SMiSA Director Role Application

[dwriley65]

Hello fellow Buddies,

After consideration I decided to put myself forward to represent the interests of the supporters on the Board of the Club. It may seem a bit last minute but I've been trying for the last week or so to find somewhere to post my details so that I would reach as many SMiSA members as possible in an attempt to secure the required minimum of nominations (10) in order to proceed to the next stage. Due to election rules SMiSA couldn't allow any candidate to post on their site and I only got confirmation that I could post my details here earlier this evening.

 Anyway, enough about that. As you'll see in my statement, I've been a fan since the early 70s. My Uncle took me to my first game (against Dundee Utd) and I was hooked. I was lucky enough that he took me to every game, home and away and bought me a season ticket. We never missed a game for 3 or 4 years. When I started to play for my school, County and 'afternoon' team I still made it to every game I could. I remember standing in the North Bank in awe as Liverpool took to the field to celebrate our centenary and a long supporters bus trip to Oldham for an Anglo-Scottish cup tie, arriving back in Paisley in the early hours with a wee guy called Monkey (think we were both around 13 / 14 years old) singing at the top of our voices! I was also among the crowd when George Best played at Love St for Hibs.

I trained with the Saints for a week when Ricky McFarlane was manager and Erik Sorenson was the GK coach (I was a GK). I thought Christmas had come early when Ricky asked me to turn out for the reserves. Little did I know that my amateur team manager was asked for permission and refused. Never forgave him for that!!

I hope this serves in some way to demonstrate that I have a long relationship with St Mirren. I've had a lengthy absence from attending regularly due to my job but that is now resolved and I can commit to supporting the team home and away, week in - week out and, if my application succeeds, serving the supporters and the club to the best of my ability. 

 

I've attached my Personal Statement (restricted to 500 words) and would appreciate if you would take the time to read through it. If you feel I am a suitable candidate and would be happy to nominate me please reply to this post or send me a direct e-mail confirming this. I would be extremely grateful for your support. 

If you have any questions / concerns please feel free to contact me via this forum or directly at [email protected] 

Thanks, in advance, for taking the time to read through this.

David Riley

D_St Mirren.docx

Edited October 25, 2016 by dwriley65
Missed the critical request for nominations!

[shull]

The Monkey was a wild boy. 

He was on the Juniors Bus for a while.

Radio rental

[shull]

9 minutes ago, dwriley65 said:

Hello fellow Buddies,

After consideration I decided to put myself forward to represent the interests of the supporters on the Board of the Club. It may seem a bit last minute but I've been trying for the last week or so to find somewhere to post my details so that I would reach as many SMiSA members as possible. SMiSA wouldn't allow any candidate to post on their site and I only got confirmation that I could post them here earlier this evening.

 Anyway, enough about that. As you'll see in my statement, I've been a fan since the early 70s. My Uncle took me to my first game (against Dundee Utd) and I was hooked. I was lucky enough that he took me to every game, home and away and bought me a season ticket. We never missed a game for 3 or 4 years. When I started to play for my school, County and 'afternoon' team I still made it to every game I could. I remember standing in the North Bank in awe as Liverpool took to the field to celebrate our centenary and a long supporters bus trip to Oldham for an Anglo-Scottish cup tie, arriving back in Paisley in the early hours with a wee guy called Monkey (think we were both around 13 / 14 years old) singing at the top of our voices! I was also among the crowd when George Best played at Love St for Hibs.

I trained with the Saints for a week when Ricky McFarlane was manager and Erik Sorenson was the GK coach (I was a GK). I thought Christmas had come early when Ricky asked me to turn out for the reserves. Little did I know that my amateur team manager was asked for permission and refused. Never forgave him for that!!

I hope this serves in some way to demonstrate that I have a long relationship with St Mirren. I've had a lengthy absence from attending regularly due to my job but that is now resolved and I can commit to supporting the team home and away, week in - week out and, if my application succeeds, serving the supporters and the club to the best of my ability. 

 

I've attached my Personal Statement (restricted to 500 words) and would appreciate if you would take the time to read through it. If you feel I am a suitable candidate and would be happy to back me I would be extremely grateful for your support.

If you have any questions / concerns please feel free to contact me via this forum or directly at [email protected] 

Thanks, in advance, for taking the time to read through this.

David Riley

D_St Mirren.docx

Good luck

[HSS]

4 minutes ago, shull said:

The Monkey was a wild boy. 

He was on the Juniors Bus for a while.

Radio rental

He jumped the fence at half time in a game against the Dead Club and never returned.

F'ckim.

[Stuart Dickson]

Good luck David. Good to see that we will actually see some competition and a proper election for the post. 

[St.Ricky]

Good luck David. Perhaps other candidates will now post on here.

[dwriley65]

I woke at 02:30 with the thought in my head that I hadn't actually mentioned in my post that I need nominations in order to proceed. I checked...I hadn't.

i have edited the post to include these critical words. I need a minimum of 10 SMiSA members to nominate me before Friday's deadline in order to proceed to the next stage. If you are happy to give me your nomination please confirm this either in this post or directly by e-mail to [email protected]

thanks!

[Stuart Dickson]

13 hours ago, dwriley65 said:

I woke at 02:30 with the thought in my head that I hadn't actually mentioned in my post that I need nominations in order to proceed. I checked...I hadn't.

i have edited the post to include these critical words. I need a minimum of 10 SMiSA members to nominate me before Friday's deadline in order to proceed to the next stage. If you are happy to give me your nomination please confirm this either in this post or directly by e-mail to [email protected]

thanks!

Have you got an alias on here? The only reason I'm wary of giving someone my nomination is that I have no idea who each person is. 

Edited October 25, 2016 by Stuart Dickson

[dwriley65]

Stuart, do you mean another account? I think I did, accidentally set up another one forgetting I already had this account open. 

Regards,

David

 

[Stuart Dickson]

40 minutes ago, dwriley65 said:

Stuart, do you mean another account? I think I did, accidentally set up another one forgetting I already had this account open. 

Regards,

David

 

Nah, I'm just checking you aren't one of the eejits on here like Tony Soprano, Div, or Antrin. What a mess of club it would be if they had a place on the board  Of course if you are Shull or BuddieInEK, Faraway Saint, or even Drew - at a push - I'd probably back you straight away as they seem to have a degree of common sense about them. 

Ach bugger it, if you need a nomination you can have mine. It's important to my mind that there at least be an election for this post. As I said last night, good luck. Unless you are an eejit  

[antrin]

29 minutes ago, Stuart Dickson said:

Nah, I'm just checking you aren't one of the eejits on here like Tony Soprano, Div, or Antrin. What a mess of club it would be if they had a place on the board  Of course if you are Shull or BuddieInEK, Faraway Saint, or even Drew - at a push - I'd probably back you straight away as they seem to have a degree of common sense about them. 

Ach bugger it, if you need a nomination you can have mine. It's important to my mind that there at least be an election for this post. As I said last night, good luck. Unless you are an eejit  

Wow.

 

Talk about a 'kiss of death'.

[dwriley65]

Would an eejit forget to mention that he needed nominations in his post? Hmmmmmm  

 

[faraway saint]

2 hours ago, Stuart Dickson said:

Nah, I'm just checking you aren't one of the eejits on here like Tony Soprano, Div, or Antrin. What a mess of club it would be if they had a place on the board  Of course if you are Shull or BuddieInEK, Faraway Saint, or even Drew - at a push - I'd probably back you straight away as they seem to have a degree of common sense about them. 

Ach bugger it, if you need a nomination you can have mine. It's important to my mind that there at least be an election for this post. As I said last night, good luck. Unless you are an eejit  

Could be a first Stuart, made me smile, almost a LOL.

[dwriley65]

Can I ask a big favour? Can anyone reading this post please share a link to it on Twitter, Facebook etc.? I only have until Friday to get a minimum of 10 nominations if I am to proceed to the next phase.

Thanks, in advance,
David

[Vambo57]

After reading David's statement, and in the interests of hopefully having real election with several candidates, I would like to nominate David Riley.

[El Gingero]

The Statement says nothing about what the candidate can bring to the table to help the club.

We are all passionate St Mirren supporters.

Apart from that - ????

[Vambo57]

I do not know Mr Riley, although as a member of The Junior Supporters Club in the 70s I probably did.  However, his statement lists his experience and commitment.  What more should any candidate - as a Fans representative -  have?

Does any candidate have to have something to 'bring to the table'?  What if I brought £1m to the table, but was a fan of Sevco.  As I have stated on another Forum, I am perhaps more interested in a Candidate who is a Fan, who will and can represent the Fans interests at Boadroom level and keep a fans eye on dealings on in the Boardroom. Any other attributes are a bonus.

MODS!

I don't know if there is a 'pinned' thread elsewhere on here where prospective Candidates can put there case forward and ask for nominations, but maybe there should be?  Or pin this one. 

Edited October 27, 2016 by Vambo57
Bit late maybe?

[St.Ricky]

13 minutes ago, Vambo57 said:

I do not know Mr Riley, although as a member of The Junior Supporters Club in the 70s I probably did.  However, his statement lists his experience and commitment.  What more should any candidate - as a Fans representative -  have?

Does any candidate have to have something to 'bring to the table'?  What if I brought £1m to the table, but was a fan of Sevco.  As I have stated on another Forum, I am perhaps more interested in a Candidate who is a Fan, who will and can represent the Fans interests at Boadroom level and keep a fans eye on dealings on in the Boardroom. Any other attributes are a bonus.

MODS!

I don't know if there is a 'pinned' thread elsewhere on here where prospective Candidates can put there case forward and ask for nominations, but maybe there should be?  Or pin this one. 

I made a similar suggestion on another thread that candidates should put forward their Bio and Thoughts on how they would represent the Fans if elected.

This in essence is their manifesto commitment on which they will then be judged in the future rather than on personality.

[El Gingero]

I do not know Mr Riley, although as a member of The Junior Supporters Club in the 70s I probably did.  However, his statement lists his experience and commitment.  What more should any candidate - as a Fans representative -  have?

Does any candidate have to have something to 'bring to the table'?  What if I brought £1m to the table, but was a fan of Sevco.  As I have stated on another Forum, I am perhaps more interested in a Candidate who is a Fan, who will and can represent the Fans interests at Boadroom level and keep a fans eye on dealings on in the Boardroom. Any other attributes are a bonus.

MODS!

I don't know if there is a 'pinned' thread elsewhere on here where prospective Candidates can put there case forward and ask for nominations, but maybe there should be?  Or pin this one. 

We are all fans. We can all sit and take notes at meetings and tell the SMISA members what happens. We can all eat sausage rolls in boardrooms up and down the country.

In my opinion anyone who is on the board wether it be a fans rep or not should be able to have attributes that allow he/she to be on the board, wether it be from a marketing background, legal, finance etc.

[antrin]

This candidate does need to find out how to get his nominators assembled and how too attach their good wishes to whatever form his application is meant to take.

 

Meantime El Gingero, whilst I fully agree with your post above, you are suggesting the opposite of what Dickhead seems to want.  Surely that cannot be correct?

 

For his ideal candidate, he wants a Buddie devoid of any possible skillset other than being a simple fan...    

[Stuart Dickson]

1 hour ago, antrin said:

This candidate does need to find out how to get his nominators assembled and how too attach their good wishes to whatever form his application is meant to take.

 

Meantime El Gingero, whilst I fully agree with your post above, you are suggesting the opposite of what Dickhead seems to want.  Surely that cannot be correct?

 

For his ideal candidate, he wants a Buddie devoid of any possible skillset other than being a simple fan...    

Where have I said ANY of that? 

In reality I couldn't care less if it was a fan of the club or not. The person should simply be someone who can represent the membership of SMiSA both in the football club boardroom, and within football as a director of a membership club. 

I would hope that the SMiSA membership will appoint someone who is more used to getting stuff done rather than yet another paper shuffler but ultimately it's for the SMiSA membership on the whole to decide. Not just those on the SMiSA committee - which was what I was objecting to in the first place. 

[dwriley65]

My perception of this role is quite a bit broader than taking notes at meetings and chowing down sausage rolls. For one thing, if that was the remit I wouldn't be interested...sausage rolls give me heartburn!

The role is, not exclusively but first and foremost, to represent the interests of the supporters.

As an example; I have no doubt that among the supporters there are some great thoughts and ideas on how to improve facilities, make the match experience better which would help get the turnstiles clicking more frequently resulting in a better atmosphere (for fans & team) and increased revenue.

Part of this role, in my mind, is to first of all get these ideas out, figure out which are possible/ practical then which will bring the greatest value to the fans and the club, put some meat on the bones - can ideas be combined that would provide more for less impact (cost/time/resources) than handling them separately. Finally, presenting these ideas to the board in such a way that the other members buy into it, countering any arguments against and driving or at least participating in projects that will deliver the desired outcome.

This is part of my regular job so I guess this is my particular skill set. There are financial and legal board members already so I don't see that as a requirement for this particular role. If the board is short of specific expertise they can co-opt someone who has it at any time.

In the end, all members will vote for their preferred candidate. If I don't get sufficient nominations to submit my application I have absolutely no problem with that. I'll try again next time round. I will look for the candidate I think will best represent our collective interests and back them.

[Stuart Dickson]

4 minutes ago, dwriley65 said:

My perception of this role is quite a bit broader than taking notes at meetings and chowing down sausage rolls. For one thing, if that was the remit I wouldn't be interested...sausage rolls give me heartburn!

The role is, not exclusively but first and foremost, to represent the interests of the supporters.

As an example; I have no doubt that among the supporters there are some great thoughts and ideas on how to improve facilities, make the match experience better which would help get the turnstiles clicking more frequently resulting in a better atmosphere (for fans & team) and increased revenue.

Part of this role, in my mind, is to first of all get these ideas out, figure out which are possible/ practical then which will bring the greatest value to the fans and the club, put some meat on the bones - can ideas be combined that would provide more for less impact (cost/time/resources) than handling them separately. Finally, presenting these ideas to the board in such a way that the other members buy into it, countering any arguments against and driving or at least participating in projects that will deliver the desired outcome.

This is part of my regular job so I guess this is my particular skill set. There are financial and legal board members already so I don't see that as a requirement for this particular role. If the board is short of specific expertise they can co-opt someone who has it at any time.

In the end, all members will vote for their preferred candidate. If I don't get sufficient nominations to submit my application I have absolutely no problem with that. I'll try again next time round. I will look for the candidate I think will best represent our collective interests and back them.

Ach I cannae see you winning. That's far too much common sense for most of this forums users to handle. Poor old Antin will have the pencils up his nose and his y-fronts on his head by the time he's finished reading your post. 

You're right though. Ann Budge isn't an accountant, or a lawyer. Her degree was in psychology. Yet despite her lack of a marketing, legal or accounting qualification she appears to be doing reasonably well in her job at one of the other fan buyout clubs. 

[Drew]

On 10/25/2016 at 5:33 PM, Stuart Dickson said:

Of course if you are Shull or BuddieInEK, Faraway Saint, or even Drew - at a push - I'd probably back you straight away as they seem to have a degree of common sense about them. 

 

Damned by faint praise

[beyond our ken]

23 hours ago, Vambo57 said:

I do not know Mr Riley, although as a member of The Junior Supporters Club in the 70s I probably did.  However, his statement lists his experience and commitment.  What more should any candidate - as a Fans representative -  have?

Does any candidate have to have something to 'bring to the table'?  What if I brought £1m to the table, but was a fan of Sevco.  As I have stated on another Forum, I am perhaps more interested in a Candidate who is a Fan, who will and can represent the Fans interests at Boadroom level and keep a fans eye on dealings on in the Boardroom. Any other attributes are a bonus.

MODS!

I don't know if there is a 'pinned' thread elsewhere on here where prospective Candidates can put there case forward and ask for nominations, but maybe there should be?  Or pin this one. 

Too true Colin, the process should be open in respect of who has been nominated BEFORE going through SMISA's filter.  That would give SMISA and non-SMISA saints fans something to judge the quality of the person selected against.

 

But SMISA ain't big on comms, they like to tell you what has been decided rather than involve you fully in the process.

 

20 hours ago, dwriley65 said:

My perception of this role is quite a bit broader than taking notes at meetings and chowing down sausage rolls. For one thing, if that was the remit I wouldn't be interested...sausage rolls give me heartburn!

The role is, not exclusively but first and foremost, to represent the interests of the supporters.

As an example; I have no doubt that among the supporters there are some great thoughts and ideas on how to improve facilities, make the match experience better which would help get the turnstiles clicking more frequently resulting in a better atmosphere (for fans & team) and increased revenue.

Part of this role, in my mind, is to first of all get these ideas out, figure out which are possible/ practical then which will bring the greatest value to the fans and the club, put some meat on the bones - can ideas be combined that would provide more for less impact (cost/time/resources) than handling them separately. Finally, presenting these ideas to the board in such a way that the other members buy into it, countering any arguments against and driving or at least participating in projects that will deliver the desired outcome.

This is part of my regular job so I guess this is my particular skill set. There are financial and legal board members already so I don't see that as a requirement for this particular role. If the board is short of specific expertise they can co-opt someone who has it at any time.

In the end, all members will vote for their preferred candidate. If I don't get sufficient nominations to submit my application I have absolutely no problem with that. I'll try again next time round. I will look for the candidate I think will best represent our collective interests and back them.

That won't go down well with the SMISA committee, far too open and engaging.  And not even a hint of "we can't tell you too much just now" about it.

 

You get my vote.