Jay

http://www.thewellsociety.co.uk/2017/11/23/share-sale-quick-update/

Just on some of the points raised about the Share Sale, I've been sent the following points to post up: As always, if folk want to discuss issues among other posters on Steelmen Online then this is the thread for it, but if you have genuine questions that you want answers to the best way to get them is always going to be e-mailing the Society directly (Douglas Dickie and Tom Feely are responsible for answering questions on the Share Sale, so you need to e-mail for those answers) - well.society@motherwellfc.co.uk.

I'm not sure what the deal is there mate - the plan was always to name the top three but to just have the other twenty-two in alphabetical order, but that was partly to avoid an ex-player turning up on the night and being named bottom of (albeit a very impressive) pile! Now that Friday is out the way though, I'm not sure if there'd be any harm in it... I'll leave it up to Sparra to decide.

I didn't have Higdon on my list but I think to suggest it's bonkers for him to be included is rather wide of the mark for the reasons above. My original fear was that the entire 25 would be modern era players, so I was actually really pleased to see the likes of Charlie Aitken and Andy Paton in there. But I agree with the post above - it's really easy to dismiss players from the recent past as not being as good as those from the 60s or 70s or whatever but, although there'll be the odd element of truth in there in some cases, I think that's just as much to do with nostalgia than anything else. That's how it works - we all have our heroes from our own "golden days" of supporting Motherwell (for me it was the early-to-mid 90s) and players after that will never quite come as close. There'll be kids at this very moment worshipping the ground Louis Moult walks on and, in thirty or forty years they'll talk about how no Motherwell player post-2017 came close to lacing Louis's boots. Anyway, Friday night was an absolutely cracking evening and all the guys there were on top form (even a halfcut Super Sub turning up unexpectedly!).

Agree with the posts above. Cringed when I read the Phil O'Donnell tribute stuff and immediately thought about how our entire participation in the 2005 final was over-shadowed by the Davie Cooper stuff. I was then a bit concerned I was being really harsh, but then mentioned it to mates and realised they all thought exactly the same!

Hi folks, As much as I'm in the loop with the whole Share Sale initiative, I do think it's a unique subject matter with some on the Society Board better placed than myself to directly answer a number of these questions, rather than me attempting to stumble through posts during breaks at work. I've sent a link to the last couple of pages of this thread around the rest of the Society Board and asked that the points raised are tackled ASAP.

http://www.thewellsociety.co.uk/2017/10/30/share-sale-lets-build-for-the-future/

McHugh & Bigi ran the midfield, and Fisher was excellent up front again (just wish the big man could nick a goal!) - but I've went with Frear. Thought he roasted the Dundee right side on a number of occasions and was a big part of our attacking prowess last night.

Posters in and around the ground is something we've been looking at for a few weeks now but there's been a few frustrating obstacles to overcome first. However, this is a great idea and I'll be putting it forward to the rest of the Board shortly.

Sparra, Jay & Busta look back at the Lanarkshire Derby victory before previewing Sunday’s semi-final at Hampden. Peter Hartley, Stephen Robinson, Dalziel Park, Off-Air 3, ticket sales, and more all on the agenda too: http://www.mfc1886.com/mfc-podcast-2017-18-episode-13/

This.

I've been a wee bit out the loop the last 2 weeks (and not been on here) as I was moving house and journeying to/from Slovenia, but further information on this should be released in the near future.

Worth pointing out that, although I don't necessarily agree with all the points made in here, I do try and relay the majority of views and criticisms from this thread to the Society Board so all debates, disagreements and criticism is welcome!

Absolutely. The Well Society has thankfully ditched the tired scare-mongering of the "you NEED to join us or an army of South American drug-lords are going to take over the club" patter previously - there's no attempts to force anybody to join. The current priority is to pay off Les & John while trying to encourage as many new members as possible, something that is ongoing. Am I completely happy with the Well Society? Absolutely not, but there's certainly a bit more positivity about the whole thing at present, going by the feedback and response from 'Well fans. In terms of the model itself, there's never been any suggestion that the club is unsustainable without the six digit sum from the Society. The club is now budgeting sensibly and operating within its own means, as was the plan all along. As a result of operating within its means, the club would probably skirt with relegation on a fairly regular basis. I'd be very surprised if any 'Well fans were genuinely shocked by that given the size of our club. Where the Society's contribution is important is bridging the gap between that and having higher ambitions. The Well Society's contribution doesn't keep the club afloat, it pays for things like Cedric Kipre's contract extension, the ability to bring Liam Grimshaw and Peter Hartley to the club, and having a new deal on the table for Moult - things that may not have been possible without the monthly pledges from Society members. If you take the Society money away, the club would still be sustainable - it just may be sustainable outwith the top flight in the next few years, again something I don't think is a massive surprise to anybody. For me personally, I would be far more likely to contribute to the Well Society knowing that I'd be constantly seeing the benefit of my input on the park, in the way of a better playing squad that we may have had originally, than I would paying into the Society knowing my cash was just going into a secret stash somewhere for a seemingly inevitable crisis. That's a personal view and others may disagree and, as kmcalpin says, they are more than welcome not to be a part of the Society as a result. I have close friends who I go to the games with every week who aren't members, it's a personal choice I'm more than happy to respect.

I don't have the exact figures to hand, but I believe it was around 10-15% of the total adult membership. Although in the context of "turnout" that might seem a little low, the whole idea behind the new initiative to conduct polls on a more frequent basis is to give a snapshot into the opinions of the membership when the Society Board are making a decision, rather than balloting every member in a binding vote (like the Sevco ballot), and we hope to hold more polls on issues in the future. We had originally thought that there may only be a few dozen members who would take part in this original poll, so we're very pleased with the number who did and the overwhelming support for the proposal has obviously been taken on board. In other news, the bucket collection before the Aberdeen cup tie has raised £1,255.05: http://www.thewellsociety.co.uk/2017/09/29/quarter-final-bucket-collection-total/

The Share Sale proposal poll got a really good response, certainly far more than we'd anticipated. Results are online: http://www.thewellsociety.co.uk/2017/09/28/share-sale-proposal-member-poll-results/

Wrang thread!

Re-listed the Jamie Pollock jersey as it didn't sell last week - quite surprised at that given the front of the jersey is signed by the squad that made the Scottish Cup Final in 2011. This week, it's joined by a signed, match worn jersey belonging to Henri Anier: http://www.thewellsociety.co.uk/2017/09/28/this-weeks-auction-items-henri-anier-jamie-pollock-signed-by-2010-11-squad/

We've spoken about the Well Society at great length on here and in person, so I won't go too deep into a reply - a lot of what you've mentioned are the exact same issues I've had with the Society over the years, and continue to do so, and we both had similar experiences at first in terms of paying £300 we each couldn't afford. The reasons behind the Share Sale proposal are there in the statement for those who want to check - primarily taking advantage of the Double Your Money offer, while also building up the reserves that should have been there from the start. Additionally, any questions or comments are welcome to be sent to Tom or Douglas (e-mails above) - as mentioned earlier, responses will be fired out pretty quickly. One point I would make is that I'm not sure where the £70k figure is coming from? The Society puts over £100k into the club annually. It doesn't necessarily make much difference to your post, but worth pointing out that it's a fairly crucial six digit sum.

Right folks, for any questions on the proposal, both Co-Chairs of the Society are available to contact - Tom Feely (tmhfeely@gmail.com) and Douglas Dickie (douglashdickie@gmail.com) will respond to any Share Sale related queries or comments over the weekend and next week. Just a point on both the poll and the surgery on Thursday - the Share Sale proposal is deemed by the Well Society Board to be an excellent opportunity and the best way forward at the moment, as the statement suggests. However, there has been no final decision made and so the poll and surgery have been utilised to ensure that, when the Society Board meets on Thursday night following the surgery, further discussions can take place and a final decision can be made one way or another, taking the response from members fully into account. The poll itself is not binding - however, this is a initiative that the Society would like to proceed only with the blessing from the majority of the members. The poll results will also be published after 5pm on Thursday to ensure transparency. We've already had a far greater response from members than we first expected may be the case so thank you very much to all those who have gotten back to us. But aye, further questions about the Share Sale itself should be directed to Douglas or Tom via the e-mail addresses above.

You're correct. If the club sell shares, the Double Your Money initiative isn't relevant for obvious reasons. In terms of a meeting, members are invited to the Centenary Suite on Thursday to discuss further as mentioned in the statement. Questions can also be directed to Tom Feely on the e-mail address above. I believe Douglas Dickie is also available to answer questions and provide further information by the same means, I'll make his email address available shortly.

As I said mate, I don't know the exact figure, just that the current plan is to sell 50,000 shares. What precise percentage that is of the overall picture isn't something I have to hand. I'm sure the exact details and percentages would be made available if it goes ahead but also, I don't think Tom would have any issues shedding more light on that if you want to put the question to him. EDIT: Also, although 51% is obviously what's required to be the majority shareholder, I don't think the actual statement quotes that figure at any point.

I don't have the exact percentage to hand but there's no suggestion of the Well Society keeping just 51% and selling the rest, that isn't the plan here. Although the Society only needs 51% to remain majority shareholder, it'll be keeping more than that. But for exact info, contact Tom Feely on the e-mail posted earlier.

I'll be completely honest here, the intricacies of the shares side of things aren't my strong point, but I'm in the process of seeing if we can get a route for questions to be properly answered (EDIT: Tom Feely is happy to answer questions if you e-mail: tmhfeely@gmail.com) What I would say is that, if you are referring to voting rights in terms of the club itself, those will naturally follow the rules regarding club shares. I The Well Society's position as majority shareholder doesn't change. However, the one-member-one-vote approach to the Well Society itself doesn't change at all, how many shares the Society has has never affected that, evidenced by the fact that the one-member-one-vote approach has been in place from before the Society had any shares whatsoever! Well Society members who happen to have shares as a result of this wouldn't have any special advantage where the Well Society is concerned, anymore than current Society members who also happen to have shares do at present. However, if there are any more questions about the detail involved in the shares, give Tom Feely - Society Co-Chair - a shout: tmhfeely@gmail.com (he's given me permission to share his e-mail address, I'm not just palming folk off!)

The shares being sold are in the club, not in the Society, so they'd just come with the benefits of any other shareholder in the club. In terms of the Society's one-member-one-vote approach, that's purely to do with Well Society memberships and club shareholders doesn't impact that. There's a case for those who buy shares from the Society perhaps becoming members as a result - if they aren't already - but then they'd just have the same one-member-one-vote as everyone else.