santheman

I'm currently having an online spat with someone who still thinks EBs offer should be accepted. His reasoning is "At least he's put a figure on his investment all the WS have given us is a load of things theyre hoping will happen" I'm about ready to punch my screen in.

CEO/Chairman dual role? Could do a lot worse.

Apparently there's 2 mailing lists. One for the weekly newsletter and one for member communications. I was on the newsletter list but not the other most important one so best emailing the WS to see if you're affected as well.

I'm getting f*** off Barmack vibes from that.

That must be one of the most one sided highlights I've seen in a while. Other than our goals you would think we were never in their half.

I have high hopes for Brian Caldwell once he has the shackles of the current Executive Board removed. I think once that happens the collaborative working arrangements that we all want might just become a reality.

Obviously finding the traditional Scottish pre season a bit tough.

There's lots of different scenarios that could happen and hardly anyone apart from on here and P&B has highlighted all the potential pitfalls. I'm hopeful that all of the issues will be covered by the WS statement and that will filter down onto all the social media platforms and maybe then this half baked plan will get the scrutiny it deserves from a wider audience. Someone over on P&B suggested that instead of preaching to the converted on here we should be concentrating on taking this message to FB and X where the majority of our fans seem to lurk and debunk some of the false information going the rounds. Might not be a bad idea.

Haven't spoken to anyone yet who can answer that but the romance of some American investing in the club has certainly swayed a few people who aren't looking beyond the headline grabber into the actual detail of the offer. The same ones also seem to think that we need investment at any cost (thanks Mr McMahon)and as his is the only offer on the table we should just take it. I have a few 'Well supporting mates in that group and have done my best to convince them it's a bad deal with some success, but I think until the WS come out with their plan some are still going to think that EB's proposal is the way forward. Hopefully that will give me the ammunition I need to convince the remaining EB fanboys in my circle otherwise. Its actually frightening how many of them had no real knowledge of the WS, how many members it has and how much funds it has raised. Pretty sure I'm not alone in that.

Have go agree with that. I think the longer this goes on the worse it's going to get so it's important that the WS get their proposals out there sooner rather than later. Appreciate they're all volunteers and have put an enormous amount of work into it but the longer this drags on I fear the division and acrimony amongst our fans will only get worse. I only hope what they do eventually publish blows what EB is proposing out of the water.

Gone from detesting it to liking it then hating it to loving it. It's that kind of strip, splits opinion right down the middle.

Apparently Steelboy is good at admin.

Sally (lovely lady) handles all the WS administrative duties and probably loads more tasks not on her job description.

Guy that knows the League. Happy with that.

That's the first time I've laughed at a post on here in ages. Aye running a business of any description is dead easy.

I don't think we're apart at all. We just want what's best for a club we've supported all our lives and want to see them improve on and off the park, if that requires external investment then it has to be on our terms. In terms of a functioning Chairman of the Executive Board, yes it should be someone appointed by the majority shareholder or at the very least someone who shares the core values of the WS. Whether there is someone currently on the WS board that would be willing to take on what is essentially an unpaid role and all the hassle that comes with it I don't know.

If you believe the Executive Board then yes they are. My own opinion is that we could probably plod on quite comfortably as we are but there will come a day when that outside investment is needed, when? Who knows. I don't think it's the responsibilty of the WS to physically scource outside funding but if they're going to reject EBs offer then they at least need to show a way forward and a plan on how to achieve it to counter that offer which is what everyone against EBs proposal is looking for them to provide. I assume all this will be detailed in their soon to be released document. I'm not for a minute expecting them to go knocking on doors but if the changes we want to see in the boardroom came about and the WS became the dominant force then seeking investment would surely be in their remit as Executive Directors.

Thanks for your kind words. I believe the WS have nearly completed a 50+ page business plan to state their case so looking forward to that. Hopefully they can condense all the information into an easy read document. I think we need to know exactly how they intend to raise the funds required (do we even know how much is actually required to take us to this "next level" or are we just going to use EBs proposed investment figure as a bench mark and try to match that?). In an ideal world we would have 2 arms of the WS, one to salt away funds for a rainy day that it was originally intended for and to fund community projects and one to concentrate on attracting investment to help fund the day to day running costs and improvements to the infrastructure.

Depends how much each WS member is prepared to put into the club. I don't know the breakdown of membership but we had 3300 members at the last count which has probably increased since then. How much does the WS bring in via DD's? How many are Junior members unlikely to contribute monthly? How many have made an initial payment but nothing ongoing? That would give us an indication of what level of ongoing funds the WS could reasonably expect at current levels

All I would add to that is if TRUE fan ownership is the holy grail then we had better be prepared to dig very deep into our pockets.

Assuming they didnt sign off on it with one arm twisted behind their backs and a gun pointing at their heads. Also assuming they had a vote which hasnt really been confirmed (unless I missed something which is possible).

Maybe this is the market we're operating in now. I f*****g hope not.

Unless there was a condition that stated the WS MUST retain a minimum of 51% of the shareholding now and in the future regardless of any future jiggerypokery in regards to share issues then its bye bye to fan ownership. All the talk about accounting practices and valuation of the club is a side issue for me and clouds the main point.

Amongst my circle of Well fans I found that initially most of them were slightly intrigued (and some won over)by the glamour of an American investor. When the actual figures came out every one of them completely changed their stance. I'm hoping that my circle of mixed age group some who are social media savvy and some who never use it is a representative of the wider fan base and see the current offer for what it is, a non starter.

We've also got a new CEO on the executive board who I imagine will do what his new bosses tell him rather than what he thinks himself. I say that assuming he has voting rights.