joewarkfanclub

Im a Society Member. No ballot email yet, but I am getting their other correspondence so should be ok. Ballot not live now until the 8th due to the extension. PS try this link to the podcast, I didnt need to pay..... https://www.patreon.com/login?ru=%2Fposts%2Fwhat-on-earth-is-107233112%3Fimmediate_pledge_flow%3Dtrue

That seems crazy. I realise that there are costs associated with running the club shop. But surely there would be a significant profit in it, to run it ourselves? Just dont see how the Pravan Sports deal is beneficial to us, other than taking the hassle out of it for the club.

That is correct. Just wanted to highlight that we did in fact have a new right back and head the doom mongers off at the pass!

We need to get McMahon an co out the door asap. The new Well Society Board together with a new Executive Board and the new CEO are more than capable of moving the club forward. They might even be able to keep Barmack and his external investment proposals on board if they are allowed the ability to negotiate direct. But it will be on our terms not his. Then we will see the colour of his money. If he stays, he may turn out to be genuine. If he bolts, then he is just another chancer who got called out.

Koutroumbis is our new right back....

I dont think the shirt in itself is that bad, although hardly traditional. But together with the claret shorts it looks a bit of a hotch potch. I think with amber shorts it would have looked not too bad. Cleaner lines so to speak.....

I did think that was the way we were likely to go. However, SK went on record to say he recognised the importance of the position and that we were actively looking and some way down the road to identifying Kelly's replacement, so it would be a bit of a climb down if we didnt get someone else in.

Hopefully we can announce our new keeper soon!

The club is not in need of external investment because of the actions of the Well Society ( it could be argued its not in need of external investment at all). It is in need of investment because of the way the club has been run by the Executive Board. The very same board who have set up the Well Society to be kept at arms length and have as little influence over decision making as possible. Now that the new Society Board is flexing its muscles a little they dont seem to like it and are trying to force through a deal which will effectively end fan ownership. I would suggest we need a new Executive Board who will support the new CEO in doing what they claim outside investment can achieve. That way we keep ownership of our club, grow revenue streams and allow the Society to kick on with its proposals over how to improve membership.

Oh I totally get that. Im not saying for a minute that folk arent entitled to their views or opinions. Its just when asked, they cant really explain it other than parrotting the Official Club Statement(s). If there was evidence out there that Wild Sheep had a credible plan to grow the club and that they could be trusted to do so in good faith, Id seriously consider it. As there isnt, it just looks like what it is. A very bad deal for the major shareholder (the fans).

Bravo sir! This is my view entirely. Not sure why everyone cant see this.

This for me is a very important point. Those in favour of investment have demanded the Well Society put forward their plans for growing the business and increasing revenue streams should this deal be voted down. Yet the same demand is not being made of Wild Sheep Enterprises. We are basically going to give our club away to a guy we dont know for £300k a year in the hope that he is a decent bloke and actually has the business acumen and, more importantly, intent to grow the club and make it a success. Its good that Wild Sheep have come back with the 50.5% shareholding offer and perhaps shows a willingness to negotiate. However, in reality it wouldnt make much difference given that they would effectively control the Executive Board on day 1. Just look at how little influence the Society has at the moment with 71% shareholding. My concern is that the Well Society have been pretty much kept at arms length throughout all of this and it is the Executive Board that are driving this deal. The same board that got us into a situation where they are telling us we cant survive without outside investment. The Society proposals are very close to publication. Lets see what they look like and judge the new Society Board on that as opposed to the previous incarnation which was set up to be kept in a dark corner by those currently running the club.

Id vote for you. Your views on the WS and its involvement in the club mirror those of of my own.

Food for thought..... In what other world does the owner of a business have so little input in the decision making of that business? Maybe now that the power struggle is over the owners of the football club could now have more say in the running of it?

Which Barmack will get back when he cancels half the Well Society loan plus the £1.35m he is demanding they provide over the same period. The guy is effectively getting the club for nothing.

Folk really need to stop saying the Well Society is not fit for purpose. The Well Society previously was not fit for purpose because it was set up that way by the incumbents on the club board to get the benefit of of the money raised but without the interference that would come with true fan ownership. The fact that Society Members have had the temerity to vote individuals onto the Society Board who might actually want to change that and have a real say in the running of our club appears to have brought a lot of this to a head. Its clear from detail given that McMahon has been pushing this deal and that Barmack doesnt want to be inconvenienced by a rejuvenated Well Society trying to influence any decision making. He appears to have been assisted by Dickie and Feely in this regard which is a clear conflict of interest. How else can you explain a proposed deal with 1 side putting in £1.95m over 6 years and gaining 49% of the club whilst the other side puts in £1.75 over the same time period to lose 25% of its existing stake? Barmack also gets effective control of the club from day 1 for only £300k and an 8% stake due to his chairmanship and board appointees? The deal is ludicrous and should be chased. The new Well Society Board have only been in place since October. In that time they have done their due diligance on this and are putting together their own proposals to strengthen the club going forward. They are all all Motherwell fans with the best interests of the club at heart. They have a diversity of skill and experience. They deserve a chance to show they can can do better than the ones who got us to this point.

You are 100% entitled to your opinion on Craig Gordon. But to call Clarke hopeless when he has got us to 2 back to back Euros and a World Cup play off in 3 attempts is way off the mark.

Pleased for Kelly. But Craig Gordon must really be done. Be nice to get the payment though. Every little helps! 😆😆😆

I concur! 😍😍😍

I agree. But Id also say £1m is quite a lot for a player we got for nothing and everyone on here had written off when he arrived. Re Texans post, pretty sure St Pauli will try and low ball us. But if Blackburn and Sunderland are interested we can certainly risk going high and see where we end up. The benefit of having a full time CEO who knows what he is doing should ensure we extract the maximum fee, should we wish to sell.

Lets not get carried away. Theo Bair is not a special player. He has confounded everyone except SK by turning out to be a decent player at our level. Ive no doubt he could continue to develop under SK and become even better. And if he was willing to sign a longer contract to do that and protect our investment, then Id be happy enough with that. But realistically, any offer in the region of £1m with potential add ons, we are doing a deal. Our business model demands it. It would also allow us to sign better defenders, which we really need to do. SK then needs to pull another rabbit out of the hat!

Loved watching Russell and Cooper. They had the same telepathy Graham and Pettigrew had. Made it all look so easy.

All pre season friendlies should be played behind closed doors. It would save us from ourselves.

Some nice away days to places we havent been before or for a long time. Airdrie at home would be nice!

Sale of the Century! Pretty apt we played in Matchwinner kit at that time! Id forgotten he had been in the squad for the Norway game. I had it in my head that he got recalled for the provisional squad that went to Genoa for a PR trip and then got injured before the finals. I do remember Jock Brown asking him in a post match interview about Scotland and him saying his Scotland days were over. Glad he was wrong. Even if he didnt get to the World Cup.