This is an extract from this week’s Claret and Amber Alert, the free Motherwell newsletter written by Graeme McGarry and published every Thursday at 6pm. Click here to sign up.
Essentially, this week’s news that the club has signed a non-binding Terms Agreement with a US-based family hasn’t significantly changed my perspective on potential investment or really changed the situation yet.
Like many people, I’m not completely opposed to the idea of outside investment, but it all depends on what the club is willing to give to secure it. My red line would be the transfer of a majority stake in ‘Well Society’, but I also have concerns about giving away any shares in the club if it is not in exchange for a sufficient level of investment.
We do not yet officially know the relevant figures in terms of the proposed level of investment or the identity of the investors.
So until both these points are clarified there is little to be done in terms of deciding whether this is a good thing for the club.
Some notes of caution, though. There is no doubt that outgoing chairman Jim McMahon is a Motherwell man and will look to leave a legacy at the club when he leaves office in the summer.
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However, I hope his eagerness to show that his brainchild and personally financed investment video is a success doesn’t dull his judgment or even push it to the end. if it is not in the long term interests of the club.
There is also some confusion when it comes to his authority to do so. The board of course has a duty to seek investment if they think that is what the club needs, but the fact that the ‘Well Society board are not directly involved in this process shows that the tail is wagging the dog.
Let’s not forget that Well Society are the owners of the club and their statements on Thursday evening distancing themselves from this process indicate that there is great skepticism on their part about the potential deal.
This is a democracy, of course, and just as Association members voted to preserve openness to investment, they will eventually be asked to ratify whatever this deal is. This is where it is vital to clarify exactly what any investment will mean for the club and its future.
I suspect that the majority of members who did not vote on the first item will engage more when there is a concrete issue to consider and something that could affect the future of the club for better or worse.
There may be many who see the promise of foreign investment and think that more money cannot be a bad thing, but of course there are a number of cautionary tales throughout the recent history of the Scottish game that warrant caution.
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Investment can be a good thing and the board of ‘Well Society’ said they were encouraged by the noise from potential investors that they wanted to work with the Society rather than setting it aside.
So let’s move forward with an open mind but also a healthy skepticism. The devil will be in the details.
ONE MORE THING…
Although the club’s off-field aspect has been the main topic of conversation over the past week, I noticed there was a huge debate as fans left the Cooper Stand over what they saw last Saturday. and the direction of the team.
This is not a criticism of Stuart Kettlewell at this particular point in time. Its number one priority is to ensure survival and the harsh reality is that until Motherwell’s Premiership status is assured, fans may have to accept that football may not always be the finest.
Teams are scrambling for every point at this point in the season, playing for a top-six spot, in European football or just to stay in the league, so no one is expecting tiki-taka to break out.
However, the quality of the display at the weekend was generally poor, although the team showed good fighting spirit to bounce back and secure a point against St Mirren. And I often feel like games that come out this belligerently can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This point is not actually unique to Motherwell. You hear managers say this all the time. We play St Mirren, they are physical so it will be a challenge. Oh we go to Livi or Killie, it’s a plastic game, it’s going to be about winning second balls.
I would like to hear more about how a team will go out on the field to play well, pass the ball and impose its own identity on the opposition, rather than accepting to retreat to a perceived level.
Easier said than done, and perhaps a little naive, even idealistic. But football, contrary to what Bobby Williamson once famously said, is in the entertainment business. If we’re paying £26 to watch, perhaps we should be entitled to set our expectations higher than the price offered last weekend.