A rejuvenated ‘Well Society can be the vehicle to deliver sustainable growth to Motherwell, according to society board member Sean Baillie, after the club’s majority shareholder laid out their vision to take the Fir Park outfit forward.
The society have released a 28-page document entitled ‘Our Club, Our Future: Our plan for growth for Motherwell Football Club and The ‘Well Society’, the result of a long consultation process with business leaders, football experts and the fans themselves, with the view of spelling out just how the society can help the club achieve realistic growth and safeguard it for future generations.
Baillie, who was elected to the new ‘Well Society board last October, believes that the fresh impetus that board has brought to the table can see the society enter a new era, where it learns from mistakes that have undoubtedly been made in the past, and ensures that supporters have a direct say in the running of the club while leaning on expert advice from within the fanbase.
The release of the document was hastened by the investment proposal tabled by American businessman Erik Barmack and his Wild Sheep Sports organisation. Barmack faced an initial backlash to his proposal that would see the society’s shares diluted to a maximum of 46 percent from 71 percent, which he has subsequently amended to ensure that the ‘Well Society would remain the majority shareholder on 50.1 percent.
Despite being open to investment opportunities, Baillie hopes though that shareholders will vote against the deal during the two-week voting process that kicks off on July 8th, with the level of investment pledged by Wild Sheep undervaluing the club in the view of the society.
And, he hopes, the detailed plans that the society have unveiled will persuade them that the fan ownership model is in the best interests of the club for the foreseeable future.
“Part of the reason I agreed to stand to be elected to the board was that I agreed that the ‘Well Society hadn’t been reaching its full potential, and by extension, the club wasn’t reaching its full potential,” Baillie said.
“I think we all agreed and could identify the common causes around it, so for me, what I wanted to focus on entirely from the start was how we brought a fresh look and a fresh approach to how the ‘Well Society operates, and how we could support the club to reach its full potential.
“This was always our plan, but the circumstances just meant that it added a wee bit more urgency to it. It’s been a long road here, but I’m quite proud of what we have got, and it gives fans an indication of what we could achieve going forward.
“I think the big thing for me is that if people vote to accept the investment, then it alters that relationship between the club and the fans. I think we want to protect that, but we also want to remain open to investment and growth.
“This is a vision document with facts and figures behind it, but there is an opportunity for members to continually shape this vision going forward. We just wanted to plant the flag and show people that we have been working hard on a plan to continue the growth and success of the club.
“I don’t think any of us are against working with investors, and none of us are dead against Erik or Wild Sheep. It’s just that the current proposal is not a good one in our opinion, and it isn’t the right fit.
“If we put this out there, then fans can see that we have put a lot of time and effort into it, and hopefully they believe in it.
“Then, if Erik wants to come back – as he has in the past – and quite likes what we have done, and wants to change the terms or thinks he can work with us on this, then I’m sure that a lot of fans would appreciate that.”
One of the attractions of the Barmack investment proposal for some fans has been the perception that Motherwell can’t progress any further as a fan-owned club due to the relatively small size of its fanbase, but Baillie contends that there is a huge untapped market still out there.
“One of the things we hear a lot is that the Society has reached its potential, but as part of the work we have done, we have mapped out our own membership,” he said.
“We have got around 4000 people who have paid in at one point, but less than half of those pay a monthly contribution.
“That may be because of the way it has been run in the past, but it is also because people buy into something that has momentum and a vision.
“We are outlining our vision and if we can build that momentum off the back of that, then we believe that is a much easier sell to people. They can see they have more agency within the society, and the society has growing agency within the club.
“We have done a lot of work on our membership system to get our data up to scratch, and now we will be looking at how we approach our members and lapsed members to find out what the barriers are or what they would like to see us do more of.
“There is existing growth there just among the 4000 people who have paid once, and so must believe in it at some level. How can we grow that?
“Outside that, you have then got the disparity between ‘Well Society members and season ticket holders, so there is another 2000 people out there who are season ticket holders, but who haven’t joined the society. So, what’s the disconnect there?
“On top of that, the churn on season tickets is around 20 percent per season, so there is another 20 percent there who are regular match goers, but they are not buying a season ticket every year. How do we strengthen that relationship?
“All through this vision is the thread of strengthening that relationship between supporters, the society and the club. With this, it not only protects us, but allows us the opportunity to strengthen those relationships.
“I think if we accept the investment on the current terms, it goes a long way to damaging that, or changing that relationship completely.
“If the business model of the club changes so that we are increasing value not for the common good of the club, but for a return on investment, then people will start to think twice about that, I think.
“That’s just one of the reasons why it is so important that we have that vision and we work towards it.”
To read the full ‘Well Society board document, click here.
