Fellow fans, sponsors and residents of the area,
I would like to provide you with an update on what is happening in and around the club and the progress we have made in the last fortnight or so.
As you probably know, the deal to transition the majority shareholding in Motherwell FC from Mr John Boyle to Mr Les Hutchison was completed on Friday 30 January with agreements in place to move to fan ownership within five years if we achieve certain objectives.
We have established three board sub-committees to take action on the agreed business plan with each member of the board having an individual portfolio of responsibility.
Football Committee
Chaired by Derek Weir with new board members Ian Reid and Peter Kellie, the key objectives of the committee are to raise additional revenue in the transfer market and help the club remain in the SPFL Premiership.
They have already appointed a new Head of Recruitment, set out a scouting organisation to cover Scotland, Ireland and parts of England. The new scouting team will be using Scout 7 software to help manage their activity. We will explain in a bit more detail about this hugely positively development in the coming days when everything is ratified.
After a review of the recent spate of injuries, it was clear that better training and conditioning was required and a new physical conditioning specialist, who is based at Stirling University, will be recruited together with the addition of stretching and yoga programmes which will significantly reduce the number and seriousness of injuries. A new assistant manager, Steve Robinson, has been appointed who has experience of the new programmes now in place.
The committee approved a number of new signings during the January transfer period to support the Manager in his efforts to remain in the Scottish top flight. I can assure you the Manager, his staff and players are working extremely hard to achieve this objective.
Finance Committee
Chaired by Jim McMahon with new board member Leanne Thomas and myself. The committee have already introduced a new financial reporting system which will allow results to be known five days after the end of each month compared with the previous 4 to 6 weeks.
In addition, better forecasting techniques are being introduced to allow better financial planning. An additional part time member of staff is being employed to support the improvements.
Sales and Marketing Committee
Chaired by myself with Alan Burrows, Robert Montgomery and Doug Inglis. They have identified the need for a dedicated sales and marketing manager with interviews taking place this week. Work has commenced on working with the MFC Community Trust to secure grant funding to create a Motherwell FC museum which will include lots of FC memorabilia but also pictures and information on the local area.
The objective of the committee is to increase revenue from the Function Rooms, matchdays, better use of the various stands and other club assets.
This is where you play your part!
Starting with the next three home games, I would ask you to bring a friend to a game, help us raise the much needed funds to achieve our objectives but also support the team during the crucial stage of the season.
Give the Club a call on 01698 338012 and book your next function which we will do everything we can to make sure is a great success.
The Community Trust continues to do fantastic work with school kids, teens, woman and retired folks like me. They have worked with over 35,000 people in the local community. You should be rightly proud to be associated with the most successful community organisation in Scotland. To help this great work, Les Hutchison has donated over £30,000 toward a new programme to assist teens into work.
As you can see, it has been hugely busy time and a lot has been achieved in less than three weeks. We have plans in place and lots of other areas are bubbling away out of the spotlight. It’s an exciting time at the club and we feel we are making great strides off the park. I sincerely hope that feel-good factor can be translated onto the pitch.
To you, the fans, I wish to convey my thanks for your continued support for the players and manager who are working very hard to secure our continued presence in the top flight. Despite recent disappointing results they remain upbeat, fully committed and optimistic that they can move up the league in the weeks ahead.
I would like to make a special mention of the Well ‘Bois’. They continue to provide a touch of magic at games with their choreographed singing and clapping. Last Saturday they travelled in goodly numbers to Dingwall and I was most impressed by their new song, Twist and Shout, which added a bit extra colour and volume to the proceedings. I know the players and manager are most grateful for and appreciate their contributions.
I would like also to publicly pay tribute to them for organising the food bank for local people at a recent home game. They are a credit to the local community and fully deserve its thanks.
We also hope you can join the Well Society, or if you area already a member, upgrade your membership to allow it to support the club financially and help it repay the 5-year loan.
The Society is finalising the details of a membership revamp that will completely transform the way we engage with members and how fans can play their part, regardless of their circumstances. Every single Motherwell fan has a part to play in this journey. Together, we can make our club the best fan-owned, community focused, and fully engaged entity in Scotland.
The hard work continues apace…….. We need your help!
Brian McCaffery
Chairman