General SMiSA News
SMiSA would like to thank all of the trust members who turned up for last Sunday's AGM at the Wynd Centre. A very productive discussion was had with those in attendance and a summary of the meeting and our plan for moving forward will be posted out to the membership in due course. We would once again like to take the opportunity to to thank all of our members for their continued support at this time and recognise their dedication to St Mirren.
SMiSA would like to remind all of our members that the trust's AGM will take place on Sunday, 31st March 2013, in The Wynd Centre Auditorium, School Wynd, Paisley at 3.15pm (following the St Mirren vs Celtic match, kickoff 12:45). All members should have received via post information pertaining to the meeting, a copy of the trust's accounts and a voting form to be returned. If any member has not received this, please let us know via email.
We at the trust would also like to stress to our members the importance of attending this meeting if at all possible as there are a number of key issues to discuss which will have a bearing on the future direction of the trust and its organisation as stated in the post out.
Members are free to bring a guest to the AGM if they wish, but we would ask that they please inform trust secretary Wullie Bell via email if they intend to do so.
In closing, we would also at this time like to thank all our members for their continued support of both the trust & St Mirren, and hope all Buddies will be celebrating a great victory for St Mirren this Sunday 17th March, in the League Cup Final!
SMiSA will be hosting a Question and Answer Evening with Danny Lennon, Tommy Craig and a senior player in the Hospitality Suite at St Mirren Park on Thursday 15th November. The evening will start at 7pm prompt and will finish by 9pm. The cost of entry is by way of a small donation to Youth Development.
It would be appreciated if everyone could be seated by 6.45pm.
Since the departure of Provan Sports the availability of St.Mirren merchandising has all but disappeared to the point where we can barely lay claim to possessing a Club outlet at all.
Hi there,
As you'll hopefully be aware since leaving Supporters Direct Scotland I've been involved in gathering the views and opinions of football fans for a project to help create a fans' charter. The charter will hopefully go some way to improving the experience of going to matches and improving the relationships between clubs, fans, stewards and police and the project is supported by the SFA, SPL, SFL, Police, Scottish Government and Supporters Direct.
In order to get more views I've published an online survey which I hope you will be willing to complete and pass on to members of your organisation as well as friends and family who would be interested in giving their views.
Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7J8L6XG
The project is run independently of the Scottish FA but they have allowed me to use their website and an email address therefore some other information can be found on their website and you can contact me on [email protected].
Website: http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=10205&newsCategoryID=1
Thanks for taking the time to read this and if you would like more info on the project please get in touch.
Kind Regards,
James Proctor
Project Manager
Fans' Charter
Twitter: @jamesproc
PS If you use Twitter you can follow the conversation using #fanscharter
With all the current uncertainty surrounding our club it is down to the supporters to stand up and support the club. Supporting St Mirren has always been a series of challenges and only history will show how we have coped and dealt with the current black cloud over the club.
We can only rely on ourselves and our fellow supporters to do this. No finger pointing, no stepping back leaving it to others, we all have to act as ONE and Support Our Saints.
This is time for action.
Please now:
- Buy a Season Ticket or bring a friend to the first home game and beyond
- Buy Club Merchandise, buy that strip.
- Start buying the programme again or take out the subscription.
- Get a Car Park Space if you can.
We all must generate cash going in the football club and now is the time when we need to Support Our Saints on and off the park.
SMiSAS VIEW ON CLUB OWNERSHIP
In all of our 135 years, we believe that St. Mirren has never had a majority shareholder. Other clubs with majority shareholders, for example, Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen, suggest that one majority shareholder is not a healthy arrangement.
The diversity of shareholding has surely been a major strength in St. Mirren avoiding the financial excesses seen elsewhere.
The questions are
Do St. Mirren fans wish their club to continue as a community based operation under the management of a group of local people?...
Or do they wish it to be taken into the hands of either a single person?...
Or perhaps an organisation created to utilise the assets of our club to develop community facilities?
The last option is no doubt a very admirable objective but not the primary function of our football club. Of course, St. Mirren fans do have the comfort of the firm unconditional undertaking given by the current board that under no circumstances will the consortium sell their shares to an individual who could not prove to them that the club would continue to be run in the best interests of SMFC and its fans.
SMiSA AND THE CIC (10000 HOURS)
When the Community Interest Company 10,000 Hours idea was first floated, the concept of fan ownership and the protection of the clubs assets were very attractive to the SMiSA board. Accordingly, our initial concerns did not relate to the eventual CIC structure but we were focused on two main considerations: -
When the Community Interest Company 10,000 Hours idea was first floated, the concept of fan ownership and the protection of the clubs assets were very attractive to the SMiSA board. Accordingly, our initial concerns did not relate to the eventual CIC structure but we were focused on two main considerations: -
- Was the proposed deal fair to Saints fans?
- Did the debt which the CIC planned to use threaten the future financial stability of the club?
Throughout the many months of public meetings and statements from Richard Atkinson, we worked behind the scenes to obtain reassurance on our two main issues to no avail.
In our opinion, the price per share being asked must be close to the highest figure ever paid for St. Mirren shares. As far as the debt was concerned, repayment over ten years from sources not yet in place was totally unrealistic, yet supporters were being asked to pledge their cash. In many ways, it was a relief when the proposal fell through and yet at the same time, it was a missed opportunity.
At that stage, SMiSA members voted to withdrawsupport until all necessary information was provided by the CIC.
As the various versions of the 10000 Hours proposals evolved the complexity seemed to grow. Gordon Scott is to be congratulated on his efforts to inject some realism into the proposals as far as the level of debt is concerned but clearly it will take a huge leap forward in the level of investors to conclude a deal. As matters currently stand, the SMiSA board does not have the information on which to base a recommendation to its members. We have repeatedly asked for a detailed business plan, but this has not been produced.
The SMISA board wishes to stress that the questions and standards it is asking of 10000 Hours are no different to those that would be asked of any prospective majority shareholder.
In summary, as an advocate of fan ownership and as an organisation that has provided substantial permanent funding to the club over the years, SMiSA is supportive of the 10000 Hours concept but those behind the proposals have to earn the support of Saints fans by setting out in a totally transparent manner every detail of the arrangements. They must also in doing so establish their own credibility as people we can trust to run our beloved club.
Alastair Colquhoun
SMiSA Chair