFC]

32 minutes ago, Vietnam91 said:

It also appears 1 Bireth = 1 Motherwell Football Club, are Graz paying it up too?

I hear that SG apparently started off saying "He could get injured tomorrow, and so is essentially worthless" Also, they accept he has footballing knowledge in his brain, however "since that will never be sold, it is also essentially worth nothing"

[Gianfranco]

It just shows how much we developed Mika. Mon Arsenal get the next one sent up.

[eliphas]

1 hour ago, Vietnam91 said:

Are you two related?

Shivute Motherwell Supporters Club 4EVA

[JamesP_81]

1 minute ago, Gianfranco said:

It just shows how much we developed Mika. Mon Arsenal get the next one sent up.

You think wee could brass neck a development fee ? Clearly shows we are the place for young talent to go. So just under 20% of SG's double winning starting XI strolled in directly from FP?!

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

As much as I joke about #numberpolis and the OCD in me would like to see our best players take the starting XI numbers, you really can't read into it these days.

Last season we announced Lamie, Maguire, Obika and Efford in 4, 6, 9 and 11 and they started 3 league games between them.

Lennon Miller is probably doing that thing where he wants 38 to be his number wherever he goes.

[camer0n_mcd]

I mean, I've never particularly been bothered about numbers, but having holding midfielders wearing the numbers 11 and 7 is where I draw the line. Kettlewell oot.

[fatcalf]

Once again evidence of club employees being briefed against the WS today. Well in my mind at least. Replied to a FB post from a part time matchday jobber giving it the "leave it to the professionals" argument this morning, backed up by former security chief Alan Marshall later, and another of the security team who I reckon I've seen backing up Bob Park at matches. Maybe best they don't raise their heads above the parapet to speak out against the owners methinks. Who's for a cull if it goes our way?

[JamesP_81]

40 minutes ago, camer0n_mcd said:

I mean, I've never particularly been bothered about numbers, but having holding midfielders wearing the numbers 11 and 7 is where I draw the line. Kettlewell oot.

As much as I would like traditional number positions I've grown to not be too bothered who wears what number.  What does make my p1ss boil tho is a team being announced/listed in numerical order .

[Vietnam91]

51 minutes ago, JamesP_81 said:

As much as I would like traditional number positions I've grown to not be too bothered who wears what number.  What does make my p1ss boil tho is a team being announced/listed in numerical order .

The WS needs 2 (at least new faces) may I suggest you run on that manifesto. You can discuss with the stadium announcer face to face.

[Vietnam91]

In light of a public vote brewing and a purchaser wishing to pay £1.95m or thereabouts with £1.65m on an interest free mortgage arrangement I really do hope the club board have asked him to provide evidence of funds and affordability.

If I went into my local Halifax and looked to get any mortgage I'd be asked to produce evidence of what I have in savings and in my current account, copies of my last years full statements, credit check and 3-12 months of wage slips. It would then all be plugged into an affordability calculator with my personal overheads (phone, utilities, insurances, council tax, etc.).

However, if we're at a place where this hasn't been demonstrated while looking to actively transfer control to a £7m turnover business when any one of us would have higher hurdles to jump through for a payday loan then the list of flaws with this continue to grow.

I mean I could sell up everything I own and post the £300k down payment and then spend the next 12 months scrambling to make the next one, especially if that initial payment is all that's been asked to be demonstrated with nothing beyond.

Add in the guarantee to allow for continued operation of the club, secured at present by the WS's reserves has not been seemingly discussed at board level if those funds were eroded to zero. This is all stuff that has to be addressed by those putting the prospectus forward because without it an informed decision cannot be made.

[David1979]

One thing that is absolutely astounding about all of this is that the Heads of Terms mention:

"The WS commitment is £200k for the first three years and £250k for the next three" yet nothing else is clarified.

Here's my question - What happens if the Well Society can't make that commitment at any point? There has to be repercussions? Otherwise, why even quote a number? 

Now, in the absence of any information on the penalties for missed payments, despite me asking Erik outright and him providing a vague answer about how penalties aren't included in Heads of Terms, let's have a look at some of the penalties I've seen enacted in the past, and how they could apply to the Well Society:

 Equity Dilution:

• What Could Happen: The Well Society’s ownership stake in the club could be reduced.
• How It Works: If the Society misses a payment, more shares could be issued to Wild Sheep Sports (WSS), decreasing the Society’s ownership percentage (in fairness, Erik says this shouldn't be the case, but you'll note the use of the word "shouldn't" rather than "wouldn't". Besides, I don't think a claim made on a football forum would stand up in court if he decided to enact this option.

Financial Penalties:

• What Could Happen: The Society might have to pay additional fees or interest.
• How It Works: The agreement could include a clause that charges interest or fixed penalties for missed payments, increasing the amount the Society owes.

Reduction of Benefits:

• What Could Happen: The Society could lose certain privileges.
• How It Works: Benefits like voting rights on certain issues or access to club facilities might be reduced or suspended until the missed payments are made.

Acceleration Clause:

• What Could Happen: The Society could be required to pay the remaining balance immediately.
• How It Works: Missing one payment could trigger a requirement to pay all remaining committed funds upfront.

Loss of Buyback Option:

• What Could Happen: The Society could lose the option to buy back shares.
• How It Works: If the Society fails to meet financial commitments, they might forfeit the option to buy back shares from WSS.

Or, it could even be the following, which is the one I'm particularly concerned about outside of the first option:

Impact on Existing Loan:

What Could Happen: The £868,000 loan from the Society to the club could be affected. Well, the £434,000 that would remain after 50% of the original amount is converted into shares to help the Well Society maintain a 50.1% majority shareholding in a football club that it would have previously held over 70% in.

How It Works:

• Debt Forgiveness Negotiation: If the Society fails to meet its financial commitments, the club could negotiate to have the loan forgiven in exchange for the Society being forgiven for not making its required payments.

It should be mentioned at this point that the Well Society loan is currently secured against the stadium. And more importantly, the ground it sits on.

All of a sudden that "clean balance sheet" looks really attractive. Why? For the following reasons:

Release of Security:

• What Happens: If the loan is forgiven, the security (the stadium) associated with the loan would be released. This means the stadium would no longer be collateral for the debt since the debt itself would be eliminated.
• Implication: Without the loan, the club would own the stadium free and clear of that specific debt obligation.

Potential Increased Control for Wild Sheep Sports:

• Scenario: If Wild Sheep Sports becomes the majority shareholder, and the loan is forgiven, they could have increased control over the club’s assets, including the stadium.
• Implication: WSS, as the majority shareholder, would have significant influence over decisions regarding the stadium, including the possibility of selling it.

Now, it might be the case that none of the above would apply. 

Or, indeed, any or a combination of the above could apply. We don't know, because no one is telling us. All we know is that Wild Sheep Sports is extremely eager to eliminate the loan the club has from the Well Society. As soon as a vote to approve Barmack's offer happens the loan is reduced immediately by 50%. Which leaves only 50% to get out the way.

Now, I could be wrong. I just wonder if the information on those penalties will be provided in good time for the membership to scrutinise before voting?

[capt_oats]

On 02/07/2024 at 21:28, RandomGuy. said:

FWIW

System says the most similar Motherwell full back is Jake Carroll (2019/20), which will mean more to you than me probably.

This seemed to get lost in the mix with all the other nonsense that's been going on. Fwiw, I thought Jake Carroll was absolutely fine - he was our left back in a team that finished 3rd*.

Doing a bit of digging on other forums there didn't seem to be that much of a strong opinion about him one way or another however I noticed this comment on the Oxford forum:

Quote

"Seddon was a good athlete, had a bit of pace and a decent left foot. But weirdly, had zero appreciation of space and couldn't defend. I don't ever remember him making a tackle."

It's probably worth putting it into context that in the system we use the defensive side is less of an issue as the wing backs are effectively playing as left mids and neither Furlong or Gent started from a particularly great base defensively although they were clearly younger.

So;

Good athlete
Bit of pace
Good left foot
Bit weak defensively

Of our 9 (NINE) new signings so far only one has been a loan so that's something I guess.