SMiSA News

SMISA chair George Adam steps down

SMISA chair George Adam has decided to stand down from his position due to increased work commitments. 

The Paisley MSP took up the role in 2015 and played a key role in both phases of fan ownership, helping Gordon Scott take over in 2016 and then being at the forefront of SMISA becoming majority shareholder in 2021.

George has been a popular and well-kent face at SMISA events over the past seven years but felt he could not longer commit the time required. 

He said: "It has been a really difficult decision for me to take as St Mirren Football Club means so much to me.

"It has been too difficult for me to balance my work as Paisley’s MSP and now Minister for Parliamentary Business in the Scottish Government and still have the time to commit to SMISA and St Mirren.

"I have just had to admit that there is not enough hours in the day to do all of these roles and I began to think it would be better for colleagues on the SMISA board to get someone who could make that commitment.

"The trusts board members asked me to continue as they appreciated all the work I was doing but I felt I was not doing as much as I had been previously.

"It was difficult enough balancing the time as Paisley’s MSP but adding the responsibility of becoming a Scottish Government Minister just made it impossible for me to find the time.

"I tried for at least a year to make it work but I’ve had to now admit it is now time for another fan to move forward with SMISA.

"The SMISA fans' trust is in good hands at the moment as there are many people I have worked with over the years who I trust and believe in.

"I am happy that during my tenure as chair of the fans' trust, St Mirren FC has moved from the bottom of the Championship to sitting in third place in our country’s top tier.”

September update

West Stand project

Marching On is a group of like-minded Buddies who want to make the whole St Mirren stadium experience better, with the aim of attracting and retaining fans and ultimately trying to make a positive impact on the players on the park.

The group has an array of plans to make the stadium and surrounding area a real St Mirren fortress. Their initial phase involves adding colour and character to the concourses of the stands, starting with the West Stand. The group hope that fans will be able to see the difference this initial phase has made.

This project is 100% volunteer-led and funded and has received support from Sanctuary Housing Group who have provided two days’ worth of free labour and £500 for materials. Marching On is now asking SMISA members to match that funding of £500 to enable the work in the West Stand to be completed before the group moves on to the rest of the stadium.

Members can now vote via Very Connect on whether to support this proposal or not, with the poll closing on Friday September 16 at 5pm to give the group time to start the next phase next week. The funds would be taken from the Club Pot that currently sits at around £20,000.

Cast your vote HERE

Community Season Tickets

SMISA’s Community Season Ticket scheme is proving so far to be very well received. Thanks to the support of our members we were able to buy 30 season tickets for the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand which allows us to support the club financially while also providing tickets to matches to those who may not otherwise be able to attend, especially during this cost of living crisis.

Our community liaison officer Jim Cumming has been working closely with Engage Renfrewshire and other local groups to dispense the tickets and the feedback has been terrific.

Home Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde were able to provide tickets to a family to attend their first match together and meet Paisley Panda and they were very grateful.

“It was great to be able to take our kids out to watch our local football team we support and bond as a family. My kids are so excited to go again. They have been telling everyone. Thanks so much to Homestart and SMISA for our great day out.”

Another Renfrewshire charitable organisation, Pachedu, took tickets for the Hibs match and their operations manager Johannes Gonani wrote to us to say: "Most of the people we took had never been to a football match of that magnitude and they were highly appreciative. As a direct result of this event, we now have one young person who attended who has signed up for the St Mirren junior teams and two more who are in the process of seeking opportunities."

It's great to see so many people from our community and beyond taking the chance to get along to a game at the SMISA Stadium and it’s all down to the members’ willingness to support this scheme.

Quarterly Members Meeting

A reminder that we will hold our next quarterly members meeting on Thursday October 27 at the SMISA Stadium at 7pm.

We will send details on how to register nearer the time. Members are also asked to log in to Very Connect to ensure their contact information and other details are all up to date.

Kiltwalk

While the first team are playing Celtic at home this Sunday, the St Mirren Kiltwalk team will be taking on the streets of Edinburgh, walking 24 miles to raise money for St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation.

Anyone not attending the match who would like to join them still has time to do so – and those who can’t can still donate to a very worthy cause!

To donate to the Saints Come Marching in Team, please follow this link here.

To join the Saints Come Marching In Team free of charge, please follow this link here.

Gayle Brannigan, the foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Kiltwalk is one of the most impactful fundraising events that anyone can take part in!

“The fact that the Hunter Foundation adds 50% to our total fundraising amount makes a huge difference, particularly within this financial climate.

“Everyone looks forward to the day because of the camaraderie. The atmosphere is brilliant and it’s so well organised.”

Community Season Tickets - applications open

SMISA members recently voted overwhelmingly in favour of reintroducing the Community Season ticket initiative to provide match tickets free of charge to those who may otherwise not be able to attend a game.

It means we now have 30 season tickets for the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand available for use by community groups for every home league game.

We are working in conjunction with Engage Renfrewshire to help facilitate this scheme but groups are also welcome to apply directly to use the tickets via this link: https://www.smisa.net/community-season-tickets

Anyone with any additional questions or requests should contact SMISA board member Jim Cumming on [email protected]

SMISA members quarterly meeting

Summary of the SMISA members meeting held on July 21, 2022 at the SMISA Stadium

 

In attendance from the club: John Needham (JN), Jim Gillespie (JG), Keith Lasley (KL), Alex White (AW), and Mark Macmillan

 

In attendance from the SMISA committee: George Adam (GA), Alan Quinn (AQ), Kenny Docherty (KD), Janette Swanson, Dougie McMahon, Eddie Devine and Graeme Macpherson

 

The latest quarterly meeting – attended by 22 members – began with a welcome from host GA who pointed out that, while everything is still not perfect, vast improvements have been made at the club since the turmoil of last summer.

 

JN followed on a similar theme, revealing that season ticket sales to date (3339) had now exceeded last year’s total, before KL spoke about the positive start he has enjoyed in his role as chief operating officer.

 

Members’ Q&A section

 

The first question centred on increased ticket prices for the visit of Rangers and Celtic and whether this would also disadvantage the home support. JN said St Mirren supporters would be encouraged to take up the offer of a two-match package with the subsequent home game offered at a discount, thus averaging out the price. 

 

JN also said the long-term hope was to create a positive matchday experience so that parents who might be unwilling to take their kids to Ibrox or Parkhead would instead bring them more regularly to St Mirren matches.

 

The next question was about whether the team would wear the black and white stripes more often at home than has happened in recent years. KL said that the team would wear the home strip at home at all times unless there was a very good reason not to.

 

There was a question about the situation with Dylan Reid and how the club can either hold on to academy talent for longer or maximise the club’s earning potential. JG answered that it was a difficult situation with many variances, pointed out that Dylan is in the last year of his contract and the club have engaged with the player’s mum and agent. Celtic came in with an offer that reflected the compensation on offer that included a 30 percent sell-on clause. Dylan was allowed to speak to Celtic but was always made aware that St Mirren wanted him to stay to continue his development here. The situation will now be reassessed in November and the hope is at that time Dylan could be persuaded to sign a contract extension. What will be key is ensuring that players like him and others in the academy can see a viable pathway to first-team football. JG also admitted that as a club St Mirren needs to do more to maximise the financial returns of any young player that does move on.

 

There was a point raised about a supporter who had been displaced from their season ticket seat during the Covid “red zone” period and unable to get it back and also about cars making unauthorised use of the club’s car park on a Sunday morning. KL said he will look into both.

 

A question was asked about whether Old Firm fans would be kept behind after those matches. KL will address operational matters with the stadium manager. But he reiterated that the three-stands programme was not about denying the Old Firm supporters, but about getting as many St Mirren fans into the stadium as possible for every match.

 

There was another question on whether the club would be pursuing Premier Sports for the fee due after they chose not to broadcast the Airdrie game live. KL confirmed that would be the case.

 

One member wanted to know what the situation was with one of the sponsors following media reports about the firm reneging on deals with a number of organisations including St Mirren. KL said he has held positive meetings with the company with a view to getting them to fulfil their contractual obligations.

 

There was a question about whether the Ralston training ground work was now complete. KL said there had been a series of upgrades and the pitches were looking fantastic. The building construction work is also almost complete and the players will then get full use of it.

 

One member wanted to know about the plans to introduce additional hospitality boxes and whether that would be additional revenue or taking away from current hospitality arrangements. JN confirmed it would be the former. He revealed there’s a capacity requirement as hospitality regularly sells out plus the club doesn’t have a private box offering. There has been a lot of interest in it so far. The cost will be paid back in just over a year after which point it will be generating profit.

 

There was then a lengthy discussion about the club’s finances and cashflow position. JN revealed the board get management accounts every month from the club accountant and examine them at board meetings and take action where needed. JG explained that there is an audit committee and a finance committee and the club now has the necessary financial and fiscal policies in place. He added that the club is in a better position today than this time last year but that, along with cutting their cloth, the club also has to scale the business to try to generate income. So alongside looking at what happened last year in terms of finances, the club is also continually looking at different ways to also grow the business. AQ added that a lot of recommendations have been made from the finance committee to the board on how to tighten up and improve procedures and that matters are being addressed.

 

There was a suggestion of providing quarterly or interim financial updates and the board members agreed this was something they may be able to do but would have to look into the best way to do that.

 

There was a follow-up question about SMISA’s representatives to the club board and their suitability. GA revealed that KD has drafted a paper on behalf of the SMISA board looking at all of that in detail that will now be considered by the club directors at their next board meeting. JN added he is a supporter of a rotation policy so directors don’t outstay their welcome. He felt it was good governance to bring in fresh names every so often.

 

A member asked about why the club has never looked into the viability of running car boot sales within the stadium car park. AW said the club was looking at ways of maximising the use of the facilities, including the possibility of an outdoor cinema, and would take this idea into account too.

 

The meeting was concluded with one member thanking the St Mirren and SMISA committee, and other club staff, for being willing to meet face-to-face with supporters on a regular basis to discuss these issues, something that doesn’t happen at too many other clubs.


The next meeting will be held on October 27.

Community Season Tickets

Community Season Tickets 

As a board we are fully supportive of the club’s ongoing efforts to make the SMISA Stadium as full as possible with St Mirren supporters for every game and are keen to play our part in making that a reality.

With that in mind, after a gap of two seasons we are delighted to have the opportunity to re-introduce the Community Season ticket initiative. In the past we have worked with Engage Renfrewshire to reach out to social enterprises, community development trusts, charitable groups and mutual aid groups in and around Renfrewshire to provide match tickets free of charge to those who may otherwise not be able to attend a game.

With the club retaining three stands going forward, getting more home fans to every game and also supporting the club financially through these difficult times is really a WIN-WIN-WIN situation for SMISA, the football club and the local community.

The price for 30 season tickets, that will give access to all home league games this season, is £5000 and we are asking SMISA members to vote on whether to approve this or not via the Very Connect portal. The deadline for casting your vote is Friday July 1.

St Mirren women’s team ballot 

We recently provided members with the opportunity to vote on whether to support the St Mirren women’s team who are heading to Germany next month to take part in a tournament as part of their pre-season preparations. They had asked if SMISA members could help cover the cost of their flights which, for 15 players and coaches, amounts to around £2700.

The ballot was approved by a majority of those who voted, with 373 members in favour and 57 against.  

We would also like to take the opportunity to pass on our congratulations to the St Mirren under-16s girls team who defeated Pollok United recently to lift the League Cup. Well done girls!

St Mirren home strip 2022/23

In November we gave SMISA members the chance to vote for the home kit for the forthcoming season 2022/23.

Manufacturers Joma presented three options, all of which incorporated the globally-recognised Paisley Pattern, the iconic fashion design which took our town's name around the world.

In total 566 members voted and it was strip number two that was the clear winner, polling 346 votes. Design number one received 112 votes and design number three 103. 

The team will wear the new strip for the first time this evening in their first pre-season friendly away to Crusaders.

And the kit has now been officially launched, with legends Tony Fitzpatrick, Steven Thompson and Hugh Murray joining players from the men's, women's and youth teams to model the chosen design.

SMISA would like to thank Joma and Provan Sports for giving our members this opportunity and also our members for taking the time to vote.

We are already in discussions about carrying out a similar exercise next season and also looking at the possibility of inviting members to design their own kits at a future date too. 

The new home kit can be pre-ordered now via www.stmirrendirect.co.uk and members can find out more about the kit launch and see more photos at the club website www.stmirren.com.

 

 

Annual Report and AGM update

The following annual report is a summary based on the AGM of the 1877 Society Ltd (SMISA) which took place on Thursday April 21 at the SMISA Stadium.

The AGM saw us look back over the past year and ahead to the next one, while members also heard from St Mirren’s Head of Youth, Allan McManus, and St Mirren Charitable Foundation’s chief executive, Gayle Brannigan, about how SMISA funding has helped them. A Q&A session then followed the presentations.

Results of AGM voting

The slide below shows the results of the formal business, as voted on by members in the run-up to this year’s meeting:

 

 Finance and membership update

Key points relating to finance and membership include:

  • SMISA completed the buy-out of Gordon Scott’s shares to take majority ownership which led to the creation of a new funding structure that was approved by members in August 2021. 
  • The £2 Spend ballot was discontinued and replaced with a model that now sees 50% of revenue banked to create a cash reserve, 30% going to support the youth academy, 10% going to the charitable foundation and 10% going to a club pot for particular projects.
  • Currently the cash reserve fund stands at £197,049 while the club pot is at £23,048.
  • We introduced a new £5 membership tier that now has 48 members.
  • Despite the financial effects of the pandemic and other rising living costs, total membership numbers rose over the past year from 1181 to 1226.
  • The vast majority of SMISA members are aged over 40 and there will be a push towards attracting younger members throughout the year ahead.

Highlights of the year

  • The undoubted highlight of the past 12 months was delivering fan ownership last July, five years ahead of the original scheduled date and for half the original cost.
  • Member certificates to mark the milestone can now be downloaded from Very Connect. The two signatories on it are George Adam, SMISA chair, and Jim Cumming, the longest-serving SMISA committee member.
  • We also donated funds to help the SLOs and the Paisley Panda provide goodies for kids pre match and also partially funded the cost of a new panda suit.
  • We hosted another successful ‘Meet the Manager’ night on Zoom that allowed members from all over the world to join the call.
  • We introduced new benefits packages for all categories of members including places for members at club dinners and at corporate hospitality.
  • For the second successive year members were able to vote for next season’s home shirt and work is already in progress for this to continue next year.
  • We appointed Alex White as a SMISA representative on the St Mirren club board, replacing David Riley. Alex is a former chief operating officer of ScotRail with many years’ experience working at senior board level and a lifelong supporter who was brought up next to the current stadium. 
  • We thank David for his hard work and commitment during his time on the board and express a similar degree of appreciation and gratitude to Colin Orr who has stepped down from the SMISA committee after seven years.

Annual objectives

Our objectives for 2021/22, and how we performed against them, were as follows:

  • Complete the shares buyout from Gordon Scott by July 27, 2021 (this was completed on time).
  • Work closely with our partners Kibble and demonstrate to our members how our partnership has brought benefits to the club and the wider community (some progress has been made but there is more work to be done).
  • SMISA to be more inclusive and available to more supporters (new £5 membership tier created).

 The objectives we have set for 2022/23 are:

  • Improve SMISA engagement with members and wider fanbase to include creating a dedicated fan engagement role on the SMISA Board, and by holding regular meetings with members, other fan groups and the club SLOs. This will be an ongoing objective.
  • Conduct a review of SMISA board functions (essential and desirable), formalise board member designated roles, and identify and address any gaps. Target Completion: May 2022.
  • Work with the SMFC board representatives to agree a set of key club operational matters that will be reported to the SMISA board on a regular basis. Target Completion: July 2022.

Fan Engagement

To help support our first objective for next year, SMISA director Kenny Lang will take on the role of Fan Engagement Officer to help build and strengthen relationships with the club, the SLOs and other key stakeholders in a bid to improve supporter relations and to ensure any matters that arise are dealt with in an efficient and timely fashion.

Fan-related projects that are ongoing or are in the pipeline include:

  1. Improving the atmosphere at home matches.
  2. Releasing St Mirren-themed songs by fan Al Mitchell to raise funds for the charitable foundation.
  3. A competition to allow fans to design future strips.
  4. Attending fan engagement meetings with the club, SLOs, police, supporters buses, stewards etc.
  5. Finding ways to gain more younger members of SMISA.
  6. A potential renaming of some of the stands at the SMISA Stadium to reflect the club’s history.
  7. Another member survey to ensure SMISA continues to be guided by what the members want.

Youth Academy

Allan McManus spoke about the growth of the academy and how SMISA’s ongoing support, through the £2 ballot initially and now through the new funding model, has been key to that, allowing the club to reach SFA elite status.

When Allan joined the academy six years ago there were only two members of full-time staff and now there are seven full-time staff, 30 part-time staff and 160 players in total from the pre-academy right up.

We were the first football club to appoint a well-being and protection officer who works across the academy and first team, with SMISA funding helping to pay for part of their salary.

The academy has also benefited from an additional games programme that has allowed young players to travel to play teams from Leeds United, Preston, Shrewsbury, Sunderland and Newcastle, experiences that help with their development and drive standards.

Allan believes the first-team management team will give young players plenty of opportunity and expects several of them to be a big part of the first-team squad next year.

Allan also reiterated that it’s an open-door policy at Ralston and members are always welcome to get in touch with any questions about the academy and how it operates.

St Mirren Charitable Foundation

Gayle Brannigan spoke about the work undertaken by the charitable foundation that is now into its fourth year after being resurrected from its dormant state in late 2018. Gayle pointed out that the bulk of their income comes from grant funding and applications which are classed as restricted funds.

SMISA’s support, though, is classed as unrestricted and the 10 percent now going direct to the foundation from SMISA has been invaluable to help the foundation grow and allow Gayle to recruit additional staff.

She explained all about the many different projects being run by the foundation that tackle different areas including physical wellbeing, poverty, employability, mental health and children’s events, with a view to expanding on that in the years ahead.

St Mirren Club Directors’ Update

Alex White spoke on behalf of the SMISA club directors, initially thanking the members for endorsing his candidacy to join the St Mirren board at the end of last year. Alex underlined that there is no division on the board and everyone is fully aligned in trying to drive the club forward.

There has been a move to strengthen links between different sections of the club including the academy and the first team. Stephen Robinson is well on in his planning for next year and the club will support him in that process.

Alex admits there are financial challenges, some off the back of the pandemic, that the club is trying to manage as well as they can.

The board directors have all been tasked with dealing with certain areas and Alex’s responsibility lies in corporate contracts and how to push for better deals or to drive extra revenue. He expects the new COO, Keith Lasley, will bring a lot of fresh energy to the club when he starts next month.

Q&A

A number of members asked about the situation with the Old Firm fans being given the Tony Fitzpatrick Stand and what the club’s stance on it will be going forward. John Needham replied that he is as unhappy about that scenario as any supporter and is currently chairing a working group who have been examining alternative ways to recoup that revenue if the decision is taken to only give Celtic and Rangers one stand in future seasons.

The working group is expected to deliver their recommendations in the coming days. John admits the club may need to take a financial hit in the short term but appreciates it has become a “toxic” matter in the eyes of many supporters and so it is about arriving at the best possible solution to a difficult problem.

Another member asked about the SMISA snap VAR poll and if the club has budgeted for its introduction midway through next season. Alan Quinn explained there had been a problem with the initial email but that the result had been sent out earlier in the day at the second time of asking. Of the 211 members who voted, 143 were for VAR and 68 against.

Alex White said St Mirren went back to challenge the original proposal from the SPFL which led to a different deal being put on the table with a sliding scale on costs. The club reluctantly supported that and now they will need to factor the cost of VAR implementation into next year’s budget.

Allan McManus was asked what the next thing would be for the academy in an ideal world. Allan said ideally it would be to have a team in the Lowland League but that needs a substantial amount of money. St Mirren has taken its time and grown gradually as there’s not a bottomless pit of money. Allan feels our academy is in the top four or five in the country.

There was also a question about whether SMISA-appointed club directors should stand for re-election every two or three years rather than staying on the board indefinitely. There was a feeling that it would give St Mirren problems under the club’s Articles of Association, while SMISA’s club director appointment policy is also not currently set up to deal with this matter. But it was acknowledged that directors being put up for re-election is commonplace in other companies so it is perhaps something that could be looked at for further down the line, although the process would need to be carefully managed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AGM reminder and VAR poll

Annual General Meeting

Don't forget that if you wish to attend our AGM on Thursday 21st April you need to register for it by logging in here to your account on VeryConnect and going to the Events page to make a booking.

In addition to the standard AGM business, Allan McManus and Gayle Brannigan will also be there to talk about how SMiSA funding is helping the Academy and the Foundation.

Voting on the AGM business will be open until Tuesday 19th April. To place your votes you need to use the link in the email you received direct from ElectionRunner. A reminder email was issued by them yesterday.

You can see more detail about each item when you access the ballot form. Copies of all relevant documents are attached to it.

VAR

All 42 Scottish Professional Football League clubs are currently being consulted about the implementation of VAR, and will vote on the proposal on Tuesday, 19 April. If approved, VAR will be used in Scottish domestic games for the first time after December's World Cup finals.

Scottish Premiership clubs will bear the cost of Video Assistant Referee technology on a sliding scale depending on their finishing positions. 

SMiSA, and the club board, are keen to hear ahead of this vote whether our members are for or against VAR being introduced. You can give us your view by voting for or against it in this quick ballot here. The ballot will be open until midnight on Sunday 17th April. 

Please note that although the result of this vote will be shared with the club board, it is for informational purposes only, and will not be binding. The board will need to consider costs and logistics as well as fans' views before making their final decision.

 

Subcategories