Jump to content

Board Changes


javeajag
 Share

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, javeajag said:

Brian Donald retires and Malcolm Cannon Head of Scottish cricket  joins the Board

negative comment from jj expected shortly 

I think its a decent appiontment - and will hopefully bring more proffsionalism to the Club - however we still lack someone with Football experience - Marketing is non existent & Communications awful - I would also say that Im baffled that the Club cant find a Thistle Fan worthy of a place on the Board - highly unusual for a small Club - but the guy has a decent CV in Sport and at least has an idea of Sports Management 

Also worried about the lack of Business Experience on our Board compared to previous ..

 

Edited by Jordanhill Jag
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ScottyDFA said:

 

I don't follow your thinking here Jim. Most of the businessmen and businesswomen I know are as thick as mince.

 

I accept that there are good & bad business people out there - but currently Im not convinced we have anywhere near replaced the Business Acumen of Billy Allan - Greig Brown and David Beattie or there Contacts - and in a small Club having experience is key 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jordanhill Jag said:

I accept that there are good & bad business people out there - but currently Im not convinced we have anywhere near replaced the Business Acumen of Billy Allan - Greig Brown and David Beattie or there Contacts - and in a small Club having experience is key 

Beattie, Allan and Brown? The Propco guys? I think the Club's had as much of that particular brand of business acumen as it can tolerate.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, ScottyDFA said:

Beattie, Allan and Brown? The Propco guys? I think the Club's had as much of that particular brand of business acumen as it can tolerate.

 

Thats a fair point - but they also took us from near oblivion to debt free & top six -and they also invested substantial sums directly & indirectly into the Club  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Jordanhill Jag said:

Thats a fair point - but they also took us from near oblivion to debt free & top six -and they also invested substantial sums directly & indirectly into the Club  

And will get a hefty 5% per annum "exit premium" when the Club finally gets back full ownership of the Main Stand and the city end of the ground. How many years now since the Propco deal? That exit premium is growing fast. We heard a lot if sh*te from those guys about how they were Thistle men through-and-through (some of the less shameless ones just described themselves as Thistle-minded). Ask anyone in the North Stand next Saturday the following question: If you had considerable personal wealth, such that you could afford to make a substantial sum available to your football club, would you do that with no gain to yourself, or would you help yourself to 5% every year?

Please don't misinterpret the motives of the Propco investors.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ideal opportunity for the Board to give us one of their promised monthly updates (last one January so my calendar must work differently to the Chairman's).  This months update could perhaps talk about the Board changes and progress on the training ground. :thinking:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, ScottyDFA said:

And will get a hefty 5% per annum "exit premium" when the Club finally gets back full ownership of the Main Stand and the city end of the ground. How many years now since the Propco deal? That exit premium is growing fast. We heard a lot if sh*te from those guys about how they were Thistle men through-and-through (some of the less shameless ones just described themselves as Thistle-minded). Ask anyone in the North Stand next Saturday the following question: If you had considerable personal wealth, such that you could afford to make a substantial sum available to your football club, would you do that with no gain to yourself, or would you help yourself to 5% every year?

Please don't misinterpret the motives of the Propco investors.

 

Im not saying your incorrect - and inhindsight pretty sure they wouldnt have never have got involved in Propco - they are never getting a return from it - there is lots of cheaper easier and better land to build on 

But the fact remians - outwith Propco ( which was actually under the previous Board - the three people mentioned had solid business experience and turned round the Club - just dont see that on the current Board 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, ScottyDFA said:

Please don't misinterpret the motives of the Propco investors.

 

I have to confess that I find all the Propco chat somewhat irksome. When it was being floated (and before it happened) there were only a small handful of people who had anything to say about it - Tom Hogg, Sandy Fyfe, Martin Towers, Colin Quinn (I know - but Colin cares (or at least cared) deeply about the Club and wasn’t afraid to express a view), myself and perhaps a couple of others.  The lack of interest from most was palpable, so I get a bit irritated when it’s trotted out as a stick to beat the previous Board with. So, it feels a bit like revisionism to be outraged about it now.

My main issue with it is that it doesn’t include the checks and balances to properly protect the Club going forward, and that the deal could have been re-structured to better achieve that aim, but that ship has long since sailed and there were precious few at the quayside to wave it off.

Whatever else you choose to beat up previous Board members over (and there is plenty of choice), this probably isn’t what I would pick. I don’t think that people truly understand the financial position the Club was in at the time or just how close to insolvent it was. There was no compelling need to volunteer cash, unless you wanted to help the Club, and investing in the structure is a very long way down the list of investment choices that a sensible person would make. Any return could probably best be described as “pedestrian” and certainly doesn’t provide evidence of the investors pillaging the Club’s resources. They over paid for an unattractive investment that was never likely to see a notable return.

It’s certainly not how I would have gone about it though (I was public with my thoughts and a few of us tried to engage with the Board at the time), but I will always be thankful to Billy Allan and David Beattie for their assistance to the Club. Billy Allan in particular always came across in my dealings with him as a thoughtful and intelligent person, generous with his time while trying to run his own company. I haven’t spoken to him since I left the Jags Trust, but I retain a great deal of respect for him.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...