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Q&a Event 19/05/2015


dosser1886
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My summary,

 

We are/were/always going to be in deep shit financially, no real surpise.

Need around 2000 Welltrust Members paying in by monthly direct debit to demonstrate to Les etc that we are serious about wanting to keep our club going.

Doesn't see himself as the owner but just facilitating our transition to fan ownership. (We knew that anyway)

Has sunk a decent wedge into the club (around £1Mil) already but expects to get it back eventually sees it as an interest free loan.

Contract negotiations with players are ongoing but don't want to distract players by going into it too much at the moment.

Didn't want the manager to get a hard time so didn't allow him to take any questions. (Fuck knows what the point of him being there was then)

Slight but not massive reduction in player budget.

Season ticket prices unchanged,

Tam Cowan finally found out that the dude sitting next to him for 5 years is from Germany and a friend of Dirk Lehmann.

 

Anything else I missed?

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There was no discussion amongst the society members or support about continual direct debits or 2000 society members and now we are apparently saddled with a million pound debt, presumably mainly to pay for players who look about to relegate us.

 

The very small number of people who took the decision to go down this path and hid behind confidentiality agreements when asked to discuss it in advance are morally responsible for the debt and that should be remembered if things go tits up.

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2000 members contributing monthly is never going to happen, we just don't have a big enough support. Furthermore, the WS have been incapable of stirring interest and building momentum.

 

Whatever money the fans do raise, Is that ringfenced from Les' invoice for £1mil? Or are we going to be paying for Bataclough, Straker, Long and co for years to come?

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I think the comments on Twitter were more around the question of Season Ticket prices. I believe (I obviously wasnt there) that he said something along the lines of not being willing to pay the same prices in the 1st Division and the response was short and direct by telling him not to bother buying a season ticket.

 

I do like a direct approach but the above is not really the type of response you would expect.

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It was me that asked the question but the responce wasent the best and disappointed in his answer.am not the richest person and i commented about this last night to be told dont buy 1 so a wont be buying 1

I was there ,I don't think he was trying to offend you,he didn't say don't come to the games,he said if you can't afford a St,don't buy one...sound advice?
Maybe I am giving the bloke the benefit of the doubt,but I honestly don't think he was being cheeky
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I certainly don't think his intention was to be cheeky or offensive, but I couldn't help but cringe a bit at his answer. If a Motherwell fan puts forward the acceptable point that it might be deemed as unfair that season tickets don't drop if we go down because a lot of people simply can't afford to keep putting money into the club, it isn't the best reply from Les to open with the line "well don't buy a season ticket then".

As I said, I don't think for a second that he was trying to dismiss the point or be an arse about it, but it was a pretty disappointing reply from a millionaire tax exile to someone genuinely concerned about being too skint to follow their football side. He could have handled the question far, far better.

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My summary,

 

We are/were/always going to be in deep shit financially, no real surpise.

Need around 2000 Welltrust Members paying in by monthly direct debit to demonstrate to Les etc that we are serious about wanting to keep our club going.

Doesn't see himself as the owner but just facilitating our transition to fan ownership. (We knew that anyway)

Has sunk a decent wedge into the club (around £1Mil) already but expects to get it back eventually sees it as an interest free loan.

Contract negotiations with players are ongoing but don't want to distract players by going into it too much at the moment.

Didn't want the manager to get a hard time so didn't allow him to take any questions. (Fuck knows what the point of him being there was then)

Slight but not massive reduction in player budget.

Season ticket prices unchanged,

Tam Cowan finally found out that the dude sitting next to him for 5 years is Geman and a friend of Dirk Lehmann.

 

Anything else I missed?

 

And that guy is me :D Been sitting next to me for 10 years now :D

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Whatever money the fans do raise, Is that ringfenced from Les' invoice for £1mil? Or are we going to be paying for Bataclough, Straker, Long and co for years to come?

 

It seems like he picks the manager and signs the players just now and the fans pay for it later.

 

It's a strange situation.

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As I said, I don't think for a second that he was trying to dismiss the point or be an arse about it, but it was a pretty disappointing reply from a millionaire tax exile to someone genuinely concerned about being too skint to follow their football side. He could have handled the question far, far better.

 

Yeah I think something more along the lines of highlighting the 4 month and 10 month payment options would have been a suitable response.

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Anyone involved in fan ownership projects always makes the same point - the fans only tends to respond when the club is on it's knees - nothing happens when things are ticking along. That puts LH is a paradoxical position. His wealth and presence threatens to stall the momentum of the fan ownership project. He will be acutely aware of that problem, and it explains why he keeps emphasising at every opportunity that it is up to the fans, not to him, to take things forward. There is not point is responding along the lines 'I already put in so much, how can he ask me to do more' - he is merely pointing out that if we don't do more the club will ultimately die, or at least reduce in scale, as he is not here to bankroll it.

 

Well fans casting aspersions about his manner or intentions really need their head examined - we are a charity case in this scenario and the only guy helping us isn't even a fan - he just wants to help the community. We won a watch.

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Well fans casting aspersions about his manner or intentions really need their head examined - we are a charity case in this scenario and the only guy helping us isn't even a fan - he just wants to help the community. We won a watch.

 

If he's not a fan and just wants to help the community then why is he taking such a hands-on approach? Why not simply work behind the scenes and allow a "football person" to decide footballing matters?

 

I could be wrong, but it sounds to me as though Baraclough was more his choice than anyone else's. The fact that he came out and basically said that the guys job isn't under threat regardless of where we finish, whilst admirable, is a bit strange in the football world, isn't it? How many clubs owners will say that a manager is safe regardless of if his side get relegated or not?

 

Top that off with him not allowing Baraclough to answer any questions last night?

 

I'm not sure why, but as time goes on i'm starting to wonder if there's something weird going on here.

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I took it that Baraclough there simply to present a united front alongside Derek Weir, the two two newly appointed directors (Les' daughter and the other boy whose name escapes me), Brian McCafferty, Alan Burrows and LH himself. Some of mentioned didn't speak at all, some only very briefly.

 

I don't know so much about Barclough getting a hard-time but had he been open to questions then I think undoubtedly the content of the discussion would have veered away somewhat from what generated the best part of two hours discussion on the Well Society and future of the club

 

A Q&A with the manager is one for another day.

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Baraclough was sitting there like a spare prick, didn't have the look of someone particulary happy to be there or that could understand why he was there.

 

A bit like us wondering why he was there, he would have been better off not attending and working with the team to get his tactics right for once and get the team up for what is to come.

 

Maybe the conversation should have veered off for a bit to ask him some questions as I don't think that we will ever get that opportunity. By fuck someone needs to start asking him some hard questions.

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I certainly don't think his intention was to be cheeky or offensive, but I couldn't help but cringe a bit at his answer. If a Motherwell fan puts forward the acceptable point that it might be deemed as unfair that season tickets don't drop if we go down because a lot of people simply can't afford to keep putting money into the club, it isn't the best reply from Les to open with the line "well don't buy a season ticket then".

 

As I said, I don't think for a second that he was trying to dismiss the point or be an arse about it, but it was a pretty disappointing reply from a millionaire tax exile to someone genuinely concerned about being too skint to follow their football side. He could have handled the question far, far better.

 

My dad and brother were at the meeting last night and they came away with a completely different impression of that the reply. The questioner asked, I'm told, something along the lines of "How can you expect fans to pay for season tickets, Well Society membership, new kit etc." and Les's response was don't buy a season ticket - meaning if you had to choose, the Well Society is more important to the club in the long term than a season ticket.

 

But who knows? I'm surprised nobody picked him up on that if they were that upset by it. Seems like anything was fair game to be asked, and nobody left until all the questions were exhausted.

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My summary,

 

We are/were/always going to be in deep shit financially, no real surpise.

Need around 2000 Welltrust Members paying in by monthly direct debit to demonstrate to Les etc that we are serious about wanting to keep our club going.

Doesn't see himself as the owner but just facilitating our transition to fan ownership. (We knew that anyway)

Has sunk a decent wedge into the club (around £1Mil) already but expects to get it back eventually sees it as an interest free loan.

Contract negotiations with players are ongoing but don't want to distract players by going into it too much at the moment.

Didn't want the manager to get a hard time so didn't allow him to take any questions. (Fuck knows what the point of him being there was then)

Slight but not massive reduction in player budget.

Season ticket prices unchanged,

Tam Cowan finally found out that the dude sitting next to him for 5 years is from Germany and a friend of Dirk Lehmann.

 

Anything else I missed?

 

Other things I heard 2nd hand -I that the plan for the loan is the club to repay rather than the Society.

 

Derek Weir admitted that the club budgeted poorly, getting carried away with their wee bit of success and expecting it to continue to some degree.

 

Leann wouldn't allow any changes to the Well Society payment structure, which is why it wasn't until she left they could start making changes.

 

Erwin been offered 2 contracts, and "thinking it over with is agent". Development fee is complex but set formula, and would expect 6 figures if he left, and would continue to receive a small cut on any future transfer fees after that. Doesn't matter if he is out of contract when he leaves.

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My dad and brother were at the meeting last night and they came away with a completely different impression of that the reply. The questioner asked, I'm told, something along the lines of "How can you expect fans to pay for season tickets, Well Society membership, new kit etc." and Les's response was don't buy a season ticket - meaning if you had to choose, the Well Society is more important to the club in the long term than a season ticket.

 

But who knows? I'm surprised nobody picked him up on that if they were that upset by it. Seems like anything was fair game to be asked, and nobody left until all the questions were exhausted.

Being there, I'm entirely certain the actual questioning was along the lines of:

 

Q: "Season ticket prices are to be frozen - will that remain the case even if we are relegated?"

LH: "Yes."

Q: "Do you think that is fair though? Some people just can't afford to keep putting so much money into the club."

LH: "Don't buy a season ticket then."

 

The questioner, who's posted above, can no doubt confirm either way.

 

I don't think anyone is "that upset" by it though. It was mentioned above so is worth commenting on. I've already said I don't for a second believe it was a cheeky or deliberately dismissive reply, it was just ill-judged and didn't seem to take into account that it was a genuine concern from a Motherwell supporter.

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