glen

As it is Sunday Jeremiah 5:21 ‘Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not’. 👂

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/st-mirren-chief-conspiracy-rangers-29389142

This a letter from the same John Needham who in December 2021 was hit with a £6,000 fine by the Scottish Football Association for making "discriminatory or offensive" comments by the SFA compliance officer. He later apologised after the match Writing on Twitter, he said: "On Friday 22 October a number of Tweets I created in the past referring to Rangers fans were highlighted on Twitter. As a club chairman I have extra responsibility for the conduct and example I show. These posts are completely inappropriate and do not reflect my character or beliefs as a person and I very much regret them. I apologise unreservedly to the directors and fans of Rangers and to everyone at St Mirren. I am acutely aware of my responsibilities. This won't happen again." But on the 6th March 2023 he 'liked' a social media post claiming that Andrew Dallas was operating VAR from an 'Orange Lodge' during our match against Celtic. If anyone should be banned from the stadium it should be him. Regardless of this current PR mess, it is time for this man and his Old Firm supporting Kibble associates to go. They presided over a loss of over £1.5 million on a turnover of £4 million last year. We cannot afford them much longer

From today's (Friday) "rag paper" . PS. The Herald was founded in 1783. It is the longest running national newspaper in the world. https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/23516895.ex-st-mirren-director-gets-stadium-ban-secret-charity-project-row/

I assume it will be OK then if I misrepresent you without your knowledge to your bank, maybe your employer in order to get a on-line loan ? Please give me your full personal details so I can fill in the form. Don't worry it's only at an early speculative stage.😃

Please explain this part of the Glasgow Herald article :- "Applications for public funds to support the project described it as "the St Mirren Masterplan" with an "innovative partnership" with "St Mirren Football Club’s Charitable Foundation cited as one of the three partners with Kibble and the council. But the foundation has sent a letter to Kibble saying that they had no knowledge of the project when the application for funds was sought in June "much less that its name would be associated with any submission for government funding". It said it only found out through a third party in October, after a second stage bid was being made. It decided not to "interject itself" from the process as there was "insufficient time" to make an assessment. It has called for a "full explanation surrounding the application process" and why there were "material misstatements and representations in support of Scottish Government funding". It said: "We are deeply concerned that this unilateral action on the part of Kibble was submitted without our knowledge and associates the Foundation with statements and representations of fact that we do not recognise."

From today's Glasgow Herald https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/23510874.st-mirren-rocked-public-funds-row-regeneration-project/ One of Scotland's oldest football clubs has been plunged into turmoil after a social care charity who are part-owners pushed a 'secret' plan to seek £2m of public money for a well-being centre for disadvantaged children on its land 'without permission'. One former director of St Mirren FC has revealed he resigned from the fan-owned board at the end of last year after discovering the plan for the £13.4m project while pushed by the Paisley-based social care charity and leading social enterprise Kibble, who three years ago bought a 27 per cent stake to become part-owners of the club. Alan Wardrop, a lifelong Saints fan who made the step up to the club's board in July 2016 has accused Kibble club board representatives, Jim Gillespie and Mark MacMillan of having a "conflict of interest" by failing to disclose to directors, shareholders and fans of the bid to build the centre that the care charity would run on club land in Paisley while it appeared to wrongly have St Mirren's stamp of approval. As the dispute emerged, Kibble said the drawings showing the project would be on club land were an error. Formerly one of four representatives of the St Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMISA) on the board having played a big part in helping the club moving into fan ownership, Mr Wardrop is now seeking the removal of Kibble representatives on the board. Applications for public funds to support the project described it as "the St Mirren Masterplan" with an "innovative partnership" with "St Mirren Football Club’s Charitable Foundation cited as one of the three partners with Kibble and the council. But the foundation has sent a letter to Kibble saying that they had no knowledge of the project when the application for funds was sought in June "much less that its name would be associated with any submission for government funding". It said it only found out through a third party in October, after a second stage bid was being made. It decided not to "interject itself" from the process as there was "insufficient time" to make an assessment. It has called for a "full explanation surrounding the application process" and why there were "material misstatements and representations in support of Scottish Government funding". It said: "We are deeply concerned that this unilateral action on the part of Kibble was submitted without our knowledge and associates the Foundation with statements and representations of fact that we do not recognise." In seeking election to join the SMISA board Mr Wardrop says that he and many others, "no longer have trust and confidence in Kibble’s directors serving on the board of St. Mirren FC" and that he put forward his application "on the basis I wish to remove them". It comes three years after Police Scotland launched an investigation into financial irregularities at the club, which is currently sitting sixth in the top tier of Scottish football. The club alerted police after concerns surfaced over commercial agreements, sub contracts and possible non-payment of tax and national insurance. The Scottish Premiership club then called in forensic accountants to carry out what they call a "thorough review of a number of areas of its operations". Renfrewshire Council initially applied for a £2.65m grant for what was titled the "St Mirren Regeneration and Well-being Masterplan" through the Scottish Government's Regeneration Capital Grant Fund in June, last year. The proposal documents stated the project was due to start on April 3, this year and finish on March 3, 2025. Project details put to the Scottish Government confirms that Kibble produced a business plan for the well-being centre on the derelict site which would support vulnerable young people and "provides evidence" that it is "financially viable". It states that Kibble "will deliver personalised, tailored approaches agreed alongside the child and their family". The plan stated: "The centre will be the first of its kind, to support children & young people with complex mental health needs who are currently falling through the gaps of existing Scottish mental health provision. The centre will provide a safe, nurturing environment for those who have experienced significant trauma." It stated that "collaboration is crucial to the delivery of the St Mirren Masterplan and will require collaborative working between Renfrewshire Council, Kibble, St Mirren Football Club, residents, local stakeholders and businesses." Mr Wardrop, who is an SMCF trustee and a retired financial advisor, says the application was not disclosed to other SMISA club board directors and no prior agreement was secured before the funding application was initially sought in June, last year and it was only discovered in September, when a second stage submission was made. Mr Wardrop said: "The situation is scandalous. I have taken legal advice on this. At the very least it is secretive, it has not been transparent. It is not in keeping with the values of fan ownership or the way you should conduct yourself as company directors acting in the best interests of the football club to put in an application for government money and build on St Mirren land, and you don't share it with fellow directors for a period of three months. "SMISA directors had no idea about the application when it was put in. I challenged at every turn, and the answers I got was there was nothing to see. St Mirren were never going to be a beneficiary of this project. It is a Kibble-run centre, they would operate it and get money from the government. "The application is full of the use of the word 'collaboration', but there has been no collaboration with St Mirren Football Club. It is unbelievable what they had done." He added: "As a born and bred Buddy, from the high flats at Stock Street, Paisley, I have supported St. Mirren since a child in the mid 70’s when Sir Alex Ferguson’s, Fergie’s Furies got me hooked. I simply want to serve in the club’s and fans’ best interests and protect and build a successful future for our wonderful club." Plot drawings submitted as part of the application to Scottish Government, seen by the Herald, confirm that the land earmarked was owned by St Mirren. According to the grant application submitted in September, the sale of the land "has been agreed" and that the land ownership would transfer on January 2023. As disquiet about the project began to surface, an email sent by Mr Gillespie on Monday and shared with candidates standing for election to the board of SMISA said that the council "wrongly shaded in an area of land owned by St Mirren" and gave a "categoric assurance" that club land would not be used. According to submissions to the Scottish Government, the project aimed to develop 10 acres of land - the equivalent of around five football pitches - and create a well-being centre "which will support inclusive growth in the Ferguslie Park area of Paisley, an area consistently ranked in the top 10 most deprived SIMD data zones in Scotland". The application stated: "The partnership aims to effectively demonstrate how collaboration can leverage investment for the benefit of the physical and social infrastructure of a community and provide a basis to strengthen and sustain regeneration in an area suffering from high levels of deprivation." St Mirren confirmed that neither the club or the charitable foundation had been engaged prior to the submission "as this was very early stages of the process". It said "historic discussions and meetings" had taken place around the development of a Ferguslie Master Plan, including the potential development of a well-being centre, had taken place with club board members, Renfrewshire Council senior officials and other stakeholders. But it said that it had not been expected to offer its land as part of the project. It said any sale or transfer of its land "would require to be subject to a robust process" including being professionally valued, recommended by a majority of the directors and approved by club shareholders as part of a legal agreement. "From the discussions that took place at the St Mirren Football Club Board meeting on September 29, 2022 it became clear that the matter would require further conversation with the charitable foundation and that the club should maintain interest in this matter to establish if the project offered any tangible benefit going forward. "It was agreed that timely and appropriate discussions must take place regarding any potential projects in future to ensure that all stakeholders, directly involved or otherwise, were aware of the approach that was being taken," the club said. It said that after a second stage application had been submitted, the board confirmed "alignment on the proposal had been achieved and was content that the matter had been concluded appropriately from a St Mirren Football Club perspective." The club said: "A watching brief on the progress of the application was applied to establish if there were any opportunities for the club arising from the initiative. The club board will always be supportive of any regeneration and development of the area surrounding the stadium if it is complementary to the best interests of the club." St Mirren became fan owned in the summer of 2021, when SMISA bought out the remaining shareholding of chairman Gordon Scott to become majority (51%) owners of the Buddies in what it called "a historic day". The move to fan ownership of the Paisley club came after Kibble became part-owners in March, 2020. SMISA said the deal helped to safeguard the future of the club – formed in 1877 – by placing it in the hands of its supporters, "the people who care for it the most". Mr Wardrop was previously credited with making fan ownership possible by teaming up with SMISA to initially begin a buyout process in 2016. When SMISA became majority shareholders, they asked Mr Wardrop to remain on the board as one of their representatives and he willingly agreed. Mr Wardrop was the mastermind behind the 1877 Club in the main stand of the SMISA Stadium and has also contributed several items to the mini-museum inside the club from his personal collection of memorabilia. When he announced he was quitting the board, A SMISA spokesman said: “Everyone at SMISA would like to thank him for all his time and effort on the board, both before and after he agreed to become one of our representatives. “Everything he ever did was undoubtedly with the best interests of St Mirren at heart.” The council have been asked by the Herald if the land designated in the bid for funding was their error. A council spokesperson said: “The council submitted an application for Regeneration Capital Grant Funding to the Scottish Government on behalf of Kibble last year. “The formal application itself was non-specific on the exact location of the proposed development, however we did add an appendix to the Stage One application as a guide, showing a site plan with an indicative location, to the north of St Mirren’s stadium. “Should the funding bid have been successful, the exact location would have been subject to the outcome of a wider masterplan covering all development in the Ferguslie Park area.” St Mirren said: "This is a storm in a teacup. The board were clear that this project did not involve any land owned by [the club]. However, the club will always be supportive of any proposal that improves SMFC and helps rebuild the economy and social fabric of the Ferguslie area. Kibble is classed as one of two that had "significant control" of the club according to Companies House with more than 25% but not more than 50% of the shares. A spokesman for Kibble said: “Mr Wardrop’s allegations are based on the entirely false premise that there was ever any intention to build on land owned by St Mirren. There simply was not, as has now been confirmed by Kibble, the St Mirren FC board and Renfrewshire Council. “Indeed, Mr Wardrop was a member of the board of the St Mirren Charitable Foundation when it discussed and expressly supported the decision to move to Stage 2 of the funding application process. “We made a very early-stage, exploratory funding application for a much-needed Wellbeing Centre on one of the many vacant, derelict sites in the Ferguslie Park area. “The unfortunate error on the part of the council in shading an area of land next to the stadium has led to ill-informed speculation, which has since been clarified.” Police Scotland were approached about the outcome of the financial irregularities investigation.

The only things that seem 'closed' are your ears, your eyes and your mind Mr. Kibble.

Glen is watching 👀

The " supporter association " owns most of the club ! Time it started acting like it does.

NO ! Try sticking to the facts. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area/renfrewshire/alan-wardrop-confirms-st-mirren-28159383

This could have serious repercussions for the club and the relationship between kibble and the board. Trust is vital. If kibble did this then they have no regard for our club or the concept of fan ownership. If it’s necessary to delay the SMiSA AGM to get to the bottom of this then so be it. I too will vote for Alan Wardrop. Our team must come first. We’ve all seen the damage elsewhere when outside interests have damaged teams, some in England eventually going bust. Remember the promises of better financial management from Kibble? What we got was record losses. The good form on the park must not be a smokescreen.

Kibble uncovered Now distrusted by the fans, the cause of boardroom splits, divisive, discovered to be underhand in dealings, rude when questioned, and in an untenable position, impossible to reverse. This charity apparently became involved with St Mirren out of the goodness of its heart. When my friend who works there heard of this he warned me it would not end well for our club. A lot of fans were persuaded and voted to support the idea (They would not do so now), and a cuckoo was allowed into the St Mirren nest. What nobody realised is that their directors do not have to face re-election. They think they are untouchable. Within a short time Kibble had brought in catering, security and building suppliers (initially all the same young man) until it was found connections existed between the two. A quick retreat followed. Our ticketing system was dumped for a system that means we cannot add cup games to season tickets. Back we went to barcodes, readers and even paper tickets. Staff members, trusted for years were shown the door (go to hospitality as I did a recently and you will know no one bar C Kennedy). Ticket, office, and hospitality staff have walked or been shown the door. An employee settlement deal was mentioned on a slide at the AGM at £30,000! Hearing more are in the pipeline. Hospitality is provided by Kibble at a ‘competitive rate’. It would be with their access to costs as board members. Insider trading or what? Kibble receives government funding but pay for our general manager – immoral. This money is for charitable purposes. Kibble has millions in the bank. How many charities do you know in this position? Kibble took over the daily accountancy. Where are we now? In November 2020 Kibble were clearing the way. They called in the Inland Revenue and spoke to the press as Kibble, not as St. Mirren directors. They pushed for the resignation of John Needham following his ill advised comments about Rangers fans. Kibble's Jim Gillespie, a Rangers supporter is now our vice chairman. Jim Gillespie is also in charge of the academy, now a shambles with a vast overspend on recent works. He has been credited with bringing in Keith Lasley (both their sons are at the academy) at great cost. Kibble’s much vaunted commercial expertise included a failed £1.6 million in taxpayers’ money lost at the closed down go carting ‘Experience’ in Hillington (it was managed by our present general manager) contributed to St Mirren turning a £1 million in the bank into a record £1.7 million deficit. Kibble’s directors were disrespectful, arrogant and rude at the AGM. Nobody there has disagreed with that. Kibble’s PR agency must be in overdrive but it’s too late. We see you Kibble. Time to say goodbye.

Kibble uncovered Now distrusted by the fans, the cause of boardroom splits, divisive, discovered to be underhand in dealings, rude when questioned, and in an untenable position, impossible to reverse. This charity apparently became involved with St Mirren out of the goodness of its heart. When my friend who works there heard of this he warned me it would not end well for our club. A lot of fans were persuaded and voted to support the idea (They would not do so now), and a cuckoo was allowed into the St Mirren nest. What nobody realised is that their directors do not have to face re-election. They think they are untouchable. Within a short time Kibble had brought in catering, security and building suppliers (initially all the same young man) until it was found connections existed between the two. A quick retreat followed. Our ticketing system was dumped for a system that means we cannot add cup games to season tickets. Back we went to barcodes, readers and even paper tickets. Staff members, trusted for years were shown the door (go to hospitality as I did a recently and you will know no one bar C Kennedy). Ticket, office, and hospitality staff have walked or been shown the door. An employee settlement deal was mentioned on a slide at the AGM at £30,000! Hearing more are in the pipeline. Hospitality is provided by Kibble at a ‘competitive rate’. It would be with their access to costs as board members. Insider trading or what? Kibble receives government funding but pay for our general manager – immoral. This money is for charitable purposes. Kibble has millions in the bank. How many charities do you know in this position? Kibble took over the daily accountancy. Where are we now? In November 2020 Kibble were clearing the way. They called in the Inland Revenue and spoke to the press as Kibble, not as St. Mirren directors. They pushed for the resignation of John Needham following his ill advised comments about Rangers fans. Kibble's Jim Gillespie, a Rangers supporter is now our vice chairman. Jim Gillespie is also in charge of the academy, now a shambles with a vast overspend on recent works. He has been credited with bringing in Keith Lasley (both their sons are at the academy) at great cost. Kibble’s much vaunted commercial expertise included a failed £1.6 million in taxpayers’ money lost at the closed down go carting ‘Experience’ in Hillington (it was managed by our present general manager) contributed to St Mirren turning a £1 million in the bank into a record £1.7 million deficit. Kibble’s directors were disrespectful, arrogant and rude at the AGM. Nobody there has disagreed with that. Kibble’s PR agency must be in overdrive but it’s too late. We see you Kibble. Time to say goodbye.

The AGM confirmed the rumours were correct, we produced a shocking loss of £1.25 million and more. The first 20 minutes was taken up by a slide presentation from John Needham as to why this was so bad. He said this would answer a lot of questions. Around 100 shareholders thought differently and a succession of questioners forced answers as board members stared at their feet. Covid was he said part of the problem, that and a failed transfer, our final league position being lower than budgeted for and a huge overspend at the academy. It was pointed out that the board should have budgeted properly and that they had failed in their duty having spent without planning. The chairman laid the blame for the academy on Tony Fitzpatrick, saying in football as in banking you have to “take a chance”. A shareholder pointed out that the club was losing £4,000 per day. JN agreed but said ‘steps were being taken’. He then confirmed there was no financial director. So who was in charge of Tony was asked. The board looked at each other and the answer was ‘no one’. The questioner said surely at least one board member would have known and asked why Gordon Scott’s construction expertise was not used. ‘I wasn't asked’ said Gordon. At times John Needham looked to be reading from notes from Mr Gillespie. I felt sorry for the manager. There was hardly a football question but he raised a smile from the board when he said he would like another £1 million but this wasn't the place to ask. He said that due to the financial situation he could not bring players and that more would be leaving. There was a question about VAR too. A shareholder with a list of questions said the board’s failure was mismanagement and was a resignation issue. JN bluffed through and said he hoped to be standing there next year with a better picture. Former director Alan Wardrop spoke. To be fair he said he was partly responsible for the dire state of the finances having been on the board. He asked searching questions of Mark McMillan of Kibble who immediately looked very uncomfortable. Mr Wardrop went through his questions 1 by 1 which were he said based on conflict of interest. Mr McMillan looked shaken saying loudly ‘we are 27% owners of St Mirren’ as if that mattered. Mr Wardrop explained the deal was for a project for Kibble partly funded by government close to the stadium. Mr McMillan denied any conflict of interest but did not really explain why. Mr McMillan said to Mr Wardrop that it was only his opinion or interpretation but Mr Wardrop replied that 'it's a matter of record and can be seen online, or I can share it now with the room if you like'. People were becoming angry .Mr McMillan was asked more than once if this was done for the good of St Mirren, when he refused to answer a voice said, ‘I’ll take that as a no’. He then blurted out ‘Kibble and Renfrewshire Council’. Mr Gillespie tried damage limitation and made a decent job of a half explanation but no one believed a word even when he said the project had been cancelled with no explanation. A SMISA board member sat shaking his head. There is certainly more to this than meets the eye, it's a serious charge. SMISA was also criticised for not doing enough regarding the finances but the chairman assured shareholders SMISA receives regular monthly management accounts, which looked to surprise a SMISA board member. It was a car-crash performance from Kibble and the chairman and leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

Some time ago posters on here said it was all lies but the recently published accounts show the real story. Figures do not lie. We should all be concerned. The excuses for the cancellation of the executive box are just that - excuses. We obviously have just about run out of money. The club has been terribly run. Staff have been made redundant. One eventually settled for a payoff others are currently taking legal action against the club. The manager has made it public that we cannot bring in players while rival teams will strengthen their squad. Potential bidders for our players know we are desperate for cash Why would buyers bid big now? The overspend at the academy is breathtaking with Kibble looking like they have taken plenty (over £140k) in only those 12 months alone. How much in total I wonder? All overseen by a Kibble paid for General Manager. Two Kibble directors who promised better management of the finances sit on the board. To summarise we are in trouble, especially if we don’t sell players. This is mismanagement and no amount of attempts at pandemic excuses and painting walls can cover it up.

Don’t see how this can be described as a "carve" up. It’s obvious something is wrong. Perhaps some of the comments and warnings that have been ridiculed here should be reconsidered. So many signs but all ignored. Then attack the people I assume are trying to address the situation. Classic shoot the messenger stuff. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Good statement and good to see such positivity. Obviously choosing his words carefully regarding being a loss making business under the current club directors which reflects badly on them collectively and individually. They have certainly burned through the cash. Glaringly obvious the promised extra professionalism in finance has not materialised. Looks like the new SMiSA board is reaching out which is excellent. The real current financial situation will be masked by the AGM financial report if the business is currently loss making. Ticket deals to get bums on seats are good but won’t bring in much cash. As was said elsewhere directors have to get control of accountancy back from kibble. Looks like SMiSA has a lot on its plate. The new people are clearly trying to tackle the money problem without openly stating so.

My usual pre-match call round has brought more disturbing news. There’s been yet another resignation from the SMISA board that’s been kept very quiet. The only woman member has now resigned! Club debt is alarming and may have to be rescued with cash from outside! Kibble are "more cost effective" - "degree of pain". How much pain are you prepared to suffer ?

My usual pre-match call round has brought more disturbing news. There’s been yet another resignation from the SMISA board that’s been kept very quiet. The only woman member has now resigned! Club debt is alarming and may have to be rescued with cash from outside!

With Mr McPherson having left (I’m losing track of all the sudden departures at the club) and SMiSA’s unhappiness with the club board’s financial management, next week’s meeting will see them face difficult questions. I’d encourage as many members to show up unless that meeting is ditched as the club board did with last year’s AGM. We need answers.

Just saw on twitter that there's been yet another resignation from SmISA Board. How many more? Hearing its the journalist Mr McPherson. Is he distancing himself I wonder given he's a sports journo. Losing count of the resignations from SMiSA and the Club's board now. No smoke as they say. Big meeting coming up soon.

So. Alan Wardrop gone, Ross Paterson gone. George Adam gone. No word on the Club or Smisa web pages. Who will be next ? More to go I hear. Let's just wait and see. Please. No need to reply to this when you get home from school guys.

We have lost another good St Mirren man. I’ve had it confirmed that director Alan Wardrop personally announced his resignation to the 1877 club yesterday. Told he was quite emotional citing personal reasons. I also have it that he has had enough of two of the directors. I’ll let you guess. Been shown online proof that Paterson has been made redundant and told more academy cuts being made. He is a huge loss. Results are great but even the manager is talking of having to move players onalerting other clubs to our need for money.Surely now time for the doubters to ask themselves serious questions.