Buy The Buds

[elvis]

To me its just going to be more of the same as we have now that's how its come across at the meeting just different faces but still no ideas as YET of how to move forward.

[Kendo]

To me its just going to be more of the same as we have now that's how its come across at the meeting just different faces but still no ideas as YET of how to move forward.

I understand where you're coming from, however with the fans having a major say in how the club is run definitely won't be more of the same.

The fact is the club will be run by enthusiastic new people with new ideas, this enthusiasm will work right down throughout the club. At present its being run by fantastic people who are wanting out and have been for some time. This will have had an effect on the way the entire club is operated.

EDIT I meant the club is currently being run by fantastic people.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Kendo

[FTOF]

The problem with the above is it's all "whataboutery", people are looking for something more structured and detailed.

Have to agree.

IMO we've reached the threshold of people that will sign up "in blind faith".

The consortium need to provide some details of exactly how they're going to take the club forward; some information regarding how they're going to generate more income above what we do at present, and specific names of the personnel involved in the future board.

If they can do this, then it could be the catalyst to reaching the 1000.

Otherwise, as much as I'd like the bid to succeed, I don't think it will, in its present state.

I hope I'm proved wrong.

[melmac]

Guys, I think it is as simple as this, sign up to pay £12 a month and at least have some sort of say in how the club may be run; or dont sign up, let buythebuds fail and never have a say in how the club is run because you can be sure, their will not be third attempt for fan control. You'll only ever be able to influence things from the inside.

[Isle Of Bute Saint]

Guys, I think it is as simple as this, sign up to pay £12 a month and at least have some sort of say in how the club may be run; or dont sign up, let buythebuds fail and never have a say in how the club is run because you can be sure, their will not be third attempt for fan control. You'll only ever be able to influence things from the inside.

Surly there has got to be a detailed plan for the future. Can't believe it's a case of sign up now the fans own have a say in the club so that's fine let's now scratch our heads and say what next.

[faraway saint]

Guys, I think it is as simple as this, sign up to pay £12 a month and at least have some sort of say in how the club may be run; or dont sign up, let buythebuds fail and never have a say in how the club is run because you can be sure, their will not be third attempt for fan control. You'll only ever be able to influence things from the inside.

The average fan will have little or no real say in the running of the club, and most have no real desire to, so this line isn't really a good angle, IMO.

Most have joined as a show of faith and a feeling they are doing some good for the future of the club, and as such, are entitled to ask what is the plan for the future.

[Stuart Dickson]

The average fan will have little or no real say in the running of the club, and most have no real desire to, so this line isn't really a good angle, IMO.

Most have joined as a show of faith and a feeling they are doing some good for the future of the club, and as such, are entitled to ask what is the plan for the future.

Yep this exactly. You see the same thing at Hearts, Clyde, etc, etc. The membership don't really get much of a say in the running of the club beyond electing their representative and hoping they do a good job. That's not a bad thing - it would be ridiculously messy if everything at the club was debated on an open forum with a referendum at the end. But there needs to be a belief in the people that are being backed IMO.

I see earlier in the thread Lord Pityme saying that we have to come to terms with the fact that the club was extraordinarily well run. I'd say that was a matter of opinion. For me my opinion is that for many years under the current regime there was no youth development and no scouting. The club lost contact and favour with a huge chunk of the Paisley community. The board got it's lucky break by selling off the clubs single asset which was an extraordinarily good bit of business, but again in the building of the new stadium and it's facilities it looks like a great opportunity for expansion was passed up. No operating profit has ever made and if it wasn't for SFA grant run programmes St Mirren wouldn't have done anything for the local community at all beyond handing out free tickets when trying to drum up a bit of support. In terms of the crowd it looks to me like over the last 17 years we've seen the number of kids attending St Mirren fixtures fall dramatically and the demographic of the support is certainly much, much older than it was in the 70's and 80's and all that despite the team on the park having won promotion twice, and winning a the League Cup and Challenge Cup for the first time ever.

I'd say there needs to be a revolution even if it's only a small one. There has to be new ideas, There needs to be a realisation that there are programmes and schemes out there that can be followed to improve revenue streams, and to simply work in a smarter, more self sufficient manner. I hope and I think they can get the bid over the line.....but I also hope for some dynamism on the new board.

[melmac]

The average fan will have little or no real say in the running of the club, and most have no real desire to, so this line isn't really a good angle, IMO.

Most have joined as a show of faith and a feeling they are doing some good for the future of the club, and as such, are entitled to ask what is the plan for the future.

You right, the average fan will have no say. A member of smisa is not going to be "an average fan", it's by being part of smisa that things can happen - sum greater than its individual parts and all that.

[Hambud]

If you are looking round wondering who will help achieve 1000 sign ups, look no further than yourself!

You can talk, discuss, debate and encourage others to get involved. Who better than Saints fans to talk this through and encourage other saints fans to sign up?

We are approaching 700 sign ups with over three weeks till the deadline, and that has been achieved largely by us, the fans signing up, and encouraging others to do so. Ignore the predictions of doom & gloom!

This is happening!

#BuyTheBuds

the problem with most of us on here are sad bastards that spend all our time on here. ;)

[shull]

the problem with most of us on here are sad bastards that spend all our time on here. ;)

Excuse me!!!!!!

True lol

[Mr Zo]

It does seem a bit worrying that the numbers are still some way short of the 1000 mark required for this to take off. I think the task is made so much more difficult that our season ended several weeks ago and there won't be that chance to tap into people on match days etc. This was always going to be a stumbling block.

I am sure everyone behind the bid are doing their bit and we will get very close but it's going to be tough.

Good luck to everyone and keep up the good work. :-)

[faraway saint]

661

Members Signed Up

as at 26th May 2016 14:20

664

Members Signed Up

as at 26th May 2016 23:49

[faraway saint]

664

Members Signed Up

as at 26th May 2016 23:49

3 in 36 hours, that's a fact.

This needs some serious leadership, seen nothing since the "meeting" which had a very positive effect.

If anybody thinks some continual pleading/emotional/romantic effort on here is enough they are seriously deranged.

Time for the main people to be more public as it seems that they are out of effort in the public domain.

[bud77]

3 in 36 hours, that's a fact.

This needs some serious leadership, seen nothing since the "meeting" which had a very positive effect.

If anybody thinks some continual pleading/emotional/romantic effort on here is enough they are seriously deranged.

Time for the main people to be more public as it seems that they are out of effort in the public domain.

I've got to agree. I'm not intending to knock SMiSA here but if I remember correctly they wouldn't back the 10,000 hours bid because they were not able to disclose the business plan to the members, now they are asking the support to back this with very limited information. I fully understand that for commercial reasons they might not want to make everything available but they really need to give the fans a vision of what they would be buying in to.

More concerning to me is that there just doesn't seem to be any drive or enthusiasm, there was 1 meeting at very short notice, 1 further meeting with more notice, a web site and I believe a twitter or facebook campaign (I'm not on either of those so don't know much about them), I couldn't attend either of the meetings and if it wasn't for looking at this website I wouldn't have known where to go to get more information. Over the next 2 weeks there really needs to be a big step up to get the message out and make it easier for people who aren't on line much to get more information and be able to sign up without necessarily going online.

[notabuddie]

I thought someone said SMISA did not back 10000hrs because they were not getting a member on the main board

The message from SMISA has always,been the same buy shares get someone on the board but nothing to say what happens if they achieve that its the same situation with the bid. They are more interested in getting a rep on the board rather than telling saying what the full package is.

GLS said at the meeting he wants members on the board that bring something to the table. SMISA so far are failing in this or keeping things very quiet

[Stuart Dickson]

I thought someone said SMISA did not back 10000hrs because they were not getting a member on the main board

The message from SMISA has always,been the same buy shares get someone on the board but nothing to say what happens if they achieve that its the same situation with the bid. They are more interested in getting a rep on the board rather than telling saying what the full package is.

GLS said at the meeting he wants members on the board that bring something to the table. SMISA so far are failing in this or keeping things very quiet

In fairness SMiSA has always had the stated aim of getting at least one member on the board. They aren't unusual in that. Most Independent Supporters Associations were set up in the same way. The idea was to give fans some say and influence in the boardroom. They achieve their original aim if this deal concludes and they'd then have roughly 10 years to prepare for ownership.

I think I'm more concerned that Gordon Scott appears to be very quiet on his business plan. I'm more concerned that the new ownership model doesn't end the possibility of profit being paid out to shareholders in dividends, and that none of this secures the stadium as a community asset. I'd also hope to hear about how the new owners will do more to embrace and help community groups in the Paisley area.

I'd love to see the club I grew up supporting in community ownership, growing and expanding whilst doing the kind of work that wins the respect of the town.

[Dare]

This bid is the best move for the club - St Mirren Football club in the hands of St Mirren supporters, for me it's a no brainier. We have the chance of creating something here lets grasp it ffs. What a great message this will send out if we can get this over the line.

For those swithering think about it another way - the current board want out and it's probably now reached the stage that they will sell to whoever shows the colour of their money. Although this may be the preferred bid it will be dropped like a hot potato if we can't reach the 1,000 mark. BOD will then sell to basically anyone and their get-out to St Mirren fans if/when it goes wrong will be .......... well you had your chance !

#buythebuds

[bud77]

This bid is the best move for the club - St Mirren Football club in the hands of St Mirren supporters, for me it's a no brainier. We have the chance of creating something here lets grasp it ffs. What a great message this will send out if we can get this over the line.

For those swithering think about it another way - the current board want out and it's probably now reached the stage that they will sell to whoever shows the colour of their money. Although this may be the preferred bid it will be dropped like a hot potato if we can't reach the 1,000 mark. BOD will then sell to basically anyone and their get-out to St Mirren fans if/when it goes wrong will be .......... well you had your chance !

#buythebuds

I've long thought that fan ownership is the best for clubs like St Mirren but I'd still like an idea of what the short and medium term plans are. Some people will require more persuading and others will probably have very little information because they're not online a lot. SMiSA really need to push this to a far wider audience and give people a better idea of how it will work.

[FTOF]

As much as I'd like more detail regarding certain aspects of how the club is to be taken forward, I'm not expecting ground breaking initiatives that will generate the club thousands of pounds.

Let's face it, if these ideas were out there, then clubs would be using them to great effect.

However, one thing I would like to know, for example, is if we have fresh initiatives to maximise the use of the stadium to its full potential.

I don't see further developing our current level of involvement with the community, at present, as being a priority.

We need to sort out finances first, and then, once we're on an even keel, we can build on our current satisfactory level of involvement with the community.

However, at statement to the effect that we will be looking to further develop this area, would be a step in the right direction.

[Stuart Dickson]

As much as I'd like more detail regarding certain aspects of how the club is to be taken forward, I'm not expecting ground breaking initiatives that will generate the club thousands of pounds.

Let's face it, if these ideas were out there, then clubs would be using them to great effect.

However, one thing I would like to know, for example, is if we have fresh initiatives to maximise the use of the stadium to its full potential.

I don't see further developing our current level of involvement with the community, at present, as being a priority.

We need to sort out finances first, and then, once we're on an even keel, we can build on our current satisfactory level of involvement with the community.

However, at statement to the effect that we will be looking to further develop this area, would be a step in the right direction.

How do you maximise the use of the stadium facilities without increased community involvement? Where are all the people going to come from if not the local community?

Again I'd implore people to look at the model at Atlantis Community Leisure Centre to see how community involvement leads to growth, increased footfall, revenue and profit.

Edited May 28, 2016 by Stuart Dickson

[Isle Of Bute Saint]

REA did a fantastic job with 10,000 hours on this forum selling the cause directly . Gordon Scott did the same on the official forum selling the new stadium to the fans. Why can't Gordon come to the forum for his own QA section for the final push. I don't get it ,, seriusly

[Lord Pityme]

#BuyTheBuds

All happening on social media blitz this weekend.

[gazmc83]

[buddiecat]

ImageUploadedByBlack & White Army1464455750.749653.jpg

Every time fans speak to someone else about the bid it helps get more sign ups. I myself spoke to someone yesterday and asked if he had signed up or was going to, after just that small conversation he stated he would sign up.

This is the best way to get folk signed up - speak to them personally.

As shown in the SMiSA reply in the above tweet, Gordon will be asked to speak out and hopefully expand on the information about his promise to get more people on board to maximise income and therefore get us moving up the leagues, what that would include i don't know. I know he has promised to further the fortunes of our club and i believe he will, that's good enough for me, obviously he needs to work on others to get them on board with the bid.

[Stuart Dickson]

I see tonight SMiSA have sent out a message on Facebook saying St Mirren can be just like Hearts. I'm delighted with that. I look forward to seeing some detail about the community trust and community charities that they are going to set up.

I'm glad they were listening. Panic over. Chuffed member here