thewhiteman

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to our new look website and give a huge thank you to all those who helped with the redesign of the site and in particular "Big Front Door" who were responsible for turning all the good ideas into reality. 

For me this also represents a perfect opportunity to mark the beginning of a new era both on and off the park. 

Our partnership with Smisa is in its earlier stages but I am very comfortable that we are heading in the right direction and that, together, we can create a successful fan ownership model over the next 10 years. 

I am also very happy how quickly we have gelled as a board and while everybody is still finding their feet I know we will all have a very positive input in taking the club forward. 

We have had the keys now for 2 months and feel that, although we are moving in the right direction behind the scenes, we were not progressing on the park or in terms of our communication with our support. 

As a result of that and as part of our long term plan we decided to implement some major changes. 

The decision to terminate the managers contract was not an easy one. Alex did a tremendous job last year but for some reason it was just not happening this year. People outwith the club and support will consider that we didn't give him enough time and I can understand that. Our job, however, is to do what's best for St Mirren Football Club. 

However, at the risk of contradicting myself, I don't think it is any coincidence that the most successful managers are given time to get things right. That does not just require patience and support from the board but also from the stands. Our long term goal is to have a man at the helm who will have an input into all playing aspects of the club with the aim of producing a successful supply chain from the youth system to the first team. It is vital that our new manager buys into that philosophy as well as producing a product on the pitch that we can all enjoy watching. 

We have also made the decision to employ a dedicated media manager. We feel that this is now a full time job and is a vital part of improving our communication levels and selling the services of the club going forward with the new website being key to achieving this.

I have stated from the beginning that we need to increase the turnover of the club so that we are competing with the top 6 clubs of the top flight and not flirting between the Premiership and the Championship. 

This will not be easy by any manner of means and we are already £125k down on our income levels for next season due to the loss of the SPFL parachute payments. We also have a very financially beneficial agreement with JD sports that we need to make some tough decisions on. 

In my previous role within the stadium construction project I promised that I would try and improve the disabled viewing facilities once we had the SPL compliant stadium that was our agreement with tesco. Unfortunately I left the club before I was able to make good on that promise so it has become a key part of my re-incarnation to fulfil that commitment with the new disabled platform in the main stand. 

We are also investigating the viability of numerous projects that include the "Love Street Coffee Shop", an advertising board at the Paisley end corner that will be utilised to promote club services and home games as well as being a source of income, a memorial garden, office provision in one of the corners, and making the 1877 bar a standalone facility so it can be better utilised without the entire main stand being open. These things won't happen overnight and most need significant funding but rest assured we are working hard to take the club forward.
My aim is to provide regular updates for the supporters going forward. Please do also record any ideas or suggestions you have on our new "Suggestion Wall" here on the site. Your opinion really does matter.

Without the continued support of you, our loyal fans, and club sponsors none of this will be possible so we ask that you continue to support us in every way you can. We are in this together for the long haul!

Glad to hear that. I know that my sons and I plus my grandson will be interested in the outcome.
We do look on it as an investment, abeit not one from which anyone should expect to make money but rather a social investment with clearly set out outcomes.
Thats what we will be investing in, if we do.

If all Full Time Clubs were invited then fair enough. But to cherry pick the bigot brothers is unfair. But since when does being unfair stop the top brass rolling over.

can anyone confirm please was it traffic wardens who issued tickets or the police ?
also, any idea what time they arrived at eg were they in the area before 3pm ?
thanks

I'm building a very handy list of people I won't be voting for to represent SMiSA members on the St Mirren board. Loads of St Mirren fans here appear to have a very flippant attitude to matters that piss off customers and which could hold back progress at the club.

give it a couple of weeks, pending results

How about , any saints fan participating with any Saints top old or new can have a ticket ? Seeing as we have over 3,000 empty seats and even after giving you a ticket to a game you were already probably going to will still have over 3,000 empty seats ?

Community club gesture or Ego trip ?

good idea, the catch is it needs to be this seasons strip you're wearing

I'm not looking to start anything here, but I think we all agree that it's wrong to find this out on a forum.

Half right Div. We the FC do not rent it in anyway. We or mainly Alan Wardrop fund raised and got trades to do the build work to what was the void. At the time the board and no plans to develop the void as they were selling the club. The only way to pay the builders back was to make it a members club and the membership fees going to pay back the builders 2k a month. Now it's not the greatest way on doing it. But at the time in 2014 when it was 1st suggested this was the only way of getting it done. As the selling consortium were in no postion to say when the club would be sold the decision was taken to go down the route we did with the help of Director Ian Henderson. Until someone pays the trades back it will continue in this way. Build was about 35k. Hope this helps Div.

Raith Rovers
Starting this Saturday.
http://www.raithrovers.net/26238/lowest-admission-prices-in-the-championship-announced.htm

I agree that using the stadium facilities on non-football days is desireable - who wouldn't? Looking at the club's entire commercial activity surely must be high on any 'to do' list written up by GLS/SMiSA. The location of McDiarmid Park lends itself to hoovering up the purvey business from the crematorium that is slap bang next to it. With an initiative like using the car park as airport parking, then perhaps the proximity to Paisley International has scope for further development? The natural thoughts are the stadium lounges be utilised for weddings, funerals, seminars... the usual stuff. 
Anyway, certainly GLS/SMiSA should be afforded time. Time to firstly keep the place ticking over and operating as normal, then they can make their mark. Personally, I'm not looking for any big changes from the new owner until at least the start of next season. No rush to steam in - unless it's REAs laundry idea, then steam will be required immediately. Get it sorted!

I can't for the life of me understand the bickering in this thread. A proposal was put forward to have a fans bar, 200 signed up generating circa 24k per annum in membership fees.
Another proposal to buy out the club was put forward by SMISA. Once again this was very successful. 
Both ventures should be applauded and held up as excellent examples of what we as St Mirren fans can achieve. 
Although sceptical of both ventures I signed up for both of them and would love for both to succeed. Surely the way forward is for us all to work together to make things work out.
As far as I can see both have been a big success with a bigger membership take up than many thought possible. There is no room for divisions from fans in our small club especially as in 10 years the fans will own the club.
 

The vast majority of the support are completely unaware that the 1877 club is being used a vehicle for a small number of individuals to get their handbags out, and wouldn't care anyway!
The bottom line is we've got a great facility now thanks to the Fans' Council. If it doesn't work in its current format then let's get it sorted it quickly and move on. The disposable income is there to do it.

I understand that you're less than pleased about the way that the supporters club was set up. However, that was in the past and we have to move on and sort out an acceptable situation to all. With all due respect, criticising the previous board and the fan's council does no good at all, as we enter a new era. As much as it rankles, we need to work together to improve the club.
What you see as "bailing out" , I see as an opportunity to bring the support together and to take the supporters club forward and open it to all of the support.
One particular positive from it all, is that we don't have to start from scratch, as the physical set up within the bar itself is excellent.
The fans have been asking for the void to be re-developed as a supporter's bar for years, and I do see sorting this situation out as a priority for the new owners, as it would be utter madness to let what is there already wither and die because of past individual's perceived actions.
 

I'd be fairly confident in thinking that just about everyone who has signed up for the 1877 Club will have signed up to Buy the Buds. I don't think many/any of those folk would be looking for a refund for their initial outlay if a different financial model was decided for the future. However, there's a difference between being happy to accept those changes, and being told that it's just tough and you'll need to get on with it.
I understand that many folk aren't happy with the funding model chosen for the 1877 Club, but the fans who are members, are just that, fans who wanted to help fund something that they would use on a matchday. The funding model is obviously not perfect, and I'd be keen to find a way of opening the club to all but, as I've mentioned before on this thread, these are early days of Fan Ownership and there's a need for a bit of diplomacy and calm thinking. As far as I'm aware, the subscriptions are making a £2k monthly repayment to the club for the construction of the facility, in addition to the initial set up fee. I think any suggestion of relaxing the current restrictions on access to the bar is pushing at an open door, but talking about 'we' and 'they' when referring to St Mirren fans, isn't going to do anything other create divisions.       
         

I thought what was done in the hospitality suite when there was no corporate event on was a good idea. Think it was a fiver in and that included one drink. Your ticket got you entry back in after the game.

Sent from my D6603 using Black & White Army mobile app

well done to all who organised and participated, keep up the good work guys, banners also good 

well done to all who organised and participated, keep up the good work guys, banners also good 

well done to all who organised and participated, keep up the good work guys, banners also good 

An interesting read this thread, and a sensible suggestion re finding a financial solution to opening the club up to everyone.

I hope the early stages of Fan Ownership aren't going to descend into finger pointing and score settling though.

well done to all who organised and participated, keep up the good work guys, banners also good 

well done to all who organised and participated, keep up the good work guys, banners also good 

The best way I got Nigerian's interested in the Buddies was simply taking over our previous seasons football tops. There is more Saints strips kick about than the old firm now.
 

well done to all who organised and participated, keep up the good work guys, banners also good