Fawlty Towers Posted March 15, 2016 Report Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) It will be interesting to see how this plays out: http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/35815638 As I recall their most recent accounts did not look that great and it now looks like Mr Hutchison won't be putting much, if any, more money in. Edited March 15, 2016 by Fawlty Towers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinhead Posted March 15, 2016 Report Share Posted March 15, 2016 From looking at this and reading Well supporters thoughts it would be something akin to the Jags Trust running Thistle - aka a fookin disaster! Are we about to lose Motherwell the way we did Rangers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_mac Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 Dundee fans tried it, realised it was too much work for them, and sold the club on. It doesn't always work out and if it were to happen at Firhill I think we would all have to accept that we couldn't compete at SPFL level on current attendances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) Dundee fans tried it, realised it was too much work for them, and sold the club on. It doesn't always work out and if it were to happen at Firhill I think we would all have to accept that we couldn't compete at SPFL level on current attendances. Yip, big gulf between thinking it's ideally a good idea and actually achieving fan ownership. At Dundee the interim stewardship pushed thru the American investment that resulted in the fanbased shares being diluted. Had the Dee fans accumulated more of a holding (I think they may have had just above 25%) they might well have rejected the US offer. I don't think there's an equivalent in the Dundonian language of what we know as "due diligence". We may tho' be on surer footing than at Dundee if you look upon the Weir investment as our "interim stewardship". Our problem (likely to be Motherwell's as well) is, as Ian says, the size of our attendances. Very much like a golf club with not enough members it would be an uphill struggle. To get rank and file Jags fans investing in shares will require something tangible in return, a membership scheme perhaps. You can't just expect blind loyalty. Edited March 16, 2016 by lady-isobel-barnett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 Yip, big gulf between thinking it's ideally a good idea and actually achieving fan ownership. At Dundee the interim stewardship pushed thru the American investment that resulted in the fanbased shares being diluted. Had the Dee fans accumulated more of a holding (I think they may have had just above 25%) they might well have rejected the US offer. I don't think there's an equivalent in the Dundonian language of what we know as "due diligence". We may tho' be on surer footing than at Dundee if you look upon the Weir investment as our "interim stewardship". Our problem (likely to be Motherwell's as well) is, as Ian says, the size of our attendances. Very much like a golf club with not enough members it would be an uphill struggle. To get rank and file Jags fans investing in shares will require something tangible in return, a membership scheme perhaps. You can't just expect blind loyalty. first emboldened point ..... the dfcss held, prior to the texan takeover, 51% of the club ..... so they effectively controlled the club ..... however, their shareholding was subsequently diluted to 25% by them voting later to issue a raft of new shares which the texans bought up to gain control of dundee. quick search confirms original 51% shareholding http://www.thecourier.co.uk/sport/football/supporters-society-to-keep-majority-shareholding-in-dundee-fc-after-mail-mix-up-1.47444 second emboldened point ..... how about a membership scheme that gives supporters a stake, but also results in the scrapping of season tickets but ensures a much lower entry price for those in the membership scheme? although the hull city scheme doesn't mention any fan ownership, the basis of the idea is there, all ptfc would need to do is ensure the membership scheme is structured accordingly to enable a fund to be built up for taking over the club, while drawing enough from the membership scheme to maintain or increase the managers budget? http://www.hullcitytigers.com/news/article/201617-season-memberships-save-up-to-282-when-you-sign-up-for-next-season-3009633.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 first emboldened point ..... the dfcss held, prior to the texan takeover, 51% of the club ..... so they effectively controlled the club ..... however, their shareholding was subsequently diluted to 25% by them voting later to issue a raft of new shares which the texans bought up to gain control of dundee. quick search confirms original 51% shareholding http://www.thecourie...-mix-up-1.47444 Didn't make myself too clear on that. What I meant was within the "fans" shareholding at the time there was one fella (or maybe more) holding most of the strings. That's who I referred to as "interim stewardship". He was keen to realise his investment and saw the US bid as a way out. Split the fans as no due diligence (or not enough) was being carried out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 Didn't make myself too clear on that. What I meant was within the "fans" shareholding at the time there was one fella (or maybe more) holding most of the strings. That's who I referred to as "interim stewardship". He was keen to realise his investment and saw the US bid as a way out. Split the fans as no due diligence (or not enough) was being carried out. old age has that affect on centurions (or near centurions) such as i and you. on your overall point though, yes, that's close to how i recall it shaking down ..... but fact remains, dfc fans through their supporters society had majority control of over 50% of their club yet they allowed a situation to develop where they saw their majority control and say to be diluted and they became ultimately an irrelevance ..... as the chant goes (if it was ever sung) "fan ownership and you fvcked it up" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 The statement makes interesting reading, not only has he transferred his 76% stake for £1 but he appears to have transferred the debt too, yes he has stated he will provide some working capital to get through the next few months or insist on his debt being repaid in that time, what happens in 6 or 12 months? This seems to me like a way to liquidate or administrate the club whilst owned by the fans, allowing the old owner to then pick it up for free and debt free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_mac Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 I'm definitely getting the impression that this has caught the well society by surprise and maybe isn't welcomed by them at all. Sportsound were trying to reach them for comment last night and they couldn't get anyone to come on because they were locked in an emergency meeting. I don't think they have anywhere near enough money to keep the club going as it stands, and you wonder why Hutcheson has done this now rather than wait till the end of the season? Sounds as if he's maybe getting out of the way now before the sh*t hits the fan. I definitely don't think that all is as rosy as old Les is making out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Much as I wouldn't miss Motherwell one bit (eg that footslog round to the away end) it's beginning to look like it could be best for us if they stay up this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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