Drew

It was a now legendary Cap'n exclusive/saga that he was signing for Saints. Must be up there with the longest threads on the site.

You thinking more Black and White than Black and Blue? It would be worth the speculation just for a resurrection of the infamous P&B Thread.

The guy is an attention-seeking keyboard warrior of the most tedious variety. Any constructive points he might have, are entirely clouded in the pejorative, smug, and facile tone of his posts. As has already been said, it's easy for guys like this to sit and fire off volleys from the relative anonymity and security of his front room. As for his entitlement, sure he's entitled to put his points across in whichever unsophisticated manner he chooses, but he isn't entitled to any respect or grace from the rest of us in response.

I thought it was just me. I can't log-in, as it keeps telling me i have the wrong password. I've tried to change it twice but that makes no difference. I seldom post on there nowadays, but I do use the PM facility to keep in touch with folk so it's a bit of a pain.

If you read back a few posts, I've also speculated that the club will make a statement in the fullness of time, and so they should. If you honestly think anything will be achieved by agitating for some kind of communication from the BoD before they have anything relevant/conclusive/definitive to say, then I can't agree with that. I've been banging on for years about how shite our PR is, so I'm no apologist on that front, but why the sudden clamour for information in the last couple of days? An announcement will be made when it is appropriate to do so. Otherwise, all we'll get is sound bites, and that can lead to more rumour, counter-rumour, idle speculation, and misinterpretation. I'm suggesting we try to be patient as it won't be long....

Read over the initial quote that kicked off this thread. It is peppered with pejorative terminology, and the tone is accusatory and, frankly, pretty bloody unhelpful. For anyone to have missed the fact that the author of that quote has some tawdry agenda or other quite simply baffles me. What I don't recall is anyone suggesting that, as St Mirren supporters, we are not entitled to have questions and concerns as to how this scenario will pan out. It is credit to the reasonable, measured, and balanced posters on this thread that it has not degenerated into the usual playground squabble with dog shit daubed sticks being proferred, as usually transpires on here.

How many times has it been suggested on this thread that people pick up the 'phone and call Richard Atkinson, or send him an email? Statements are hollow, manufactured, and consist largely of....yes, you guessed it, sound bites. I'd imagine you'd get a great deal more information of greater worth if you contacted the man directly. What's up? Too shy?

Do you really want sound bites? See all this uncertainty and anxiety that is being spoken of, I reckon a key point is being missed here. Gilmour and co. are still around. Love 'em or loathe 'em, they've stuck around and I suspect the main reason for this was to ensure that there was a safety net in place in place while Mr Atkinson and his colleague/s scoped out options. I think we're going to have to trust Messrs Gilmour and Campbell et al on this one. They could have bailed before now, as we know there have been approaches from other parties to buy the club. Why are they sticking around? Well, we can only assume it is because they want to ensure a smooth and successful transition in the ownership of the club. Why else would they be hanging about? I'm not a huge fan of some of things Mr Gilmour has been involved in (eg: cooking up this preposterous new league set-up), but I don't doubt his commitment to St Mirren - not for one second. He might not always hit the right note, in my no doubt woefully erratic and misguided view, but he has done the club a damn site more good than ill. The club would be in a much more precarious state had Stewart Gilmour and George Campbell bolted as Atkinson and his colleague (whose name escapes me for the moment - apologies for that) come in. As things stand, the 52 percent ownership remains exactly where it was. We have a buffer in place, and that's a lot more than can be said for many clubs. If Mr Atkinson's plans fail to compute, I don't think ownership will be transferred - it's as simple as that. So, on reflection, it seems to me that this whole business is being conducted in a sensible and secure manner. Would it be good to know a bit more about what is occuring behind the scene? Yes, of course it would. Is it imperative that Mr Atkinson comes on here to account for his actions, explain his plans, and answer all our questions (however spurious and convoluted they might be)? Nope, I don't think so. We have a BoD in place who will be scrutinising every stroke of the pen. If they weren't interested in doing this, Gilmour and Campbell could have been well off the scene. I'm now bored repeating the same thing. Questions are reasonable, and scepticism is healthy. Patience is a virtue, though.

So what's the good news? ETA: that did occur to me, and it's a shame that some people seem intent on questioning his integrity before he has had an adequate opportunity to demonstrate what he might be bringing to the club.

Aye, scepticism and questions are fine in my book. What is a bit futile, though, is banging on about things that will no doubt be answered in the fullness of time. I'd much rather Atkinson devoted his energies into getting this right as opposed to coming on here and humouring us with empty promises and sound-bites. I have no idea what motivates the guy, but it seems he is putting a lot into this - if this doesn't include his money, who could find fault in that FFS? I don't see people on here queuing up to launch their poppy at the club. I remember we met Gordon Scott at the new ground while it was still very much in development. He showed us round and was hugely enthusiastic about the project and had numerous ideas and initiatives. What impressed my was the guy's commitment and the fact that he was devoting his own time to our club. I wasn't interested in the contents of his wallet, or the marque on his key-fob. Why are people assuming that Richard Atkinson is any less committed, enthused, and excited about his plans for the club? To judge the guy on the basis that he won't come onto an internet forum to discuss his business arrangemnts is fucking laughable.

How many times can you repeat a question before it loses it's resonance, though?

FWIW Sid, I largely agree with the main thrust of your argument, but I find that all the effort I'm going to in terms of weeding it out is placing me under intolerable strain.

I'm now bored reading this thread. It seems to have degenerated into a willie measuring contest. Some people are regurgitating the same lines of argument ad nauseum (why doesn't Mr Atkinson come on here and tell us what he's up to, blah, blah, blah....), while others are generally pontificating shite (Sid) to the extent that any decent points - of which I'm sure there will be a few - are now engulfed in willie fencing. Get over yourselves folks. It's not clever, and it's not entertaining.

I'm not usually one for picking up on typos (indeed, I'm usually the one making them), but this did make me chuckle

Aye, we're a fickle bunch, that's for sure. Scepticism is a healthy attribute IMO, but it does seem as though we sometimes hunt for something to be cynical and negative about. I'm sure all will become clearer soon enough.

What a wave of pish/pile of bullshit! [delete as appropriate]

I sense a 'wave of bullshit/pile of pish' debate in the offing.... waves of pish and piles of bullshit might be more empirically rational, but where is the poeticism and the aesthetic resonance?

There goes one excuse then.

I think the point is that many of us have asked the same or similar questions, and expressed a degree of scepticism, but have managed to do this in a measured and balanced manner. I took issue with his tone in the second post of the thread, and, thereafter, myself and others have embarked on a reasoned discussion on the subject. It is blatantly obvious that this character has an agenda, and his conceited and facile outpourings are tiresome and meddlesome at best. He is devaluing the discussion with his dribblings, and should go away and give us all peace IMHO. Let's face it, there must be some pipes need fitting somewhere

Ouch....I remember that

No pressure then Tsu

Really good post, and pretty much mirrors my position. I don't know anything like enough about this kind of thing to comment much beyond the fact that I keenly await developments, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested to learn a bit more about the technical details. I understand that Mr Atkinson comes across as a dynamic and enthusiastic character, full of ideas and initiatives as to how to take the club forward, but I can't help wondering (like yourself), what he is looking for in return. Maybe I'm being a bit cynical after all, but without more information and clarity, it is difficult to be anything other than sceptical at least. There is an element of being once bitten, twice shy in here. When Danny Lennon came to the club, we were regaled with his vision for playing open and attacking football....aim high and all that. Play the youngsters and communicate more effectively with the supporters etc...etc... It all sounded so promising, but the reality has been more than a little less encouraging. I think Lennon was a tad naive and set himself up. I also think he has struggled to adapt to the harsh realities of top flight football in this country. I genuinely hope that Mr Atkinson and Co aren't going to make similar miscalculations, because the consequences could be more grave in this context than a manager failing to quite make the grade. The entire future of our club is a stake here, and some reassurance as to where these guys want to take it would be more than welcome.

To be perfectly honest, I'd have to wonder about the sanity, credibility, and business acumen of any individual who would want to invest his own money in St Mirren or any other football club. Lottery winning cretins and unscrupulous money laundering crooks seem to be the order of the day....at best. No ta.

I'd only worked my way down to the second sentence of the thread. Apology accepted, though

Nearly a year has gone by as he sits in an office at Greenhill Road causing chaos and upsetting all around him Check the date....