New Owner

[Cagey]

5 minutes ago, blueheaven said:

For those who haven't seen the info in the Courier, he's confirmed that Stan Harris will shortly be stepping down, and at that point a new CEO will be appointed. He's also said it's a possibility that he'll take that role himself in the future.

Also confirmed the current board is himself, Roddy Grant, Alan Storrar and Stan. Hopefully there'll be some more diverse voices added to that very soon, which seems likely.

I think over the past 3 seasons the board have been the problem.

Let's hope Mr Webb can get a decent board in with new ideas that can stimulate the club bring in new commercial ideas and find new sponsors. I find it hard to believe that over the past few season , GSBrown and Storrar cars were the best sponsors we can find.

Onwards and upwards.

[Cagey]

On 7/9/2024 at 8:20 AM, garydavidson said:

The Courier seemed to be pitching a stadium move as something he should look into following an interview Geoff Brown, maybe Eric had this written before the open letter from Webb: 
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/st-johnstone/4967775/adam-webb-st-johnstone-5-big-questions/

"3. Is a stadium move on the cards?

Geoff Brown has told Courier Sport that selling and leaving McDiarmid Park is a logical next step for St Johnstone. 

What was out-of-town land when the ground was built in the late 1980s is now edge-of-town.

The 22 acres that the stadium, a big car park, an all-weather pitch and a training ground sit on is worth a lot more than the fee Webb will be about to pay for his 75% share in the club.

Saints don’t need a stadium that can accommodate approaching 11,000 supporters.

And nobody is better placed to identify a site for a new 7,000-ish capacity ground than the house-builder who has sold the club.

Webb has been involved in Cambridge United buying their stadium back and in creating a new training facility.

You would think that a stadium move would be an obvious project for him to sink his teeth into in Scotland."

Do you think they will re do the car park and upgrade the stadium facilities , training facilities and gym then move out.

[garydavidson]

Seeing all the press today and the way headlines are written, I am very glad that Saints released their own interview earlier which gave a good deal of information to chew over before the actual press conference. A nice move to help with clarity, understanding and not trying to catch up on shallow bullet points in the press.

[garydavidson]

13 minutes ago, Cagey said:

Do you think they will re do the car park and upgrade the stadium facilities , training facilities and gym then move out.

It seems it was an article written before the open letter and then released before any of the interviews.

From the interviews that have come out now it is very clear they are remedying current issues but will also consider a move away which would take quite a few years. Yes is the answer then 🤣

[Muirton Saint]

18 minutes ago, blueheaven said:

Also confirmed the current board is himself, Roddy Grant, Alan Storrar and Stan. Hopefully there'll be some more diverse voices added to that very soon, which seems likely.

He did mention more potential members on the board:

“At this time nobody from the investor group is going on the board,” said Webb.

“It’s a commitment.

“But if they have good ideas and time on their hands I would be open to that.

“Matt Klase is one of our investors. He flew over with me in February and has been doing due diligence on the club.

“He’s really involved and would make a great board member.

“It’s an option down the line.

[Cleveland-Saint]

Other than Matt Klase, who's his law firm partner, do we know any of the other investors names who are in for that 30% of the 70%? Could be important down the road in what kind of money he may have access to for investment, debt structuring etc

[blueheaven]

1 hour ago, garydavidson said:

Seeing all the press today and the way headlines are written, I am very glad that Saints released their own interview earlier which gave a good deal of information to chew over before the actual press conference. A nice move to help with clarity, understanding and not trying to catch up on shallow bullet points in the press.

Yeah I think that's very true. Some of the edited snippets that have since been shared by the usual national media outlets haven't really given a lot of the full context and haven't attracted the best of comments underneath. Still, to an extent you'd always expect that when opposition fans start weighing in.

Weirdly I've seen a lot of people concentrating on him using the word "hobby", even though the point he was very clearly making was that it's going to be more than that.

[RandomGuy]

13 minutes ago, Cleveland-Saint said:

Other than Matt Klase, who's his law firm partner, do we know any of the other investors names who are in for that 30% of the 70%? Could be important down the road in what kind of money he may have access to for investment, debt structuring etc

His father and also hus other law partner, Franklin Lemond. The others aren't named yet.

[california_saintee]

5 minutes ago, RandomGuy said:

His father and also hus other law partner, Franklin Lemond. The others aren't named yet.

I can exclusively reveal here that I'm one of the mystery American investors.*

 

* this is a lie

[Cagey]

I think I heard a rumour about Taylor Swift but she wants us to play our games at Murrayfield.

[chips]

[Saintdunc]

35 minutes ago, chips said:

He is certainly talking the talk! Looking mighty fine. 

As he says, Come on ye Saints!

[Cleveland-Saint]

40 minutes ago, chips said:

That was quick, he seems very tuned in!

I think I read in one article that St Andrews was also a draw for his close connections....perhaps these guys like to swing a club

[bankfoot saint]

46 minutes ago, chips said:

Makes sense this guy is saying all the right things, up to the team to get a good start on Saturday and keep the feel good factor going 

[Willie Peat]

26 minutes ago, Cleveland-Saint said:

That was quick, he seems very tuned in!

I think I read in one article that St Andrews was also a draw for his close connections....perhaps these guys like to swing a club

More than likely. Some of them are from the home of the Masters.

[Tattie-bogle]

Het that golf course built in bridge of earn 

[chips]

 

 

Home

St Johnstone owner Adam Webb reveals new US analytics link-up

Saints need to strike a balance between old methods and new

St Johnstone will link-up with “people who are the best” at an American university as they seek to broaden their analytics horizons, new owner Adam Webb has revealed.

The majority shareholder hopes to strike a perfect balance between a head coach’s contacts’ book and the most valuable data they can get their hands on as a revamped McDiarmid Park recruitment operation takes shape.

Not only will analytics help inform which signings Saints make – it will also aid the development of the players over the course of a season.

“It (recruitment) is an obvious thing to add resources to,” said Webb.

“Through various levels of paid resources you can see every player in the world if you want to – where they played, how they played, all their statistics.

“You can put money in that and have this incredible amount of information.

“There’s more opportunity there obviously.

“There are people coming in with knowledge of analytics and all that side of things can do for sport.

“How you can play your current players and, of course, recruiting the best players for what you’re looking for.

“We are tied with – and will be co-ordinating with – one of the foremost sports analytics programs.

“That’s out of a university in the United States.

“We will announce that in short order and they will be sending us interns and other resources that will help us with the business side of the club and the analytics and sports performance side.

“They are a very advanced program and a very enthusiastic partner going forward with us.

“We will have people stationed here working for the development of the club.

“We have a little boost and an advantage as we’re tied up with people who are the best.

“We will have one of the foremost experts in this field helping us.”

The value of ‘old-school’ methods

Webb is fully aware that there always needs to be scope to put faith in the trained eye of a man steeped in football, such as the manager he has at McDiarmid Park, Craig Levein.

“I will take a step back and say this – you cannot do much better than the signings we’ve had,” said the American lawyer.

“Can this (analytics) help us in the future? Absolutely.

“Have we done a great job without it? Yes.

“The Aaron (Essel), Adama (Sidibeh), Benji (Kimpioka) signings, these are incredible.

“Craig’s network may be old-school but it has certainly worked so far and I do not want to question that while making provision for additional opportunities.

“Craig will tell you: ‘I will take any resource you give me and make good use of it’.

“That’s the goal. We will be doing that. It’s underway to some extent.

“You could spend unlimited resources on analytics now.

“You can get all the programs, hire folks who have a speciality on that.

“But we’re finding the happy medium.”

[blueheaven]

This level of transparency and communication is really going to take some getting used to. Doesn't he know we're supposed to be kept completely in the dark about all this stuff?

[Aitchy]

Like others, I was impressed by his initial interview. It was the the perfect balance between being realistic, but also showing ambition. Its clear he has identified what needs to be improved at the club and has a plan.

Ultimately though actions will speak louder than words. You only need to look at three other American owners in Scottish football. The Gordons at Hibs, Ogren at Dundee United and Cormack at Aberdeen all started out with similar aims and ambitions but all three have burnt through managers and players in recent years without any real success. Webb can give as good a sales pitch as he wants, but if he we are struggling down the bottom of the league after a months the majority of fans wont care about a nice carpark.

He mentions focussing more on the local business community, but given the current economic climate, is this a viable option to increase revenue at the club? Glad he has discussed growing the clubs support and making the matchday experience more enjoyable, but again, how realistically, how much more can we achieve on that  front? Ideas such as marketing games, promoting the club and having a bigger presence in Perth City Centre will all hopeful help this. It was something that was sorely lacking under the Browns time at the club. I see Webb has set a target of an extra 1,000 fans in the gate in the next year. It would be great to achieve, but I worry that football has become a more expensive hobby in recent years and priced people out. Hopefully we get a positive start to the season and people are enticed to come back. 

Its been a bit of a surreal week. Interesting times ahead. 

[Tattie-bogle]

Wonder if the uni is Georgia tech

https://sprint.ipat.gatech.edu/

[slf]

Oodenarde

a wee 5000 capacity stadium

it’s obvious 

 

[slf]

That’s all baloney about analytics in fact that’s been  tried with Steven McLean turned out to be just bollocks .anal guys on payroll again wtf

[R.B.B:- Adz]

1 hour ago, Aitchy said:

 I see Webb has set a target of an extra 1,000 fans in the gate in the next year. It would be great to achieve, but I worry that football has become a more expensive hobby in recent years and priced people out. Hopefully we get a positive start to the season and people are enticed to come back. 

Did he say that though. I thought it was “over the coming years” or words to that effect?

I think it’s obvious, he needs to get more local people into the stadium - starting with lapsed season ticket holders as we have their details.

Then he needs to start targeting Perth and the surrounding area with an enticing offer - one that is affordable and regular.

Ditch these flash in the pan, one off bring a friend against Ross County/Livi days.

If he is in it for the long haul then I think growing the fan base by 1000-1500 over the next 2-3 years is infinitely possible, but it has to be strategic and not just “come along and try”.

Edited July 12, 2024 by R.B.B:- Adz

[Aitchy]

9 minutes ago, R.B.B:- Adz said:

Did he say that though. I thought it was “over the coming years” or words to that effect?

I think it’s obvious, he needs to get more local people into the stadium - starting with lapsed season ticket holders as we have their details.

Then he needs to start targeting Perth and the surrounding area with an enticing offer - one that is affordable and regular.

Ditch these flash in the pan, one off bring a friend against Ross County/Livi days.

If he is in it for the long haul then I think growing the fan base by 1000-1500 over the next 2-3 years is infinitely possible, but it has to be strategic and not just “come along and try”.

You are right. I just had a look again and he does say in the "next few years", which seems a lot more realistic. 

You make good points about the need for the club to have a long term strategy in place to attract lapsed and new fans to come and support the club. Will be interesting to see how they approach this.

[Saintdunc]

“The Aaron (Essel), Adama (Sidibeh), Benji (Kimpioka) signings, these are incredible.

Really? Let's hope so!