Following from our statement dated 11th May 2012 announcing our withdrawal of support in principle for 10000 Hours we would like to update St.Mirren supporters on recent developments relating to the current remodelled proposal.
We would like to record Gordon Scott has been good enough to meet with us on a number of occasions and we would like to thank him for making the effort in engaging with the Trust in a manner that had previously been sadly lacking. We are encouraged to learn that the purchase price has been challenged however 10000 Hours remain unable to offer us anything in writing confirming this and no further detail other than the information publicly available on their website has been supplied. Our position therefore has not changed.
Having reviewed what is currently available we have to ask how this model genuinely empowers St.Mirren fans joining the CIC. Board positions are already being filled. How can this be the case in a co-operative? Co-operative principles state that Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. When were the elections?
Are St.Mirren fans being empowered? You could be forgiven for thinking this is merely a method for transferring power from one board at the club to another
. And using supporters money to fund it.
The Constitution is clearly geared towards the CIC Board making
the decisions and clearly they already are. The Non-Executive Board is
there for those who can afford it. But what is their remit and what
power do they really have in this set up? Sure theres a club blazer up
for grabs and there is no doubt that for some this would be seen a real
indication of position in the club but is it?
10000 Hours hint
that if this does not complete then the club will inevitably fall into
the wrong hands. Let us be clear on this point Should this fail then
in no way does this discharge the Consortiums pledge as custodians of
the club to only sell the right person/s. We find it disappointing that
10000 Hours cannot take the Consortium at their word. They have done a
terrific shift for the club and we have no reason to believe that should
they decide against selling to 10000 Hours they would simply offload
this to the next group or individual without carrying out full due
diligence.
Then there are the community groups remember them?
basketballpaisley a name Richard Atkinson freely offered at meetings
12 months ago as an example of who was onboard have not heard from him
since September last year isnt that odd? Odd that the one community
group that this should have been the easiest to sell to, namely SMiSA no
longer supports this proposal. Odd that you will no longer see the logo
of Supporters Direct on any 10000 Hours information.
Do you
really believe that with the amount of information being made available
to the St.Mirren supporters any of us are in a position to conclude that
this is the way forward for our club? As noted in our previous
statement We would strongly encourage all St.Mirren fans to fully
investigate all aspects of the 10000 Hours project prior to any
commitment towards this. We cannot over stress this point.
St.Mirren is our club and we welcome your support in challenging this proposal.